Love Story for a Snow Princess Read online

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  Love Story for a Snow Princess

  By Beth D. Carter

  Published by Beth D. Carter

  Smashwords Edition

  2021

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Panthea Snow sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingertips in an effort to ease the growing tension headache. She glanced out of the airport’s windows, unable to see anything except white snow. She had been told it had snowed early, a freak storm that the weathermen stated was a prelude to a bad winter.

  Again, doubts assaulted her. Was it wise to travel thousands of miles to meet a man, one she had never met before, in order to see if they would be compatible for marriage? At the beginning of this journey it had seemed so easy, so clear in her mind, that this step was vital for her sanity. Yet doubts now hammered incessantly through her mind.

  It was hard to grasp that within a few days her name could change unless, of course, cold feet took hold of her first. Maybe her intended wouldn’t want her. Maybe he wouldn’t find her attractive.

  Thea turned her head and caught her reflection in the window. She looked wan and tired. She hadn’t worn makeup since the accident, hadn’t even bothered to get her hair cut or fixed up. The dark red mass of curls hung limply around her thin face, enunciating her pallor, but she really didn’t care. She hadn’t cared about anything for over a year now. Everyone told her that time would heal, but time for her seemed to crawl. Thea swallowed thickly against the sudden lump of misery that rose sharply in her throat. She blinked rapidly several times to clear away the tears and pulled a crumpled Kleenex from her pocket to wipe her nose.

  One month ago she had seen an advertisement on the computer asking for women to meet potential husbands in areas where the ratio of men to women was extremely high. At first she ignored it, but something in the back of her mind kept nagging at her, and so she had returned to re-read the article. That night the nightmare struck with a vengeance. The squeal of tires, the smell of burning fuel, and the blood going drip, drip, drip…all had her sitting up in bed, screaming. Right then she realized she couldn’t go on. There wasn’t enough therapy in the world that could erase the pain from her heart or the memories from her mind. She needed to start over. She needed something to force her to get up in the mornings because she was fast losing the will to even do that.

  So she had applied to the advertisement to be a potential mail order bride.

  Everything became a whirlwind from that moment, which had been a good thing because it took her mind off the accident, starting from the time she had hit send on her computer to the moment she had flown out of Los Angeles. The first order of business had been going to her lawyer to make sure the advertisement was legit.

  The lawyer had reported that it was done through a match-making service for the men who lived in remote parts of Alaska and were unable to leave their posts to find wives. They included logger men, oil men, fishermen, men who braved the frigid weather of the state to live. She had been given a sizeable book on every man available through the service, including their picture, lifestyle, their background and history, medical records, income records, and a written synopsis by each man on their five year plan. Truth be told, that impressed Thea the most since she hadn’t even thought about the coming year let alone the next five.

  Her own evaluation and physical exam had been just as intense and somehow she had pulled through without letting on how emotionally wrecked she was. Through her answers, the computer had chosen three potential men and it was her job to pick one. At first she judged each man on their photo. How could she not? But as she started reading about each of them, it became less and less about what they looked like. Somewhere in between the background notes, and the history given, these men had become real to her, not simply a random photo in a white binder.

  So she had signed on the bottom line, and because the winter months were coming quickly, the agency hadn’t had time to do the proper meet-and-greet with her intended through web conferencing. So instead she had gone shopping for the right clothes, had researched what it was like to actually live in Alaska, moved all her personal possessions into storage and sold off almost everything else. There were probably a million other things she should have done, could have learned, but there simply wasn’t any time left.

  She had traveled from Los Angeles to Seattle, and then from Seattle to Anchorage. Once in Anchorage, she had flown on a smaller plane to Nome. Now, she waited to board the plane that would take her to River Ice, Alaska, located in the Far North across the Arctic Circle.

  What the hell had she done? What colossal mess had she created? Really, a mail order bride? Who does that in today’s society? Oh. My. God.

  “Miss Snow?”

  Thea blinked, roused from her panicked musing to see a tall African American man standing next to her.

  “Yes?” She answered cautiously.

  “I’m Yancy Ford, from Aurora Partnership Services,” he introduced himself. “I’m here to escort you to River Ice and to meet Caleb Tasker, your match.”

  “Oh,” she said. “All right.”

  “Let me help you with your luggage,” he said, bending to grab her two suitcases. “This way, Miss Snow. Hank Kirima will be flying us.”

  She rose and grabbed her toiletry bag, following him. The airport attendant opened the bordering gate for them. As soon as the door to the tarmac opened, a strong gust of wind blew her back a step. Coldness, unlike anything she had ever felt before, slithered its way under her coat causing her to shiver and realize that her knee-length parka wasn’t going to be enough against the glacial temperature.

