Her Secret Alaskan Family

by Belle Calhoune

  “Has there been any progress?” Sage asked. “Were they able to track down who wrote the letter?”

  “Not unless you consider hundreds of calls from charlatans as progress. There were no fingerprints on the letter and it was postmarked from New York City, so it’s a dead end,” Hank answered. “Offering monetary inducements doesn’t usually bring out the best in people.” The information about the letter had already been released to the media, so he knew he wasn’t revealing any tightly kept secrets.

  “I’m sure Willa and Nate did what they thought best,” Gabriel countered. “It’s easy for all of us to judge, but they’re in a tough spot.”

  “I wasn’t judging,” Hank snapped. “I was making an observation based on my professional experiences.”

  A sudden tension bristled between them. Sage nervously twiddled her fingers and looked down at the menu. Hank and Gabriel locked eyes across the table. The vibe between them was off. Just then, their waiter, Dexter, showed up at the table and the focus shifted toward placing their orders. Light conversation ensued until their orders came. Gabe regaled them with tales of his bush pilot adventures while Sage talked about her second grade students. Hank added a few anecdotes about being sheriff in a small town.

  “I hate to eat and run, but I have to meet Trudy down the street. She’s giving me a ride back to the inn. I’m going to go take care of my tab at the counter.”

  Gabriel stood up from the table so she could exit. “It was really nice to meet you, Sage,” he told her. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

  “Thanks, Gabriel,” Sage said. “It was a pleasure to meet you, as well.” She turned toward Hank. “Thanks for the rescue earlier. I really appreciate it.”

  “It was nothing. Bye, Sage,” he replied with a nod, his eyes trailing after her as she walked away.

  Once Sage left, Gabriel didn’t hesitate to put him on the spot.

  Gabriel frowned at him. “What’s going on with you?”

  Hank took a long sip of his coffee. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, placing the mug down on the table.

  “Are you kidding me? You were glaring at me from the moment I sat down. You should have just told me to leave if you wanted to make it a lunch date with Sage.”

  “I’m not dating Sage,” Hank said through clenched teeth. “Matter of fact, much like yourself, I’m not going out with anyone. Nor do I intend to.”

  “Hank, you won’t always feel this way,” Gabriel said in a gentler tone. “As you well know, my own heart has been kicked around, but I haven’t given up on finding someone to walk through life with. When the timing is right it’ll fall into place.”

  He let out a snort. “You’re beginning to sound like a greeting card.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Why am I wasting my breath? Between your moods and Connor’s, I don’t know if I’m coming or going. Must be something in the water,” he grumbled, taking a long swig from his own coffee cup. “I should just stay up in my plane and avoid human contact.”

  “Did something else happen with Connor?”

  Gabriel’s tense expression spoke volumes. “He’s really upset about the press conference. For quite some time now he’s been intent on finding the person who took his sister, but now all he wants is to put it in the past.” He made a face. “He plans to ask his parents to rescind the reward offer and to stop looking for Lily.”

  * * *

  On her way out of the diner Sage had been within earshot of Hank and Gabriel’s conversation. Gabriel’s voice had been animated when he’d told Hank about Connor’s wish for his parents to stop their search for her. At first she couldn’t believe her ears. How could her brother want to give up on being reunited with her? How could he ask Nate and Willa to make that earth-shattering decision?

  Her emotional reaction to the news left her feeling stunned. She made her way outside, shivering as the cold blast of arctic air hit her squarely in the face. Hot tears stung her eyes and for a moment it had felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She never would have believed it would hurt so much or that she would feel so betrayed. In her heart she’d wanted reassurance and the knowledge that her birth family was doing fine all these years later. But knowing they might soon give up on her caused an ache in her soul.

  It was such a strange reaction since this entire time it had been her wish to remain anonymous so she could protect her father. There was no getting around the fact that being here in Owl Creek was a game changer. On paper the North family had been a remote entity, tied to her by DNA but not necessarily anything else. But researching the tragedy and seeing their desperation up close and personal changed everything. It didn’t feel so black-and-white anymore; there were so many shades of gray in this situation.

