A Love to Treasure (Sunriver Dreams Book 1) (19 page)

She took a drink from a water bottle and stared off toward the river. Her voice lowered. “I watched my dad die. Then a week later I came home from school and found my mom dead in the bathroom—suicide.” She dried her eyes on a napkin. “In a matter of a week I lost my entire family. All except Grams.” She angled her head down.

He swallowed hard. Hurt for the child she was, and pain for the woman she’d become, strangled him. He gulped down a half-bottle of water then took her hand and cradled it between his. There were no words.

She squared her shoulders and slipped her hand from his. “You ready to go?”

“Sure.” He stood and offered her a hand up. They stood so close he could feel her warm breath on his neck. He folded his arms around her and pulled her close. “Thank you for trusting me.” Mark now understood the look of sadness he’d seen shadowing her eyes from time to time.

A whisper of doubt warned Nicole. She’d better tread carefully. Her heart was quickly becoming entangled with Mark’s. Another heartbreak would be tough to handle, but it felt so good to be in his arms—safe, at least for now. But he’d return to his big city job at the end of the summer, get caught up in some case and forget all about her. She watched television. Detectives were married to their jobs. Her ex-boyfriend accused her of the same thing—ironic, but if she had a man like Mark in her life that would change.

What was she thinking? She stepped out of his embrace. It could never work between them. “We should go before Spencer calls out a search party.” Sadie leaned against her leg and nuzzled her nose against Nicole’s hand. She squatted and hugged the sweet animal. Tension melted from her.

Mark gathered their trash and she grabbed the cooler before stepping carefully back into the canoe. Sadie followed and then he pushed off and set their course. “You’re quiet.”

“I’m thinking about the future.”

“That’s kind of vague?”

“Exactly! It’s a mystery, and I don’t like that.”

Mark chuckled. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

“I’ve heard that before. What is it?”

“Jeremiah 29:11.”

She pursed her lips. “I wish He’d tell me what those plans are because I feel lost.”

“If you ask Him to, He will. It might not be today or even soon, but He will guide you.”

“That sure would be nice. I hate not knowing my future.”

“Don’t we all. But for me it’s enough that He knows. I try to pay attention, so I don’t miss out on His plan for me.”

“Too bad He doesn’t send us emails with instructions.” She shook her head and did a double take toward the bank. “Look. There’s a deer.” She held up her phone and rose up on her knees. The canoe rocked from side to side. “Okay, that was a bad idea. Sorry.” She carefully scooted back to her perch and pressed her lips tightly together.

Mark chortled. “Another stunt like that, and we’ll both be swimming.”

“At least we’re dressed for it.” She shot him a cheeky grin then suddenly frowned as a worried look filled her eyes.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, but—there are fish in the water right?”

“Of course.”

“I only like fish on my plate, not around my toes.”

Mark tossed his head back and belly laughed.

Nicole smacked a paddle through the water, drenching his torso.

“Lady, this means war.” He slapped the paddle in the river and sent water flying, drenching her head to foot.

Sadie barked at them.

“That’s cold!” She pulled a towel from her bag and wiped her face. “Not nice, Mister.”

“You started it.”

“You’re right. Sorry.”

“I’m not. The look on your face when I retaliated was priceless.” A cluster of people were shouting at them from the riverbank and waving their arms. In the midst of their water fight, they’d drifted to the other side of the river. He looked forward and gasped. “Nicole, don’t panic, but we need to turn the canoe around and head across the river before things get a little choppy. I need you to face forward carefully and help me get this to shore.”

Nicole slid around on the canoe’s bench seat as gracefully as possible without tipping them over. The calm river came to an abrupt change ahead. Her heart raced. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, because I don’t have a clue.”

Mark shouted orders, and she followed. Within seconds they had the canoe heading in the correct direction. She dug in deep and paddled against the current. Spencer stood on the bank at their pullout spot. He stepped onto a rock and reached toward them.

Nicole paddled with all her strength until Spencer had grabbed the canoe and pulled it onto the bank. She took his hand and jumped from the canoe, wincing when she landed on the foot with the injured toe. She perched on a large boulder and watched the men remove the canoe from the river and carry it to Spencer’s long-bed pickup.

Mark and Spencer razzed each other all the way. Nicole grinned and leaned on her elbows. She closed her eyes, listening to the children’s playful screams, reminding her of the water fight a short time ago.

“You ready?”

Nicole jumped. “Mark, you startled me.”

He chuckled and scooted beside her. “Spencer needs to get going. He’ll drop us at my car.”