  Mr. Ford escorted her through the fierce wind to the end of the runway, where a small plane waited. The pilot was a middle-aged man, with peppered grey hair and beard, dressed in a long coat with a big furry hood. Thea eyed it enviously as another gust of wind blew her a few steps back.

  “Hank is right over there, Miss Snow.”

  She saw Hank wave. He had the broad forehead and flat nose of his ancestors, along with a friendly smile. Just as she approached him, another forceful gale managed to push her over, face down on the slick runway.

  “Oh my!” he cried and rushed over to help her up. “Are you all right?”

  “Just ducky,” she muttered back, fighting off a wave of embarrassme
nt.

  “You must be Miss Snow,” Hank greeted warmly, holding his hand out.

  She grasped it delicately and gave him a huge smile, appreciating his easy manner to such a unique circumstance. Then again, maybe it wasn’t so unusual for the men living so far north.

  “We’ve got to get going,” Hank said, yelling a little to be heard above the strong wind. “The weather is changing fast and a storm is coming. We’ve got to get out of here or we’ll be stranded.”

  If I’m going to change my mind and go back home, this would be the moment, she thought. In a flash, the pros and cons came charging back, but the one thing that stuck out in her mind was the thought that she had no one, absolutely no one, left to go back home to.

  With a nod, she let Hank help her board as Mr. Ford sat next to her with her suitcases stacked neatly around them. Hank jumped into the pilot seat, handed her a headset and then started the plane. He talked to the control tower as they rolled down the runway, and then in moments they were airborne.

  “Caleb’s been mighty silent about you,” Hank said to her through the headset.

  Surprised, Thea turned to him. “I suppose that’s because we don’t really know each other.”

  “Guess so. He radioed me yesterday morning to fly you out, and I think that makes me the only one in River Ice to know he’s gotten himself a bride.”

  “Would you want everyone in town to know you went through an agency for a mail-order bride?”

  Hank grinned and shrugged. “I don’t know. If all the women are as lovely as you, I might sign up myself.”

  Thea smiled. “If only your name had been in the book, Hank, who knows?”

  A pleasant silence fell as they continued on, and twilight started to fall. With the sun shining its last rays over the snow crusted earth, everything became awash in violet, red, and gold.

  “It’s quite beautiful,” she murmured, forgetting that someone else was listening.

  “Breathtaking,” Hank agreed. “The Far North Territory isn’t an easy place to live. You’ve picked a harsh land.”

  “Yes,” she agreed, not elaborating.

  “But you’ll learn to love it.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “This environment makes you a stronger person,” Hank continued, as if he hadn’t heard her doubtful mutter. “Makes you have a heartier resolve.”

  “Really?”

  “God’s honest truth,” he told her solemnly.

  She watched out the window until the sun was gone and night shaded the land below. “I did some research on Alaska before I traveled, of course, but reading about it and seeing it are two different things.”

  “Days are slightly different than what you’re used to,” he told her. “Sunrise right now in September is about eight in the morning and sunset around ten in the evening. By Christmas day you’ll only have about four hours of daylight but even then that’s more like twilight.”

  “I can’t even imagine that!”

  He laughed and then pointed. “See that pinprick of light down there? That’s River Ice. It’s on the northern face of the Gates of the Arctic National Forest.”

  Nerves suddenly attacked her belly and her hands balled into fists. “Oh my goodness,” she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

  “Scared?” Hank asked. She could hear his concern through the headset.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t you worry none. Caleb’s a good man.”

  “He’s a widower, right?”

  “Yeah,” Hank replied. “Claire was a good woman.”

  Thea didn’t know how she felt about knowing the name of the woman she was going to be replacing.

  Hank switched over to talk to the control tower and readied the plane for descent. The whole time Thea’s heart thumped madly in her chest. The plane landed way too soon for her taste, and once again she was frozen in place when Hank came around to open her door. He gave her a comforting pat.

  “It’ll be just fine, Miss Snow,” he whispered so only she could hear.

  “Please, call me Thea.”

  “All right, and you must call me Hank. Don’t you worry, now, okay? You need me, or need anything, you go to the Suinnak.”

  “Suinnak?”

  “Means ‘good for nothing’ in Inuit,” he laughed. “It’s my sister’s diner. Her name is Miki. She’ll find me, don’t you worry.”

  She gave a wobbly smile.

  Hank held out his hand, she took it and left the comfort zone the plane had offered her. Mr. Ford escorted her inside the small one room shack that served as the airport. A large generator stood next to the building, ready to be fired up when the electricity failed. They walked inside and Thea stomped her feet to clear them of the crusted ice that had engulfed her Ugg boots. They had seemed like the logical choice at the time, but now her feet were freezing. Actually, everything was freezing. She frowned as she studied Mr. Ford and Hank, wondering where and when she could go shopping.

