Baked Alaska (12 page)

“I love you, and there’s nothing you could do that will change that,” she said quietly. “I hope that Lorraina will be okay and that you can continue building your relationship with her.”

Shawn looked away, but not before Sadie saw a flicker of guilt in his eyes. Maggie had said that Shawn’s relationship with Lorraina might have had some problems. But how could she ask about that right now? It would feel so self-serving.

“Thanks, Mom,” Shawn said. He rinsed his whole pan in the river and stood up. Sadie winced at the potential treasure he’d just washed away—two or three dollars’ worth of gold!

Raised voices a few feet away caused both of them to look upriver.

“I don’t need you to do it for me,” a redheaded woman said, standing with her hands on her hips as she looked down at a bald man crouched at the edge of the water with his back to her.

“I’m not doing it
for
you,” the man said, obviously frustrated. “I’m just showing you how to do it right.”

“Oh,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, “because you’re an expert at panning for gold, now?”

“No, because I paid attention when they showed us how to do it. You have to hold the pan like this.”

Sadie was about to look away, embarrassed for them both, when the woman lifted one foot and kicked the man in the tush, upsetting his center of gravity and sending him face-first into the shallow water. He dropped his pan and spread his arms in an attempt to catch himself, but ended up spread-eagled in the muddy water.

An awkward hush fell over the rest of the gold-panners as the woman marched toward the shuttle parked several yards away behind some trees. One of the tour guides went after her while the man got out of the river, spitting water. He turned toward the woman’s retreating form as he wiped mud from his face. “For heaven’s sake, Tanice!” he said, storming in her direction.

Sadie watched Pete and another guide hurry in the man’s direction, intercepting him before he covered too much ground. Sadie stayed put, repeating the woman’s name in her mind. “Tanice,” she said aloud. “Like Janice but with a T.”

“What?”

Sadie looked up at a confused Shawn.

She stood, still holding her pan in both hands, looking at the place where the woman had disappeared into the trees. “The wine bottle Lorraina had last night had a gift tag on it for Ben and Tanice.”

“A gift tag? What gift tag?”

Chapter 13

“Didn’t Officer Jareg tell you about the gift tag? That’s why I thought Lorraina’s name was Tanice.”

“He told me about the wine but he didn’t say anything about a gift tag. Lorraina had someone else’s wine?”

“I guess so,” Sadie said.

“And that woman”—he nodded toward the trees—“is named Tanice? The same name from the gift tag?”

“Same name, yes. But I have no idea if it’s the same Tanice, though it can’t be a very common name. I’ve never heard of it before.” The pure coincidence that the Tanice and Ben from the gift tag might be on the same shore excursion as Sadie’s family seemed far-fetched, but she could feel her investigative mind clicking into place all the same. She wondered if Shawn was experiencing the same thing.

“I wonder how Lorraina got their wine,” Shawn said.

“Or when,” Sadie added. “I saw her just a couple of hours before Pete and I found her on deck. Even then she hadn’t drunk much of the wine after she got it.”

“But it was enough,” Shawn said quietly, sadly.

Sadie looked at the man still standing on the shore, talking with Pete and the guide. Was that Ben? The guide left, and Pete led the man over to a fallen tree where they both sat down. Sadie could tell, even from a distance, that Pete was working his magic; he was a master at calming people down in intense situations. Heaven knew he’d calmed Sadie down more than once.

“Ten more minutes,” Jackpot Jessie, one of the guides, called out to the tourists. Some were still bent over the river, others were standing around the rickety tables placed here and there, picking the gold out of their pans with tiny eyedroppers. “When you’re finished, please return the pans to the equipment box. I hope prospecting helped you work up an appetite ’cause we’ll be taking you to the salmon bake just as soon as we finish up.”

Sadie looked at the gold and dirt still in her pan, then at Shawn who was watching an eagle circling in the sky above them. He seemed deep in thought.

Sadie finished swirling her pan, ending up with four more flecks of gold. She was one of the last to get her gold into her little container, but Shawn and Breanna waited for her. Pete had walked back to the shuttles with the man Tanice had pushed into the river, but then sat next to Sadie when they got on the bus. Tanice was sitting in the very back row of seats fiddling with her iPhone, making the most of having cell service. Her companion sat at the front, behind the driver, Nugget Nick, with a garbage sack spread over the seat to protect it from his muddy pants.

Sadie let Pete get comfortable before asking him, in a whisper, what he’d talked to the man about. Pete kept his voice low as he explained that apparently the couple’s marriage had been rocky for a few years and this trip was supposed to help repair their relationship.

“I don’t think it’s working,” Pete said when he finished.

Sadie nodded in agreement. “Um, did you happen to catch the man’s name?” she asked, not sure if she’d told Pete about the wine bottle gift tag either.

“Kirby,” Pete said. “Kirby Tucker.”

Sadie slumped slightly.

“Why?” Pete asked.

Sadie opened her mouth to answer just as Nugget Nick got back on the loudspeaker and began touting more facts about Juneau. It was home to the second-oldest surviving totem in all of Alaska, which he would take them past in a few minutes.

Before Sadie knew it, they’d arrived, along with several other shuttles from other excursions, at an outdoor restaurant where a full-fledged salmon bake was on. It had started raining, but each table was covered by a large umbrella and outfitted with heaters at the top. The buffet was set up under a covered pavilion. The four of them filled up their plates with salad and side dishes—the salmon was still cooking—and made their way through the crowds, eventually finding an empty table.