  Sage knew there were no easy answers. Should she approach Willa and Nate and beg them for mercy? What would happen if she pulled Connor aside and told him the truth about why she’d come to town? Maybe Beulah would help her sort it all out. And maybe she was living in a dream world. These people had suffered pain and loss for over two decades and had finally reached a breaking point. It was naive to believe everything could be fixed simply by confessing her true identity.

  As she waited for Trudy in front of the post office, Sage prayed for this feeling of hurt to subside. She didn’t want raw emotions to sway her off course.

  Dear Lord, please help me with all of these feelings threatening to consume me. I’m trying to hold it together, but it’s becoming more and more difficult. Please soothe my soul so I can continue to figure things out and make sense out of what happened all those years ago.

  * * *

  At the end of a long day, Hank found himself once again seated at his mother’s dinner table. Lately he found himself eating at Trudy’s inn more than usual. Although he tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with Sage, he knew better.

  “Thanks for dinner, Mama. Let me help you clear the table.” Hank stood up and began to gather the dishes.

  Ed Walters, a visiting journalist who hailed from Los Angeles, smiled at Trudy and said, “Thank you, Trudy. Your home cooking reminds me of my own mama’s meals, may she rest in peace.”

  “Hey, Sage. Would you mind holding Addie while I help in the kitchen?” Hank asked. “She’ll probably fall asleep once she settles into the crook of your arm. I can tell by her drooping eyelids she’s tuckered out.”

  Sage looked hesitant. “I don’t know, Hank. What if she fusses? I’m not that experienced with babies. I’m not sure I’d know what to do if she wails.”

  “You’ll be fine, Sage. Addie likes you,” Trudy said with an encouraging nod.

  Sage gingerly lifted Addie from Hank’s arms and began to rock her back and forth. He almost laughed out loud at the terrified expression on Sage’s face. For a schoolteacher, she seemed a bit intimidated at the prospect of holding Addie as she settled into sleepy time.

  He followed behind Trudy as she headed toward the kitchen. They stood side by side at the kitchen sink and set about the business of washing and drying the dishes. It brought to mind memories of growing up in this household and performing this chore almost every night of the week. When Piper had gotten old enough, she too had joined in.

  “I’m so glad you were at the diner when Sage had her dizzy spell. Piper said you really saved the day. My son the hero,” Trudy said, nudging Hank in the side.

  He shook his head. Leave it to his mother to label him as heroic. She had a tendency to make him better than he was. “Hardly. All I did was give her a shoulder to lean on.”

  “Handsome and humble. That’s my boy!” Trudy crowed. “Thanks for helping me clean up. I know it’s almost Addie’s bedtime.”

  “It’s the least I can do since you watched Addie again for me and took her to her doctor’s appointment.”

  “I’m her grandma, Hank. It’s in the job description,” she said in a teasing manner
. “Not to mention being one of the joys of my life.”

  Hank leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. “We’re blessed to have you, Mama. I appreciate you and Piper more than you’ll ever know. I just wish she didn’t have to work so hard at the diner. I barely get to see her anymore.”

  Trudy wiped her hands on a dishrag and let out a little sigh. “You know she’s determined to carry on Jack’s legacy. That diner was his pride and joy, along with the two of you kids. I wish that I could help her out more over there.”

  Silence descended over them for a few moments. Losing his stepfather, Jack, had been a huge blow to their family, and none of them had recovered from it, least of all Piper. She hid her pain under a thick facade, but if you looked long enough you could see the telltale cracks. For Hank it had served as another tremendous blow to lose a father figure so unexpectedly.

  “By the way, Sage has been asking me about car rentals, but in a town this small it’s a real head-scratcher. With all the journalists in Owl Creek they’ve scooped them all up. I suppose I sound ungrateful since they’re paying customers, but all the media attention has me on edge.”

