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The sun poked through the clouds, casting a blanket of diamonds over the water. The diamonds shimmered as the plane drew closer to the dock of the Pan-Abode cabin, one of many prefab cabins dotting the Alaskan bush.
Sashi lifted her eyebrows, trying to decide if she dared ask their pilot-cum-tour guide the question on her mind: Had the trees been planted on purpose to look like a wreath around the lake, or had nature created its own perfection? But where questions about Alaska were concerned, she’d learned to keep her mouth shut in case she sounded too naive.
Over the past three months Sashi had learned Alaska was a land of mystery. It was hard to believe that it was just last March her best friend from childhood had begged her to come up here.
It had all sprung from Kendra’s falling in love with Freddy, which had happened when both she and Frank Marshall’s son had attended school together in Washington, D.C. Freddy had asked Kendra to come up to the resort and spend time with him. She went because she believed she had found the man she was going to marry, and this time with him would make for a perfect summer.
Kendra had asked Sashi to come because she knew her friend needed the money to make her dream become a reality.
Sashi took in Kendra’s silhouette up front. They’d been best friends since they were three years old. Sashi couldn’t believe the past twenty-five years had gone by so quickly. During that time Kendra had become a tall, striking woman, one just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. She was one of those rare types of people who would hold some fund-raiser or another for a cause no one had ever heard of just because she cared. Sashi never knew Kendra to be unkind to another soul.
If people thought Kendra was odd, it was only because she was so smart. Kendra had a different way of thinking from most people. Sometimes it made her seem snobby, but nothing could be further from the truth.
“My friends,” Joe said through the headphones in his deep, rich voice. “It appears Mother Nature has looked kindly on us this morning. We had the bald eagle to welcome us and the sun to shine on us. We will be docking momentarily. Since no one has arrived yet, we will prepare for a wet docking and hike to the cabin.”
“Uh, Joe?” said Kendra. “Can you elaborate on what a wet docking is?”
His eyes twinkled as he looked back. “The parks department hasn’t kept up the dock here at the lake. So we have to wade to shore.”
Kendra poked Joe in a friendly manner. “Please tell us you have waders.”
He laughed. “Nothing to worry about, ladies. Joe takes care of everything.”
Kendra and Sashi looked at each other and smiled. On their tour yesterday, Joe had been quite a character, providing them with anecdotes about his ancestors. Then he’d made fun of Kendra’s pronunciations of some Tlingit words and told story after story until their stomachs hurt from laughing so hard.
Sashi loved this man’s company and thought it was a shame they were cutting their tour short, all because of Freddy. But it wasn’t her place to say anything. After all, Kendra was the one paying for this three-day adventure trip with Joe.
For some reason, Sashi feared that this last hurrah in Red Bay would be a disaster. She’d told Kendra that if Freddy Marshall had been serious about her, he would have wanted to be alone with Kendra. But her friend had refused to listen. She had insisted she needed to see Freddy and the group one more time before they left Alaska.
All these thoughts filled Sashi’s mind as she watched Joe exit the plane first and walk up the slope to the split-level cabin. Once he felt the area was safe, he called to them. They put on the fishing waders Joe had given them, then grabbed their night packs.
Kendra got out of the plane ahead of Sashi, visibly bursting with excitement and the knowledge that Sashi, whose waders were two sizes too big for her and whose pack weighed half as much as she did, was going to need help. Sashi watched her friend walk up the moss- and rock-laden hill.
After throwing down her pack, Kendra returned to the shore and stood half in, half out of the water. She grinned as Sashi was planning her next move.
“Sashi, what are you doin’?”
“I’m sitting here thinking of all the predicaments I’ve been in this summer. I have to tell you this is a classic.” Still clinging to the edge of the plane’s opening, Sashi could tell Kendra was trying hard not to laugh. Kendra knew Sashi hated depending on people in any way.
“Would you mind if I go get my camera?” Kendra asked. “We’re lucky that it’s such a nice day for the end of August.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Sashi said drily. “Go ahead, then maybe you can help me get off this plane.”
In a minute Kendra was back with a camera, took a few shots, then helped Sashi wade to shore. They were both laughing as the waders kept smacking Sashi in the face.
