Alaska Twilight (20 page)

Libby laughed and stood still while Haley snapped some pictures. “You never did say where he lives,” Haley said, putting the lens cap back on her camera.

“Oh no, you don’t. I’m not that easy to trick. Tank knows where to look. You stay out of it.”

If only it were that easy. Haley had thought she’d destroyed all love for her parents, but like a seed exposed to sunshine, it had come bursting out when she discovered some maniac might have deliberately killed them. The emotion she hadn’t been able to name earlier was
grief
. She was grieving for her parents for the first time.

The next morning, Haley went to the front desk to check for mail. When the pimply-faced young man brought out the long box, she nearly kissed him but resisted the impulse. She thanked him and took the box back to her room. She unwrapped it and lifted out her old prosthesis. It might not be the most advanced version, but she’d never seen a prettier limb.

Joy was watching, her bright blue eyes alive with curiosity. “Is that thing uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s great. I’ll be able to get along much better. The one that was stolen distributed my weight better, but this baby got me through for a lot of years.” Haley patted the artificial limb, then strapped it on and pulled her jeans down over it. She put her sneaker on the fake foot.

“You’d never know if you didn’t know,” Joy said.

Haley stood and walked around. “Model-perfect now.” She seized Joy and waltzed her around the room. “I feel like it’s Christmas or something. I’d forgotten how hard it is to get around with crutches.” She released her giggling sister, then called Savannah and thanked her for sending the leg. When she got off the phone, she saw Joy studying her.

“It must have been hard losing your leg.”

“It was.” Haley remembered the terror of seeing that flat sheet where her leg should be. “That reminds me, another man in town lost a leg to a bear. I should go talk to him. Jed Hoose, I think Tank said his name was.”

“I heard they took him to the hospital in Anchorage.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe another day then. I want to go talk to this Ned Bundle.”

Augusta came out of the bathroom in time to hear her last comment. “Tank told you to stay out of it. And just yesterday you told Fannie you didn’t want to get involved.”

“I didn’t believe her, not really. But I believe Joy.” Oscar came to her, and she scooped him up.

Her sister’s face lit with relief. “Thanks, Haley.”

“Don’t go without Tank,” her grandmother ordered.

Looking at the two of them, Haley was struck by how much they looked alike. That same blond hair and those blue eyes. A lump formed in her throat. She grabbed her camera. “Don’t move.” She snapped a couple of pictures. They belonged together. She wasn’t sure she fit with them.

“Are you going to call Tank, or shall I?” Augusta pressed the issue.

“I’ll call him. You’re making a mountain out of a pile of bear scat.” She grinned. “Don’t tell Tank I said that.”

“Maybe you should ask Chet to go too,” Joy said. “Ned scares me.”

“I’ll have Tank. He could take on a brown bear with one arm tied behind him.” Haley’s spirits rose at the thought of spending the morning with Tank. She told herself it was just because she was doing something different, taking action.

She called Kipp’s room and got no answer. She’d leave a message with the desk to tell him she’d be out today. He wouldn’t like it, but right now, Haley didn’t care.

Tank saw the woman through the window of his cabin before she saw him. Vonnie Bird had been Dr. Wooten’s nurse for as long as he could remember. He opened the door, and she entered with purposeful steps. Nearly six feet tall, from the back she could be mistaken for a man.

She was dressed in her usual attire: bib overalls over a checked shirt. Her hair stuck up in front, giving her the appearance of a startled ostrich.

She nodded at Libby and Brooke. “Hey, Tank. As I told you on the phone, I’ve been appointed to do your home study in the pending custody case.” She glanced around the cabin. “Thanks for meeting me on such short notice. I need to see where Brooke lives and make sure the housing is adequate.”

Libby gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “I’d better take Brooke out of here.”

“No need for that. I’ll need to assess Brooke to see how well-adjusted she is, though she looks healthy and happy to me.”

Brooke ran to climb into his arms. “What’s going on, Daddy?” she whispered.

“Vonnie has a few questions,” he told her. “Your aunt Marley loves you a lot, and she wants to make sure you’re taken care of right.” He saw Vonnie’s smile of approval, but he didn’t care whether she was impressed. Brooke was all that mattered. He didn’t want her scared.

Vonnie’s sharp gaze took in the neat cabin. “Nice,” she said. She settled on the sofa and clicked her pen as she got out her pad. “I’ll be real honest with you, Tank. I resented being pulled into this matter. You’re Brooke’s father, and much as I dislike children growing up in the wilds, I hate seeing kids ripped from their parents without good cause even more. But I’m going to be fair about this. Tell me about your life at home.”

Tank leaned back and launched into a description of his work and the time he spent with his daughter. Libby offered an account of the family routines. Vonnie asked Brooke questions about her day, and his daughter played her miniature cello for the nurse. When they were finished, he realized nearly an hour had passed.

“I think I have all I need,” Vonnie said. “I’ll leave you and get back to town.”

Her noncommittal remarks left Tank uneasy.

