Breaking the Ice (12 page)

Lars’s eyebrows rose. “That’s great. Don’t mind telling you, it’s reassuring to think you might be around a while, with Maggie getting so big. The nearest doctor’s in Fairbanks.”

“Are you planning to stay there when she gets closer to her due date?” A lot of airlines hesitated to let a pregnant woman fly when she was more than eight months along, primarily because they were afraid she’d go into labor en route or have problems with deep-vein thrombosis—blood clotting in the legs. Bryson probably wouldn’t let that stop her where Maggie was concerned, but the flight to Fairbanks was long enough that it could be perilous to wait until she went into labor to leave.

“She wants to have the baby at home. A midwife in Evansville is willing to come out when the time comes. But of course, at her age, I worry about complications, or that she might go into labor during a snowstorm or something and I’d be alone with her.” Lars sat up straighter and rubbed sweaty palms along the top of his jeans. “I’m reading all the books I can get my hands on about what to do, but I’d sure appreciate any advice you can give me. We don’t have any of those birthing classes around here.”

“I’d be happy to. Has Maggie been seeing a doctor?”

He nodded. “Every month. She’s got an appointment next week.”

“Great. So, who tells her about me? What do you think?”

“Well, we shouldn’t just spring you on her without any warning. She’s been alone for a couple of days, so no telling what the cabin looks like and what kind of mood she’s in. She’s a stickler about having everything neat and tidy when people visit.” He glanced at his watch. “Bryson should be back soon. I say best thing is to let her fly me home, give me some time to make everything presentable. I’ll just say we’re going to have a guest for a while. You can tell her about everything, except the Alzheimer’s. We should leave that until after the baby’s born.”

“Probably wise. No need to stress her any more right now.”

“While I’m doing that, Bryson can come back for you, and I’ll pick you up at her place in the skiff.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Provided Maggie takes the news well, as I think she will, you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like.”

“Thank you, Lars. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you both. And helping Maggie any way I can.” Her stomach churned at the thought she’d finally be meeting her sister in just a few hours.
Please, God.
Let her want me in her life as much as I want her in mine.

*

Bryson knew before she’d even shut down the Cub’s engine that Karla and Lars had talked. In all the years she’d known Lars, she’d rarely seen anything except calm complacence on his face. He was the kind of guy you’d want beside you when all hell was breaking loose, entirely unflappable in a crisis, and he’d been tested on more than one occasion.

Once a grizzly, fresh out of hibernation and desperate for food, stormed his camp during the night and clawed through the wall tent he was sharing with two fishermen. His clients had bolted screaming from the tent; it was only luck the bear hadn’t chased them. But Lars kept his head, rolling under his cot to retrieve the can of Mace and the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .454 Casull he carried. The noise of the gun stopped the bear, and the Mace ran him off, though the spray also made Lars profoundly uncomfortable the rest of the day.

But whatever news Karla Edwards had brought to Bettles had certainly rattled Lars. Though an icy mist had descended on the village during Bryson’s trip to Fairbanks, she’d barely touched down on the runway when he came trotting out of the Den without his coat, looking concerned and frowning.

Damn it, I knew that woman was trouble the minute I spotted her. If she’s here to stir up trouble for them…

She flipped open the window of the Cub and turned up the collar of her coat. “What’s up?” she hollered over the drone of the propeller as it began to die. “Everything okay?”

“Big news.” He shook his head as though he was still having trouble absorbing it. “Big news.”

She climbed down and faced him. “Bad?”

“Well, yes and no. I’ll tell you all about it on the way home. Like to get you unloaded pronto, so we can get going. And I hope you don’t have other plans for the day, ’cause I’d like you to come right back here and pick up Karla Edwards. She’ll be staying with us for a while.” The uncertainty on his face deepened. “Least I think she will. Like I said, I’ll explain on the way.”

