Always Ready (9 page)

“Everything go okay?”

“They did great. I have a super team this year, Ave. I hope I can afford to take them in at least one race this winter.”

“Too bad you can’t run in ours.”

“You know I can’t run them in the Fire and Ice. We’re the hosts. Duh! Besides, I’ll be too busy. But I sure would like to do a short race, say in December. Or right after ours.”

“Maybe you can. Wait and see how things go.”

“I haven’t given up on it.”

“Are you and Mom going to be able to handle all the race preparations if Grandpa can’t help you?” he asked. “That’s a big job.”

“It’ll be tough, but I think it’s worth it. We usually do a little better than break even, and it’s our best advertisement. People come for the race and look over our kennels. I show my team off a little. Word of mouth is crucial in this business.”

Aven wished he could take Caddie home to meet his family. It would be terrific if they could both get leave the week of the Fire and Ice and spend it in Wasilla, helping set up for the race.

“Hey, Rob, what would you think of me bringing a girl home sometime?”

“What?” Her shriek nearly pierced his eardrum. He held the phone away from his ear and cringed. “Did you say girl, as in female, young woman, dare I add love interest?”

She seemed to have come to a standstill, so he gingerly put the phone back to his ear. “Uh. . .yeah, I guess you could say any one of the above.”

“Who is she? Is she Coast Guard? Or a townie? Tell me she’s not someone you arrested.”

Aven chuckled. “No way. She’s a BM3. Stationed here. Serves on another ship.”

“Oh, wow. That’s perfect. She’s a pay grade behind you. You can socialize, but she doesn’t outrank you. Ave, that’s fantastic. I want to meet her. When can you bring her? Can I tell Mom and Grandpa?”

“Slow down!” Aven couldn’t stop grinning. “Yeah, I guess you can tell them. Don’t make too big a deal of it yet, though, okay? We’ve only gone out a couple of times. I like her a lot, but things are still in the early stages.”

“So tell me everything.”

“Naw, I don’t think so.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Yes. And smart.”

“Ha! I figured that. You wouldn’t like her if she weren’t. Is she a Christian?”

“Definitely.”

Robyn sighed. “I’m so happy that you’ve found someone.”

“Well, like I said, it’s not officially. . .anything. . .yet. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t be shocked later on, if it works out. But if it doesn’t. . .”

“You always amaze me.”

That didn’t seem to fit the conversation, or at least not the direction he’d been steering it, and Aven scowled. “How do you mean?”

“You’re so sure of yourself when you’re working. You’re comfortable with yourself physically. Spiritually, too, I think. But when the emotions enter the picture, you hem and haw and won’t commit to a ray of hope, let alone a long-term relationship.”

“What do you know about it? You’re no closer to finding a husband than I am a wife. Further away by a long shot, I’d say.”

“And I’m four years younger than you are.” Robyn chuckled. “Besides, I don’t tell you everything.”

Aven picked up on her teasing tone. “Oh? Something I should know?”

“Not really, but when there is I’ll tell you.”

“Okay. And if things progress with Caddie, I’ll keep you posted.”

“Caddie? Her name is Caddie? Like a golf minion?”

Aven choked on a laugh. “Her real name is Clarissa, but that’s her nickname, okay? I’ve never seen her carrying a golf bag.”

“Got it. Sounds to me like you’d better latch on to her fast. Nice girls are hard to come by in Alaska, you know.”

“Watch it!”

“What’s her last name?” Robyn asked with a chuckle.

“You want a lot, don’t you? It’s Lyle.”

“Lyle?”

“That’s right.”

“Why is that name familiar?”

“I don’t know.”

After a couple of seconds’ silence, Robyn said, “Oh, that captain.”

“Huh?”

“You know. The man who tried to save Daddy and Jim Haskell.”

Aven’s stomach dropped.

“That was the man’s name, remember?” Robyn persisted. “The one who died in Puget Sound when Daddy’s plane crashed.”

Aven found it hard to breathe past the huge lump in his throat. “You’re right. That was his name.” How could he not have realized? Caddie had told him that her father was stationed in Seattle at the time of his death. He could only conclude that he’d been so distracted by his feelings for her that he’d allowed his brain to take an unscheduled furlough.

“Aven?”

“Yeah?”

“We love you. Come home again soon.”

“I will if I can.”

“And bring the Caddie girl.”

He hung up with a smile, imagining Caddie, in uniform, holding a golf club out to her captain. Nope. He liked the mental image of her in the green dress she’d worn to church last month far better.

He sobered as he mulled over his conversation with Robyn about Caddie’s father. It had to be the same man. But did that matter? Caddie obviously didn’t know. Would it disturb her if she found out? He tried to imagine how he would feel if their roles were reversed. Not good.

He checked the time. Still too early to call her. He ought to catch a nap, but he doubted he could sleep now. He still wanted to see Caddie if at all possible. Maybe they could explore Fort Abercrombie together. But should he reopen the subject of her father? His chest ached as he sat staring at the phone.

This was a matter for serious prayer.

❧

Caddie adjusted the focus on her camera and held her breath. She never would have dared get so close to bears in the wild on her own. But Aven had known where to find them and had driven close enough for her to get some great shots with her telephoto lens.

A mother brown bear scooped fish from the stream below them and tossed them to her cub on the bank, not seeming to notice the humans watching her. The youngster batted at the twitching fish. When the mother had supplied enough to satisfy her, the huge animals began to feed, ignoring the distant audience.

The stream gushed down a steep, green hillside toward the bay below. Caddie had never been to this part of Kodiak Island before. They had driven through rugged mountains but were only fifteen miles from the base. They’d passed Lake Buskin and navigated forest-covered slopes to come out on the northeast end of the island. The brilliant colors of spruce trees, grass, sky, and water thrilled her. In the distance, she glimpsed Whale Island and mountains all around the bay.

