Alaskan Dawn Read online

  ALASKAN DAWN

  Copyright © 2015 by Edie Claire

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  Cover design by Cormar Covers.

  Dedication

  For my husband of twenty-six years. Here’s to at least twenty-six more.

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks go to author Lauren Royal, for her insights into California living; to Teresa Stewart, for her insights into the legal mind; and to Alaska Saltwater Tours, for the best boat trip ever.

  ALASKA

  Chapter 1

  “I’ve decided to go to Alaska,” Haley announced.

  There, she had said it. Her tone had been just right, too. Gentle, but firm enough to show that the topic wasn’t open to debate.

  Her sister’s eyes widened with alarm. “Now? But you can’t!”

  Micah’s screeching plea made Haley wince, even though it was exactly what she expected. As were the brimming tears and trembling lower lip that followed. Micah wasn’t ordinarily this irrational. She had always had a tendency for emotional outbursts, true, but Haley hadn’t seen her sister this unraveled since they were teenagers. The strain of the last month had taken its toll on her.

  On both of them.

  “I can, and I am,” Haley answered, gentling her voice further. If she didn’t handle this right, Micah would go into a full-blown meltdown, which was the last thing either of them needed. “There is absolutely no medical reason I can’t get on a plane and spend a few days somewhere else besides here. My staying in Newport Beach won’t make the results come back any faster.”

  “No, but—” Micah bit her lip, no doubt struggling to come up with a rebuttal that would hold some sway with her logical-minded sister. Haley knew exactly what Micah was thinking. She always knew. They were twins, after all, even if they couldn’t be more different.

  “But what?” Haley prompted. “Don’t you think one of us should at least take a look at Uncle Randy’s property before we decide to sell it?”

  “I don’t see why,” Micah retorted. “Of course we’re going to sell it. What would we do with some shack in the middle of Alaska?”

  “Who said it was a shack?” Haley replied. “We don’t know what shape it’s in. That’s my point. Maybe the place would make a nice summer getaway.”

  Micah frowned. “You know perfectly well that neither one of us has ever had the slightest desire to even go to Alaska.” Her lower lip started to tremble again. “You’re just looking for an excuse to leave town!”

  Haley held her sister’s gaze. Micah’s clear blue eyes, wavy blond hair, and curvy figure had always rated her “the pretty one.” Haley, in contrast, was tall and lean, with straight, chocolate-brown hair and penetrating green eyes that, while not unattractive, had earned her the dubious compliment of being dubbed “the responsible one.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Haley replied calmly. “Everything you just said is true. I do want to get away for a few days. Is that so wrong?”

  Micah’s eyes flashed with panic. She had no real reason to demand that her sister stay put, and they both knew it. They also both knew that, if reasoning failed, emotional manipulation would be next.

  Micah’s eyes welled up with tears again. “This is because of last night, isn’t it? I told you I was sorry! I know I shouldn’t have pulled you and Mom into it, but I was just so upset with Tim. When he—”

  “It’s not just about last night,” Haley broke in. Witnessing the horrendous argument between Micah and her husband the previous evening had been painful enough at the time. She had no stomach for hearing it rehashed this afternoon, which her sister would certainly do if given the slightest encouragement. “It’s the entire situation.”

  “I know that all this testing has been difficult for you, Haley,” Micah pleaded. “It’s certainly been more than you signed on for, and I appreciate everything you’ve done more than I can say. But running away now won’t help anything, and I need you here while we wait. I’ll go crazy worrying otherwise!”

  I need you, Haley. Please? Pretty please?

  No other expression encapsulated more perfectly the current of Haley’s life — the insidious undertow that, more and more now, she was certain would eventually drown her. They were twenty-nine years old. When they were little, Micah was shy and had needed her. When they were fourteen and their father died of a heart attack and their mother fell apart, it was Haley who had been Micah’s rock. When they were in college and Micah struggled with anxiety, Haley had been by her side. Only when Micah had gotten married did Haley allow herself to believe that her sister would finally be all right without her. Then came the miscarriages. More anxiety. The depression. Now, they were here.

  Was she running away?

  Hell yes, she was.

  Haley leaned forward and laid her hands on her sister’s arms. She would not be manipulated. Not this time. “Micah,” she said heavily. “You will worry no matter where I am. But I need to get away. I need a change of scenery. Some fresh air. Something to take my mind off those test results and reduce my general stress level. How many times have the doctors told us that stress is our worst enemy?”

  Micah clenched her jaws a moment. “I know you’re right,” she admitted. “But I still don’t want you to go. Surely we can figure out something to take the stress off without your having to go so far away!”

  “I need this,” Haley dared. “I need it for me.”

  “But you can’t leave without taking my baby!” Micah fired back.

  A flash of heat rose in Haley’s cheeks. She would not lose her temper with her sister. They had played that scene out many times before, and it never ended well, for either of them. She had agreed to serve as her sister’s surrogate, and she would see that commitment through to the end, come what may. “That is true,” she replied, working hard to keep her voice level, even as she wanted to scream. “But I promise to take good care of both of us. You know I will.”

