Alaskan Courage: Silenced Part 9

Jake walked beside Kayden, the sun glinting off his fair skin. There was so much she wanted to know.

"It's okay," he said with a lopsided smile.

"What is?" She prayed he wasn't bringing Brody up again. Brody's words had stung, but she'd shaken them off just like she did everything else. Jake's concern was thoughtful, and she'd fought hard not to crawl back into her fortress-actually answering his questions with honesty, but one step at a time was frightening enough.

He plucked a wild flower growing by the sidewalk and rolled its stem through his fingers. "I know you're curious."

Her brows pinched. Where is he going with this? "About . . . ?"

"Me." He smiled slowly, in a way he'd never smiled before, and it left her throat suddenly parched. He was so virile, so handsome . . . so . . . so much she shouldn't be thinking about.

He dipped his head. "It's okay to ask. If it's something I don't want to answer, I won't."

She laughed, the tightness in her belly relaxing.

He arched a brow, his lip twitching with a smile. "What?"

She shook her head. "Just sounds like something I'd say."

"Maybe we're more alike than you think."

She bit her bottom lip. "Maybe."

A knock sounded on his door. Reef smiled. He'd been wondering how long it would take. "Come in."

Piper stepped inside. "Getting settled?"

"Yes." He put the last of his things in the dresser, waiting for it.

Piper sank onto the bed. "She's very nice."

There it is. He glanced at the clock. Thirty seconds to bring up Anna. It was a new record. "Yes, she is."

"So how long have you-"

"Been going to church?"

"I was going to say known Anna, but sounds like they happened at the same time, so sure."

"Three months."

"She's-"

"Very different from the girls I usually date."

Piper threw a pillow at him. "You're taking the fun out of this."

He caught the pillow before it smashed him in the face. Her aim was getting better. "Sorry. I just know you too well."

"And I know you."

"And . . . ?"

"And I'm really happy for you."

"But . . . ?"

"But"-she s.h.i.+fted, sitting Indian-style-"I'm just curious."

He chuckled. "When aren't you?"

"True."

He sat on the bed beside her. "So what do you want to know?"

"What made you decide to start going to church?"

"My time here with you all. I saw the difference church makes in your life. I saw the direction my life was headed, and I knew I needed to make a change."

"That's great, but it's not church that makes the difference-it's Christ."

Semantics-not worth quibbling over now.

"And Anna?" she prodded.

"Is perfect."

"Really?"

He frowned. "Why do you say it like that?"

"She seems great, but I-"

"Just don't see her with someone like me?"

"Actually, I was going to say it the other way around. You're so full of life and adventure."

"And it's time that part of my life settled down."

"You can settle down in some ways without giving up your love of adventure."

"I'm not giving it up. I'm just toning it down." He stood, moving for the window. "You know, I'm surprised. I thought you'd be thrilled."

"I am. If you're happy, I'm happy. I just want to make sure you're truly happy."

"I'm happy, Piper." It was just a different kind of happy.

Piper stood. "Good. Then I'm happy for you. Anna is a lovely girl."

"Who we've left waiting long enough." He followed Piper back down the hall to the room Anna would be staying in-his old room. He was confused. He'd thought Piper would be thrilled, not concerned. He'd brought home a good girl. He was making good changes. Why the hesitation on her part? Why the questioning? So Anna didn't love adventure sports-or sports, period. That didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The fact that she loved G.o.d was much more important. Didn't Piper get that? Or was he the one missing the mark again?

Jake followed Kayden into Imnek Island Adventures. They provided services similar to those of Last Frontier Adventures-equipping and guiding Alaskan adventures. Though, while LFA was co-owned and run by the McKenna siblings, IIA was a sole venture run by adrenaline junkie and outdoor enthusiast Natalie Adams.

Natalie was a nice enough gal. She and Jake's wilderness groups had crossed paths numerous times over the last couple years.

Natalie stood behind the counter, her sandy hair dipping over her eye as she scanned a brochure. A fresh box of them sat on the counter beside her.