Finally the two of them made it into the cabin. Joe had made a fire and had coffee brewing for the three of them. While Kendra kept a vigil at the window waiting for Freddy’s plane to appear, Joe took Sashi to the back of the cabin.
She eyed her wily comrade. “What’s all this?” He’d been up to something. The old chief possessed the wisdom and the walk of a great tribal leader from the past.
Joe’s voice grew hushed as he placed his hands on her shoulders. “You remind me of a lone wolf pup. It’s in your eyes and in your wild red hair. Just learning about its power and strength is what makes you so strong.”
He picked up a small, rectangular handheld device. “My daughter and her husband gave this to me for my birthday. It’s a personal locater beacon if there’s an emergency. Don’t leave the cabin without it.”
“But, Joe, don’t you need it?”
He pulled another one out of his vest.
“Are they connected?” Sashi asked.
He shook his head and his eyes danced with laughter. “To satellites, yes. Me, no. I have a good friend who is a doctor named Cole Stevens. Like you he is a wolf, also a loner. He never leaves home without one. He got it for me. Same birthday, I think.”
“I’ve met Dr. Stevens. I’m supposed to meet up with him again tomorrow.”
Joe’s face broke out in a radiant smile. “Ah. He has finally found his mate.”
Sashi’s face reddened. “Oh, that’s a little bit out there, Joe. We just met.”
“No, Joe is usually right.”
“You’ve got to be making this up.” She loved the way he referred to himself in the third person. She tried not to laugh while she held a hot cup of coffee in her hand.
“I laugh about Joe all the time,” he said. “But I never laugh about safety. Never.” He held the device in his hand and showed her how to turn it on. With care he explained how each device was coded by its own transmitter signal.
“Here’s the funny part,” Joe said. “Cole and my daughter are very good friends, but they don’t know Joe has two devices.” By his smile, she knew he enjoyed telling the story. “Since they know I have little faith in modern technology always working, they offer to pay the yearly fee.”
Sashi bit her lip, trying to understand this man. “But if you don’t trust the devices, then why carry them?”
“Now Joe never said he didn’t trust the devices.” His finger shook, but his smile was back. “I like an extra one in this land of the Raven. Because of this old body, it gives me peace of mind in the back country.”
“Where will you be tonight? I don’t want to take your peace of mind.”
Joe shook his head. “You want to take a piece of my mind and keep the device on you.” He tucked it into a pocket on her padded vest. “Now let me give you another piece of my mind.” For the next ten minutes he told Sashi about bear mace and how to survive in bear country.
“Thank you,” she said, then hugged him. “Where are you flying now?”
His eyes lit up. “I’m going back to Ketchikan to be with my daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law.”
“Until tomorrow, then.”
“I will be here early.”
Sashi followed him out of the cabin and down the steep slope. “Can you give me an idea of what time exactly?”
“Depends on the weather.” Joe looked up at the sky, then back to her. “As you know, Mother Earth is going into her rainy season. I’ll be here about nine.” He smiled, waved goodbye and made his way down to the plane. “You worry about me too much, little wolf. I’m the one who’s worried about you out here without a gun. I wish you ladies would take one.”
“Joe, Freddy’s coming and I know he always carries at least two guns. Even so, we know bear safety. Everything will be all right.”
With his long, salt-and-pepper hair and beautiful jewelry that shook as he moved, Joe cut an elegant figure out here in nature. He eyed her. “You talk so tough I almost believe you. Then you turn sideways and I forget you even exist.”
She put her hands on her hips and laughed.
He gave her one last wave, then began to wade to the plane.
Deep down Sashi wondered if Freddy was really going to come or if he was going to let Kendra down like he’d done so many times. Her heart ached for her friend, but when she remembered tomorrow when she’d see Cole again, the emptiness that had filled her life for so long seemed to fade.
* * *
COLE LOOKED AT THE LITTLE GIRL seated on the edge of the hospital bed holding her mom’s hand tightly. Her blond hair and big blue eyes reminded him of Jake’s daughter. His friend was a lucky man. Cole wasn’t a pediatrician, but he’d learned a few tricks to get kids to cooperate.
