An Alaskan Proposal. Beth Carpenter
don’t think you are. Shivering, mumbling, confusion. All symptoms of hypothermia.”
I’m not mumbling because I’m hypothermic. I’m mumbling because I’m annoyed. She thought the words but managed not to say them. Instead she repeated, “I’m okay.”
“Are you wet?”
“No. I was wearing a rain poncho.”
“Then you’re probably not hypothermic, but you’re obviously cold. Take the vest.”
It was tempting, but she hated to be in anyone’s debt. Especially someone who seemed to disapprove of her. “Then you’ll be cold.”
“I have a fleece jacket in the truck.”
Of course he did. The survival expert would always be prepared. Another cold gust convinced her. “Fine.” She pulled the vest over her sweater and zipped it closed. Still warm from his body heat, it covered her from her shoulders to her thighs. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He continued to stand there. She pretended to be studying the instructions, hoping he’d walk away, but he remained where he was. “I’m Leith Jordan.”
“Sabrina Bell.”
He nodded. “So, Sabrina. Why are you here?”
“For the team-builder, obviously.”
“No, I mean why are you in Alaska? Why didn’t you stay in Arizona?”
“I came for the job.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You came all the way to Alaska to work at the Orson Outfitters store?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m training. Headquarters hired me as a management trainee, and the first part of that is to work in different positions in one of the local stores.”
“Oh, so Alaska is just a temporary stop for you.”
“Yes.”
“That makes more sense. Why are you pretending you know anything about camping?”
She looked around sharply to see if any of the other employees were within earshot, but it was just the two of them. She picked up one of the metal sticks and examined it as though she intended to do something with it. “I told you. We’re supposed to be testing the products, and part of that testing is to see if the instructions are clear.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” She rattled the paper and tried to concentrate on the instructions. She felt warmer already. Now, if she could just figure out step two.
He handed her the blue bundle of sticks. “The shock cord is the bungee cord running through the tent poles. It holds the short poles in line while you fit them together to create a long pole, which fits through the sleeve at the crown of the tent.”
“Well, yeah. That’s what the instructions should have said. I’m going to have to let them know these wouldn’t be clear to a beginner.” Sabrina studied the sticks, and sure enough, they were all threaded onto a stretchy rope. As she unfolded them, they snapped together. Ingenious. Now, if she could just get rid of Mr. Know-It-All, she might have a shot at figuring out this tent. But he showed no signs of leaving.
Without another word, he lifted the top of the tent and held a blue fabric sleeve that matched the pole so that all she had to do was slip the pole through the sleeve. Okay, that made sense. Once it was in place, Leith arched his end of the pole and secured it through a grommet at the base. Sabrina followed suit with her end of the pole. Suddenly, the tent was standing. She assembled the red sticks and threaded the pole through the red sleeve, again with Leith’s assistance. He began securing the hooks on one side of the tent to the poles. She did the same on her side.
Leith unrolled the final piece of nylon. She took two corners and helped him center it over the poles. Leith handed her the thin metal pieces. “Now you just need to stake out the corners.”
“Right. Let me just see if the instructions say that.”
Leith grinned. “For testing purposes.” Now she was sure he was making fun of her, but she didn’t care.
“Exactly.” She picked up the instructions and turned the page. “Stake corners.” She pointed at the diagram. “Right here.” She set down the paper and pushed one of the stakes through a grommet into the soft ground, anchoring the corner. Leith did one of the other corners. He wasn’t so bad after all.
Bang! Sabrina whirled toward the sound of an explosion. Something came whizzing out of the fire and flew several feet before crashing into a rock. Something about the size of a can.
“Oh, cielos! The beans.” Sabrina rushed toward the fire.
“I don’t know what happened.” Clara stared wide-eyed at the fire. A silicone-sided pan of beans simmered nearby on the camp stove Sabrina hadn’t been able to figure out.
“It’s my fault.” Sabrina looked around for the tongs. Before she could grab them, another can exploded and sailed off to the right, knocking over the stove and spilling the beans onto the ground.
“Get back.” Leith pulled Clara away from the fire. “Sabrina, you, too.”
“I just have to get the rest out before they go off.” Sabrina grabbed the tongs and reached into the fire, extracting a blackened can.
“What is it?”
“A can of beans.” She dropped the can in the dirt and tried to locate the next one.
Leith grabbed a shovel and pushed the logs apart. “How many are in here?”
“Six.” She spotted another can and pulled it out. “Two more.”
Leith pushed in his shovel, scooped out another can and dropped it on the ground, away from the fire. Sabrina spotted the last one, but before she could get to it, it went off, zooming out of the fire like a missile and spraying a trail of beans all over the tent she had just erected before it landed in a bush. Sticky sauce dripped down the sides of the tent.
“You’re sure that’s all?” Leith asked.
“That’s it.” Sabrina turned to see Clara and all the other employees gathered behind her staring at the tent and at her. Super. Walter pushed through the crowd.
“What happened here?”
Sabrina swallowed. “It was my fault. I thought it would save some mess and equipment if I heated the beans in the fire.”
Walter narrowed his eyes. “You put the cans in the fire without opening them?”
Sabrina nodded.
“Any casualties?”
“Only the tent.”
Walter marched over to the tent. He examined the beans oozing down the fabric, then unzipped the tent and crawled inside. A moment later, he popped out, smiling. “Not a drop inside, and the rain fly wasn’t even completely staked. I think we have a winning design here. Sabrina, please clean that tent before you return it to the store. Everyone else, looks like we’ll have to do without beans today, but Will says the burgers are ready. Let’s eat.”
With a few headshakes and some laughter, the rest of the employees drifted away. Sabrina picked up a spatula and went to scrape baked beans off the fabric.
Only Leith followed her. “You have to be careful. When the contents of a can are overheated and the steam can’t escape, pressure can build up past the tolerance of the can.”
“Thanks, Admiral Hindsight.” She “accidentally” flicked the spatula so that beans flew in his direction, but she missed. “Any other words of wisdom?”
He flashed a snarky grin. “Well, I could tell you the best way to wash a tent, but I’m sure an experienced camper such as yourself already