Snow Angel (24 page)

She gasped, tears springing to her eyes. She had expected to see lust, to see what she'd seen a hundred times in men's eyes, was prepared to sacrifice herself to it. But instead, she saw love. Life-giving, heart-restoring love. Heated and real and masculine.

And hers. He was hers.

She felt the knot inside unravel, felt the stiffness in her spine melt, reached up on tiptoes and coiled her arms around his neck.
God help me, I love him.

* * *

DOWNSTAIRS, THE NEXT morning, Will pulled Noah aside and said quietly, “I hadn't the chance to tell you yesterday, but we had an interesting telegram arrive while you two were away.”

Noah raised his eyebrows. “What was it about? Who from?”

“It was from a Margaret Dunning. She said she is looking for Elizabeth.”

Noah frowned and sat forward in his chair. “That's Elizabeth's adopted mother, the one who hired Ross. What did she want?”

“Noah, she says Elizabeth's real mother is on her way to Juneau. She's looking for Elizabeth.”

Noah let out a breath in a rush. “So her mother is alive …”

“It would appear so. She might have been told at the orphanage her mother died. It is a common practice.”

“Possible,” Noah said quietly. He didn't know what to make of it. All he knew was that suddenly he wanted to get Elizabeth home. “Thanks for telling me, Will. Her adoptive parents are not the kind of people to be trusted, from everything I've heard. Don't tell Elizabeth about this. I don't want to upset her.”

Will nodded in understanding.

“If Elizabeth's real mother shows herself, which I doubt will happen, we'll tell her then.”

Jane shielded her eyes on the Juneau dock and gazed at the mountains. “Oh, Ben, it's so beautiful.” “Breathtaking,” he agreed, but he wasn't looking at the mountains.

She blushed when she caught his meaning.

“You have to stop that.”

“What?”

“Looking at me like you've never seen me before.”

He grasped her hand, lifting it to his lips, brushing her knuckles with a whisper of a kiss. “I've never seen you like this.”

She looked up into his eyes, really looked into them like married couples forget to do, and smiled. She looked ready to cry, so he laughed, deep and happy, and kissed her square on the mouth in front of strangers, causing her to pull back, laughing and lecturing him instead. “You're making a scene, Ben Rhodes.”

It was true. But she was nearing forty, and she had never looked so alive. Or happy. The steamship had been crowded, their private cabin expensive … and it had been the honeymoon they'd never had.

Turning back toward the city he watched her breathe in the mountain air and smile, making excuses for the compliments. “Anyone would feel wonderful in this air. Can you believe how clean and fresh everything feels here?”

He grinned as they climbed into the carriage, feeling young again, feeling young and as though this vast Alaskan sky was their new horizon.

“Where to, sir?” the driver interrupted.

“Oh, take us to the best hotel in town.”

“Yes, sir. That'd be the Grand Hotel.”

With a jolt they were off, Jane peering eagerly out the window, the curve of her neck so appealing, his wife not wanting to miss a single thing. She turned suddenly toward him, eyes alight with excitement as she said, “Look at that log church. Isn't it sweet? And it even has a log bell tower. I feel like we've stepped back into history here.”

Gone were the tall buildings of New York City, the crowds and the busyness. They were seeing America now. And Alaska, the last frontier. As they passed the town trading post, Jane pointed out an odd-looking couple coming out the door. The man was big, tall and broad-shouldered, and the woman was quite small in comparison. She had dark hair and big eyes … Jane suddenly grasped Ben's arm. “Look, did you see that young woman?”

Ben nodded but the couple had turned the corner and they lost sight of them. Jane gripped his arm harder.

“What? What is it, Jane?”

“Tha–that young woman I just saw coming out the trading post. Ben, it was her, I know it. Turn around! We have to go back.” She pulled on his sleeve. “Tell the driver to turn around.”

Ben looked at her wild eyes and pleading face. “OK, we'll go back. But Jane, you have to calm down. It may not have been her. You don't know. You couldn't have gotten a very good look at her.”

“Ben … I can't explain it, but it was her. I've been looking into faces for years, looking for something that I would know. It was her!”

Ben rapped on the window toward the front of the carriage but the man didn't seem to hear. Soon they stopped in front of the Grand Hotel. Jane stumbled out, yelling up at the driver. “We have to go back to that trading post.”

Ben grasped her hand to gain her attention. “I'll just check us in and have our bags taken to our room. You wait here and we'll have the driver take us over to the trading post.”