“So I hear your name is Maggie the Magician.” His expression was kind as he looked at this cutie.
The girl shook her head, but then she smiled.
“Let’s try again. Is your name Maggie the Magnet?”
“No! You’re silly. I’m Maggie Johnson.” Her tiny voice had come out in a whisper.
“Wow. I wish my name was Maggie Johnson. Then I’d be really cool like you.”
“But you can’t because you’re an old man.” Her voice was firmer now.
Her parents started offering apologies, but Cole just laughed. “I like you, Maggie Johnson. Do you want to come and work here?”
“No. I don’t want to leave my mommy.”
“Oh. You have a good mommy?”
“I have the best mommy in the world.” Her eyes got really big. “And my dad is the best, too.” Her face was very serious.
“Well, Maggie, can you tell me how you got hurt?”
“I was throwing horseshoes with my brother.”
“Can you show me where your leg hurts?”
Her eyes began to well with tears. “I don’t like looking at it.”
Cole glanced around the room. “Do you like books?”
“Yes.” She lit up.
Cole rolled his chair over to a magazine rack, and stuffed in the back for occasions like this was a kid’s book. He pulled it out. “I happen to have a Dora the Explorer book. Do you like Dora?”
“I am Dora.”
“Oh, I thought you were Maggie.”
“I’m both!” The little girl giggled.
Cole handed the book to her mom. “Okay then, Maggie and Dora the Explorer. Can you show me where you hurt?”
The little girl lifted up her skirt to her knee, revealing a cut that clearly needed stitches.
“Okay. Let me get my pack full of stuff to fix your ouchie.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Only a tiny bit, I promise.”
As Cole sewed up Maggie’s leg, his mind began to dwell on Sashi. Was she okay? What was she doing? He couldn’t wait to kiss her again.
Chapter Three
Sashi went into the two-story A-frame cabin to join Kendra. She decided their summer’s rigorous work schedule still hadn’t been as hard as working for a real dance company. And the fourteen- to sixteen-hour workdays did mean more money, although Kendra had just about died trying to keep up and had lost ten pounds this summer.
As soon as the reality of their situation had taken hold, Kendra probably would have left if she hadn’t known Sashi needed the money so desperately. It had been fortunate for Sashi that Kendra had decided to follow Freddy up here. Last spring she’d broached the idea with Sashi of coming up to Alaska for fun, friendship, adventure and money.
Stepping over their gear, Sashi made a mental note to put the gear away after she’d had a talk with Kendra. But she couldn’t find her.
“Kendra?” No answer. Her friend must have gone to the outhouse. “Ahh, rustic joys of Alaskan life,” Sashi muttered.
As she started out the door to look for her, Kendra suddenly pushed past her with eyes full of tears. She ran to the window seat. “I don’t think he’s coming.”
Sashi sat beside her friend. Tears gushed down Kendra’s cheeks. Sashi grabbed the bandanna she’d been carrying in her pocket and began to dab at her friend’s face.
“What’s going on, Kendra? Tell me.”
Kendra looked at her before she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “I just know Freddy isn’t going to come. It’s already three o’clock. If he were going to be here, I think he’d have shown up by now.”
Sashi looked into her friend’s big brown eyes. How could there be so much sadness? “I bet he’s just running late. I’ve never seen a guy who lived as much on the edge as Freddy.”
At that moment they heard the sound of a plane coming in.
Kendra jumped up and ran out of the cabin, Sashi following. “It’s Freddy!” Kendra cried. “He came.” And sure enough, within seconds Freddy’s plane made its descent onto the unspoiled lake.
As the group who had come for the night disembarked from the plane, Sashi saw her friend stop in her tracks.
“What’s going on?” Sashi asked her. “Why did you stop?”
Kendra gestured in the direction of the plane. Sashi looked and instantly knew. Freddy was unloading the plane, yet he hugged Blake every chance he got.
“Is this a joke?” Sashi was taken aback. She stared at her friend.
Kendra’s eyes filled with tears. “Obviously it’s not,” she said. Kendra turned and walked back into the cabin.
There was something different about Kendra today, Sashi thought, something more than her friend just being hurt by Freddy’s actions once again. Sashi couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was there.
