Falling Like Snowflakes (10 page)

Beau scraped up the last bite of mashed potatoes and leaned back in his chair, hand on stomach. “That was delicious, Kate.”

“You did great,” Paige said. “The turkey is perfect.”

“I couldn't have done it without you.” She squeezed her eyes in a wince. “Sorry about the stuffing . . . and the gravy.”

“Everything was great,” Beau said. Yeah, the stuffing had been dry and the gravy a little lumpy, but all in all, not bad.

Kate looked over at her boy. “Eat your veggies, Jack.”

He pushed his green beans around his plate, his nose wrinkled.

“Just five of them, then you can have pumpkin pie.”

“You don't want to miss Paige's pie, young man,” Aunt Trudy said. “And those green beans will put some muscles on your bones. Just look at these boys. Made them eat their veggies every night.”

“I used to feed mine to Bowser,” Zac said.

Riley pushed back his plate. “Me too.”

Aunt Trudy scowled at Beau.

“Don't look at me. I ate mine.” He winked at Jack, making a muscle. “Should be obvious just by looking at us.”

Riley humphed as he always did when his brothers claimed to be stronger. “Best meal I've had in ages, ladies. That beat Zac's wings all to pieces.”

Zac winged his balled-up napkin at Riley. “Hey, watch it. I feed you the rest of the year.”

But Riley would soon be gone. Not eating wings and shooting pool with them at the Roadhouse. Or rooting for the Pats on Sunday afternoons.

Beau had tried to apologize to him this morning. He knew he hadn't handled his brother's news well. And even though Paige's analyzing had annoyed him, he knew she was right. Nothing terrified him more than the thought of losing one of his brothers. When they were here, right under his nose, he could look after them. What was he going to do when Riley was thousands of miles
away, dealing with IEDs and missiles? He couldn't even think about it.

Riley had accepted his apology, but things were still strained. He'd hardly looked at Beau all afternoon and had been subdued through an exciting football game against the Eagles.

After dinner they ate dessert, despite being full, and when the conversation at the table petered out, the guys shooed the girls off to the living room and started the cleanup process. Aunt Trudy settled on the sofa with her knitting, and Jack went off to a corner of the living room with a deck of cards.

In the kitchen Beau pulled another plate from the sudsy water and scrubbed it. His fingers were turning to prunes before his eyes. How many dishes could one family go through in a meal?

Zac set another stack of dirty plates in the water, and Beau caught him with the spray.

“Dude. Control that thing.”

“What's the score?”

Riley poked his head into the living room, then came back and dropped a handful of silverware into the water. “Cowboys are up by seven.”

A few minutes later Kate and Jack popped in to say good night. She was probably ready to collapse after a full day in the kitchen.

Beau put a scoop of bubbles on Jack's nose. The boy's lips turned up into a smile before he ducked his head, rubbing his nose against Kate's leg.

The brothers finished cleanup in time to see the Raiders put up a touchdown, tying the game. When they broke for half-time commercials, Beau changed into more comfortable clothes and came back downstairs.

“Nice shirt,” Riley said.

He glanced down. It was one of the casualties of Kate's laundry work.

He settled on the sofa and put his arm around Paige.

“So what do you guys think about Kate now that she's had some time to settle in?” Paige said.

“She keeps cooking like that,” Riley said, “and I say we keep her around.”

“Well, that's a fine thank-you,” Aunt Trudy said, her needles clicking faster.

“Just until you're back on your feet.” Zac dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Nobody can cook like you, Aunt Trudy.”

“Suck-up,” Riley said.

“That's not what I meant.” Paige leaned forward, her long blond hair swinging over her shoulders. “I mean what do we know about her? Where's she from? Where's she going? Am I the only one who's curious?”

“What's it matter?” Zac asked. “She's nice enough.”

“Now that you mention it,” Beau said, “she has been kind of squirrelly when I ask about her past.”

“She changes the subject when I bring it up too. I agree she's nice enough, but she's supposedly penniless, and she's wearing Joe's Jeans? It doesn't make sense.”

“Who's Joe?” Beau asked.

Paige gave him a wry smile. “It's a brand. A very expensive brand. Like a hundred and fifty a pair. And that gray sweater she had on looked like cashmere.”

Riley shrugged. “So she's got money somewhere. So what?”

“Paige is right,” Beau said. “If she had money, she'd have an ATM card like anyone else. She wouldn't have been holing up in our outbuilding with her kid.”

“And what kind of mom doesn't know how to cook a simple meal?” Paige said.

“Or do a load of laundry,” Aunt Trudy said.

Riley crossed his arms. “Lay off her. It's none of our business.”

Beau studied his brother's face. He seemed awfully defensive of Kate. Was he developing feelings? She was a pretty woman with her pixie blond hair and delicate features. Those eyes, like molten caramel, could stop a man in his tracks.

“Just relax,” Zac said. “Beau checked her references and did a background check, remember?”

“Umm . . .,” Beau said.

Zac sent him a look. “Are you kidding me? Captain Thorough forgot the background check?”

“We were in a time crunch, if you'll recall.”

“Maybe it's like that movie
Safe Haven
,” Paige said, meeting Beau's eyes.

Beau frowned, not following.

Paige's eyes drifted around the living room to blank stares. “The one based on the Nicholas Sparks book? The heroine was abused by her husband and ran from him, only to land in this small town where she met this guy . . .” She shot Beau a look, giving him an elbow. “You took me to see it.”

“I might've taken a short nap.”

She gave him a long look. “Anyway . . . she could be running from an abusive husband or something.”

“I haven't seen any signs of abuse.” Unfortunately, he'd had experience with that as deputy sheriff.

“And her son doesn't talk,” Paige added. “That happens to kids sometimes when they go through trauma.”

