A/N: And… we're back! Phew! If anyone is still interested, I'll keep posting updates to this story. It's helping me to get back into the swing of things as I slowly regain my ability to type again! We'll see how things go.
Thank you for the well-wishes and messages that motivated me to get back to writing. The last week has gone well, so hopefully I'm back for good!
As I said before I left, I'm on Twitter "X" no more. You can find me on BlueSky as OnlyHuman24.
So, let's get back to the campfire story…
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 60: A Campfire Story, Part 2
Mary's eyes settled on the fire. Bo chanced a sideways glance, noting how her mother's chest rose with a deep gathering of air… or maybe it was courage… and then slowly relaxed with a long exhale. She gathered her thoughts, preparing to tell her story for the group before her.
As they waited, Bo lifted her eyes to the house, taking in its outline… the building materials – dark wood, tinted glass and bamboo. She'd never seen anything like it until now. The well-manicured landscaping, lush green grass and plants were gorgeous accents and the sound of the ocean behind them gave the entire property an aura of peace and tranquility.
Then there were the trees… dense patches of dark and light greens, some tall and strong, some made to bend in strong winds and those intended to feed the people of the land.
One corner of Bo's mouth turned up slightly at the memory. Her mouth watered at the thought of the first fruit Rudy had plucked from a branch and offered to her. She remembered the aroma, the taste, the feel of small bulbs of juice bursting across her tongue… it was almost a sensual experience.
There had been no thick sugary concentrate like that in the canned fruits she had in Alaska until she'd met Kenzi. But even what her best friend received in spring and summer was nothing compared to what grew here.
She sighed, her eyes falling on Rudy and Elise laughing before she glanced up at the stars in the southern sky. She'd always looked north at night - this was different… a paradise… almost perfect.
The thoughts of what might have been began to manifest in her mind. She could have had this life… a life as a big sister… as a teen daughter… making friends her own age, surfing and swimming in water without a dry suit… fishing for something other than salmon… making wood carvings from downed ancient trees… maybe even dating.
She could see the perfect past she might have had… working in the Co-op, being part of a community where she was loved and appreciated. These strangers would have been her family and the community… they might have loved her… and she them. She might have gone off to college and then… if only.
Her eyes welled up with tears at what could have been before the anger struck her gut, forcing her to push the emotions back down. She felt the bile in her throat and coughed as she settled her eyes back on the fire that now matched the fury dancing wickedly through her mind.
She thought of Faith and took in a deep breath, holding it for a long moment before she exhaled, desperately trying to release some of her anger.
Where had it come from? They'd been through this for months long ago. She had forgiven her mom, hadn't she? Was she destined to harbor this resentment towards her for the rest of her days? Was that it? Was it jealousy of Rudy? Anger at her Father? Was this anger the real curse of The Raven?
She shook out her thoughts, instead focusing on the sound of her Mother clearing her throat.
"Just listen, Bo… Give her a chance to explain. She may tell you something new," looking over to her mom's Hawai'ian family, she could feel the resentment rise, "Maybe she is willing to tell them something she'd never told you."
Turning back to the fire, she sighed knowing that something her mom disclosed here tonight might take the edge off her anger if she'd only be willing to listen.
Mary's story was, after all, partially her own. Maybe she would finally talk about that one decision, that singular moment when her mother grabbed the handle of her sled and led her team into the night.
Bo had never thought about that moment before – or what her mom might have been thinking. Of course she'd thought about how she could do it, but the singular moment… now that she had Elise, she couldn't imagine.
Still, if she had to leave… for some reason that Bo just could not fathom right now, how would it feel? How did her mom feel at that precise moment?
Did she look back? Did she wonder if she was making a mistake? Did she see Bo's little body through her bedroom window? Did she see the distance growing between her trail sled and their home and think… even for once… how could she do this to her only daughter? Was it right to leave her behind? Would she actually be safer here than with me on this sled… with all of my knowledge… all of my survival skills… all of my fighting skills… was I doing the right thing?
Bo was startled from her thoughts when she realized she was now looking into the eyes of her mother. She tried to soften her expression as she felt a single tear trail down her cheek. She gave a half-hearted smile, quickly swiped her face dry and turned her eyes back to the fire.
She felt her jaw clench as she remembered that this was the place where the worst days of her life began. She had celebrated, laughed and had fun with her family here but now, for some reason, that familiar anger rose from a dark, recently forgotten place somewhere between her heart and her gut.
This was where her mom had run to, leaving her alone in the icy wilderness. This is where she had built a new life for her and a new daughter.
This place… with sun and warmth, with constant sunrises and sunsets, with a crystal blue ocean teeming with more life than Bo had ever seen… this is the perfect life her mom had lived while her eldest daughter ran for her life, thinking she was all alone in the world.
Then, Mary began… her words slow, but steady and just loud enough for the group to hear… and for Bo to turn off her thoughts and listen…
"I was raised in a frozen version of nature, void of vegetation of any kind. It was a land where the only sound was water under the frozen edge of the ocean, wind or silence. Of course, there was the occasional crackling of ice beneath my feet… the sounds of a whale or polar bear… an occasional wolf or the barking of a team of dogs… but mostly, it was a silent land."
Mary sighed as the memories of her childhood home drew closer,
"My dogs…", she smiled, looking over at Harper and the pups, "… I'll never forget them. I can still see the old faded black and white picture of my four times great grandparents and the dogs that started it all…"
She smiled at Bo, "A line from a Russian husband and a line from an Athabascan Alaskan merged into one…"
She looked up to see Rudy standing by the fire,
"Child. Is there something wrong?"
Rudy smiled, walked the distance to her Mother and took her hand,
"The blood line Harper came from is from Ivan Inis' dogs Asa and Arnie who were Siberian Husky and Swiss Mountain Dog breeds."
She giggled when Mary poked her belly and said, "You're correct! Those were the sires from her line. And the dams?"
Rudy smiled, "Your four times great grandmother was Moon Denali and she was Alaskan-born Inupiat. The dogs from her team that are in Harper's line are Sunny and…" she paused, holding a finger to her chin, "Seena, right? Both Alaskan Husky."
Mary grinned, "Correct on names and breed! Very good, Child. You have quite a memory. Now, tell me why you've left your friends for this boring adult chatter?"
"I wanted to ask Bo when everyone else was coming? I want Kenzi to play cards with us."
Bo chuckled, "Last time you played with Kenzi, you lost all your starburst in her Kiddie Poker Tournament and you weren't took happy about it."
"I know, but it was still fun and this time we're playing Old Maids. It's a kid game that she hasn't played since she was four or something. I think we can win."
Bo shrugged, "Well, your logic is sound but what do you say you don't let your Aunt Kenzi talk you into doing any betting this time."
She grinned, "Elise and I figured it out. We bet her as a team so if either of us wins, she loses. We're going to bet free pancakes for a month!"
"And if you lose?" Bo asked.
Rudy shrugged, "She doesn't have to give us free pancakes for a month. It's win-win for us!"
"Oh? And you can go a month without Kenzi's pancakes?"
Rudy leaned in and whispered to her sister, "Yea, because Lauren will cook hers for us and they're just as good!"
Bo and Mary blurted out a hearty laugh before Bo replied,
"Well, they should be here in the next hour or two. Ask Kelly before you go back inside. She's got Kurt's radio, so he'll be touching base when they're close."
"Yes!" she said with a fist pump, "Thanks!"
They watched as Rudy darted back to the end of the fire and checked with Kelly before rushing back inside.
Mary continued, "Sorry for that interruption, but now you have a little dog lineage information. Pair that with what I told you of my homeland and you have some idea of why dogs are so important. Back then and for some, even now, they were and are literally our only mode of transportation. Horses get sick in freezing temperatures. Cars can't handle the freezing temperatures unless they're hooked up to a generator to keep the engine block warm and we didn't exactly have unlimited power where we lived. Bicycles aren't good in snow and in my family, tin dogs were always frowned upon."
"Tin dogs?" Sanjo asked.
Bo frowned, "Snow machines or snow mobiles. Polluting, ice breaking, ground warming noise machines. Think of your jet skis on snow and ice."
"I see," said Camie, glancing at his family.
Mary added, "As you want this land to remain clean and natural, so we wished for our land. You're not crazy about all of the speedboats the tourism industry has brought to the island. It's no different."
"We understand, Mary. I wasn't judging," Camie replied.
She nodded, "So, where was I with my story?"
"You had just told them about the climate," Bo replied.
Mary nodded, "Of course," she said, waving her hand across the land and ocean, "Imagine waking up tomorrow and all that you see is desert."
Turning to her island family, she asked,
"Can you imagine? No fruit. No trees. No grass. No orchard. No ocean. No hills or mountains. No blue sky. Just gray and sand."
She watched their faces change as the image hit, then added,
"Now, imagine minus forty-five to sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit on a good day and a sun that never rises or sets… just darkness four months out of the year, two months with a few hours of twilight and another four months where darkness never comes… not even for sleep. That is the Alaska we know and… strange as it may seem… love."
"It's… unimaginable," said Sola.
Mary smiled, "We're a hearty people. I learned to trap, hunt, fish, make clothing, build sleds, fires, cook, carve and live as part of a collective from the time I could walk."
She sighed, "I was a skilled trapper and loved making mukluks… our version of boots… from the animal furs I collected. I had a successful business for trading by the time I was fourteen."
"And her open-fire cooking is to die for," Shannie added with a wink and smile at Mary, "Bo's more the pit-fire woman and Molly's fire-fed iron stove stew and fresh bread has gotten us all through cold nightshifts at the hospital."
"So, when did you meet your eventual husband? How did that happen?" Kelly asked.
Mary nodded, "It wasn't until much later. He came into the village as a young man, though older than me by a decade. He was handsome and charming. I couldn't see that the charm was actually manipulation. That man could sell you an empty paper bag for ten times its worth and not think twice about it."
She sighed, "My parents fell for it so Jim and my eldest brother Gemini became fast friends. Before I knew it, he was part of the family and that gave him a connection to our Council of Elders and, by extension, the primary decision-making body to the US Government, The Tribal Council."
"But how?" Sanjo asked.
"As I've mentioned, my mother was an Athabascan Warrior and my father was from the local Inupiat Village. Their parents were both Elders and through the line of succession, their mantel would fall to me."
Tamsin spoke from the other end of the circle, her eyes locked on the flames as she nodded,
"And he knew that. It was his long game. It's why when we went up there, we came under fire almost immediately. They blamed you for Big Jim."
Mary shook her head, "If you recall, we had not yet ousted his last ally when we arrived. That welcome party Bo received was his effort to keep a hold on his seat which would allow him to sway the council to keep me from disclosing the truth… that the council had become unwitting members of Big Jim's crime syndicate."
"Elijah Tarook," Tamsin said, shaking her head.
"Exactly. We were lucky to find Althea Tinuit still alive and able to attend the council meeting. If it weren't for that effort from her…" Mary shook her head, but Tamsin finished for her.
"Airynn Tinuit wouldn't be filling her position on the council today."
"Precisely," Mary smiled.
"So if you had never married Big Jim…" Sanjo began, but Mary waved him off,
"My mother taught me as a child to pray to the night winds that I live without regret, even in the face of my mistakes."
"Well, that's not possible," Camie snarked.
Mary sighed, "Really? Think of it. If I had never married him, I wouldn't have my Bo which means I wouldn't have run to protect her which means I never would have come here and thus, there would be no Rudy… no child for you to babysit. We may have been distant strangers… or never met at all… or I may be dead, killed by my husband or one of his men… and Bo as well."
Camie's eyes moved to the fire, "Wow. That's… deep."
He took a moment as did the entire group before looking up at Mary to reply,
"No regrets. Not even in the face of our mistakes. Understood."
Mary smiled, "For even in our mistakes, goodness may come and if not goodness, lessons to carry with us through life."
He chuckled, "You are a wise one, Mare."
She grinned, "I know. Life is our best teacher… if we pay attention."
She turned to Bo, "So, eventually, Jim and I would move to our own shelter and begin our lives."
She placed a hand on Bo's, "Eventually, I'd become a mother of four and the previous silence of the land would receive the blessings of boys shouting to one another and the precious sound of the endless questions voiced by their youngest sibling. My only daughter."
She gave Bo's hand a tight squeeze, then turned back to the group,
She smiled, "You all know what happened eventually."
She released Bo's hand and stroked her dark hair before leaning back in her chair once more, eyes set on the fire,
"When I came to this place, I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't find my footing. I missed my children… my daughter… desperately. It was a pain unlike any I'd ever suffered and when I became more and more insistent that the agent bring her here, he would grow frustrated… angry even."
She shook her head, swiping a stray tear from her cheek before heaving a sigh,
"The agent decided I needed something to occupy my time, so he got me a job in town on the Big Island, had me cut and dye my hair and off I went."
She shook her head, "It was crowded with tourists and so noisy. Cars, voices, music, door chimes, shouting, whistling… it just knocked me off my feet a bit."
The scowl on her face took Bo back to her first time in Boston. She understood exactly what her mom was talking about. Lauren had called it culture shock, but it felt like more than that. It had been an invasion of the senses… an intrusion into her peace of mind and as her mom had just said, it put her off her feet as well. She felt off balance and completely overwhelmed.
Bo turned her attention back to her mom whose eyebrows raised as she spoke,
"I was on my own for the first time in my life. I'd been married off to Jim at a very young age and went from living with my parents to his home built into the ice. It wouldn't be until after Ysabeau turned six, maybe seven before we would move closer to town… to a home above ground where we could see the sun… see other people… rely on other people in our village."
Bo shook her head, "He wanted to isolate you."
Mary nodded, "In order to control me, yes…" the two women shared a glance, "…to isolate and control his children… or more specifically, his sons."
Bo lowered her eyes to the fire, "He'd never wanted a girl. I was a mistake... a weakness."
Anna looked at Bo, that analytical look that she got when working with a patient before she spoke without thinking,
"He didn't count on your strength… a strength likely driven by the life events you'd experienced in your youth."
Bo looked at Anna, now realizing what she was saying, "You think I remembered seeing my mom… seeing him hurt her?"
Anna nodded, "It makes sense… and more than that, missing your brothers, your mom… your anger, your many other complex emotions… we already know that you repressed all of those memories of your childhood until very recently."
Bo stared at Anna, thinking about what she was saying… about what she'd been feeling only moments ago, before she nodded her understanding,
"I turned those emotions into fuel."
Anna nodded, "And that fuel helped you to press on in your search for your mother… for your truth."
Bo nodded, "And over time, those repressed memories and emotions turned me into the cold, ruthless, angry Bo."
Anna clarified, "They turned you into a woman with a singular focus. Survival through your journey to be reunited with your mother – no matter where you might find her."
"Dead or alive," Bo whispered, "I just needed the truth. Did she leave me for another life, or did she leave me because someone took her from me."
"As it turned out, it was a little bit of both," Anna said, her eyes moving to Lauren's, then Mary's.
Mary nodded, "And when we met, your anger likely rose when you saw Rudy. I had found a new life and though the choice to leave you was mine, the choice to stay away was not."
Bo sighed, acknowledging the truth of all she had now thanks to all that she'd sacrificed in her youth, "But if you'd never left, I wouldn't have met Lauren… or any of her friends and we wouldn't have Rudy. If you hadn't left, none of us would be here right now."
Kyle spoke, "You were already speaking of leaving Talkeetna if you hadn't found your mom in a year. You had to keep looking for her and you had already worn out your welcome in that town."
Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, she clarified, "Her words, not mine."
Bo turned her eyes back to the fire, "As soon as my hospital construction contract was finished, I had planned to leave."
"So, all of this happened because Mary left the North Slope?" Kelly asked.
Mary shook her head, "No. All of this happened because I was a fool. I fell for Big Jim's need to control me until his sons were old enough to join him. Once that happened, I was of no use to him… my daughter and I would become acceptable losses in his grand plan… whatever that was."
Tamsin snarked, "World domination?"
Mary smiled, then looked back up at the group, "He built this illusion that I bought into. It was in line with what my family taught me my life would be as a woman… as a wife and mother. He kept me pregnant and at home taking care of the children, breeding and raising our kennel of dogs… my family's line of dogs gifted to him by my father at our wedding."
She chuckled, shaking her head, "I never doubted that he was away working… providing for us. He brought home cash and furs…. although I did believe he was working at earning a living by hunting and trapping, not being a criminal mastermind."
Her eyebrows raised, she rubbed her neck, "I was young and convinced he would always come back to us despite being away on business for long stretches of time."
"You believed that men always left their wives for weeks at a time?" Sola asked.
Mary shrugged, "You must understand that life on the tundra is different than other places in this world. You must track prey before you can hunt it. Then it must be field dressed, driven to a trading post and then sold. Dogs must be rested and fed before you go out for your next kill or to empty and reset your traps."
Tosh nodded, "I have to agree, although the version of Jim that was my father never tried to give us the illusion he was a hunter or trapper. Bo was the one who exposed us to how difficult that life can be. She spent weeks at a time out in the wild to bring us the meat, furs, fish and skins that we purchased from her."
He shook his head, "And that doesn't even touch on her dragging dead trees into town for the wood she used to build railings, fences, porches and furniture for the homes she built."
Kelly agreed, "Kurt told me that if Bo wasn't on one of her construction sites, she was hunting, fishing or trapping. He is a firm believer that it was that job that made her the great musher that she's become."
Mary laughed again, drawing everyone's attention, "But more than all of that and despite his abusive behavior, I thought that he loved me. At the time, we had a child and another on the way."
Shaking her head, she looked up at Tosh who sighed and shook his head as she continued,
"As we added to the family, I was responsible for teaching each of them to drive a sled, to hunt, fish, trap in the spring… to survive on their own. To be strong and resilient in the face of a difficult life on the tundra. We had to fill our cold room with enough fish and meat to last us the winter when it was too cold and dangerous to move about on the tundra."
She smiled, "Spending hours on a sled with a baby strapped to my chest was normal right up until I delivered my second child."
"And your husband?" Sola asked.
