[Alaskan Quest 02] - Under the Northern Lights

by Tracie Peterson

  ‘‘So where does this stuff go?’’ he asked.

  She hadn’t realized he’d followed her out, but it made sense. He wanted to keep track of her—to keep an eye on her so that she couldn’t cause him any harm. ‘‘It goes into the room on the left.’’

  He easily hoisted one of the heavier crates. It drove home the point to Leah that this was no city-born dandy. Chase was strong and well muscled, or he’d never have been able to handle that box. There had to be at least one hundred pounds of supplies in that crate, and yet he acted as though it weighed no more than a pair of mukluks.

  She followed after him, carrying a smaller pack of goods. She tried to pray but found the words were jumbled and made no sense. Surely God would understand the situation and know her heart. Leah feared for her brother and Jayce. She longed to see them again—to know they were safe.

  While Chase went back for the last of the goods, Leah began to put things away. How had Chase managed to capture Jacob and Jayce? No doubt he had used Helaina as bait. Leah suddenly felt very angry with the younger woman. She’d been nothing but trouble from the moment they’d met. If not for her, things would be different. If not for Helaina, we would never have had to endure the trip to Seattle and the fear of Jayce hanging for offenses committed by his twin. Leah seethed. The rise of her anger fueled her body as she tore into the crate. None of this had been their fault. Everything could be squarely placed on Helaina Beecham’s shoulders.

  ‘‘This the last of it?’’ Chase asked as he put a small wooden box on the counter.

  ‘‘Yes.’’ Leah hoped her clipped tone would indicate her unwillingness to discuss anything further.

  ‘‘We need to establish how things are going to be. Especially since we don’t want to give anyone here the wrong impression,’’ Chase stated. He leaned against the counter and watched Leah. It gave her an uncomfortable feeling, almost as if he could see through her layers of clothing—even past her flesh and bones to her very soul. It was like he could read her every thought.

  ‘‘You need to act as though nothing is wrong when we go to eat with your friends.’’

  ‘‘I’ll fix us something here. I don’t want you around my friends.’’

  ‘‘That will never do. If you reject their hospitality, they will assume something is wrong. We can’t have that, now, can we?’’

  Leah stopped putting cans of milk on the shelf and looked at Chase. ‘‘I’m not going to give you away.’’ At least not yet.

  ‘‘Good. I’m glad to hear you say that. I’d really hate to have to hurt you—or them. But I can hardly sacrifice my life because of sentiment. I haven’t survived this long by letting my heart run the show.’’

  ‘‘I seriously doubt you have a heart, Mr. Kincaid,’’ Leah said, returning to work.

  ‘‘Ah, but there you are wrong, my dear sister-in-law.’’ He came up behind her and took hold of her shoulders. She froze in place. ‘‘I have a heart, and I can be quite considerate—when extended the same respect.’’ He forced her to turn toward him, then reached out to lift her chin so that she would look him in the face. He stroked her cheek and seemed to study her reaction.

  Leah steeled herself against his touch. She wouldn’t tremble and give him the pleasure of seeing her fear. ‘‘I won’t play your games, Mr. Kincaid. I will give you as much respect—as you put it—as I can, but I won’t dishonor my husband or my God.’’

  Chase laughed and let her go. ‘‘So now God is your sole possession? I thought He was available for everyone.’’

  Leah nodded very slowly. ‘‘He is. But since I’m the only one in this room who hasn’t rejected Him, I figured it suited the situation well to claim Him as my own. You are more than welcome to surprise me and prove me wrong.’’

  He walked away, chuckling. ‘‘I would never attempt to prove you wrong on this point, Mrs. Kincaid. I hardly have need for God, much less one that you claim possession of so fervently.’’

  Leah watched him walk away, and for the first time since learning about Chase Kincaid and the things he’d done, she felt sorry for him. It was little wonder he did the things he did. He had no use for living a righteous life. He had made his bed in hell, and it seemed to suit him just fine.

  Chapter Two

  Jacob held up the pot of coffee. ‘‘Want some more?’’

  Jayce looked inside his mug at the settlement of grounds and shook his head. ‘‘Nah. I think I’ve had enough.’’