The rain pattered on the canvas over their heads, and Sadie felt herself slowly unwinding thanks to the soothing atmosphere, good food, and even better company. She knew what Shawn had been hiding, and they had had a good discussion about it. The mood was feeling better, and Pete began telling them about an actual gold panning trip he’d taken several years ago. He was a great storyteller and the more he talked, the more relaxed everyone became.

After a few minutes, Sadie’s phone dinged with a text message, and she reluctantly put down her fork—the Salmon Caesar Salad was delicious—in order to get her phone out of her bag. With Pete, Bre, and Shawn all here, Sadie wondered who was texting.

Pete continued his story, and Sadie unlocked her phone so she could see the message. She was surprised to see that the text was from Maggie.

Do you have a minute?

“It’s Maggie,” Sadie said to her companions as she stood up from the table. She caught a flash of Shawn’s unhappy expression before moving away. “I’ll be right back,” she said.

The overhanging roof of the gift shop provided some protection from the rain away from the tables and tourists; Sadie hurried to an empty section while calling Maggie’s number.

“Hi,” she said when Maggie answered. There was no heater under the eaves, and she wrapped her free arm around her stomach to try to retain some body heat.

“Hi,” Maggie said back. She sounded nervous.

“Is everything okay?”

“Um, I don’t know,” she said, then let out a breath. “They’re taking Lorraina to Anchorage in about an hour.”

“Oh, dear! Did something happen?”

“No, she’s about the same. She’s actually breathing a little better and her vital signs have been stable, but the doctors think another hospital can do more for her than Juneau can.”

“I see. Are you going to Anchorage with her?”

Maggie paused. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. I talked to my dad and told him how you suggested I stay on the cruise. He thought it was a good idea.”

“He did?” Sadie said, blinking in surprise.

“Yeah, I mean, I had such little time to get to know Lorraina, and he felt that since I’d come all this way, and paid for the cruise and everything, that maybe I should stay and see if Shawn and I can come to understand each other a little better or something. Maybe I can learn more about Lorraina, too. I can’t really do anything for her in Anchorage, and I don’t have the money to fly there without a good reason, but...I don’t know. I’m just trying to figure out what to do, and since you offered...”

“I agree with your dad. Staying on the ship would give you and Shawn a chance to get comfortable with each other. And I think Shawn has questions, too. Together you might be able to help each other find the answers and prepare for what to do next depending on what happens with Lorraina.”

“You’re sure you don’t mind? I realize this was a family vacation and everything. I don’t want to intrude.”

Maggie intruding was not going to ruin this vacation—much bigger things had already taken the trip off the rails. But that didn’t mean that good couldn’t come of this. “We’d love to have you. Truly.”

Maggie was quiet for a minute. “Do you think Shawn will be okay with it? I’m not trying to force him to accept me or anything, but I want to learn more about Lorraina, and he knows her better than I do.”

“I think Shawn will be okay.” She’d seen his interest spark when she told him about the gift tag, and she knew he had questions he hadn’t yet posed for answers. Sadie was a big believer that information was power, and she felt it was in Shawn’s best interest to connect with Maggie, even if he might need time to adjust to the idea.

They made plans to meet when they all returned to the ship. Maggie didn’t want to leave the hospital while Lorraina was still there, and she needed to talk to the captain about staying longer since the staff had anticipated her leaving the cruise all together. Sadie agreed to text Maggie when they were back at the pier, which she assumed would be in an hour or so.

They said their good-byes, and Sadie returned to the table. “Shawn, can I talk to you for a minute?” It wasn’t that what she had to say was secret, but the moment just seemed to belong to him.

He looked hesitant, but then put down his silverware and stood from the table. She led him back to the gift shop. He folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Lorraina’s being transferred to Anchorage,” Sadie said, watching as his eyes shifted to the ground at the mention of Lorraina’s name. They’d discussed her twice now—once in the hallway outside the security office and once at the river—but it felt as though he’d broken the topic up into bite-sized pieces and could give them up only when he was ready to let them go. She waited for him to say something or ask a question, but he continued to stare at the ground. “Are you okay?”

“When does she go?” Shawn asked. His expression and tone were blank, which was unusual for him; he was usually so easy to read.

“In about an hour.”

Shawn let out a breath and looked toward the parking lot at the front of the pavilions. They weren’t the only shore excursion that had ended up at the salmon bake and numerous shuttles were waiting to take the cruisers back to the various ships. “Do you think there are any taxis out there?”

“Why?”

“I think I should go to the hospital before they transport her. Talk to her doctors and stuff.”

“I don’t know that—” She stopped herself and thought things through for a few seconds. Did she really want to talk him out of seeing Lorraina? There was no way to know what would come next for her, or for him. For them.

“Do you want me to come with you?” she said instead.

He immediately shook his head, then gave her a sympathetic look. “There’s stuff I know I need to explain—stuff I
want
to explain—but if she’s leaving so soon, I think I need to see her first. Can we talk later, though?”

Being told to wait
again
was so much like last night that she wanted to insist he tell her now, but he was genuinely asking for her patience this time. She nodded, and he gave her a quick hug. As he turned back to the table, Sadie remembered the other thing she needed to tell him and grabbed his arm. “Also, Maggie isn’t going to Anchorage. She’s staying on the ship instead. I really think you two should connect, at least try to.”

Shawn let out another heavy breath and stared at the ground. She felt him tense beneath her hand, and for a moment, she thought he was about to explain his feelings toward Maggie. The moment passed.

“I better get to the hospital,” Shawn said.

Salmon Caesar Salad

Dressing

1 coddled egg

1/3 cup olive oil