Dawn's Prelude (18 page)

Frowning, Marston considered what might be done. He would have to act quickly to get Lydia out of Sitka before the baby was born. That would be the easiest way. Of course, if the baby were to come early, that could complicate the situation.

“Ready to return to the ship, mister?”

Marston turned to the sailor and nodded. “Yes.” He gave one more glance back at the town. There were plenty of seedy characters milling the streets, especially here at the docks. Perhaps they would be of use to him. The key to any successful transaction was to have people who were willing to do your bidding.

A smile came to Marston’s face. He was good at enticing men who were down on their luck to do whatever he wanted—be it steal or scare or kill. Surely there was someone in this town who held as much anger toward this Chill person as Marston felt. Maybe someone hated the man enough to even eliminate the problem altogether.

Chapter 14

Z
ee, that was the best berry pie I’ve ever had,” Kjell said after his second helping. “You certainly know your way to a man’s heart.”

“It wasn’t my doing,” Zerelda replied. “Liddie baked that pie.”

Kjell smiled at the exhausted Lydia. “A masterpiece, I tell you. Thank you for going to all the trouble.”

“It wasn’t that hard,” Lydia told him. “We had the berries preserved from summer.”

“I appreciate the effort, nevertheless. It’s always such a pleasure to come here and enjoy the company and the food. I’m getting very spoiled.”

Zerelda laughed. “Well, we wouldn’t want that. What say you sing for your supper? I’d like to hear some tunes while we see to the dishes.”

“Sure thing, Zee. I think I can manage that.” He got up and reached over to offer Lydia a hand. “You look tired tonight.”

“I am,” she admitted.

Kjell noted the dark circles under her eyes and the worried expression on her face. “You aren’t fretting over that Gray fellow, are you?”

“That would be putting it mildly,” Zerelda answered before Lydia could speak. “She’s so restless and fearful, she won’t even go to town with me.”

Kjell looked deep into Lydia’s dark brown eyes. “You don’t have to worry about him.”

“That’s easy for you to say—you are a strong, capable man,”

Lydia replied. Zerelda had already begun taking care of the dishes, and Lydia leaned over toward Kjell. “Don’t give it another thought.

I’m fine, really.”

But Kjell knew the truth. It was written on her face and evident in her step. Lydia wasn’t the same woman. It was as if she carried a heavy weight on her shoulders, and Kjell longed to take that burden from her. He wanted nothing more than to convince her that he would care for her, protect her.

“Did Lydia tell you she had another proposal today?” Zerelda called from the kitchen.

Kjell looked to Lydia with raised brows. “How many is that this week?”

“Five,” she barely whispered.

“Shall I make it an even six?” he teased.

Lydia straightened. “Make it whatever you want. It won’t change a thing. I didn’t come here looking to marry again.”

“Well, that certainly won’t stop the men from asking,” Zerelda stated as she crossed to the front door. “You two get settled in.

I’ll be right back. There are some things I want to fetch from the cache.”

“You want help, Zee?”

She shot him a wink. “No, I think I can manage just fine.”

Kjell felt his cheeks redden, realizing she was purposefully giving him time alone with Lydia. He shook his head and went to where he’d left his guitar. Tuning the strings, he looked up to find Lydia watching him.

“Marston’s still in town, isn’t he?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I knew he probably was but had hoped you’d answer otherwise.”

Putting the guitar aside, Kjell came to her chair and knelt down beside her. “Liddie,” he paused and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you that. Zee does it so often that it just sounds fitting.”

“I don’t mind,” she replied, gazing into his eyes.

“Good. Look, I don’t want you becoming upset by that man. It can’t be good for the baby.”

“The baby is the reason he’s still here,” Lydia countered. “And that worries me most of all. I don’t know what he’s planning, but I know it won’t be good.”

“I won’t let him hurt you or the baby.”

Lydia turned away from him and focused on the blazing hearth. “You don’t know the Grays. They always get what they want. They scheme and bully to get their way. I still don’t understand why Mr. Robinson would give them information about where I had gone, but now that they’ve found me, I don’t expect they will ever leave me alone. I suppose I shall have to move again.”

Kjell put his hand on Lydia’s arm. “I hope you won’t do that. I’d like you to stay.”

“You’ve been nothing but good to me since I arrived and collapsed in your arms.” Lydia smiled ever so slightly but didn’t turn back to face him. “Zerelda told me that you’re probably the best man she’s ever known—that you are a man of your word.”

“Zee would say something like that.”

“I just don’t want to be a burden to you or anyone else.” Lydia glanced at him and then lowered her head. “I just don’t want you feeling sorry for me.”

He couldn’t suppress the laughter that erupted. Lydia’s head snapped up in surprise, and Kjell leaned forward and took her face in his hands. “I feel a great many things for you, Lydia Gray, but sorry isn’t one of them.”

Kjell bent down and lightly kissed Lydia on the lips. It was a quick and gentle kiss that he followed with a smile. “I guess I should get back to the guitar.” He got up, noting that Lydia hadn’t moved at all—she appeared a bit stunned. Kjell, however, had wanted to kiss her for a long while now and wasn’t the least bit sorry for his actions.

Then Lydia gave her head a quick shake. “You can’t just kiss me and pretend nothing happened,” she said.

“I’m not pretending anything.” Kjell took up the guitar. “I—”

“Kjell! Come quick!”