Jane nodded. “Hurry! She was leaving. What if she's gone? What if we can't find her?”

Ben gripped her shoulders. “We'll find her. I promise. We won't go home until we do. Now calm down and wait in the carriage, OK?”

She nodded and climbed back inside while Ben hurriedly gave instructions to the driver and the hotel staff. Within ten minutes they were on their way back to the post. Once there, Jane suddenly became hesitant. “What if she isn't there? What if she
is
there? What will I say to her?”

Ben helped her climb down from the carriage. “You will tell her you love her. Everything will be fine. Now, come.”

As they walked in, a bell jingled above the door. An older woman came out of the back room and smoothed her skirts. “Can I help you folks with something?” she asked kindly.

Jane smiled and took a deep breath. “How do you do, ma'am? My name is Jane and this is my husband, Ben. We are looking for a young woman by the name of Elizabeth and, well, I thought I might have seen her here just a short time ago. Do you know anyone by that name?”

The woman shook her head. “I'm just minding the store. All the young people went out to see a new horse one of them bought and then out to dinner. But it does seem like I heard one of them being called Elizabeth. Can't be sure, though. My hearing, you know, it's not what it used to be. But you can come back in a few hours. Will and Cara Collins will be here then, and they'll know the answer to your questions.”

Jane's body collapsed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. “Yes, well, thank you. We'll come back later.”

Ben squeezed her hand encouragingly as they walked back to the carriage. “It's better this way. We won't be so flustered. We'll be better prepared to meet her in the morning.”

Jane sighed and leaned against his arm, looking suddenly tired. “Yes, you're right. Let's go.”

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING Ben and Jane breakfasted early in the hotel dining room. Afterward, they wandered into the lobby. At the front desk Ben was told he had received a telegram. Opening it at the desk with Jane standing pensively at his side, he scanned the message. Then scanned it again.

“What is it?” Jane asked.

“It's from my partner, Herbert. Before we left New York, I gave him Henry and Margaret's name and asked him to see
what he could find out about them.” He took Jane's elbow, led her over to the window, and lowered his voice. “He says that Henry is wanted for the murder of a miner in the state of Utah. The authorities have been looking for the two of them for over three years.”

Jane gasped. “What should we do?”

Ben shook his head. “I'll telegraph Herb with the Dunnings' address. I'm sure they will be there since they are waiting for the remainder of the reward from us.”

Jane looked at him with concern. “But … what if we need them or,” then suddenly, “you don't think Elizabeth was mixed up in this do you?”

Ben looked grim. “We won't know the answer to that until we find her.”

“Shouldn't we wait to tell someone? We might need the Dunnings to be cooperative and if they find out we reported them … they won't tell us anything,” Jane insisted.

Ben shook his head, eyebrows down over his green eyes. “Don't worry, Jane. We'll find Elizabeth without any further help from them. We have to report this.”

Jane sighed and nodded. “Yes, of course. You are right.” She looked up into his eyes. “To think my little girl was adopted by a … a murderer … I can't bear it.”

He grasped the curve of her jaw in one hand, looked steadily into her eyes, willing her strength. “We know she's alive and we'll find her. That's all that matters now.”

After he calmed her, they hurried out the hotel door, headed toward the post. Ben looked over at her with a worried frown for what seemed the hundredth time that morning.

“Are you sure you're up to this right now? You look so pale, Jane.”

Jane nodded up at him. “I haven't come this far only to turn back. I'm fine.”

The walk to the trading post was short and Ben gave her a reassuring nod before as they reached the front door. They stood for a moment, contemplating the door they'd walked through yesterday, both feeling that something monumental was about to happen. Taking a deep breath, Jane took the first step forward.

The bell jingled as Ben opened the door and allowed his wife in. The shop was well lit, neatly organized, and clean. It had a homey air to it that pleased Jane, causing her to take a deep breath and throw back her shoulders. Striding to the long, wooden counter together, they paused and met the smile of a business-looking man in his mid-thirties or so.

“What can I help you folks with today?” he asked in a friendly tone.

Ben started to speak, but Jane raised her gloved hand. “Sir, my name is Jane and this is my husband, Benjamin. We have traveled a great distance in search of someone, a young woman actually.” She hesitated, close to tears, then tilted her head and gave him a shaky smile. “I thought … that is, would you happen to know an Elizabeth Dunning?”

The reaction of recognition on Will's face was immediate and Jane held her breath waiting for his response. “Well, ma'am, I might know someone by that name, but you'll have to tell me exactly what you want with her before I say anything more.”

