Vegan Baked Alaska (Auntie Clem's Bakery Book 9)

by P. D. Workman

  She nodded. Terry went over to the mini fridge. K9 sniffed Erin and then followed closely behind Terry.

  Terry got ice out of the fridge for Erin and crushed it up the best he could in a cup. He went back over to her and sat on the edge of the bed. He had to rouse her again, and fed a couple of tiny chips of ice between her lips. This seemed to wake her up a bit more. She sucked on them and licked her lips, opening her eyes to look for more.

  “Does that feel good? The doctors said you need to get down whatever fluids you can. He’s going to put you on an IV, and he’s going to give you some medicine to take away the nausea.”

  Erin gave a tiny nod. “Yeah. That would be good.”

  “I’m sorry you’re feeling so awful. You’ll feel a lot better once he helps you out.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She didn’t seem to have anything else to say. Terry fed her another ice chip. “Hmm, I wonder if these are vegan ice chips.”

  Frown lines appeared between Erin’s eyebrows. “What?”

  “I was just saying—”

  “Ice is vegan.”

  “I know. I was just joking around.”

  “Oh.” She blinked at him. “Okay.”

  Terry held her hand. Her eyes were drifting back and forth like she was reading very slowly. Her face was pale, and her skin was clammy. He wished that the doctor would hurry up and get back with his equipment. Couldn’t he have sent someone else to get it, instead of leaving Erin alone with Terry? What if she took a sudden turn for the worse? If she was so gravely ill with dehydration that she could have died if left unattended for a few more hours, then she was in pretty serious condition, and Terry didn’t think Dr. O’Donoghue should have left her alone without medical attention.

  “K9 took care of me,” Erin whispered.

  Terry gave her hand a squeeze and looked over at his partner. “He’s a good dog. He’s very comforting when someone is sick or hurt.”

  “Special dog.”

  “Yes. He is. He’s quite worried about you, you know.”

  “Oh?” Erin’s eyes drifted over toward K9 to have a look at him. He wasn’t, at the moment, looking all that concerned about Erin’s condition. He probably knew that Terry was taking care of her and she would be okay.

  “He wants you to have something else to drink.”

  Erin sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment. Terry shook her arm to keep her from drifting off to sleep. “Hey. Stay awake. What can I get you to drink? You want more ice?”

  Erin nodded. He put another chip in her mouth.

  “You don’t think you could have a little sip of ginger ale? The ginger is supposed to be very good for nausea and motion sickness.”

  “Maybe… just a tiny, tiny sip.”

  “Attagirl.”

  Terry went back to the mini fridge to fix her a cup of ginger ale and put a straw in it. He returned to Erin’s side.

  “Here you go.” He held the straw to her lips, and Erin took a little sip. He had hoped that once she tasted it, she would be more inclined to take a longer drink, but she turned her head away from the straw.

  “That’s enough.”

  “You hardly had any.”

  “I know.”

  Some time passed in silence. “What are you looking forward to the most?” Terry asked, hoping to keep her engaged and to fill the silence while they were waiting.

  “Penguins.”

  “Penguins?”

  “Well, puffins. They’re fat little black and white birds. Some of them have a crest on their heads. They look sort of like little penguins. They are really cute.”

  “And they have them in Alaska?”

  “Lots of them. There were pictures in the brochures. Didn’t you see them?”

  “I might have. I was looking more at the mountains and glaciers, I think. It’s so… big out there. We haven’t ever seen anything like that before. I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “Yeah… if I can get better.”

  “You will. You’re not going to be miserable the whole trip, I promise. You’ll be up on your feet in no time, and you can see hundreds of puffins. And eagles. And lots of… trees and glaciers and rivers…” He tried to remember what else he had seen pictured in the brochure. “And, uh… icebergs and whales. Lots of whales too,” he promised.

  “Killer whales?”

  “Uh… I don’t know. Will we see killer whales?”