  “Let me see what I can do. I might know someone who can help her out,” Hank offered.

  “Oh, that would be wonderful. She’s a real delight. Beulah invited her for a tour of the chocolate factory tomorrow. I just can’t tell you how sweet and helpful she’s been. It’s so nice having someone like Sage staying here.” She glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow.

  Hank frowned at Trudy. “Mom, stop giving me the side-eye. You’re doing it again.”

  “Doing what?” she asked, her voice full of innocence.

  “Playing matchmaker. Fess up. You’re trying to set me up with Sage.”

  “I’m not doing any such thing.” She winked at him. “Now if the two of you struck up a close friendship, I wouldn’t object.”

  Hank couldn’t help but chuckle. Some things never changed. His mother considered herself to be a matchmaker, although she’d never successfully set up a single couple. “There’s something about her that seems a bit off to me.”

  “Off? In what way?”

  He shrugged, then struggled to put his feelings into words. “I don’t know, Mama. I think it’s a bit peculiar she landed in Owl Creek. It’s not exactly a hot spot for tourists this time of year. I don’t really buy her story. She seems a bit jittery at times.”

  Trudy made a tutting sound. “Hank Crawford. I’m mighty proud you took up after your daddy and became town sheriff, but you are one of the most suspicious people I’ve ever known. You need to give it a rest. Not everyone has a malicious agenda.”

  He looked at his mother and wiggled his eyebrows. “And you trust everyone on face value. In my humble opinion she seems a bit secretive. Maybe she’s a journalist writing a story about the twenty-fifth anniversary of the kidnapping and she’s trying to dig up some dirt.”

  “Your theory makes no sense. Why would she hide her profession? There’s no crime in being a journalist,” she snapped. “Didn’t your friend Boone Prescott marry a writer?”

  “Yes, he did. And she went to his town under false pretenses,” Hank said in a raised voice. Grace Prescott was a lovely woman, but she hadn’t been transparent at all until her deception had backfired. “Maybe I should run a background check on Sage.”

  Trudy swatted her hand in his direction. “Hush before Sage hears you. You’ll do no such thing, Hank!” She shook her head at him, disapproval radiating off her in waves. “It’s not my place to tell you this, but Sage’s mother passed away a few months ago. She’s grieving the loss, and from what I gather, a bit overwhelmed with life at the moment. She came to Owl Creek to disappear for a while and to reflect.” She scowled at Hank. “Cut her some slack.”

  All of a sudden, Hank felt like a colossal jerk. More than most people, he understood how grief could pull you under. Although he’d only been six years old when his father died, the loss had plunged him into a deep sadness. Losing his stepfather, Jack, in an accident four years ago had been another huge kick in the gut. Jack had been a wonderful father, husband and stepfather, and had treated Hank as his very own.

  He had been reeling in the aftermath of Jack’s death and coming apart at the seams. That period had lasted until he’d discovered he was a little girl’s father. At that point Hank had made a decision to embrace fatherhood and walk a righteous path. He’d accepted God into his life. All for the love of his little girl who deserved an honorable, responsible father.

  “I didn’t know that she’d lost her mother,” he said in a small voice. He felt horrible about being so suspicious of Sage when she was in the throes of grief.

  “I for one know what she’s going through. I was widowed at twenty-seven, then widowed again at forty-eight.” His mother’s eyes misted over. “Both times it brought me to my knees.”

  Hank’s heart plummeted at the sight of his mother in tears. “You’ve been through the wringer, Mama. You’ve had more than your fair share of pain and loss.”

  She let out a brittle-sounding laugh. “But guess what? I still believe in love. I still think it’s possible for me to find another person to walk through this life with by my side. Some might say I’m crazy, but I call it belief.”

  Hank leaned over and placed a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge up all of these painful memories.”