Jane liked his answer and trusted him immediately. “Well, you see, I'm her mother. And I've been looking for her for a very … very long time.”

Will looked at Ben and then back to her with a startled expression and then he shook his head. “Ma'am, may I say you look so much like her that I can only believe what you say is true.”

Jane took a sudden breath, raised her shaking hand to her mouth and looked at Ben.

Ben squeezed his wife to his side and asked, “Can you tell us where she is?”

Will whistled low. “You just missed her. She's on her way home, left this morning bright and early.”

“Home? Where might that be?”

Will motioned them to follow him to a window. “See that mountain range to the east there. She lives about a quarter of the way up the middle one, with her husband, Noah Wesley.”

Jane felt another shock rush through her. “Her husband? I … I hadn't thought of that.” She'd never even considered the possibility that her little girl would be married. Stunned, she realized that she still thought of her as a young girl.

Will chuckled. “Well, now that's a long story, ma'am. But he's a good fellow, rest assured. The finest, actually, and one of my best friends.” Gesturing toward the sitting area in front of the fire, Will asked, “Would you like to sit down? I'll get my wife. She will want to meet you. Elizabeth is like a little sister to her.” Will steered them toward the warm fire, where they ignored the chairs and the elegant rocker. They were both too nervous to sit.

Soon a pretty blonde woman came in with a baby riding her hip. She walked up to Jane and held out her hand, smiling a sincere smile that reached her eyes. “Jane? I'm Cara Collins, Will's wife.” She paused and shook her head. “Will tells me you
… are Elizabeth's mother?” Her gaze swept over Jane and then filled with tears, a compressed smile on her lips. “She does look so very much like you.”

Jane found she didn't want to let go of this woman's hand, this woman who knew her daughter. Her voice shook as she answered. “I hope to see that for myself very soon. I have been searching for her for such a long time. I can hardly believe I've nearly found her.” Little Rebecca let out a squeal of delight, pointing to the fancy feathers on Jane's hat. Eagerly she reached out to grasp one, squirming in Cara's arms and making Jane and Cara laugh.

“The poor darling, she can't reach them,” Jane remarked as she took off her hat and plucked a feather from the brim, handing it to the child.

Cara laughingly said, “If you give it to her, she'll only eat it. She chews on everything she can get her hands on.”

Jane looked lovingly down at the child, causing Cara to offer, “This is Rebecca. Would you like to hold her while I get us all some tea?”

Jane nodded and was glad to have another outlet for her emotions, if only for a little while. Rebecca babbled and tried to chew off the end of the feather. Jane caught it and used the fluffy end to tickle the child's cheek and nose, making them both laugh out loud. When she looked up at Ben, she caught a pained expression and her heart ached for him. If only they'd been able to have children of their own … but now was not the time to think of such things. This was a moment of gladness and nothing would spoil it.

Cara returned and they all sat around the low table by the fire. Cara looked at Ben and asked, “Forgive me, but you're not Elizabeth's father, are you?”

Ben shook his head. “No, we did keep track of him for some time, in case Elizabeth wanted to meet him when we found her, but he died a few years ago in a railroading accident.”

Cara frowned. “I'm sorry. Elizabeth told us her parents had died.”

Jane looked down into her lap. “She was raised in an orphanage, Mrs. Collins. I don't know what they told her, but it is possible they told her we had passed away.”

“And you have searched for her for all of these years,” Cara remarked softly. “It is amazing that you found her here, so far away from anywhere.”

Jane nodded. “I had given up … and then I received a letter from Henry and Margaret Dunning. They claimed to have adopted Elizabeth years ago. Needless to say, we took the first available train to Seattle to meet them. They directed us here—something about a telegram they received from a detective they'd hired to find Elizabeth. Does any of this sound accurate to you?”

Cara and Will exchanged looks. Finally Will nodded. “Yes, there was a man here looking for Elizabeth. He must have been the one. But I have to tell you, she was very afraid of him. And her adoptive parents, too. I don't think she ever wanted to see them again.”

“I can understand why after meeting them,” Ben said grimly. “They were far worse than we had hoped. We can't tell you how relieved we are to hear that she made it away from those people.”

Cara leaned forward earnestly. “Have no fear. Elizabeth is everything you could want in a daughter. She may not have always had an easy time of it. I know she has suffered in ways,
but her trials have refined her into a brave and rare young woman, one whose spirit I'm glad to have the privilege to know. It will mean so much to her to know you both.”