The shop was similar in size to Last Frontier Adventures and carried most of the same gear-dry suits, dive tanks, snorkeling gear, ski and s...o...b..ard equipment, kayaking and rafting supplies. Natalie's shop, however, lacked Piper's fun-loving tropical touches-the leis draped over the Last Frontier Adventure's display cases, the surfer posters on the walls, even the Hawaiian tunes playing over the speakers. Natalie's place looked like an Alaskan shop, while theirs looked like it could be in Hawaii or California.

"Hey, Natalie," Kayden said.

Natalie looked up, blowing the hair from her eyes. "Hey, Kayden, Jake."

"How's it going?" Jake asked.

Natalie shrugged. "Can't complain." She s.h.i.+fted her gaze to Kayden. "Heard you made a grisly discovery."

Kayden slipped her hands into her pockets. "Afraid so."

"Sorry to hear about Conrad. Always a b.u.mmer to lose a climber."

Or any human life. Jake understood camaraderie within the sport, but murder was murder. It was always terrible.

Kayden cut straight to it. "We've been told Conrad bought his chalk here?"

"Yeah." Natalie set the brochure back in the box and leaned forward.

"When was that? What day?"

"The afternoon before his climb at Stoneface."

"Are you certain about the timing?"

"Positive. He dropped by after work. I opened a new package. Gave him half. Used the other half for myself. We both had climbs the next day."

"Where'd you climb?"

"Over on Tariuk, too, but on the east side."

"And you had no problems with your chalk?"

"Nope."

"You got any of the batch left?" Jake asked.

"I'm sure there's at least a little. I'll go check. My chalk bag's in my locker."

Jake watched Natalie head for the rear of the shop. "It will be a huge break if she has any left, will help us determine when the Dodecanol was added-before or after it left Natalie's shop."

"How can we be sure what she shows us really is from the same batch? Especially if it comes up short on Dodecanol?"

"Booth can match the other components."

Natalie slipped back through the office door with a chalk bag in hand. "Sorry. There's hardly any left."

Jake studied the fine dusting of chalk lining the inside of the bag. He smiled. There was enough. "You'd be amazed by what the ME can do with even a small amount."

"Oh. So you want to take it?"

"Yes, we do," he said.

Natalie swallowed. "Okay. I suppose that'd be all right."

"Great." He took the bag from her before she could change her mind and slipped it into an evidence bag. "Thanks."

Natalie nodded, her hands clasped tight.

"How well did you know Conrad?" Kayden asked, proceeding with the questioning. Jake smiled. She certainly wasn't subtle, and he loved that about her.

"Well enough, I suppose." Natalie moved back behind the counter, putting an effective barrier between them. "I taught Conrad to climb."

"Really?" Kayden slipped her hair behind her ear. "I thought he learned over at Brody's gym."

"He did. I was his instructor there."

Kayden leaned against the counter, her knee showing through the threadbare portion of her jeans. "You teach at Brody's?"

"Taught-until I started carrying climbing supplies in the shop."

Kayden's beautiful brown eyes narrowed. "Are you saying . . . ?"

"Brody fired me before I could blink." Natalie scooted the box of brochures to the side and rested her arms on the granite counter, picking up a pen lying there and twirling it between her fingers.

"Wow. That's harsh."

"Brody's all about loyalty. When he decides you're being loyal to him, he'll do anything for you. If he thinks your loyalty has swayed, he'll turn on you without a second thought."

"What about Conrad?" Jake asked, his curiosity piqued.

"What about him?"

"He started buying his supplies from you. Wouldn't Brody consider that disloyal?"

"I imagine he did, but it was just chalk."

She was right, it hardly seemed enough to kill over, though maybe his intention hadn't been to kill. Maybe it'd been a form of payback gone terribly wrong. "Don't suppose he'd try to teach Conrad and you a lesson?"

Natalie's eyes widened. "By tampering with the chalk I sold Conrad?"