“Sure, Lars.” She forced herself not to press him for answers as they walked to the cargo hold and began to remove the supplies. She hated to see him so distressed, and the last thing she wanted was to have Karla as a passenger again, but the announcement that she would be staying with the Rasmussens piqued Bryson’s curiosity. They rarely had overnight guests who weren’t close friends, and with Maggie so volatile lately it was especially strange for them to extend such hospitality to a stranger.

When it was time for them to leave, it was even more peculiar that Lars embraced Karla and spoke to her in low tones, like she was an old friend who needed comfort. Karla had stood off to the side, watching them expectantly as she and Lars brought in their cargo and distributed it among the townspeople who’d congregated in the bar when they heard her plane come in.

Lars put his arm around Karla and led her over to Bryson when they finished their quiet tête-à-tête. “Karla’s all checked out.” He squeezed the woman’s shoulder reassuringly. “She’s planning to walk around a bit and see the town, but she’ll be back here by the time you make the round trip.”

“Fine. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.”

Karla was obviously impatient to leave. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and glanced around, shifting her weight from foot to foot, her hands jammed in her pockets. She didn’t seem the type to subject herself to the chill weather voluntarily, but probably needed to work off her restlessness instead of sightsee.

“Don’t worry,” Lars whispered as he kissed Karla on the forehead. “It’ll be fine.”

“I sure hope you’re right,” Karla replied in a quiet voice.

As soon as they were airborne Lars’s air of confidence faded, and he seemed troubled again. It took him a few minutes to share his news.

“Karla is Maggie’s sister.”

“
Sister?
Wait a minute…I thought Maggie’s—”

He held up a hand. “Yeah. She doesn’t know.” The whole story spilled out, everything that Karla had said, including the revelation about the rare form of Alzheimer’s that Maggie and their unborn child might be carrying.

Bryson’s heart ached for him and the possibility that Maggie might suffer such a debilitating illness soon. Suddenly, all of Karla Edwards’s frantic and bizarre behavior the night before made sense.

“We’re not planning to tell her about the Alzheimer’s until after the baby’s born,” Lars said. “And Karla wants to tell Maggie the rest herself. I’m going ahead to get everything ready for her to stay with us.”

“How you gonna explain to Maggie you’re putting up somebody you don’t even know? I’m sorry, Lars, but she hasn’t even been happy to have
you
underfoot sometimes these days.”

The comment brought back his familiar smile. “Yeah. I better hide all sharp objects and breakable keepsakes as soon as I hit the door.” His grin faded. “I don’t know what to tell her. I don’t want to lie to her, but I also want to respect Karla’s wish to break the news. Any suggestions?”

“Hmm. That’s tough. Well, you did say she’s a nurse. Maybe you could just tell Maggie you thought it’d be a good idea to have her out to the house for a couple of days, to help you both know what to do when the baby comes.”

“That’s not bad.” Lars appeared to mull over the suggestion. “Not the whole truth, but not a lie, either.”

“She still won’t be too happy about it.”

“No lie.”

As they neared her cabin, a thin layer of ice was beginning to accumulate on the plane. Visibility was still tolerable, and since the cargo hold was empty except for her own supplies, the added weight of any ice buildup wouldn’t become an issue right away. But she’d better hustle right back to Bettles and check the plane over carefully before they got back in the air. Maybe ask Skeeter if the weather was expected to deteriorate any further.

Karla was already wound up tight, and hadn’t much liked flying in the Cub when conditions were good, let alone through narrow canyons in a pea soup of icy mist. Hopefully her preoccupation with meeting her sister would distract her.

“Good luck,” she told Lars as the Cub rolled to a stop on the gravel bar in front of her home. Lars’s skiff was anchored just upstream.

“I’ll need every bit of that.” He climbed down and automatically went to the back of the plane. Bryson had to make a tight turn to be able to take off again from the short strip of gravel, and the fastest and easiest way to accomplish that was for Lars to lift the rear fuselage and pivot the plane by hand.