Aven had brought binoculars and continually swept the vista before them while Caddie concentrated on the bears. She’d be glad when the nuisance cast came off her arm. Two more days, maybe. Monday couldn’t come soon enough for her. But she wouldn’t let that affect her outing today. Even with the unwieldy plaster accessory, she was able to handle the camera and zoom in on the bears. Mira and Jordan would love them. After the animals enjoyed their feast, they lumbered into the brush.

She sighed and turned back toward the pickup. “What are you looking for?” she asked Aven.

He lowered his binoculars. “Remember the man I told you about—Spruce Waller?”

“The one who hit you.”

Aven winced.

“Sorry.” Caddie put her camera carefully into its case. “What about him?”

“That’s Anton Larsen Bay down there. We’re not far from his place.”

“Here? There’s no town.”

“No, there’s not.” Aven swept the air with his arm, indicating the hillsides and the inlet below. “There are some cabins. You can’t see most of them from up here. But I thought I might be able to spot a boat in the harbor.”

“And?”

“Nothing.”

No, not nothing. He had hoped to find evidence relating to the cases his ship’s crew had recently worked on. She went to stand beside him. “Can you drive all the way down to the shore on this side?”

“I think so.”

They stood in silence for a long time. Caddie knew the meager roads on the island led to only a few of the nearest villages. Those farther away—like Larsen Bay, Old Harbor, and Akhiok—could only be reached by boat or by air.

“You brought me here in hopes of seeing Spruce Waller, didn’t you?” she asked softly.

He cocked his head to one side. “Okay, I admit I went by his apartment in Kodiak. He wasn’t around. I figured he might be out here.”

“Or off on his brother’s boat,” Caddie hazarded.

“Well. . .the state police tried to contact his brother, but he wasn’t home and his wife said she hadn’t seen him in three days. Not that I believe that, but he could be over here with Spruce, lying low until the cops ease up on him.”

“You hope you can link Spruce to the smuggling his brother is involved in, don’t you?”

Aven shrugged. “So far, that’s just a rumor. But I have to admit, that might ease the pain of seeing our ship get staved up.”

“And getting jumped by half a dozen fishermen?”

He bit his bottom lip. After a long moment of silence, he turned toward her. “I guess I should have told you what was on my mind before I drove out here.”

“I don’t mind being here. In fact, I’d love it if we could find the guy who owns the boat.”

“Clay Waller.”

“Whoever. But I don’t want to mix things up with a couple of tough guys. My arm’s still in the cast. I wouldn’t be any help in a fight.”

“I’m sorry, Caddie. You’re absolutely right. Coming out here was foolish of me, and not asking you was selfish.”

She reached up and touched his cheek. “I’m not trying to lay guilt on you. I’m just saying we should be careful.” She looked down toward the bay. “Want to see how close we can drive to the shore?”

He hesitated. “It would probably be smarter to just forget it.”

She watched his face until he raised the binoculars again. “We could hike on down there,” she said.

“No. Too many bears around. All I brought for insurance is my pistol. We don’t want to get too far from the truck.”

“Then let’s drive on a ways.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. But if we find Waller, we don’t approach him.”

After half a minute of staring through the binoculars, he lowered them and faced her. “Deal. I’ll be careful.”

They got into the truck, and he drove another half mile. Aven’s broody silence dragged Caddie’s spirits down. Were the Waller brothers affecting him this badly? Or was there something else he hadn’t told her?

When they came to a wide spot almost to the bay, he pulled over. “I don’t want to get where they can see us. I’ll turn around so we’re headed out, and then we’ll take a look-see.” Aven maneuvered the truck into a better position, grabbed his binoculars from the seat, and climbed out of the cab.

Caddie opened her door and followed him, once more carrying her camera.

He stood off the edge of the road, scanning the terrain and water below them. “There’s a boat docked down there.”

“Where?” Caddie strained to see where he was looking. “Is that a roofline?”

“Yes. The cabin’s above the water fifty yards or so, and the boat’s moored down below. Come on.” He plunged into the brush beside the road.

What about bears? Caddie glanced uneasily around and hurried to catch up with him.

Aven stopped inside the tree line beside a log cabin. He parted the branches of a clump of alders and again peered through his field glasses.

The sun glittered on the placid water of a cove below. Movement drew Caddie’s attention, and she sucked in a breath. “Is that the boat you chased?”

Aven let out a sigh. “Hard to be sure. They had a canopy on when we saw it, and it had a dark stripe just below the gunwales, but. . .”

“But they’re painting it.” Caddie squinted and focused on the two men below them. “Do you think they would change the registration number?”

Aven rubbed the back of his neck and adjusted the strap on his binoculars. “People do it all the time with cars. Put on false license plates. Why not with a boat if they don’t want it identified easily? They’ve painted over the name for sure.”

“So they rename the boat, maybe change a couple of the numbers, and alter the appearance the best they can—maybe add something on deck to change the silhouette or put a different color canopy on top.”

“Right, so that we can’t be sure it’s the same boat at a glance.” Aven frowned. “I’d like to get closer.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Caddie’s pulse accelerated. Facing lawbreakers while in uniform may be part of her job, but out here, with only the waves for witnesses?

“Probably not,” Aven said. “Wish I could see their faces.” Again he studied the scene below.

“Would you recognize Spruce Waller?”

“Absolutely, if I could get within five yards of him. But I’ve never seen his brother that I know of.” He pulled the binoculars from his face with a frustrated sigh. “The guy on the left has the same build as Spruce, but I can’t be sure from here that it’s him. It could be his brother or someone else entirely.” He eyed the nearby cabin and looked again toward the small dock and the moored boat.