[Song of Alaska 02] - Morning's Refrain

by Tracie Peterson

  Phoebe felt sick inside. Her father planned to move the family to California. What would it mean for her? She looked at her mother and felt awash in guilt. Here I am worrying about what I will have to face, while poor Mother is enduring such a nightmare.

  “Mother, it may well be the only way. We will be fine. We have supplies once again for the candles, and we can support ourselves adequately for that short amount of time.”

  “I must go make arrangements. I might have to enlist the help of the navy to assist with my departure.” Her father squared his shoulders and looked at his wife. “I am sorry, Bethel. This was not the life I planned for you and the children.” He glanced at Phoebe and murmured, “I’m so sorry.”

  The house seemed horribly empty after he’d gone. Phoebe and her mother remained at the table, sitting in silence for some time. Phoebe longed to find Dalton and throw herself into his arms.

  She wanted his comfort and assurance that everything would be all right.

  “I want to talk to Dalton and explain what has happened,”

  Phoebe finally said.

  “What does it matter now? We are ruined, just the same.”

  “Dalton won’t care. His family is full of scandal and difficulties.

  He will not hold such a thing against Father or our family.”

  Her mother began to cry in earnest. “It’s so unfair. Your father is a good man. All he needed was a chance. I don’t blame Lyman— he has big aspirations. He might one day be president. Your father has known he would be a liability for Lyman, but we had hoped time and a reputation of doing good would resolve the matter. And now . . . now, even God has left us without hope or comfort.”

  “But, Mother, that is impossible. The Bible says otherwise. I memorized a verse while working with Zee and Mrs. Lindquist. It says in the book of John, ‘I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.’ Jesus was talking to His disciples about the fact that He would leave them and return to heaven. He promised they wouldn’t be left alone. Lydia—Mrs. Lindquist—says we can trust God to never leave us alone. He has promised, and His promises are unbreakable.”

  Mother looked at Phoebe with tearstained cheeks. “I can scarcely believe that. I’m not sure I have the strength to endure.”

  “You don’t have to rely on your own strength, Mother. Jesus will give you His, and He will see us through this.” Phoebe reached out and took hold of her mother’s hands. “You have only to trust Him for this.”

  For a moment, her mother said nothing; then she nodded. “I know you are right. I’m just so afraid of what this will mean for us.”

  “I have a confidence, Mother, that we will all be all right. I cannot say why, except that over these past weeks, I have learned so much about the character of God. He is faithful and worthy of our trust. He loves us, and that love is unconditional.” Phoebe squeezed her mother’s hands before releasing them.

  “I’m going to go see if Dalton will stop by here after he finishes his work. I think the sooner I explain matters—and what this might mean for our family—the better.”

  Chapter 20

  Phoebe didn’t have to go in search of Dalton, however. He came to her. Seeing the troubled look on his face, she quickly agreed to go for a ride when he announced that he’d driven the wagon.

  “I was hoping to see you. I had planned to walk down to the boat shop earlier, but time got away from me.”

  Dalton helped her into her coat. “I wouldn’t have been there anyway. That’s part of the reason I want to talk to you.”

  She looked at him oddly. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes and no. I’ll explain it on our way.”

  Her mother had taken herself to bed and Phoebe hadn’t seen her father since earlier that day, so there was no one to tell that she was leaving. Deciding to leave a short note of explanation, Phoebe positioned it in the kitchen near the stove. She had already prepared a stew for the evening meal, and no doubt her brothers would soon return to eat. Hopefully, they would see the note and let her parents know where she had gone.

  “I’m ready now,” Phoebe declared as she returned from the kitchen.

  Dalton led the way and helped her into the wagon. Phoebe lowered her face and smiled at the sensation of his touch. She wanted nothing more than to scoot very close to him as he joined her on the seat, but propriety would never allow for such a thing.

  “So why were you not at the shop today?” she asked.

  Dalton moved the horses down the road before answering. “I lost my job.”

  Phoebe looked at him in disbelief. “Why?”

  “Yuri. He’s upset because . . . well, he knows how I feel about you. I think there’s something else going on with him, but he won’t talk to me.”

  Phoebe felt an odd sensation sweep through her at Dalton’s declaration of having feelings for her. She wanted to hear more but knew it was best to wait for him to explain.

  “I had offered to buy into Mr. Belikov’s business,” Dalton continued. “I love building boats, and I knew he was giving thought to leaving Sitka. I thought maybe it would be a good thing. Yuri and I could go on working together as we always have.”

  “Yuri doesn’t plan to return to Russia with his family?” she asked.

  Dalton shook his head. “He has always said he would remain here.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Yuri is angry, though. He didn’t want to share the business with me. He didn’t even want me working there any longer, and his father felt he had no choice in the matter.”

  “What will you do?” Phoebe thought of her father also losing his position.

  “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” Dalton slowed the horses as they headed away from town. “I know Yuri mentioned that I have an inheritance. I had wanted to tell you about it myself, but it’s of no matter now. The reason I bring it up is that I plan to take some of that money and build my own business. I will continue to build boats on my own, and with any luck, maybe I’ll be able to hire someone who already has the necessary skills.”

