North Country Man

North Country Man
Carrie Alexander

Some call him hermit Others call him hero Noah Saari is a North Country ManA few years ago, Noah left the woods of Michigan, ready to make a difference in the world. After a tragic accident, he came back–blamed by some, pitied by others, misunderstood by all. Now the only thing he wants is to be left alone.Then one night, Claire Levander stumbles across his path. Claire's not made for the backwoods–she's a businesswoman whose idea of the perfect vacation spot is a well-stocked resort. And although he doesn't know it, she has a plan that could change the lives of the few people in his hometown he still cares about. Even worse is the fact that she just might change his.

Alouette, Michigan. Located high on the Upper Peninsula.

Home to strong men, stalwart women and lots and lots of trees. If you come, bring your camera—you won’t believe the number of stars in our skies or the color of our sunsets.

And if you’re lucky, you might just meet a cute critter or two. But remember: The U.P. is not like anywhere else.

We even have our own language. Don’t worry, though.

It’s easy to learn. Here are a couple of pointers:

YOOPER: resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (aka the U.P.)

FOURTH OF JULY: Yooper summer.

HOLY WAH!: Yooper exclamation.

TROLL: resident of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula (below the Mackinac Bridge).

FINNISH TERMS:

MUMMU: grandmother

PIKKU: little (girl)

RIIESKA: half bread, half biscuit—all good

SISU: character, grit, spunk—Finnish-style

SAUNA: steam bath (aka Finnish religion)

VIHTA: switch made of birch branches

Dear Reader,

This book was a long time in coming. Ever since I began writing for Harlequin, I’ve intended to set a book in my hometown area, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But it had to be the right story, the right setting and the right characters….

Noah and Claire are it—big and bold and brave. And Bay House is it, so real to me on the cliff overlooking Lake Superior that I just might try to check in. As for the town of Alouette and the supporting cast—well, they’re completely fictional, but also entirely familiar. I hope you recognize a little bit of your own hometown in them.

Please look for my forthcoming Superromance stories about the people of Alouette. If you’d like to know more, visit my new Web site at www.carriealexander.com, where you can get the inside scoop and secret family recipes for lumberjack cookies and riieska.

Forever a Yooper,

Carrie Alexander

North Country Man

Carrie Alexander

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To the gang at the RFF:

For the laughs, the names, the trouble,

the chats (pass the peanuts), the witty banter, the randy Viking, the tales of the TBR.

For everything—even the thwacker!

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

“YEAH, I WANTED to get away from it all,” Claire Levander said to herself as the rental car bumpety-bumped along the ridges of the lonely two-lane country road. The blacktop had buckled like cardboard left out in the rain. “But I didn’t expect to be sent to the ends of the earth.”

Suddenly a pickup truck with a gun rack in its rear window roared by on the left. Her lungs seized as she jerked the steering wheel to the right, then fought to control her instinctive need to get away. The truck was too close.

Claire didn’t draw a proper breath until the vehicle had swung into the proper lane. The eggbeater rattle of its engine was shockingly loud with no other traffic around. She was accustomed to the efficient hum of the airport shuttles that were her normal mode of transportation to a new job.

Truthfully, it was the entire situation that had shaken her. Although she’d practically begged Drake for an easy assignment, she’d been thinking deluxe accommodations, not unrelenting rusticity. For her, country meant friendly folks, humble cottages, open farmland and a freeway to the city.