Free Under Alaskan Skies by Grace Carol Page B

if she let it. So she excused herself and went to open the library door. The minute she did, the phone rang. It had nothing to do with books, it was someone asking about the doctor. She told the caller, a fisherman known as Smoky Joe, just what she’d told Mac, only a more abbreviated form. Then the customers came. At first she thought it was the weather that caused everyone to turn to books for entertainment, but after the first few patrons had come in, she realized it was curiosity that brought them.
    She was irritated at first, but realized she couldn’tblame them. Life in their little town could get dull, especially under leaden skies, with no mail delivery to look forward to. She’d brought in some excitement in the form of a doctor, and he was fair game as an object of curiosity. And of course everyone was worried about Donny. Though it seemed that everyone had already called over to his house to get the latest update on his condition.
    “I hear they’re playing chess,” Allison Rathman told Carrie, leaning against a bookcase. Allison was a high school girl, the star of the girls’ basketball team.
    “Who’s playing chess?” Carrie asked, as she stamped the return date on a book about raising parakeets for Marge Seton.
    “Donny and the doctor,” Allison said. “You know how Donny was always wanting somebody to play with him? Well, looks like he found somebody.”
    “I can’t believe Donny’s feeling well enough to play chess,” Carrie murmured. The boy had learned on his own, from books Carrie had ordered for him from the state library service. Occasionally somebody would drift through town and play with him and give him a few pointers. But yesterday he’d been flat on his back. How could he be well enough to move the pieces around? Was this just another rumor or was Dr. Matt really able to perform miracles? He’d certainly done a job on her aching head last night. She felt a tiny shiver go up her spine, thinking of the way his hands felt releasing tension from muscles and causing her to feel as if every bone in her body had turned to jelly.

    “…another mystery by that writer, you know who I mean?”
    Carrie looked up, aware that she’d been daydreaming, and met the inquiring gaze of Maggie Cummings. She got up from behind her desk and went back to the small mystery section with Maggie. It was a relief to discuss books for a change. She was able to steer Maggie to a couple of writers she thought she’d like. But there was no escaping her questions about the new man in town. After she’d filled her arms with a selection of books, Maggie leaned forward and asked the questions that were on everyone’s mind today.
    “Where on earth did you find that man?” she asked breathlessly. “He’s gorgeous.”
    “How did you… I mean how do you know?” Carrie asked.
    “Peeked in the window over at the house,” she confessed, her high cheekbones expertly tinged with pink. Even when she was just taking a walk to the mailbox, Maggie was perfectly made-up, which made her stand out from 99 percent of the local population. “I guess I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t resist. How many times does a new man come to town? I didn’t want to bother anyone by knocking on the front door. There he was, sitting by Donny’s bed, the chess board between them. I couldn’t believe it.”
    “So it’s true,” Carrie said.
    “Oh, yes, it’s true. He’s the best-looking man to hit this town in ten years. No, make that this whole territory. I ought to know. But, tell me, is he married?”
    Carrie shook her head. She could have told Maggieabout his girlfriend, but that wouldn’t have slowed Maggie down one bit.
    Maggie breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. “But you’ve got first dibs on him, Carrie. You saw him first,” she said.
    “What?” Carrie backed into a bookshelf. “Wait a minute. Sure, I saw him first, but I’m only interested in him as a doctor, nothing else,” she said, hoping Maggie