[Alaskan Quest 02] - Under the Northern Lights (2 page)

And there he was. Her heart skipped a beat as he turned from the stove. ‘‘Jayce,’’ she sighed.

‘‘Welcome home . . . Leah.’’

It was only then that she realized it wasn’t Jayce at all.

It was Chase.

‘‘You are Leah—aren’t you?’’ he asked. His resemblance to Jayce was uncanny, but there was something about him that set him apart. Something raw and cruel. Something very, very evil. The skin on the back of her neck prickled, and Leah swallowed hard and leaned back against the doorframe. ‘‘What are you doing here?’’

‘‘Now, that’s no way to welcome your husband.’’ He grinned wickedly at her and took up the coffeepot.

‘‘You aren’t my husband.’’ She turned to leave. Surely she could outrun this man. She’d get John, and he could take Chase in hand.

‘‘I wouldn’t go, if I were you. Otherwise your husband and brother, not to mention your dear friend Mrs. Beecham, might all be killed. I’d really hate to do it, but I will.’’

Leah froze in her steps. She turned very slowly. ‘‘What are you talking about?’’ How could he possibly have Jayce and Jacob?

He poured himself a cup of coffee and gave a nonchalant shrug. ‘‘I suppose we could discuss that over something to eat.’’

‘‘Ayoona is expecting us. She thought you were Jayce.’’

‘‘Just as I hoped she would. I find that being an identical twin has its advantages. The heavy winter clothing doesn’t hurt either. It’s easy enough to hide a man’s face when needed. But since it wasn’t needed . . .’’ He let his words trail off.

Leah felt a shudder go through her. A million questions came to mind. ‘‘How did you even know about me—about this place?’’

‘‘Mrs. Beecham has been most helpful—without really meaning to be, of course. Not only that, but I’ve watched Jayce most of his life—or had him watched. Getting information on a man who is doing nothing to hide himself really isn’t that difficult. I have well-paid friends who always seem happy to share their knowledge for a price. As for this place, I’ve been here before.’’

‘‘How did you know about me—about Jayce and me being married?’’

He looked at her and laughed. ‘‘You really are quite naïve— aren’t you? You’ve certainly done nothing to hide your marriage. Besides, Mrs. Beecham told me about it—told me about Seattle and her clearing my brother through the use of fingerprints. She loves to talk, and I figure, why not let her? It’s not costing me a cent, and it’s valuable information.’’

Leah could have throttled Helaina. She had done nothing but cause trouble from the beginning. Now Chase was here, threatening everyone Leah loved, and there seemed to be nothing she could do but play along.

Leah felt a shudder go through her. ‘‘What have you done with my husband and brother?’’

Chase took a seat at the table. ‘‘They’re safe enough . . . for now.’’

Leah felt her anger overcome her fear of the man. ‘‘Where are they?’’

Chase took a long drink, then settled back against the seat. ‘‘Look, you must be a fairly smart woman. I doubt Jayce would marry a ninny. He always did have to have the best of everything. But be that as it may, being smart, you must know that I’m not about to divulge any secrets that might help you to betray me. All I will say for now is that they are safe. Safe for the time. What you do or don’t do will determine if they continue being safe.’’

Leah decided it couldn’t hurt to temporarily play his game. ‘‘What do you want?’’

‘‘I want dogs and provisions. Mrs. Beecham eats a lot, and we left town in a hurry—as you probably know—not exactly prepared for this sudden change of weather. I figured to get blankets and warmer clothes. You know, sometimes a person’s survival depends on little things.’’ He swept her body with his gaze.

Crossing her arms against her chest, Leah wished fervently she could wipe off the smug expression Chase wore. He clearly had the upper hand. If she told the village that he was Chase instead of Jayce, he would most likely be taken into custody . . . but not without a fight. But more important, she might never find Jayce and Jacob. Or even Helaina. Leah felt bad that she held very little concern for the woman, but with her brother’s and husband’s lives at stake, Helaina ran a distant third—especially considering all she had blabbed to Chase.

‘‘So how do we resolve this?’’ Leah finally asked.

‘‘You do what I say and no one will get hurt. We will pack a sled and head out in the morning. I figure a night of rest and . . . warmth will be to our advantage.’’ He dropped his voice low. ‘‘I’m very much the same man as my brother. So it would hardly be wrong for us to . . . well . . . enjoy each other’s company.’’