  Micah looked away. A tear coursed down one cheek. “How long?” she squeaked.

  Haley released a breath with relief. “A week. I’m leaving the day after tomorrow.”

  Micah whirled back around with another panicked look. “They have OBs in Alaska, don’t they?”

  “Of course they do. I’ve already looked one up, so I’ll have a number just in case. But I won’t need it. I’m not due for another visit for nearly three weeks.” Haley searched her sister’s eyes. She was certain that the real, relatively mature Micah was still in there somewhere. But all Haley’s efforts to help her sister regroup and refocus had failed, and she was losing her own sanity in the process. “I’ll be fine. The baby will be fine. We’ll be back before you know it. Okay?”

  Micah swiped the tear off her cheek and nodded. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to put the baby at risk, Haley. I’m sorry if I snapped at you. If you really think a change of scenery would do you good, then go. But just for a few days. And stay in touch, okay?”

  Haley started to nod, but stopped herself. She and Micah didn’t lie to each other. Her survival plan might not be fully formed yet, but she knew it would not include answering texts every three and a half seconds. How she would block out the constant barrage of angst streaming from the cell phones of both her sister and her mother, she wasn’t sure. But that shoe would have to drop later. Preferably after she was on a plane.

  Haley ignored her sister’s
question and smiled. Right now, she had Micah’s blessing for the journey. It was more than she had hoped for. Certainly more than she’d be likely to get from their mother.

  “Have you told mom?” Micah asked, seemingly reading her twin’s mind.

  Haley shook her head. “Not yet.”

  “She won’t like it,” Micah predicted. “She’ll tell you pregnant women shouldn’t fly or something.”

  Haley allowed herself a sigh. “I’m sure she will. But I’m going anyway. I’ll call her tonight. I want to know what she remembers about Uncle Randy.”

  “All I remember is his having a beard and talking on and on about nothing interesting,” Micah said glumly. Neither of the girls had known their uncle, aside from one brief visit he had made to California when they were eight. Haley’s father had only rarely mentioned his brother’s existence, and Haley remembered no more about him than Micah did. But she would be forever grateful that the man had remembered his nieces in his will. With luck, the rural property he had left them would have no cellular service.

  “Where will you stay?” Micah asked anxiously.

  Not for the first time, Haley cursed the mind-reading thing. “I don’t know yet. If I can get the keys to Uncle Randy’s place and it’s decent enough, I may stay there. If not, I’m sure I can find a hotel. The property’s only a couple hours from Anchorage, and the nearest town looks like it’s a tourist destination, so I shouldn’t have any problem. It’s not like I’m going to the wilderness, Micah.”

  Although…

  Haley stopped herself. The fact that the word “wilderness” held such unexpected appeal was telling. She was hardly the outdoorsy type. The closest she’d ever gotten to camping was summer Girl Scout retreats at Camp Scherman where she and Micah had slept on bunks in lighted cabins and “roughed it” by walking outside to the restrooms. Living in a beach town, her mother’s idea of vacation had always been a week in Las Vegas or Reno. Haley herself had not ventured from the West Coast in years, with the exception of brief trips to Chicago and Houston on business for the firm, which didn’t count. Her own dreams of a getaway extended no further than visions of fluffy white bedding in a five-star hotel where she checked in with an alias and drowned her cell phone in the toilet.

  This sudden, fierce craving for the solace of a spider-filled cabin in the middle of nowhere had to mean something. God knew she hated spiders. Most likely, it was a warning sign.

  She planned to heed it.

  Impulsively, she reached forward and gave her sister a hug. “Thanks for understanding.” She stepped back and headed to the door of her sister’s apartment to let herself out.

  “Haley?” Micah called after her. “Just…” Her voice cracked, then broke off. Her eyes filled with tears again.

  Just come back okay, please? Both of you.

  Haley smiled back at her sister through eyes that were equally moist. “I promise,” she replied.

  Chapter 2

  Will there be a drug store nearby? Haley wondered to herself as she packed a sample of virtually every over-the-counter medication she was allowed to take into her travel bag. Insect repellent, itch cream, antacids, that stuff for cold sores… She didn’t use any of it often, but the thought of being without it disturbed her. Aside from her cursory research online into car rentals, road directions, and decent hotels, she knew nothing whatsoever about Alaska. Either the state in general or the portion of it to which she was headed.

  She had spoken with Ed Miller, her uncle’s business partner and the executor of his estate, only briefly on the phone. Randy and Ed had co-owned a boat dealership in Anchorage for the last twenty years. Randy had lived in a small apartment over the store, and he had never married or had any children. Two years before his death, he had purchased an “investment” property over a hundred miles away near the smaller port town of Seward. He spent his free days there during the summer, living in a house that sat deep within the parcel’s fifteen acres of woods, while renting out the two small cabins closer to the road. A month ago he had died unexpectedly of a heart attack, just like his brother and father before him. His will had left his share of the business to his partner and the remainder of his assets to his nieces.