  “There’s no need to apologize, Hank. Loss is part of living and loving. And if I had to do it all over again, I’d still love your dad and Jack with every fiber of my being even though losing them gutted me. I’ve been twice blessed, and I wish you believed in love the way I do. It’s a gift from God. Believing in something you can’t touch or see, but you know is real all the same is a beautiful thing indeed.”

  She wiped tears away from her face with the back of her hand. “What Theresa did to you was terrible, but you can’t continue to hide your heart away because you fear it might get broken again. That’s not living your life to the fullest.”

  “I’m not hiding it away. Between my work and raising Addie, I don’t really have a lot of free time to put my feet in the dating pool.”

  “Whatever you say, Hank!” Trudy let out a snort and shook her head. “Why don’t you go relieve Sage? I’m sure Addie is sound asleep or ready to go down for the night.”

  Hank hesitated. He hated to see his mother upset and he felt guilty because it was all his fault. He opened his mouth to apologize again, but Trudy shooed him out of the kitchen. He sensed she wanted to be alone with her memories.

  When Hank headed back into the living room he stopped abruptly in the doorway and soaked in the sight of Sage sitting on the couch cradling a sleeping Addie in her arms. She was lightly running her hand down his daughter’s cheek in the slightest of caresses. Addie’s innocent face was turned upward toward Sage.

  So much for not being good with babies, Hank thought wryly. She looked like a natural.

  Seeing the two of them snuggled up together caused a feeling of longing to rise up inside him. Because of his past with Theresa, he had never really dared to dream of having it all—more children, a mother for Addie and a wife to have and to hold. It had been almost instinctual to stuff down those longings to prevent himself from getting hurt again.

  But, Hank realized, it was almost impossible to change who he was as a person even if he worked overtime to pretend as if those things didn’t matter. Ever since he’d been a little kid, he had wanted a family of his own. And, if he was being honest with himself, he still did. Lovely, sweet Sage was bringing all those emotions to the surface. Suddenly he was thinking about what it might be like to be with someone like her, to allow himself to care about a woman the way he’d once cared for Theresa. Those dreams had been cut short by her betrayal.

  Hank shook off the tender feelings. He didn’t know Sage Duncan, just like he hadn’t ever trul
y known Theresa. She had given birth to his child in secret and made a colossal fool of him. If she hadn’t tragically died in an accident, he may never have been informed about Addie. That knowledge still stung like crazy.

  Sage lifted her head so they made eye contact. A tender smile was etched on her face. He knew it had everything to do with his spectacular baby girl.

  He moved toward her, trying his best not to make a sound as he approached. If he could put Addie in her car seat without waking her up, she would stay asleep for the rest of the night.

  “She really is the sweetest baby I’ve ever seen,” Sage whispered, her gaze veering back toward Addie.

  “I like to think she takes after me,” he said in a teasing voice.

  “I think she’s really fortunate to have you, Hank,” Sage murmured. “Your devotion to her is crystal clear.”

  “We’re blessed to have one another,” Hank said, warmed by Sage’s words. God had been good to him by bringing Addie into his life. It had changed his world for the better in so many ways. Hank regretted being intimate with Theresa outside the confines of marriage, but he could never feel bad about the little charmer who was the most important thing in his world.

  He reached out and gently took Addie from Sage’s arms. A little sigh escaped Sage’s lips as he made the transfer. Being so close to her was a dangerous thing, as he’d discovered earlier at the diner. She smelled of vanilla and a flowery scent he couldn’t quite place. The more time he spent in her presence, the more appealing she seemed. As it was, he found himself thinking about her at random moments during the day. He surprised himself by wondering what her favorite flowers were and whether she liked anchovies on her pizza.

  He focused on placing Addie in her car seat as a diversion from staring at Sage. For a moment he simply gazed at his baby girl, safely nestled in her carrier. Before he knew it, Sage was at his side, reaching down and placing Addie’s blanket over her, along with her stuffed giraffe.