Midnight Son, page 2
Raina closed the door and exhaled. Damn. She could assume how Helena got him into downtown Reno—hopefully she’d at least put him in the backseat with the seatbelt strapped over the carrier. Raina shut her eyes and suppressed a growl. She’d have to have another talk with her sister.
She pushed back her shoulders and walked around to the driver’s side of the car.
As she opened the car door, a voice rang through the parking garage.
“Helena!”
Raina snapped her head up and searched for her sister. Maybe she—
A man dressed in torn jeans and black leather jacket stalked toward her. The intent, angry glare in his eyes sent a spear of warning into her chest. She slammed the door, pressed the button on her keyring to lock it, keeping Jasper safe inside.
“Damn it, Helena, I don’t know what you think you’re doing.”
It took Raina a moment to catch up. “No, I’m not Helena.”
“Listen, bitch, I’ve about had it with you. Give me my money back or I’m going to the police.”
“Police? Money? What are you talking about?”
He stepped forward. Raina matched the distance in a shallow retreat, cursing the fact she’d never taken any self-defense lessons. She twisted her keys in her fingers, remembering something about using them as a weapon.
“I’m not kidding,” he snarled, leaning so close she could feel his breath. “Where’s my money?”
“I don’t know. I’m not Helena. I’m her twin sister.”
He clamped his lips together, the edges turning down at the corners. “Fine, tell your sister—” He grabbed her upper arm and squeezed, strong fingers biting into her skin. “—she’d better put the money back in my account by Monday or I’m coming back to take it out of her flesh.”
With that final warning, he shoved her away. She stumbled backward. The rearview mirror dug into her lower back.
Heart beating, chest tight, Raina stared as the angry man stalked away.
“What the hell was that?” She grabbed for her phone, her finger poised on the “9”, ready to dial 911, but stopped. The man had threatened to call the police. Did that mean she shouldn’t?
Instead, she tapped Helena’s number. It went immediately to voice mail.
“Helena, what’s going on? Are you okay? Why did some man just frighten the hell out of me demanding money he says you took? Call me.” She hung up and took a few deep breaths, her mind swirling with possibilities.
Knowing her sister wouldn’t listen to the voicemail, she sent a text.
R: where are you?
R: some man demanded money he says you owe him.
R: I’m taking Jasper home. Call me!
She shoved her phone back in her purse
Before she climbed in, she put a smile on her face and happy thoughts in her mind. The process led to thinking about Jasper and an actual smile instead of the fake one. Good. She liked to keep things positive around the baby.
Helena said Jasper was far too young to notice anyone’s mood. Raina wasn’t convinced. She noticed when she was upset, Jasper got fussy. If she remained calm, so did he. Win-win for everyone.
She opened the door and dropped into the front seat, automatically pulling her seatbelt across her body.
“Jasper my boy, I’m going to take you home and we’ll get you some dinner going, huh?” she said, pushing a forced cheerfulness into her voice. No reason for her nephew to know she’d gotten the crap scared out of her moments ago.
Jasper whined and kicked. She reached back and pulled the blanket off the top of the carrier.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. Were you getting too hot?” The kid did not like the heat. At all. They were a few days away from the summer solstice. By the time, they made it to July and August… She needed to have her air conditioning serviced before it got too unbearable. Ooh, and maybe one of those blow-up pools.
“We could get you a kiddie pool, Jazz. We’ll fill it with water and let you splash around.” Raina chuckled. “Knowing you, kid, I probably need to find you an ice floe to rest on. You sure you aren’t part polar bear?”
Jasper jumped—as much as a baby could—arms and legs pumping like he totally agreed with her assessment.
“Okay, baby pool and ice cubes it is.” Assuming Helena and Jazz are still living with me. Helena didn’t remain in one place for long.
The thought of Helena’s name triggered the memory of the stranger.
What has Helena gotten herself mixed up in now?
As twins, Helena and Raina were physical mirrors—if one accounted for the ravages of a salted caramel ice cream addiction on Raina’s part—but couldn’t be more opposite in personality.
Basically, Helena got all it. Personality, that is.
Raina knew she couldn’t match her sister for vibrancy and joie de vivre. She was more the stay-home-and-tend-the-hearth-fires kind of woman.
Raina drove out of the parking lot and headed to the highway. Sunshine blasted into her car.
She pulled into the driveway beside her house. No lights on but she didn’t expect any. Helena clearly decided she needed a night out.
It didn’t take long to get Jasper inside, fed, and changed. They spent twenty minutes doing tummy time, which Jasper loved. He was already trying to crawl but didn’t quite have the strength.
“Such a smart baby boy,” Raina cooed as she carried him to bed. “You’re going to grow big and strong like your mommy. Maybe your daddy, but I don’t know anything about him.”
Jasper was the result of a one-night stand. Helena hadn’t shared any information about the father except he didn’t want anything to do with the baby.
Bastard.
Raina kept the word—and many others she used for the breeding asshole—to herself. She refused to speak poorly to Jasper about his sperm donor. He could figure it out for himself later.
She gave Jasper a small bottle of formula and read him a story while she rocked him to sleep.