‘‘You’re nothing like my husband. Jayce is a good man with a strong conscience to see right win over wrong. He loves God, and you clearly love only yourself,’’ Leah said, shaking her head. ‘‘I might help you get dogs and supplies, but I won’t betray my husband by allowing you any part of me.’’

‘‘And if I insist?’’

Leah’s knees threatened to buckle. She was shaking so hard she was certain Chase could see her tremble. With a false sense of bravado, she squared her shoulders. ‘‘Then I suppose we all die.’’

He studied her for a moment. ‘‘Keeping your marriage bed untainted means that much to you? What has Jayce done to deserve such loyalty?’’

Leah refused to back down. ‘‘He’s a trustworthy man, and he’s had my heart since I was nineteen. I love him very much, and I won’t betray him, even to save my own life.’’

‘‘But what about doing it to save his life?’’

It was then that Leah realized this was all a game to him. He was enjoying the play of emotions on her face—the frustration and fear in her voice. He seemed to feed off of it.

Leah could stand no more. ‘‘I have supplies to bring in and put away. The villagers believe you are my husband. For now I’ll let them believe that. But if you do anything to cause me grief, I’ll tell them all, and you’ll be imprisoned.’’

‘‘Not without a fight,’’ Chase said, laughing.

‘‘I think we both realize that,’’ Leah replied. ‘‘But you do not know these people like I do, and there you are at a grave disadvantage. You’d do well to remember that. Now I’m going to bring in the supplies—otherwise everyone here will know that something is wrong.’’

She hoped her words sounded believable. She certainly didn’t feel convincing. Walking back out of the house, Leah contemplated what she could do. The options seemed so few. She didn’t want to risk the lives of the people here, but she didn’t want to give Chase any advantage.

‘‘So where does this stuff go?’’ he asked.

She hadn’t realized he’d followed her out, but it made sense. He wanted to keep track of her—to keep an eye on her so that she couldn’t cause him any harm. ‘‘It goes into the room on the left.’’

He easily hoisted one of the heavier crates. It drove home the point to Leah that this was no city-born dandy. Chase was strong and well muscled, or he’d never have been able to handle that box. There had to be at least one hundred pounds of supplies in that crate, and yet he acted as though it weighed no more than a pair of
mukluks
.

She followed after him, carrying a smaller pack of goods. She tried to pray but found the words were jumbled and made no sense. Surely God would understand the situation and know her heart. Leah feared for her brother and Jayce. She longed to see them again—to know they were safe.

While Chase went back for the last of the goods, Leah began to put things away. How had Chase managed to capture Jacob and Jayce? No doubt he had used Helaina as bait. Leah suddenly felt very angry with the younger woman. She’d been nothing but trouble from the moment they’d met.
If not for her, things would be
different. If not for Helaina, we would never have had to endure the trip to
Seattle and the fear of Jayce hanging for offenses committed by his twin
. Leah seethed. The rise of her anger fueled her body as she tore into the crate. None of this had been their fault. Everything could be squarely placed on Helaina Beecham’s shoulders.

‘‘This the last of it?’’ Chase asked as he put a small wooden box on the counter.

‘‘Yes.’’ Leah hoped her clipped tone would indicate her unwillingness to discuss anything further.

‘‘We need to establish how things are going to be. Especially since we don’t want to give anyone here the wrong impression,’’ Chase stated. He leaned against the counter and watched Leah. It gave her an uncomfortable feeling, almost as if he could see through her layers of clothing—even past her flesh and bones to her very soul. It was like he could read her every thought.

‘‘You need to act as though nothing is wrong when we go to eat with your friends.’’

‘‘I’ll fix us something here. I don’t want you around my friends.’’

‘‘That will never do. If you reject their hospitality, they will assume something is wrong. We can’t have that, now, can we?’’

Leah stopped putting cans of milk on the shelf and looked at Chase. ‘‘I’m not going to give you away.’’
At least not yet
.

‘‘Good. I’m glad to hear you say that. I’d really hate to have to hurt you—or them. But I can hardly sacrifice my life because of sentiment. I haven’t survived this long by letting my heart run the show.’’

‘‘I seriously doubt you have a heart, Mr. Kincaid,’’ Leah said, returning to work.

‘‘Ah, but there you are wrong, my dear sister-in-law.’’ He came up behind her and took hold of her shoulders. She froze in place. ‘‘I have a heart, and I can be quite considerate—when extended the same respect.’’ He forced her to turn toward him, then reached out to lift her chin so that she would look him in the face. He stroked her cheek and seemed to study her reaction.