  “I don’t know. It would be nice to see some other kind of killer, for once.”

  Terry chuckled. Erin had seen far more than her share of killers in the short time she had lived in Bald Eagle Falls. It wasn’t her fault, he knew, but she did seem to stir things up and ask all the wrong questions of all the wrong people.

  Things hadn’t been the same since Mr. Oglethorpe. If he were to tell the truth, she had started showing signs of trouble before that. More than the usual concern when something was wrong. More obsessive list keeping. He wasn’t sure when the nightmares had started, since they had only recently begun to sleep together, but he was sure that they hadn’t just started with the advent of Mr. Oglethorpe’s demise.

  “Yes, it will be nice to see something like that,” he agreed. “So much nicer than catching a human killer.”

  Chapter Seven

  E

  rin could hear Vic outside her stateroom, talking quietly to Terry. Erin didn’t really want to wake up. The medication that the doctor had given her had finally suppressed the urge to throw up whenever she moved, but she still felt unsteady and sleepy. Terry had promised to stay with her until she fell asleep again, then he would go and see what he could scavenge from the vegan buffets.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Vic asked.

  “She’ll be fine. The doctor said that once her fluids are up again, she’ll be feeling a lot better. At least now she’s not throwing up anymore. She’ll want to sleep a lot, but she’ll be okay to rejoin the land of the living within a day or so.”

  “Poor Erin! Who knew she would have seasickness! I can’t even feel the waves, can you?”

  “All I can feel is the engines. As far as I’m concerned, we’re on our own little island. But Erin always was more sensitive about some things.”

  “That’s true,” Vic acknowledged. “Can I come in and say hello to her? Is it okay?”

  “Let me check with her.”

  She heard Terry’s soft footsteps over the carpet, and then he was beside her, touching her tentatively. “I know you probably don’t want to see anyone because you’re sick, but Vic wanted to say goodnight. Do you want her to come in?”

  Erin nodded. “It’s just Vic, it’s okay.”

  “Okay.” Terry raised his voice above the whisper he had been using. “Come on in, Vic.”

  Vic opened the door the rest of the way and slipped into the room. She moved in beside Erin when Terry moved back. She sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Erin’s hair back.

  “I’m so sorry you’re feeling sick, honey.”

  “I’ll be okay. Better now.”

  “Good. Maybe when you wake up in the morning, you’ll be feeling ready to rejoin the tour. I don’t want you to miss the totem poles in Ketchikan.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I don’t want you worrying about anything tonight. Just rest and get your strength back. We love you. Willie sends his love too.”

  “You too.”

  “Okay.” Vic patted Erin on the shoulder and withdrew. “Sweet dreams.”

  Erin made a noise of acknowledgment and closed her eyes to try to find sleep again.

  Terry had feasted on bean chili with some kind of vegan cheese sprinkled over top that he didn’t really want to know the source of. It didn’t melt quite right, but had been tasty, and the chili had been hearty and spicy, just the way he liked it. He had his concerns about eating vegan for the whole tour, but suspected that they’d still have more opportunities to order non-vegan food at restaurants or tourist stops. They’d survive it s
omehow, and if he happened to lose a little weight on the trip, it wouldn’t exactly be the end of the world. He wasn’t overweight by any measurement, but he wasn’t underweight, either. He could lose a few pounds without missing it. And it would give him an excuse to eat just a few more of Erin’s cookies when they got back to Bald Eagle Falls. They were only a few days into their trip, and he already found himself missing her mouthwatering breads and desserts.

  K9 walked at Terry’s side, heeling close as he always did. He attracted a lot of attention on the tour, which wasn’t used to having animals along, and all of the women and a lot of the men couldn’t resist stopping to talk to him and to pat him and tell him what a good dog he was. K9 was a good dog, but it was funny how many people went out of their way to tell him so.

  K9 looked up at Terry and whined.

  “What is it?”