Bo laughed before her mom could reply. Mary smiled,
"I suppose you can judge by my daughter's reaction that when my husband was around, he didn't do much for us. He handed me the cash – that was his contribution. Of course, now we know the real reason he was gone was because he was busy with a second family."
Tosh gave an embarrassed wave, "That would be me and mine. We were first and we ran his cover businesses while he was up north. Of course, he didn't like to leave us alone for long… he didn't trust easily and that included his only son."
"Son?" Sola asked, "Sorry… maybe I've missed something."
"Me," Tosh said, "I'm the son. He used my sons and Mary's sons to do his bidding. I managed to protect my grandchildren by moving them in and out of his town…" he lowered his eyes, "… keeping them close – and busy with errands for our two stores."
"And it worked," Molly said, "For both Michael and LJ… but back to Mary's life…"
Mary smiled, giving her friend a nod, "Anyway, children on the North Slope require constant supervision. Their size and clothing make them look quite appetizing to polar bears and the like… kind of like seals ready for the taking."
Bo added, "Especially in winter when we're bundled in fur."
Mary nodded turning back to the fire, "I had lived nowhere but Alaska for thirty years when I was forced to flee. While I spent several weeks making my escape and eventually connecting with law enforcement, I had the support and advice of village elders in many tribal nations along the way."
Giving a nod to Tamsin, she continued, "When the agent finally found me and brought me here, I'd experienced nothing but tragedy, fear and tremendous grief. But the greatest loss… the void in my very soul… was the loss of my daughter, Ysabeau. The fear that she was harmed or worse…"
She fell silent, staring into the fire, the orange glow highlighting the glistening tears as they streamed down one cheek, then the other. Molly placed a hand on her friends and whispered in her ear until Mary looked up at the group, a forced smile stretching across her face while she wiped her cheeks dry yet again.
She shook her head, "As I said, I'd been quite insistent that the agent find her and he eventually agreed and promised to bring her to me, but then… well, I didn't know that he had passed. The last agent I saw told me I was to stay here in protective custody - that it wasn't safe for me to leave."
She shrugged, "I didn't know that I was alone and unprotected… that Rudy and I were on our own. Well, other than the usual detail for all of those citizens who are in witness protection here on this island."
She shook her head before turning to the island group,
"As much as you've missed Rudy this past year, I don't believe you can begin to imagine what it would be like to walk away from your own child for as long as I did…"
She sighed, "One day, Spirits willing, you will have children, but I pray you will never have to know the pain of giving up your child as I did Ysabeau."
Skye shrugged, "Oh, I think we can imagine. We have helped you to raise Rudy, after all. Giving her up for a year was hard enough. I can't imagine giving her up for the rest of her life."
Bo could feel her blood boil before she felt Lauren's hand on hers. A soft whisper in her ear found her taking a deep breath and calming herself.
Mary did not hide the look of disappointment on her face at Skye's comment, but she ignored her knowing that they would have words later. She turned back to the fire and continued,
"Every time I think back on those years, I am very aware of the fact that – while I was living in fear of being found – I had Ohana to see me through the birth of my youngest child and to help me to embrace this new life."
"I just don't understand why you waited so long to tell us about Bo," Sola said.
Mary shrugged, "You must remember that I did not know your husband was an agent when you came into my life just before Rudy's birth. I didn't know who I could trust with that information… or the information that I'd fled Alaska at the behest of an agent who I hadn't heard from in years."
Johnny nodded, "The training residents receive when they are brought here is to tell no one anything of your past life unless they are your handler. We were not her handler. We were general island surveillance working undercover as members of the program until Tamsin found the case."
Mary sighed, offering a slight smile to Tamsin before she turned towards the family and friends of her homeland,
"Rudy's father…"
Bo's ears perked up, causing her to turn towards her mother…
"… Well, I've never spoken of him outside of my island family… there's simply been no need…" she said, shaking her head, "Let's just say that I've learned that… I've got a type."
Bo stared at the profile of her mother's face, a strange sense of anger swelling inside her once more. She could understand her mom not wanting to share the details of Rudy's conception in front of this entire group, but the fact that she'd kept it a secret from her felt like a betrayal… especially now that she knew these adopted islanders had the full story.
She saw her mom turn to Sola, offering her a smile. Bo's anger rose again, but again, she held her tongue, pulling her eyes from the pair to focus on the fire. She leveled her breathing as Faith had taught her but was very aware of her emotions.
This wasn't anger. It was jealousy. These women had clearly become surrogate daughters to her mother and all the while, she was wandering alone through Alaska… searching. Her anger rose. Just as she was about to spit out a snarky reply to her mom's declaration of her type, she continued…
"Rudy was a late life, high risk pregnancy, but my Ohana cared for me and helped me to bring that precious light into an otherwise dark world."
She turned back to her mom to see a single tear fall, then another and another until she swiped them away and continued,
"But my world had become darker than I could have imagined. Not only was I aching for the loss of my firstborn daughter, but…" she shook her head, taking a breath before she continued,
"Unbeknownst to me… at the time… my daughter was not cared for by those I'd trusted to hold her dear. She had been alone… abandoned by circumstances created by my husband… and the bureau."
She sighed, looking up at the boys and their wives, "While I had the benefit of my Hawai'ian family and the protection of Acacia and Adam, my eldest daughter… a mere child at the time… was left to grow… to survive in a frozen wilderness… completely alone with no friends, no family, no support system… and no love."
Mary looked to her right. Reaching out, she took Bo's hand before turning to face her friends from the island,
"She was running for her life carrying all of her earthly possessions and every dog left in our kennel on two sleds and a trail sled. One she drove and two she towed. I honestly don't know that I could have handled that large a team and those heavy sleds. It's a miracle she survived those early years."
Shaking her head, she stared through the massive windows, finding her youngest daughter laughing and smiling with Elise and the others,
"You all know this warm climate, hot sand and cool water," she gave Bo's hand a squeeze, "Well, while I had the luxury of basking in the sun with my newborn, Ysabeau was fending for herself in one of the harshest climates on our planet."
Mary imagined Bo's path in her mind, "She left her home atop the northern-most point in Alaska, traveled south over the North Slope into the interior where there is nothing but open tundra for hundreds of miles. Only open land, harsh winds, snow, ice, sub-zero temperatures, and no shelter as far as you can see in any direction."
Mary shook her head, "And trust me when I say you can barely see out there. I've been there and if it weren't for Lauren, your dear friend Mary would have died out there just last year."
"Geezus," Sola whispered, lowering her eyes, "How?"
She shook her head, looking at Lauren before she replied, "It's a long story. One we'd all rather forget."
Sola nodded, looking at Mary's daughter, "So how did you survive? I mean, food, clothing…"
Bo shrugged, "I may have been a mere teenager but as Mom said, she'd taught us all to hunt, trap and trade from a very early age. It's not like she could leave us home alone. There are too many ways for a kid to get dead on the North Slope."
Mary smiled, "Alaskan children in my village were taught to carve, cook, hunt, sled from the time they could walk. Ysabeau was an impatient child. She drove her first sled at the age of three and her brothers were much older than her. They started taking trips with their father by age ten, so she and I did a lot of solo trips until I left home."
Bo nodded, "We would drive together into town. I would carry the skins and she carried the heavier furs and meat."
Mary smiled, "We made enough money to buy hay and feed for thirty-five dogs, sled repair materials, canned fruits and vegetables and any other supplies we needed."
She looked at Bo, "She used what she'd learned from childhood to survive and buried trivial memories of her past to focus on the information she needed to stay alive and on track."
Anna nodded, "Her mind quite literally went into survival mode, allowing only the information, memories and emotions that were necessary to make it from one town to the next."
"The brain does that?" Camie
asked.
Anna nodded, "Especially in young children. Any trauma basically forces their brain to shut down to allow the body to heal. When the brain is traumatized – physically or mentally – the organ is capable of erecting walls in the form of defense mechanisms until such time the brain is capable of dealing with the trauma."
Lynnie chimed in, "It's why so many people carry around childhood trauma that sometimes doesn't make itself known until they're in their thirties or later. The same applies to women who have been traumatized by abuse whether physical, sexual or emotional."
Sanjo shook his head, "But wait. You were searching for Mary?"
Bo shrugged, her demeanor calm, though her voice was clearly expressing her anger,
"Well, what would you do if you were fourteen, had just returned home from a sled trip in search of your missing mom only to be told that the guardian she'd left you with had been killed, the village had taken possession of the only home you could remember, trashed all of the contents and then sold the property leaving you homeless and alone with only thirty-five dogs, three sleds and a tin box to your name?"
Bo eyed the most critical member of the island group, "Well, Skye? What would you have done as a mere tweenager had you not had the luxury of this quiet, warm, exotic life and the knowledge gleaned from your husband's agency reports?"
"Um… well…" she said, her eyes traveling over the group of Alaskans.
"You know, it's moments like these that really show someone's character," Bo said, "You claim to love my mom and her daughter, but you can't say you would drop everything to go find either of them."
"Well, only because someone would have to stay with Rudy," Skye defended.
Bo chuckled, "Well, it's a good thing my mom wasn't relying on you then because if she was, Rudy never would have been born."
She eyed Rudy through the window,
"What do you think Rudy would have done if she were the first born? You claim to know my sister. If that's the case, do you have some fantasy that any of you could have stopped her from heading out in search of her mom?"
Skye lowered her eyes as did the rest of them. Bo couldn't help but smirk. From her point of view, they'd been nothing but judgmental twits. She had no patience, sympathy and definitely no love for any of them at this point, but she would remain civil for Rudy's sake.
"So, let's get this straight once and for all, okay? You have zero rights to Rudy Dennis. She is the daughter of a strong, Athabascan Warrior Woman and a Hawai'ian born man who disappeared from her life. While my mom is grateful that you have all been here to teach Rudy about her native roots, that doesn't give you the right to tell her or her mother what happens next in her life."
Skye stood, pointing at Bo, "Oh, but I suppose you do have some sort of claim on her? You get a say? The… the animal who lived in the woods and never knew that child until now?"
Bo moved to stand, but Mary and Lauren held her shoulders. It wasn't necessary though because Johnny and Sola were already standing between Bo and Skye with Camie moving beside Mary.
Sola spoke, "You are way out of line, Skye. You have been for the past year. We all understand that you love Rudy. We all do, but we were also well aware that Mary made no promises about what would happen if she found Bo."
Johnny looked at Sanjo, "As an agent, this behavior is unprofessional at best. As Ohana, we expect so much more of our own."
Mary sighed, "I think it best that you two leave."
"Mary! Come on!" Sanjo defended, getting to his feet, "I haven't said a word!"
Shaking her head, the elder Dennis sighed, "Your silence speaks volumes, Sanjo. Please. Leave."
The two stood, Skye stomping off down the beach while Sanjo took a step towards Mary,
"I'm truly sorry, Mary. I truly am. I only want what's best for you and Rudy."
"Oh?" Mary asked, "And who gets to decide what that is, Sanjo? You? Skye?"
"No, of course not!"
Johnny stepped towards his brother,
"Go, brother. Please. And make sure your wife doesn't do anything stupid. If she does, I will have to recommend that the bureau transfer the two of you off of this island and a restraining order will be filed at the Federal level."
They all watched as Sanjo headed off after his wife. Johnny and Sola turned back to Mary,
"Perhaps it would be best if we left as well," he smiled, "We haven't been the welcoming committee you'd hoped for and frankly, I'm ashamed."
"If you truly intend to support my Mom and Rudy in whatever they choose for their future, you're welcome to stay," Bo replied, looking at her mom for confirmation.
Mary nodded, "As long as that support is extended to my Ysabeau, her family and friends as well."
Sola smiled, "Of course, Mary. You all have our support, and we apologize for our behavior."
Tamsin snarked, "And I believe that taking the time to read my entire case file from start to finish would allow you to have greater insight into who Bo truly is."
Kelly slapped her legs and smiled, "Or we could ditch the heavy and get back to Mary's life story. I'm sure there is a lot of Bo parts still to come."
"Kelly!" Lynnie snapped, but Mary could only chuckle,
"As usual, your honesty and wit is exactly what we all need. Please. Sit. I will continue."
They all sat down, Camie planting a kiss on Mary's cheek, "Sorry for my part too, Mare."
"You just find your ex tomorrow and get the ball rolling on what was meant to be."
"Right," he smiled, "I'll carry a first aid kit with me as a grovel my way back into her loving embrace."
"Or at least a cooler of ice," Mary smiled before he took a seat next to Sola.
"So, where were we?" Kate asked.
"Way off topic to a personal attack on Bo's character, I believe," Kelly said.
Mary nodded, "Well then, I guess I should say that each town that my Ysabeau encountered in her travels, taught her lessons no child should learn. Lessons of how men might try to treat a woman and lessons of how the world can be a cruel, cruel place. She grew hard, calculated, and tough. She lost all trust in people and, some might say… my daughter might say… she sacrificed her own humanity because she trusted the creatures of the tundra more than her own species."
"No offense, but is that why you always seem to have that knife strapped to you?" Johnny asked, eyeing her pantleg, "I spotted it the minute we met."
Bo shrugged, pulling out the knife,
"Want one of those…" she turned to her mom, "What are those little orange things called again?"
Mary chuckled, "Kumquats and don't miss."
Tamsin spit out her coffee, "Miss?"
Mary shrugged, "Warm air changes the flight of the blade."
"Wet air, too," Bo grinned, whipping the knife through one of the grape-sized fruits, pinning it against a tree."
She looked at Johnny, "You use a fork, I use a knife. Utensils, meal kits, kitchen equipment are all excess weight when you live your life on a sled. On my sled, my dogs come first, so if it's a luxury item to me, they're not going to be forced to pull it."
LJ pulled the knife from the tree, popping the fruit into his mouth. He cut more of them free, loading them into the pocket of his hoodie before walking them back and handing them out to anyone who wanted one. He dropped the extras onto the grate outside of the pit and shoved the blade into the sand several times. Wiping it clean he handed it to Bo along with a piece of wood that had come out of the tree with the knife.
She sat down, twirling the blade in her hand as she analyzed the piece of wood, then put her knife to it. LJ knew her too well. Carving would relax her, and she loved him for knowing it was just what she needed.
Mary shook her head, "You should be as kind to my trees as you are to our dogs."
Bo showed her mom the bark-free side of the wood, "Just chipped it. No sap. She'll heal."
Mary nodded, looking at her island friends, "Rudy has become quite skilled with a knife and an axe."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there! What happened to not running with scissors? She's only ten!" Camie exclaimed.
"Our ways are as foreign to you as yours are to us," Molly chimed in, "While many of our own wield scalpels because they're doctors and nurses, the rest of us wield knives such as Bo's. Knives and ulu's are as native to our land as surfboards are to yours."
"You don't have surfboards?" Camie asked.
Lauren spoke up, "Actually, we do have a surf community. I've not yet had the pleasure, but as you can imagine, dry suits are required."
LJ popped a piece of fruit into his mouth,
"Of course, where Mary and Bo are from, surfboards are useless. Building a sled or a boat is much more useful," he smiled at Mary, "Can't land a whale on a surfboard, Mare, right?"
Mary grinned, "I suppose not. Your village might starve waiting for you to get yourself out of the whale's mouth."
They laughed, joined by the rest of the Alaska group while the islanders looked on, confused. It was Sola who asked,
"You hunt and kill whales?"
Mary's smile faded, understanding their reverence for the massive mammals,
"Two are permitted per village, per year. You must understand, all that you see around you here is replaced by barren, frozen tundra in our world."
"Bad excuse, Mary," Johnny said, shaking his head, "There are these things called grocery stores and online shopping."
Tosh frowned, "Wow. You're going to sit there and judge the ways of people in a land that you've never visited when you sit here surrounded by food you can just pull off a tree and pop in your mouth? Must be nice for you."
He popped a Kumquat in his mouth, eyeing the man, "For your information, getting food to the North Slope can only happen during certain times of the year. What do you want us to do, starve our way through winter?"
He leaned forward in his chair, his eyes fixed on the round fruit between his fingers,
"Our land is tundra. It's frozen soil that – when warmed - is basically silt that drops into the ocean below. While sun and heat is your friend here, it's the greatest threat to our way of life. I have more than one friend who has watched their entire home sink into the sea in the last two years thanks to all of the pollution the lower forty-eight and the rest of the world send our way."
LJ nodded, "Not to mention the drilling and appropriation of so many of our cultural landmarks."
"Of course, those are being renamed as we speak. Denali was one of the first to be stripped of the name the white man gave it." Tosh said, "Even Mary's homeland took back its Inupiat name."
A snicker came from Molly who mumbled under her breath, "At least until some blow hard white man comes and changes it all back. It took a black man to honor the native names this time."
Tosh sat back, tossing a fruit into the air and catching it in his mouth,
"Alas, my friends, I've helped us to stray from the central topic. Apologies," he smiled.
Johnny nodded, "We completely understand the history stolen from indigenous lands. Much the same has happened here."
Tosh nodded, "Of course. Well, to get back to food, we don't buy most of our food because it's expensive… really, really expensive. We grow, trap or fish during the months we can, then preserve it in cold rooms, jars and cans., except for fruits like this. We have mostly wildberries."
Shannon explained, "Having moved there from Boston, we can all attest to that fact. Groceries and personal items cost us an extra two to three hundred dollars a month over what we paid in Boston. Stephen and Lauren gave us all cost-of-living increases."
Carolyn added, "But Bo and Mary helped us to cut that by two-thirds just teaching us how to fish and trap around our property. But fruits and vegetables – that's what we miss the most - the fresh stuff like you have here. Bo built a greenhouse, but we don't have one yet."
Anna and Kate nodded, Kate saying,
"Gawd I miss fresh fruit… and the simple pleasure of biting into a fresh piece of celery or a carrot… that crunch. Trust me when I say that these kumquats are better than sex to us right now."
Shannie's eyes went wide,
"Um… I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's definitely a simple pleasure that is missed."
