Bear Alaska

Chapter Three

Orson

Orson stepped out of his pick-up truck stopping for a moment to listen intently, as was his habit. He knew Riggs and Finlay were at home; he could hear them a moment before they quietly stepped out onto their porch with welcoming smiles. He had intentionally decided to come over this late, so they would be home from the fields.

“What brings you around, Orson? Thought for sure you’d be busy planning now.” Riggs stated teasingly.

Orson growled at his insinuation when he walked up to the porch and studiously kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, unwilling to confess just yet that he was already done planning the first step. The great thing with plowing and planting large fields meant you had a lot of time to think. But he would need their help to do the first step since he guessed his reaction at the diner had not made a good first impression on her.

Yeah staring at someone the way he had was probably not a good way to make yourself memorable in the good way. In fact he had seen her hesitate before she had sat down in her chair and then he had stared at her in such utter amazement that he saw her become uncomfortable and consider a plan of escape before she had even ordered her coffee.

But it was not every day that you found the one thing you thought you would never have, especially at this specific time. He had been so surprised that he had had trouble staying in control and had stared at her in a way that she had apparently seen as anger if he could judge by her changing her order to take-away and eating it alone in her truck in the parking lot. 

Yeah, he’d seen her struggling to eat her meal with the flimsy plastic fork while she cranked the heater in her truck up to high.

But the moment she had removed the hood of her parka from her dark brown ponytail the cigarette smoke that had masked her sweet scent had disappeared enough to assault his senses with the realization that the impossible had just walked past him. Lavender and vanilla; the scent that had changed all his well laid plans for the year ahead; his plans would have to change and he had started changing those plans the moment he realized what had happened. 

He had made peace that he just had to survive through these few weeks every year and he would be fine. He only had five more weeks to go of the six, along with his two friends. Then she had walked into the diner and turned his plans and his world upside down. He was still trying to understand how the impossible had happened to him.

“Funny.” He snarled when he stepped onto their porch and followed them into their cabin; this time of year he was already moody, he didn’t need Riggs adding to his irritation, but it had never stopped him from doing so before and it probably wouldn’t now either. Sometimes he wondered if the guy used their irritation to work off his own, because he was sure he got worse this time of year.

“Coffee?” Finlay answered casually. He was the elder quieter brother of the two and Orson half preferred his more serious company to Riggs’s constant taunting.

Although they both had to admit that Riggs’s sense of humor had helped them through several seasons of suffering. Didn’t mean he had to like it, though, and it was not helping his current mood much either. He didn’t doubt, like every other year since they’d met, that they would come to blows at some point; they always did.

He grunted acceptance of the offer and Finlay shoved Riggs in the direction of their kitchen, sensing that Riggs’s teasing was working on his nerves more than it usually did. They sat down at the table and Finlay met his gaze expectantly, sensing that he was here for a reason. There was something about Finlay’s way of bypassing small talk and getting straight to the point at hand that soothed his ire at the situation somewhat.

At the moment it felt like a lost cause, perhaps his plan would change things, but for that to happen he needed their help to get it into motion. Even with Riggs being his annoying self, he needed his strength for this.

“She’s our new neighbor and she’s alone. She moved into the old Jones’ place.” He said just as Riggs returned with the three mugs of coffee with a toothy grin.

“You’re stalking her, aren’t you?” Riggs chuckled with enjoyment while he handed over the mugs to each of them before he sat down. “I knew it!”

“Shut up, Riggs. He has a reason for being here and it’s not to listen to your jabbering.” Finlay stated tiredly; he always seemed to sense when Riggs’s teasing was working especially hard on Orson’s nerves.

“Oh come on! This doesn’t happen often. And it happened to him first!” Riggs defended his enjoyment of the situation.

“Like you don’t long for the same thing to happen to you.” Finlay snapped with his own annoyance. It was clear they were still in the middle of the season and it was wreaking havoc on their moods.

Finlay and himself tended to be less than approachable on a good day. Riggs on the other hand seemed to attract any young lady with his open teasing attitude, which meant spring was less of a problem for him since he had his pick of female company.

But Finlay’s words sobered the younger man somewhat. It was true. This was what they all waited for – hoped for – but it was rare for their kind and it was a mess to work through in the beginning, especially with the current circumstances. She was definitely not like them, so she had to be eased into it, which was against everything his instincts were crying out for.

With Riggs settled into his seat and willing to shut up long enough to hear Orson’s reason for the visit, Finlay turned his attention back to him. “So what’s up?”

“I have a plan, but I’m going to need your help –“ He cringed slightly before he continued. “- both of you.”

Riggs had another big grin on his face when he looked up from taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m liking this already.” Riggs piped up with some excitement.

“Do you have to be such an ass?” Orson snapped finally.

“Well, no, but then that’s half of my fun.” Riggs answered casually, clearly not bothered by the insult, which Orson knew would be the case, but it did not help his already sour mood.

