"Yep."
"That's an amazing medium," Ben enthused as he picked up his niece from the log and she snuggled into his arms. She looked tiny against the big man. Kara was suddenly aware that Ben was the size of her fathers and brothers. She hadn't realized that when he had been kneeling behind her. Burt had been more her size. She didn't know how she felt about possibly dating such a large man. Maybe Eric was right. Maybe she'd been shying away from men who reminded her of her family because she didn't think they would accept her for being an artist, and wasn't that some screwed-up logic?
"Unca Ben, I've really gotta go," Alice said again. Ben grinned and said his good-byes, promising to see her on Saturday morning.
Chapter 2
The rest of the week flew by. Kara worked with Nate and showed him some of her techniques, and she was gratified with his praise. When she wasn't working with Nate, she scratched on her sketchpad, sometimes at the tide pools. But what really caught her interest were the huge trees and the tree fungi, otherwise known as tree oysters, which grew out of the sides of the old conifers. She was fascinated by the shapes and colors and sizes of the odd growths. They would make for beautiful sculptures and glass molds. Kara found that her best inspirations always came from nature.
Finally Saturday morning rolled around. She changed clothes three times. Considering she only had jeans, T-shirts, and long-sleeved shirts to choose from, it was surprising that she could find that many outfits to obsess over. Let's face it, she was excited. Three things stood out about Ben. He was fine, with a capital F, she loved the way he had taken care of his niece, and he had actually noticed pertinent things about what she was sketching!
She was on the steps of the lodge at six twenty, and he was leaning against a restored, sixties, black Chevy truck. She quickly jumped into the passenger seat, and he got in the driver's seat. He handed her a sleeve of CDs and asked her to choose some music. She chose an older country artist and they headed toward the marina.
"I'm going to warn you now, I want to impress you with the best breakfast in town, but you're going to be inundated with my family. My aunt Dot owns the restaurant, and it is Shotbrook central." Kara gave a laugh, and Ben slid her a sideways grin. "What?" he asked.
"I come from a very small town, where everybody gathers at a small diner. It's where all the gossip is exchanged, and I can always count on seeing family, so I understand."
"How big is your family?" Ben asked.
"Well, it's kind of complicated," Kara demurred. "I have three older brothers. Two of them are here with me, but they're camping with friends and fishing near Starrigavan Creek," she said. "What do you do for a living?" she asked.
"My brother Quinn and I own two fishing boats. We do long lining, cod and halibut."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Kara asked.
"It can be," was his clipped answer. By his tone of voice, she decided not to pursue that line of questioning.
"Aren't you awfully young to own your own boats?"
"How old do you think I am, Kara?" he asked as he pulled into a parking spot and turned to face her.
Kara's tummy did a slow turn at the softly worded question.
"Old enough," she answered softly.
Ben brushed his knuckles against her soft cheek, ending at the side of her mouth. "That's the right answer. I'm twenty-two. I'm the second oldest of seven boys. I've been taking care of my family with my older brother Quinn since my father died, six years ago. Don't let a number fool you. How old are you, Kara?"
"I'm going to be twenty-six next month," she breathed.
"Then you're old enough for me. I was worried," he said with a smile she felt all the way to her toes.
When they entered the small restaurant he was greeted by almost everyone seated and working in the place. She saw many curious glances sent her way. She just smiled, knowing the dynamics. Ben found a table and pulled out the chair for her. She shot him a questioning look. "My mom would have my hide if I didn't show proper manners. As a matter of fact"-he paused and she saw a slight flush crawl up the mahogany skin of his face-"would you mind waiting, so I can open your door when you get out of the truck?" he asked. Oh God, that was exactly what her dads did for her mom!
"Okay," she answered softly.
"Hey, Ben! Who's your friend?" a cute, young boy carrying a tub of dirty dishes asked as he came up to the table.
"Kara, this is my brother Levi. He's the youngest of my brothers. Levi, this is Kara Johansen. She's staying at Lacy's, and she's an artist who works in glass, like Nate. They're working together."
"I'd shake hands, but my hands are full. It's really nice to meet you, ma'am," the boy said.
After he left, she bent over to whisper to Ben, "Isn't he kind of young to be working?"
"He's thirteen. This is his summer job. He's saving up to help with his college fund. He wants to be an engineer," Ben said proudly. "He's got the grades for it. Kyle just finished high school. He starts college a year from now. But first, he's going to do a stint with Quinn and I on the boats. The rest of the boys are in high school. Hopefully, we're going to have four college graduates in our family." Kara loved the pride that Ben had in his voice when he spoke about his brothers. It was the same kind of pride that the Johansens had for one another.
"Who does Alice belong to?"
"My brother Randy and his wife Selma. They got married young. Randy works for the power company."
"Why aren't you out on either of the boats today?" Kara asked.
"I lost the coin toss, so I'm stuck getting our quarterly taxes done for the next three weeks." He grimaced.
Kara laughed at the piteous look he gave her. "It can't be that bad."
"Oh, it's bad. First, I have to find all the receipts. We have receipts on the boats, at the house where Quinn and I live, and some are at Mom's house. Then, I have to sort them out. A lot of them have gotten wet, so I have to go back and ask for duplicates. Then, and only then, I can start the process of doing taxes. Trust me, trying to get it done in three weeks is asking a lot out of a man." Kara couldn't help but giggle.
"I'd go nuts if my paperwork for my business wasn't all kept in a binder at my desk. If I don't have everything tallied up by the first week of every month, I start to hyperventilate," she admitted.
"You have your own business?" he asked, clearly interested.
"Yeah, I sell my blown glass and glass sculptures."
"And that's enough to cover your living expenses? That's remarkable! You must be really good, Kara. Do you have any pictures of your work?"
"Oh, it's nothing. You wouldn't be interested," Kara said, thinking of her family's initial reaction when she started. Ben reached out and grasped her hand across the table.
"No, I would really like to see. Your sketches at the beach were unbelievable. I would love to see your glass pieces. Do you have pictures in your phone?" She slowly nodded her head. "Will you show me?" he coaxed.
Kara called up the pictures from her last show and handed him the phone. She monitored his rapt expression. "Kara, these are amazing. You take a lot of your inspiration from nature, don't you?" She was stunned at his perception. "Like this one, it has the shape of a pine cone, right?" He pointed to one of her favorites, and he was right. She had used a pine cone as her jumping off point. "How do you sell these?" he asked.
"I was lucky. I started out at fairs and I took my portfolios around to different galleries, and I have a website. Finally, two galleries picked me up, and that's when it really started to come together." She looked down in embarrassment.
"That's so impressive, but looking at these pieces, I can see why galleries want to show your work," he said appreciatively. She looked up and saw that he was being really sincere, and it made her feel warm inside.
"Thank you, Ben. I love it when somebody really gets my work."
"Everybody wants their vocation acknowledged. Even being a fisherman. It's nice when somebody understands that there is an art to it. You need to understand the waters. You need to be respectful of the environment and protective of the men and women under your care." Kara found herself liking this man more and more, and she could see what he meant. The difference in their ages really didn't matter. He was mature far beyond his years.
"I like the way you talk about your profession. I think it's important to take pride in your work. But you don't have to sell me on being a fisherman. My last name is Johansen, so we're Norwegian fishermen going way back. As a matter of fact, my grandfather owned a fishing boat, and my dads fished for whiting with him in Puget Sound, along the Oregon and Washington coasts." Ben gave a slow smile that showed off deep slashing dimples on either side of his face.