Mary shook her head, a smile on her face, "If Bo and Molly are willing, we can have a meal Alaskan-style tomorrow so you can experience our culture as well. I suppose that in all of the years I've known you, I allowed your culture to be central to Rudy's life to sort of make up for the absence of her father's teachings."
Sola nodded, "But, as Bo said, she's half… Athabascan Warrior like her mom. That part of her should not be denied."
Bo smiled, "Agreed."
Johnny looked at Mary, "A true Alaskan experience would be wonderful. Thank you. We'll be here."
Mary smiled, "As for the knife, I can only say it's a good thing my child learned to use a knife at a very young age for it saved her on several occasions. It would be years later when she made her way down the west coast to a small native village where she would find friends… or so she thought."
Bo nodded, "They were in a place called Point Siku. They took me in and accepted me as one of their own. They completed my training. As you would say, they were Ohana to me."
Shrugging, Mary continued, "But staying in one town had its consequences. Her father and brothers tracked her there and openly targeted her."
"How?"
"Selene," Bo whispered, the feeling of the betrayal as fresh in her heart and mind now as it was months ago.
Mary could see her daughter's struggle, so she spoke on her behalf,
"Selene was my daughter's mentor and the Elder who pleaded her case to the Point Siku Tribal Council to accept her as their own since she had lost her village on the North Slope."
Johnny scowled, "So this woman… this Selene targeted her but also took her in?"
Tamsin winked and pointed a finger at Johnny, "Big Jim hadn't decided what to do with her at that point, so it was the old keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."
Johnny nodded, "So I suppose this Selene… or this membership is important?"
LJ chimed in, "My great grandfather, Big Jim, had begun to spread the word that Bo was dangerous, crazy, a half-breed and a threat to the community. She needed the support of Tribal Law to gain their protection against the non-indigenous groups and their government, although she did have the Sheriff's support… and his deputy."
"But even more than the protection, Ysabeau needed their customs and structure. It's all she knew growing up and it gave her a sense of normalcy," Mary explained.
Bo sighed, "It felt like I was crawling into my own bed again after years of sleeping on the tundra. Point Siku became my home, and I did have people who helped me. I didn't exactly trust them, and I didn't call them friends, but they came to my aide when…" she frowned, "…let's just say they helped me out of some… situations."
LJ waited for someone to continue, but when the silence became awkward, he spoke up, looking at Bo with a smile,
"When I was a kid, I was Bo's shadow. She didn't want me around, but I idolized her. She wasn't particularly kind to me, but I didn't care. She was quiet, a loner, distrustful of anyone but her dogs and… well, she was pretty scary," he smiled at Bo again and this time she smiled back,
"She also had a temper like no other, but it was always used to defend others."
He looked back to the group of Islanders,
"Anyway, I begged her to teach me how to use a racing sled. I wanted to race – to be an Iditarod racer like her. I didn't want to spend my life running a team of work dogs back and forth between my dad and uncle's stores. So, one night, when I was just a kid, I followed her on my sled when she was leaving town."
He scowled at the memory. The water was cold… too cold. It was a matter of seconds before every muscle in his body seized. Moments later, the searing pain rushed through his nerves and then… nothing. The pain was gone, and he didn't even realize he needed a breath.
He had often thought back on that moment and felt that maybe freezing to death wouldn't be such a bad way to go – if it weren't for the agonizing pain just before.
He looked up to see everyone staring at him. His eyes found Anna's. She had been so kind to him the day he had walked into her office at the hospital to talk to her about the incident – about how Bo's rejection back then had hurt him. But through their talk, he came to understand that Bo was also instrumental in shaping the young man he was today.
Turning to Bo, he opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head,
"I already explained the lake. You kind of zoned out."
LJ nodded, "Yea, the memory of being pulled under by the weight of a sled doesn't really go away. Turns out the whole drowning thing is over-rated. No fun at all."
Bo smiled, "You alright?"
"Two thumbs up," he said with that boyish smile that was so familiar to Bo.
She turned back to the group, "Big Jim told the town I had, more or less, kidnapped his great grandson and that it was my fault he almost died. He even went so far as to call it attempted murder which was what motivated him to start the whole mob beating me up thing and… well, you saw the results of that."
"We did?" Sola asked.
As Bo opened her mouth to speak, Tosh stood, "If I may, this is where Mary's story pauses with regard to Bo… and mine begins."
"My great grandfather was a pretty fucked up man," LJ said.
"Language," Molly scolded.
He stood, turning towards Molly, "You know what Aunt Molly? My Dad is in jail, my step-uncles are all dead after trying to kill my step-Aunt and every adult in my life allowed my great grandfather to run me like a truck since the day I was born just so they could save their own asses – including you… since we're being honest."
He sighed, "So, if the worst I've done is say a bad word here and there, I'm good with that. Are you?"
Molly's expression of shock slowly faded before she nodded for him to continue,
He turned back, finding Bo, "Wow. That felt… amazing."
Turning back to the group, he remained standing and gave a slight bow of his head, "Apologies. That was a long hold over… like fifteen years or so. If you'll excuse me, I need a little air."
He paused, turning back to Tosh, "Pops, whatever you decide, I'm in."
He turned and walked away from the circle, leaving Molly and Mark looking at each other,
"In… for what?" Molly asked of Tosh.
"We'll discuss that later," he replied, noticing Bo watching LJ. She began to stand, but he waved her off,
"He's good, Sis. As much as I'm sure you'd love to run away with him right now, I'd like you to stay and hear me out."
Bo nodded, lowering herself back to the seat of the chair,
"You ran defense between LJ and his dad, arranged for Mark to have him at his store in summers so he wasn't with the son you knew was following your dad and you allowed him to spend time with me. I owe you my ear."
Mary looked at her daughter who was now watching LJ disappear along the shore below. She leaned back in her chair and looked up to the sky pushing her hair back and pulling it up in a ponytail. For the first time, Mary noticed the small scar on her daughter's neck from when she was a child.
Mary had attended the required meeting to race in the Quest and had left her daughter with her friend Miko who lived on heavily wooded land. Miko's daughter Kee was out playing with Ysabeau when they found a plant that they didn't recognize, so they carried it back to ask about it.
When they returned, Miko was horrified to find her own daughter and Ysabeau carrying poison oak with them and immediately tossed the plant into the burn pit before giving the two girls baths, careful to wear gloves herself.
By the time Mary picked her daughter up a few days later, the poison had spread to her face, neck, sides and back. Her friend gave her calamine lotion, but it was weeks until the condition cleared up. Mary smiled at the memory. Her daughter had been miserable…
Flashback
"Mommy! It's so itchy! Please make it stop!"
Mary smiled, holding back her laughter as she watched young Ysabeau dance in a circle while trying to reach her back to scratch.
"Come, Child. Lay down on the bed so I can put the salve on."
"It's not working! Momma please! Make it stop!" she said, scratching her neck, "Ow!"
Mary rushed to the child, finding blood on her fingertips and her neck,
"Child, you scratched another blister open," she said, moving her to the sink, "Let's wash that out and then apply the salve. I know it's difficult, but you must stop scratching. What did we say you should do?"
"Put an 'X' on it with my nail, but don't break the skin."
Mary smiled and nodded, patting the clean area dry while Ysabeau winced. She pulled the bottle of antiseptic from the cabinet,
"No! It will burn!"
Mary smiled, "I'm sorry, Child. I don't have my medicines here. I know better than to touch poison oak and I thought my daughter knew as well."
Ysabeau frowned, "I kinda thought it was, but then Kee…"
"Let's not blame another for our discomfort. Remember, pain comes and goes in life, Child. We must learn to tolerate the pain that can help us."
"So, I have to let it burn?"
Mary nodded, "Just for a moment, my brave girl. I promise."
"Okay."
Mary disinfected the wound, blew lightly across it to ease the burn, then led Ysabeau to her bed, laying her face down. It was only a moment before the child's puppy, Harley, was by her side watching every move Mary made.
"Stay, Harley," Mary commanded, "Patience, my friend. Your Master is fine, I promise."
The dog obeyed but watched carefully as Mary pulled out the salve and a piece of cotton, setting to work applying it to her daughter's blistered skin.
"Sing my song, Momma."
Mary smiled and began singing the song to the spirits that Ysabeau loved so much. It was a story of two sisters, fishing by a river. The younger sister fell into the water and was carried downstream. The other sister ran along the riverbank, calling out to the spirits for help. A massive eagle flew down and lifted the older sister into the air, carrying her to her sibling to pull her to safety.
Mary frowned when she saw Ysabeau wince at her touch. Her skin was raw, most of the blisters popped and many spots were open from scratching. She leaned down and spoke softly to her daughter,
"There, Child. Now rest. Harley will watch over you and keep you safe."
Mary smiled at the pup, "Protect," she commanded.
Harley moved gingerly around the sleeping child to plant herself between the door and Ysabeau.
Mary pulled the thin sheet of clean cotton over the child before adding the bearskin blanket on top for warmth.
"There now, Child. Sleep, and may the Spirits bring you comfort."
She stared at her daughter, the sound of her gentle breathing bringing her comfort. Her sons were a rowdy bunch, but Ysabeau, her only daughter, was her greatest joy.
She was smart, brave, curious, kind, empathetic, daring, and ambitious. Mary had never witnessed anyone in her family or village who had such intuition about the land around her. Even when they traveled inland for trapping, her keen sense of how to react to wildlife was unmatched.
Outside, she was in her element, and she never tired of talking about two things – college and becoming a champion musher. As much as Mary hated her daughter's aggressive style of sledding, she knew it would serve her well one day if she learned to be a bit more cautious.
End Flashback
Mary moved from thoughts of the past to the present and the sound of Ysabeau's voice… an adult Ysabeau. She sighed, turning to listen to the next piece of history she had begun to share,
"So, after that, my dearly beloved father led the charge reminding people that what happened to LJ was my fault and that I was dangerous, crazy, a threat to the entire town and – of course – a murderer who was more animal than human. The only thing they could do to save themselves from this half-breed was to take justice into their own hands."
"Half-breed?" Sola asked, "Mary said that earlier. What does that mean?"
Bo shrugged, "Born of two parents from two different cultures, like Rudy. So, you can understand my not wanting Rudy – who has the blood of two cultures within her – to grow up an outcast by either culture."
The brunette leaned forward, "She has a right to know both and to live in both."
Mary looked at Johnny, once again joining the conversation,
"You know that was already happening to Rudy at school… the full-blooded native children telling her she wasn't truly Ohana because of my blood and because she was a child of the convict island."
"Convict island?" Tamsin asked, "Witness protection is not protecting convicts… well, I mean not all of them and definitely not the children that were sent here to protect them from the offenders."
Sola nodded, "We are aware, but children will be children."
Johnny nodded, "They will and she's been hurt by their words more than once."
Still, Skye defended, "She was born and raised on this island. She is Hawai'ian by birth."
Mary cocked her head towards Skye,
"You would deny her my blood? Do you think you can be a better mother to my child, Skye?"
The woman retreated, "No, Mary. Of course not. I was defending her to the other children. I would never…"
"See that you don't," Bo said, her eyes dark and angry as she stared down the woman until Skye diverted her gaze.
Johnny reached over and took Mary's free hand when he saw her tears fall, a gasping sob escaping for a moment before Bo noticed. She was putting her mom in the middle – a tug of war between two families and it's not what she wanted. It was the same conflict happening in her little sister.
She looked at Lauren, thinking back on all she had taught her since coming into her life and remembered the most important word – compromise.
"Mom…" Bo began…
"No, Ysabeau. This is my truth. I allowed a man into my life who gave me a beautiful child who will suffer the same conflict you suffered. History is repeating itself because of my choices."
"Mom, Rudy has supports that I didn't have. She's going to be…"
Mary stood, staring down at her daughter, "Stop it! Stop it, Ysabeau! Stop excusing my mistakes! After all I've done to you…" she shook her head, "I cannot allow history to repeat itself."
She sighed, placing a hand on her chest and looked up to see Molly had moved to her feet after seeing her friend in such pain. Mary placed a hand on her heart and extended that hand to her friend. Molly returned the gesture, both women feeling the beat until Mary's had slowed to match her friend's. Then, taking a deep breath, she sat giving Mary a nod.
The elder Dennis turned to Bo,
"These people are ohana. They took over my responsibilities to this land so that I could come and find you."
She turned to the Islanders, "This is my daughter, my blood. You may not know her, but I love her no more or less than Rudy. My daughters are both born of two cultures and as Ysabeau has done, Rudy will live in both – learn both."
She shook her head, and turned to Skye,
"I understand your love for her, Child. I truly do and I know that you miss her and want her here, but there is a part of her that she was never permitted to explore. I must let her do so if it's what she wishes. She has learned and grown a great deal there in a very short time. She has new passions and interests that she must be permitted to explore if she chooses."
Skye nodded, "Of course. It's just… hard. I mean, I feel like my little sister has been ripped from my life and… it's just hard."
Mary sighed, "Imagine then, how Ysabeau feels knowing that her actual blood sister was kept from her for ten years. Imagine how she felt having her mother ripped from her life when she was but twelve years of age. Imagine being left to believe that your mother was dead, only to find clues of her possible existence… enough clues to know she might be alive, but terrified the rumors of her demise may be true…"
Tamsin shook her head, "And that if true, she really was all alone in the world – abandoned as a child by the very village that had sworn to raise her," Tamsin mumbled, "Assholes."
Skye looked up at Bo. She opened her mouth, then closed it and only nodded.
Mary could only hope that Skye would be more cordial for the rest of their visit. She sighed and continued,
"Now, as I was saying to my daughter, everyone here has a right to know the truth, Child. My truth. They have given their love to me knowing my greatest successes but never knowing my greatest shame. More than that, they need to understand all that I owe you after abandoning you."
"Mom, you don't owe me anything. Look at all that you've given me. I wouldn't be who I am if things hadn't happened exactly as they did," she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head, "And we wouldn't have Rudy. I can't imagine not having her now and if what happened is what had to happen to have my little sister, so be it."
Mary nodded, "But that doesn't change the horrors that you experienced because I chose not to stand up and fight," she turned to the brothers and their wives,
"Those scars on my daughter… Big Jim, my husband, sent his men after her. She didn't recognize or remember them at the time, but some of those men were her kin… my sons."
"You had… you had sons?" Camie asked.
Mary nodded, "The last time I saw my husband on the North Slope, he took the boys with him… to where his other sons – his other family lived. I never saw them again."
The eldest Morton leaned forward and spoke,
"Mary's sons weren't the only ones present the night that Bo got those scars. My sons - her half nephews – participated as well," Tosh admitted, "I was Big Jim's son. I lived in Point Siku."
"So you're from the other family… the other wife?" Johnny asked.
Tosh nodded, "I harbor as much fault as Mary for what happened to Bo… more, if I'm being honest. Mary could not have known what was happening that night. I did. Big Jim was my father. In Mary's absence, I should have stood between him and my children. I should have stood up for Bo. I should have protected her. I should have protected all of our children I failed Mary, I failed our children, I failed our grandchildren... I failed myself."
He looked at Mary, "We all knew that Jim was our creation. He was an evil, evil man and we allowed it. We allowed his ranks to grow in number until we could no longer control him – or them."
Bo shook her head, "Tosh… you…"
"Yes, Bo. I did what I could to protect you," he turned to the others, "Because she was an innocent… not an animal… not a killer. She was a good person who just tried to help others with what little she had… still does to this day without concern for her own physical well-being, much to Lauren's dismay."
He smiled at his sister-in-law who simply shook her head as he continued,
"Despite Big Jim's warnings after she was saved by the town Sheriff, she taught LJ how to handle a sled just in case he had to run from his grandfather one day. She accepted trapping and fishing contracts for elderly or disabled individuals and families who lived in remote locations so they would have food and warm clothes."
"She delivered clothing?" Skye chuckled, "Or is she a seamstress too?"
The comment drew harsh looks from the Alaskans including Mary who turned to the woman,
"When we trap in Alaska, nothing of the animal is wasted. Its meat, its bones, skin, oils, fur… all are put to use," Mary explained, "Preparing a fur or skin to be used for clothing takes several days. Bo did that for her clients upon request, but mostly her elderly customers who no longer had the hand strength to fashion their own mukluks, hats, or gloves. The larger pelts she sold to Tosh's stores to buy supplies for her sled or dogs and sometimes she traded those pelts for client clothing."
Tosh nodded, "Bo is a top guide, search and rescue operator, tracker, trapper, fisher, hunter, homebuilder, woodcarver, musher and sled-builder. She's likely one of the best on the planet."
Kyle laughed, "It's taken a lot of people to fill in for the jobs she once did. My brother here is now search and rescue, but he's had to call on Bo more than once for help in the higher elevations. LJ is taking over her trapping and fishing contracts, but Mary has to help him fill orders sometimes. I'm helping Bo with her sledding work. She designs the sleds, I build them with the help of the staff after she builds a few originals."
Kate smiled, "And I'm trying to step in and fill Lauren's scrubs in the cardiology world. Let me tell you, I've got a ton of growing to do until I'll fit in those pants."
"Are you calling me fat?" Lauren asked.
"Um, no. When did I say that?"
"Well, I think you tried to say it politely when you said you have a ton of growing to do to fit in my pants which insinuates that my pants are huge."
Everyone laughed and Lauren released her poker face after a moment,
"Oh. Ha. Doc finally told a joke."
"I'll have you know I've got a lot of jokes," she defended, "It's just that nobody finds me funny but me."
Again, everyone laughed as Lauren leaned into Tosh. It was a nice moment of levity for the group, and they were enjoying the easy banter before the conversation resumed.
"I'd also like to mention that our Bo is also an incredible cook," Shannie said, "Not to say that Molly's stew and Mary's grilled salmon aren't both to die for, because they are. Bo's just got that something extra when it comes to a pit fire."
"Well, some of the best woodcarvers in the world are right here in Hawai'i. Maybe you could open a shop here," Johnny suggested.
Bo sighed, blowing the wood dust from her carving before tossing it to Johnny,
"For your first born," Bo said, "The eagle is my spirit animal."
Mary smiled, as Johnny held up the figurine for his wife and family to see.
