Alaskan Summer (13 page)

“Thank you for looking out for her.” Laurette smiled at the man, her arm still wrapped around Ruth. “Where were you going today?”

“I came to find Esther. We go to the antique shops around here.” She looked puzzled. “They weren’t open and Esther didn’t come.”

Ryan reached across the table and took the woman’s wrinkled hand. “It’s late, Ruth. The shops are closed for the night. It’s time to go home now.” He then spoke to Rette. “I’ll go get the car and pull up out front.”

She nodded as he got out of the booth.

Ryan pulled a couple of bills out of his pocket and gave them to the waiter on the way out. “Thanks for taking care of her.”

“Is she your grandmother?”

“She’s a dear friend,” Ryan said, then headed for his car.

When they got Ruth home, Laurette helped her get ready for bed. Ryan started the teakettle, but Ruth was too tired to eat or drink. He had the teapot on the table when Rette came back from tucking Ruth in.

“Sit down and relax. It’s over.”

“I have to call the police back.” He watched as she sat down and pulled out the cell phone. When she hung up, she said, “The officer told me to have John come in and register his mother. If this happens again and anyone calls, the police will know who she is. He also said we should get an ID bracelet for her to wear with her name and address, who to call, and all that.”

Ryan poured her a cup of tea. “What will happen to her when you move back to Seattle?”

“I don’t want to think about it.” Rette sipped her tea. “It will be hard to leave here,” she whispered, putting the cup down. Ryan felt like he could drown in the depth of her eyes when she looked up at him. Could he be part of the reason she didn’t want to leave Sitka?

“You should stay with her tomorrow. This outing has probably been quite a trauma for her, and she shouldn’t be left alone after this. At least not until you’ve told John.” Ryan carried the cups to the sink.

Laurette followed him to the door and put her arms around his waist. “I don’t know what I would have done without you tonight.” She pressed her face against his chest, and he pulled her into his embrace.

“You always try to take care of others. I’m glad I could help this time.”

She looked up with tears in her eyes. He gently kissed her forehead.
I always want to be there to help.
His hands slid up to tangle in her curly hair. Ryan slowly tipped her head farther back so he could kiss her lips, then released her and whispered, “Call me anytime.” He touched her face one more time before he went out the door.

❧

Laurette stood in the doorway. She waved as he got in his car and drove away. Tears streamed down her face.
I feel so safe in his arms.

Absently she went back to the kitchen to rinse out the cups. She checked on Ruth and found her old friend sleeping soundly.

Sleep wouldn’t come for Laurette, so she took out her laptop and wrote to her mother about Ruth getting lost. She explained how much help Ryan had been in finding her. She admitted to her mother that Ryan had become more than a friend.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,”
she confessed to her mother. She read the message over but decided not to send it yet. “I’m not ready to share my confusion—not even with my mother,” she murmured.

Laurette spent a restless night. Several times she got up to check on Ruth, who slept peacefully. When her housemate woke at nine, Laurette had been up for hours. She had cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and done all the laundry. She had called Ryan and assured him she would come in as soon as she knew Ruth would be all right. Next she called Ruth’s pastor.

“John has talked to me about his mother,” the vicar said. “He tells me what a wonderful job you do taking care of her, and he knows you must leave when your job ends. We are all grateful to you for helping Ruth stay in her home a while longer. We also know the time will come when she will need more care. I’ll talk to the pastoral care committee and have them call morning and afternoon to check on Ruth. If there are times when you want to be away, let us know and we will be there for Ruth. We’ll keep you and Ruth in our prayers.”

Laurette thanked the man and hung up. She had written down his private number in case she needed him when the church office was closed.

“Oh, you’re home.” Ruth came into the kitchen wrapped in her robe. “I was just going to make a cup of tea.”

“Are you hungry? I could scramble some eggs and make toast while you make us some tea.”

“That sounds good.” Ruth put the teakettle on to boil, hummed happily while she set the table, then sat down, but she looked puzzled.

“Why are you home? Do you have a day off?”

“I stayed to make sure you were all right. Do you remember going for a walk yesterday?”

Ruth nodded. “I got confused and couldn’t remember where I was.” She looked up with a radiant smile. “But you came and got me.”

“You scared me, Ruth. I didn’t know where you were. Please don’t go out alone anymore. I’ll take you anyplace you want to go.”

“You are so sweet. You shouldn’t worry so much.” She looked at the plate of breakfast Laurette put in front of her. “It’s wonderful having you here, and you’re such a good cook, too.” Ruth smiled and picked up her fork.

THIRTEEN

The weather stayed clear. Ruth stayed home.

“Does she remember being lost?” Ryan asked a few days later.

“Yes, but she doesn’t seem concerned, because we found her. Who knows how long she slept in that booth. She may think it was only a matter of minutes.” She took the coffee Ryan had poured for her. “John is due back anytime. I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“You don’t think he would be angry with you, do you? You’re there for Ruth every day.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that. My thoughts are selfish.” She sipped the coffee. “If John puts her in the Pioneer Home, I won’t have a place to live.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Ryan turned as Debbie called him to the phone.

They didn’t have time to talk about personal problems again that day. When Laurette got ready to leave for the night, Ryan still had not come back to the office.

“He had to take a harbor pilot off a cruise ship with the company boat. Said he’d be back late,” Debbie told her. “Tyler’s been called up to Hyder to load a log ship again. It’s just you and me. Let’s go home.” She pushed the button to put the phone on record.

❧

John’s truck was in the driveway when she parked. “Good, I need to talk to him.”

