Page 34 of Thunder Pass

It worked on her too. Her expression softened. “I assume you’ve already gone out to Thunder Pass, right?”

“Thunder Pass?” Gunnar and Ruth shared a confused glance. “Why would we go there?”

“I thought you were looking for information about your father.”

“I am,” he said impatiently. “What does Thunder Pass have to do with him?”

“His cabin, obviously.” Naomi blinked her green eyes at him. “You didn’t know he had a cabin out there? I thought you two were pretty close.”

“There aren’t any cabins in Thunder Pass.” His brain felt like it was moving too slowly and asking the wrong questions, but he couldn’t manage to spur it into action.

“You’re right. There aren’t cabins, there’s only one, and it belonged to your father. It’s an old hunter’s cabin, probably falling apart at the seams by now.”

“A hunter’s cabin,” he said blankly. “Is it good hunting out there?”

“Yes. Our hunters spent quite a bit of time in Thunder Pass. When the storms came through, they’d take shelter in that cabin. Your father offered it up.”

Ruth’s hand was wrapped around his arm, he realized, as if she was trying to keep him from falling apart. His father had owned a secret cabin? Seventeen years, and he’d never mentioned a cabin?

“Don’t look so shocked,” Naomi said. “You came to the Chilkoot goddess for information, after all. Maybe you should be careful what you wish for.”

“Does she really think of herself as a goddess?” Gunnar muttered to Ruth as they settled back into his truck.

“She probably does. She was like the goddess of the compound, and Luke was the god. People have asked me if we were brought up religious, based on our names being sort of biblical. But we weren’t. We were taught to put the family and the community first, and because Luke and Naomi were at the top, they were the ones to worship and to follow.”

“Wow.” Gunnar shook his head, then his whole body, as if trying to free himself from the effects of that visit. “That’s pretty…fucked up, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I know it is. I mean, I know it now. And part of me knew it then. I think that’s why they never let me into the inner circle. They knew I wasn’t a true believer.”

She noticed that his hand was gripped into a fist, and touched it lightly. “Are you okay? I guess that was quite a bombshell right at the end.”

“It was.” He drew in a long breath. “Sorry, I just need a moment.”

She gave it to him, gave him all the time he needed to collect himself. Strange that he was more affected by that encounter than she was. Seeing Naomi in a prison jumpsuit, in a correctional facility watched over by guards, was surreal. It was literally the first time she’d seen her mother in a situation that she didn’t completely control. And even there, by the sheer force of her presence and personality, she was able to exert some control over the guards. It was impressive, really.

And yet, she’d held her own. She’d asked questions, and she’d pinpointed Naomi’s soft spot—the fact that Luke was shutting her out. She’d gleaned a few interesting nuggets of information, like the suspicion that Luke was working with someone, and sketchiness around the purchase of the Chilkoot property.

Despite the training she’d grown up with, she knew now that Naomi wasn’t all-powerful. Neither was Luke. Over the past few months, she’d stood up to both of them.

The world truly had turned upside down.

17

Once Gunnar had collected himself, they drove into Anchorage to eat a real breakfast. At first, Ruth had to crouch down in her seat because the constant flow of cars and trucks going every which way was too much for her senses. But she gradually adjusted and by the time they’d cruised through downtown and arrived at the Snow City Café, she was taking everything in with wide-open eyes.

The café had a view of Cook Inlet and the beginnings of Turnagain Arm, with its silvery mudflats and tidal waters on the rise.

“The bore tide comes up this way, but you can’t see it here,” Gunnar explained. “The arm narrows and corrals the water so there’s a standing wave that travels all the way to the head. I’ve heard that people try to ride it on kayaks or surfboards.”

“Wow. If I lived near the ocean, I’d never get anything done. I’d just be staring at it all the time.”

“You’d probably get used to it just like we’re used to the mountains. Sometimes it takes someone new coming to Firelight Ridge for me to remember that it’s pretty freaking spectacular there.”

Someone new. And female, Ruth guessed. The thought cast a shadow over the moment, but she firmly pushed it away. This might be her only trip to Anchorage ever, who knew? She wasn’t going to let petty jealousy ruin it.

They avoided talking about their visit to the prison as they feasted on biscuits and omelets stuffed with crabmeat, and foamy coffee drinks laced with peppermint syrup. She’d never tasted such a thing. It was so delicious that she ordered another one, with raspberry syrup, and then one with coconut. By the time they left the café, her heart was beating a rapid alarm against her rib cage and she could barely stand still.

“Let’s walk down there.” She gestured at a steep slope that led to a paved trail that meandered alongside the mudflats. Gunnar must have thought she meant the trail, because he led her to that, but she wanted to be in the mud. She wanted to see the ocean up close and touch it and taste it.

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