  They’d taken shelter from the strengthening wind and had decided to make camp among some dwarf birch and shrub willows. Snow had fallen off and on for the last two hours, but it was the bone-chilling wind that had the dogs sleeping with their noses buried between their hind legs. Jayce was glad for the warmth of their tent. The camp stove helped considerably, as would the furs and wool blankets they’d brought from Nome.

  ‘‘The dogs aren’t going to last long,’’ Jacob said matter-of-factly. ‘‘I’ve been checking them over. They weren’t in the best shape to start with, but they were all we could get on short notice. I figure, however, we’re not that far from Last Chance. It might be wise to head that way and put together a couple of good teams.’’

  ‘‘But what about the trail? We’ll lose it altogether if we leave.’’ Jacob put the pot back on the stove. ‘‘This wind and snow is burying the last of it, anyway. I seriously doubt we’d be able to pick up on it in the morning. If we get fresh dogs and better provisions, we might be able to hit the trail again and find someone who’s actually seen Chase.’’

  Jayce considered this idea for a moment. ‘‘What about Helaina?’’

  ‘‘Look, I don’t like it any better than you, but I’m telling you, these dogs aren’t going to last long. If we spend any more time attempting to run Chase down, I think it will kill half of these beasts.’’

  ‘‘How far do you figure us to be from Last Chance?’’

  ‘‘Probably two, maybe three, days.’’

  ‘‘And the dogs will hold out that long?’’

  Jacob shrugged. ‘‘Most will. I think there’s one that might not. We can always put him in the basket.’’

  Jayce nodded. ‘‘I guess it makes sense. We’d also get to see that Leah made it home safely. I hated sending her back on her own.’’

  ‘‘I’m sure John got word to come for her. There were a good number of people heading north to Teller, and I’m sure they would have rested at Last Chance. Some have family there, and you know they wouldn’t have missed a chance to share some time together.’’

  ‘‘Sure. It’ll put my mind at ease, nevertheless, to see that she made it home without any trouble.’’

  Jacob smiled. ‘‘Me too. I can’t imagine life without her. Of course, now that she’s your wife, I guess I’ll have to.’’

  ‘‘I never had the kind of relationship with my siblings that you two share. I was born into a brood of vipers. They were all about what they could get for themselves. My father used to say that if his casket had gold plating, my brothers and sister would pry it off before putting him in the ground. I suppose I’m the odd man out in the family. Although I’m hardly a saint, as your sister will attest. I had my selfish ambitions as well.’’ Jayce looked out into the darkness. ‘‘It’s just that I seemed to realize, as I grew up, that selfish ambitions were hardly the way to live amicably with family or friends. Of course, I came to Alaska because I had no desire to live with my family—amicably or otherwise.’’

  ‘‘Were you and Chase never close? I thought twins were always . . . well . . . like one soul or something.’’ Jacob almost seemed embarrassed to have asked such a question.

  ‘‘Chase was ambitious from the start. Mother used to tease that the only reason I’d been born first was because I was bigger and had blocked Chase’s way.’’ Jayce smiled at the memory. ‘‘I told you, didn’t I, that we were born on different days in different years?’’ Jacob nodded and Jayce continued as if he needed to explain. ‘‘I was born at the close of the calenda
r year at three minutes till midnight in 1882. Chase was born four minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day. He had to be cut out. He was all wrapped up in the umbilical cord, and he and our mother nearly died. Somehow, Chase has had to do things the hard way ever since.’’

  ‘‘Some folks are like that,’’ Jacob admitted. ‘‘I know I’ve had my hardheaded moments. Still, it’s difficult to imagine two such different brothers.’’

  ‘‘Like I said, my other brother and my sister are no different. Eloise always acted like she had somehow been robbed in being born a woman instead of a man. She was the firstborn, treated like a pampered pet. I remember she actually talked of going to college to simply irritate and offend our mother. I knew nothing would ever come of it, however. Eloise was lazy and concerned only with finding a wealthy husband who could spoil her as father had done.’’

  ‘‘What about your other brother?’’

  ‘‘Clyde? Well, he’s really just a more subdued version of Eloise. He demands his own way, but he’s more subtle in controlling situations.’’ Jayce shifted, as if the ground had suddenly become unbearably hard. ‘‘I don’t suppose it really helps matters now to speak ill of any of them. It’s enough to say we weren’t close. I envy you the relationship you’ve had with Leah.’’