  K9 edged away from Terry’s side, looking back at him in what Terry immediately recognized as ‘follow me’ body language. They were close partners, and Terry understood many of the dog’s movements and expressions instinctively. He raised his brows at the dog.

  “We’re not on duty, you know.”

  K9 hadn’t moved very far away from him. Just an inch or two farther than he would normally walk. He looked at Terry again, encouraging him to follow.

  “Okay,” Terry gave in. “What is it?”

  He followed K9. The dog moved faster once he knew that Terry was with him, off into a corridor Terry didn’t recognize, then out to the observation deck. Terry saw a woman walking along the rail, staring out into the sea. He didn’t think anything of it at first. There would be a lot of people coming and going and looking out over the ocean over the next couple of weeks. The woman was short and slight, like Erin, with dark hair, in a similar cut to Erin’s, though it was styled in a messy, casual, just-got-out-of bed do.

  Terry’s heart gave a painful throb when he realized that it actually was Erin. He didn’t need K9 to guide him the rest of the way to his girlfriend’s side.

  “Erin? I didn’t expect to see you up. How are you doing?”

  She didn’t look at him.

  “Erin?” Terry put his hand gently on her shoulder, not wanting to startle her. “Erin, are you okay?”

  She continued to stare out over the water. Terry tried to see her facial expression better. She didn’t smile at him, but had a sort of vague, blank expression.

  “Erin, are you okay?”

  She still didn’t respond to her.

  “You’re sleepwalking,” Terry discerned. The medication or the unfamiliar surroundings must have stirred things up and she had started to wander. He shuddered to think of what could have happened to her as she wandered the decks alone, and stood by the railing looking out into the sea. What if she’d ended up in the water? It could be hours before they figured out that she’d gone overboard and then it would have been too late to do anything about it.

  Terry caught Erin by the arm and pulled her gently away from the railing. “No puffins today. Let’s go back to bed, and maybe when you get up in the morning you can look at the water.”

  She allowed herself to be led. Terry took her back to their stateroom, his heart pounding harder whenever he thought of how close she had come to disaster. Wasn’t there any kind of security on the ship to prevent people from wandering like that? Surely there were other people who had been sick, sleepwalking, or drunk wandering the decks. There should be some kind of patrol to make sure that no one ended up in the drink.

  He was relieved when he got Erin back to the bed. He settled her in. She didn’t seem to be aware that she had been anywhere else or that he was there with her. She just murmured something about missing a deadline and closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

  Even after Terry tucked Erin in for the night, she was still restless and he stayed just on the edge of sleep, alert to her every movement. He didn’t want to sleep soundly while she got up again to wander around unsupervised.

  Erin’s movements got increasingly erratic and Terry knew she was dreaming.

  “Shh, it’s okay, Erin.” He patted her shoulder, trying to soothe her. “Everything is okay.”

  “No…”

  “You’re safe. It’s just a dream.”

  She pushed his hand away. She moved her head back and forth, starting to cry out in her sleep. Terry prodded her.

  “Wake up, sweetie. It’s just a dream. Wake up, you’re dreaming.”

  It took some firm shaking before Erin finally emerged from the dream. More than he usually had to do. Terry assumed that was because of the medication the doctor had given her.

  “Terry?”

  “It’s okay. It was just a dream. Do you want to tell me about it?”

  Though she had been pushing him away, she cuddled close to him.

  “Oh. I dreamed…”

  He waited, but she just snuggled in closer, not finishing her sentence. In a minute, her breathing started to draw out again, and he thought she was back asleep already. Usually she didn’t go back to sleep so quickly after her nightmares. She was obviously being affected by the medication, dehydration, or being in an unfamiliar setting.

  Just as he was falling asleep, she started to moan and cry again.

  Chapter Eight

  E

  rin was on her feet the next day, though she was still a bit wobbly. Her face, when she looked at it in the mirror in her bathroom, was as pale as she’d ever seen it. Terry assured her she was looking better, which made her wonder just how bad she had looked the day before.

