[Alaskan Quest 03] - Whispers of Winter (33 page)

“Really doesn’t matter much. You’re a wanted man and you’re under arrest. If I thought I could get away with it, I’d belt you just for threatening my children.”

Mills’ lip curled. He gave a side glance to the officer who prepared to handcuff him. Without warning, Mills pushed the man backward and rushed for the door. Adrik blocked him, however, and the officers wrestled him to the cabin floor.

“Seems he does better down on the floor,” Adrik said, eyeing Mills with great contempt. “Maybe you should just leave him there—roll him off the ship like an empty whiskey barrel.”

The officers laughed, but Mills was not amused. It was clear he saw his defeat and was not happy. The officer in charge quickly took down information from Adrik, then hurried to follow his associates.

“Thank you for your help in this matter,” Adrik said, turning to the cabin steward as the police led Mills from the room. He looked to the captain and winked. “This young man deserves a raise. He thinks fast on his feet.”

“I believe you’re right,” the captain replied. “Perhaps he can be moved to a better position. One that deals with our ship’s security.”

Adrik reached out and shook the cabin steward’s hand. “Thank you, son.” He turned to the captain and extended his hand. “And thank you, Captain. I’ll rest easier now knowing my family doesn’t have to worry about debarking in danger.”

Ashlie startled as the key sounded in the lock and the door handle turned to admit their father. “The authorities have him in custody,” he announced.

“Was there any trouble?” Ashlie jumped up.

“Oh, he tried to protest his innocence, and when he could see it wasn’t going to do him any good, he tried to run. He was no match for the police, however. They easily overpowered him. I gave a statement and Myrtle’s address in case they needed to talk to us.”

“So we can leave now?” Ashlie asked. She was so anxious to see Winston. Surely he would be worried, wondering why most everyone else had left the ship but not the Ivankovs.

Her father gave her a devilish look of mischief. “I don’t know. I’m not in any hurry, and the captain said we might wait here as long as we desire.”

Ashlie gathered her things. “Well, you can wait here, but I don’t intend to.”

Oliver handed his father the revolver. “I’m tired of this ship. I want to see what everyone’s been telling me about— this great city of Seattle.”

“Me too,” Christopher said, coming to his father. “Can we go now?”

The big man laughed out loud. “I guess we’d better. Otherwise I’ll be standing here alone. Grab your things, boys. We’d best hurry or our Ashlie will leave us in the dust.”

Ashlie opened the cabin door and waited impatiently for her family. The boys hurried to take up their small packs, while Adrik leisurely replaced the gun in his trunk, then hoisted it to his shoulders.

“All right. Let’s go.”

On the dock, Ashlie searched to find the only man she truly cared to see. “There he is!” Ashlie shouted, picking up her pace. She could see Winston standing beside Timothy Rogers. Was it possible that Winston was even more handsome than when they’d parted company earlier in the summer?

“I thought we’d never get here,” she declared as she dropped her things on the dock and threw her arms around the man in a most inappropriate manner. At that point she didn’t care what anyone thought. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Winston hugged her close, then set her away from him. Ashlie could see that he’d grown rather uncomfortable in the shadow of the big man who stood watching them.

“Winston, this is my father, Adrik Ivankov.”

“Sir … I’m … I’m … pleased to meet you.” He extended his hand. Adrik balanced the trunk with one arm and took hold of Winston.

Ashlie’s father eyed the younger man with great scrutiny. “Glad to finally meet you. I figure if we’re to be family, we need to get right to work.”

The tall dark-haired man seemed rather taken aback. “Get right to work?”

“Getting to know each other,” Adrik countered. “Ashlie tells me she’d like to be married within the week. Does that set well with you?”

Winston seemed to overcome his surprise just a bit. He looked to Ashlie, then back to Adrik. “She has a way of getting what she wants,” he said with a grin. “At least this time I find that it meets very well with my approval. But I would like to ask you properly for her hand and have your approval as well.”

A smile broke the sternness of Adrik’s expression. “She does have a way of getting what she wants, and I can tell already that I’m going to like you just fine.”

Leah looked around the large open room and smiled. Earlier she and Helaina had opened every window in the house to air out the damp, stale smell. This was the home she’d grown up in with Karen and Adrik. The Ketchikan cabin had started fairly small, but over the years Adrik had added on to it with first one room and then another and finally an entire second story. It was a beautiful log home that brought back many special memories of her mother-daughter relationship with Karen.

Now after two hours of dusting and mopping, Leah felt the house was in good order. She sighed and leaned back against the front door. Adrik had told them to feel free to live with him as long as they liked. He wanted the company—no, he needed it. Leah knew that it would probably be hard for him to come back to this house and not be lonely.

“You certainly managed to accomplish a great deal,” Helaina said, coming down the stairs. She and the baby, along with the twins, had been napping while Leah worked. “You really shouldn’t have done so much in your condition.”

“I feel fine. Besides, I can get a lot done when there aren’t little ones under foot. Not to mention I enjoyed myself. I kept thinking of times when Karen and I cleaned this house together.”

“I know you’ll miss her,” Helaina said. “I’m missing her myself. Sometimes more than I ever imagined.” She frowned. “I suppose that doesn’t make sense to you.”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“Well, I didn’t know Karen all that long, but in the time I knew her, I found she had a way of nurturing people. And she made me feel as if my mother were here again. She would come and have tea with me every day if her schedule permitted. It meant the world to me.”

