Alaska Twilight (7 page)

Haley blinked, and he laughed. “Sorry, I’m getting carried away,” he said. “You can tell it’s my passion. What are you doing here? Come to take your parents’ place on the dig?” He gave a crooked smile full of hope.

“Hardly. I’m a city girl myself. I’m here for the summer to photograph a bear activist. I just wandered over to see where I lived when I was a child.” He didn’t need to know more than that. She was quickly discovering her parents hadn’t talked about her much. It wasn’t likely she’d encounter anyone who knew much about her past.

“Too bad. It gets quite lonely out here. Can I show you around?”

She glanced at her watch. “Maybe later. The team is likely looking for me. I’d better get back. Nice to meet you.” She could almost hear her father’s voice behind Ned’s passion for his work. She barely touched her fingers to his, then beat a hasty retreat.

She wandered down to the lake and walked out onto the rickety pier. She sat down to watch a family of loons paddle nearby. She and Chloe used to feed the loons here. She snapped some pictures. The memory sharpened as the smell of spruce mixed with the fresh scent of the lake. Oscar crouched nearby like a cat ready to pounce if the loons got close enough.

She curled her legs under her so they wouldn’t touch the water. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the discovery that she had a half sister. Mostly, she felt numb. At least she’d found out something about her family. Maybe this Joy would be able to tell her more. The next time she saw Tank, she would ask him how to find the girl. She heard a child’s voice and turned her head. Oscar left the loons and ran to meet the woman and small girl who approached along the path that skirted the lake. Haley stood as well and dusted off her jeans.

The young woman was near Haley’s age and had a friendly, open face. Her dark-brown eyes widened when she saw Haley. “Hello,” she said. “I hope I’m not disturbing you. Are you fishing?”

The little girl bent over and tried to pick up Oscar. “What a cute little dog,” she said. Oscar’s tail was wagging hard enough to fall off. He licked the child’s face, and she giggled.

“Careful if you pick him up,” Haley warned. “A dachshund has a weak back. You don’t want to drop him.”

“I know,” the girl said. “I like wiener dogs.”

She talked older than the five- or six-year-old she appeared to be. “Yes, he is,” Haley said. “His name is Oscar.”

“Just pet him,” the woman told the child. She turned a friendly smile on Haley. “I’m Libby Lassiter.”

Lassiter. She must be Tank’s wife.
Haley thought he’d have some Amazon woman to match his size, someone who could chop wood. This woman had curly brown hair that stuck out in all directions. Dressed in jeans, she was tall and slim, and her matching dark eyes looked Haley over with eager friendliness.

Though she wanted to be alone, she mustered a smile. “I’m Haley Walsh. I’m the photographer for the bear project.”

“Oh, you’re the ones who are putting that scowl on my brother’s face.” Libby smiled and held out her hand. “I’m glad to see another woman though.”

Haley shook her hand and mentally catalogued her.
Sister, not wife.
“Your little girl is darling.”

“She’s my niece, not my daughter. Tank is her daddy.”

So he
was
married. The little girl’s shiny curls hung down her back almost like a raven Shirley Temple. She crouched beside the child. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Brooke.” The little girl touched Haley’s hair. “Your hair is like a penny. Coppery. You’re very pretty.”

“So are you.” Haley smiled at her. “You look a lot like your dad.”

The little girl’s brow furrowed. “I want blond hair like my mom.”

Oops, she’d transgressed. “Maybe it will change.”

Brooke’s smile came out again. “I made cookies. You can come back to our cabin and have some. They’re a little burned though. Me and Aunt Libby were making music.”

“That’s a great idea, Brooke.”

“I couldn’t.” Haley stood. “I couldn’t impose.”

“Not at all. I’ve been craving having another woman to talk to. It’s not like you have anything else to do, right? The bear project can’t go on until you have some bears to take pictures of.”

“I already saw one, thank you very much.” Haley laughed. “You probably know this one. Miki wanted to eat me.”

Brooke’s eyes brightened. “Miki is good, but he’s not safe.”

Libby smiled. “She’s been obsessed with
The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe
since Tank took her to see the movie in Anchorage in January.”

