Summer of the Midnight Sun (7 page)

She looked hard at the man’s face. The eyes were penetrating—almost hypnotic. This was the face of a killer, she told herself.

Helaina tried hard to imagine what thoughts the man might have—what reasoning he might use to justify his deeds. She’d always wondered what thoughts and planning had gone into the events that had taken the lives of her own loved ones, for surely the men involved had contemplated their actions at length. Kidnapping was not something one did without a plan for victims. Even if that plan was death. She couldn’t fathom the mind that perceived such deeds as acceptable.

She thought of her husband and how he might have reacted to the attack. Robert Beecham was no man’s fool. Wealth had not been handed to him—he had made every cent by using his brain and brawn. Likewise, her father had also made his fortune. There were no silver spoons to be placed in the mouths of the Curtis children. She and Stanley, and another sibling who had died shortly after birth, had all been born into poverty. But her father refused to be kept down. He created a profitable freighting business, then sold it and bought into an equally beneficial manufacturing company. Little by little, step by step, he had increased their fortunes and had pulled the family from their impoverished circumstances.

Robert had come upon the scene as her father began to seek out investment advice. Robert’s ability with figures and reading the market had merited him much success. He had made his first hundred thousand before he’d turned twenty-five and was quite confident in his future. It was one of the things that had attracted Helaina to him.

Of late, however, Robert’s image had begun to fade from her memory, and his voice no longer haunted her dreams. She knew she’d not only survived widowhood, but had actually overcome it. Loneliness was no longer an issue. She had systematically driven this, as well as sorrow, away with her focus on righting the wrongs of the world. It was her only defense against drowning in miseries that would never bring her husband or parents back to life.

It was times like this that she could only wonder what the future might hold. She was only twenty-six, soon to be twentyseven in August. She knew she never wanted to marry again. She didn’t want children; the world was much too dangerous to contemplate bringing babies into its threat. But what eluded her was what she did want to do with her life. There were entire volumes of things she didn’t want, but coming to an understanding of what was important to have, to hold . . . now, that was difficult.

She looked again at . He seemed a perfectly normal man, but she knew he wasn’t. His past told a completely different story. He’d killed at least two men—Pinkerton agents who were working to retrieve articles had stolen—and he’d nearly killed Stanley. She shook her head.

What caused you to become the man you are? Why did you choose to live a life of evil instead of good?

Stanley had once told her that he was convinced men did not choose such things for themselves, rather those things occurred at random. Rather like a blanket thrown down from the mythological gods of Olympus. It fell on whom it would fall, and from that point on their life would be forever changed.

Mrs. Hayworth had a different view, one taken from her Christian beliefs.
“God has a specific plan for each person’s life,”
the woman had said.
“Some men will give in to the devil’s prompting. God weeps for them.”

God weeps for them, maybe, but He certainly didn’t stop them.

When Robert died, Helaina had been bitter at the platitudes murmured and spoken by all those around her. Even his eulogy spoke of God’s infinite wisdom and plan for each man’s soul. Helaina had decided then and there that, if this, in fact, was the manner and heart of God, she wanted no part of Him. He was cruel to her way of thinking. A robber of loved ones—unfairly stealing away the very heart of those He called children.

Helaina had rejected any thought of God or His comfort after that. Not that she’d really given Him much thought prior to Robert’s and her parents’ deaths; but now it seemed it was to be war between her and God. A war that she could only win by altering God’s plan—by capturing the evil that He allowed to run free in her world.

“I’ll find you, Jayce . Like all the others before you. I’ll hunt you down and see you pay for the things you’ve done.” She held the sketch with trembling hands. “The law will win out and justice will be done. You will hang for the sins you’ve committed because whether God will punish you or not—we will. We lowly, puny humans will see it done.”

————

Leah felt a deep sense of gratitude when she awoke to silence. The storm had ceased, and the sound of children’s laughter could be heard from outside. The missionary school year was completed for the season and the native children, along with the missionaries’ kids, were enjoying their freedom.