Over the next hour the group unloaded the plane and had the cabin ready for their big going-away party tonight. It was to be a keg party. Keggers were extremely childish affairs to Sashi, even though she’d been to many as a young college student. She wouldn’t have thought it was the right kind of party to have out in the middle of the Alaskan bush!
Sure it was fun to see Natalie, Bridgette and the boys. But when she saw Freddy with his hands all over Blake, Sashi was appalled. How could someone be so cruel? Why didn’t he just let Kendra go?
The large cabin easily held the group of eight. When most of the crowd started their partying, Sashi went to look for Kendra. She found her crying on a bench overlooking the lake.
“Kendra, all I have to say is Freddy is an SOB! At least you found out now and not later when you got closer to him.”
“Sashi, you don’t understand all that’s going on here.” Kendra looked at Sashi helplessly.
“Then explain it to me,” Sashi said.
“I can’t. I have to talk to Freddy first. But right now I’m too tired.”
“All right. Why don’t we go take a nap and you can talk to Freddy later. I know you were up at five this morning. And then let’s go explore those limestone caves near the cabin Joe told us about. Apparently some of them have petroglyphs few people have ever seen.”
The two of them headed into the cabin loft and within minutes Kendra was snuggled into her sleeping bag and fast asleep. Sashi crawled into her own sleeping bag, thinking that looking at caves sounded just like the kind of thing her friend needed to do in order to get her mind off Freddy. And a nap might help clear her thoughts and get her back in tune with herself. Soon Sashi drifted off.
When she woke up, the light was dimming. What time was it? She checked her watch. Seven o’clock.
She stretched and looked over at her friend’s bunk. It was empty. Kendra must have got up and gone downstairs. Sashi climbed out of her sleeping bag and quickly threw on a thermal vest. The temperature in the cabin was beginning to drop. Her cross trainers were next to her. She put them on and headed downstairs.
The main room was warm but full of people acting like fools. Sashi walked up to Bridgette. “Do you know where Kendra is?”
With blurry eyes and a silly smile, Bridgette pointed to the back bedroom. “In there.” Bridgette began to sway back and forth to the music of the guitar one of the guys had brought.
Sashi headed back to the bedroom, where she could hear loud voices. She tried to open the door but it was locked. “Kendra? Are you okay?”
In a flash, eyes wide, Kendra flew out of the bedroom, through the main room, then right out the door. She took off at a brisk pace and Sashi struggled to keep up with her.
“Kendra, what’s going on? What were you and Freddy fighting about? Where are you going?”
“I just need to get out of the house! Apparently Freddy proposed to Blake! I can’t take it anymore!”
Now that it was almost September, the days were getting shorter. It would be dark soon, and it was imperative Sashi get them back to the cabin. The later it got, the greater their chances of encountering bears. It was after seven o’clock.
The emerald rain forest had taken on darker hues. Sashi could hear ravens, eagles, larks and other types of wildlife in the bush. The canopy of tall cedars and aspen was dense and she couldn’t see the sky.
Kendra had charged on ahead. To reach her, Sashi had to bat her way through a grouping of hemlocks, then climb a grassy slope to a copse of trees, where there was a jutting of rock concealing limestone caves. Finally she caught up to Kendra again. Sashi tapped her on the shoulder to let her know she was there.
Kendra turned to her, but her face suddenly froze in terror.
“What’s wrong?”
“B-b-b-ear!” She screamed.
Sashi stood still. She realized they’d broken every rule in the guidebooks and she didn’t even have any bear mace on her.
“Kendra, we need to be calm and speak softly,” she whispered. “If that doesn’t work, we need to fight and yell because black bears don’t give up that easily.”
“Okay, Sashi,” Kendra whispered. “But it’s staring at me. It’s going to kill my baby!”
“You’re pregnant? How long have you known?” Sashi asked.
“Two weeks, but tonight Freddy denied it’s his.”
The next few minutes happened fast. Sashi watched in terror as Kendra took off, running down the other side of the hill into a hemlock forest, where she tried to climb a big alder tree. A sow with cubs would chase her and follow her up.
“No, Kendra! No!”
