Page 35 of Alaskan Blackout
“Thankfully, we still have time to think about the future.” He rearranged the pillows behind her, hoping he could convince her to lie by him once more. “That’s the gift of finding out about this baby so early. We can sleep on it for now, can’t we? You must be exhausted.”
He suspected it was long past midnight by now. She had to be tired. The stress of the pregnancy news must have weighed on her. What’s more, he recalled hearing somewhere that the first trimester was the most taxing.
“Maybe a little.” With a reluctant nod, she relaxed into the place he’d made for her, allowing him to tuck the covers around her. Quinton’s mouth went dry at the thought of the new responsibilities and what it meant for his future. But for now, he simply lay beside her, hoping she would sleep.
He wanted her to feel well while carrying his baby, for one thing.
For another, he intended to take a look at the postcard in her downstairs hallway and see if it contained any clue to the whereabouts of his missing half brother. Because now more than ever, he needed to find Clayton. With no more hope for Quinton of hiding his affair with McKenna, the chances of reconciling with Clay were worse than ever. This was his last window of opportunity to heal the rift.
In the name of family, however, he needed to try.
As for Quinton’s dream of distancing himself from the Kingsleys forever once he located his brother? That hope had died the moment McKenna revealed her baby bombshell.
Now he had no choice but to maintain some connection with his family, if only for his child.
The next morning, McKenna awoke to a nose bump from Freya. It took a few moments to gather her bearings in the bedroom that was too bright for her normal waking hour. The spot beside her on the mattress was vacant, the pillow still dented from where Quinton had lain.
Quinton. Her hand gravitated to his side of the bed, testing for warmth lingering to the sheets...but found them cool. Had he left her house while she slept? Was he downstairs even now? She thought she heard some noises from the kitchen. And the fact that Loki wasn’t on her bed, wagging his tail and licking her face to obtain his breakfast, suggested Quinton had probably stuck around.
Their amazing date and the night together that had followed stirred a wealth of tender feelings for him that she shouldn’t indulge based on his reaction to her baby news.
Memories of the wooden, unfeeling proposal still chilled her in the light of day. When she’d accused him of rushing into a union purely for convenience’s sake, he hadn’t denied it. Hadn’t suggested there might be more between them than some shared genetic material, even though they’d spent some extraordinary hours together. Hours that had meant something to her—enough to believe that she was falling for him.
Only to find out that those feelings were hers alone and nothing Quinton shared. While her heart ached over that, the cat mewed softly, a feline complaint perhaps that McKenna had slept in. When she’d pushed away his offer of marriage, she’d half hoped he would persuade her, give some indication of growing feelings.
Rising from the bed to wash her face and brush her teeth, McKenna tried to envision her next move now that the night of passion was done and cold reality stared her in the face. She didn’t want to think about Clayton’s warning to her not to talk to Quinton. Clay had called his half brother a technology savant and suggested he could hack a bank if he chose. Did that mean Clay didn’t trust him?
McKenna dried her face, worry making her steps heavy. She should have questioned Clay more about what he meant. About why he refused to see any of the Kingsleys again, even going so far as living off the grid to avoid them. What would he do when he discovered McKenna carried a Kingsley baby?
Now, dressing in a pair of black leggings and a long-sleeved white sweater she liked for lounging, McKenna inhaled the scent of coffee wafting in the air. While she padded down the steps in a pair of striped wool socks, she heard the jingle of Loki’s collar right before the front door of the house opened and closed.
She gave a relieved sigh. Some of her worry eased knowing that Quinton would take Loki for a morning walk so she could sleep in. He hadn’t run out on her during the night at least. Chances were good that he had only remained at her home to discuss next steps for sharing custody of the baby she carried since he’d made it clear he wanted to be a part of the child’s life.
But they could build on that, couldn’t they?
Somehow, she would hide the deeper feelings that had already taken root inside her. After her disastrous track record with men, she shouldn’t be surprised that Quinton didn’t harbor the same tenderness toward her that she did for him. Yet it hurt just the same.
Now, she stepped into the kitchen with Freya circling her feet. McKenna was in the act of reaching for a stainless steel teakettle when the brightly lit screen of Quinton’s open laptop caught her eye. The device sat on the opposite counter, an island where McKenna took most of her meals.
Respecting his privacy, she normally wouldn’t have given it a second glance. Except even across the kitchen, the monitor’s display showed a clear image of a map. The shape of the land mass clearly identifiable as the state of Alaska.
Everything within her went still as she realized the outline of the Frontier State contained one red oversize pin pointing to an area that McKenna recognized well. The top third of the state, in the very middle. A place she knew was at the farthest edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Alaskan North Slope.
How did she know?
Because the red pin pointed to the precise spot where Clayton had been living off the grid for over a year.
Her heart hammered in her breast, all thoughts of her morning cup of tea forgotten. Feet moving in the direction of the laptop, she stared at the bright screen, blinking cursor and the undeniable accuracy of the location pin.
How could he have possibly discovered Clay’s whereabouts? She had been so careful. Her gaze scanned the island, as if it could produce clues. But there were no notebooks or papers to see, nothing that would give away her half brother’s hiding spot. Just a bowl of apples sitting beside McKenna’s truck keys and her closed laptop.
The guy could probably hack a bank...
Clayton’s warning words about Quinton’s tech skills came back to her as she stared at her computer sitting so close to his at the kitchen island. Could Quinton have accessed her device? Remembering how he’d tracked down her cyber harasser, she knew firsthand how skilled he was in that arena. Had he hacked her computer the way Clay had implied Quint was capable of? Memories of betrayal at the hands of her ex-boyfriend scorched a hot streak through her at just the thought.
Her legs turned to water beneath her and she had to plant her hands on the cold white tile to keep from swaying.
The door from outside swung open, admitting a rush of damp wind along with two sets of footsteps—one light, four-legged patter and the other slower, heavier and very much human.