She watched him hurry toward his boat in her rearview mirror as she released the brake. Two minutes later, they were headed in opposite directions, she through the narrow canyon to the south, and Lars north at full throttle in the skiff.

*

Karla bit her lip as she stared out the window of the Den, absently caressing the rim of the cold cup of coffee before her. She hadn’t explored Bettles long because of the chill wind and icy mist, though she had wanted some time alone to think about what to say to Maggie and walk off the tension that coiled between her shoulders.

The lounge had emptied considerably after Bryson doled out her supplies, but Karla had barely settled into her booth when Grizz materialized, sliding uninvited into the bench opposite. He offered coffee and a sandwich in exchange for news from the lower forty-eight.

Too polite to brush him off after his kindness last night, she forced down the sandwich and answered his queries about urban life and crime, politics and grocery prices, must-see movies and current fads. He left only when his wife beckoned from the kitchen to help her prep for the evening rush.

When Karla returned her attention to the runway outside, looking for Bryson, she was alarmed at how much the weather had worsened. The chilly mist had changed to a thick sleet that clung to the window and partially obscured her view of the mountains.

Maybe Bryson wouldn’t be able to make it back. And even if she did, surely they wouldn’t be able to take off again. She was both relieved and saddened that she’d most likely have to put off meeting Maggie yet another day. She was getting more anxious by the hour and waiting wouldn’t help her break her news more easily.

She was about to find Grizz and reserve her room again when the familiar small plane emerged from the gloom at the end of the airstrip. Bryson hopped down and circled it for a couple of minutes, checking it over, then hurried toward the roadhouse. Karla met her at the door.

“Ready to go?” Bryson shook the sleet from her shoulders and ball cap. “Where’s your bag?”

“In
this?
You can’t be serious. Is it safe?”

“We’ll be fine. Skeeter says the worst of it is still a good bit west and we don’t have far to go, but we oughta hustle.”

“If you’re sure.” Trying not to worry, she retrieved her bag from the back of the bar where Grizz had stashed it and followed Bryson to the plane.

“What has Lars told you?” Karla asked as they strapped themselves into the Cub.

“Pretty much everything.” Bryson got clearance for takeoff from Skeeter and quickly headed north. Thin ice now coated the plane, and the sleet was still coming down, but the prop was spinning smoothly and she couldn’t detect any sluggishness in her controls yet. Certainly not optimum flying conditions, but she’d seen worse. “That you’re Maggie’s sister, and she was adopted. And about the Alzheimer’s. Sorry about your mother.”

“Thank you.”

“Hope you don’t mind that he told me, but I’m close to both of them, and Lars wanted some advice on what he should say to Maggie.”

“No, it’s okay. What’s he going to tell her?”

“That you’re a visiting nurse, and he thought it’d be a good idea to invite you out to stay for a few days so you could help them know what to do when the baby comes.”

“That’s good.”

Bryson glanced into her mirror. Karla was staring out the window, looking anxious. Bryson wondered whether it was due to her imminent meeting with Maggie or the storm raging outside. Probably both. They were flying only a couple hundred feet off the ground because of the low cloud ceiling, and occasionally a wind gust shook the plane like an angry fist. In a few minutes, they’d be navigating through the narrow canyons of the river, which would do nothing to help calm Karla’s distress. She felt sorry for the woman and a little ashamed at how quickly she’d jumped to conclusions about her during their first meeting. Karla was dealing with a lot. No wonder she’d been so self-absorbed and agitated about getting to Bettles. “Nervous about meeting your sister?”

“Very. How do you think Maggie will react?”

“Hard to predict,” she said honestly. “Under normal circumstances, Maggie’s real even-keeled. She doesn’t make snap judgments. She weighs things in her mind before she acts. And I know family is real important to her.” A sudden downdraft dropped the plane ten feet. She heard Karla gasp, but continued in a calm voice, as if it’d been nothing. “I’m sure Lars told you she’s kind of touchy these days. Sobbing like crazy one minute and throwing things the next. Guess that’s something you’re familiar with, huh?”