[Song of Alaska 02] - Morning's Refrain (32 page)
“It will be very special for all of you.”
“Oh, and thank you again for these recipes. I hope I can do them justice.”
Her mother-in-law smiled. “You are very welcome. Dalton tells me you are a wonderful cook, so I’m sure you’ll have no trouble at all.”
She tucked the pieces of paper into her pocket and collected her wrap. “When I get good at them, I shall invite you to eat with us.” Frowning, Phoebe added, “But it will probably be after the new house is finished. Our apartment barely has enough room for two people.”
Lydia laughed. “That will be soon enough. Kjell tells me it won’t be long. The mild winter helped them to accomplish a great deal more than they had originally planned. You shouldn’t have long to wait now.”
Phoebe imagined the glorious log house that was being built. It excited her more than she liked to admit, to know she would have a brand-new house that no one else had ever lived in. She gave the girls a wave and headed down the long drive. It was a beautiful day and she was glad for the time alone to sort her thoughts.
Dalton had been rather moody lately, and it had more and more to do with Yuri. Frequent rumors were circulating about Yuri, and Dalton feared for his well-being. Phoebe had tried to encourage him to talk with Yuri, but whenever her husband had approached his friend, Yuri had refused to even listen.
Men can be such ninnies. Why, if I had a problem with my girl
friend, I would simply go to her and demand she hear me out.
Phoebe began to get an idea.
What if I went to Yuri? He would have to listen
to me—it wouldn’t be polite to do otherwise.
Her mind set, Phoebe strolled past the Sitka Industrial and Training School, where Sheldon Jackson had set up classes and living quarters for the Tlingit children. The positive proof of Jackson’s approach seemed clear. The children were learning a great many new job skills—there was a carpenter who taught the boys about building furniture, houses, and boats, as well as women who were teaching the girls housekeeping and sewing. This would definitely give them an advantage in joining the American work force in Sitka and elsewhere.
Phoebe approached Belikov Boat Builders, determined to speak to Yuri and insist he stop this nonsense. Whatever was wrong in his life, it wasn’t Dalton’s fault. There was no sense losing a good friend over issues that perhaps they could work through together.
“Hello?” Phoebe called out as she entered the shop. “Is anyone here?”
“Be right there,” Yuri called from somewhere deep in the building. When he came out and realized it was Phoebe, his smile faded. “Why are you here?”
“I want to talk to you,” she replied.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Isn’t that too bad.” Her comment surprised him, but Phoebe didn’t stop there. “You have long had your own way, Yuri Belikov, and now it’s my turn.”
He frowned. “I don’t know what you think you have to say, but be done with it and go.”
Phoebe crossed her arms. “You and Dalton need to resolve whatever the problem between you might be. I know it isn’t me.”
“Oh, and how can you be so sure? We both liked you, and he stole you away from me.”
“Be reasonable, Yuri. You and I were nothing more than friends. I’d like to be your friend now. You are important to Dalton. He speaks about you all the time. He doesn’t understand what’s happened to you.”
Yuri shrugged and pretended to busy himself at one of the tables. Phoebe came to stand directly in front of him. “Yuri, what is wrong? Is it your mother and father leaving for Russia?”
“They can go. I hardly care. I have this shop now. My father sold the last of his big boats, and he has the money he needs to leave—so let him go.”
“But you will miss them. Having your family move away is not an easy thing to bear.”
“I don’t care. Now if that’s all you’ve come to say—”
“It’s not,” she interrupted. “I’m not leaving until you are honest with me about this. I don’t have to share your thoughts with Dalton, but I do demand you tell me why you are no longer willing to be his friend.”
“Why should it matter to you?”
“Because I love him,” Phoebe replied matter-of-factly. “And, believe it or not, I care about you, as well.”
“You lie.”
“Why should I?” She shook her head. “I owe you nothing. Don’t you remember the pleasant times we spent together? I’m sorry that you took offense that I could not turn our friendship into something more, but I never played false with you.”
Yuri heaved a sigh and his shoulders slumped forward. “No, you never did.”
“I’m glad we can at least agree upon that.”
“Still, it hurt that you gave your heart to Dalton so easily.”
“And for that I’m sorry,” she offered. “Not that I gave my heart to Dalton, but rather that I hurt you. I never meant to cause you pain. I can’t explain what happened to me when I first met Dalton. It was like nothing I had ever expected. I fell for him from the first moment.”
“He’s a lucky man.”
Phoebe heard the weight of sorrow in his voice. “But that isn’t what this is all about—is it?”
He met her gaze. “No. I suppose not. It was just one more thing.”
“What do you mean?”
Yuri walked to the open workshop door. The water lapped the shore not but about twenty feet away. Phoebe could smell the strong scent of seawater and fish. She waited for Yuri to say something, wondering if she should further prod a response. Something inside, however, admonished her to be quiet. He would speak in due time.
Minutes later, he did just that. “Dalton was always better at everything. He always played by the rules. He made better marks in school. He was smarter.” Yuri turned with a sad smile. “He was even able to speak Russian better than me.”
He stepped back to the table. “He was better at boat building. My father would show him something once, and Dalton instantly knew what to do. I had to work and work to grasp the concept.”
“Maybe you weren’t intended for boat building, Yuri.”
He looked at her oddly and nodded. “I have long known that, but of course I couldn’t tell my father. It was his dream that I would one day take on this business.”