She had to stop the bear, save her friend. Without a second thought she threw herself in its way. The sow barely noticed her. In the next instant, the eight-foot, salmon-fed animal tossed her in the air, bruising her back and slicing open her left upper arm. Upon landing, Sashi’s right foot hit the ground first and twisted as her body fell at an angle.
She could only lift her right arm in a futile attempt to prevent her head from hitting a rock on the ground. Fortunately the rock just grazed her temple. Lying facedown on the dirt, she could barely think. The pain radiating from her lower leg was excruciating.
Sashi knew she had to move and get away from the bear in case it came back. She clawed her way into a nearby cave, dank and cold as a tomb. Too terrified to scream, she curled into a ball on the floor, then craned her neck to see if the bear was there.
No, it wasn’t. It had gone. Where was Kendra? Was she safe?
She prayed.
She realized she needed to start taking care of herself or she was going to die. She counted to three in her mind and then turned herself over. The pain was unbearable.
Her leg was much worse than she’d thought, probably broken, but right now her main concern was her left arm, which was bleeding profusely. She had to stop it. Using her teeth and right hand, she ripped off a piece of her shirt, which she then somehow managed to tie using her bad arm. At last she got a piece big enough to tie around the cut to stem the flow. It took a few tries to get the rough bandage tight, but she fought through silent tears and sweat, and it worked. Then she relaxed her body and calmed her breathing, and soon she fell asleep from exhaustion.
She awoke later with a start. “Oh, God, where am I?” Then she remembered and began to shake. She could hear the howl of a wolf in the distance. Breathe, Sashi. You’ve danced for years. Pain is part of being a dancer.
Where was the group? Maybe Cole would come and find her. He was a bush doctor. Her breathing slowed and she slept again.
When she came to this time, her thoughts were reeling. I’ll be strong for Kendra and her baby and my parents. I’m their only child and they need me. Thirsty, she turned her head and tried to lick the water trickling down the middle of the cave floor. Yes, I will be found.
She tried to move her right foot, but couldn’t. She cried silent tears. I don’t want to die. I’m not going to die. I will dance again. Please God, save me.
She called for her friend. “Kendra? Kendra? Kendra?” Her voice grew hoarse. She refused to think no one could hear her in this cave.
* * *
IN A DREAM, COLE COULD HEAR his name being said over and over again. A knock on the door alerted him that he was needed in the E.R. He jumped out of the makeshift hospital bed that was on hand for the emergency room doctors. He slipped on his Crocs and grabbed his white jacket.
From years of practice he flipped on the light switch, then headed over to the sink to brush his teeth and splash some water on his face. He sure hoped he had time to go home and properly shower before he saw Sashi today. As soon as she called, he would be off duty. Trading schedules with Dr. Reagan, he’d done the all-night shift. It was worth it. He couldn’t wait to see her.
“Paging Dr. Stevens, Dr. Cole Stevens. Please report to the E.R. desk immediately. That’s Dr. Stevens, Dr. Cole Stevens.” He rushed out the door and headed down the hall, hoping it wasn’t a terrible trauma. He didn’t want any distractions on his day off. Once at the emergency desk, he picked up the phone. “This is Dr. Stevens.”
“Cole, this is Chief Hunter with the Alaska State Troopers on Prince of Wales Island.”
“Trace. I know who you are. I’m just trying to figure out why in the hell you’re being so formal with me.” He leaned against the high wraparound desk.
“We’ve got ourselves a bad situation. I think you’re the twentieth person I’ve called today.”
Cole chuckled and turned toward the wall to keep his voice from carrying. “You waited that long to get a doctor on board for whatever problem you’ve gotten yourself into?”
“This isn’t a laughing matter. Two women have gone missing. Joe Running Bear, Freddy Marshall and his friends are very worried about their situation.”
“How is Joe involved in this?” Cole was afraid something might have happened to Joe’s daughter or one of her friends. He rubbed his whiskered jaw in frustration.
“It’s not like that. He’s taken some twenty or so city ladies on one of his Native tours.”
Cole frowned. “I didn’t know Joe got people to go on those anymore. The guy charges a fortune. Last I heard it was two years ago since someone booked.”
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