The diner was cheery and bright, with red leather booths and lemon yellow walls. The countertops were white marble and the floors were a black-and-white parquet. A five-foot bubble gum machine sat on display by the hostess stand.
As soon as she’d spotted her, Piper raced to her side, which had been a huge relief to Sage. The vivacious young woman had quickly whisked her over to a table and taken her order, reminding her that it was on the house. She felt thankful for Piper’s presence. It felt a bit disorienting to know such a small number of people in town, and once again, she asked herself if coming here had been a colossal mistake.
“Don’t worry about the stares,” Piper said in a reassuring tone. “This is a small Alaskan town where everyone has known one another since the cradle. You’re a novelty.” Piper winked at her. “And a pretty one at that. You’re going to get noticed.”
You’re going to get noticed. Her stomach sank upon hearing Piper’s words. In actuality it was the last thing Sage wanted. Going under the radar had been her goal. She was beginning to realize it might be almost impossible in a town this size.
When Sage saw Hank seated a few feet away from her, there was no mistaking the little butterflies racing around in her stomach at the sight of him. Thankfully, the menu had provided a nice distraction from his close proximity, and she’d ordered herself a delectable lunch.
“Here’s your bison burger with a side of rosemary fries,” Piper announced as she placed Sage’s plate down in front of her. “Take a bite and tell me if you like it.”
Sage nodded and dug in. Piper was staring at her with barely contained excitement. Clearly, she wanted to know Sage’s opinion about her culinary offerings.
The burger was juicy and cooked to perfection. The flavor of the meat popped on her tongue. It was definitely a unique taste she hadn’t experienced before. “It’s delicious,” she said, feeling pleased she could give Piper positive feedback. “Cooked and seasoned to perfection.”
“Yes!” Piper crowed in an animated voice as she raised her fist in the air. She did a little dance back toward the counter. Sage let out a giggle at her antics. Sometimes she wished she could be as spontaneous as the other woman seemed to be. Traveling to Owl Creek was probably the most daring thing she had ever done in her life. Only time would tell if it had been a wise decision.
Although she tried to block it out, Sage could hear the conversation between Hank and his two friends as clear as day. She knew without a doubt that one of his lunch companions was Connor North. He had walked by her table a few moments ago and she’d nearly let out a gasp of surprise at the sight of him. With his dark hair, blue eyes and striking features, he looked remarkably like the press photos of him. She felt her pulse quickening at the idea of being so close to someone who might be her blood relation.
“I’ve hired a team of private investigators to look into the case,” Connor was saying, his tone radiating intensity.
“Do you really think they’ll come up with anything after all this time?” their companion asked.
“I don’t know, Gabriel. When it happened, my family hired the best private investigators money could buy, but the trail went cold,” Connor responded. His expression looked grim. “I do know that I want this thing to be pursued until all leads are checked out. Someone has to know something. People just don’t vanish into thin air.”
“I completely agree with you,” Hank said with a nod. “It would have been near impossible to pull off something like that without anyone knowing about it.”
The man named Gabriel nodded and kept eating his meal.
Connor banged his fist on the table, causing both men to look up at him. “Someone needs to be prosecuted for abducting my sister! My family has been through the ringer and we deserve peace.”
Suddenly their voices quieted, and they were now talking in hushed tones. A part of Sage felt relieved she could no longer hear their conversation. It had gotten way too intense.
Peace. Sage also wished peace for the North family. It was one of the reasons she had come to Owl Creek. She had hoped to discover that the North family was doing just fine all these years later. If that was the case, it would be much easier for her to walk away and stop torturing herself with images of faded press clippings and age-enhanced photos of a missing baby girl. She could put a lid on this whole nightmare.
But judging by Connor’s anger and the things she had overheard him say, it wasn’t even close to happening. The Norths were still struggling, and Connor was seeking vengeance. A reckoning of some sort for his sister’s disappearance.
Sage shivered at the idea of what might happen if she revealed herself as Lily North. They might not even believe her story. And if they did, her beloved father could be the target of that quest for justice. He might be prosecuted and incarcerated. She might lose him forever.
Above all else, Sage couldn’t allow that to happen. Throughout her life, especially when her mother had been having emotional difficulties, Eric Duncan had been her rock. Without him, she might not have made it through the tender middle school and teen years with her self-esteem and beliefs intact. He had taught her what it meant to be a child of God and a woman with strong convictions. Although she had loved her mother very much, her father had always been her world.
And that, she vowed, would never change.
* * *
By the time Hank had finished his lunch and calmed Connor down a bit, Sage was gone. He stuffed down his disappointment. He had intended to stop by her table on his way out and check in on her. But while he had been serving as a listening ear to Connor, Sage had slipped out of the restaurant. It shouldn’t matter to him that she’d left, but it did. Hank really didn’t want to examine the reasons why.
With a sigh, he headed out of the diner and walked down the street toward the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have things to do. He had a bunch of paperwork to complete as well as checking in on a few older residents who lived farther out from town. Some of them didn’t have working phones and tended to be off-the-grid. Hank made it his personal mission to make sure they were safe and sound. Even if you were a born-and-bred Alaskan, winters could be challenging.
