Free Alaskan Summer by Marilou Flinkman

see how her dad was doing, her friend had confirmed that she and Ryan had only dated casually, that nothing serious had developed. Now Laurette wondered if his disappointment was subconsciously more about his mother not returning than about Jenny.
    Where can this friendship go? her conscience nagged. Your job only lasts until fall. Then what are you going to do?
    She shivered at the thought. Would she go back to Washington to look for a job? That’s what her folks would expect her to do. Sighing deeply, Laurette stood up. I’ll have to pray for guidance. And for Ryan. Whatever happened between them, it was more important what happened between Ryan and the Lord.
    The sliver of light shining under Ruth’s bedroom door had gone out, so Laurette entered her room and prepared for bed. Thoughts of Ryan and the future kept her tossing for hours before she fell into a deep sleep.
    ❧
    Wednesday dawned bright and sunny. “Great day to go fishing,” Tyler commented when he heard about Ryan and Laurette’s plans. “You can use the company truck to launch your boat,” he told Ryan. “I’m taking the van this afternoon.”
    Laurette went home to change into jeans and a sweatshirt. She made sure Ruth was settled. Diane had promised to call that evening and remind Ruth to eat the supper Laurette had left for her when she’d made the sandwiches for their lunch. Ryan was bringing the soft drinks and potato chips.
    Carrying their lunch and her jacket, she walked from her truck to the launch site near the dock where the tenders landed. Ryan had his boat lined up at the top of the ramp and was ready to back down.
    “Can I help?” she asked.
    “When the boat floats off the trailer, will you grab the bow rope and hold on?”
    Laurette nodded and walked down to where she could reach the rope tied to the bow of the white wooden craft. “You have a nice boat,” she commented.
    “It was my dad’s. It’s old, but it floats.”
    She smiled. “That’s good.” Laurette watched as he backed the boat and trailer into the water. Hope I don’t get seasick, she worried to herself as she kept a firm grip on the rope. When the boat floated free, she pulled it toward the dock and held on to the side.
    “You did that like a pro,” Ryan said when he returned from parking the truck and trailer. “Are you ready to go?”
    “I guess so.” She climbed into the boat and sat in the passenger seat.
    Ryan took the other seat and started the outboard motor, then steered them out of the harbor.
    Laurette looked around her. The sun sparkled on the blue water, making her glad she had worn sunglasses. “It’s beautiful,” she said in awe. The boat moved slowly until Ryan cleared the harbor. When he opened the throttle, she held on to the bar in front of her seat and glanced at the wake breaking in a white froth behind them. Ryan poked her arm and pointed up.
    Laurette counted six eagles circling in the bright blue sky above them. She nodded to acknowledge she’d seen them, since the loud motor made it impossible to talk. The wind whipped across her face, and a faint, cool spray rose alongside the boat as the hull cut through the swells. Excitement filled her. She leaned forward to see over the bow and turned to smile at Ryan. She couldn’t read his expression and was too full of joy to try to figure it out.
    Suddenly he reached for the throttle and slowed the motor. He looked down at her, then pointed ahead and to the right.
    She quickly stood beside him. “Oh,” was all she could say when she saw the spout of water.
    “Killer whales,” Ryan explained.
    “I can hear them blow,” she whispered in awe. “How many are there?”
    He shook his head. “Hard to say. At least three,” he said as an enormous black whale breached the surface. As it turned, she saw its white underbelly markings.
    Laurette watched in wonder as the whale seemed to dance on its tail before falling back in the water with a loud crash.
    “That’s one impressive belly