“Did you ever go after him? I mean if this just happened last night, what’s going on now?” one of the Pinkerton men asked.
“No one wants to get involved. Kincaid was so brazen and callous, they fear for their lives. I’ve asked around, but nobody has seen a thing. I can’t just up and leave Nome to go hunting him down—not with my foot like this. I’ve put the word out that he’s out there and dangerous. I’ve given his description and the description of the woman to people coming in and out of town and sent information out on the telegraph, but you know how slowly things happen in Alaska. You can’t expect that we’d know something this soon.”
“I’ll go after them,” Jacob said, getting to his feet. “People don’t just disappear. There have to be clues—tracks.”
“I’ll go too. It’s my brother on the loose.”
“You aren’t leaving me behind,” Leah told them.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Jayce said firmly. “I can’t have you risking your life out there. You need to stay here or arrange to get back to Last Chance. Those are the only options you have.”
“He’s right, Leah. You can’t be in the middle of this.”
“But you can?” she asked her brother.
“We’re going too,” Sam declared.
Jacob shook his head. “No. You’ll just slow us down. Wait here and then you can take him from us when we return.”
“Wait a minute,” the police chief called out. “If you two are serious about going after that man, I should deputize you both. That way anything you have to do will be in the name of the law.”
The law. Jacob would have laughed at that comment had it not been such a serious situation. Helaina and her love of the law had gotten them all into this situation to begin with.
“That’s fine by me,” Jayce said, standing.
Jacob came back to the chief ’s desk. “Me too. Let’s just get it over with so we can be on our way.” He glanced at Leah. She gave him a glaring look that told him this matter was far from settled.
The police chief swore them both in. “I wish I could give you a file full of information, but like I said, nobody is saying a word.
I think they’re all running scared.”
“That’s all right,” Jacob said, once again moving toward the door. “I’ll find out what I need to know.”
“You do know,” the chief called out, “he’s to be taken dead or alive.”
Jacob turned and met Jayce’s tight-jawed expression. His friend’s eyes had darkened to almost black. “We’ll bring him back however he chooses. If he cooperates, then he’ll be alive,” Jayce murmured.
Jacob had never felt sorrier for anyone. He couldn’t imagine the pain this new situation had caused his friend. How could a man hunt down his own brother—knowing that it might well end the life of one or the other?
They walked in silence toward the restaurant to eat and make plans. The weight of the world seemed upon all three, and Jacob knew that somehow he and Jayce still had to convince Leah to remain behind.
They sat down to a table and ordered coffee and roast beef sandwiches. Jacob toyed with his knife as he waited for Leah to offer her protests. When he looked up, however, she was doing the one thing he hadn’t expected—she was crying.
He looked to Jayce, feeling helpless against her tears. “I can go alone,” he offered.
“No.” Jayce put his hand out and took hold of Leah’s arm. “I think Leah understands the seriousness of this situation. She’s had time to think about it.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want you going out there without me. What if one of you gets hurt? You know I’m good at tending injuries.”
“And what if you’re the one who gets injured?” Jayce asked.
“Or what if one of us gets injured because we had to worry about you?” Jacob questioned.
Leah met his gaze and seemed to calm a bit. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
“You know if you’re out there, you’ll be our first concern. I would constantly be wondering where you were and how you figured in to the situation. What I can’t bear to think about is Chase taking two hostages.”
Leah looked to the table as the waitress brought their order. Jacob smiled at the woman. “How are you, Sally?”
She smiled shyly. “I’m good. Be better soon. I’m getting married.” “Congratulations,” Jacob offered, taking the plate she held out. “I hope he’s a good man.”
She nodded. “Sure. He’s plenty good.”
She finished serving them, then disappeared into the back room. Jacob offered a blessing on the food and then started to eat. He’d barely taken a bite when Leah spoke.
“All right. I’ll go home. I don’t want to stay here in Nome indefinitely. If you can get word to John or someone in our village to come and help me, then I’ll wait here for them.”
“Maybe you could stay and help the doctor again until John can get here,” Jayce suggested. “That way you’d have a safe place to stay and you’d feel useful all at the same time.”
