Chapter 12
12
Bridget didn’t say anything until they were safely out of earshot, strolling down Pioneer Road toward the garage.
“You didn’t tell me Ruth was so pretty.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” He hadn’t told Bridget anything about him and Ruth. No kiss and tell was a very serious matter to him.
“Nothing. I’m just surprised you didn’t mention it, since you flirt with everyone else who comes through here.”
He set his jaw, wondering if big sisters were always so annoying. He hadn’t grown up with one, so how would he know? “I’m friendly to everyone who buys gas from me. I’m a businessman.”
She snorted. “I wish my mechanic was your kind of businessman. Didn’t you accept a cooler of salmon for that last brake job?”
“When are you leaving again?”
She laughed, taking no offense at that question, then dodged a kid whizzing past them on a skateboard. “Oh stop, you love having us around. Anyway, after I leave, the baton will be in your hands. I have a kid to raise, you know.”
Gunnar nodded soberly. “Baton” made it sound so simple. But there was nothing simple about unraveling the mystery of their father’s real identity. Bridget hadn’t gotten any further than he had over the past two months. Between the two of them, they’d found exactly one clue. It was in the left pocket of his jeans at this very moment.
“That’s why I invited Ruth to come by. She could be the key to this whole thing. I’ve done everything I can, and now I have to get Nelson back home before school starts.”
“Ruth doesn’t know anything about Dad. I only remember one time that they met, at the gas station.”
“She might know something without even knowing that she knows it. Know what I mean?”
“Amazingly, I sort of do.”
She swatted him on the arm. Bridget was like that—very physical and big-sistery. He wished she and Nelson didn’t live so far away; he was going to miss the kid.
As they approached the garage, a magpie landed on the roof and preened its feathers, which glowed blue-black in the sun. The birds were all busy this time of year, either readying for the winter or for their long migration south. Fewer tourists were wandering the streets, and the Magic Breakfast Bus was on its last week of pancake-serving. By the end of August, the town would be back to normal.
Except for the odd random military type wandering through.
And the camouflage ATVs that had been appearing lately.
And the sense of unease that everyone seemed to feel.
“Why do you think Dad left here?” he asked abruptly.
Bridget shot him a sympathetic look as they passed the gas pumps out front. “He must have had a really good reason. Like, life or death. I know he really loved you.”
He knew that. That wasn’t why he was asking. “If he was here because of the Chilkoots, maybe they did something to him.” An ATV passed them, kicking up a plume of dust. It was so dry, unusually so. They needed some rain. “You know Dad warned me never to trust any of the Chilkoots.”
“Well, you’re going to have to trust one of them. Ruth is our best bet to find out anything.”
“I don’t know.” He thought about Bridget’s trip to Florida, and the man in her rental car. “Seems like Dad doesn’t want to be found.”
“Well, too bad. I want to find him, and so do you.” She peered at him. “Don’t you? You’ve been hanging out here in Firelight Ridge ever since he left, just in case he came back. This is your life, Gunnar. Aren’t you curious?”
A wild mix of emotions swept through him. That open question mark that had hovered over his life for so long…it hurt. And now all this information from Bridget was casting certain memories in a new light. Like all those long skis his father had taken all the time. Had he actually been spying on the Chilkoots? If so, why?
“Yeah. I’m curious.”
After all, the world was upside down these days. His father was a spy and Ruth was on a date with a college boy.
Meanwhile, he’d been celibate the entire summer. Go figure.
Ruth didn’t show up at the garage until later that afternoon, which made Gunnar wonder just how long her date with the college boy had lasted. Bridget had baked a chocolate cake for a little goodbye party for Nelson—Charlie had come, as had Elias and Hailey, who’d taken Nelson under their wing.
“I’ll come another time,” Ruth said, backing away when she saw the group gathered around the sawhorse that held the cake.
“No, it’s fine,” Gunnar reassured her. “Bridget and Nelson are leaving tomorrow, that’s all. Want some cake?”
She was shaking her head “no” when Bridget spotted her and came striding over, a paper plate with a giant slice in her hand.
“Really glad you came. Come on. Let’s talk. Gunnar, you too.”
That big sister energy was really something, Gunnar thought as the three of them trooped outside into the sunshine. The air was bright and filled with fireweed fluff that drifted through the air like tiny tumbleweeds. Hard to believe that summer was almost over, but in Alaska it always went by so fast.
“We need your help,” Bridget said, planting her hand on Ruth’s shoulder. “Or should I say, Gunnar does. I’m leaving, and I hereby appoint you as my successor.” She made a hand motion as if anointing Ruth with a sword.
Ruth shot Gunnar a bewildered glance. She wore blue jeans that hugged her hips and a soft gray cardigan over a t-shirt with a neckline lower than anything he’d ever seen her wear. A locket nestled against her skin, which was dusted with summer freckles. It was hard to keep his eyes from straying that direction. Damn hard. He gave her an apologetic smile.
“Just humor her. She’ll be gone tomorrow.”
Bridget ignored him and kept her focus on Ruth. “Don’t listen to him. We have a mystery on our hands, and it’s very important to both of us, and you might be able to help. You’re our only hope, Obi Wan-Kenobi.”
He could have told her that references like that would go right over Ruth’s head. But he was wrong. Her eyes lit up. “We just watched that DVD last week. Am I really your only hope? Do I need to hop on a spaceship immediately?”
“Ha. Nothing so exciting,” said Bridget. “We just need your memories. That sounded weird, didn’t it?” She glanced at Gunnar for help.
“This is about our father. You remember him, right? I’m sure you saw him around.”
“Yes, Mr. Anthony Amundsen. I remember him. I was sorry when…well, I’m sorry you went through that.” Her gray eyes settled on him gently. “Is there some news about him?”
Very diplomatic. Gunnar knew that some locals believed Anthony was dead. After he’d disappeared, there had been wild rumors that he’d been attacked by a bear or gotten lost in the mountains. No one ever said that when Gunnar was around, but he’d caught the whispers.
“Gunnar will explain it all to you later,” Bridget said briskly. “I just wanted to officially bring you into our little huddle and let you know that I’m leaving my little brother in your hands.”
“I’m about twice your size,” Gunnar said dryly.
Bridget ignored that. “I’m asking, woman to woman, for whatever help you might be able to give him.”
Even though Ruth looked more confused than ever, she nodded. “Okay.”
“I’m trusting you. We’re trusting you. And neither of us is a trusting kind of person due to our abandonment issues.”
Gunnar was starting to wish he could sink into a hole in the ground.
“On top of that, our dad warned Gunnar never to trust a Chilkoot. That’s why it’s so important that we are deciding to trust you with this.”
At the mention of her last name, Ruth’s face tightened. Gunnar decided it was time to step in. “Lighten up, Bridget. You’ll scare her away.”
“No, I won’t. Ruth doesn’t scare easy. I can see it in her eyes.”
Ruth’s eyes looked soft and gray and lovely to him, but Bridget’s words seem to mean something to her. She relaxed and gave his sister a smile. “This is quite a build-up. When am I going to get the whole story?”
“That’s up to you two. Just keep it clean.” Bridget winked at them. “Gotta go party with my kid now.”
She whisked herself off, leaving Ruth and Gunnar alone in the fall sunshine. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I know that was weird. You can leave and forget this conversation ever happened if you want.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t think that’s the kind of conversation I could easily forget. Besides, I’m now Bridget’s official successor and no one can take that away from me.”
He eyed her with amusement. “Funny. You know, sometimes I get the feeling that all those years with Luke and the others, you were just silently mocking them the whole time.”