It was Zerelda, and her voice sounded panicked. Kjell quickly handed the guitar over to Lydia and raced out the door. “What is it, Zee?”

“Joshua is here—there’s a fire in town.” She spun around to face him. “It’s your sawmill.”

Captain Dimpfel and his firemen soldiers did an admirable job of containing the fire. Even though the engine house was on the farthest side of town, they responded with great haste. Everyone feared fire in a town made of wood, and Sitka was no exception.

Keeping this in mind, the firemen worked fervently and managed to pump enough water onto the blaze so that by midnight, the fire was out.

Kjell surveyed the smoky remains. The main work area was still standing, but his office and living quarters had been the first to go.

“Might have been a spark from a stove fire,” one of the soldiers suggested.

“I didn’t have a fire going,” Kjell said, shaking his head. “I left about five-thirty and knew I’d be out most of the evening, so I didn’t need the stove.”

“That’s right,” Joshua said as he and Captain Dimpfel joined the conversation. “I was just telling the captain here that I left right after you did. The boys were the only ones remaining. They were trying to finish up that stripping you gave them to do and get back to the Ranche before curfew.”

“Do you suppose the boys might have started the fire?” the captain asked.

Kjell shook his head. “I can’t figure why they would.”

Joshua kicked at the damp ground. “Well, they could have. I didn’t want to say anything, but I did catch them smoking the other day. Could have been they were doing it again and got careless.”

Frowning, Kjell walked to the corner of the building. He couldn’t imagine the boys smoking, much less setting fire to the place. Besides, they would have had no reason to be in his office or living quarters.

He blew out a long held breath just as Joshua approached. “We can still produce lumber,” he told Kjell. “We’ll have some cleanup to do, but at least the main supply of logs was untouched.”

“I suppose we should find the boys and ask them if they know what happened,” Kjell said, shaking his head. “I just can’t figure them starting it.”

“I don’t think they ever would have done it on purpose,” Joshua said, “but if they got spooked and threw a cigarette down in the sawdust, it could have smoldered there for a time and they might never have known what happened. Captain Dimpfel said he’d send some of his men to find the boys in the morning and have them brought to the engine house for questioning.”

“I suppose that’s the best way to find out if they know anything.”

Kjell wanted to go into his office and home and see if anything was salvageable, but Captain Dimpfel had suggested he wait until morning when the light would reveal more.

“You’re welcome to stay the night with me,” Joshua offered.

“There’s not much room, but it beats staying in the saw room.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I suppose I’ll take you up on the offer and see what’s to be done in the morning.” He cast a final glance back at the main entrance to the mill and frowned. Something just didn’t sit right with him. Was this a careless accident?

Or were darker forces at work? Could Marston Gray have had something to do with the fire?

“I can’t understand why anyone would do something like this,”

Zerelda said. She had decided to come to town the next morning and see the remains of the fire. To her surprise, Lydia had wanted to come with her.

Kjell shook his head. “I don’t understand a lot of things.”

“If it involves Marston Gray, there doesn’t have to be any reasoning behind it,” Lydia said bitterly.

“Now, you don’t know that he had anything to do with this,”

Zerelda countered. Lydia had been talking about the possibility of the man setting the fire since they’d first heard about the blaze the night before.

“It seems too coincidental not to consider him,” Lydia replied. “After all, Kjell made him very angry by standing up for me.”

Zerelda decided to change the subject. “Where are you staying, Kjell?”

“I stayed last night with Joshua, but I figured I’d rig up something temporary here at the mill for tonight.”

“Nonsense,” Zerelda said. “Come stay with us.”

“Now, Zee, you know there isn’t room in that tiny cabin for all of us.” He smiled at Lydia. “Besides, Liddie here would probably suffer irreparable damage to her reputation if I were to take up residence there.”

“I think my reputation could stand the strain,” Lydia said, still staring at the charred remains. “Besides, what of Zerelda? Her reputation could be just as damaged.”

“Not Zee,” Kjell said with a smile.

Zerelda laughed. “Folks got used to my antics a long time ago. Look, why don’t we talk to the man handling the sale of Mr. Saberhagen’s property? Maybe he would let you stay in the main house.”

“Better yet,” Lydia said, excitement edging her tone, “why don’t I buy the property? Then Zee and I could move there, and you could live in the cabin.”

“You don’t need to buy a piece of property just because of the fire. I’ll have a room built before you know it.”

“But I’ve actually been considering this for some time,” Lydia said, looking to Zerelda. “Ever since you mentioned the property going up for sale, I couldn’t keep from wondering if I should buy it. I’m sure I can afford it, and like you said, with it being nearly winter and all, there will likely be few other offers.”

Zerelda nodded. “It would be nice to have a bigger place eventually. The main house is good for a young family: There are two good-sized bedrooms upstairs, as well as a smaller bedroom plus a bathroom, and there’s a large living area on the main level. Much of the furniture has been left behind—quality pieces. Mr. Saber-hagen spared no expense for his wife.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. Kjell, I know you have your plate full, but would you be willing to talk to the agent on my behalf?”

Lydia asked.

Zerelda didn’t miss the look in Kjell’s eyes. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her niece. Of this, she was certain. The man was crazy in love with Lydia, and Zerelda was just as certain Lydia cared for him. Once they both figured it all out, she had no doubts she’d be welcoming Kjell into the family.