[Alaskan Quest 03] - Whispers of Winter (26 page)

“But those boys need him. Even though we’ve moved into their house to see to their needs, it’s not easy on them. They resent their father’s absence and my presence. I know it, although they have never said as much.”

“Give them time. They all need time. It’s the only thing that will help,” Jayce said.

Leah knew his counsel was true; she’d said the same thing over and over herself. She also wrote letters of encouragement to Ashlie, who penned long letters about her loneliness and sorrow regarding her mother.

“When do they leave for Seattle?” Jayce asked.

“Next week. Unless Adrik has changed his plans, they’ll head out on the twenty-second.”

“The trip will help. It will be something fresh and different. It will see them removed from Alaska and all that is familiar, and they will be forced to come out of their cocoons and talk to each other. It’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”

Leah hoped her husband was right. She’d watched Adrik withdraw little by little throughout the winter, and when the railroad called the men back to work, it seemed the perfect excuse for him to completely lock himself away. Leah knew that everyone had to grieve in their own way, but this had been going on now for months, and it wasn’t helping anyone.

The next few days brought even more trouble, however. Newspapers reported a hideous round of influenza in the Nome and Teller areas of Alaska. They called it Spanish influenza but said little more about where it had come from or what its symptoms were. It seemed that the deadly sickness took hold in the winter months and rendered entire villages dead.

Leah was desperate for some word from her friends. She had waited patiently through the winter but now felt anxious for some good news to arrive soon. She wanted to know about Emma and the children, as well as how John and Oopick were doing. There were so many people she cared about, and she longed to hear from them.

A letter arrived from Grace with the sad announcement that her son Andrew had joined the army. Grace also wrote of her desire to come north and see Adrik and the boys. She felt a need to see them without Karen in order to make the woman’s death seem real. Her letter stated,
From so many miles away, it’s easy to pretend she is still with us
.

Leah didn’t have that advantage. Every day she felt Karen’s absence. She supposed part of it was living in Karen’s house. The arrangement had just seemed easier for everyone, given that the men were gone for longer and longer periods of time. Leah and the twins took up residence in the room Adrik had intended for Ashlie. When he’d built the house, he’d made sure there was space for his daughter, just so she wouldn’t feel any excuse to stay away.

At first, whenever Adrik returned, Leah and the twins would head home to their own cabin, but after a time it just seemed stressful for all concerned and Leah and Jayce moved in with Adrik and the boys. But when everyone was gone or asleep, Leah would find it particularly lonely. She could almost hear Karen’s voice and envision her working in the kitchen or at the table. Due to the frozen earth and heavy snow, they had only recently been able to bury Karen. The funeral had only served to reopen the wounds of loss.

“I’m glad you’ll be staying in the house,” Adrik said as Leah and the others gathered for dinner a few days after his return from up north and the night before he and the boys were to head to Seattle. “I think you’ll enjoy the bigger space, what with those rambunctious twins of yours.” He chucked Wills under the chin and leaned over to kiss Merry. The little girl squealed with delight as Adrik’s kiss trailed down her neck and then turned into a loud chopping sound. It was a game Adrik used to play with her and hadn’t done in some time.

Leah was glad to see Adrik seem a little more like himself. “We’ll miss you. I suppose next thing I know I’ll get a letter stating that you’d decided to stay in Seattle.”

Oliver looked up with a deep frown. “We won’t stay there.”

Adrik shrugged. “What if we like it more than we like it here?”

Oliver pushed back his chair so quickly that it clattered to the floor as he stood. “I don’t even want to go to Seattle. Nobody asked me!” He ran out of the room, leaving Adrik looking rather stunned.

Christopher got up slowly and shook his head. “I don’t want to go either.” He followed his older brother to their loft bedroom.

“Well, I seemed to make a mess of that,” Adrik said, looking rather dejected.

“They’re really suffering,” Leah said. She spooned some mashed up vegetables into Wills’ bowl and handed him a spoon. Merry was still happily gnawing on a piece of sourdough bread with butter and had hardly touched her vegetables. Buttering bread for Wills, Leah continued, “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, but—”

“But I’m never home,” Adrik inserted. “I know, and I’m sorry. I’ve allowed my work to occupy me so that I don’t have to think or feel Karen’s absence. I knew it was wrong, but … well … things will be different now. I’ve been very selfish in all of this. Jacob and Jayce helped me to see that much.”

“We did?” Jayce questioned. “When did we have time to do that?”

“You did it by your actions. Every time I turned around, you were wanting to come home and be with your family. I wanted to be with the boys but wanted even more to be with Karen, and I knew she wouldn’t be here. Further, I knew the boys would have questions, and I would have to deal with their heartache on top of my own. I wasn’t up to it.” He shook his head. “I’m really sorry, Leah. It was selfish of me, but I intend to do better. I’m hoping this trip will give us a chance to really talk to each other and work through some of the pain.”