Silence and peace settled over her as she sat in her guest room, currently set up as a nursery. She rocked for another thirty minutes, savoring the quiet, enjoying the sweet comfort of Jasper’s body. Finally, she put him in the crib and grabbed the baby monitor.
Time for a glass of wine.
In the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of pinot gris and wandered into the living room. She considered sitting on the deck but the sounds of her neighbor’s kids playing in their backyard turned her toward the living room. They were good children but tonight, she wanted quiet.
She checked her phone. No response from Helena. No word on why some man was stalking her.
Safe in her little house, Raina dropped onto her couch and stared forward, trying to decide if she had the energy to turn on the TV. She glanced at the fireplace. A fire would be lovely but too hot for summer. Tipping her head back, she let her eyes drift shut.
A flicker of white caught her attention as her eyes were almost closed.
The glare didn’t move. It just didn’t belong. She snapped her eyes open and scanned the mantel piece. Picture, picture, knickknack, envelope, picture...
Envelope?
She pushed herself out of the couch and stalked the three steps to the fireplace, snatching the envelope off the shelf.
The words “please don’t hate me” marked the front.
“Helena, what did you do?”
Chapter Two
The monotonous voice chimed through the speakers, calling all passengers for Seattle. Raina gripped her phone and hesitated.
This is us. This is our flight.
Nerves and relief clashed inside her chest.
I can do this. She ran her hands across her jeans, trying to wipe off the stress. She’d been doing that a lot in the past two weeks, ever since receiving that note from her sister. The one where Helena apparently abandoned her son into Raina’s care.
Two weeks of stress and sleepless nights. Thankfully, her office gave her emergency family leave to care for Jasper and find his sperm donor, which had actually been easier than she’d imagined. All it took was a quick look at the map of Alaska to find the tiny town where he lived.
But seriously? Take Jasper to some remote Alaska community? Drop him off with some bastard who doesn’t want to be involved in his son’s life?
Despite the scrambled writing in Helena’s letter, Raina wasn’t sure she could do it. The worries flipped through her mind and grabbed on to every nerve-ending in her body, telling her to turn around and walk away. Protect Jasper.
Except...
Helena had been specific in her note.
Take Jasper to his father. Please.
The “please” had pushed her over the edge. Raina ground her back teeth together. The man abandoned his child in the first place. Giving him a six-month old baby to care for was unlikely to change his opinion.
But she would do what her sister asked of her...at least until she discovered what was best for Jasper or Helena returned from Antarctica. Whichever came first.
The letter remained firmly etched in Raina’s memory, word for word, line by line.
Please don’t hate me.
I love you and I love Jasper but I can’t stay here anymore. This isn’t me. I need to move and explore and this job in Antarctica just came up.
Take care of Jasper and take him to his father. Please.
I don’t know much about him but his name is Braxton and he lives in a small town in northern Alaska. He pronounced it “Nanook” but I don’t think that’s how it’s spelled.
I’ll be back from Antarctica next year!
Love you!
Raina curled her fingers around the arm of Jasper’s car seat, ready to lift, ready to board the plane when her phone rang.
The only person who would call her—besides Helena who was freakin’ in Antarctica—was the office. Raina rested the baby carrier on the hard plastic chair. They had a few minutes as the last people boarded. She squirmed her hand out of her pocket. Her heart thumped as Helena’s name flashed across the screen. A video call.
“Helena!” Her voice echoed across the space, drawing several disapproving stares. Raina ignored them. Her sister’s face filled the screen. After years of seeing her mirrored image in her sister, she still wondered at how different they were. In looks? Excellent copies. Both had red hair, a few freckles, wide green eyes. The similarity ended there. “Where the hell are you? What is going on?”
Laughter hummed through the line.
“Untwist your knickers, Twin!”
Raina did her best not to snap at her sister. This is no laughing matter.
“Where are you?” Raina demanded through gritted teeth.
“About two hundred miles north of Antarctica. Oh my God, Raina, you should see this. It’s so amazing!” The picture spun from her twin to the ocean, deep blue depths, large chunks of ice filling the distance. “Isn’t this gorgeous?”
Raina gasped. Not because the scenery wasn’t beautiful—it was—but her sister’s casual attitude pissed her off.
“Helena, look at me.” Raina called, adding the stern “Mom tone” she’d developed during their later teen years. After a moment, the image swung back and Helena filled the screen.
“What is your problem? This is beautiful.”
“I agree, but you know what else is beautiful? Your son.”
Silence crisscrossed the line, deafening the air around her.
“Raina...Twin—” She used their childhood names for each other which always tweaked Raina’s heart. “I only want what’s best for him. You know I’m not the motherly type.”
So true.
“His father will take care of him.”
“You don’t know that. You barely know him.”
“I know enough. I didn’t just jump into bed with him. We talked. He seemed like a good guy. A little vanilla in bed but nothing else weird. Well, except the sniffing.”
Raina covered her eyes with her free hand and huffed out a sharp sigh. “What sniffing? Like someone who does a lot of cocaine?” A few heavy users had come through her practice.