Orson wiped his palms over his face tiredly before he pushed his long hair out of his face. He had not slept much since that morning in the diner and that paired with spring and the work he had to do on his homestead was taking its toll on him. Between fighting his instincts, knowing that it was wrong this time and working on his homestead, and worrying about her he was past exhaustion.

He guessed it would be a lot more near sleepless nights before he managed to sort everything out. And he was not looking forward to it, considering how hard he was already fighting against his instincts; he knew it would get worse before it got better. He had never been so torn between his instincts and the things he knew was right, it was almost painful to battle himself as much.

Finally he just ignored Riggs and met Finlay’s gaze. “She’s not properly prepared for the short growing season and I’m guessing it’s not going to get better soon if we don’t help her.”

“Have you introduced yourself yet?” Riggs butted in again and Orson sighed tiredly and glared at him. Riggs raised his eyebrow quizzically and then suddenly grinned at him. “That’s a good thing, then.”

“What?” Orson snapped with annoyance.

“Well, since you haven’t introduced yourself we can all drop by with the pretense of introducing ourselves and welcoming her to our area. Then we can pitch in ‘spontaneously’.” He answered with a casual shrug.

Orson stared at him with mouth agape. Why hadn’t he thought of that? It must be the lack of sleep and his worry, paired with the things he tried to get done for the short growing season. He was overworked and on edge most of the time; it seemed everything was piling up against him.

Riggs’s smile broadened when he saw both of them stare at him in open surprise. “I’m not just a pretty face, you know.” He chuckled.

“And not even that.” Finlay muttered before he took a sip of his coffee.

“Well, I’ve had no complaints from the ladies.” Riggs chuckled, not even slightly insulted by his brother’s words.

“There’s no insulting you, is there.” Orson muttered and pushed his empty mug aside.

“Not that you’ve managed, no.” Riggs grinned, not even slightly offended and he shook his head in exasperation. 

Apparently it was a good thing that he had come to them for help. It seemed he needed it more than he had expected. And if they could help her get back on schedule, he would have one less thing to worry about, for now. There was no guarantee that things would fall into place like he hoped, but then she would be ready for the winter at least and he wouldn’t need to worry about her so much.

With a grunt of appreciation he left their farm and headed back to his own to catch up with everything he still had to sort out. Sometimes he wondered how things would have been if he had had a brother, but then he considered a brother like Riggs and he was grateful he didn’t have to deal with that as well, especially this time of year. But Finlay had the patience of a saint, probably because he was used to his brother being like that all the time and them sharing a house. 

Though their houses were intentionally built close together on their own land, he didn’t have to deal much with Riggs, since they were not as social as people thought. They’d decided to build so close together for the sake of safety. Unfortunately Leah’s place was a bit farther than he felt comfortable with, but that could be fixed if he finally got things in line. 

But if he did get things in line like he planned, she would be staying with him, maybe they could figure something out so her cabin would not go to ruin. But for now he was more worried about gaining her trust and attention, hoping that the bond would slip into place if they spent some time near each other.

It was perfectly fine to handle Riggs when he saw him, though he was grateful that he could leave and be rid of him when he got to be too much. He had sympathy for his long-suffering brother; Finlay. He didn’t know how he did it, which was probably why he always seemed so tired.

But today he was grateful for Riggs suggesting they go over and introduce themselves. Though he also had to admit that he still had no idea how he would proceed after the introductions. He was so used to just minding his own business and pretty much ignoring the rest of the world that he was not sure how to approach her. But he needed to think of something. Perhaps the idea would come to him while he was working.

Physical labor tended to help him to think things through better, which is why he preferred his current lifestyle in Alaska. He preferred avoiding the pit falls of being sociable. His character was apparently intimidating if he took into account how people reacted to him in town the few times he went to get supplies or went to the diner with his friends to keep up appearances of normality.

But he preferred his own place, his peace and the forests around him to human interaction – until now. Now he craved it from one person specifically and now he was completely out of his depth. Once he got home, he went about catching up on his chores that had gone half done the last week or so since his discovery. 

At least the physical work helped some for his mood. Working late into the evening, he finally caught up on what needed to be done and he finally aimed for his house, exhausted. But then he stopped; he still felt drawn away from his empty house that suddenly seemed less like the home he had always thought it was. 

Orson only hesitated for a moment before he turned away from his house and walked into the darkness, slipping off his sweat soaked shirt as he went. He wouldn’t rest before he was sure anyway. Walking into the woods behind his house, he glanced up at the clear sky and the half-moon hanging lazily over the horizon.

Just knowing where he was headed already lifted his spirits despite his exhaustion, even if she didn’t know about him yet. He just wanted to be closer and make sure she was alright. He just could not stay away from her.

The draw he felt was impossible to resist and it felt like a physical attachment to a woman who didn’t even really know about his existence aside from their initial meeting. She had probably not even considered him after she had left the diner. The thought that she could have dismissed him so easily was almost a physical blow, but he couldn’t help feeling like she was his responsibility.

And he took his responsibilities very seriously.