  “I have an SUV ready for us,” Mr. Ford told her, still holding onto one of her bags. “I have you booked at the Princess Hotel. Tomorrow you’ll be able to meet Mr. Tasker.”

  Thea nodded and turned to Hank. She gave him a huge smile. “Thank you for everything.”

  He winked at her. “I’ll be around. I fly back and forth a lot, especially with the mail and taking people to Nome for shopping.”

  Her luggage was loaded up into the SUV and she waved as they took off down the snow-packed road, easing into the darkened little town of River Ice, Alaska. It was hard to make out the various buildings, but they all looked the same. Windowless tract homes raised off the ground, sheds and various other structures. Everything frosted with snow, and wires connecting all the roofs. They soon came to probably the only hotel for miles around, a two story building painted a nice dark red with black trim. A light hung above a door and a sign that read “Princess Hotel” hung in front of it. Through the blowing wind and circulating snow, it looked warm and inviting and Thea was awfully happy to see it. The heater hadn’t had time to make the cab warm and her shivers were starting to rattle her teeth.

  Mr. Ford carried her luggage inside. The foyer of the hotel was pleasant, decorated in a mixture of beige, dark green and brown. A fire crackled invitingly against one wall with a pair of overstuffed leather recliners temptingly placed nearby. On the left side, by the door, was the registration counter.

  A young woman came from the back, smiling as she caught sight of them. She had dark eyes and high cheeksbones. Her long black hair was braided in two long plaits and tucked behind each ear.

  “Welcome!” she said, enthusiasm making her voice a tad loud through the room. “Welcome to the Princess Hotel and to River Ice, Alaska. I’m Sandy Cikauq, the manager.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Cikauq,” Mr. Ford greeted as he carefully placed the luggage down. “I’m Yancy Ford with Aurora Partnership Services. This is Miss Panthea Snow checking in.”

  “Of course!” Sandy sat some forms on the counter before smiling at Thea. “If you would please fill these out.”

  As Thea filled out the information, she felt Sandy staring at her. She glanced quickly up and caught the young girl’s gaze. Sandy blushed and looked away, back to her computer screen.

  “Ms. Snow, I have you in room four, down the hall, and Mr. Ford you’ll be in room seven,” Sandy informed them. She sat two keys down before taking the completed paperwork back.

  “Thank you,” Thea said, taking her key.

  Mr. Ford gave Sandy a nod, put his key in his coat and then hefted Thea’s luggage once again to take to her room. She opened her door and glanced around the sparse yet comfortable room. A neatly made double bed rested against one wall, decorated with a blue and white patterned quilt that looked homemade. A fairly large armoire rested against the other wall, with a small television inside it. A desk and chair were placed by the window. Other than a few impersonal paintings on the wall, there weren’t any other furnishings.

  �
��I’ll put these here?” Mr. Ford inquired, setting her bags just inside the doorway.

  “Yes,” she murmured and moved to give him room.

  “Aurora Partnership Services has you booked here until after your wedding,” Mr. Ford replied.

  “And when is that again?”

  “Tomorrow you and Mr. Tasker will meet for breakfast. You’ll both have time to talk and get acquainted. The wedding is booked for the day after. Did you bring a suitable dress or would you like Aurora to provide one?”

  Thea shook her head. “I-I brought my own,” she stuttered. Her heart accelerated quickly at the extreme closeness of her wedding date.

  Mr. Ford gave her a brief, if somewhat impersonal smile. “Then have a nice evening, Miss Snow.”

  He shut the door behind him with a firm click.

  Thea carefully took off her coat and hung it on a hanger from inside the small closet. She slipped off her boots and wiggled her toes through the thick wool socks. She walked into the tiny attached bathroom and squinted against the harsh fluorescent light overhead. Turning around in a circle, Thea tried to look at the décor in a different way, at a different angle, but everywhere she saw only the lonely desperation of a girl trying to rebuild a life.

  Tears welled in her eyes as the crushing weight of abandonment settled on her shoulders. A small part of her brain told her she was being melodramatic, but that part was quickly being drowned out by crashing waves of desolation. She almost wished she could fall into apathy, but even that small measure of sanity eluded her.

  She reached into her purse and took out two prescription bottles. Walking into the bathroom, she opened each bottle and shook out a pill. She turned on the water and leaned her head near the stream to grab a mouthful to wash the medication down. Leaving the bottles on the bathroom counter, she collapsed onto the bed, curling tightly in a ball. Grabbing the pillow, the sobs burst out and she poured out her grief into the soft plushness.

  Chapter Two

  The dream came again, as it did almost every night. Even the pills couldn’t keep it away. Thea sat in the back of the car, her older sister sat on her right and her younger brother on her left. In the front seat Thea’s dad drove as her mom sat half turned to talk to her children.