  Jacob smiled. ‘‘Leah is loyal to a fault. She will never bear you a grudge or desert you. You’ve got a good woman in her. I will miss her, but I couldn’t be happier for her to have found true love in you.’’

  Jayce only missed Leah more at Jacob’s warm description. ‘‘I wish I hadn’t wasted so many years.’’ His words were laced with regret.

  ‘‘You can’t go around bemoaning the past,’’ Jacob said sternly. ‘‘It won’t serve any good purpose. God had a plan in all of it.’’

  ‘‘I suppose He has a plan in all of this, too, but it’s sure hard to see it for myself.’’

  ‘‘I really admire you for your willingness to go after your own brother, Jayce. I know I’ve said it before, but I figure you deserve to hear it again.’’

  ‘‘Well, at least a dozen times a day I find myself wanting to turn around and head as far away as I can get from Chase.’’

  ‘‘You know, I can go on without you,’’ Jacob suggested. ‘‘After we get back to Last Chance, you could stay there with Leah and care for the dogs and store—maybe get in some good trapping. I can go on and find Helaina and Chase.’’

  Jayce considered the proposition for only a moment. It was tempting, but he knew he couldn’t leave Jacob to bear a burden that was clearly his responsibility. ‘‘No. I have to do this. I’m grateful for your help, but if you want to stay in Last Chance, I wouldn’t hold it against you.’’

  ‘‘No. I’m in this for the duration. This likely isn’t a surprise, but Helaina . . . well, I’ve come to care for her a great deal. I don’t know what her feelings are, but I feel I must try to save her from Chase.’’

  ‘‘I figured as much, even without Leah mentioning it,’’ Jayce said, smiling. ‘‘But Helaina’s not like us. I seriously doubt she’ll ever stay in Alaska. Are you prepared to go to the States for her?’’

  Jacob shook his head. ‘‘I don’t know how to live down there anymore. I can’t see myself doing that.’’

  ‘‘So what will you do?’’

  ‘‘I don’t know,’’ Jacob answered honestly. ‘‘I suppose I’ll let her go once we find her. I just pray she’s safe and that Chase hasn’t . . .’’ His words faded off, but Jayce understood the fears Jacob had. Chase had proven he had no regard for life; what would stop him from assaulting a woman’s virtue? Still, that had never been Chase’s style in the past. No one had yet accused him of such things.

  ‘‘I don’t think Chase would . . . hurt her.’’ He drew a deep breath, pondering his further response. ‘‘Everything Chase has done up until now has been against men. Helaina got in the way and made herself an easy target. I’d honestly be surprised if she’s even with him now. I figure Chase has probably set her free somewhere along the way. As soon as he felt safe and out of the reach of the law in Nome, I’m thinking he probably dropped Helaina off at the nearest village. He wouldn’t want to be bothered with her— she’d serve no useful purpose. He’d probably just consider her inconsequential.’’

  ‘‘Not if she ran her mouth,’’ Jacob said, frowning. ‘‘You know Helaina. She holds no fear of men like Chase. I think she actually gets her energy from encountering them. If she goes on telling him about her connection to the Pinkertons and how she’s there to catch him, Chase might get the idea that he can hold her for some kind of ransom. He might even believe the Pinkertons would trade him his freedom for Helaina.’’

  ‘‘I suppose it’s possible. I can’t be sure from one minute to the next what Chase will get a mind to do.’’ Jayce wondered what he could say that would offer his friend some measure of comfort.

  ‘‘We may have made a mistake in leaving those Pinkerton agents in Nome.’’ Jacob leaned out the tent opening and tossed the remains of his coffee. Cold air rushed in, causing Jacob to hurriedly close the flap. ‘‘There’s strength in numbers.’’ He secured the tent and crawled back to his pallet.

  ‘‘True, but they would have become a liability to us. They’re not cut out for an Alaskan winter. They weren’t even wearing decent boots. They would have slowed us down—or worse, died on us.’’

  ‘‘That’s probably true, but I can’t help feeling we would be better prepared to deal with your brother if we had more men.’’