“Okay.”

He reached his arms toward her. “Come on. I’ll help you so you don’t aggravate your toe.”

She leaned toward him and allowed his strength to guide her safely off the boulder. Mark wrapped his warm hand around hers. Her fingers tingled for the second time that day. She caught her breath, and her gaze darted to his face.

He raised a brow. “Everything okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good. You think we could get together again sometime? Seems to me I still owe you a night on the town.”

She nodded. “Sure, any time. My schedule is open.” Now why had she said that? It was only prolonging the inevitable since they had no future together, but one look at the grin on his face warmed her from the inside out. What was one more date?

Chapter Seventeen

Mark stood beside Spencer’s desk at the PD. He disconnected the call from Sarah and stuffed his cell phone into his pocket. His mind told him not to panic, but his gut said he needed to check on Connor.

“Everything okay?” Spencer glanced his way and popped a chip into his mouth. “What’s the problem now?”

“Connor didn’t check in with Sarah like he was supposed to, and he’s not answering the house phone, or his cell phone. She’s tried texting him, but got no response.”

Concern etched Spencer’s eyes. “You think he’s in trouble?”

“I don’t know, but I should head over to his place to be safe. He has a gift for finding mischief.”

Spencer shook his head. “Any chance you could ask Nicole to check in on him? I could use you here. This case is driving me nuts. I feel like we’re missing something.”

“I’d rather deal with Connor myself. I’ll be back in less than twenty minutes.”

“What if he’s not there?”

“One problem at a time, Spencer.” He grabbed his keys and headed to his car. Five minutes later he pulled up to Sarah’s house, killed the engine and approached the house. Everything from the outside looked okay. He knocked then listened for noise inside and heard nothing.

His unease grew. Sarah said Connor was supposed to be hanging out at home today. Where was he? He walked toward the back of the house and peered in through the slider—no one to be seen.
Now what?

He turned and slowly scanned the area. The tree limbs were up too high for him to reach, so Connor wouldn’t be up a tree, and there wasn’t any brush nearby to hide in since Sarah and her neighbors kept the landscape clear.

He rubbed his chin. If I were a twelve-year-old boy, where would I go?

His cell buzzed. “Hey, Spencer.”

“He there?”

“If he is, he’s not answering.”

“Did you try opening the door?”

“Uh, no.” He pulled on the slider and sure enough, it opened. “Thanks. I’m going inside.”

“I’ll stay on the line.”

He pulled the phone away from his face. “Connor!” He moved from the kitchen into the hall that led to the bedrooms—still no one. “I’m heading upstairs to the loft,” he said into the phone. He climbed the steep spiral stairs. At the top he stopped. Connor laid sprawled on the floor. His head rested against a beanbag and a book lay across his chest. “Found him. I’m going to hang up.”

“Glad he’s okay. Hurry back.”

“Yep.” He sent Sarah a text assuring her all was well with Connor, then nudged the toe of his shoe against the boy’s leg.

Connor jerked, and his eyes flew open. “Mark? What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering your phone so Sarah asked me to check on you.”

“She’s such a worrywart—even worse than my mom.” He pushed up then plopped onto the beanbag with a yawn. “What time is it?”

“A little past one o’clock.”

“Oh wow, I slept a long time. I didn’t even eat lunch.” He smacked his arm across his midsection.

Mark chuckled. Clearly the kid was fine if he was concerned about his stomach. “Okay then, I’m out of here. Keep your cell nearby next time you’re up here.”

“It’s in my pocket.” He pulled it out and looked at the screen. “Dead. I guess I forgot to charge it.”

Mark ruffled his hair. “I’ll see you.” He strode from the house and paused at the slider. “Hey, Connor!”

“Yeah?”

“Lock up.”

“Okay.”

“Now.” He waited until the boy trotted down the stairs.

“Mark?”

“Hmm?”

“Why’d you come looking for me? I know Sarah called, but you didn’t have to.”

“You’re my friend, Connor, and friends look out for each other. If you were in trouble, I wanted to be here for you.”

The boy’s eyes clouded, and he cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Clearly Connor wasn’t accustomed to being looked out for. He felt bad for the boy. “You want to shoot hoops tonight?”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I can pick you up at six.”

“No need. Sarah and Nicole are playing tennis in the courts nearby.”

A smiled tugged at his lips. “Perfect. See you then.” He slid the glass door open and left. Tonight should prove to be fun. Plus, he’d get to see Nicole again.