  Dalton brought the wagon to a halt and set the brake. For several moments he was silent, and then to her further amazement, Dalton reached out to take hold of her hand.

  Phoebe trembled from head to toe. She glanced up into his face, unable to speak. Dalton watched her with such intensity that she found it impossible to look away.

  “I need to go to Vancouver or Seattle for the supplies I need. I didn’t want to leave without letting you know—I’ve always regretted how I left the last time.”

  “You . . . you certainly didn’t owe me an explanation.” She fought to keep her voice steady.

  “But I want you to have one,” he assured. “It’s important to me.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “Phoebe, I want you to wait for me.”

  Her eyes widened. “Wait for you?”

  “Yes. I don’t want you to court Yuri or anyone else while I’m gone. Would you do that for me?”

  She nodded, knowing full well she had no intention of courting anyone else. “But you have to know something first,” she said. Licking her bottom lip, Phoebe tried to think how best to phrase her confession.

  “My family . . . my father . . .” She sighed. “I hinted at this the other day when you explained your past. There is a scandal in our family, as well. You might not want to get to know me better if you know the truth about it.”

  “You can’t believe that would be true.”

  Phoebe offered a weak smile. “I don’t . . . not really. But something has happened and everyone will soon know about it. My father lost his position with Governor Knapp. Actually, he resigned.”

  “But why?” Dalton tightened his hold on her hand. “What happened?”

  Phoebe explained how her grandfather had once owned a bank and how her father had been the vice-president. “My grandfather swindled people and businesses, stealing thousands of dollars. It was a huge scandal, and Grandfather was found guilty and sent to prison. But the money was never recovered. My father w
as spared going to jail, since there was no evidence against him. Still, people believed him guilty by association, and it ruined his reputation.

  Especially when word got out about how the money was never accounted for. Many believed my father had it hidden somewhere.

  When Mr. Knapp suggested my father move away and work for him in Montpelier, it was an answer to my mother’s prayers.”

  “So why did he resign?”

  “Someone on the governor’s staff knew about my father’s past. He was caught embezzling by my father and threatened to make a very public affair of all he knew if my father didn’t simply look the other way. Father refused. He went to the governor, explained the details of what he knew, and then resigned. Governor Knapp didn’t want him to go, but Father felt he’d imposed enough on his friend. The governor would one day like to be president of the United States, and he doesn’t need scandal in his background.”

  “Your father proved himself to be an admirable friend,” Dalton told her.

  “I know. But now he plans to leave. He’s going to California to seek employment and to bury the past, once and for all.”

  “He’ll most likely head out on the same ship I’ll be on,” Dalton said. “Maybe we can talk on the way down.”

  “That would be good,” she said, considering her family’s plight. “I’m sure he’ll need a friend.”

  For several minutes, they said nothing. Finally Dalton reached over and touched her cheek. Turning her face gently, he asked, “So you will wait for me?”

  She wondered what the question really meant. Was he asking her to marry him? Was he offering her a commitment of any type? It didn’t matter. She knew her answer. She loved him. She would wait.

  October 1889

  October brought a damp cold to Sitka. The usually temperate air took on a bite that left everyone complaining. Evie’s complaint, however, had nothing to do with the weather. She was tired of waiting for Joshua to declare his feelings for her.

  Dressing carefully, she determined that if he would not speak up, she would. She was tired of waiting for love. Tired of being alone. If nothing else had proven itself to her on the trip south, it was that she was no longer willing to waste her life being alone.

  “Are you ready to go?” Zee asked when Evie appeared in the living room.

  “I am. Thank you so much for the ride into town.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Zee told her. “I was going anyway. I hope you don’t mind we’re taking the smaller wagon. Kjell took the big one and the draft horses. They were hauling wood today.”

  “The small one is fine. Sitting all stuffed together on the bench will keep us warm.”

  Lydia took one look at Evie and nodded. “He won’t be able to resist you.”

  Evie laughed. “I’ve been home almost three weeks, and he’s had no trouble keeping his distance.”

  “Men are like that sometimes,” Lydia agreed. “Maybe he just needs your encouragement.”

  “Well, he’ll not want for that,” Evie replied.

  Her resolve was a little less emboldened by the time Zee dropped her off at the sawmill. She had worked up a little speech in her mind, but now the words fled. Squaring her shoulders, she walked into the open workroom and glanced around. It appeared to be deserted. Maybe Joshua and his men were off working to help Kjell. She hadn’t considered that possibility when Zee apologized about the small wagon.

  “Hello?” she called. “Is anyone here?”

  The door to the office opened and Joshua Broadstreet looked out. His brown hair was rather disheveled and the look on his face was one of pure surprise. Upon further inspection, Evie could see he had black smudges on his face, as well.

  She smiled. “I see I have caught you hard at work.”

  “I was wrestling with the flue on the stove. It isn’t venting as well as it should.” He opened the door fully and stepped back.

  “Would you like to come in?”

  Evie nodded and walked past him into the chilly office. Things suddenly seemed very strained. She didn’t know what to say, and Joshua looked uncomfortable.