Haley dimly remembered reading the book. “I haven’t seen the movie, but I read the book a long time ago. I wish I had it here, and I’d read it again.”

“You can read my dad’s. Daddy is going to read it to me when I’m six.” She ran ahead along the path. Oscar barked and chased after her. Libby followed.

Plunging her walking stick into the ground, Haley glanced at Libby from the corner of her eyes. What could it hurt? Maybe she could learn something about her newly discovered half sister. “Have you lived out here long?”

“About a year. Ever since Tank’s wife drowned. I came out to take care of Brooke.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Hearing the big man had suffered a tragedy raised Haley’s level of compassion for him. “It seems lonely.”

“It is. Sometimes I talk just to hear a voice. Tank is out in the bush quite a lot, and it’s just me and Brooke. I worry about her growing up with no friends or siblings. Tank needs to remarry and give her some playmates that way, but he’s too consumed by his work. Besides, he rarely goes to town.”

“How far is Stalwart?” Haley had been wondering how long it would take to get to town if she really needed to go.

“Twenty miles or so. But the roads aren’t good. When it’s muddy, he tends to get stuck. During the winter he uses the snowmobile if the temperature isn’t too low.”

So a trip to town wouldn’t be an easy jaunt. Haley felt even more isolated. She’d hoped Kipp might eventually establish a base in town. At least they were close to the beautiful Cook Inlet. If Phoenix were on the ocean, it would be perfect in all ways. “Are you ever scared out here?”

Libby smiled. “No, just hungry for girl talk.”

They reached a clearing. Haley was getting pretty good at identifying vegetation. She examined the wildflowers. Banks of lupine, black lily, and deer cabbage created a pretty backdrop for the log home, though they weren’t in bloom yet. Gingham curtains hung in the windows but did little to soften the harsh reality of the stark dwelling. There was no porch, just a bare door in front. Haley couldn’t imagine living here.

“Come on in, I’ll start the teakettle.” Libby held the door open for her.

Haley shut it behind her as Libby went to the stove in the kitchen. “I’m not the best cook, but I can at least make tea.” Haley’s gaze wandered the room. The walls were painted a soft yellow, a color she loved. The blue-and-white gingham curtains added a cheery touch to the kitchen. Haley knew Libby would need all the cheer she could get through the long, dark winter months.

The kitchen and living room were one, an area about twenty feet square. A blue sofa and two yellow chairs sat on a rag rug on one end of the room. A set of weights occupied the far corner. A rough wooden table and chairs sat under one window with four open cabinets on one side. The bare necessities and not much else, though it felt homey and welcoming. A box of toys had been pushed against a wall by the couch. Three doors led to bedrooms. Maybe by cabin standards it was spacious, but it wasn’t much by Haley’s standards. She was used to carefully chosen pieces that reflected style.

Her gaze caught a cello in one corner. A miniature cello sat beside it. “You’re a musician?”

Libby’s face brightened. “I played with the Philly Orchestra. I’m teaching Brooke to play as well, and she has a natural aptitude. I’m afraid my poor brother has come home more than once to burned meals because of our passion for music and has had to make do with peanut-butter sandwiches.”

Brooke went to a small bookshelf and brought a dog-eared copy of a book. “Here’s my book.”

“Thanks.” Haley took the small volume. “I’ll read it and get it right back to you.”

Brooke smiled, then went to the toy box and began to root through her toys. She came up with a Frisbee. “Can I throw it to Oscar?”

“As long as you stay where we can see you.”

“I will.” She called to the dog, and they ran outside to the yard.

Once the tea was ready, Libby joined Haley at the table and sat where she could watch her niece through the window. She pushed a plate of cookies toward Haley. “I’m sorry these are a little burned. Brooke and I were playing Beethoven’s
Ode to Joy
.”

Haley smiled and selected a cookie. “Thanks. So how long do you expect to stay out here?”

Libby shrugged. “As long as Tank needs me.”

She nibbled on the cookie. It tasted a bit charred. “Don’t you resent giving up your career for him?”