“Smells good in here,” she called, entering the kitchen.

John came from the living room. “Came home with a boatload of sockeye salmon. Thought we’d have some for supper.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Would you set the table?”

“John, I need to talk to you,” she said quietly as she took plates from the cupboard. She told him about Ruth getting lost, then said, “The police want you to register her with them. If she wanders off again, they can officially start looking right away instead of having to wait as though she were a missing person.”

John looked stricken. “I knew it was coming, but she seems so good when I’m here. I do appreciate all you’ve done for Mom. She would have had to go into the Pioneer Home by now without you living here.”

Laurette longed to know if he would make that decision now but didn’t ask. “I took the liberty of ordering an ID bracelet for her. It has her name, address, phone, and your cell phone number—and the pastor of her church suggested including his private phone number, too. If it happens again, whoever finds her will be able to contact someone to come get her.”

“Thank you, Laurette. Did Mom say why she went out alone?”

“She went to find Esther so they could go shopping together. It’s so sad that she sometimes forgets her sister passed away.” Laurette’s heart ached with pity. “We have no idea how long she walked up and down the street. The waiter in the bar said she had been there for possibly two hours.”

John rubbed his hands together and sighed deeply. “Do you think she understands she isn’t to go out alone anymore?”

“Yes, I think she does. But I don’t know if she’ll always remember that. People from her church are calling her in the morning and afternoon now, just in case. They probably interrupt her afternoon nap, but at least we know where she is.”

“What are you two doing in the kitchen? Did you burn the fish, John?” Ruth called from the living room.

“Supper is almost ready, Mother. Would you like to come to the table now?” He looked at Laurette. “We’ll talk more later.”

❧

By morning, the sunshine had disappeared into a heavy mist. Tyler looked up when Laurette came into the office.

“How was Hyder?”

“Glad I got back last night. No planes will land in Sitka today.”

Ryan had come in after Laurette and heard this last declaration. “An entertainer was due on the noon flight. We’re supposed to get her to the cruise ship leaving this afternoon.”

“What’s their route? Are they going up the Neva Straits?” Tyler asked.

Ryan nodded and grabbed a tide table. “High tide is at three ten; the captain’s going to have to sail two o’clock.”

Laurette looked from one to the other. It was a narrow strait, and the ships could only make it through on a high tide. The scenery left the passengers breathless, so the cruise lines made the passage as often as they could.

“Could we get the entertainer on an earlier flight?” Laurette asked.

“Won’t help if she can’t land here,” Ryan said.

“But if she gets into Juneau earlier, she’ll be ready to hop a flight back here as soon as the fog clears.”

“It’s a thought. I’ll see what I can do.” Tyler picked up the phone.

She and Ryan started on the daily routine of taking care of cruise ship requests. The fog remained solid, and the noon flight went north without stopping. By one o’clock, the fog and mist had started to break up.

Laurette stopped by the office to check in. “Got time to grab a sandwich?” she asked Ryan, who had followed her up the stairs.

They turned as Tyler hung up the phone. “That was our entertainer. She’s on the two fifteen flight from Juneau.”

Laurette looked at Ryan but did not voice her question.

“Can you do it?” Tyler asked Ryan.

“I think so. The water isn’t too choppy.”

“Take Laurette with you. She can keep the woman calm.”

“Let’s go.” Ryan patted her on the back as he went by.

“What are we going to do?” Laurette asked, trying to keep up with Ryan’s long stride.

He grinned. “We can grab take-out sandwiches on our way to the airport.”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s the whole story.” She hopped in the company van. “Then what do we do?”

“We transport the entertainer and her luggage to her ship before it gets to the straits.”

“By boat?” She gasped.

He nodded, pulling up to the drive-in. “What do you want for lunch?”

“I seem to have lost my appetite,” she muttered.

He grinned at her and ordered them each a sandwich, with a soda for her and chocolate milk for him. “You’d better keep up your strength. I’m going to need your help.”

❧

Ryan pulled out a sign just like the one he had held up for Laurette some months ago. Only the name had been changed. An attractive young woman approached them.

“Are you from Southeast Alaska Maritime? I was told they would meet me.”

“Yes, Miss Thomas. I’m Ryan and this is Laurette. We’re going to take you to your ship,” Ryan told her. “Our time is short, so please point out your luggage as soon as it comes out.” He hurried her to the baggage carousel.

Miss Thomas pointed to a large suitcase marked
HEAVY
. “There’s one more small one. I have to carry costumes, so I need the big case,” she apologized.

Ryan flipped the van keys to Laurette. “Why don’t you pull up by the front door? It’ll save us a few minutes.”

A minute later, after Ryan hurriedly pulled the small suitcase from the carousel, Miss Thomas asked, “Is there a problem with time? When does the ship sail?” She struggled to keep up with Ryan.

He sighed. “This is going to be a rough trip. The ship sailed at two to make the tide. We’re going to take you to it by boat.”

“Why didn’t they wait for me?” she asked indignantly as they reached the place where Laurette had parked the van.

“The ships have to go through the straits at high tide. They didn’t have any choice,” Ryan explained as he stowed her bags in the back of the van. “Do you have some tennis shoes or something more practical than those?” He pointed to her high heels.

He thanked Laurette as she handed him the keys and got in the backseat.

“I knew I shouldn’t have taken this gig,” Miss Thomas muttered. “I have some running shoes in my small bag.”

“You can change while we get your gear loaded into the boat,” Laurette suggested. “If you can, it would be wise to change into jeans and a sweatshirt, too. That looks like an expensive suit.”