led the way to her future home away from home. She was hard put to not study the well-shaped ass in front of her. Fortunately, for Lainey's dignity in any case, the trail required her full attention so she would not trip.
It was not that late, but Alaska was far from the equator. The sun had not set, confusing Lainey's sense of time over and above the jet lag. Even in New York she was used to it being dark by now. With the cooler temperature up here, her mind tried to tell her it was early morning instead of ten o'clock at night. She had to admit the overall effect was reminiscent of youthful camping trips in New England, enjoying a breakfast of flapjacks as the sun warmed the lake. Lainey smiled to herself; it had been years since she had thought of that. She wondered why.
"Almost there,” Scotch said, glancing over her shoulder. She carried Lainey's laptop case and another suitcase.
"I'm right behind you,” she said.
They rounded a bend in the path, and Lainey got her first glimpse of the cabin. It stood one level tall, with a neat little covered porch in front of the door. From the angle they arrived, Lainey saw windows placed higher than she expected. Maybe that was to combat snowdrifts. She followed Scotch up three steps, noting a swinging bench hanging from the porch rafters as her hostess opened the door and set the bags inside.
"Come on in, and watch your step,” Scotch said. She gestured Lainey to enter.
Mindful of her feet, Lainey understood the instructions when she found herself on a landing. Steps led down, and she carefully followed them into the cabin.
Scotch closed the door, and came after her. ‘set your stuff in the corner, and I'll show you around.”
Lainey dropped her pack and reached out to touch a natural stone wall. It was six feet high and was capped by the standard log walls she had expected this type of structure. "Are we below ground here, or did you build into the hill?” she asked.
"Both, actually,” Scotch said. "Out here we had to dig down, but in the back, it's the depth of the hill.”
Lainey nodded absently, looking around. The space was small, maybe four hundred square feet. The floor was wood, covered here and there with throw rugs. Central to the room was a large fireplace made of the same stone as the walls around her. A sofa and chair squatted before the hearth, accompanied by a couple of sturdy tables with odds and ends upon them. An old style dining table with chrome legs and green laminate top sat nearby, keeping company with three padded chairs in need of new vinyl.
Behind the fireplace was a kitchen area. Lainey noted a small metal stove butted up against the back of the hearth, and several pots and pans hanging from the stonework. Storage cabinets and counters ran the length of this side of the room. The surprising thing was a large metal sink with an old-fashioned water pump attached to it. Remembering Miguel's statement earlier in the day, she glanced at Scotch. "Running water?”
Scotch, removed her hands from the back pockets of her jeans, reaching up to pull off her baseball cap and run her hands through her hair. "Yeah, with a little elbow grease.”
She seemed embarrassed at the quality of her home, and Lainey hastened to show her appreciation. "It's really nice,” she said, smiling. "Did you to a lot of the work yourself?”
Flushing prettily, Scotch reset her cap, and dug her hands back into her pockets. "We had to get a backhoe in here to dig the pit, and the guys helped me set the logs, roof, and windows.” She waved at the stonework. "I laid the rock and built the fireplace, put in the flooring and porch.”
"Wow,” Lainey said, impressed. She gave the area another look around before smiling. ‘so, where do we sleep?”
"Upstairs.”
Only then did Lainey realize the kitchen area had a lower ceiling than the main room. She followed Scotch back to the stairs, seeing them lead up past the entry door to a sleeping loft.
The loft was open to below
It was not that late, but Alaska was far from the equator. The sun had not set, confusing Lainey's sense of time over and above the jet lag. Even in New York she was used to it being dark by now. With the cooler temperature up here, her mind tried to tell her it was early morning instead of ten o'clock at night. She had to admit the overall effect was reminiscent of youthful camping trips in New England, enjoying a breakfast of flapjacks as the sun warmed the lake. Lainey smiled to herself; it had been years since she had thought of that. She wondered why.
"Almost there,” Scotch said, glancing over her shoulder. She carried Lainey's laptop case and another suitcase.
"I'm right behind you,” she said.
They rounded a bend in the path, and Lainey got her first glimpse of the cabin. It stood one level tall, with a neat little covered porch in front of the door. From the angle they arrived, Lainey saw windows placed higher than she expected. Maybe that was to combat snowdrifts. She followed Scotch up three steps, noting a swinging bench hanging from the porch rafters as her hostess opened the door and set the bags inside.
"Come on in, and watch your step,” Scotch said. She gestured Lainey to enter.
Mindful of her feet, Lainey understood the instructions when she found herself on a landing. Steps led down, and she carefully followed them into the cabin.
Scotch closed the door, and came after her. ‘set your stuff in the corner, and I'll show you around.”
Lainey dropped her pack and reached out to touch a natural stone wall. It was six feet high and was capped by the standard log walls she had expected this type of structure. "Are we below ground here, or did you build into the hill?” she asked.
"Both, actually,” Scotch said. "Out here we had to dig down, but in the back, it's the depth of the hill.”
Lainey nodded absently, looking around. The space was small, maybe four hundred square feet. The floor was wood, covered here and there with throw rugs. Central to the room was a large fireplace made of the same stone as the walls around her. A sofa and chair squatted before the hearth, accompanied by a couple of sturdy tables with odds and ends upon them. An old style dining table with chrome legs and green laminate top sat nearby, keeping company with three padded chairs in need of new vinyl.
Behind the fireplace was a kitchen area. Lainey noted a small metal stove butted up against the back of the hearth, and several pots and pans hanging from the stonework. Storage cabinets and counters ran the length of this side of the room. The surprising thing was a large metal sink with an old-fashioned water pump attached to it. Remembering Miguel's statement earlier in the day, she glanced at Scotch. "Running water?”
Scotch, removed her hands from the back pockets of her jeans, reaching up to pull off her baseball cap and run her hands through her hair. "Yeah, with a little elbow grease.”
She seemed embarrassed at the quality of her home, and Lainey hastened to show her appreciation. "It's really nice,” she said, smiling. "Did you to a lot of the work yourself?”
Flushing prettily, Scotch reset her cap, and dug her hands back into her pockets. "We had to get a backhoe in here to dig the pit, and the guys helped me set the logs, roof, and windows.” She waved at the stonework. "I laid the rock and built the fireplace, put in the flooring and porch.”
"Wow,” Lainey said, impressed. She gave the area another look around before smiling. ‘so, where do we sleep?”
"Upstairs.”
Only then did Lainey realize the kitchen area had a lower ceiling than the main room. She followed Scotch back to the stairs, seeing them lead up past the entry door to a sleeping loft.
The loft was open to below
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