  Even though she still wasn’t feeling quite up to snuff, she didn’t want to disappoint Vic by not going along on the tour and she didn’t want Terry to have to stay behind to look after her. Truth be told, she wanted solid ground under her, if only for a few hours.

  She oohed and aahed and took lots of pictures of the totem poles, but secretly, she was still too ill to follow much of what the tour guide was saying, and she found the stylized images and faces of the totem poles ghoulish. Nightmares were something that she really didn’t need any more of. She tried to just enjoy her time being with her friends and walking on solid ground again.

  “It’s so cold!” Vic complained, wrapping her arms around herself. “Don’t they know it’s still supposed to be fall? Not winter?”

  “The weather’s a lot colder in the north,” Erin observed.

  “Sheesh. Why would anyone ever live here? I can’t imagine being this cold all the time.”

  “You’d get used to it,” Erin said. “This is probably still pretty mild weather for the locals. You’ve got thin blood, living your whole life in Tennessee.”

  “I wouldn’t want to get used to it. I’d rather just go somewhere warmer.”

  “What are you going to do when we go for a tour of the glacier?”

  Vic made a worried little moan. Willie pulled her close against himself. “We’ll just have to buy her some warmer clothes. Can’t have my girlfriend getting cold feet.”

  Vic and Erin laughed. Vic looked at her watch. “How much longer before we can go back to the boat?”

  Erin sat at the table with the others for supper, though she wasn’t sure she would be able to eat anything. Vic was starting to come around to the concept of only eating plant foods on their cruise, finding versions of most of her favorite foods available, though Willie and Terry didn’t seem to have fully bought into the idea yet. Vic was showing the menu to Erin and offering suggestions to the men at the same time.

  “See, they’ve got burgers and everything. You can get all different kinds. I tried one yesterday, and you couldn’t really tell it was any different than a regular beef burger. It was just like any burger you’d get at any restaurant.”

  “I don’t think I’m up for burgers,” Erin said, queasy.

  “If you don’t like the ones that are like beef burgers, they’ve got portabella mushroom caps. They’re grilled, and that’s sort of a cool idea. A little bit lighter if you don’t feel like something that hea
vy.”

  “If I wanted to eat a mushroom burger, I’d put mushrooms on top of my beef,” Willie said. “That’s the way I’ve always had mushroom burgers. Some nice sautéed mushrooms and onions, that’s the way to go. Put it on top of a Quarter Pounder, and you’ve got a real meal. Just mushroom… You’re missing the whole point.”

  “I was saying for Erin. I know you’re not going to pick the mushroom burger. Why don’t you have the chili? Terry had it yesterday, and you really liked it, didn’t you?”

  Terry nodded. “It was good. I’d skip the cheese, though. It’s just… too fake.”

  Willie nodded, considering his menu. “That’s a possibility.”

  “What do you want, Erin?” Vic persisted. “You want something lighter, like soup or salad?”

  “I don’t know.”

  One of the other tourists beside them at the long banquet table leaned toward Erin, observing her distaste with the menu. “If you want something else, you can ask if the chef will prepare it for you,” he offered. “They have all different vegan diets if you don’t like one that is so full of processed foods and substitutes. There are cleaner options, if you’re looking for something specific.”

  “Vegan diets?” Vic asked. “Isn’t there just one vegan diet? Eliminating all animal products isn’t strict enough?”

  The man shook his head. He leaned even closer to Erin, making her uncomfortable. He was a solitary traveler, and she could understand that he might want to interact with the other tourists at dinner instead of just eating by himself, but it made her nervous when he got inside her space. She was already uncomfortable enough physically with her motion sickness, she didn’t need another irritant. She shuffled her chair another inch away from him. He was a tall, spare man, with eyes that bulged and hair that was thinning quite a bit on top.

  “There are a lot of different kinds of vegan diets. You can have diets that are basically just a version of the SAD diet, with all kinds of processed foods, oils, sugar, all that stuff—”