Throwing back her covers, Leah stretched and yawned. The aroma of coffee and griddlecakes filled the air. She’d overslept, but apparently Jacob had gotten along well enough without her. It was only then that the memory of Jayce came back to haunt her.

She grabbed her robe and held it close against her body. Jayce was here. He was staying with them. She found the idea as ludicrous now as when it had first been presented. Jacob had set Jayce up with a pallet in the storeroom. He had teased their visitor that it would be colder than the rest of the house, but that if Jayce was going to explore the Arctic, he might as well get used to it. Then with this arrangement made, Jacob told Leah there was no reason for her to stay with Ayoona.

No reason?

Leah couldn’t believe her brother’s ignorance. How could he not see or understand the effect Jayce had on her? And how could Jayce be so completely blind to it? As far as either of them were concerned, ten years was long enough to have put the past to rest. Leah sighed. It should have been.

You should just tell him how you feel
. The words came from somewhere deep inside.
How can I tell him? It will only serve to embarrass and further hurt me
. But in truth, Leah was already in so much discomfort that talking to Jayce, a man who planned to leave in a matter of days, couldn’t be much more painful.

Leah argued with herself for several minutes, but then her gaze fell to the calendar. Jacob had encouraged her to keep meticulous track of the days. With no sun in the winter and no night in the summer, it was easy to lose track of the days unless she kept a ledger.

The day Leah had been dreading had arrived—a taunting reminder of all she had failed to accomplish. May 18, 1915. It was her thirtieth birthday.

Leah stared at the calendar as if to will it to declare a different day entirely. But the truth would win out. She was thirty years old, unmarried, childless. Worse still, there were no prospects of changing any of it.

She went about her duties in a daze. She had dreaded turning thirty. Somehow she could tell herself she wasn’t quite so hopeless or destitute while still in her twenties. But this mile marker seemed to make all the difference.

“Well, good morning,” Jacob said as Leah came into the kitchen. “I let you sleep on account of your birthday.”

Leah looked around frantically. “You didn’t tell Jayce it was my birthday, did you?”

Jacob looked at her oddly. “Of course. Why?”

She sighed. “No reason. Where is he?”

Jacob dished up several flapjacks. “Out with the dogs. Here. I fixed you breakfast and I have a surprise.” He pulled a small bottle from his coat pocket. “It’s maple syrup. I know you love it and haven’t had it for a while.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “That was really kind of you. Thank you.”

“I have another gift for you as well.” He left the room and returned with a brown paper-wrapped bundle. “I thought you might enjoy this.”

Inside was a new traveling case. “It’s wonderful,” Leah said, not completely understanding the purpose. “But am I going somewhere?”

Jacob nodded and poured her a mug of coffee. “You and I have talked several times about you going to see Karen and Adrik. I think this year would be perfect.”

“And what will you do while I’m gone?”

Jacob looked away. Leah could see he was uneasy with her question, and then it dawned on her that he meant to take Jayce up on the exploration offer. “You’re going to go with Jayce, aren’t you?”

“I think so. I’ve been praying on it, and . . . well . . . I think it might be exactly what God wants for me.” His expression was one of hopefulness—rather like a little boy asking if he might keep a stray dog.

“I see,” Leah said, wanting to be supportive. “I suppose to be honest, I was considering it myself—at least going to see the family. I know Karen would love it.”

“Look, just think about it. I need to get out there with the dogs. Jayce wants me to show him the best and help him to train with a couple of teams. I’ll be busy all day.” He headed to the door. “Happy birthday, Leah.”

The words rang in the air long after he’d gone. Leah sat down to the celebratory breakfast but found she wasn’t at all hungry.

He’s made up his mind to go away with Jayce
. The thought left her feeling rather empty. It wasn’t that Jacob wasn’t entitled to his own life. Goodness, but they’d talked about this on many occasions. Leah had always maintained that she’d go back to Ketchikan if Jacob wanted to set out on his own. They’d only stayed together because neither one had anyone else—at least that’s what they told each other.

Leah picked at the cakes, each piece drenched in the precious maple syrup. But even this sweet treat couldn’t make the meal more palatable.
He’s leaving me. He’s leaving and going far away
. But it wasn’t Jacob’s leaving that held her thoughts captive.