Leah steeled herself against his touch. She wouldn’t tremble and give him the pleasure of seeing her fear. ‘‘I won’t play your games, Mr. Kincaid. I will give you as much respect—as you put it—as I can, but I won’t dishonor my husband or my God.’’

Chase laughed and let her go. ‘‘So now God is your sole possession? I thought He was available for everyone.’’

Leah nodded very slowly. ‘‘He is. But since I’m the only one in this room who hasn’t rejected Him, I figured it suited the situation well to claim Him as my own. You are more than welcome to surprise me and prove me wrong.’’

He walked away, chuckling. ‘‘I would never attempt to prove you wrong on this point, Mrs. Kincaid. I hardly have need for God, much less one that you claim possession of so fervently.’’

Leah watched him walk away, and for the first time since learning about Chase Kincaid and the things he’d done, she felt sorry for him. It was little wonder he did the things he did. He had no use for living a righteous life. He had made his bed in hell, and it seemed to suit him just fine.

Chapter Two

J
acob held up the pot of coffee. ‘‘Want some more?’’

Jayce looked inside his mug at the settlement of grounds and shook his head. ‘‘Nah. I think I’ve had enough.’’

They’d taken shelter from the strengthening wind and had decided to make camp among some dwarf birch and shrub willows. Snow had fallen off and on for the last two hours, but it was the bone-chilling wind that had the dogs sleeping with their noses buried between their hind legs. Jayce was glad for the warmth of their tent. The camp stove helped considerably, as would the furs and wool blankets they’d brought from Nome.

‘‘The dogs aren’t going to last long,’’ Jacob said matter-of-factly. ‘‘I’ve been checking them over. They weren’t in the best shape to start with, but they were all we could get on short notice. I figure, however, we’re not that far from Last Chance. It might be wise to head that way and put together a couple of good teams.’’

‘‘But what about the trail? We’ll lose it altogether if we leave.’’ Jacob put the pot back on the stove. ‘‘This wind and snow is burying the last of it, anyway. I seriously doubt we’d be able to pick up on it in the morning. If we get fresh dogs and better provisions, we might be able to hit the trail again and find someone who’s actually seen Chase.’’

Jayce considered this idea for a moment. ‘‘What about Helaina?’’

‘‘Look, I don’t like it any better than you, but I’m telling you, these dogs aren’t going to last long. If we spend any more time attempting to run Chase down, I think it will kill half of these beasts.’’

‘‘How far do you figure us to be from Last Chance?’’

‘‘Probably two, maybe three, days.’’

‘‘And the dogs will hold out that long?’’

Jacob shrugged. ‘‘Most will. I think there’s one that might not. We can always put him in the basket.’’

Jayce nodded. ‘‘I guess it makes sense. We’d also get to see that Leah made it home safely. I hated sending her back on her own.’’

‘‘I’m sure John got word to come for her. There were a good number of people heading north to Teller, and I’m sure they would have rested at Last Chance. Some have family there, and you know they wouldn’t have missed a chance to share some time together.’’

‘‘Sure. It’ll put my mind at ease, nevertheless, to see that she made it home without any trouble.’’

Jacob smiled. ‘‘Me too. I can’t imagine life without her. Of course, now that she’s your wife, I guess I’ll have to.’’

‘‘I never had the kind of relationship with my siblings that you two share. I was born into a brood of vipers. They were all about what they could get for themselves. My father used to say that if his casket had gold plating, my brothers and sister would pry it off before putting him in the ground. I suppose I’m the odd man out in the family. Although I’m hardly a saint, as your sister will attest. I had my selfish ambitions as well.’’ Jayce looked out into the darkness. ‘‘It’s just that I seemed to realize, as I grew up, that selfish ambitions were hardly the way to live amicably with family or friends. Of course, I came to Alaska because I had no desire to live with my family—amicably or otherwise.’’

‘‘Were you and Chase never close? I thought twins were always . . . well . . . like one soul or something.’’ Jacob almost seemed embarrassed to have asked such a question.

‘‘Chase was ambitious from the start. Mother used to tease that the only reason I’d been born first was because I was bigger and had blocked Chase’s way.’’ Jayce smiled at the memory. ‘‘I told you, didn’t I, that we were born on different days in different years?’’ Jacob nodded and Jayce continued as if he needed to explain. ‘‘I was born at the close of the calendar year at three minutes till midnight in 1882. Chase was born four minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day. He had to be cut out. He was all wrapped up in the umbilical cord, and he and our mother nearly died. Somehow, Chase has had to do things the hard way ever since.’’