Polar (Prequel): The Turnagain Arm Read Online Free

you so jealous of this man? I’ve never known you to act this way.”
    “The problem is not with me. The problem is with the rest of you. This damn Russian strolls into the camp and suddenly every last one of you seems to be under some kind of spell when he’s around. Jesus, Lara, even you stare at him like a silly schoolgirl.”
    “I do not,” Lara said, an edge of anger creeping into her voice. “I treat Aleksei like I treat everyone else who’s worked for us. No different than I treated Kenneth MacNeil or any of the rest of them.”
    Vasyl scoffed and stared at the wall.
    “He’s a handsome young man, Vasyl, there’s no point in denying that. But I’m not under any sort of spell when I look at him. He works hard and he’s always very polite to both of us. He’s friendly to everyone who comes to the bar and he keeps their drinks filled. If people like him, that’s why. There isn’t anything more to it than that.”
    “Fine, Lara. You win. I don’t care to argue with you when all I want to do is get some sleep.”
    “That’s something else I like about Aleksei.”
    “What? That I want to sleep?”
    “No. That you can. We both can. He’s so reliable working the night shifts. He seems to like working late. I don’t mind saying I’m glad we don’t have to.”
    “Christ almighty, give the man a medal already. He manages to cover the nights for two whole weeks and he’s right up there with the Lord himself.”
    “So you’re saying you miss working 16 hours a day? You want to go back to that, do you?”
    “Don’t put words into my mouth. MacNeil was working the nights for us too, you forget that?”
    “MacNeil was drunk as often as not when he showed up for work. Perhaps you’re forgetting that.”
    Vasyl raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Enough, Lara. I don’t want to fight with you. Aleksei Nechayev is the best thing that ever happened to either one of us. I thank God every day that he walked into our saloon looking for work.”
    Lara couldn’t keep the grin out of her voice. “I’m glad you’re finally talking sense.”
    Vasyl chuckled and shook his head. He reached forward and put his palm on his wife’s belly. “We’ve got more important things to worry about than Aleksei Nechayev, yeah? How’s the little one?”
    “He’s fine, I’m sure.”
    “I think he’s a she.”
    “You want a little girl?”
    Vasyl leaned in and kissed his wife’s nose. “A little Lara? Why wouldn’t I? Now let’s stop fighting over that damn Russian and sleep. I want to be sure you get your rest.”
    “You don’t have to worry about me, Vasyl. I’m not the first woman to have a baby.”
    “No but I know you worry yourself, love. A baby at our age, it’s crazy, isn’t it?”
    Lara smiled and leaned forward to kiss Vasyl. “It is. But we’ll be fine. Good night, darling.”
    “Good night, love.”
    Vasyl rolled over onto his side and waited to hear the slow deep breathing that indicated his wife had fallen asleep. He was worried about her getting enough rest and, while she hated to be pampered, he had wanted to treat her like a princess since he’d first learned she was pregnant.
    It seemed impossible, after so many years of marriage and no children to show for it, but he was starting to believe that their dream of a family together was finally going to come true.
    Vasyl had met Lara while he was still working on the railroad himself. After coming to Alaska from Siberia, the early railroad construction was the natural choice for him to look for work. He’d found Lara working a waffle tent outside of Seward. She’d come to Alaska from Washington state after her parents and siblings had died of consumption and had used her extraordinary cooking skills to collaborate with another woman and set up a traveling restaurant.
    Lara was the best baker Vasyl had ever met and he’d never tasted anything as good as her waffles. He had lined up each morning with the rest of the camp workers