Sola took it, rotating it in her hand, "This is… it's amazing. The detail is… I mean…"
"Wait… how did you make the wings brown and the beak gold?" Sanjo asked.
Bo shrugged, "I mixed a kumquat with the sand for brown and mixed the pulp of those two flowers behind me for gold. The specks are from the seeds that were at the center."
Shannie grinned, her eyes set on Skye,
"And she did it right here before your very eyes in a matter of minutes. A knife isn't just a weapon. It's also an artisan's tool. Rudy is getting pretty good at that too."
Mary smiled, "She's working on a chess set with her sister's help. She gets frustrated because Bo won't carve the pieces for her. If she makes a mistake, it goes onto the wood pile and she starts all over again."
"Aw, the poor kid," Sola said, "She's only ten. You won't help her out at all?"
Bo shrugged, "If I do, she learns to rely on others to find success. If I don't, she learns patience, resilience, vision, creativity, persistence, and skill. What's the rush to finish a chess set? She and Lauren have another one they can play with until she finishes her own."
"You're teaching her to play chess?" Skye asked, "Isn't that kind of an old-fashioned game?"
Bo looked at Lauren who offered that polite professional smile she'd seen her use in Boston many times,
"It's a game of strategy and advanced thinking. You can't just react to your opponent's move. You must think four or five moves ahead."
Kate shook her head, "Only when you play Lauren, you have to think ten to twenty moves ahead or she'll beat you in five."
Anna nodded, "I'll vouch for that," she looked at Skye, "Through the game, Lauren is teaching Rudy patience and to calm her mind. They play for one hour every other day until the game is done."
"Why not just play until the game is over?" Skye asked.
Anna twisted her mouth, "Their last game took seventeen days. I don't know any child that can stay awake that long let alone remain attentive that long. Statistically, it's amazing that Rudy is able to focus on the game for a full hour. The average attention span for a child her age is no more than thirty minutes."
"Besides, Rudy has many other interests to cram into her day. She wakes up and makes a to-do list every morning – most of it being for after school, of course."
Skye nodded towards the window where the indoor group was playing board games,
"It seems they're well over thirty minutes now and they still seem to be having a good time."
Bo smiled, "That's because they're probably on their third game by now. You can keep their attention if you switch up the game."
"And with Rudy, it's essential," Lauren said, "She gets very focused on winning rather than just having fun with her family and friends."
Mary nodded, "She's an impulsive one, our Rudy."
Camie laughed, "And curious. She sees something in the ocean, she goes right on in after it."
The islanders all looked at each other and said, "Box jelly," then began to laugh along with Mary.
Kate looked at Shannie who smirked and then mumbled, "Oh, surprise, surprise. Another inside joke by the islanders. They love making us feel like outsiders, don't they? It's funny how Alaskans actually use that term, but I've never once felt like an outsider around our Alaskan friends."
Nodding, Kate agreed and leaned over, whispering her reply, "I'm getting a sort of possessive vibe by these peeps. You? Mary and Rudy belong, but we don't. They're staying and we need to leave."
Shannie nodded, "It's like this weird tug of war over Rudy… like Bo said… in their minds, they have some claim to her."
"Well, they did invest almost ten years in her."
"Nine. She turned ten with us," Shannie clarified, "And she'll turn eleven with us in a few weeks."
"If she comes home."
"Do you really think she would stay here?" Shannie asked, her face worried.
Kate was empathetic, "I know how you feel, my friend. Bo and Lauren would be crushed."
"And Mary just reunited with Bo."
"I know and I don't think she's done telling her story. I keep seeing her slide off into her own thoughts," Kate said with a nod as Mary smiled at the others and then turned to the fire, clearly in deep thought."
Shannie was observing the islanders,
"Well, bonding with the kid is one thing, but they were her protective detail, not her babysitters. I know Rudy sees them that way, but how about a little professionalism and decorum. Tamsin's always talking about not getting personally involved with her UC's. To this day, she still kind of holds Mary and Rudy at arm's length."
Kate nodded, leaning closer to Shannie so she wasn't overheard, "Emotional detachment. That's what Tamsin said drove her whole persona with Bo – at first. I mean, obviously she broke her rule when they were… involved… for a while, but it's obvious that despite her relationship with Bo, she still did the job."
Shannie nodded, "Otherwise, she would have reunited them much sooner."
"Agreed," Kate said.
Shannie was quiet for a moment, then leaned in again and asked, "They couldn't possibly get custody over Mary, right?"
"What?" Kate asked, shocked by the question.
"You know - if they put up a fight?"
"Why would they do that?" Kate asked.
Shannie shrugged, "I don't know but the vibe I'm getting from the wives… I feel like they're judging Mary's parenting decisions and now it's like they're trying to decide if Bo is a good influence over Rudy."
Kate leaned closer, "Do you really think… shit. When they first came, they seemed uncomfortable with the fact that Bo and Lauren are married."
Nodding, Shannie agreed, "Tamsin said it's not their thing, but they don't care what other people do."
"Yea, when someone shows you their first reaction, believe that one over the 'we don't care what other people do' statement."
"Yea, we've all heard that line," Shannie said.
Kate chuckled, "Right before they walk into their so-called Christian church and shout "Amen" to the guy spouting about all 'the gays' going to hell."
Shannie laughed, shaking her head as Kate considered the group once more, "I don't think the wives are agents, so maybe they're the ones with the attachment."
"Maybe they're trying to push the guys to get the Feds to hand the girl over so they can raise her?"
Kate shrugged, "Although, Sola seemed to get it earlier when Mary took a stand."
"Yea, but that Skye chick…"
Kate scowled, "I know. Still, I can't imagine. I mean, after all the FBI put Bo through… and Mary too. They did everything they were asked to do."
"I know and that whole murderers chasing her at the Iditarod thing last year? Getting shot at so the FBI could catch her Dad? She put her life on the line so they could close that case."
Kate nodded, "Just like Bo said – she was bait. The Feds wouldn't allow them to take custody unless Mary did something seriously bad, right?"
Shannie shrugged, nodding towards Sanjo, "We've seen all kinds of weird custody battles in Boston, but Alaska? I just don't know. I mean, we do have The Judge in our corner, but I'm not sure who has jurisdiction since they technically live here… I think."
"Me either," Kate said, "But that guy seemed to make a pretty big deal out of Bo using a knife – like she's too dangerous for Rudy to be around."
Shannie shook her head, a scowl forming on her brow, "Sounds just like what they did to her in Talkeetna."
"And did you see the look on that crazy chick's face when Mary mentioned Rudy learning to use an axe and driving a sled?"
"I gotta bad feeling, Kate. I'm getting a bad vibe from these peeps. I mean, I know they mean the world to the Squirt and all, but I don't trust them… not one bit."
"Ditto," Kate said, sitting up once more until she felt Anna's hand on hers. She turned to her fiancé, who whispered,
"Everything okay, my love?" Anna asked.
Kate smiled and shrugged, "Just the usual shared paranoia with Shannie. The vibe is off."
"Oh, I'm aware."
Kate shook her head, "That does not make me feel better considering your incredible ability to read people."
Anna smiled, pecking Kate on the cheek,
"I'll talk to Tamsin later tonight. She is their boss, after all."
Kate nodded, "Thank you, my love. I'll talk to Jake. He's as tight-lipped as a virgins'…"
Kate stopped herself, seeing her fiancé's look of disapproval,
"Right. Mixed company. Keep a 'G' rating. Sorry. It's just that Jake doesn't like talking about his job, so I'm not sure what he'll share."
Anna smirked, "Ask. You may be surprised."
Considering her lover for a moment, Kate asked, "What do you know that I don't know?"
"That's privileged but trust me when I say that if you push just a little, you might get a lot more than you think."
"Hmmm… interesting," Kate smiled, "Very cryptic, my lover. Very cryptic indeed."
"I love being your woman of mystery."
Kate chuckled, "Well, it's certainly working for me."
"Ready to get out of here?" Anna asked.
"Are you done psychoanalyzing everyone?"
Anna looked at Bo and then leaned over to whisper in Kate's ear,
"These little inside jokes are really getting to Bo," she said, nodding to where Bo's hands were white knuckling the arm rest of the chair, "When she was doing those social skills lessons with Faith, she really took them to heart. Sharing inside stories in front of guests is rude in Bo's book."
Kate smirked, "Funny. It's rude in my book too."
Anna smiled, "I'm aware, Love."
"What is this box of jelly that they're talking about, anyway? They're over there carrying on and on about it. Sounds like a food that Rudy didn't like. They certainly seem to think it was funny, although I haven't really been paying attention to their jabbering."
Anna shrugged, "Well, they weren't really talking to us, were they? Of course, there's one way to find out… and maybe send a message they'll understand."
She turned to the Islanders, "Hate to interrupt, but… we're kind of on the outside of this one. Care to explain to your guests?"
"Oh, dear. That was so rude of me," Mary said, "Please forgive me for not explaining. I was caught up in the memory, although my friends here are remembering it with a humor I never felt. It was more terrifying to me than funny."
Skye laughed, "Oh, come on, Mare. It's funny now when you look back on it."
Anna could see that Mary did not agree… not one bit. She turned back to the fire, quiet as Sanjo and his family continued to laugh as he explained,
"You see, a box jellyfish is one of the most prominent jellyfish on the island. Rudy was about three years old when she found one floating in the water close to shore. My trusted babysitters and bodyguards were building sandcastles with her and before anyone noticed, she was in the water."
Camie smiled at Bo, "She told us later that she just wanted to say hello and pet it. She didn't know it would bite her."
Johnny shook his head, "Nothing more terrifying than the sound of a toddler screaming in pain."
"So… that's funny?" Anna asked.
Skye chuckled, "Of course not, but it's funny now that we look back on it. I mean, of course we rushed into the water and grabbed her, Mary came running out, but Sanjo yelled that it was a box jellyfish that got her."
Mary nodded, the look of worry visible on her face, as she pointed just down the hill from the front door, "It happened just over there. I was terrified. I had no idea what a sting from a large jellyfish could do to a child of her age. I ran back inside, grabbed the tweezers, both of the girls' purses, my gallon jug of vinegar and ran outside."
Skye smiled, "She tossed our purses at us and yelled 'get out your tweezers'. We need to pull out the stingers to limit venom injection."
"Great presence of mind, Mom," Lauren said, her eyebrows raised, "You saved her a great deal of pain and possibly anaphylaxis."
"Yes, I'm aware now. I'm sure you can imagine my panic."
"Of course," Lauren said, a reassuring smile on her face.
Sola laughed, "So there the three of us are, plucking out stingers while Mary has Sanjo pouring the vinegar onto the rash."
"Again – having the presence of mind to think of the other women having tweezers in their purses is impressive, Mom," Lauren said, assuring Mary that she was well aware of how serious that moment in Rudy's life had been.
Mary nodded, "It just sort of hit me. I'm so grateful it did."
Sanjo nodded, "That thing was sort of wrapped around her little arm. I took a good stinging getting it off of her but didn't realize until the adrenaline stopped pumping."
"How terrible for you," Shannie said, feigning sympathy while Lynnie almost choked on her coffee.
"Sorry. Wrong pipe," Lynnie said, pounding her fist on her chest and coughing.
Johnny laughed, "Anyway, we're all then going over and tweezing Sanjo. Dude reacted worse than Rudy to the stings."
Sanjo frowned, "She got treated first, that's all. Had to take care of the little one first."
"How big of you," Kate whispered to Shannie who smirked.
Skye nodded, "We all thought we were so fired. We never took our eyes off of her after that."
"Although the leash in town was a bit much," Sanjo laughed.
"Hey! Town was crowded and you know how she loved to wander off to see whatever it was that pulled her interest," Skye defended.
"Wait. You mean… a dog leash and collar?" Bo asked, horrified at the idea.
Sola explained, "Skye strapped a backpack to her – the kind with clips in the front so it wouldn't come off. She then clipped a dog leash to one of the loops on the other side so Rudy couldn't run off when she saw something that interested her."
Sola shrugged, "That impulsive streak."
Bo nodded and shrugged, "I suppose I've used a version of that, although it wasn't because I was afraid, I'd lose sight of a child I was responsible for."
Shannie leaned over to Kate, "Touché. You go, Bo."
"Oh?" Skye asked, not expecting Mary to explain.
"When my daughter first started sledding, she was all about speed, so I asked Ysabeau to come up with a way to be sure her sled wouldn't get away from her if she fell off."
"Wait… she can fall off a moving sled?" Skye asked.
Mary shrugged, "Well, I've seen you fall from your surfboard many times. The difference is, the board will always flow with the current to the beach. A dog sled will always follow the dogs who may or may not choose to obey Rudy's command to stop."
Bo smirked, "It's a mood thing."
"Don't you train them?" Skye asked, "I mean, dogs have to be trained to be safe."
Kate shook her head, leaning over to Shannie, "There's that accusing tone again."
Bo opened her mouth to speak, but Mary placed her hand on her daughters and answered,
"Yes, they are trained. They are trained to run hard and run fast to their destination. They are taught commands for turning, stopping, pulling, staying, laying, sitting and much more. However, stopping is done by applying a drag brake as well as a verbal command. So, without a musher, they may or may not stop."
"But…" Skye began, but Bo stood.
"Just stop, okay? I'll show you," Bo said, "Some line?" She asked Shannie who held up a finger and jogged off to the shed where they'd put the sand sled equipment.
Bo gave a whistle and the dogs came running. She watched Harper slowly rise and smiled before looking at the pups,
Turning to the islanders, Bo smiled, "Harper's exhausted. Besides, these are good dogs and the little rebels there will do just fine for… um… the basics," she shook her head, watching Cinder chase her tail in circles.
"They're just pups, so the basics will be 'sort of' basics," she said in air quotes.
"Sort of?" Johnny asked.
Bo nodded, "Well, they'll listen to Lauren more than me, but Rudy and Elise more than any of us. They are their Mushers and must be loyal to them and them alone."
Harper moved to Bo's side, earning a rub between the ears. Bo leaned down,
"Lauren."
Harper immediately turned and went to Lauren, slipping under her legs and lying down. The doctor reached down and rubbed her head, speaking softly,
"Good girl, Momma. You relax."
Bo turned to her older dogs, just as Shannie returned with the lines, draping them over her shoulder before starting to pull them apart one at a time. Tosh stood and grabbed the center line.
"Ready?" she said, the team standing, their eyes trained obediently on their Master, "Pops. Line out."
The dogs immediately moved over to Tosh, lining up in pairs.
"Now, again, this is not my full team, so I'm going to move some around a bit. Mom?"
Mary nodded, explaining each of the positions on a team and the general qualities of each dog in each position. She then explained what Bo and Tosh were doing as they attached each lead to the center line and then a dog.
Finally, Bo gave Shannie a wave, "Wanna go for a ride? I took my brace off. Just a little way down the beach and back."
Mary smiled, "It's not fair to hook them to the sled and then not let them run."
"So, they really want to do this?" Johnny asked.
Mary smiled and nodded, "Those wagging tails and tongues hanging out say it all. They're bred for it. They're part of the working class of dogs and their instinct is to pull. Although with their double, waterproof coat, these temperatures don't really work for more than short jogs."
"And the sand adds traction which makes the sled harder to pull without a full team," Bo added, double checking ever line and collar while Tosh walked behind her doing the triple check.
She turned to see Cinder and Snow wagging their tails, their eyes trained on her,
"What?"
The pair barked, standing up. Snow reared up on her hind legs, pawing at the air,
"So you think you can lead, eh?"
Snow barked twice, "How about you take the way back, girls?"
Cinder whined, but when Bo lifted her onto the sled in front of the handle, the pup began to bark at the team in front of her.
Bo laughed, looking back at Johnny, "She's very bossy."
She lifted Snow into the deck beside her sister and then checked the sled brake and drag mat to be sure Shannie had attached them properly. If she lost the sled, the dogs would have no idea how to get back home.
She was nervous, for sure. She hadn't really thought this through… instead, she had jumped to defend her dogs, something she had felt compelled to do. She sighed, turning to Shannie,
"I'm trusting you with my dogs, Friend. Take good care of them. If you lose the team, they'll be gone for good. They're in a strange land."
Shannie tensed, "Got it. Hold onto the fucking sled no matter what."
"The dogs. I could give to shits about the sled," Bo said.
"But the sled is attached to the dogs," Shannie said, confused.
"You're driving on sand. It's like the gravel during the snow melt. Remember what I told you?"
Shannie nodded, "If the handle breaks and I fall forward, grab the center line so I don't fall off the sled."
"You got this."
"Right. I've got a million-dollar investment in front of me."
"No, you've got our family in front of you. They're living beings, not an investment. Money comes and goes. Dogs are…"
"Family," Shannie smiled, "And we take care of our family."
"Now you've got it."
Johnny leaned over to Mary, "Did she say a million dollars?"
"Oh, Bo has invested much more than that in our family line, I'm sure. Vets, training leads, food, sleds, pregnancies, more vets, race entry fees, sponsors, store inventory, sled equipment… the list goes on and on."
"So just a team costs a million…"
"Bo has a kennel of over thirty-five dogs with many of litters of pups on the way when we get back and another breeding season for the others dogs in a few more months."
"Wow. It's…"
"It's a lot," Mary smiled, "But she loves it."
"And so do you," Johnny smiled.
"I went home to find my daughter had not only survived but had saved the oldest part of my family line… our canine origin story."
Johnny nodded, "You must be very proud of her."
"I'm proud for her. There's a difference. She did this on her own. I wasn't there. She could have left most of the team behind or sold them off. She respected the line… learned the lessons of their importance and remembered them… even when I deserted her. Now, she's continuing the line… making sure our elders are remembered through at least Rudy and Elise's generation."
"And Rudy is interested in continuing the line?"
"Yes," Mary said flatly, not wanting to get into another discussion about what lay ahead for Rudy's living arrangements.
With Shannie behind the team, Bo commanded,
"Obey Shannie," she said, walking to her leads, "Nike, Diana… obey Shannie."
The pair responded with a resounding bark.