“Wonder what happened,” Zac said.

“Stop picking on the girl,” Aunt Trudy said. “Riley's right. It's none of our business.”

“It is if it puts us in danger,” Beau said. She was living with Paige, after all. What if Kate had gotten herself into some kind of trouble?

“Maybe it's one of those custody things,” Paige said. “Maybe she ran off with Jack, and his dad doesn't know where he is.”

“She wouldn't do that,” Riley said.

Beau frowned at him. “You've known her four days.”

“If it were my kid I'd be going crazy,” Zac said.

“You'd be surprised what people will do under stress. But that doesn't explain why Jack doesn't talk. You said something traumatic.”

“Maybe his dad did something to him, and that's why Kate ran off with him.”

Zac finished off his Coke. “Maybe she's involved in something illegal. Maybe she's running from the law.”

“Maybe you should just sit the girl down and get some answers out of her,” Aunt Trudy said.

“Or maybe you should all just leave her alone. She's doing the best she can.” Riley turned up the TV, and the noise of the half-time show filled the room.

Beau remembered the W-4 he'd asked her to fill out. Maybe Kate really had forgotten it the past few days. Or maybe she was hiding something. If she was, then pressing might scare her away. And despite what Kate might be involved in or running from, he didn't want any harm to come to her or Jack. Maybe he'd do a little checking of his own.

Chapter 10

T
he weather had been mild the past couple days, and Eden finally insisted on getting Miss Trudy out in her wheelchair. The woman scowled at the contraption, but Eden bribed her with a stop at the Knitting Nook. After the yarn shop, Eden and Micah took turns pushing her along the boardwalk. She seemed soothed by the sea breeze and fresh air. Poor lady had been cooped up way too long. No wonder she was so cranky.

The sun sparkled across the quiet harbor, and snow clung to the pine trees along the rocky shore. Looking at the beautiful sight, listening to the waves ripple against the shoreline, Eden could almost forget the people who wanted her son dead.

When they returned home Micah pulled Miss Trudy's crutches from the back of the Explorer and brought them to the woman. They'd probably kept her out too long. The sun had gone over the hills, ushering in dusk, and Miss Trudy seemed tired as she maneuvered herself from the vehicle.

Beau was home from work, and Eden realized she should've had supper in the oven by now, if not on the table. She reached out to give Miss Trudy a hand.

The woman shooed her away. “I can do it myself.”

The sound of a distant engine carried on the cooling air. Probably someone checking out the tree farm. People often wandered back to the house, ignoring the Private Drive sign. The first few times had scared her.

Eden walked alongside Miss Trudy, ready to steady her. The car rumbled closer as they navigated the porch steps.

The porch light flickered on, and Beau appeared in the doorway. “Well, look at you, out and about.”

“We took a stroll on the boardwalk,” Eden said.

“She made me ride in a wheelchair like an invalid.”

Beau's lips twitched as his eyes flickered off Eden and back to his aunt. “You look good. Got some color back in your cheeks.”

“It's called frostbite.”

The crescent in his cheek deepened. “Now, Aunt Trudy, it's almost fifty degrees.” His eyes swung past them. “You brought company.”

Eden looked over her shoulder. The car pulled to a stop behind the Explorer. A white car with a sheriff emblem emblazoned across the side.

Eden's heart stuttered. Her breaths grew shallow. No. They couldn't have found her.

“Oh good,” Aunt Trudy said.

The engine went silent, and a man in a tan uniform exited the vehicle.

Eden turned toward the door. But Beau stood on the threshold, his palm planted on the frame, blocking the way. The sheriff was coming toward the house. His car trapped the Explorer. Oh, how she wished her old beater were sitting out front. There was no escape.

She pushed Micah behind her as the man approached the porch.

“Howdy, Beau.” He removed his hat, revealing a bald head. “Trudy.”

“Sheriff, how you doing?” Beau asked.

The man strode up the steps, seeming even larger as he neared. He was enormous, taller than Zac even, with imposing shoulders and sharp eyes. He had a fiery red mustache above his firmly set mouth.

Eden stepped back into the shadows, pushing Micah with her.

“Kate, this is Danny Colton. This is Kate Bennet and her son, Jack. They're helping out around here while Aunt Trudy recovers.”

He nodded Eden's way, his hazel eyes drilling right through her. “Ma'am.”

“Hello.” The word felt squeezed from her throat as her son peeked from behind her leg.

“Jack's a little shy,” Beau said.

“Haven't seen you around town,” the sheriff said.

“I just got here.”

“She's from away,” Beau said. “Just passing through. Came along at just the right time.”

“I should go start supper.” Eden pushed Micah through the door, wedging past Beau, waiting for the sheriff to stop her. Her heart beat up into her throat, and her mouth went dry.

“Heard about your accident, Trudy,” the sheriff was saying as Beau pulled the door. “Let me know if I can help in any way.”

“I can take care of myself just fine.”

Eden took Micah's hand, pulling him into the kitchen. She sank into a chair at the table and attempted to steady her heart rate.

Micah's wide brown eyes were fixed on her, filled with
questions. She wet her lips. “Why don't you help me get a salad ready, kiddo. Go wash your hands, okay?”

He scampered off to the bathroom as Miss Trudy hobbled through the door.

Eden straightened. “You need help?”

“No, I do not.” She shuffled straight through the kitchen and into her bedroom, muttering about something. The mattress squeaked as she lowered herself onto it.

Eden looked out the window toward the porch. She could see the men's shadows as they stood talking. Why was he here? Had news of her escape made it this far north? She hadn't found anything in the local papers, but maybe their pictures had been distributed to law enforcement. Maybe even now he was quizzing Beau about her.