“Knock, knock!” a female voice called out.

Leah immediately recognized Emma Kjellmann’s Swedish accent. “I’m in the kitchen.”

The blond-haired woman immediately pushed back the fur and stepped inside. “Happy birthday.”

Leah smiled. Emma was the only other white woman in the village. She and her husband had come to the Seward Peninsula to bring the Word of God to the natives. While there, she’d given birth to three children, the oldest of whom shared his birthday with Leah.

“Thank you. Are we still planning to celebrate this evening?”

“Oh ja,” Emma said with a grin. “Bryce has talked of nothing else.”

“Well, turning four is a big event. Would you like some coffee?” Leah asked, getting to her feet. “I’m afraid I’m behind this morning. Jacob let me sleep late.”

“Good for him,” Emma replied, her accent thick. “It’s good for you too, ja?”

Leah laughed. “I don’t know about that, but I do feel very rested.” She held up the pot, but Emma shook her head.

“I’ve had plenty. I just wanted to let you know that we’d expect you and Jacob at six. Oh, and bring your visitor too. We’ll have plenty of food, thanks to Jacob’s trip.”

The mention of Jayce caused Leah to consider sharing her woes, for if anyone could advise Leah, it would be Emma.

“Do you have a minute, Emma?”

“Ja. Bjorn is seeing to the children, and the baby is sleeping, so he won’t have it that hard. What’s troubling you?”

Leah came back to the table and sat down. Emma took the seat opposite her. “It’s about our visitor.”

“You knew him from before, Jacob said.”

“Yes.” Leah struggled for words. Emma was such a dear friend, but it was still hard to speak aloud what she’d only dared to admit in her heart.

Emma put her hand over Leah’s. “You have feelings for this man, ja?”

Leah looked at the woman in surprise. “How could you know that?”

Emma shrugged. “Why else would you be sitting here instead of helping Jacob with the dogs?”

It was true, Leah thought. She was always outside working with the dogs when there weren’t people wanting to purchase something from the store. “I was in love with him once—nearly ten years ago. He spurned me, saying I was too young to know my heart. I was quite devastated.”

Emma nodded. “And seeing him now is very hard.”

“Harder than I thought it would be.” Leah met the woman’s compassionate gaze. “I thought I’d put this in the past—dealt with the pain. But seeing him again has brought it all back. I just don’t understand why.”

“Because you are still in love with him,” Emma said matter-of-factly.

The words struck Leah in the gut, but she chose to ignore them. “Why would God do this to me? Why would He allow this man to come back into my life to hurt me?”

“Who can know the mind of God?” Emma declared. “You know that God has plans we cannot understand.”

“I feel so distant from God. I feel so lost. Does that shock you?”

Emma laughed, surprising Leah. “We have all felt that way from time to time. The very nature of God often makes us believe Him to be unreachable. He is, after all, God of the universe—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How could He possibly care about the day-to-day issues of our lives?”

Leah nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s how I feel right now. He mustn’t care about those details because this has happened. Yet I know that He cares.” She bowed her head. “I feel guilty for even questioning Him, but I cannot understand why Jayce is here.”

“Perhaps he’s here because the time is right to make things new,” Emma said softly. She squeezed Leah’s hand. “God wants your heart to be whole, Leah. He wants your trust. You mustn’t fear. You are poor in spirit right now. You feel depleted of hope and understanding, but God richly offers both. You’ll see. Your love for this man has lasted for ten years. Surely God has a plan for that love.”

“Maybe that’s what scares me the most,” Leah replied, looking up hesitantly. “Maybe His plan won’t be what I want it to be.”

“Who can know? But I know whom I have believed in.” Emma got to her feet and smiled, adding, “And so do you.”

Chapter Six

J
ayce washed up for the birthday party. He felt they’d accomplished a great deal, and for that he was satisfied. Jacob had helped him to pick out about twenty good dogs, and given the fact that the exploration team would soon be joining them, Jayce knew he needed to work hard to learn their handling. He also needed to help Jacob finish building two sleds.