Beth Carpenter - The Alaskan Catch

“I don’t think so, but thank you.” He smiled. “So, are you ready to go?”

“Sure, I guess so.” She set the half-eaten slice of pizza back onto her plate. “We can get a to-go box for the rest.”

“Okay.” Sam signaled the waiter for the check. He knew he was being rude, rushing her out of there before she’d even had time to finish, but he needed to get home, where he could be alone and think.

Raynott, the name his mother used to curse, the name on the check she’d torn to shreds. Who were these Raynotts and what did they have to do with his mother? And with him?

CHAPTER FOUR

DANA SLID A muffin tin into the hot oven. She’d picked up the pan, as well as the ingredients, yesterday on the way back from hiking. Blueberry muffins used to be Chris’s favorite breakfast, and she’d hoped to surprise him this morning, to put him in a good mood and get him talking. But Chris still wasn’t back from his fishing trip. Hopefully Sam would enjoy the muffins.

What was up with him? Last night, they’d been having a great time. He obviously loved his job, and she found it fascinating to listen to him talk about how he did it. It would be wonderful to have a job she could feel passionate about like that. He seemed to enjoy her stories about Chris growing up. But at the end of the evening, Sam had suddenly withdrawn into himself, and she had no idea why.

Not that it was really any of her business. She needed to remember she was in Alaska to get the answers she needed, not for a vacation. Her phone beeped and she found a text from Ginny. When r u coming home?

A problem with Mom? Dana bit her lip and typed a reply. Not sure. Still working.

OK. Will handle. Handle what? Dana found she really didn’t want to know. Whatever it was, either Ginny would take care of it or Dana would deal with it when she got home. She had enough on her plate here. Which reminded her—she needed to call the women’s shelter where she volunteered.

“Hi, Jane. It’s Dana. How are things there?”

“Not bad. We got in a new family with three kids in elementary school who could probably use your help.”

“Ooh, sorry. I was actually calling to let you know I’m out of town and won’t make it in for tutoring next week and possibly the week after.”

“That’s too bad, but I’m sure Melinda and I can muddle through. Good thing we don’t have any kids in high school right now because I’ve forgotten everything I ever knew about algebra.”

“Maybe you can sit in on my next lesson. I’ll let you know when I get home. Bye, Jane.” Dana smiled as she hung up the phone. She loved tutoring the kids at the shelter. So many of them thought they hated math, but really they were just struggling with some basic concept. A little individual attention did wonders for their confidence.

While she had her phone out, she checked her voice mail. A message from the lawyers asked if she’d located Chris and gotten his signature. She called and left a message of her own.

“Hi, it’s Dana Raynott. I got your message. I did locate Chris, but he’s temporarily away from home. I expect him back anytime now, and I will certainly get that signature and send it to you ASAP. Then I’ll concentrate on locating that other party.” She ended the call. The lawyers didn’t seem too worried, but she wouldn’t feel right if she didn’t at least try to locate this Petrov guy and check out his story.

“Did I hear you say Chris would be back soon?”

Dana jumped at Sam’s voice and turned. “Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you were up. I was just leaving a message with the lawyers. They were checking up on my progress.”

“You know he’s fishing, right?”

Dana nodded. “Yes, but I expected him to be home by now. How long does it take to catch a fish?”

He gave her an odd look. “Chris is a commercial fisherman. He’s on a shrimp trawler. They won’t be back to shore until they fill the hold or the season ends. It might be a few weeks.”

“Weeks?” Dana’s voice squeaked.

“I thought you knew.”

“Chris just said he was going fishing. I didn’t realize...” A commercial fisherman? Okay, he had a job, which explained how he paid for the sports car in the garage. That was a good thing, she supposed, but now what? She shook her head. “Do you have his cell number?”

Sam smirked. “There are no cell towers in the middle of the ocean.”

“No, I guess there wouldn’t be.” This whole plan was falling apart. She looked up at Sam. “There’s really no way to reach him?”

“There’s ship-to-shore radio for emergencies. Is this an emergency?”

Maybe. Well, no. She could call from Kansas if she had to, but she wanted to talk with him face-to-face. “I guess not.” Okay. New plan. “How long is he usually gone for?”

Sam shrugged. “Depends. I believe the season closes in mid-August, but I doubt they’ll be out for more than a month, sooner if they’re having a good catch. Once they fill the hold, they’ll come to shore to unload and refuel, and Chris will probably check in and maybe stop by for a day.”

One month. Plus however long it took to convince Chris to see it her way. She would probably get better results face-to-face than on the phone. Ginny could handle her mother in the meantime. She hoped. “I’ll wait for him.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “You’re going to wait for Chris? Here?”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought about where she would wait. “No, of course not. I’ll get a hotel.”

“That’s not what I meant. You can stay here as long as you want. I just thought you’d need to get back to Kansas. I can call you if Chris shows up.”

She shook her head. “This is more important. I don’t want to take a chance on missing him. Besides, I have another task about my dad’s estate to handle in the meantime.” The timer went off and she pulled the muffins from the oven, all the while preparing a mental checklist of items to accomplish. “But I will find a hotel or something. You never signed on to have me here for a few days, much less a month.”

“I don’t want you to move out.” His declaration sounded surprisingly firm.

She cocked her head and studied his face. “I can’t keep imposing on you. You don’t even know me.”

His shoulders twitched. “You’re Chris’s sister. I want you to stay.” He eyed the pan cooling on the counter and the corners of his mouth tugged upward. “Assuming, of course, that you’re going to offer me one of those muffins.”

Dana laughed. “You can have all the muffins you want.” She pulled out a plate, plopped a warm muffin on top and set it on the counter in front of him.

“Then I believe we have a deal.” Sam poured himself a cup of coffee and settled at the bar. He broke off a bit of steaming muffin and popped it in his mouth. “Delicious.” He took a sip of coffee and eyed her. “So, what’s this other task you need to handle?”

“It’s possible my dad owed money to someone, and I want to check it out before they settle the estate. I need to get into public records in Fairbanks. Are they online, do you think?”

“Probably. Although I don’t know how far back they would go.”

“I’ll find out.” Dana dried the batter bowl and utensils and put them into the kitchen cabinets. “I brought my laptop.”

Sam nodded. “The password for Wi-Fi is in the top drawer of the desk in your room. Good luck.”

* * *

SAM SPENT THE morning going through his mail and generally catching up. Dana had disappeared into her bedroom right after breakfast and he hadn’t seen her since. Was he crazy, inviting a Raynott to stay in his house? Apparently, he’d been living with one for years and never knew it.

Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe the Raynott his mother blamed for everything bad that had happened to them wasn’t related to Chris and Dana. Yeah, right. Sure, it was just a coincidence that his best friend happened to have been born with the same unusual name as this person his mother hated. The whole situation was fishy, and while Dana sure didn’t seem like the type to be running some sort of scam, the whole point of a con was to appear trustworthy. Still, he couldn’t see what she had to gain by hanging around him.