The old truck struck a pothole and went airborne. Haley clung to the door handle with both hands. The wind blew in through her open window and snatched away the gasp that escaped her lips. Tightly packed spruce trees crowded against the side of the truck as the forest thickened.

“What are you going to say to him?” she shouted over the sound of the wind.

Tank slowed to miss a moose that meandered onto the side of the road. It lifted its massive head and stared at them, as if asking what right they had to disrupt him. This place was like Jellystone with Ranger Smith and all the animals.

Tank pulled the truck off the road and got out. “The dig is just over the hill. Let’s walk from here. I want to watch him when he doesn’t know we’re here.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re going to say. We can’t just waltz in there and ask him if he’s stealing artifacts and selling them.” She opened her door and hopped out with her walking stick.

“If he is, I’d like to find out who he’s working with. He has to have a partner. He isn’t gone from the dig enough to be handling the sale by himself, and Joy never noticed anyone else hanging around the site.”

“I didn’t think about that. He’s not likely to tell us anything.”

“That’s why I want to watch him.” He took her arm and helped her walk along the trail. “You’re limping more.”

“This prosthesis isn’t as good on rough ground.” Warmth rushed up her neck. They reached the top of the hill and looked down onto the dig. Nothing moved below. Even the wind was still. “I’m not sure he’s here.”

“Perfect. We can look around a little.” Tank took her hand and helped her down the steep slope.

His big hand completely covered her small one. The warmth radiated up her arm and touched her heart in ways she wasn’t sure how to deal with. At the bottom of the hill, he tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow in a curiously courtly gesture that she found pleasant. She didn’t think men like Tank Lassiter existed anymore. Maybe Alaska was a throwback in more ways than one.

“I’ll check the tent,” Tank said in a low voice. He ducked inside, then stepped back out, shaking his head. “Just artifacts inside. Some are boxed like they’re being taken out. No address though.”

“Let’s find a spot to wait and watch,” she suggested.

“There’s a cave over there,” Tank said, pointing.

Haley was shaking her head before he even finished talking. “No, no, I’m not going in there.” Her vision wavered, and she thought she might need to sit down and put her head between her knees. Her chest constricted.

“Easy,” Tank said. “Are you having a panic attack?”

She nodded, but couldn’t squeeze any words out of her tight chest. He grabbed a camp chair and pulled it to her, then forced her down into it. Haley tried to drag another breath through her lungs but felt like she was trying to breathe through a straw. She wanted to run from this place and never look back.

“Is it the cave that’s causing this?” Tank’s mouth was next to her ear.

She nodded and leaned forward to put her head between her legs. Her vision began to clear, the pinpoints of darkness fading.
Don’t look at the cave
. She turned her head, but her panic came rushing back. She stumbled to her feet. “I have to get out of here!”

Tank grabbed her and pulled her against his chest. He smoothed her curls with his big, rough hand. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe. We’re not going anywhere near the cave. You’re not trapped. There’s plenty of air.” His voice was a soothing rumble through his chest under her ear.

She clutched him, and her panic ebbed again. In his arms, she felt as though nothing could touch her, no wave of fear or destruction could swamp her. The clean scent of soap and the fresh aroma of fabric softener from his shirt wafted up her nose like the best aromatherapy. If she could bottle it, she would make her fortune in Phoenix, where she could ease the stress of living.

Tank’s caress on her hair and back changed in quality. The tightness that spread through her chest then had nothing to do with panic. She lifted her head and looked up. Big mistake. She was lost looking into the dark, fathomless depths of his eyes. His lips parted, and then he bent his head.

Her heart slammed against her ribs. She stepped back. “I think I’m okay now.” She felt curiously bereft when his hands fell away. She wanted to defuse the romantic tension between them, didn’t she? Her gaze lingered on his lips, and his eyes darkened again. She tore her gaze away and swallowed. A sound distracted her.

“I think someone is coming.” Tank glanced around, then took her hand and tugged her toward a thick patch of fireweed. He pushed her down, then flung himself beside her on his stomach. “Keep your head down.”

That would be easy to do. She needed to recover from the effects of nearly being kissed by a man she found too attractive for her peace of mind. Peeking up over the fireweed, she saw Ned approaching the dig. He looked around in a furtive manner, then stepped inside the tent. He exited a few minutes later with a box in his arms.

“That’s the box I saw. It’s full of artifacts,” Tank whispered in her ear.

His muscular arm lay over her back. Haley had a crazy impulse to snuggle against him. What had gotten into her? She’d always run the other way whenever an attractive man showed interest in her. Now she was not only hanging around but encouraging him. It had to stop. She shifted slightly, but he didn’t take his arm away.

“I’m going to follow him. Wait here.” He left her. Crouching, he skulked through the site and trailed after Ned.

The bugs and mosquitoes were beginning to swarm. She’d forgotten her deet. Getting to her feet, she waved at the insects then hurried after Tank. She caught up with him behind the tent.