  “Please sit,” he offered. “I’m sorry it’s so cold in here.”

  “It isn’t all that bad,” she said, taking a seat. Folding her gloved hands together, Evie tried to calm her racing heart.

  “I was . . . well . . . I wanted to offer my condolences regarding your husband’s death.”

  “Thank you,” she said, frowning. The conversation wasn’t exactly taking the turn she had hoped. “It’s kind of you to say,” she continued, “but you know there was no love between us.”

  “Yes. I suppose I do,” he murmured.

  Evie couldn’t let things go on this way. She got to her feet and faced Joshua. “And there shouldn’t be any games between us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He held her gaze, his brown eyes boring into her soul. Evie took a step toward him. “I want to know . . . I need to know . . .” Her breathing quickened and her chest felt tight. This is it, she thought—the moment she would know if her assumptions regarding his love for her were correct.

  “I want to know what your intentions toward me are . . . now that I’m free.”

  She didn’t even see him move, but without warning, he was there holding her, caressing her face. Evie let him tighten the embrace, not minding at all that he was nearly forcing the air from her lungs.

  “Evie. Oh, Evie,” he whispered against her ear. “I’ve waited so long. Loved you so long.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  He pulled back and seemed to search her eyes for something. “Marry me?”

  She smiled. “Of course. Why do you think I’m here?”

  Joshua crushed her lips with his own. He kissed her with all of the pent-up longing they both felt. They clung to each other urgently, desperately. They had cared for each other but had respected the boundaries that kept them apart for all these years. Neither had ever crossed the line into impropriety. Now, Evie sighed and wrapped her arms around Joshua’s neck, not caring if someone should walk in on them.

  “I love you,” she whispered as he trailed kisses along her jaw.

  “And I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes on you.”

  Evie sighed as Joshua buried his face in her hair and did nothing but hold her for a long, long while. Evie didn’t need words in that moment—she only needed his touch, his presence. She placed her head on his shoulder. This was what she had waited for all of her life.

  The plan had been to marry as soon as possible, but Evie knew that even the best laid plans could be overruled by sickness. When the Lindquist girls, as well as Lydia, fell ill, along with a good number of other Sitkans, the wedding arrangements had to be delayed.

  Zee had sent Evie to town to get several things while she remained home to nurse the family. As soon as Evie could return, Zee would go to the village to see about helping there. It appeared they were facing an epidemic of scarlet fever. If not treated, it would leave many weakened for life, if not dead.

  A general quarantine was in effect, but it was difficult to manage the sales of much-needed items without some exposure. Evie had lived through scarlet fever as a child of three, and it was believed that once it had been survived, a body was forever immune. Quite a few people in town understood this, while others were all but boarded away in their homes, terrified of what exposure might bring.

  Arnie, at the general store, had arranged a means of dealing with his customers. Those with sickness were to come to the back, where they would transfer a note with the needed items listed. He would fill the order and put the items in a box outside the door. They would then take the items and place them into their own bags or box.

  Waiting her turn and doing exactly as ordered, Evie was glad to be done with the chore and headed for home nearly an hour later.

  The lines and frustrations of people dealing with this new manner of shopping had led to some ugly encounters. If things didn’t calm soon, there would, no d
oubt, be fights.

  “Evie, how are you?”

  She turned to see Phoebe Robbins. “Keep your distance. We have the fever at home.”

  “We’ve all had it,” Phoebe assured her. “Are the girls sick?”

  “The girls, as well as Lydia. Poor Kjell was beside himself when Lydia took ill.”

  “And Zee?” Phoebe asked.

  “She is there for now, but when I get home she plans to go to the Tlingits and see what can be done there.”

  “Could I come and help you?”

  Evie considered this for a moment. With the girls sick, as well as Lydia, it would be nice to have some extra help. “Are you certain your mother can spare you?”

  “Of course. I will go speak with her and pack a few things. I will come and stay, if that’s acceptable to you. I don’t know much about tending the sick, but I’m sure that I can help, even if it’s to cook or clean up.”

  “Zee can teach you what you need to know. Why don’t you climb into the wagon? I’ll drive you home and we’ll get your things.”

  Phoebe nodded. “Hopefully this will pass quickly and not result in too many deaths.”

  “I pray so. I can’t imagine losing Lydia or either of the girls. I’m only glad that Dalton isn’t here, as well.”

  “Me too,” Phoebe barely whispered. “I pray he stays well.”

  Chapter 21

  Dalton approached Phoebe’s father at the stern of the ship, hoping for a chance to spend some time talking before their ship docked in Seattle. Mr. Robbins had kept to himself throughout most of the trip, and this was actually Dalton’s first opportunity to speak with him.

  “Mr. Robbins?”

  The man turned from the railing, where he’d been staring out to sea. His face contorted, and he looked quite distressed. “Yes.”

  “I know we’ve only met briefly.” Dalton extended his hand. “I’m Dalton Lindquist.”

  Robbins nodded rather nervously and finally took hold of Dalton’s hand. “Yes. You’re the young man my Phoebe has spoken of.”