Libby was silent for a moment. “I couldn’t do anything less. He and Brooke needed me. There was no one else to care for Brooke. Marley, Leigh’s sister, would never live here.”

“Tank could move to the city.”

“It would kill him. He couldn’t study his bears in the city. At least I can still play my music here. And seeing Brooke’s natural talent has been amazing.”

“Is Tank his real name?” Haley shocked herself by asking the question she’d been wondering.

Libby giggled. “If I tell you the truth, I’ll have to kill you.”

Haley began to smile. “He’s sworn you to that much secrecy?”

“I can’t say I blame him.”

The big man intrigued Haley. “You say his wife drowned? I don’t imagine that’s difficult in the lake. It’s huge and looks bottomless. And cold.” She shivered.

Libby stirred honey into her tea. “No one knows how it happened. Tank found Leigh floating facedown in the lake just after dawn. She’d been dead several hours. She always wore a wetsuit, but she didn’t that night. It might have been hypothermia.”

“She was swimming in the middle of the night?”

“She loved to swim. Everyone said she could have made the Olympics if she hadn’t married Tank. She’d been acting weird for a couple of days before, though. Ever since the Walsh cabin burned. Knowing she could do nothing to help them really upset her.”

“I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”

Libby smiled and patted Haley’s hand. “Forgive me. It’s been so long since I had someone to talk to, I’m running off at the mouth.”

Haley pulled her hand away. “I’m glad to give you an afternoon of diversion.” She studied Libby’s face. Maybe Libby would know something about Joy. “I saw the burned cabin. Did you know the family that lived there?”

“I sure did. The Walshes.” Her eyes widened. “Your family?”

Haley nodded. “My parents.” She had to force the words out.

Libby looked stricken. “I’m so sorry. Here I am babbling on. Is that the real reason you’ve come? No wonder you were upset when I found you at the pier.”

She nodded. “My shrink thought it was time I faced the past. When this job came along, my grandmother convinced me to take it. Augusta can be opinionated and pigheaded at times. She was like a pit bull, and I got tired of fighting her.”

Libby snapped her fingers. “I just remembered. Your grandmother is Augusta Walsh, isn’t she?

“You’ve read her books?”

“Read them! I own every travel book she’s ever written. Her memoirs of her adventures in Africa are masterful. Had you ever visited your parents here?”

Haley shook her head. “I hadn’t seen them for ten years, and it was almost twenty years ago when I was last here.” A painful, awkward meeting that she’d vowed not to repeat if she could help it.

“Ten years! You never wanted to visit? Why didn’t they go back to the Lower Forty-eight?”

“That’s where I last saw them. Tank mentioned another daughter.”

Libby studied her face. “You say that like you don’t know her.”

Haley looked away. “I don’t. I had no idea I had a half sister until Tank told me a little while ago. What can you tell me about Joy?”

Libby sat back in her chair and exhaled. “I hope I don’t offend you, but you have one strange family.”

“I know. About Joy?”

Libby shrugged. “She was the light of their lives. I’d met your mom a few times before Joy came. She was always polite, but rather distant and dour. When Joy came, she bloomed. Kind of weird if you ask me. I wouldn’t be blooming if my husband presented me with a love child. But Maggie seemed to dote on Joy. And she is a darling girl.”

Haley winced. She couldn’t help it. That was a position she’d longed for. And it was the place that had belonged to Chloe. “How old is she?”

“Twelve, almost thirteen now. They never told you?”

Not only had they never told her, but not even Augusta had mentioned it. “Where does she live?”

“In Stalwart with a relation of her mother’s. She wants to finish school and go into archeology like her—er, your parents.”

“Why wasn’t she sent to my grandmother?” Augusta must have known. She couldn’t imagine her father would keep it a secret from his own mother.

“You’re going to have to ask your grandmother about that.”

“I’d like to talk to Joy.”

“I’m sure she’d love to see you. Your mom had an old album with pictures of the family in it. I never saw it, but Maggie said Joy loved to look at it.”

“I wonder why she never wrote me?”

“You’ll have to ask her.”

“I’ll do that.” She had to learn all she could. Maybe her mother or father talked about her or mentioned Chloe. Maybe she could finally find closure.