Prime Catch by Ilona Fridl Page A

opened the parlor window a bit to let the stuffiness out of the ground floor. Because of the warning, she cautiously checked every nook and cranny. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss or out of place, so she slowly relaxed. She lit the gas range and put the water kettle on to boil.
    Hurrying upstairs to her bedroom, Sarah changed out of her uniform and into one of her house dresses, then scurried down to the porch to gather up the delivered newspapers and mail. By then, the water was whistling urgently, and she put some hot water and tea into the ceramic pot to steep.
    With yesterday’s newspaper spread in front of her, she settled down. The sound of someone turning her doorbell brought her up short. “Just a minute!” she called, throwing a shawl across her shoulders. Sarah peeked out the parlor window, and when she saw a large man standing at her front door, she reached deftly into her desk drawer and palmed her Derringer.
    Behind the fringed curtain on her door, she called out, “Who is it?”
    “An old friend,” came a voice from out of the past.
    “George?” She opened the door. “George!” A choking weight gripped her chest. “George!?” Slipping the small gun into the sash of her dress, she stepped out onto the porch and put her fists on her hips. “Where in God’s name have you been for six years?”
    The handsome Tlingit man grinned, and the outer corners of his dark eyes crinkled. “You missed me?”
    She laid her hand in a smart smack across his cheek. “You left me a week before our marriage! Not a word except a note saying, ‘See you sometime. Be well.’ ”
    “And I meant every word of it,” he remarked, rubbing his cheek. “Here I am, and you look well. May I come in?”
    Sarah was tempted to use the small gun, but she swallowed her anger. She was curious what kind of story she was going to get. “Yes, but I wouldn’t try anything funny if I were you. I am armed.”
    “Really? Come here and greet me with a hug.” He reached out for her, and she ducked away.
    “Don’t you dare touch me!” She pointed at a chair. “Sit here, I’ll pour some tea, if you’d like.”
    “Thank you.” He settled onto the seat.
    Sarah banged the cups and saucers down. What on earth is he doing here, and why? Breaking my heart, then showing up on my doorstep years later... Well, I’ll let him have his say and then show him out the door! She poured tea into the cups when she had put down the serving tray on the small table in front of George’s chair. “Cream or sugar?”
    “Two sugars, please. You should remember how I like it.”
    She restrained herself from throwing the tea in his lap. “You have the gall to come in here and tell me I should remember, when you lit out on me? I’m trying to be civil, because I want an explanation, but I will show you out the door.”
    He laid his hand on her arm as she set the cup down. “I had a good reason. Sarah, sit and listen. You won’t need to use that gun tucked into your sash.”
    “At least you realize I told you the truth.”
    “My mother sent me out before I was ready to find a woman. I know the tradition is to find a wife in another village and settle there. You would own everything and I would just be your protector and provider. I couldn’t do that. There was so much I wanted to experience, and having a family was far down on the list.” He sighed. “I wanted a business of my own, and I joined the Americans in their world.”
    Sarah was silent a few moments. “As you can see, I don’t hold to the Tlingit traditions, either. If you had bothered to tell me then, I would have understood. You hurt me.”
    “I’m sorry. I was too young to think about anyone else, but I’ve changed.” His fingers caressed her cheek. “Will you take me back? Please?”
    Strangely she wasn’t moved by him anymore. “I’ve changed, too. I’m not the wide-eyed child you left. I’ve made my own way in the American world.”
    “That’s what makes us so