Melt Read Online Free PDF

hitching a ride home.”
    “Oh. I didn’t realize this was a ferry service.”
    Pippa shrugged. “Not exactly. Amaalik’s just giving her a lift. Somebody else apparently took her into town. She had some seal pelts to sell. So we’ll be making a stop along the way to let her off.”
    Kelly held the coffee under her nose, letting the steam thaw it before she drank. Mr. Stewart, the elderly Englishman, wobbled toward his bench, both hands around his coffee cup in an unlikely attempt to make it back without a spill. Pippa ran to his aid, taking the cup from him until he was seated.
    A young woman appeared from the back of the boat and slid her sunglasses onto the top of her head before peeking into the cabin. Sonja Holm, Kelly surmised. Someone put a cup of coffee in her hand, then she walked toward the bow, giving Kelly a brief smile before tasting the brew. She was attractive, in her mid-twenties with long legs, a lanky frame and short platinum blonde hair full of sharp edges. She wore a dark blue turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and well-used hiking boots. A point-and-shoot digital camera hung on a cord from her neck. After taking several gulps of coffee, she regarded Kelly more directly, her hazel eyes lingering familiarly. Her wide mouth turned up slightly into a subtle, ironic smile.
    “Hej,” she said. “Jeg er Sonja.” Her pronunciation was marginal but understandable.
    “Hi, Sonja. I’m Kelly. Sorry, I don’t speak Danish. It’d be easier if we stuck to English.”
    “Oh!” She laughed. “You’re American. You must know some Danish. You understood me just now.”
    “I know a few words. Very few.”
    “Me too. About all I can manage in Danish is to order a cup of coffee and say thank you for it. What do you think about this Danish coffee anyway?”
    “It’s impossibly strong for me. I usually water it down about halfway.”
    “How long have you been in Greenland?” asked Sonja.
    “Two weeks. A business trip. I’m a photographer.”
    “That’s awesome. What a place to take pictures!”
    “What about you?”
    “It’s business for me too. I’m working at a science base a few miles from Ilulissat. For the entire summer. I’m a graduate student.”
    “Where at?”
    “University of Colorado in Boulder.”
    “What?” Kelly was stunned. “CU? That’s my school! I mean, my alma mater. I still live in Broomfield.”
    “Weird coincidence. So we have something in common.” She regarded Kelly with undisguised interest. “Speaking of coffee, there’s this place near campus called the Jumping Bean. Do you know it? The barista there is a genius.”
    “I do know the Jumping Bean! I used to go there years ago. Back then, they’d just hired this tattooed feminista who could write your name in the froth on your latte.”
    “That’s her! She’s still there. She goes by the name Absinthe. People come in just to watch her make coffee.”
    “Absinthe,” Kelly said, remembering the spiky hair, black eye shadow, nose ring. “She was an interesting character. I should stop by there some time.”
    “You should, if just to see Absinthe again. If she didn’t already have a girlfriend, I’d make a move on that. God, she’s sexy!”
    “You’re gay?” Kelly asked incredulously.
    Sonja nodded matter-of-factly.
    “Me too!”
    “Shit!” Sonja shook her head in disbelief. “We’re like twins separated at birth!”
    Kelly laughed, marveling at the coincidence of meeting someone from home way up here in the Arctic. “Is this your day off? Or is this a working trip?”
    “Just sightseeing today. I haven’t seen much of this country yet, so I thought I should get out and take a look. A couple of my team members took a tour to the Eqi Glacier to watch the calving but I’ve been camped beside a glacier for three weeks now, so I wanted to see something other than ice.”
    “You’ll like it. Rodebay is a very cool place. Let me give you a little advice, though. At lunch they give you samples of local