Free Under Alaskan Skies by Grace Carol

gotten out by now. She could just hear the gossips. “You know he’s really not my friend. He’s a doctor. I never met him before yesterday, and when he leaves, today or tomorrow, I’ll never see him again.”
    “So you say,” Merry said. Her wrinkled face broke into a broad smile. “Hello there,” she said.

    Carrie whirled around. Matt was standing behind her, looming over her shoulder.
    “Merry, this is Dr. Baker. Merry runs the country store. Merry, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get dressed. I’m planning to open the library this morning.”
    “I’ll let everyone know,” Merry said to Carrie, but her eyes never left Matt’s face as she backed down the sidewalk toward her car. What she would let everyone know was that she’d actually seen the young, good-looking doctor and he was every bit as handsome as she’d heard. And that when she’d arrived, Carrie was in her bathrobe and looked as if she’d just gotten up. Not that she would draw any conclusions from that. Oh, no.
    Carrie closed the door and leaned back against it. “I can’t believe I slept so late,” she said, running her hand through her tousled hair. She must look a wreck while Matt looked wide-awake and fresh in a clean pair of khakis and another of her father’s shirts. Obviously, he’d been upstairs while she was asleep. He might have taken a shower and found clean clothes and she’d never heard a thing. “I’m usually up at six-thirty. It must have been that headache cure. I was unconscious the minute my head hit the pillow. You ought to bottle it and sell it instead of tranquilizers. I’m going up to get dressed. Did you—” She took a deep breath and told herself to stop rattling on and on. “Do I smell coffee and rolls?” she asked, sniffing the air hungrily.
    “You said you were going to put them in the oven, so I did it for you. I hope you don’t mind. I have noidea if I did it right or not. I just thought I’d get the jump on you.” He paused and smiled at her.
    Her heart lurched at the way the smile lit his face. Who needed sun shining on southeast Alaska with a man like him around? “You made the coffee, too,” she said, returning his smile. Was this what it was like to live with someone who looked like a TV doctor? One who knew how to give massages and start the coffee?
    Would you wake up every day feeling like it was the first day of the rest of your life, that life was full of the most amazing possibilities just because he was there smiling at you? She told herself there were no guarantees. Look at her father and mother. They’d been madly in love. They’d probably had days when they felt just like she did right now. And it all turned to dust. “Are you trying to make me feel inadequate?” she asked lightly.
    “I’m trying to earn my keep. I don’t want you to throw me out on the street.”
    “No chance,” she said. “You treat our patients, make breakfast and give massages like a pro. Where did you learn how to do that?” She kept her tone casual although she was conscious that her robe was hanging open, exposing her flannel granny gown. Other women her age wore silky gowns with spaghetti straps they ordered from Victoria’s Secret. Not her. Maybe if she’d been expecting someone. Maybe if she had someone to wear them for. But she didn’t. Matt didn’t care what she wore as long as she got him back to his ship and his parents and his girlfriend.
    She wasn’t usually self-conscious about how she looked. Maybe other women would curl their hair andput on makeup before coming downstairs, but what was the point if no one saw you. When she heard the knocking, she’d rushed to the door. Now it was too late. He’d seen her at her worst, with her hair un-combed and her face unwashed.
    He, on the other hand, was wearing a blue chambray work shirt that looked familiar and made him look as if he belonged here. Obviously, he’d been up for a long time. What did he think of her, lazing about in bed