Bo gave Shannie a nod, the novice musher smiling nervously.
"Remember, Shannie, these are not your dogs. They are professionals. Single word commands only. Don't repeat them or the turns will be sharper, the stops harder. It's a lot of power. These are strong dogs, so hold tight. It's a straight run until the bridge. They'll make a tight turn, so lean in and drag your toe behind you, knee to the sand. This isn't snow. Your leg won't slide."
"Got it. Powerful. Hang on. Single word commands. Toe and knee. Lean in, not out so I don't flip the damn sled."
Bo nodded, "What command is your friend?"
"Whoa," Shannie said quietly so the dogs wouldn't move unexpectedly.
Bo gave her a thumbs up, "You've got this."
"Are you sure Lauren shouldn't do this?"
Bo smiled, "I think Lauren believes in you as much as I do."
Shannie nodded, looking over her shoulder at Lynnie, "Love you."
"Yea. Tell me when you get back… in one piece."
"Right," Shannie said, turning back to the dogs, "One piece. Whoa is my friend."
Bo smiled, "Ready?"
Shannie nodded, taking a deep breath. She hesitated, so Bo gave her a little courage,
"You're ready. Hike! Hike!"
Shannie stepped back, regaining her balance as she yelled at Bo,
"I thought you said one word!"
Bo laughed as the team rushed down the hill and onto the sand on a diagonal in the wrong direction.
Mary cautioned her daughter, "Bo… help her."
"I know, Mom."
She moved to the top of the dune,
"HAW! HAW!"
They all watched as the sled turned left, Shannie leaning in as directed.
"HIKE! HIKE!" Bo shouted, the team gaining speed.
It took only a moment before Shannie yelled, "This is AWESOME!"
The Alaskans all laughed, standing up and applauding for the novice musher.
"You've created a monster, Bo. You know that, right?" Lynnie asked.
Bo laughed, "Come on, Lynnie. A woman's gotta have a little adventure in her life."
"True, but I prefer my adventurer in one piece, thank you very much."
Lauren placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, "She's fine, Lynnie. The dogs will take care of her."
Bo called out as the team approached the bridge,
"EASY, NIKE! EASY DIANA!"
The sled visibly slowed before Bo called out,
"HAW! HAW!"
The sled circled, Shannie leaning in. As the team started to straighten out again, Bo brought them around the rest of the way,
"HAW! HAW!"
They turned harder, moving a little close for comfort to the upward side of the dune, but Shannie held on like a pro, leaning right just enough to counter balance the sled.
As they came back, Bo called out again,
"HIKE! Come on, girls, HIKE!"
They got up to a good speed before Bo backed them down again, knowing they had little warm up. She wanted them to do an easy jog before they stopped,
"EASY! EASY, NIKE! EASY, DIANA!" Bo said, "STRAIGHT AHEAD!"
The group watched as the sled passed them by at a slower pace. Bo gave another "Haw" to move them closer to the water and when the sled was straight and at the water's edge, she turned them back,
"GEE! GEE!"
Not wanting a repeat of the bad turn at the bridge, she turned them sooner,
"GEE! GEE! COME ABOUT!"
The dogs obeyed, driving the sled back until Bo called out,
"HAW! Get up here! Hike! Hike!"
Bo turned to her brother, "Just relax, brother. I've got this."
Lauren stood, "I'll help. Harper, go to Mary."
Harper stood, slowly, heading over to Mary who hugged the sweet mother to be, allowing her to lay her head on her lap.
Lauren and Bo brought the team in, detaching the leads from their collars and then detaching the lines. One at a time, she sent them to the porch, Kyle standing to assist in making sure none of them ran off. She turned on the hose and filled the large bin. The group immediately went for the water before licking their chops and laying down on the porch.
Cinder and Snow ran over to Lauren as soon as she sat down. Bo smiled,
"As I said, Lauren is special. When the girls are at school, they're with Mom, so she's in there too. Me, I'm just the mean lady who takes them to the vet.
"So those two are Rudy's."
Bo shrugged, "Technically, Rudy and Elise's but Elise wants to be a Vet at this point in her life. Who knows what will happen in the long run. For now, she wants Rudy to race her dog. As far as Elise is concerned, Rudy is the next Champion in the family and these two are going to be her lead dogs."
"You can tell that already?" Johnny asked, truly interested now.
Bo shrugged, "They've definitely go the blood line and the right humans to train them, but we can't predict their size or speed yet."
Mary nodded, "I explained the positions to you on the sled. Nike and Diana are two very smart, very cooperative girls. That's why they're the leads. Cinder and Snow get at each other once in a while. We'll see how they get along in a few years."
Bo shrugged, "What's important is that Rudy's dogs love her. You saw that today. I'm fairly certain they would stop, if she lost control of her sled, but if they didn't, they could get themselves hung up in some brush, break through the ice on a lake or end up in some other undesirable situation. We have to take our time training them. For now, her real leads are those two – Muk and Jenna."
Mary smiled, "Rudy was the one who insisted Bo use them as part of her team in the Iditarod."
Bo nodded, "And they were incredible."
"So, they listen to you both?" Johnny asked.
Bo nodded as she sat down, tossing the leads over the back of her chair,
"I raised them but when Rudy first started using a sled, I had them lead her because they are very gentle with her. It was just something I noticed when we were hanging around at the kennel. They trust her and she trusts them. It's unusual, but not unheard of."
Mary nodded, "The most important thing is the safety of musher and team. That trust is the first thing we look for before we attach a dog to a sled."
Kyle spoke up, "A team of dogs can get tangled up in each other's leads. They can end up strangled or worse. A musher falling from a sled is bad for the dogs."
Bo nodded, "So I attached an extra line from my sled to Rudy's when we first started so that my team could slow her down if she was going too fast or stop her team if she fell off."
Shannie clarified, because she felt it necessary, "She means that the lead wasn't actually attached to Rudy, but the sled itself."
Bo nodded, "Unless she was on my sled, then we used a tether – those short flat parachute cords?"
"So, she was attached to Bo," Shannie nodded.
"I tethered her to me so if I fell, she fell and vice-versa. She wasn't ready to handle my team on her own and they don't usually run off without me."
Kyle chuckled, "In other words, Bo fell asleep on the sled one race without any braking device on. She woke up about twelve miles off course."
"Are you serious?" Mary asked, turning from Kyle to her daughter, "Ysabeau!"
Bo shrugged, "Mom, obviously I'm fine. Kyle failed to mention it was my first qualifier for the Iditarod and a race I didn't want to do because I had taken a group up to summit Denali just two days before. I was exhausted."
"She looked like shit," Kurt added, walking up to the group with an arm over Michael's shoulder.
Everyone's eyes turned to see a group of new arrivals heading towards the fire.
"Michael!" Molly shouted, standing up to give her son a hug. He made the rounds to the group, finally getting to Bo who stood and wrapped her arms around him before pulling back and looking at him,
"Whoa! You feel like you've put on some size there, my friend."
He grinned, pulling up his T-shirt, he turned to Lauren, "Whaddya think, Doc? Can I give her a run for her money?"
Lauren chuckled, "Oh, my. I must say…" she looked at her wife, "Sadly… you've got her beat, Mikey. I'm afraid your Aunt Bo has been sidelined long enough to lose the war of the abs."
Bo scowled, "Hey! I've still got an eight-pack!"
She pulled up her shirt, standing next to Michael, "Kate? Come on. You're on Team Bo, right?"
Kate propped one elbow up on her other arm, putting a finger to the corner of her mouth,
"Hmmm… that depends. Does Team Bo get a T-shirt?"
Bo looked at Kyle, "T-shirts for Team Bo!"
Kyle laughed, "You got it, Partner."
Anna raised her fingers to Bo's abs when she fist-pumped and contracted her stomach,
"Ooh my… those are quite nice," she grinned, staring at the rippled muscles of her friends' core, "Sorry, Mikey. I have to agree with my fiancé. Those are quite nice."
He flexed, "How about now?"
Shannie sat back, shaking her head, "You need a little more girth there, my man, but it's super close. Of course, hers are also female abs and since I'm partial to females…"
He laughed, pulling his long hair up into a high ponytail and pulling a flower from the ground, putting it in his hair,
"Better?"
Everyone laughed at his sense of humor as Shannie stood up and wrapped her arms around him, slapping his back,
"I love you so much," she said, pulling back, "You've been missed around here, kid."
"Around here?"
"Here, back home… everywhere," Shannie smiled, "I mean, I love your cousin LJ to death, but you and me?"
"You two are two peas in a pod," LJ said, "Same raunchy sense of humor, same take-no-shit life philosophy."
Michael turned to his Mom, "You're not going to say 'language' to him?"
Molly shrugged, "He's a grown man as I've been recently reminded, so no. You're both responsible for your own reputations, although none of us will tolerate foul language around Rudy and Elise."
Michael smiled, "Well, that goes without saying. Where are my girls, anyway?"
Tosh nodded towards the window, "In there wearing down… I guess it's Adam, Acacia, Jake and Patrick now."
"It's time for the real big brother to take over the board game," he smiled, "Aunt Mary? Where can I put my bag?"
Mary's eyebrows raised, "That little backpack is all you brought?"
"Squirt told me we'd be in the water most of the time, so I just brought my swim trunks, sandals, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses and a book. I left Alaska with three long-sleeved T-shirts and four short sleeved T-shirts on me, and I've got two pairs of shorts under these jeans, so I'm good."
Mary laughed, "Smart packing."
He shrugged, "Traveling between Talkeetna, Anchorage and Point Siku my whole life taught me well. Why pack it when you can wear it?"
"Smart move," Bo said with a smile.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, only now realizing there were strangers at the fire, "I'm Michael. Molly and Mark's son."
Mary nodded as he walked over to the group, "He's also Tosh's grandson, Bo's nephew and my step grandson like LJ."
She pointed as Michael shook their hands, "This is Johnny, his wife Sola, Sanjo and his wife Skye and that's Camie."
"Oh, the guardians, right?" Michael smiled, "Or Kurt says we can just call you agents now?"
Skye shook her head, "Guardians is more appropriate."
"Not on paper it's not," Bo said, "That would be Lauren and I."
Mary placed a hand on her daughter's while looking up at Michael,
"The girls will be happy to see you."
"We're going to do s'mores soon," Lauren said.
"Well, let me get going so I can get one win in before we have to come back out," he smiled, "Is there food anywhere?"
Mary moved to stand, but he waved her off, "Seriously, Mare. I can heat it up. Just point me in the right direction."
"Refrigerator. I'm sure Rudy can help you as well."
Molly nodded, "Jake helped put the food away."
"Got it," Michael smiled, "It's good to see everyone."
Everyone was in good spirits as the conversation turned back to the previous topic,
"So, you were talking about Rudy potentially falling off of your sled?" Skye said, directing her attention to Bo.
"Well, you've mentioned her curious nature and it was heightened in Alaska."
"Oh? How so?" she asked.
Bo shrugged, "Well, for one thing, she'd never seen snow before, not to mention deep snow. Pine trees, cedar trees, mountains, rivers, glaciers, bears, moose, elk and then the fishing…"
"Rudy has really taken to our native methods of fishing. She enjoys running the wheel we use to catch salmon," Mary smiled, "She's a natural at just about everything she tries."
Lynnie laughed, "Baking is her most recent love. She insisted on making a cake by herself for Shannie's birthday a few weeks ago."
"Lynnie helped with the mixer, crushing the cocoa beans to make the chocolate…"
"You made the chocolate?"
"Of course," she said, "But then she mixed up the sugar and flour, so…"
"It was more of a super sweet waffle than a cake… sort of," Shannie laughed.
"We went to Kenzi's restaurant for cake," Lynnie laughed.
"I see," Skye said, "So, Bo, what happened on the sled? I sense there was an accident?"
Bo shrugged, "Like my mom said, everyone falls at some point. Rudy was curious about everything around her, so she would lean out to the side and try to smack the snow off the tree branches. Or, if we saw an animal, she would be so busy trying to figure out what it was that she would forget to hold onto the sled… at least that's what she told me after her first fall."
Mary smiled, shaking her head.
"Oh my! She wasn't hurt?" Skye said, "It sounds so dangerous."
Bo smiled, "It's kind of hard to get hurt when the snow is thirty-six inches deep."
"Whoa! That's some serious snow!" Johnny said.
"Have you guys ever seen snow?" LJ asked.
"I haven't," Skye confessed.
The rest shook their heads except for Johnny, "I left the island for about three years. I was curious about what life was like in the rest of the country and my Dad encouraged me to take an opening in California. We had a missing persons case that," he scowled, "Well, we found her body in the mountains up north… it was winter and… well, that was the first time I saw snow."
Tamsin knew the look, "And your first victim?"
He nodded, "First dead body. Tossed my cookies in about thirty seconds. Not a pretty sight."
"Never is," Tamsin said as Kyle gazed at her from the side.
Kyle had never really thought about Tamsin's job or what she had seen. Bureau policy dictated that her girlfriend could share very little, and Tamsin took her job seriously.
To handle the secrecy that was required, Kyle had taken on a sort of 'don't ask' other than to say 'how was your day' when she came home. In that way, Tamsin would share what she could and never feel put on the spot by her lover.
Still, the short discussion now made Kyle cringe. She realized all of the times she'd complained to Tamsin at the end of a workday about a part that was late for a sled or a customer whining over not meeting Bo… all the while, her girlfriend was looking at dead bodies or facing off in a gun fight.
Mary was oddly silent as the conversation carried on around her. She looked in the window at her daughter who was standing and wagging her cards at Jake which Mary assumed meant that she had beaten him in Go Fish. Michael was behind her, looking at her cards with a grin on his face.
She turned to Bo who was staring into the fire. This talk of death and the large pit fire before her was sure to bring unpleasant memories. She looked up to see LJ returning to the chair he had vacated earlier. He sat without saying a word.
She knew the boy still blamed himself for all that had happened to Bo. Maybe it was time he knew the full story of that fateful night. Hearing it might help him to understand there was nothing he could have done. She looked at Lauren and Tosh, then back to her daughter… remembering the dark, angry, haunted woman she hadn't recognized when they had reunited.
She sighed - her mind filled with thoughts…
"I did this to her. My choices made her who she is today. My choices made all of them who they are today. If only I had stayed and gone to the police instead of the Tribal Council. I knew they were afraid of him… afraid to betray him for my sake despite my position among them."
She sighed - her mind filled with the thoughts of those on the North Slope who had betrayed her trust.
"If I had gone to the police… the local and state police… he would have been under investigation. The Elders would have tried to intervene, but the FBI would never have let it go… they never leave anything go. Maybe then, Tosh and his family would have been set free to live their lives."
She could feel tears well up in her eyes,
"Maybe Tosh's wife would still be alive. Maybe Michael would have been raised with his father and maybe his father would be… different. I have to make this right."
She continued to stare into the fire, making a conscious decision to share the stories that had been told to her by Dyson and Tosh not long after she had returned to Talkeetna. As difficult as they had been to hear, the knowledge had helped her to understand the woman her daughter had become. Maybe it would help others to understand her as well.
"Mom?" Bo asked, placing a hand on Mary's knee. She gave it a shake and asked again, "Mom? What are you talking about? What do you have to make right?"
Mary glanced around the fire at the faces all trained on hers. Had she really been speaking aloud?
"Mom!" Bo said, shaking her once more.
Mary's head snapped up, her eyes moving to meet her daughters. It took a moment, but her mouth slowly stretched into an adoring smile. She moved her hand to her daughter's cheek, her head cocking softly to the side as Bo spoke once more,
"What do you have to make right, Mom? What are you talking about? There's nothing you could have done for Tosh's wife. That woman was seeking revenge for something that had nothing to do with you."
"The truth of your life… of her life… of Tosh's life… they're all entwined with my decision to leave instead of reporting my husband to the authorities outside of the Council. I'm so very sorry."
Bo took the hand, moving it between both of hers, "I know Mom. It's okay."
Mary shook her head, "It's not."
"Mom, we've already talked about this tonight. There's no need…"
"No. Tosh and Dyson told me everything about that night."
"What? They…" she turned to Tosh, a scowl on her face, "You told her?"
He sat up, "She wanted to know what could have made the daughter she'd known become so…"
"Dark?" Tamsin interjected.
Tosh nodded, "In a word, yes. I suppose so."
"You were so kind, so thoughtful, so caring, so generous, so sweet… and so motivated to go to college and become a scientist or… well, you could have been anything," Mary smiled.
Bo frowned, a scowl forming across her brow, "So you don't think I'm any of those things now?"
Mary could see the hurt in her daughter's eyes, "Of course you are, Child. You're all of those things… just not the scientist. You had such dreams…"
Bo pulled back, folding her arms over her chest, "Well, I'm sorry if I'm not the success story you had hoped I would be."
Mary shook her head, realizing her words had been poorly chosen again,
"You are more successful than I could have dreamed, Child and none of that success is because of me. Every success, every building, every invention, every business venture, every trophy and championship you've earned is in spite of the choices I made – choices that could have destroyed you… would have destroyed any ordinary child," she smiled proudly, "And yet, here you are… risen from the ashes of the life I burned to the ground by leaving you behind."
Bo nodded, "Sorry I snapped."
Mary shook her head, "I spoke poorly."
She looked up at the local group, "The scars you saw on Ysabeau earlier," she lowered her eyes to the fire, "They are the scars of my choices."
She sighed, sitting back in her chair, "Not long after the incident with LJ at the lake, Big Jim had my Ysabeau dragged into town behind a sled. As Tosh explained it to me, both of her hands were tied to a rope meaning her body was left unprotected as she tossed and turned through the snow, across the ice and eventually over the gravel streets of the time."
Tosh stood, pacing back and forth next to the fire. He looked up at Johnny,
"This is my story to tell…" turning to Mary, he continued, "… no offense, Stepmother, but you seem to be shouldering all of the blame for your daughters demise and…"
Bo stood, hands outstretched, "Geezus! Can we all please stop talking about me like I died? I'm right here!"
