He bit his lip. “You’re not worried that my stint on the reality show will harm the brand?” he asked, holding his breath as he awaited her answer. Caleb was so sick of his past hanging over him like a dark cloud.
Hattie let out a hoot of laughter. “Caleb, I’m a woman living on borrowed time. I’m not afraid of anything. You’re part of my vision for bringing Yukon Cider into the future.” She winked at him. “So far I haven’t been wrong about a single thing.”
Feeling relieved, Caleb placed his elbows on the table and leaned toward Hattie. “I’m all ears, Hattie.”
The more they talked, the more Caleb was drawn to her idea. If he was being honest with himself, he had missed the spotlight. There was nothing he loved more than the glare of the lights and all eyes focused on him. Back in high school when he’d been cast in a lead role inOthello, he had been transformed by the applause and the accolades. Finally, he had felt that he was good at something. He’d shined on that stage.
Caleb had decided then and there that he wanted to be an actor more than anything else in the world. To this day there wasn’t anything else he truly wanted to pursue as a career more than acting. He enjoyed taking on different personas and creating new characters.
“So I’ll be doing commercials? With lines?” he asked, blown away by the sudden turn of events. It was almost more than he’d ever dared to dream. Maybe being back in the spotlight could put him in a perfect position to relaunch his acting career.
“That’s the plan,” Hattie said. “I want you to be on the team brainstorming our advertising and social media campaigns. I think this will be a great way for us to increase our reach, especially to a younger demographic.” She winked at him. “From what I hear, you’re quite a hunk.”
Caleb chuckled. “You don’t say.” His grandmother was a trip. She had the best personality of anyone he’d ever known. She made him laugh like no other. Even though they hadonly been reunited for a few months now, they shared a tight bond. He wondered what might have been if they hadn’t been estranged. But there was no use in thinking about things he couldn’t change. All it led to was turmoil.
“So I would like for you to start attending meetings this week pertaining to the ad campaigns we’re going to launch. That is, if you’re on board with this plan. You haven’t really given me an answer.” She eyed him sharply. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
Caleb rubbed his hands together. “It’s a yes. Of course I want to do this. It’s right in my wheelhouse.” He hadn’t wanted to complain about being an executive at Yukon Cider, but it wasn’t his passion. Caleb knew he was privileged to be able to walk into the position as Hattie’s grandson and one of her heirs, so he hadn’t balked at the assignment. He had been working hard alongside Xavier and Landon, attending meetings and learning the ropes of Hattie’s operations. But this opportunity to star in ad campaigns and commercials would be extraordinary. Not only would it bring him joy, but he would be able to use his acting skills and show the world that he was way more than a punch line.
Hattie raised her fist in the air in a triumphant gesture. He couldn’t help but notice her arm seemed thinner and she appeared more frail. “Yes! We’re going to have so much fun and you’re going to be a smash hit.” She reached out and tweaked his cheek. “With that gorgeous face, you’re going to make our ciders a household name.”
“No pressure,” he said, throwing his head back in laughter. Hattie had made it clear that she wanted to focus on living and not dying, so he was going to match her vibrant tone measure for measure.
Hattie leaned over toward him. “Have I told you how happy I am that you and your brothers are back home?”
Home. He didn’t quite think of Moose Falls as home, even though he had been born here and had spent the first eight years of his life here.
“You have indeed,” Caleb said, raising Hattie’s hand to his mouth before placing a kiss on it. “But I’m not sure that I’ve told you how grateful I am that you invited the three of us back to Moose Falls. And that you’re entrusting us with your empire. It’s quite extraordinary.”
Hattie’s eyes gleamed. “I know you haven’t made any decisions about whether to stay and run the company, but I want you to absorb everything about Moose Falls. The people. The beautiful Alaskan landscape. Your childhood memories. And, if your heart allows you to, your father.” Before he could respond, Hattie said, “I know he hasn’t done a whole lot to earn your forgiveness, but like my mama used to tell me, it’s good for the heart and soul.”
Caleb knew Hattie was right. He was carrying around a lot of extra weight on his shoulders, remnants from a childhood fractured by divorce and his father’s absence. Coming back to Alaska provided him with an opportunity to heal, not just from his disastrous stint on reality television, but from so many things he’d bottled up inside himself.
A few hours after his discussion with Hattie, Caleb was behind the wheel of a Range Rover driving toward the mountains at his mother’s request. Daisy was riding shotgun while Landon, Xavier, and Jaylen were seated in the back. He cranked up the tunes and played some old-school Prince, his mother’s favorite. As they jammed to “When Doves Cry,” it almost seemed as if he’d been waiting for this moment since he’d returned.
Being in Moose Falls with Daisy was surreal. Caleb was still trying to wrap his head around her being here with them, especially since she had been so adamant about not returning.
“I remember this area so vividly,” Daisy said as they drove past a heavily forested area. “The natural beauty of Alaska is truly magnificent. I once thought I would live out the rest of my days here.” She sounded emotional, and he wondered if the past had more of a hold on her than she had ever been able to acknowledge. This was way more than she had ever disclosed to them about her feelings for Alaska. He shouldn’t be surprised. This visit was complicated, since she’d left under somber circumstances.
“Well,” Landon piped up from the back seat, “Alaska has the highest mountains, the biggest glaciers, and the longest days of any state, so it’s not surprising that it’s the most beautiful.”
“Excellent points, Landon,” Daisy said, turning in her seat to send a smile in her baby boy’s direction. Her tone sounded more upbeat.
For once Caleb was grateful for Landon’s scientific musings and the fun facts he loved to spit out. His comment had lightened their mother’s mood.
“Are we almost there?” Jaylen asked for what seemed like the tenth time.
Xavier chuckled. “Almost. Why don’t you focus on something else like all the birds we’ve been seeing?”
“I guess,” Jaylen mumbled. Caleb wasn’t sure that birds were of much interest to Jaylen. He seemed to prefer football to robins.
Ten minutes later Jaylen let out a whoop of excitement as they reached their destination.
Hiking with his mother, Jaylen, and his brothers on themountain trails was a nostalgic experience—a true blast from the past. It took Caleb all the way back to when he’d been a little kid. Daisy had always been an athletic and outdoorsy person. Seeing his mother so happy and relaxed made him smile. It was almost as if the years melted away and Daisy was a young woman again. He knew there had been hard times in Moose Falls, especially the dissolution of his parents’ marriage, but there had been happy memories too. Some he remembered, but others he saw imprinted on his mother’s face. It hadn’t all been bad.
Having lived in California and Arizona, Caleb had seen some beautiful vistas. The Grand Canyon. Yosemite. Alaska rivaled them all. There was still a light coating of snow on the ground, but signs of spring were everywhere. The snow-capped mountains of winter had melted a bit, revealing majestic, craggy rock surfaces. The towering peaks were impressive.
The air was crisp and chilly, but not bone-chillingly cold as he had experienced in the winter months. The sun was out, shining down on them with a brilliance that set the tone for the day. As their wonderful outing came to an end, Caleb was pulled to the side by his mother.
