Part 17 (2/2)

Jacob was waiting in the meeting room for the new arrivals. On the table in the center of the room were two plates with metal warming covers to keep the food hot. A pitcher of water and another of orange juice rested nearby, with a complement of gla.s.ses and cutlery.

”I saved something special for Thor,” said Jacob, and he reached for a bowl of what looked like chopped beef roast, placing it on the floor for the dog, who began devouring the food with his usual gusto.

”Quite the appet.i.te,” remarked Jacob.

Emily lifted the cover off her plate and revealed a burger between two buns. There was a side of lettuce and onions, along with a couple of packets of ketchup and mayonnaise.

”I didn't know if you liked lettuce on your burger or not, but I did a.s.sume you wanted cheese,” he continued, beckoning to Rhiannon to join him at the table. ”Enjoy.”

”Oh my G.o.d,” Rhiannon said after taking her first bite of the burger. A look of utter bliss swept across her face. Here was a girl who had found nirvana.

Emily couldn't help herself, she laughed, spraying a fine mist of her own burger-which was as delicious as she had imagined it would be-over the table.

Rhiannon choked down her own bite of the burger and coughed. ”Sorry,” she said, snickering.

”Wow! What a great first impression we've made,” laughed Emily after she swallowed her food. ”Sorry about that, it's just the tension...This is just all such a relief.”

Jacob joined them in their laughter, raising both hands in a gesture of detente. ”Not a problem at all, ladies.”

They ate the rest of the food in silence, savoring the flavors and the full feeling as their stomachs began to process the burgers. It was the first real food they had eaten since leaving Stuyvesant.

”That was delicious,” said Emily after finis.h.i.+ng. ”Thank you.”

”You're more than welcome. There's dessert. Parfaits, if you would like one?” Rhiannon nodded her head enthusiastically; Emily declined. Jacob wheeled himself over to a small refrigerator and pulled out a plastic container of parfait, complete with a disposable plastic spoon attached to the lid. ”Sure I can't tempt you?” he asked Emily.

”No. Thanks. I think I'll pa.s.s.”

Rhiannon eagerly dug into the plastic cup of fruit and cream. She devoured it with the same look of bliss she had while eating the burger. The two adults sat back and watched, enjoying the child's pure joy.

Finally, Emily spoke. ”Thank you so much for that. I honestly don't know what either of us would have done without you, Jacob. We would have...well...I guess we would have been lost without you.”

”I'm just glad you're here, safe and sound,” he replied.

”So, do you think we can meet the rest of your team?” she asked, smiling in antic.i.p.ation.

Jacob bit his bottom lip for a second, dropping his eyes to his immobile feet. When he raised them again, it was to meet Emily's expectant gaze.

”There is n.o.body else,” he said finally.

”What? I'm sorry. What did you say?”

”There is n.o.body else,” he repeated. ”It's just me.”

There. Is. n.o.body. Else.

Even when she sounded them out individually, the words just did not fit together as a sentence. They didn't seem to want to stay still in Emily's brain long enough for her to rationalize what Jacob really meant by them. They kept sliding around, bouncing off of each other, refusing to form any recognizable meaning.

”What?” she repeated for the third or fourth time.

”I know you're probably confused, and I know you're probably very upset, but I just need you to hear me out, okay? I need you to understand why I had to do what I did.”

Emily couldn't quite fathom what he was saying. ”But you said you had a team. What about your team?”

”They left, not long after the rain began. They wanted to head back to Fairbanks and check it out. I volunteered to stay to keep the place running. They said they would be back. They never came back.”

Emily thought about the convoy full of dead people on the road to Fairbanks and the murdered men and women she had found in Deadhorse. Could any of them have been a part of Jacob's team? she wondered.

She glanced over at Rhiannon. Her mouth was agape as she stared hard at Jacob. ”Emily?” she asked. ”What does he mean?” Her voice cracked with uncertainty.

”I don't know, sweetheart. But why don't you come on over here beside me while we figure this out?” She patted the seat next to her. The sound of the chair sc.r.a.ping across the floor as Rhiannon jumped to her feet and ran to Emily's side was grating in the suddenly painful silence filling the room. ”Good girl,” she said, placing a rea.s.suring hand on the kid's knee as she took the chair next to Emily.

Jacob began to wheel his chair over to where the two women sat. ”I really can expl-”

Emily jumped to her feet. ”Stay right where you are,” she bellowed. ”Do not f.u.c.king come anywhere near us.”

Jacob froze, a look of utter horror crossing his face.

Thor, who had been dozing quietly under the table, was suddenly at Emily's side. He sat down next to her, his eyes focused on Jacob.

Jacob swallowed hard and backed up from the trio, very aware of Thor's silent lupine gaze. ”I had no choice,” he said after a pause, his voice as calm and soothing as it had been during their countless telephone conversations. ”If I had told you I was here alone, would you have come?”

Emily didn't answer.

”No, of course you wouldn't. You would have thought I was some kind of nut job, and you wouldn't have come here. You would have just stayed in your apartment and waited. And you would have died.”

Rhiannon began to quietly cry, fat tears trickling over her cheeks and staining the front of her jogging pants. Emily switched her arm from the child's knee and wrapped it around her shoulder, never taking her eyes off Jacob.

”I told the team not to leave,” he continued. ”I warned them that they should stay. But they had families, wives, mothers, kids. Someone had to stay. Someone had to. But I knew. I knew that they wouldn't be coming back.” His voice had taken on a tone of sadness, maybe even mixed with frustration. ”When I found you, Emily, I knew I couldn't tell you I was here alone, so I lied. I'm sorry, but I had to try to save you.”

”And what about your wife? Sandra, wasn't it? She was supposed to be back at Fairbanks University. Was any of that true?”

Jacob could not meet her gaze. He chose to stare at his feet and shake his head in answer.

”You risked mine and Rhiannon's life to try to save your own skin? Is what you did?” she yelled, suddenly on her feet, her voice livid with anger. ”You brought us all the way here to rescue you? You f.u.c.king piece of s.h.i.+t.” Emily's words. .h.i.t Jacob like hammer blows; she could see him physically reeling as each word struck home.

Good!

”You were stranded here, and you needed us to come and rescue you? All that...that sanctimonious posturing about wanting to save me, it's just bulls.h.i.+t you use to convince yourself that you were doing the right thing, isn't it? Answer me, G.o.dd.a.m.n you!”

Emily had to admit, the look of hurt on his face was good. He actually believes what he said, she thought. She shook her head at him in complete disbelief.

”Wow! Just wow.”

Rhiannon threw her arms around Emily's waist, sinking her head deeper into her shoulder as she sobbed. Emily could feel the dampness of Rhia's tears seeping through the material of her sweater.

Jacob took a deep breath, composing himself, then spoke. His voice was level and clear, free of any hint of anger. ”Yes, you're somewhat right. I did want you to come and rescue me, but it was an added benefit. I have enough food here to last me a year, probably a lot longer. But most of all I wanted to help you, Emily. You were the only person I knew for certain was still alive, and I wanted to save you. I didn't make anything else up. Everything I told you about traveling north was true. You've seen that for yourself. I did not lie to you about any of that.”

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