“No, not that kind of sniffing. He kept smelling me, like he loved my perfume or something. Anyway, thank you so much. Ooh, got to go.”
“Wait! What about this guy who says you stole money from him? He showed up at my office. How did he even know where I work?”
“Oh, he probably followed me from the bridle shop. Had to pick up my last paycheck.”
“Helena, the man came to my house last night” At nine o’clock, she’d been at her kitchen table, researching Jasper’s father when the pounding started. That man, shouting for Helena, demanding the money he said she took.
Raina’s call to the police scared him off, but didn’t make the experience any less terrifying. She’d stayed up all night, booking this trip and packing.
“Last call for Flight 2547 to Seattle with connections to Anchorage, Alaska.”
Raina looked around and realized she stood alone in the waiting area. The attendant at the door raised her eyebrows. The tight-lipped smile said “hurry up” without speaking a word.
“Ignore Brian.” Helena flicked her fingers, dismissing the topic. “He offered me some money. I might have taken a little more than we agreed.”
“Helena!” Raina draped the diaper bag around her neck, snugged the phone between her ear and shoulder and picked up her carry-on in one hand and Jasper’s car seat in the other. “He’s going to call the police.”
“He’s not going to call the police. He stole the money.”
“What?”
“He embezzled it from the bridal shop. If he contacts you again, tell him I’ll pay him back when I get home. Ooh, an iceberg. Gotta go! Love you, bye.”
“Love y—” Raina didn’t complete the word before the three beeps chimed indicating the call had been dropped. “You. I love you. You’re my sister,” she reminded herself as she dropped her carry-on and put her phone in her pocket. “But you make me crazy.”
The woman at the walkway door raised her chin, encouraging Raina to walk a little faster.
Raina glanced down at Jasper.
“Are we ready for this, little man? Ready to go meet your dad?” She took a deep breath. “I hope I am.”
* * * * *
Raina craned her head back and stared at the front door. The posture did nothing to ease her already tense neck muscles. She’d made it. The north coast of Alaska.
The house stood on pilings, elevated ten, fifteen feet in the air. A wide deck ran around the side and back.
Jasper could fall. The one-story building sat on the edge of the grass, a couple hundred feet—about half the length of a football field, she estimated—from the ocean. So close. Once Jasper starts walking, he’ll have to be tracked every moment. She had no idea if this Braxton person was able and willing to care for a child. Probably should have called first.
She’d considered it but the terrifying man at her door had pushed her out of town. Part of her also worried if she talked to Braxton ahead of time, he might tell her not to come. It would be harder to reject Jasper if they met face to face.
But she was here now. Within minutes, she would meet the father of her beautiful nephew and decide what happens next.
She rolled her shoulders back and lifted Jasper and her suitcase. She’d perfected a system to carry all her bags and nephew while wandering around the Anchorage airport for three hours. From there, the trip brought her to the little town of Utqiagvik then on to Kaktovik. From Kaktovik, the schedule flight wasn’t for two hours, but the pilot said he wanted to enjoy the sunny weather so they took off as soon as her commercial flight landed.
Exhaustion wore on her muscles and made her brain a little fuzzy. She gave herself a shake. She had to be on her guard. She knew nothing about this man. How could she hand Jasper off with no knowledge of his character or ability to raise a child? Hell, he might have a wife and kids already. Dread spiraled into her empty stomach like a swirl of burning lava.
A phone call definitely would have been better.
She’d done some research. Braxton Hawthorne, age 38. Apparently a tour guide of some sort. She’d found no indication he’d been married but he also hadn’t appeared on any social media searches. Who isn’t on social media these days?
A hermit who lives on the beach of a frozen ocean. The answer offered no comfort. She flicked her braid over her shoulder and straightened her spine. Let’s do this.
Yes, the journey had been impulsive but with “Brian” appearing at her house, Raina’s only thought had been to get away and protect Jasper.
Tightening her grip on the bags, she climbed the stairs and placed everything on the solid wooden deck. A sigh escaped. She might have figured out how to carry all the bits needed to travel with a child, but her shoulders and back screamed from the pressure.
Raina forced oxygen into her lungs and rapped her knuckles on the door. Cold air rushed across her skin. She shivered and thought about grabbing the sweater out of her bag.
You’re in Alaska. You should have expected the cold.
The very north end of Alaska.
She glanced over her shoulder and stared at the ocean. Hints of ice floated near the shore but open water lapped against the beach. Amazing. If nothing else, she could thank her sister for getting her out of the house and to a place she would never have gone. Based on the challenge of traveling here, she didn’t think many people came to this little corner of the world.
Her internet searches showed visitors to Nannuq mostly came in the winter to view polar bears. And researchers, also there for the polar bears. She skimmed her gaze over the horizon. What were her chances of seeing a polar bear? She’d like to see one. From a distance.
She scoffed quietly in her head. Surely polar bears stay out on the ice. You’re never going to be close to a polar bear.
The door popped open.
Raina spun around and gasped.
Oh my.
Her mind blanked for a moment as she took in the image before her. This was not the man she expected to meet. Not the kind of man she expected Helena to date. Sleep with, whatever. Helena liked her men fun, young and a little dippy.