Leah went to Helaina and took her hand. “It doesn’t matter how long you knew her. Karen had a special heart for people. I know she thought you to be a perfect mate for Jacob.” Leah smiled. “We always knew it would take a strongwilled woman to be a good wife for him.”

“We have definitely had our moments. Goodness, but when I think back to our first meeting and how I nearly slapped him for running into me on the street, it makes me laugh. We didn’t exactly make a positive impression on each other.”

“Well, you were too busy trying to hang my husband,” Leah teased.

“Don’t remind me. I hate those days—those times of being so hard.” Helaina put her hand on Leah’s shoulders. “I don’t deserve the mercy I’ve received, but I’m so blessed to have it. I don’t deserve any of the good things God has given me.”

“None of us do,” Leah admitted. “But then they wouldn’t be so special if they were deserved.”

“I never thought I’d be a part of a real family again,” Helaina admitted. “I didn’t want to be a part of one. I didn’t want children because the pain of losing them would have been impossible to bear, and I certainly didn’t want to risk having another husband. Now here I am with both husband and son, and I could not imagine my life without them. Not to mention the twins and you and Jayce.” Tears came to her eyes. “Leah, the past … well … it seems like a vague dream— a nightmare, really. I never thought that would be possible. I’m so happy with my life.”

Leah patted Helaina’s hand. “I am too. And so many years ago I sat in this very house, crying my eyes out because Jayce rejected my love. How strange it seems to be here now—married with two beautiful children and another on the way.”

Leah put her hand to her stomach. “I couldn’t have ever seen the possibility of this all those years ago. I never thought I could be happy, but here I am.”

“Leah!” Jayce called from outside. He came bounding through the front door, Jacob right behind him.

Leah could see they were both quite excited. “What’s going on?”

“We are the proud new owners of the Barringer-Kincaid Mercantile,” Jayce announced.

“That’s wonderful news. I’m so glad things went well.” Leah went to her husband and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She had known the men were trying to put the finishing touches on their new business venture but hadn’t known for sure that things would be completed that day.

“I’ve wired Peter Colton and will have a list of supplies delivered up here as soon as he can spare a ship to make the trip north,” Jacob said. He lifted Helaina at the waist and twirled her around several times before setting her back down. “Things are finally coming together for our store.”

“I knew they would,” Helaina replied.

“We’ll have to celebrate tonight,” Leah declared. “I’ll kill one of the chickens and fry it up.”

“And can we have potatoes and gravy?” her husband asked.

“And biscuits and fresh rhubarb pie?” her brother added.

Leah laughed and looked to Helaina. “It would appear our work is just beginning.”

September brought the grand opening of the Barringer-Kincaid Mercantile. Jacob was proud of what they’d accomplished and knew that, although there would be less traffic here than what he might have experienced in Seward or Ship Creek, Ketchikan had the feel of home to him. Only two days earlier they’d completed the renovations of the rooms above the store, and he’d moved his family into their own home. With Malcolm quite small, Jacob knew it would be some time before they would need to worry about having a bigger place with a yard. For now this was not only very adequate for their needs, it was beneficial for their business. With the store located just downstairs, Jacob wouldn’t have to worry about theft in the night. With the town growing ever larger, such matters were always of concern.

Everything seemed perfect. With the store situated right at the docks, Jacob felt confident they would do very well. Jayce thought so too. He pointed out that ships might even begin allowing their passengers time to depart the ship and come to their store to purchase native-made items they could take home as souvenirs of their trip north.

“I think once we figure things up,” Jayce said, looking at the ledger, “we will have made a nice profit today.”

“That’s to be expected,” Jacob said. “It was the first day. Folks were curious about the things we had on hand. We won’t have that kind of traffic in here on a daily basis. That’s why I didn’t want to have too big of a place.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Jayce began, “in time we might add on to this building and create rental space for additional shops. Think of it.”

Jacob could imagine just such a thing. “I had been thinking perhaps we could even buy the places just up the way from us and attach them on to this building with a few places in between. It would be expensive, but just imagine what we’d have when we got done. We could rent out the other buildings and have a nice income.”

Jayce laughed. “We think so much alike, it’s downright scary.”

The bell over the door sounded as a man looking to be in his fifties entered the store. Jacob moved down the counter. “Welcome, friend. We were just about to close up for the day.”

“I’m glad I caught you, then.” He moved to the counter and extended his hand. “I’m Bartholomew Turner. Bart to my friends. I’ve come to discuss a matter with you and your partner.”

Jayce joined Jacob. “I’m Jayce Kincaid.”

“And I’m Jacob Barringer. What did you want to discuss?”

“The fact of the matter is this: I own a store in Skagway. The economy in that area is quite depressed, and it is my plan to be done with the place when my lease is up at the end of October. I was here in Ketchikan to discuss with my brother the idea of leaving Alaska altogether. We are not young men anymore and a warmer climate would be to our liking.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with us.” Jacob saw the man’s expression change from serious to rather hopeful.

“I thought you might be interested in buying out my current stock. It isn’t large, by any means, but no one in Skagway wishes to secure it because there are many specialty items that are of no interest. Things like musical instruments and cameras. They used to be quite sought after, I must say. I once sold a great many things. Now I do better with the odd bits of furniture, lamps, and of course food staples. We found we had to add food items just to keep our business lucrative.”