She paused, sitting as she reined in her emotions,
"I've got more money than I know what to do with most of the time because I own three businesses. I'm a record holder in several Iditarod categories which is way more than I ever dreamed of as a kid. I've got a kennel full of champion dogs bred from my mom's bloodlines that are worth a mint… but I don't keep them for the money. I love every one of those dogs. They were my family before I knew any of these crazy people over here," she winked at her friends before her eyes settled on Lauren,
"I'm married to a woman who is not just beautiful, but intelligent, kind and the best partner anyone could have in life. She saved me… in more ways than anyone could ever understand."
Bo smiled, taking a deep breath as the grin on her wife's face grounded her so she could press on,
"I'm reunited with more family than I knew I had, and have friends who are part of that family."
She sighed, "I've got a good life now. I'm happy. I'm honestly happy for the first time since I was a child."
"And yet you're still haunted by a past that I was a part of," Tosh snapped, "Please Bo. I want to do this… I have to."
"Why?" Bo asked, "Is stepping into my mom's confessional tonight going to give you redemption?"
Tosh walked closer to his sister, "I don't deserve redemption, but everyone here deserves to know the truth about me. They love a man who doesn't exist."
Bo shrugged, tossing a sliver of wood aside with her knife, looking up at the group, "The man they love exists now and that's all that matters. Let it go. Live in the present. The past is nothing now."
Knowing what her brother was about to disclose, Bo stood, and walked behind her mother's chair, moving far enough away so that his words would not reach her. She had no desire to relive the past anymore. They had been doing so for hours, and she was exhausted.
She turned into the wind and walked slowly down the dune to the water. The tears evaporated quickly from her cheeks. Taking several deep breaths, she sat in the sand, then lay back and stared up at the stars. Finding the constellations would be a good distraction.
Back at the fire, Tosh looked at the group before he returned to his seat. He looked into the fire and allowed the memories to come flooding back. It didn't take much. That night had lived close to the surface ever since he'd learned that Bo was of his blood.
He began, "The scars you witnessed on my sister were from beatings at the hand of my father and his men that night, yes… but that was nothing compared to what was to come."
Johnny looked down towards the water at Bo and then back to her brother,
"How can she say that was nothing?" Johnny asked, leaning forward, he looked to Tosh, "Dude, her back looks like…"
Seeing the distraught look on the faces that surrounded him, he stopped,
"I'm sorry. It's not my place to…"
"You're right. It isn't," Kyle said through gritted teeth, "So how 'bout you just let the man speak and shut your trap. We already know the part the Feds played in Big Jim's shitshow."
She felt Tamsin's hand gently squeeze her thigh and sighed, closing her eyes to allow her girlfriend to anchor her emotions just before a familiar voice called out to the group,
"Okay, okay! Whatever this is, ya'll can stop. The peacekeeper is here," Kenzi said, waving her hands, "I'm here for a vacation, not a rumble! We're all Ohana… at least, that's what they told me at the airport and then again at the very thorough pat-down when we got here… she eyed Tamsin who just shrugged, "Oh, you knew. Well, thanks for that, Tam-Tam."
The young goth hotel-owner marched across the circle and extended her hand to Johnny,
"You are the tallest and dare I say the hottie of the bunch, so you must be Johnny. I'm MacKenzie, aka Kenzi, aka K-Star the Magnificent. Friend to all and the owner of the hotel you will stay at if you ever make it to Alaska."
He took the hand and nodded, turning to Sola who smiled politely and shook her hand as well,
"Nice to meet you."
Kenzi nodded, "Sorry, not gonna do the whole nose and forehead thing. I'm not Hawai'ian, so won't pretend to be."
She turned to Mary and Molly, "Got a shitshow going already, eh, Ladies? Guess I'm here just in time. Where's my BoBo?"
She looked past them and eyed her friend, "Got her. Be right back," she turned back to Hale and Kurt, "Keep the peace, guys!"
"Kenzi…" Lauren began, but the young woman shook her head, "You do you, Doc."
"Right," Lauren said, heaving a sigh knowing that a dose of Kenzi might be just what her wife needed right now.
Kelly stood, allowing Kurt to take her seat before she planted herself on his lap. Hale took one of the empty chairs,
"Hey everyone. I'm Hale. Sorry to interrupt what I'm sure what was a productive conversation, right?" he asked, looking at Kyle who sighed,
"What did you hear?"
"Big guy over there asked about Bo's scars or something," Hale turned to Johnny, "So you blame us for what happened to her when you knew all along…"
Kyle placed a hand on his knee, shaking her head before she turned to Johnny,
"I don't expect you to understand what it was like for us – and now that we know you all knew… or someone at your agency knew – but for the handful of us who tried to protect Bo while the bureau did nothing about Big Jim… well, it's all still pretty raw."
Hale nodded, "I can't say that Dyson and I couldn't or shouldn't have done more but there were two of us against fifty or more of them…" he lowered his eyes, shaking his head, "We all made our mistakes where Bo was concerned."
"Exactly what we've been saying," Kyle nodded, "But these guys have been judging Bo since she got here and I was merely telling them… well," she turned to Johnny, "I shouldn't have told you to shut your trap…" she smirked, "…I should have told you to shut the fuck up and listen to the victim for once."
Hale sighed and nodded, "So much for diplomacy."
Johnny shrugged, "No. She's right. Tosh, please continue."
The Islander had heard enough to know that they all had every right to be angry. It was clear that they all held much love for Bo and the agency had dropped the ball… he had dropped the ball. He sat back as Tosh continued,
"As Mary said, Bo had been dragged into the town center. I was on my way back to town by sled, but I could see the glow of the massive bonfire they had built, and the crowd was big enough that I could hear their cheers."
He lowered his eyes and shook his head,
"My stomach dropped. I knew… I knew something was going to happen. There were too many whispers at the store between my Dad and my grandsons… too many… visitors… to my Dad's table. LJ and Michael were sent to feed all of the dogs in the kennel… prep all of the sleds."
"And that was unusual?" Johnny asked.
Tosh hesitated as the question had the tone of an interrogator, but he answered nonetheless,
"Bo understands best, but you have to live in Alaska to understand that sled dogs are necessary for those living in remote places and Bo lived as remote as it could get. To find her… to bring her in would require a massive search with a lot of dogs and a lot of mushers on those sleds."
Mark shook his head, "It was a manhunt. Only Grandfather called it a shadow hunt because that's how Bo moved… like a shadow… it was one of the many nicknames he used for his daughter."
Molly took a long look at her husband and saw the same haunted look she'd seen for months now. She was worried about him – especially because of the silence. He wasn't talking to her as he used to and that was terrifying.
She turned to Tosh as he continued,
"Dogs are family to those who are alone and know how to treat them, raise them and mush them – with respect, compassion and understanding for their needs and well-being. Mary taught Bo from a very young age that her dogs were to be treated like Kings and Queens for all they would do for her."
Mary smiled, "Before I'd left, the one constant in my daughter's life were those thirty-five beautiful creatures. They were her companions, her protectors, her teachers, her hunting partners, her caretakers, her workers, her brothers, sisters and children."
She sighed, "It's a bond most do not understand – especially when you're driving a sled across miles and miles of open tundra for days… sometimes weeks at a time."
Johnny nodded, "That's why you've always wanted a dog for Rudy."
"Not just a dog, but a dog bred from my family line," Mary corrected.
Tosh nodded, "At the time all of this was happening, Bo was using Mary's sled since most of her dogs were still too young to pull a sled – especially fully loaded. Hers ran behind the trail sled, rotating into the baskets of each sled when they needed a rest."
"Basket?" Sola asked.
Tosh nodded, "You saw the dogs pulling a sled on the beach today?"
"Yes, of course."
"Well, the basket is a large… we'll call it a bag that is almost a tent. It sits on the open space in front of where you saw Kyle and LJ standing. It's secured to the base and can hold multiple dogs and/or humans, but usually equipment and supplies during a race or a job. You can watch videos online."
"I'll have to do that," Sola smiled.
Tosh nodded and sighed, noticing that Bo was no longer laying down, but sitting up talking to Kenzi. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the two returned, so he allowed the memories to take him back once more.
"What happened next that night… well, I was on my sled still a long way from town, but as I said, the fire they had built in town was big enough to light up the horizon."
He shook his head, tears threatening to fall as he spoke, "Bo had met Kyle by that time, so the youngest of her dogs were all at the Swift Family Farm. The eldest - the strongest dogs - were all pulling Bo's sled when they found her and tied her to the sled to drag her into town. She got there well ahead of me."
Glancing up, he saw Bo reach the peak of the dune, "She was unaware of what awaited her, and I had no way of warning her of what I had eventually learned my father was planning."
"Cell phone?" Sola suggested.
Tosh shook his head, "Why would my sister have owned a phone? Who would she have called? Her mom? The brothers she didn't know she'd had? Big Jim had made sure she had no friends – only business associates - and none of them were going to take a chance on going against my Father to help her."
"Because they were afraid of what Morton would do," Johnny concluded, looking up at Tamsin, "And the bureau knew this was all happening to her?"
Tamsin shook her head, "We knew he was giving her a hard time, but she wasn't in town that often. We didn't have a UC in Morton's network so had no idea what he was planning that night, but we later learned that one of his guys had tried to rob the bank to get the Sheriff and his Deputy to that crime scene instead of where Bo was."
Bo arrived at the fire, taking her seat without a glance to anyone. Kenzi stood dutifully beside her, a hand on the back of her chair. Tamsin knew that Bo had heard – the haunted look on her face told the Special Agent that her mind had already begun to carry her back to that dreadful night.
Bo spoke, almost as in disbelief as to whether or not the night had ever actually happened. It would be the first time that her friends and family would hear the full story of that night from her lips.
"They stood in a circle around the biggest fire I'd ever seen…"
"Bo," Tosh said, but his sister shook her head, "I think…" she glanced at Anna, "…I think I need to do this."
Tosh looked to Anna who nodded, then turned back to his sister, "I can take over. Just say the word."
Bo gave a weak smile and continued,
"Wood pallets, lumber, tree limbs and furniture are just a few of the things I remember burning in front of me as I lay on the frozen ground, trying to get my bearings. My skin burned and I knew I had a thousand open wounds on my body… some big, some small. My head hurt… my ribs… hip… shoulder… jaw…" she closed her eyes as images swirled in her head.
Lauren looked at Anna with concern, but she could already see that the doctor was watching her patient carefully. Lauren turned back to Bo as she spoke,
"There were boots all around me… hands above them held pieces of wood... whips… there were ten, maybe fifteen men. There were puddles near the fire where the snow and ground was melting from the heat. There was an orange glow that reflected off the water. The ground was black otherwise."
She looked down at her arms, demonstrating, "I scooped up handfuls of mud and put it on the worst of my cuts to stop the bleeding. Then I realized the sled I'd been attached to had been my own. My dogs were still trying to get to me, but their leads were a tangled mess and the sled was on its side with Jim's foot on the rail."
She swallowed hard before her mouth broke into a strange smile – a chuckle escaping,
"I thought it was some kind of celebration with all of the people that were gathered there. Maybe a town festival or ritual… something I'd never been a part of… I didn't know social stuff… or holidays…" she shook her head, her face straightening, eyes lowering,
"But by the time I'd realized my mistake, they were grabbing my lead dog by the collar and turning the team towards the fire."
She shook her head, her eyes gazing back up at the flames, watching as small sparks escaped and disappeared into the night sky. A scowl formed over her brow,
"Yuji – Mom's eldest and strongest dog… the one whose lineage could be traced back to the very first line ever bred by her Denali tribe and the one from whom all of my dogs came…"
Johnny interrupted, "But I thought you were from the North Slope. Isn't Denali further south?"
Mary nodded, "My clan lived beneath the mountain. I was raised there as a child but moved to the North Slope when my husband suggested it."
Tosh shook his head, his voice filled with disgust,
"Getting her away from her family allowed him to take control of her. Moving her to the North Slope kept her isolated by removing her from her Athabaskan people to an Inuit community where she would have no real power… at first."
Mary nodded, "There was also the issue of making sure that I never met his other bride and children in the south."
Shannie let slip, "Bastard."
Bo, unphased by their chatter, continued,
"Yuji tried to fight. She knew what was about to happen. She was strong and smart… she knew, and she wasn't about to go down without getting a few good bites in. I think she had hoped to save more of her siblings and children…"
Bo was unable to turn her eyes from the flames as the memories claimed every part of her mind,
"Yuji bit one man, then another. The other dogs joined in, so Big Jim cracked his whip – I guess a sign to his men to do the same. The frenzy began. They kicked, hit, whipped, and beat my dogs into submission. Two – Juni and Juno - were the first to fall unconscious from what I could see. I tried to get to them…"
She shook her head, a scowl forming over her brow. She was unable to speak, so Tosh continued,
"Bo was being held by two men while Big Jim stood over her. They cut the dogs loose from the center line while she struggled to free herself."
Mark stood, "I'm sorry," he said before moving away from the group towards the orchard. Tosh looked at Molly who turned back to the group, shaking her head,
"Big Jim tortured Bo with threats of what he was about to do… to the dogs… and to her. He gave graphic details hoping to build her into a rage that would prove his point to all of the witnesses he had called to the spot. He wanted to be sure they saw her as dangerous."
Molly again shook her head, "She cursed my father-in-law's name, telling him there would be nowhere he could hide if he harmed her dogs. Everyone heard her threaten him. They didn't care why because in their minds, he proved everything he'd said about her being violent was true. He baited her and she took the bait."
Tosh shook his head, "I dare any one of you to say you wouldn't have done the same if everything that you held dear was about to be taken from you."
The air grew silent until LJ stood and walked into the circle, taking a seat on the arm of Molly's chair,
"I was staying with my aunt and uncle," LJ explained, "I heard Bo scream… a scream I'll never forget… I rushed to my bedroom window. I could could see what was happening. I had to do something, so I snuck out and took the sled trail that led to the back of the sheriff's office."
Bo's head snapped up, "It was you? You got Dyson?"
He nodded, his eyes welling with tears,
"It was my fault, Bo."
"What was your fault?" Bo asked.
"I should have gone sooner. I heard them at the store that day. I knew what my great grandfather was planning. Rachel, the old dispatcher, was there. I told her not to radio for Dyson because Big Jim had a scanner, so she used a coded message to get Dyson back to town… but it took too long… he was too late."
"That was why you tried to get me to take you out for an overnight trip that day," Bo concluded.
LJ shrugged, "I knew we wouldn't have gotten far, but I had to try something. Now that I'm older, I know it wouldn't have mattered. He would have just used that trip to prove what he said about what happened at the lake."
He looked at Bo, "All of those dogs that pulled me to safety from what should have been my dark and cold grave… they were kind, smart, amazing and they... my great grandfather was a monster."
Tosh shook his head, "But you're right, LJ. Big Jim did use the lake story. That man had a way of spinning things and of course, with the whole town watching, he doubled down on his announcement that Bo had tried to kidnap and drown LJ. That was why he had a right to attack her the week before and that was why they had all gathered that night."
"He attacked her?" Johnny asked.
"Many times," Hale said.
"Why didn't you prosecute him?"
Hale shrugged, "As you Feds always say, we've gotta have evidence and Big Jim was very good at covering his tracks. He always had an alibi, and we never had proof. Bo was always alone. He made sure of it. Of course, it wasn't hard to find her alone since Bo was a solo kind of girl in those days… not necessarily by choice."
Tosh nodded, "One night, she was shot as an intruder at my General Store in Point Siku. One of Jim's guys fired on her as an intruder as she entered through the cold room. But she wasn't there to steal. I had given her a key to drop off an order. Big Jim and his guys were there waiting when she arrived."
Molly waited for Bo to explain but the brunette's eyes were trained on the fire, so she explained what she'd learned from Dyson that night,
"Yuji had barked just as Bo opened the door which caused her to turn just enough that the bullet only grazed her. Bo slammed the door shut and jammed it with her knife, then took off."
Tosh nodded, "The knife was evidence that she was there, but I was able to explain to the sheriff what had happened because Kyle called me."
"She had come to the farm bleeding and asked for help," Kyle explained, "I called Tosh because I didn't know who else to trust."
Tosh nodded, "But even with our stories, Dyson couldn't hold him. There was no proof that his side of the story wasn't true."
"What did he say?" Sola asked.
Tosh shook his head, "My Dad said he didn't remember she was coming and that he didn't recognize her dressed from head to toe in fur and snow… which was total bullshit, of course."
He took a deep breath and turned his eyes back to Bo. He was worried about her. She still had that haunted look, and she seemed so far away. He looked at Mary who nodded for him to continue, so he lowered his eyes to his hands,
"Anyway, the night they were all gathered in the town square, all of his men finally had the dogs off the line and Bo pinned down. Jim announced her and her dogs as a menace to the town and – exhibit A – Yuji had drawn blood on one of the guys' hands, so…"
He looked at Bo hesitant to continue. That was when her eyes met his. He looked at his sister, his eyes welling with tears, as were hers,
"Our Father gave the order just as I drove my sled up the hill. I could barely make out what was happening, but I knew I was too late. One by one Jim's men… and eventually my sons who were under orders to participate or lose their wives… tossed every dog into the fire except for one female…" he glanced over at Harper who was sleeping soundly on the porch with her family.
He heard a gasp and glanced up to see Skye leaning against the tree outside of the circle. Her husband placed a hand on her shoulder, both of them lowering their eyes when they noticed that Bo saw them standing there.
Johnny gave them a warning glance before turning back to Tosh,
"He… they were alive?"
Tosh nodded, unable to speak as tears streamed down his face. Molly gripped Mary's hand with both of her own, shaking her head,
"It was… horrific. Their cries echoed through the night in tandem with Bo's and the crowd went silent. Jim had this sick smile on his face as he watched the fire. Then he turned to Bo and just watched as she fell apart. I think back on that now and just can't imagine what kind of person you have to be to do that to your own daughter."
Bo stood, "That's the thing. He wasn't a person. He was a soul-less monster who died too soon because I didn't have the courage to do what had to be done when I should have done it."