  Such was the sum total of Haley’s knowledge. Her specific questions about the house and cabins had gone unanswered, as Ed admitted that he had never seen them. Had all this happened at any other time in her life, Haley almost certainly would have authorized the property’s sale sight unseen. She would have just sat back and waited for the check.

  She threw a can of sunscreen into her suitcase. Did people get sunburned so far north? It was July, so they must. And weren’t the days really long during the summer?

  Her cell phone rang, and she looked at it with a sinking feeling. She had meant to call her mother last night but hadn’t gotten around to it, and she’d had no time today. She had been insanely busy at the office trying to tie things up, a feat at which she had not even come close to succeeding. For associates at Merriweather, Falstaff, and Tynes, vacation was a theoretical concept. Ambitious young lawyers were expected to pretend they didn’t want time off, much less need it. Announcing that she would be taking a full week off on forty-eight hours’ notice was tantamount to resigning.

  She had been surprised to realize she didn’t give a damn.

  Her phone rang for the third time, and she continued to frown as she picked it up. If Micah had reached their mother first…

  “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” a terse voice replied.

  Micah had definitely reached their mother first.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” Haley apologized preemptively. “I’ve been meaning to call all day, it’s just been crazy. I guess Micah told you?”

  “That you’re going off on some spur of the moment trip halfway around the world? Yes, she told me. Do you really think that’s a good idea, in your condition?”

  “I think it’s one of the best ideas I’ve ever had,” Haley replied, steeling herself for another battle. Micah’s irrationality might be a temporary aberration, but for Michelle Olson, the condition was permanent. As long as the girls could remember, their mother had unpredictably alternated between overinvolved hovering and abject neglect, depending on her mood. As children, they would have appreciated more of the former. But the surrogacy situation had elevated Michelle’s smothering to a whole new level, and Haley’s patience with her mother’s drama was running short. “My flight leaves tomorrow morning, and frankly, Mom, I can’t wait.”

  “Oh. Well. If you’re sure.”

  Haley tried to let the quavering, fretful tone of her mother’s voice wash over her without effect. The actual words Michelle used were never important. The woman communicated entirely via tone.

  “I am sure,” Haley responded. “I really need to get away, Mom. There’s no medical reason I shouldn’t, and Micah’s okay with it.”

  “Is that what she told you?”

  Haley closed her eyes and took a breath. It was an old, old game among the three of them. Michelle had never been an authoritarian parent, leaving any unpleasantness of discipline to her husband. After Mike died, she had suspended all pretense of parenting and strived only to be the girls’ best friend. The result was a form of guidance in which she never actually disapproved of anything the girls did, but instead would try to steer their actions through not-so-subtle injections of guilt.

  Michelle would never tell Haley, for instance, that staying in Newport Beach until after the baby was born was the right thing to do. Instead, she would make the case that Micah didn’t want her sister to leave. And historically Micah would then do the same, insisting that although she herself was fine with whatever sin Haley was contemplating, their mother would be horribly upset.

  Haley couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been aware of exactly how that game was played. More difficult to explain was why it almost always worked.

  “I don’t know what Micah told you, Mom,
” Haley said firmly, tossing an extra blister pack of Gax-X in with her meds. “But she gave me her blessing. I’m sure she’d rather I not leave. But it really isn’t up to her.” She zipped up the bag, tossed it in her suitcase, and began to count socks. According to her weather app, daytime highs in July should be in the upper sixties in Seward, but the nights could be colder. She wasn’t used to colder. Nor was she used to rain.

  Both sounded heavenly.

  “You’re not still sore from the amnio?” Michelle persisted, artfully posing her objections in question form. “The doctors don’t think that traveling so soon afterwards will increase your chances of a miscarriage?”

  Haley decided that eight pairs of no-show socks would be enough. Then she threw in a few pairs of fuzzy long socks as well. She might be out at night, and her feet always got cold on airplanes. “No, and no,” she answered.

  “What about motion sickness on the plane?”

  Haley cracked a grin. Her mother was really reaching now. “I’ve never gotten airsick in my life, and if I didn’t have trouble with nausea in the first trimester, why would I have it now?” She began to sort her underwear.

  Michelle made a low grumbling noise. Then she tried another angle. “Is the firm okay with your taking so much time off right now? I mean, what with your maternity leave coming up so soon?”

  “Well, they haven’t fired me yet,” Haley replied with intentional flippancy. With luck, her mother would think she was joking.

  There was a long pause on the line’s other end. When Michelle spoke again, her voice was awash with misery. “So when do you leave? And how can we reach you?”

  Haley felt her heart begin to lighten. Her mother had accepted defeat, and relatively quickly. “I leave tomorrow,” she replied. “And I’ll let you know.”

  She tossed her entire supply of newly purchased preggo undergarments into her suitcase and turned to her closet. She had no cold-weather clothes, aside from the three business suits she’d bought for winter trips to Chicago and a few ancient ski garments. She threw in her one and only pair of long underwear and hoped the waistband would stretch. She had no prayer of getting into her high-school ski pants, which had always been tight. The parka was probably overkill, but she threw it in anyway.