He hadn’t walked more than twenty feet away from the diner when he saw a flash of pink. Sage was standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking around her in all directions.
A feeling of relief swept through him at the sight of her.
“Sage! You look a little confused. Are you lost?”
A sheepish expression crossed her face. “I got a little turned around. Trudy told me how to get to my destination, but needless to say, I walked in a big circle. I’m not sure where I went wrong.”
“Where are you headed?”
“The chocolate factory. I was hoping to get a tour.” She sniffed the air. “I’m surprised I can’t smell it from here.”
Hank grinned. “Oh, trust me. When you get close to it, you can smell the chocolate. It’s utterly delectable.”
Sage rubbed her mittened hands together like a little kid. “I’m looking forward to it. Chocolate is my weakness.” It had been a long time since Hank had seen someone so excited about the North Star Chocolate Factory. Although the townsfolk loved it, they were also used to it, so people didn’t tend to get overly animated about it. It was like having the Grand Canyon in your hometown. You knew it was spectacular, but you didn’t rave about it all the time.
“How about I drive you over there? It’s not far, but you’re going to slip and slide all over the place in those boots.” Hank really didn’t want to keep harping on Sage’s attire, but she was going to find out the hard way that frostbite was a very real thing in wintry Alaska.
Sage made a face and looked down at her suede boots. “Getting a sturdier pair is on my to-do list. Trudy told me to order some genuine, Alaskan-made boots. Lovely Boots she called them.”
“That’s good advice.�
� He nodded, then pointed toward his squad car. “It’s a quick ride to the chocolate factory. I don’t mind taking you, Sage. That way you can orient yourself to the downtown area.”
“I don’t want to inconvenience you since you’re on the clock,” she demurred.
“No worries there,” Hank said. “If there’s any kind of emergency I can be reached at all times.” He flashed her his best smile. “I consider it my civic duty since you’re a visitor to Owl Creek.”
“If it’s not a bother, I accept,” she acquiesced, walking beside him toward his squad car.
A feeling of triumph roared through him. There was something about this woman that made him want to be in her orbit. At the same time, he couldn’t get rid of the sinking feeling she was being a bit standoffish. Or perhaps he was simply jaded based on his past. It wasn’t fair to view her through a cracked lens.
He opened the door for Sage, then waited as she slid into the seat. Once he got behind the wheel, Hank started the engine and backed out of his spot and onto Main Street.
He looked over at her. “Have you ever gotten a ride in a squad car?”
“I can’t say I have,” she answered. “I’ve always been a rule follower. When I was a kid, I always colored inside the lines.”
Hank wasn’t sure whether Sage realized it or not, but her statement told him a lot about her. “I had my first ride in a squad car when I was six years old.” Hank chuckled at the memory. “I stole a candy bar from the local market. Trudy insisted the store owner call the sheriff’s office to report me. The sheriff arrived and put me in the back of the squad car and lectured me about how stealing was a crime and a sin. I had just learned the Ten Commandments so I was shaking in my boots.”
“That’s a bit harsh for a six-year-old,” Sage said, making a tutting sound. “You must have been terrified.”
“Not really.” He cast her a glance. “You see, the sheriff was my father. And what I learned on that particular day has stuck with me ever since.” Hank looked away from her and kept his eyes on the road. “On the way home he made a few stops to different townsfolk who needed his help. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way they looked at him and how grateful they were for his assistance. On that very day I decided to be just like him so I could be the type of man he was.”
“So you decided to become a sheriff like your dad. Have you managed to live up to his image?”
“Not even close,” he said, letting out a ragged sigh. “But I’ll keep trying.”
As they rounded the block, Hank pointed out the side street he was cutting down from Main Street. “So from where you were standing in front of the post office, you head down Spruce Street, then make the left onto Forrest, then you continue straight and it’ll be coming up on the left.” A few moments later, Hank turned into the lot for the North Star Chocolate Factory. “And here we are,” he announced. “The place where the chocolate goodness happens.”
Sage was peering out the window with her face almost pressed against the glass. “What’s going on here? Why is there such a large crowd? Perhaps they really are giving away free chocolate.”
As he drove closer to the entrance, Hank noticed a swarm of journalists buzzing around the building. He recognized the two men who were staying at his mother’s inn along with a host of others he’d seen around town over the last week. Releasing a groan, he parked his vehicle in front of the entrance. “Those are the muckrakers Trudy was talking about.”
Sage looked at him with wide eyes. “Why are they all standing around?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” he said, getting out of the squad car. Just for good measure, Hank flipped the blue-and-red flashing lights on. He prayed the situation didn’t get ugly, but he needed to make sure order was maintained in his town.
By the time he went around to open Sage’s door, she’d already stepped out of the squad car. She was looking at the mayhem as if she’d rather be anywhere else but here. He couldn’t say he blamed her.
“These journalists are walking a fine line between freedom of the press and harassment,” Hank muttered.