She turned to walk back down to the beach, but Mary gripped her wrist and stopped her,
"Because you didn't kill him, you have a wife, you know your sister and you will soon have a daughter. Those two young girls will know the life you should have known because you allowed the justice system – right or wrong – to do the work."
Bo looked at Johnny, her stare a combination of fire and ice,
"The justice system didn't get justice for my dogs, and they didn't get justice for me. I grew up without my Mom – that was your agency's idea. Rudy grew up without me – again, your agency's idea. I grew up without love or support. All I knew was fear, anger and death. I will never forgive the justice system for what happened to me and my family."
She leaned down and kissed her mom on the forehead before walking down to the water again, leaving the group in silence. After a long moment, Johnny asked,
"So, all of Bo's dogs are from Harper?"
"No…" Mary said, nodding to Kyle.
"Kurt and I had housed Bo's backup dogs and litters for years. Our family farm is very big, so we had plenty of room to hide Bo and her pups. We worked very hard to keep ourselves out of Big Jim's sights."
Kurt nodded, "The night all of this happened, we had been caring for the last litter of pups from Suji and three other dogs. They were just about eight weeks old."
"Or so we thought," Tosh said, "We found out later that my dad had also taken pups from Mary's line and they were on one of his properties. We found those after he was jailed."
Kyle nodded, "The pups back there with Harper are from the origin line too. So, the only good thing that came from that night was that Harper's siblings and cousins weren't lost in that fire. Harper and her brothers are the eldest of her generation."
LJ gave a whistle, and the dogs came running to Lauren. The three youngest spun several circles before laying at Lauren's feet but Harper caught Bo's scent and headed down to the water, sitting next to her on the dune. They watched as she lowered her face into the crook of her neck, the brunette reaching up and stroking her head.
No one said anything, but they could all hear the sobs Bo tried to muffle with Harper's coat. Tosh sighed, turning back to the group,
"Bo had to watch as her champion dogs were burned alive. Those were the dogs that had seen her through the roughest terrain from the North Slope to Canada, back down through the interior of Alaska and out to the west coast until she traversed the south into Canada once more and then came up to Talkeetna."
"They were with her every minute of every day and every night," LJ explained.
Kyle's face glistened with tears as she spoke, "They were her family. They were her race team, her companions, her heaters, her hunters, and her protectors. They helped her to fight off wildlife, pulled her from frozen lakes, cliffsides and more."
Tosh nodded, "None of us can truly know the loss she felt that night. Just imagine running for your life as men with guns chased you across the tundra into town where you thought you would find a safe haven in a barn or at a police station, only to find yourself surrounded by an angry mob by a bonfire."
Kyle sighed, "Then imagine the most horrific nightmare appearing before your very eyes… watching eighteen of your family members being burned alive, knowing you were helpless to save them."
A sob escaped Sola's chest as she gripped Johnny's arm tightly. There wasn't a dry eye in the circle as they heard Bo's release, her arms wrapped around Harper's neck. The pups stood and trotted down the dune to Bo, crawling into her lap. Snow stood on her hind legs, licking Bo's tears away.
Mary lowered her eyes, taking out the napkin she had tucked into her sleeve at dinner. She blotted her eyes, taking a moment to gather her emotions before she gave a small smile,
"And that is why Harper is so special to Bo. Rudy does not know much of this story and like all of you before tonight, she has never seen her sisters' scars. I expect that you will all keep this secret. Rudy is too young to hear this tale as is Elise but both girls understand that these dogs - this line – is the oldest surviving blood in my family… that they are all that remains of my Denali culture."
She looked at Rudy through the window, then to the group,
"This is the truth of who we are… the truth of the consequences of the choice I made so long ago."
She straightened her back and lifted her shoulders,
"Despite all that was done, my daughter is a strong, intelligent, proud Athabascan Warrior Woman who is growing her own village… her own family… and I could not be prouder of who she has become."
They all turned to the sound of Snow's bark and smiled when they saw her tugging at the cloth on Bo's shoulder. The other pups joined in until Bo finally rolled over, wrestling with the group for several minutes before she lay on her back, covered by lumps of fur.
The group was quiet for some time before they watched Bo stand and lead her dogs back up towards the fire.
The youngest trotted proudly back over to Lauren as if they'd just finished first in a race while Harper waited for Bo to sit and then moved to the space between her Master and the fire, eyeing Skye suspiciously.
Snow barked and moved back to Bo, jumping into her lap on the chair. Bo smiled, shaking her head as she gripped the fur on either side of her nose, holding her gaze,
"You know, you're getting way too big to be a lap dog. This is not how a future champion behaves."
Snow whined, pushing her head into Bo's chest, "Okay, okay. You can be a champion tomorrow."
Snow spun around, laying upright across Bo's chest and abdomen, "Oh my. You are a baby tonight, aren't you?" Bo smiled, pulling her close and squeezing her tight. When Bo released her, the pup circled around once more before settling into Bo's lap, her paw on Harper's head.
Bo laughed, shaking her head and lifting the paw from the older dog, "I know, Harp. She's a handful."
Harper let out a yawn before lowering herself to the grass, rubbing the side of her head back and forth until she closed her eyes once more. Bo scratched between her ears and then looked to Tosh, Kurt and Kyle,
"I wouldn't have these guys if it weren't for the three of you protecting that kennel in those early years."
Kyle nodded, "And I hate to say it, but when Evony finally came to town and handed you the keys to the two barns on the clinic property as payment for the renovations…"
"What?" Lauren asked.
"Geezus, Kyle!" Bo scolded.
"Sorry. I forgot."
"She didn't pay you for the renovations to the clinic?" Lauren asked, her eyes moving to Stephen who just shrugged.
"Lauren, she gave me the deed to the land and the buildings that are now the Kennel. She thought it was useless land because the barns were falling down and the fields didn't pass a perk test."
Kyle laughed, "You don't need a perk test to let dogs roam free in a field."
Bo nodded, "Exactly and Evony didn't want to pay to renovate the barns since she assumed the clinic would be closed once the hospital was built."
"Okay, but still…"
"Still nothing, Lauren. That property has quadrupled in value. It's worth much more than what she would have paid me to renovate your little clinic and apartment."
Lauren looked at Tosh who nodded,
"She's right, Lauren. Evony got the bad end of that deal."
Shannie laughed, "Not to mention the whole jail thing."
Lauren sighed, "Fine. I guess I just hate to give her credit for doing anything good for us."
Bo chuckled, "I hate to admit it too, but the barns were in plain sight and Evony – like it or not – contracted me to do her bidding. She needed me alive, and Big Jim knew it was in his best interests not to cross Evony. He may have been rich and powerful, but she was more than twice that – not to mention all of the less than honorable people she had at her beckoned call to do her evil deeds."
"Ain't that the truth," Shannie mumbled.
"I wouldn't have my hotel if it weren't for her either," Kenzi said, pulling a lollipop from her mouth, as Lauren glared at her, "Sorry, Lo. I'm just sayin'…"
Mary looked around the fire at all of the people gathered there,
"I am just so filled with gratitude…"
She turned to the young hotel owner,
"To you, Kenzi, for the sisterhood you built with my Ysabeau…"
She turned to the Swift's, "…to you, Kyle and Kurt, for helping her with her dogs and supporting her when no one else would give her a chance…"
"…To Tosh for giving her deals and additional customers that would allow her to feed and clothe herself and her dogs, allow her to maintain her arsenal of gear and tools to survive and do business with others… and to know she had a friend in town…"
She turned to Tamsin, "To a very special agent who found my lost case and befriended Bo - and yes, I'm thankful even though you used deception to get close to her."
"Sneaky Fed," Shannie smiled before Mary continued,
"I'm grateful to those of the Morton family who saw the truth and trusted that Ysabeau was not the monster some of their blood declared her to be."
She smiled at each of them before turning to her daughter-in-law,
"And finally, to the woman who allowed my daughter to feel… to trust… to love again. The woman who brought the real Ysabeau back to the world and bridged the gap between my daughter and I so that we might be here today."
She turned to her, "Lauren, this family exists today because of you and the people you brought into our lives. Beautiful people like Stephen and Betsy, Shannon and Carolyn, Kelly, Kate, Anna, Penelope, Patrick and now Jake as well."
She smiled, raising her glass to the group, "To Doctor Lauren Dennis. Bridge builder, healer, friend, daughter, sister, wife, mother and a truly compassionate, righteous woman of the world."
She turned back to Lauren, "I am grateful to you for the love you have given my daughters. I am grateful to all of you for the role you have played in my life and the lives of my daughters whether recently or over the years when we were apart from one another."
She looked to her Island friends, "You have been Rudy's protectors, pseudo-parents, recreational advisors, teachers, adopted siblings, coaches and true friends. Thank you for getting us to where we are today. Thank you for your understanding and support in our move to Alaska. I hope that you know that you will be Ohana no matter the distance."
She surveyed the group, smiling at each and every person gathered, then raised her glass and made her final toast,
"To family – blood or not – may we all cherish one another from now until the day we move to the great beyond."
"Here! Here!" Johnny said, raising his glass and racing around the circle to clang it against every glass before taking a sip.
Mary smiled, "I love you all, so very much. Let's work from now on to find common ground and understanding together."
"Ohana," Bo said, raising her mug of tea.
"Ohana," Johnny said with the rest, offering Bo a wink and a smile.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
The conversation waned before Mary and Bo began to prep the fire for desserts and S'mores. The groups broke off into smaller conversations, most still very curious about the events of the past.
Skye and Sanjo did not return to the circle. Not that it was unexpected, but Johnny, Sola and Camie had hoped that they had come back to apologize and join the group for the rest of the night, but they had left the tree just after Mary's toast without saying a word. The trio watched as Bo and Mary worked together seamlessly without talking and they began to understand the bond between the mother and daughter.
Just as Sola was about to speak, Kyle approached them with Tosh, the pair apologizing for any hard feelings.
"So, Bo was pretty much an outcast most of her life? Why did she stay in Talkeetna then?" Sola asked.
Kyle shrugged, "Well, Point Siku, then Talkeetna. But to answer your question, you can only run for so long with all that she was carrying. Maybe if she had kept going, those dogs would still be alive today…"
"Well, not really," Tosh said, "They would have died of old age by now, but I would ask you to think of it this way. Imagine carrying thirty-five children and all of your earthly possessions with you everywhere you went. Then, think about every time you arrived somewhere new, you would have nowhere to secure those possessions or give shelter to those children."
Camie nodded, "Right. That's… geez, I can't believe she lived that way for as long as she did."
Kyle shrugged, "She was raised well with unmatched survival skills thanks to Mary. She knew how to find caves and thickets to build shelters where she could stay for a few days at at time if she was tired."
Sola eyed Bo who was now smiling as she talked to Lauren, Kate and Anna. She sighed,
"That's one brave woman. I'm impressed now that I know more about her."
"What made you believe Bo wasn't who your Father said she was?" Johnny asked Tosh.
"Not everyone believed the tales Big Jim told about Bo and not everyone bent a knee to the man since some were not worth his time," he said, smiling at Kyle.
"He means people like me," Kyle explained, "My brother Kurt and I were lucky enough to live under his radar because we weren't considered 'important people' in town. We were transplants just like Bo. Our parents bought that farm and basically turned their back on our culture. We're pretty Americanized so… well, we're not part of any big council or anything and our name means nothing because it's not Morton."
"I'm still surprised your Dad pulled off the whole bonfire thing without the Sheriff catching on."
Tosh nodded, "He had my sons and their grandfather's men set it up not far from the Sheriff's office because the fire department was there. It was for a town celebration, and he had permits to build the fire."
He shook his head at the memory, "My Father was bold and trying to send a message to Dyson and Hale that it was his town. It was the night he planned to reign supreme."
He sighed, "The plan was kept from me, but I'd heard whispers, so I tried to get my sons to stand down. When they resisted – well, as I said, their grandfather demanded they participate, or their wives would face the same fate as Bo."
Sola frowned, "But he didn't kill Bo that night."
Tosh shook his head, "He let her live, but he killed her soul. After that night, she… she changed."
Kyle nodded her agreement, "She was angry at the world… angry at everyone in the town… angry that she had a one-dog sled until the pups grew up…"
"But I thought there were other adult dogs at the farm?" Johhny said, confused.
Kyle nodded, "There were, but remember that they were all siblings, so their markings were similar. Bo couldn't afford to use those dogs. Jim or his men would have seen them and known, so she bought a few work dogs so that she could at least fulfill her contracts. It was one of the few years she didn't enter any races."
"It was a rough couple of years," Tosh added.
"Hey guys!" Michael said, walking up to the group, "Heard I missed quite the story hour."
Tosh hugged his grandson, introducing him to the Islanders. Michael smiled at Tosh,
"Pops, there's a mean game of Candyland going on in there. I think Jake is gonna cry. Rudy and Elise are cleaning up."
Tosh grinned, "Are we even surprised about that?"
"Not at all," Michael said, "Well, this place is gorgeous. I wish I'd been able to get out of classes sooner."
"No worries. You'll be able to come back and visit in the summer if you want to."
"So, Rudy and Mary are moving back?" he asked, his smile fading.
Tosh shook his head, "That hasn't been decided, but I do think they'll be spending more time here if Rudy wants to do more surfing."
"So, I heard she's a champ with a surfboard too, huh?"
"She's amazing," Tosh smiled.
"That's our Rudy. The kids got more talent than I've got toes," Michael smiled before turning to the Islanders again, "You guys surf too?"
"Absolutely, Dude. You up for going for a run tomorrow?"
Michael grinned, "Definitely. Lauren taught us when we were at her beach house. I loved it. Elise said the waves are definitely stronger here."
"The current is stronger, so the wave shapes are different, but there's spots where it's much calmer. We'll go easy on you," Camie said.
"Great. I'd hate to die my first day here."
"Let's not die any day you're here," Sola decided, "It would be so much paperwork."
They all laughed before Tosh led the three over to where his sister, LJ, Molly and Mary were chatting.
Sola placed a hand on Mary's shoulder, the woman wrapping her arm around her waist,
"Sorry for the heavy discussion."
Sola shook her head, "I think we all needed to hear it," she turned to Bo, "I can't imagine how difficult that was to hear… to relive. Thank you for setting us straight on the role the agency played in the tragedies of your life. If we'd have known…"
Bo sighed, "Thank you for taking care of my Mom and Rudy all of these years. Honestly, it's hard not to be jealous of something when you know it could have been yours."
"It should have been yours," Sola emphasized, "You were robbed of the life you were meant to live. I know that the wife… Elise, your friends… well, you probably wouldn't have them if things had happened differently, but I wish you hadn't had to lose a stable childhood to get where you are today. It just… well, it just doesn't sit well."
"Tell me about it," Bo said with a smile.
The group laughed, easing the tension that had built through the day and night.
Camie held up a finger, "I hate to bring up the past again, but… well, the lake and LJ? What was that all about?"
LJ laughed, "It was about a dumb, lovesick puppy."
Tosh rustled his grandson's hair and explained to the islanders,
"Bo was reluctant to have any personal relationships out of fear of what Jim would do to them. LJ was relentless in his desire for a friendship with Bo, so he snuck out on his sled and followed her one night to prove that he could hang with her."
LJ shook his head, "I was young, I had a crush and I was an idiot. I'd never crossed a river let alone a lake before. The ice gave way and in I went along with my sled and half of my team."
Bo sighed, "I had known he was following me which is why I crossed the lake. I knew he's never done a crossing, so I thought he would stop and turn back. Unfortunately, he didn't. When I heard the ice crack, my stomach dropped."
Tosh placed a hand on his sister's shoulder,
"A sled can't do a 180-degree turn. Bo had to finish the crossing and reenter the lake from the side so she could get a rope on the last dog."
Bo nodded, "Then I sent my team towards the opposite side of the lake and went for LJ myself. My team pulled us all to safety… well, to a very cold lakeside… all of us frozen solid."
"How on earth did you live?"
Mary smiled, "By following her training."
Tosh nodded, "Of course, LJ almost died since he had stopped breathing, but Bo knew exactly what to do and…"
"Long story short, here I am!" LJ said, raising his hands with a laugh, "Score!"
"Well, I'm glad you're alive."
"Yea. Me too," LJ said, "I'm just glad I had a crush on the right girl. If it had been a girl at school, she wouldn't have had the strength to pull me out, let alone know what to do once she did."
Tosh shook his head, "Of course, you wouldn't have been out on your sled at night either."
"Truth!" LJ said.
Mary suddenly put her hands to her mouth, "Is that Faith?"
LJ nodded, "Yup. She's being polite. She didn't want to interrupt you or Bo."
Mary smiled, "If you'll excuse us. There's a dear friend who made the trip and…"
"Go, Mare. We're not going anywhere," Sola smiled.
Tosh smiled and closed the space where Bo and Mary had been, turning to Skye,
"Look… after all you've heard tonight, I hope you can understand once and for all why we're all very protective of Bo as well as her relationship with Mary and Rudy. You've had a chance to know them for a decade while my sister was getting the shit kicked out of her – literally. It's her turn, don't you think?"
Skye sighed, "Rudy was a daily part of our lives for nine years and…"
"And I believe you feel that gives you some sort of claim to my niece," Tosh finished for Skye.
"You don't understand. She's a sister to us… almost like a daughter. I'm not an agent. I helped raise her!"
"Skye!" Johnny scolded, the woman immediately crossing her arms over her chest as Tosh replied, his voice firm, yet soft in tone,
"I am aware of that fact but as we've all been watching and listening to the six of you… well, minus that Olivia…"
"You don't need to worry about her…" Skye began, but Tosh shook his head,
"I'm not worried about any of you!" he said, making a slashing motion with his hand as the timber of his voice rose. He glanced over his shoulder to see Bo's head down and his heart sunk. She was listening. He reined in his emotions and continued,
"Look… I am know from personal experience of the bond between a parent and child. I am also aware of how it feels to watch a child walk away from you in favor of another family member…" Tosh clenched his fists until Johnny placed a hand on his shoulder,
"Mark."