“So why did you protest when Dalton wanted to buy into it?”
“Because I didn’t want him to show me up. I didn’t want him to take my father’s admiration and affection as he had taken yours.”
“Oh, Yuri. Your father is a good man. He will always love you more than Dalton.”
“My father admires craftsmanship and the ability to see a task through to completion. I often fail in those areas. Dalton doesn’t.”
“But your father put Dalton from this shop when you asked him to. He refused to sell Dalton half of the business because you didn’t want to work with him. That should tell you that he cares more about what you desire than what Dalton wants.”
“I suppose, but it also makes me feel terrible for the way I acted. Dalton didn’t deserve that, but I just couldn’t see myself paired alongside him any longer.”
“But there are things that Dalton cannot do. Yuri, you needn’t compare yourself to him. He cares about you for the friendship you’ve always shared. I would dare to say his love for you is equal to that of his for me. It’s just a completely different kind of love.”
“It’s too late,” he said, shaking his head. “Too much has happened.” “What makes you believe that?”
Yuri picked up a chisel and dropped it again. “I owe money.”
“To whom?”
“To some men. I . . . well . . . I gambled.” He looked up. “I have a gambling debt.”
Phoebe considered this for a moment. “Did you have this debt before Dalton and I married?”
“I had a bit of it. I had started to spend time with the wrong people even before Dalton went south with his sister. They were always enticing me with drink and gaming. I liked the way it made me feel.” He came around the table to where she stood. “I don’t expect you to understand, but for once, I felt that I had something that didn’t involve Dalton. I could drink and play cards with the best of them. I was even pretty good.”
“What happened?”
“I started drinking too much. I got careless and too self-confident. Then some new men came to town, and they were much better at cards. Perhaps they were even cheating, but it doesn’t matter now. I felt certain I could beat them and continued to play until the amount I owed them was more than I could ever hope to pay back with my meager salary.”
“So why didn’t you stop?” Phoebe couldn’t begin to understand the lure or attraction of gambling. It seemed quite reasonable that if one found they had overextended themselves, they should simply discontinue the activity.
“I couldn’t. I needed to find a way to get enough money to pay off my debt. When they heard that I had inherited this place, they demanded I sign it over to them in pay.”
Phoebe felt the wind go out from her. “What? Give up your family business?”
He nodded. “It’s worth far more than I owe, but it’s all I have of value. I convinced them to wait until my father left Sitka. I didn’t want him to ever know what had happened. I figured in time, I could tell him I sold it, but for now I have to keep it from him.”
“Oh, Yuri. This is terrible. You must talk to Dalton. He can help you.”
“But that’s just it. I don’t want his help. I already feel I’ve disappointed him too much. He can’t possibly want to be my friend after the way I’ve acted.”
“Of course he’s your friend. He cares about you, Yuri. His dream had been to work with you, and even if that never happens, you must know he wouldn’t want to see you lose this place to strangers.” Phoebe reached out and took hold of his arms. “Yuri, don’t let your friendship be ruined over your mistakes.”
“He could never forgive this.”
“Yes, he can.” Phoebe squeezed his muscular arms. “And he will. You have to give him a chance. Just talk to him. Tell him what you’ve told me.”
“But if I took his help, I would forever be in his debt. I could never hope to pay him back.”
“Then don’t do it that way,” Phoebe replied. “Sell him the business. Tell him what has happened and how they will steal the place away from you at a fraction of what it’s worth. Offer to sell it to him instead. This way at least it won’t go to strangers, and you’ll get a fair price. Dalton plans to build a shop anyway. He would already have one built, if not for the fact that he’s spent all this time working to construct a new house for me and my family.”
Yuri pulled away from her hold and shook his head. “He would never listen to me after the way I’ve been treating him.”
“He will listen. Give him a chance,” Phoebe assured. She could see that he needed time to think. “I should get home now. Just consider what I’ve said. It’s important to me that you and Dalton work through this. He needs your friendship, and I think you need his, too.”
She turned to go, but Yuri stopped her. “Let me walk you home.
Maybe I can at least offer him an apology for how I’ve acted.”
Phoebe smiled. “That would be a wonderful place to start. Then maybe you can stay for lunch and discuss the rest of it.”
Dalton blinked twice and looked away. He turned back to the sight of his wife walking arm and arm with Yuri Belikov and shook his head. He must be seeing things. Following behind them at a slower pace, Dalton watched as Phoebe laughed at something Yuri said.
How could she? His anger was instantaneous. How long had this been going on? Was she secretly seeing Yuri behind his back? Surely in a town this size, he would have heard about such a thing by now.
When Phoebe and Yuri turned down the alley that would lead to their apartment, Dalton froze. She was taking him to their home?
He was so intent on watching them that he didn’t see the cat that skittered across his path. Dalton managed to clip the animal’s tail, causing it to let out a yowl that drew everyone’s attention. Phoebe noticed him there and seemed shocked to find him nearby.
“Dalton!”
She waited for him to say something, but Dalton had no words. He never liked to speak out in anger, and this time was no exception. If he talked to her now, he might say something he’d regret. He turned to leave.
“Dalton! Come back.”
He picked up his pace. He couldn’t deal with this just now. No matter what her purpose had been in bringing Yuri to their home, Dalton could see nothing good about it. To his way of thinking, this was a betrayal of the worst kind.