“Something tells me I won’t be touring the chocolate factory today,” Sage said, her expression radiating disappointment.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get a tour soon.” Hank reassured her.
Suddenly Hank spotted Connor’s parents, who were standing on the top step of the entrance to the factory. The journalists were at the bottom of the stairs, jockeying for position as they clicked their cameras and held out their microphones. Nate and Willa North had their arms joined and appeared to be preparing to make a statement. Nate held a piece of paper in his other hand.
Confusion swept over him. Connor hadn’t mentioned anything about his parents having a press conference. Clearly he hadn’t known anything about it.
Nate cleared his throat and effectively commanded everyone’s attention. The crowd stilled and hushed. “Hello, everyone. Because the press is here in Owl Creek, we would like to do something we have contemplated doing for twenty-five years.” He reached for his wife’s hand. “We are humbly offering a sum of one million dollars to anyone who can lead us to our missing daughter, Lily, and to the person or persons who abducted her.”
Bedlam ensued with the journalists screaming questions at the couple until Nate raised his fingers to his mouth and let out a deafening whistle. “Recent developments in the case have given us reassurance that Lily is out there.” He looked over at his wife who nodded at him.
Nate continued to speak. “We’ve received a letter from the person who we believe stole our precious girl. It states that Lily is alive and well. And it’s given us our best lead yet in finding our daughter and bringing her abductors to justice. We’re hoping a monetary offering will be a huge incentive in aiding this investigation.”
As town sheriff, Hank had known about the letter for weeks now. He, along with the Norths’ legal team and the FBI, had encouraged the family to keep a lid on it. Now the cat was out of the bag and the journalists would have a field day with the information. He wasn’t sure what Nate and Willa were thinking in making the information public, although he knew they were probably feeling desperate and running on fumes. Twenty-five years was a long time to be in limbo.
Hank ran a hand through his hair and drew in a deep breath. He turned to Sage to suggest she reschedule her visit to the factory for another day, only to find her gone. He whirled around and surveyed the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of her hot-pink beret. Coming up empty, Hank walked over to his squad car just to make sure Sage hadn’t sought refuge inside the vehicle. The passenger seat was empty.
Sage had vanished into thin air without a single word of goodbye.
Chapter Four
By the time Sage raced back to Main Street and away from the North Star Chocolate Factory, she felt out of breath and a bit light-headed. It had been a surreal feeling to find herself standing mere feet away from Nate and Willa North, the people she believed to be her biological parents. She had walked straight into a chaotic press conference and now her heart was full of so many conflicting emotions.
Our precious girl. Hearing those words had caused a tightening sensation to spread through her chest. Her feelings were all over the place after hearing the longing in Nate North’s voice. It brought to the surface emotions she’d been stuffing down her entire life. There had always been a part of her that didn’t feel as if she’d belonged. In truth, she hadn’t. She had been living Sage Duncan’s life when in reality she’d been Lily North the whole time.
At this rate she wasn’t sure she could keep up this facade without blurting out the truth.
Was it cruel to keep silent when her birth parents were desperately searching for her? Her mind was scrambling to process what she’d just heard. Had her mother really sent the North family a letter? A confession? And, if so, was there a trail leading directly back to he
r father? Jane Duncan had always been unpredictable, and even though she’d been bedridden in the last few weeks of her life, Sage knew her mother had always been extremely resourceful.
Perhaps she should have stayed back at the chocolate factory to learn more, but her body had been in flight mode and her legs had carried her swiftly away from the press conference as if on autopilot.
Sage bit her lip. Before she went off the deep end, she needed facts. She wasn’t going to fall apart until she had something concrete to go on. Perhaps the letter had been written by an attention seeker motivated by the twenty-fifth anniversary of the kidnapping. Hadn’t Hank told her that scam artists had been coming out of the woodwork as of late? Maybe she was worrying about nothing.
Still, Sage felt a bit guilty about leaving Hank in the lurch since he’d been so kind to her. He probably thought she was a flake after she’d bailed on him. She let out a deeply held breath, watching as the cold air condensed in front of her eyes. Why was she even fretting about it? She didn’t need a town sheriff in her business. It would be like putting her feet too close to the fire. Hank had strong ties to the North family and he worked in law enforcement. In this explosive situation, those were two strikes against him.
Too bad he was all kinds of handsome and a bit of a sweetheart. Driving her over to the chocolate factory had been a nice gesture, but she should have refused the offer. Sage couldn’t allow herself to get too close to anyone in this town, particularly not a man who’d vowed to uphold the law.
A quick glance at her watch told her she still had a few hours before she was due to meet up with Trudy, who was giving her a ride back to the bed-and-breakfast. She’d been planning to spend the afternoon touring the chocolate factory, but the impromptu press conference had changed her plans. Perhaps she could kill some time exploring the shops on Main Street, although it would be mighty embarrassing if Hank drove by and spotted her. She didn’t have a single idea as to how to explain why she’d run off.
Her Secret Alaskan Family (Home To Owl Creek Book 1) Page 4
