Free Northern Fascination by Jennifer Labrecque Page B

her solitude.
    She considered getting out of the water but the warmth felt heavenly and she hadn’t gotten her full swim in yet. She loved the juxtaposition between the warm water and the crisp cold of the fall evening air. A quarter moon sliced the star-littered sky.
    Her tent was pitched on the other side of a boulder so it wouldn’t be visible to whoever was coming and she’d just stay close to the lake’s edge and tread water. Hopefully the intruder wouldn’t stay long. In all the years she’d been coming to Mirror Lake for her winter swims, no one else had ever shown up. Still, she didn’t feel any sense of threat
    The engine died and a door slammed. Chugach, her malamute, raised his head. “It’s okay, boy,” Ellie said in a quiet undertone to the dog. Whoever it was came alone. Damn. Her jeep. Her visitor would’ve parked close to it and would know someone was here.
    The instant he topped the rise leading to the lake, Ellie recognized Nelson Sisnuket. Ellie’s breath caught in her throat, the way it did every time she saw Nelson. She had dated his cousin, Clint, for a period of time because both Clint’s grandmother and her parents had pushed the relationship. However, it was Nelson who caught her eye. She’d admired him since she’d returned from getting her teaching degree at University of Alaska.
    Nelson, however, didn’t seem to realize she existed. To him, she was just another member of a neighboring clan. And now it didn’t matter because she was Clint’s former girlfriend. Their clans would take a dim view of her seeing Nelson, who had to be above reproach. As a shaman-in-training, he was held to a higher standard.
    “Ellie?” Nelson called into the night. No doubt he’d recognized her vehicle.
    “Over here.”
    He looked around. “Where?”
    The moon cast a sliver of light across the lake. She swam into the lit swath. “Here.”
    “You’re in the water? Are you okay?”
    She laughed at the mix of concern and incredulity in his normally even cadence. “Yes, I’m in the water and I’m fine. It’s lovely to be in the warm water on a cold night.”
    His quiet laugh echoed through the stillness as he crunched through the snow toward her. “Yeah, well what about when you get out?”
    “It’s a little brisk. But I have a tent and I dry off and get dressed in there.”
    It was really kind of weird to be in the water, naked, carrying on a conversation with him but she was simply glad they were talking. “What brings you out here?”
    “Answers. I needed to think. This seemed like a good place to do it.” He glanced away from her, toward the moon, throwing his handsome features into relief. Her heart beat faster.
    “It is a good place to think.” A boldness she’d never before possessed coursed through her. “And out here is even better.” She moved her arms through the water, setting ripples flowing across the calm surface. “Come on in. The water’s fine.”

6
     
    “Y OU CAN PUT YOUR CLOTHES in the tent next to mine, if you’d like. I’ll look the other way until you’re in.”
    “Are you naked?” Nelson realized how stupid that sounded. He didn’t see any swimsuit straps where the moonlight kissed her shoulders and he dealt with patients in various forms of undress all day long. Then again, he wasn’t standing on the edge of a steaming lake talking to them.
    “Of course. It’s the only way to swim when it’s this cold.” She dutifully turned her back and Nelson was struck by the way her hair flowed into the water’s surface, giving the illusion she was one with the lake.
    Her dog, Chugach, regarded Nelson as he removed the leather strip holding his own hair in place. Unzipping the tent flap, he crawled in, rezipped and quickly undressed. The air settled cold against his skin.
    Fast-forwarding his senses and mind to the water’s warmth, he stepped out onto the snow-covered ground. A mere three steps later, he was in the water, the fluid warmth embracing him as