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late fall. They would have had to close up if not for Carl. He could do just about anything.”
    “Yes, Carl’s accomplished all right.” His eyebrows lifted, and he puffed through narrowed lips. “He once told me how to tell the difference between seven different kinds of hammers. Hammers, who knew?”
    She nodded. “He had some great stories from college, too. You were part of an odd threesome, right? He was the blue-collar, school and work for twenty-four-seven guy. There was the partial trust fund guy and one was mister mega-bucks…”
    Duncan lifted his cup in salute, “That, would be me.”
    “Which one of you had dozens of car wrecks? Dozens. Now, that was an amazing story.”
    Duncan’s eyes widened in mock innocence. “But, I only totaled three of those cars. The rest were just a nuisance for the family lawyer.”
    “Euuw, Mr. GQ is a poor little rich bad-boy.”
    “Fast cars were my drug of choice.” Duncan closed his eyes briefly. “I OD’d on the last one and spent three months in traction.”
    “You’ve changed your image—I hope.” After this morning she anticipated a changed man from the boy he described.
    “Yeah, didn’t have much choice, really.” Duncan drank from the cup. “The wreck got my attention. I had some growing up to do. During a year’s worth of physical therapy, John and Carl kept me grounded while I got my act together. They were the brothers my parents never gave me. They wouldn’t let me get away with anything.”
    Hanna chuckled. “I know Carl. That leaves, John, right? The white-collar dude with a trust fund that covered the basics.” Hanna had been gazing across the lake as pink-tipped clouds scuttled south. “You and Carl changed life directions. Is John in on this deal, too?”
    A shallow breath accompanied the tense, sharp jerk of his head. The answer took overly long to come, flat and toneless. “He decided to kill himself four weeks ago. He pissed a lot of people off.”
    Hanna’s attention flicked from the lake to his face. “I’m sorry.” His pain was obviously new and still raw. It took the blood from his face.
    “You couldn’t have known.” Duncan gave a small shake of his head, almost a tremor. “None of us understand why so we just have to move on. Your turn.” Duncan took a deep breath and glanced sideways at her. “What’s your story?”
    Hanna loved saying what she did. “I’m a freight rat. I fly C-130’s for Arctic Cargo. I started working for Charlie when I was seventeen. I needed money for college. He taught me to fly.”
    “Married?” Duncan asked.
    Hanna tilted her head. “No.” She hoped her abrupt answer didn’t sound rude. Six years, she happily hadn’t thought about her ex-husband in a long time. “I did a stint in the Air Force, when I got out I got a divorce and came back to Alaska.” Hanna wondered if Duncan considered arrogance and egotism good personality traits. She also wondered if his big hands had ever bloodied a woman’s lip.
    “I fly for Charlie on my time off so I can use his plane to get back and forth to my cabin when I need to recharge my batteries. If this is a good year, I’ll have enough money to get my own plane.”
    “You’re a regular around here then. Are you from Alaska?”
    She rearranged her feet. “Yes. Sort of. My mother was from Dillingham. My dad was from California. It wasn’t the most stable union. My grandparents raised me.” She’d been passed between grandmothers from the time she was born. One lived in Dillingham, Alaska and one lived in Sacramento, so once or twice a year she’d tolerated being uprooted and passed from one patting, hugging bosom to the other.
    Hanna grimaced. “Look, I might have been mean to you yesterday. I was surprised is all; I don’t like surprises. You’re probably going to change things.” A good night’s sleep had softened her resentment from the day before. She appreciated his thoughtfulness for Nell. And, the man got up early and made his