  ‘‘There’s no way of telling what we need in order to deal with Chase,’’ Jayce admitted. ‘‘But I know we’ve made better time on our own. Those agents will be just as happy filling in for those deceased officers, and the police chief seemed real happy to get the help.’’

  ‘‘I suppose you’re right.’’

  Jayce laughed. ‘‘Of course I’m right. After all, this is the same argument you gave me back in Nome.’’

  ‘‘Thought it sounded familiar,’’ Jacob said with a smile. ‘‘Besides, I guess the objective is to stop Chase. I can’t keep second-guessing everything else or I’ll never be focused enough to get the job done.’’

  ‘‘Chase has a way of stealing a man’s attention. It’s like . . . well . . . sometimes I swear he can read my mind—even from a thousand miles away.’’

  ‘‘Hope not. That would give him too much advantage in this situation.’’

  Pulling up a thick wool blanket and heavy fur, Jayce settled in to go to sleep. ‘‘You know, I remember a time when Chase wasn’t so bad. He was about eight years old and he’d come down with the measles. He was pretty sick. I guess we all thought he might die. Chase was pretty scared, but he kept telling our mother that he didn’t want her to take care of him because he was scared she’d get sick and die too. Mother was undaunted by the threat, telling Chase that he was her child, and she would see him through this crisis as she had seen him through others. Chase told her that if he lived, he would be a better boy.’’

  ‘‘So what happened?’’ Jacob asked, nestling into his own pallet.

  ‘‘He was good for a time. Really seemed to have a changed heart. Up until his bout with the measles, he’d often lied and cheated at school, was even given to petty thievery and assaults to get what he wanted. My father was at his wits’ end trying to figure out what to do with him. I think Chase was close to being sent to a military academy.

  ‘‘For a few months after his recovery, Chase walked the straight and narrow. Then one day he just seemed to put it all aside. He grew angry and hateful, and none of us ever knew why. It just got worse after that. Father threatened him, Mother cajoled him, Mrs. Newfield, our cook, promised him her best goodies. Nothing worked. Chase just seemed to go bad.’’

  ‘‘Something must have happened to make him that way. Especially if he had been good for a time. He had to have seen that being good accomplished more than being bad,’’ Jacob countered.

  ‘‘But see, that’s the thing
,’’ Jayce said, shaking his head sadly. ‘‘I don’t think it did merit him more. I think people still treated him like the same old Chase. They expected the worst from him, and I think after a time, he just decided to meet their expectations.’’

  ‘‘I guess I can understand how that would happen. Expectations are hard to live up to—or live down, in this case. It’s always hard to imagine what causes a person to choose the wrong path. I know even for myself, some choices just seemed a little short of good—not really bad. You know what I mean?’’

  Jayce nodded. ‘‘I’ve been on some of those paths myself. I knew a decision wasn’t completely in keeping with what was right, but it wasn’t really all that bad. Just tilted the wrong direction a little.’’

  ‘‘Yeah, and you can convince yourself that they aren’t tilted at all if you try hard enough. I know when I ran away to go find my father, I convinced myself that it was a good thing I was doing. See, we’d gotten word that a man killed in an avalanche might be our pa, but we couldn’t be sure. People carried letters back and forth for folks all the time, and this man had a letter from our father. I needed proof—one way or the other—of whether our father was alive. Never mind that I had to defy all of my authority figures to do it, and hurt my sister. She confronted me about it too. Leah was never one to just let you out of a situation—not if she thought it was for your own good. I gave her a necklace and told her I didn’t want her to give up on the dream. I needed for her to keep dreaming, because all of my dreams were gone.’’ Jacob sighed.

  ‘‘I’ll never forget the way she looked at me the day I left. I knew she’d forgive me in the long run, but there was such a sense of betrayal in her expression that I very nearly didn’t go. Still, I left because I felt I had a good and righteous mission. Maybe a lot of bad choices are made that way.’’

  ‘‘Maybe, but that can’t be Chase’s excuse. He’s broken the law so many times that he cannot doubt his choices are wrong. Maybe when he was eight years old or even a young man of thirteen, those choices were not clearly understood. But a man of nearly thirty-three must surely know the difference. My only hope is that in going after him—in capturing him and turning him over to the authorities—I might see other people safe from his antics.’’