An Alaskan Wedding
A Town Called Love Reporter Grace Corbett has the lead of a lifetime. The city girl moves to Love, Alaska, where the mayor's "Operation Love" is matching women from across the country with hunky Alaskan men. Grace pretends to be a woman looking for romance, and her act gets a lot easier when she starts to fall for rugged sheriff Boone Prescott. Grace vowed she'd never let herself love again, but in cold and beautiful Alaska, her heart is thawing for Boone. Still, to win the lawman she'll have to confess everything…and hope that Operation Love can manage one more happy ending.
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A Town Called Love
Reporter Grace Corbett has the lead of a lifetime. The city girl moves to Love, Alaska, where the mayor’s “Operation Love” is matching women from across the country with hunky Alaskan men. Grace pretends to be a woman looking for romance, and her act gets a lot easier when she starts to fall for rugged sheriff Boone Prescott. Grace vowed she’d never let herself love again, but in cold and beautiful Alaska, her heart is thawing for Boone. Still, to win the lawman she’ll have to confess everything…and hope that Operation Love can manage one more happy ending.
“If you live to be a hundred you might never see anything half as beautiful as this.”
Northern lights. She let out a gasp as a myriad of colors undulated across the sky. Greens. White. A splash of red appeared. Violet streaks of light shimmered across the sky.
She tilted her head back and stared up at the heavens in wonder. “How is this happening?”
Boone’s explanation came swiftly. “It’s a storm of sorts. The effect comes from directional changes in the earth’s magnetic field. Our ancestors theorized it was past and future events being displayed across the sky.”
She raised her hand toward the vibrating lights. It felt as if she might be able to reach out and grab hold of the bright, flashing waves.
“It’s magnificent,” she said. It was almost as if a painter had made the sky their canvas and splashed paint all over the heavens.
“Beautiful,” Boone said with a sigh.
When she turned toward him, his eyes were focused solely on her. He wasn’t even gazing at the aurora borealis.
BELLE CALHOUNE grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. Married to her college sweetheart, she is raising two lovely daughters in Connecticut. A dog lover, she has one mini poodle and a chocolate Lab. Writing for the Love Inspired line is a dream come true. Working at home in her pajamas is one of the best perks of the job. Belle enjoys summers in Cape Cod, traveling and reading.
This is love: that we walk in obedience to God’s commands. As you have heard from the beginning His command is that you walk in love.
—2 John 1:6
To my sister, Karen.
You were my very first fan. And for many years, my only fan. Thank you for cheering me on and for always believing in the dream.
For my family: Randy, Sierra and Amber.
Thanks for understanding that writing is a vital part of my life and for celebrating all my joyful news.
For my editor, Emily Rodmell, for your
continued support, wisdom and vision.
For the Jack and Jill Moms, Stamford-Norwalk.
You guys rock!!! Thanks for always celebrating me.
To all the readers of the Love Inspired line. I so
appreciate your enthusiasm and encouragement, as well as your heartfelt letters.
Contents
Grace Corbett peered out the window of the seaplane, her eyes sweeping over a craggy landscape that looked as if it came straight out of an Alaskan postcard. Majestic white-capped mountains loomed in the distance. A wide expanse of tundra stretched out for miles. Vibrant, green trees dusted with snow dotted the scenery. Firs, spruce and pines, she imagined. She’d done a lot of reading in the past few weeks about Alaska in preparation for her assignment for the New York Tribune. According to her literature, these types of trees were among the most abundant found in the state.
The plane was preparing for its final descent over Kachemak Bay, and it was proving to be a bumpy ride. The bucking motion of the plane was giving her motion sickness. She tried taking slow, shallow breaths to calm herself. “Focus on the moment, not the panic,” she whispered, reciting the mantra from her fear-of-flying class. “You’re here. You’re alive. You’re here. You’re alive,” she chanted.
“Poor thing. You look terrified.” The Southern twang pierced through her terror, reminding her that she wasn’t the only passenger on the flight to Love. She turned to the woman seated next to her, making eye contact with the attractive redhead who was staring at her with a look that oozed sympathy. Although she could tell from her expression the woman was well-meaning, it irritated Grace to be the object of someone’s pity. Been there, done that, she thought grumpily. She’d long ago decided that even if she lived to be one hundred and ten, no one was allowed to host a pity party in her honor. Even if it killed her, she was going to hold her head up high. Her chin trembled as she nodded. “I—I don’t like planes. Especially little ones.”
She let out a moan as the plane bucked and shuddered, jerking her to and fro. Nausea rose up in her throat. Raising a hand to her mouth, she uttered a silent prayer to the big guy upstairs. Even though she’d desperately wanted this assignment, being stuck on a tin-can plane hadn’t been part of the bargain. Something told her that her boss Tony hadn’t wanted her to know before she got to Anchorage about the so-called plane she’d be flying on for the last leg of her journey.