Tosh nodded, "And his brother… and… my half-brothers – Bo's brothers… all three dead now."
He looked up, "There's still a lot about my story that you don't know but I'm sure you can read it for yourself in my FBI file."
Johnny patted his shoulder once more,
"Understood."
"Really?" Tosh asked, "Because I don't think you really do. I don't think you truly comprehend what it's like for us to have Mary and Rudy with us. They're the light after decades of darkness."
Camie, head down, spoke for the first time, "He had your wife, maybe your mother, poisoned. I think we understand more than you think."
Tosh's eyes welled with tears. He looked up to the night sky, begging the cool air to dry them. He was exhausted and knew that tomorrow would be another nausea-filled morning. But still, he needed to clear this up for his sister… or at least try.
He took a deep breath before he turned back to Skye,
"The bottom line, we aren't worried about you because we know who has the legal standing here. But we are worried about Rudy's emotions and how you choose to approach this. Our family has been through enough pain. The last thing we need is to enter into some sick tug of war over a child. Rudy's feelings matter to us, dammit!" Tosh said just as a hand pushed softly up his back to his shoulder,
"And I would hope you all feel the same." Bo said, her voice even and sincere.
She looked up at her brother, "You kind of look like shit, T."
"Honestly, I'm feeling a bit nauseous, Sis."
Bo nodded, "I got this. Why not go sit down and relax. All this emotional stress is not good for you."
"I'm good, Bo."
"No. You're really not," said Lynnie as she hooked her arm through Tosh's elbow, "Bo was being polite. You know I don't have that in me when it comes to my patients."
Tosh had to chuckle, "Yes, Nurse Kratchett."
"When you're well enough, I will slap you for that comment."
"Your lips to God's ears that I'm well enough soon. I think my stomach and liver are literally disintegrating from all the drugs."
Lynnie smiled, "I think you just haven't eaten for hours and there's a ton of bile and hydrochloric acid interacting with your stomach lining because it has nowhere else to go."
"Ah, I love it when you talk dirty to me," Tosh laughed, learning a slap on the arm from his favorite Nurse, "Hey! I thought you were going to slap me after I felt better."
"You feel good enough for an arm. I'm reserving the cheek slap for next month."
She looked at the group, "If you'll excuse us, this little boy needs to get some food into him before he has to take his medicine."
Tosh looked at Johnny, "You see, if you really cared, you would save me from her."
"Sorry, Brother," Johnny said, "She scares me."
"Wow. No solidarity among men here. None at all," Tosh said as Lynnie dragged him off towards the house.
Bo took a deep breath, turning back to Skye,
"I think it's safe to say that you know I don't trust you… not one bit. In my world, that's something you have to earn. I've got more reasons to mistrust people than… well, anyone here at least. I still have moments when I don't trust my own Mother, so you are way… way down the list."
Skye went to speak, but Bo held up her hand,
"That said, our lives on this earth are short in the grand scheme of things and we must all pursue the lives we are born to lead… lives that will bring us joy, happiness, a sense of purpose and the ability to contribute to our community and our land."
Skye again opened her mouth to speak, but Bo again held up a hand,
"If you don't mind…" she shook her head, "We are all searching for the path we are meant to follow in life. Rudy has just reached the first fork of many in the road of her life and has some choices to make. As my brother said, the last thing she needs is for the adults in her life to play some strange version of tug-of-war over her."
She pointed past Kate, waving Anna over who smiled as Bo offered a formal introduction,
"This is Doctor Anna Ricci. She has been one of Rudy's counselors since her arrival in Alaska. The other is the woman you see talking to Mom right now. That is Doctor Faith Grey."
Molly chuckled, the first sound she had uttered since the group had gathered,
"Sorry, it's just that… well, Faith is the most senior member of our little family but she's still quite the curious one… and a bit of a daredevil. She wasn't supposed to come in until tomorrow, but when she heard that Kurt had a test pilot flying in on a new plane that he was considering for the fleet, she just had to hop into the co-pilot's seat."
"Maybe we'll get her out on a board tomorrow," Camie smiled.
Bo's eyes flashed a word of caution, "You treat that woman like she was a newly born baby chick, Camie. Flying a plane with a test pilot in the captain's seat is one thing. Surfing these waves… well, be careful with her."
Camie nodded, "Long board it is," he smiled, "So, Rudy really likes talking to…" he glanced at Molly, then back to Bo, "… an… older woman?"
Bo gave a sideways glance to Molly to see her jaw clenched, so she explained,
"I believe you have similar customs here but in case you've been a Fed for too long, I'll explain," Bo began, "In Alaska, our various cultures – Inuit, Athabascan, etc., - are led by Elders. That's not just a term for a leader like President or Senator or Minister Prime."
Molly interjected, "It's both a title and their position in the ancestral line. Unlike those in the lower forty-eight, our children still respect the wisdom and experience that comes with age."
Bo nodded, "Both Anna and Faith are highly qualified and highly respected physicians in the field of psychiatric medicine. They each offer something different in the atmosphere they set when working with the girls."
"They work with Elise too?" Sola asked.
Bo nodded, "Did Lauren tell you much about Elise's background?"
Sola sighed and nodded, "Tragic."
"And as she gets older, her memories and the reality of what happened with her parents in that house may become more vivid. She has yet to enter a true phase of survivor's guilt," Anna explained.
Bo nodded, "Both young girls have established very special relationships with the two of them."
"They are counseled together?" Sola inquired.
Anna shrugged, "That depends on when things come up. They are actually very respectful of each other. If they want alone time with one of us, they have an agreement that they'll respect the privacy of the other until they're ready to share."
Bo chuckled, "That's not to say they don't get curious about what the other had to say, but then Anna and Faith remind them of the laws they must follow as physicians, and the girls accept that they may not know everything about each other all the time."
Molly smiled, "They're young, so it took a while for them to realize that being best friends doesn't mean you can't have some things to call your own."
Bo smiled, "The bottom line, the adults defer to Anna and when the girls request time with them and we suggest talks with them often when the tough topics come up that we don't really know how to handle."
"Such as…" Skye asked.
"That would be those things that the law doesn't allow me to discuss," Anna replied, her professional tone on full display.
"Of course," Skye said, "I just never thought that Rudy was keeping anything from us. I mean, she told us everything."
"Or so we imagined," Sola said, "But after learning so much more about her life tonight… and her love of Alaska… well, I guess – like us – there's always thoughts we don't share."
Bo nodded, "Thank you for recognizing that. You know, this decision to stay or go is a big one for anyone. At the tender age of almost eleven, it's even more difficult. We would appreciate you being careful not to make things more complicated for Rudy."
"Complicated? You mean, you want to be sure that the Alaskan doctors are reminding her about how happy she is in Alaska?" Skye snapped, but Sanjo immediately scolded his wife,
"Skye, Rudy is not our child. If Mary wants her in Alaska, that's where she will be, and we have to accept it. This is the job. We work with our clients and then we must let them go when the time comes."
"Clients? She's not a client!"
Johnny spoke in a firm tone, "Yes, Skye. She is, as is Mary. They always have been. Over time, it's easy to forget that in our line of work."
Bo shook her head, "You still don't get it, Skye. We don't want Rudy in Alaska. We also don't want her in Hawai'i. What we want… what I want, is for my sister to be happy – wherever that is. The truth is, her living situation may end up being some hybrid version of life in both places."
"How?" Skye asked.
Bo nodded, "I'm a pilot. Lauren and Stephen own the hospital where all of these people work. We sometimes have high-profile patients who want to come to us for surgeries if we cannot travel to them."
She looked at Anna, then back to Skye, as she felt her wife's hand link through her arm. Mary and Faith followed just behind her.
"Kurt is working with Lauren's hospital administration to build a fleet of planes that will allow us to transport patients for surgeries when their condition allows."
Bo smiled as Lauren finished, "That fleet will also allow us to ferry our staff and board members for meetings to and from Alaska from anywhere in the United States – including this island."
"That means, if you have time off, you can come visit Rudy in Alaska," Mary said as she stepped in next to Lauren, leading Faith to stand beside her,
"And she can come here with me, Bo, Kurt and Kelly or Lauren whenever she wants to visit."
"Or surf if she decides to get back into competition," Bo suggested.
"Really?" Skye asked.
Bo smiled, "I'm not trying to take Rudy away from you, Skye. But she is my sister, and I will do whatever it takes to be sure she is set on the path she chooses to walk in this life."
Mary added, "Remember all that you have heard about my Ysabeau's life here tonight, Child. Her choices were taken from her at Rudy's age. Nothing will stand in the way of her quest for Rudy to live her life the way she chooses… nothing."
Bo nodded, "I would remind you that every single one of my father's followers are either dead or in jail."
Tamsin raised her wine glass as she and Kyle stepped into the circle, "And the ones that Bo killed were ruled self-defense."
Bo scowled, gripping Lauren's hand so firmly, the blonde pried it free and placed it softly back on her wife's back,
"It didn't have to be that way," Bo said, "And believe me, there were times where it took every fiber of my being not to toss my knife right into Jim's beating heart."
"In fact, she had the opportunity and missed by inches… on purpose," Tamsin said, "He held her at gun point and thanks to that knife, she's alive today. Thanks to her aim, he was taken to trial, found guilty and put behind bars."
"You missed?" Skye asked, "On purpose? After all he did to you?"
Bo looked at Mary, "I am an eagle, not a raven."
Bo kissed her mother's cheek, "If you'll excuse me, I need to tend to the dogs and get them settled for the night."
Kyle gave a wave to Bo, "I'll help you out. I've already mixed the food."
"Great," Bo said, kissing her wife on the cheek before watching the dogs respond to Kyle's whistle.
They stood and sprinted across the yard, down the dunes and immediately into the water, dashing in and out of the current playfully.
Cassie came to stand by Mary, shaking her head, "I guess I'd better get ready for vomiting pups again."
Mary laughed, "You'd think they would have learned their lesson."
"Maybe they're not actually drinking the sea water this time," Camie suggested, "A girl can dream, right?"
"You can lead a dog to water, but if you do, don't expect them not to drink it," LJ laughed from the back of the group who had all come together now, "That's a Musher's take on the whole lead horses to water thing."
Johnny turned to Mary, "I want to apologize for anything we might have said that offended you, your friends or your family. You know how protective we are of Rudy and… well, we've missed her and had hoped you were returning for good. It's difficult."
Mary sighed, "I must say… I'm a bit disappointed in your comments and the way you spoke to Ysabeau… you especially, Skye. So hear me now."
She moved closer to her island family,
"Look at me as I tell you… if you try to come between Bo and Rudy, you will lose that child for good. They are blood kin and true sisters. Their bond is strong as it should be and should have been all along."
"As is ours, Mary," Skye replied, "We've known Rudy longer…"
Mary was angry now, waving her hand,
"Now I'm going to stop you right there. You say that your bond with Rudy is strong – that you're protective of her? Have you ever had to save that child in a life and death situation?"
"Well, no but… I mean, we've had some close calls like the jelly fish and that one bad crash. She was okay, but…"
"Those men that your husband and his brothers were protecting me from. They came to The Homestead. They fired on us with guns. It was this group standing before you that kept Rudy safe on that land."
The tears fell freely as she remembered her daughter staring down the barrel of a gun, "It was Ysabeau who was by my side as we took on the attackers because the agents… your agents… had left a gap in the protective perimeter."
Tamsin nodded, "They're right, guys. We screwed up. We came in late. Those bullet holes on Bo's body were from that night. The first ones she took saved Lauren and Mary who were shielding Rudy."
Mary sighed, "I don't want to assign blame – that's not my point but when I left, you told me you were going to find out where the next attacks were going to take place. I'm told your field office gave you time off… and you took it. If you're so protective of Rudy, why didn't you take the first flight to Alaska to help us if you knew they were going there?"
"We're not in charge, Mary. We do what the bosses tell us to do."
Tamsin shook her head, "I'm going to have to call bullshit on that one, Johnny. You guys went down to the Pipe to watch a surf competition and then took a vacation on the Big Island. Your bosses didn't tell you to do any of that and I did put in a request for extra support that went out to all of the witness protection agents on this island who had time off. You chose to ignore the call."
They were silent, so Mary continued,
"So, that said, I know you've missed her, and I know that has been difficult, but exactly how difficult do you think it has been for Bo to find out that she had a sister she was never given the opportunity to know? Rudy is her own flesh and blood, Johnny. You all need to consider how you might have felt if you had been separated from your kin at birth, never to have known them."
Sola nodded, "Rudy always wanted a sibling."
Mary nodded, "And for a time, she used all of you to fill that void, but now she knows that she has two siblings… blood siblings, in Bo and Tosh."
LJ knew that his grandfather took his role as big brother very seriously where Bo and Rudy were concerned, so he spoke on his behalf,
"Bo and my grandfather may be a good bit older than her, but they have bonded as siblings, nonetheless. She doesn't even use their names."
Sanjo grinned, "I noticed that. She's so proud to be able to call them Sister and Brother," he turned to Mary, "And you're right. We took time off rather than come to your aide. We have no right to make demands or treat Bo as some kind of enemy."
"Well then, see that you don't," Tamsin said, "I know you've read a lot of reports about Bo, but I hope you remember the suspicions about her crimes have all been proven rumors started by the real criminal – her father, Big Jim Dennis."
"Perhaps those reports have taken root in our minds…" Camie said, "We shouldn't have shared the information with our wives to begin with. They're not the agents."
Tamsin threw her arms out to the side,
"You know, I wasn't going to mention that since you had permission from your field officer to do so, but I agree that they should not have been told what was purely conjecture in the reports."
Johnny turned to Mary, "We will make it up to her, Mare. We promise. Nothing but support from here on out."
Mary looked at Skye, "And you?"
She held up her hands, "She'll have my support."
"If I may," Johnny began, "Rudy told us today that she had not yet come up with a name for you, Lauren. She said that she called you Sister for a time, but it's confusing since that's her name for Bo."
"Yes, I'm aware," Lauren smiled, "Do you have a suggestion?"
He looked at the others before he turned back to Lauren, "Well, if I may be so bold…" he hesitated, "… and since Mary is trying to keep Rudy educated in her island culture…"
"Go on," Lauren encouraged.
"Well, the Hawai'ian name for sister is a bit of a mouthful…"
Sola smiled, "You would be kaiku'ana to Rudy and she would be kaikaina to you."
Sanjo smiled, "Or you could use my Samoan roots and call her tuafafine!"
Skye shook her head, "Also a mouthful."
Camie smiled, "Sister in Samoan can also be Uso since it's a female sister to a female sister."
Johnny grinned, "Or you could go from my Maori roots and call her taokete which is actually sister-in-law of a female sister rather than the blood sister words they're using."
Lauren smiled and nodded, "Wow. They're all… very good suggestions. Why don't you run those by Rudy and let her decide since she's the one that has to say it?"
"Oh," Skye said, "Of course. We just thought you might want some say in it."
Lauren shrugged, shaking her head, "It's Rudy's culture, not mine, so the choice should be hers and hers alone."
"Oh. You're not Alaskan?" Skye asked.
Tamsin laughed, "That pale white skin? Nah. You're looking at a genuine Irish-Norwegian chick. Very white. Very non-native anything. Born and raised in Boston."
"Irish… Norwegian? Isn't that an unusual combination?" she asked.
Lauren looked confused as she stared at Tamsin, "Norwegian?"
Tamsin's forced an uncomfortable smile as she turned to Kate whose face held a mischievous grin before she spoke,
"We've decided you must be related to Tamsin given your blonde hair and love of all things Bo, bakery and… boobs?"
Lauren blushed, shaking her head, but Sanjo smiled, offering a chuckle,
"No need to be embarrassed, Doc. I love me some boobs, too."
Lauren blushed even more as Skye slapped her husband on the back of the head, but Johnny took a casual sip of his wine as he said,
"I love boobs too," to which Sola palmed her face.
"Me too," Camie added, "Though with the callouses and blisters on my hand, I don't think any woman would want these hands anywhere near them right now."
"Duh. Have you forgotten God gave you a mouth?" Kelly said, waving her wine glass as she spoke.
Mary shook her head, "And on that note, I think I'll go find the girls while you all turn this conversation back to something a little more PG rated."
They all laughed as Molly stood and joined her friend, "I'll walk up with you and maybe take a trip out to the orchard to find my husband."
Lauren still felt a need to explain her heritage, "Well, according to my family history, I'm born of Irish descendants who traveled back to North America via England."
Shannie grinned, "And since she's full-on Yank with a rebelliousness to her, she's probably born of one of the people who dumped the tea into Boston Harbor. That's my two cents anyway."
Lauren cocked her head and offered a glare of disapproval to which Shannie replied,
"Hey! We're on friends and family time here, so no boss looks."
Sola smiled, surprised, "Wait – she's your boss?"
Shannie laughed, "That's an understatement. She's my big sister, my mentor, my friend, my surgical idol, my teacher, my commander-in-chief and yes… my boss… and the owner of the hospital where I work."
Lauren shook her head, "But Shannie also sits on the board of that hospital and has seen me through some of the most difficult surgeries – not to mention personal hardships – in my life. Carolyn is my right hand. I wouldn't make it through a day without her," Lauren said with a nod to the two women.
Kate and Anna raised their hands, "Ditto for us. We don't tell our nurses that enough."
"Wow. I wish I had a boss like you," Skye said as the others nodded.
Sanjo held up a finger, "My boss has one rule…"
They all laughed as they spoke in unison,
"Follow the rules, Sanjo."
Tamsin nodded, "Oh? You guys never got the 'practice detachment' speech?"
Johnny chuckled, "No, because that's one of the rules."
Kenzi leaned over Tamsin's shoulder,
"Well, from all of the fussing around about who's more important to Rudy, I'm getting some serious we're-not-rule-followers vibe from this crowd… and all of the flowers and color. Who taught these people how to dress?"
Tamsin sighed as the group headed towards the big fire for S'mores,
"I don't know, Kenz. I just don't know. But I do know that I'm going to have a serious chat with this crew before I leave this island."
CHAPTER END*
