Alaskaâthe last frontier
The nights are long. The days are cold. And the men are really, really HOT!
Can you think of a better excuse for a trip up North?
Donât miss the chance to experience some
ALASKAN HEAT,
Jennifer LaBrecqueâs new sizzling mini-series:
Northern Exposure (October 2011)
Northern Encounter (November 2011)
Northern Escape (December 2011)
Enjoy the adventure!
Dear Reader,
Once in a lifetime, you discover a place that touches something inside of you. Alaska was one of those places for me. At the time I had never seen a place of such wild, unspoiled beauty, or a landscape that varied from barren to the lushness of the Matanuska valley to the magnificence of millennia-old glaciers. And the state is inhabited by some of the most interesting people youâll ever meet.
Obviously, I fell in love with Alaska.
And when the opportunity came along to create my own Alaskan paradise, I was thrilled. I totally enjoyed bringing Good Riddanceâa small town in the Alaskan bush where you can leave behind whatever troubles youâto life! Founded by a transplanted Southern belle, Good Riddance residents are a quirky assortment of folks from all walks of life. Itâs the perfect place to fall in love.
So welcome to Good Riddance. I hope you enjoy your stay. And donât forget to drop by and visit me at www.jenniferlabrecque.com
As always â¦happy reading,
Jen
SOME DAYS, LADY LUCK was with you and on others, she didnât ever bother to show up. The way it was looking, she wouldnât be flying with him today.
Dalton Saunders, former corporate drone CPA, current Alaskan bush pilot, had planned to go fishing with Clint Sisnuket on this fine October day. Instead, he was going to spend his Sunday afternoon making an unscheduled run.
âYou need for me to fly to Anchorage?â
Merrilee Danville Weatherspoon, transplanted Southern belle, mayor and founder of Good Riddance, Alaska, and proprietor of Good Riddance Air Strip Center and Bed and Breakfast, nodded. âSorry, Dalton. The fish are going to have to bite without you today. Juliette was going to make it but sheâs got engine problems.â
Juliette covered his days off and picked up the overflow runs, but if she was grounded, there wasnât much sense arguing. Not unless he wanted to come across like Jeb Taylor and Dwight Simmons, who sat in rocking chairs with the chess table between them. The grizzled old-timers never agreed on anything other than hanging out at the airstrip and dickering.
âCanât do much about engine problems,â Dalton said. But damn, this was probably going to be one of the last nice days theyâd have. It had been unseasonably warm for October today. For that matter, itâd been unseasonably warm period. The loons were still out at the lake and it was the latest theyâd ever stayed in the years heâd been here. âWhat am I picking up?â
âNot what. Who. Youâre picking up a doctor whoâs filling in the next few weeks for Doc Morrow. Dr. Shanahan.â
Dalton had flown Good Riddanceâs doctor, Barry Morrow, into Anchorage Friday evening for the first leg of his vacation. Dalton supposed it was only fitting that now heâd have to pick up Doc Morrowâs replacement. Although it would have saved him a trip if this Dr. Shanahan had been ready to go on Friday.
Snagging a cup of coffee from the carafe on the small carved table next to the desk that housed all of the radio equipment, Dalton nodded. âGuess weâre lucky to find a replacement.â
Merrilee nodded. âIsnât that the truth?â Her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. âAnd here I thought weâd be overwhelmed with doctors wanting to fill in for a few weeks in our fair city.â
Dalton laughed as Merrilee intended. But actually, she was right. Very few visitors came through who werenât immediately charmed by Good Riddance. The town had been just what heâd been looking for eight years ago when heâd tossed in the towel on the rat race that was his life in Michigan.
Watching his father die, weeks from retirement from a job he despised, had changed Daltonâs life. His dad had put off living until he retired and, ironically, he hadnât lived to enjoy it. Swearing he wouldnât make the same mistake, Dalton had unloaded his job, condo and fiancée and pursued what he really wantedâa job as a bush pilot in the Alaskan wilds.