Leah nodded. “But then I want to go home.”
He smiled and touched her cheek. “I know you do. I want to go there too.”
“No worse than I do,” Jacob added. He reached across the small table to touch Leah’s hand. “Thank you for understanding. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
“I do understand. But sometimes, understanding isn’t enough to calm your heart.”
————
Leah watched her brother and husband prepare to leave Nome. They were packing as if for a hunt, only this time they were hunting man instead of bear or seal. She felt a sense of dread—almost panic. What if they were killed like the other two deputies? What if she never saw them again . . . never knew what happened?
She tried to reason that someone had to go—that Helaina couldn’t be left in the hands of such a ruthless man. But in her heart, she wished it could be someone else.
Oh, Father, please keep them safe. Please bring them back to me. I love them so much. I need them with me. The prayer did little to calm her spirit.
“I’ve arranged to get word to John,” Jacob told her. “A couple of natives are headed to Prince of Wales. They can drop off word on the way. As soon as he can, I’m sure he’ll be here to help you get home. There’s a load of goods I set aside from what we brought up from Seattle. Take those back with you.”
Leah nodded and hugged him close. “Please be careful, Jacob. I’m so afraid for you.”
He kissed her forehead and pulled back. “It’s all in God’s hands. You know that. If it’s my time, it won’t matter if I’m hunting down Chase Kincaid or resting in my bed.”
She knew this was true, but it didn’t help matters. Jacob picked up a large rifle and slung it over his shoulder. “You need to have faith, little sister. I’ll see you soon.”
He left Leah alone with Jayce. This good-bye was even harder. She looked at her husband and felt the tears well in her eyes. She hadn’t wanted to cry. She didn’t want to burden either Jayce or Jacob with her tears.
“‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord,”’ she whispered.
Jayce nodded. “Lamentations, chapter three.”
She smiled. “I’ve often taken comfort in those verses.”
“As have I.”
She rushed into his arms. “I love you, Jayce. I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I know I told you how proud I was of your willingness to help in this, but now I wish you’d both just refuse and go home with me.”
“I know. I wish I could. For your sake and the sake of our future, I wish I could walk away. But it’s because of you and our future that I must go after Chase and see this thing end, once and for all.”
“I know.” The words were barely audible as Leah buried her face a
gainst his neck.
He pulled back slightly and lifted her face to meet his gaze. “‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.”’ He stroked her chin with his thumb. “Hope in Him, Leah. Wait for Him. He’s never let you down.”
She nodded. “I know. He brought you back to me when it seemed impossible to ever hope that such a thing could happen.”
“He never punishes obedience. Remember that too. We are seeking to be obedient, Leah. God will honor that and see us through. You . . . me . . . Jacob . . . even Helaina and Chase. The Lord has a plan. We have to trust Him for the outcome.”
She felt her strength renew. “Yes. I will wait for Him. I will wait for the Lord’s salvation.”
Jayce kissed her passionately, his warm mouth claiming hers in a way that promised forever. She cherished that brief moment and could have cried when he dropped his hold and walked away. He joined Jacob in the street as a new snow started to fall.
Leah knew he wouldn’t look back. He couldn’t look back and leave her. With all the strength she could muster, Leah closed the door and walked back to her room in the hotel. The Lord had given him to her after years of loneliness and regret. The Lord would hold Jayce safely in His hand now. She had to believe that—to trust that.
She thought of another portion of Scripture in the third chapter of Lamentations. Quoting it from memory, she smiled at the assurance it offered.
“‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.”’ She straightened her shoulders and drew in a deep breath. “‘They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”’
She smiled and wrapped her arms around her body. A peace settled over her that defied the situation. God was faithful. He would see to her—no matter what. No matter her lack of understanding or the madness of the moment.
“You were faithful yesterday . . . and today, Lord.” She raised her arms to the ceiling in an act of praise. “I know you will be faithful tomorrow and the next day . . . and forever.”
TRACIE PETERSON is a popular speaker and bestselling author who has written more than seventy books, both historical and contemporary fiction. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
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