Alaska Skies. Debbie Macomber

grew raspberries in Puyallup a generation earlier.

      Dragging out an atlas, Abbey flipped through the pages until she found Alaska. Her finger ran down the list of town names until she came across Hard Luck. Population 150.

      She swallowed. A small town generally meant a sense of community. That excited her. As a girl, she’d spent summers on her grandparents’ farm and loved it. She wanted to give her children the same opportunity. She was sure the three of them could adjust to life in a small town. In Alaska.

      Using the atlas’s directions to locate the town, Abbey drew her finger across one side of the page and down the other.

      Her excitement died. Hard Luck was above the Arctic Circle. Oh, dear. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea, after all.

      * * *

      The following morning, Abbey reviewed her options.

      She set out a box of cold cereal, along with a carton of milk. A still-sleepy Scott and Susan pulled out chairs and sat at the table.

      “Kids,” she said, drawing a deep breath, “what would you say if I suggested we move to Alaska?”

      “Alaska?” Scott perked up right away. “That’s where they have huskies!”

      “Yes, I know.”

      “It’s cold there, isn’t it?” Susan asked.

      “Very cold. Colder than it’s ever been in Seattle.”

      “Colder than Texas?”

      “Lots colder,” Scott said in a superior older-brother tone. “It’s so cold you don’t even need refrigerators, isn’t that right, Mom?”

      “Uh, I think they probably still use them.”

      “But they wouldn’t need to if they didn’t have electricity. Right?”

      “Right.”

      “Could I have a dog there?”

      Abbey weighed her answer carefully. “We’d have to find that out after we arrived.”

      “Would Grandma and Grandpa come and visit?” Susan asked.

      “I’m sure they would, and if they didn’t, we could visit them.”

      Scott poured cereal into his bowl until it threatened to spill over.

      “I read an ad in the paper last night. Hard Luck, Alaska, needs a librarian, and it looks like I’m going to need a new job soon.”

      Scott and Susan didn’t comment.

      “I didn’t think it would be fair to call and ask for an interview without discussing it with both of you first.”

      “You should go for it,” Scott advised, but Abbey could see visions of huskies in her son’s bright blue eyes.

      “It’ll mean a big change for all of us.”

      “Is there snow all the time?” Susan wanted to know.

      “I don’t think so, but I’ll ask.” Abbey hesitated, wondering exactly how much she should tell her children. “The ad said the job comes with a cabin and twenty acres of land.”

      The spoon was poised in front of Scotty’s mouth. “To keep?”

      Abbey nodded. “But we’d need to live there for a year. I imagine there won’t be many applicants, but then I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be an abundance of jobs for assistant librarians, either.”

      “I could live anywhere for a year. Go for it, Mom!”

      “Susan?” Abbey suspected the decision would be more difficult for her daughter.

      “Will there be girls my age?”

      “Probably, but I can’t guarantee that. The town only has 150 people, and it would be very different from the life we have here in Seattle.”

      “Come on, Susan,” Scott urged. “We could have our very own house.”

      Susan’s small shoulders heaved in a great sigh. “Do you want to move, Mommy?”

      Abbey stroked her daughter’s hair. Call her greedy. Call her materialistic. Call her a sucker, but she couldn’t stop thinking about those twenty acres and that cabin. No mortgage. Land. Security. And a job she loved. All in Hard Luck, Alaska.

      She inhaled deeply, then nodded.

      “Then I guess it would be all right.”

      Scott let out a holler and leapt from his chair. He grabbed Abbey’s hands and they danced around the room.

      “I haven’t got the job yet,” Abbey cried, breathless.

      “But you’ll get it,” Scott said confidently.

      Abbey hoped her son was right.

       Two

      Abbey took several calming breaths before walking up to the hotel desk and giving her name.

      “Mr. O’Halloran’s taking interviews in the Snoqualmie Room on the second floor,” the clerk told her.

      Abbey’s fingers tightened around her résumé as she headed for the escalator. Her heart pounded heavily, feeling like a lead weight in her chest.

      Her decision to apply for this position had understandably received mixed reactions. Both Scott and Susan were excited about the prospect of a new life in Hard Luck, but Abbey’s parents were hesitant.

      Marie Murray would miss spoiling her grandchildren. Abbey’s father, Wayne, was convinced she didn’t know what she’d be getting into moving to the frozen north. But he seemed to forget that she made her living in a library. Soon after placing the initial call, Abbey had checked out a number of excellent books about life in Alaska. Her research had told her everything she wanted to know—and more.

      Nevertheless, she’d already decided to accept the job if it was offered. No matter how cold the winters were, living in Hard Luck would be better than having to accept money from her parents.

      Abbey found the Snoqualmie Room easily enough and glanced inside. A lean, rawboned man in his early thirties sat at a table reading intently. The hotel staff must have thought applicants would arrive thirsty, because they’d supplied a pitcher of ice water and at least two dozen glasses.

      “Hello,” she said with a polite smile. “I’m Abbey Sutherland.”

      “Abbey.” The man stood abruptly as if she’d caught him unawares. “I’m Christian O’Halloran. We spoke on the phone.” He motioned to the seat on the other side of the table. “Make yourself comfortable.”

      She sat and handed him her résumé.

      He barely looked at it before setting it aside. “Thank you. I’ll read this later.”

      Abbey nervously folded her hands in her lap and waited.

      “You’re applying for the position of librarian, right?”

      “Yes. I’m working toward my degree in library science.”

      “In other words, you’re not a full librarian.”

      “That’s correct. In Washington state, a librarian is required to have a master’s degree in library science. For the last two years I’ve worked as an assistant librarian for King County.” She paused. Christian O’Halloran was difficult to read. “I answer reference questions, do quick information retrieval and customer service, and of course I have computer skills.” She hesitated, wondering if she should continue.

      “That sounds perfect. Hard Luck doesn’t exactly have a library at the moment. We do have a building of sorts....”

      “Books?”