“You owe me no apology. I was just worried about you— about them too. They haven’t been doing well, Adrik. Christopher suffers from nightmares and Oliver worries incessantly about everything. They both ask me about you constantly, always wondering and worrying if you’ll meet with some horrible fate.”

“I didn’t know.” Adrik looked upward toward the loft. “I’ll talk to them—help them to understand.” He started to get up.

Leah touched his arm gently. “Why don’t you give Oliver a little time to calm down? He’ll be more inclined to listen to you once he stops being so angry.”

“I doubt the anger will stop anytime soon. Not if he feels like me,” Adrik said, retaking his seat. “But you’re right. I’ll go up after supper.”

Oliver and Christopher listened to the things being said as they huddled together in their bed. Oliver shook his head and turned to Christopher. “I know what he’ll say. He’ll tell us that we’ll have a great time in Seattle and that we won’t miss Mama there as much as we do here, and before you know it he’ll be buying a house and getting a job. Then we’ll be stuck there. Well, I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to Seattle. I’m going home.”

“To Ketchikan?”

“Yes. That’s where we were the happiest. That’s where I want to be.”

Christopher’s expression turned quite serious. “I’m going home too. I want to go back to our old house. But, Oliver, how will we get there? Ketichkan’s a long ways off, and we don’t have any money.”

“If we take the train down to Seward, we can find a boat to take us to Ketchikan. I’ve been asking some questions; I know all about this stuff. The fishing boats will take us so long as we work. We know how to do that kind of stuff. We’ll be home in less than two weeks if we’re lucky.”

“You’ll take me too?”

Oliver put his hand on Christopher’s shoulder. “I won’t leave you here. I’ll take care of you, Christopher. I promise.”

“And I’ll take care of you,” he replied.

Oliver didn’t want to hurt his brother’s feelings by explaining that an eleven-year-old boy could hardly take care of himself, let alone anyone else. “We’ll make it, Christopher. Together we’ll do just fine. Now, come on. Let’s go to bed. When Papa comes to talk to us, we’ll pretend we’re asleep. That way we won’t have to lie about our plans.”

Christopher hurriedly pulled off his heavy flannel shirt and put on his nightclothes. “When are we going to leave?”

“As soon as everyone is asleep.” Oliver had everything planned out in his mind. He’d been working on this ever since his father had made the Seattle plans known. He had originally figured to part ways once they’d arrived in Seward, but maybe he’d be better off to head out now. He knew there was a freight train that would come through sometime in the night. It was the train returning to Seward for supplies needed on the rail line up north. They always stopped to take on water in Ship Creek. If he and Christopher were very careful, they could probably sneak on board and make their way south. He’d watched the train cars on many occasions. Most of the time the doors were left open. It should be easy enough to hide inside one of them for the trip south. At least he hoped it would be.

Leah hurried to get breakfast on the table while Adrik called to the boys for the third time. “Come on, guys, we’ll be late for the train if you don’t get your things and get down here right now.”

He shook his head when there was no response and headed for the ladder. “They were so tired last night they were already asleep when I went to talk to them. No doubt they’re worn out from their grief and worry. I’m really sorry I put all of that on you, Leah.”

“I was glad to be here for you, Adrik. You know that. Don’t blame yourself or be upset with the situation. It’s just the way things go.”

“I think I’ll go up and talk to them before they come down. That way, maybe I can explain the way things are.”

Adrik went up the steps while Leah turned to retrieve the coffeepot. The front door opened, and Jacob and Helaina entered. Leah couldn’t help but smile. Helaina moved ever so slowly under the heavy burden of her child. For weeks they had discussed whether the baby was a boy or a girl, and both concluded it was a son, due to his rowdy activity in the womb.

“How are you feeling?” Leah asked as she pulled out a chair for Helaina with one hand and placed the coffeepot on the table with the other.

“I slept pretty well. As I mentioned, the baby has been less active. The doctor said that’s due to his saving up his energy to be born. He doesn’t think it will be long.”

“Neither do I,” Leah admitted. “You’ve really dropped since last week. I believe it will be any day now.”

“Leah, have you seen anything of the boys?” Adrik asked as he came back down the ladder.

“No, not since supper. Why?”

“They’re gone. They’re gone and so are some of their things. They packed knapsacks to carry on the trip. Those are missing.”

“Do you suppose they had a change of heart and decided to head over to the train station early—maybe to show you that they were willing to go?” Jacob questioned.

“I don’t know. I guess I should head over there and see.” He scratched his bearded face. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Why?” Leah asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Is any food missing?” Adrik asked.

Leah shrugged and went to the cupboard. “I hadn’t really noticed.” She began to look around. “Well, several bags of jerky are gone—you know the stuff you put up last winter? And it looks like all but one loaf of sourdough bread is missing as well.” She looked up fearfully. “They’ve run away, haven’t they?”