Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep (23 page)

“How’s this?” Bree held out an army-green denim shirt.

“Eew! You always go for such drab colors. But they look good on you. Bet Kade would like you in it.”

Bree blushed. “I saw him this morning. I took Davy out to see a baby eagle.”

“How did that go?” Naomi kept the sweater and continued to look around Nicholls’s Finnish Imports. Anu had told the girls they could have first pick of the new shipment from Finland.

“Kind of awkward.”

“It will get better.” Naomi’s smile felt king-sized today. Donovan had taken the children to the store with him this afternoon to give her a little break, and she intended to milk every minute of enjoyment from it. After the stress of the past weeks with Marika popping up everywhere she turned, she wanted to laugh and giggle with Bree like the old days. Davy was with his Aunt Hilary, and it was like old times.

“Let’s go for lunch. I’m starved,” Bree said. “I want to start the search in quadrant three this afternoon.”

“Lunch is my treat,” Anu announced.

The women paid for their deeply discounted purchases, then went down the street to the Suomi Café. After Molly seated them at their booth and took their order for beef pasties, Anu leaned forward and squeezed the hands of both younger women. “I thank the two of you for allowing me to join your fun day. Not many women your age would welcome an old woman.”

“Hey, where’d that come from?” Bree’s smile faded. “We always like being with you. And you’re not old! You’re barely in your fifties.”

Anu smiled. “I know sometimes you young ones must talk about private matters.”

“We don’t keep anything from you,” Naomi said. “Besides, I need your help today to get through Bree’s thick head.”

Bree’s eyebrows arched. “Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this? You’d make a great Dread Pirate Roberts. I didn’t even see this ambush coming. Save me, Anu!”

Anu’s gentle smile widened. “As you wish,” she said, chuckling.

“Inconceivable!” Naomi retorted.

The three women laughed. It felt good to giggle like schoolgirls. When was the last time she’d laughed this way? Naomi stretched and felt the last of her gloom drift away. “I bet Anu knows what we’re going to discuss,” she said smugly.

Anu shook her head. “Do not pull me into this too soon. You are doing just fine on your own, Naomi.” She tipped her chin into her palm and smiled.

“Sure, throw me to the wolves,” Naomi muttered. She pulled her long braid over one shoulder and twisted the thick rope of hair around her fingers. “You ready to get back with Kade?”

Bree went still. She took a sip of coffee. “Do we have to talk about this?”

“Don’t blow it this time! I’d hoped one of you would get off your high horse long enough to break the ice forming between you. I bet it was Kade, wasn’t it?”

Bree looked down and played with her napkin. “Maybe,” she said. “But I have to think of Davy. I’m not sure he’s ever going to like Kade.”

“Does that mean you’re going to give Kade the cold shoulder again—all because Davy prefers Nick?” Naomi wanted to shake some sense into her friend. Couldn’t she see Kade was the right man for her?

“No,” Bree muttered. “He’s—different now somehow. Truthfully, I’m finding it hard to resist him.”

“Well, maybe you’re learning some sense then. Kade is worth a dozen Nicks.”

“Did someone mention my name? Nick Fletcher stood at their table, his handsome face in his customary smile that said all was right
with his world, and if it wasn’t, then he’d make it that way with sheer determination.

“Nick, hello,” Bree stammered. “We were just having lunch.”

“So I see. I stopped by to grab sandwiches for the guys at the station.”

Nick’s muscles filled out the fire department’s light blue shirt to perfection. It was no wonder he had turned Bree’s head. But he was flashy, where Kade was quiet and steady. The fireman wasn’t a bad man—he was just the wrong man for Bree.

“I thought I might bring a pizza over Monday if you’re free, Bree,” Nick said, taking the bag Molly brought him.

“That would be great,” Bree said. “Davy will be glad to see you.”

“Only Davy?”

“Me too, of course,” Bree’s smile was distracted.

“Good then. I’ll see you around six.”

As he walked away, Naomi leaned forward. “See what I mean? It’s all about Davy. That’s no way to build a relationship. Someday he’ll be grown and gone. Then what?”

“I like Nick,” Bree protested.

“Yes, but you love Kade. You’re just too bull-headed to admit it.”

“Naomi is right,
kulta
,” Anu said. “Though you must always be conscious of your son’s happiness, a strong marriage is not built on what a child wants. If his mother is happy, Davy will be happy. He will take his cue from you.”

“What if I don’t know what I want? I don’t want to hurt either one of them.”

“What is it you want? Who makes you feel alive and happy? Safe and secure? Whose name does God seem to be whispering in your ear?” Naomi sat back, certain her words had struck pay dirt.

“How can I tell who is God’s will? Maybe neither one of them is right. What if God doesn’t want me to remarry at all until Davy is raised? Anu, you stayed single.” Bree turned to her mother-in-law.

“Do you feel God is asking you to remain single?” Anu asked, a frown knitting her brow.

Bree thought a moment. “No, not really. I didn’t mean that. But just because you’ve got honeymoon stars in your eyes doesn’t mean everyone else needs to rush out and get married, Naomi. I don’t want to make a mistake. I’ve seen too many men come and go in my mother’s life. She only ever loved my father, but she made do with other men. And a bottle.”

“This isn’t about your mother.”

“In some ways it is. I carry her genes. What if I’m looking for the same things she was—excitement, romance. I’ve been thinking about things since Bernard and Cassie came into my life. I don’t want to repeat her mistakes.”

“If you can so clearly see what drove her to make poor choices, why do you have so little sympathy for her?” Anu tempered her hard question with a soft smile.

Bree hunched her shoulders. “Enough about my mother. It’s been hard enough facing my past with Cassie and Bernard here.”

“Have you seen them lately?” Anu asked.

“My father called yesterday to talk to Davy. I’m going over for dinner tomorrow.”

“You might not have much time.” Naomi knew how hard this had to be for her friend. “I think it’s great he’s come looking for you. It’s time to let go of your childhood.”

“I’m afraid to trust either of them.”

“You haven’t given either of them a chance,” Naomi pointed out.

“My life is going in a different direction. I’m happy with the way it is. But I admit—” she broke off.

“Yes?” Naomi wanted to know.

“It’s painful to see how my life could have been different if it weren’t for my parents’ selfishness. They both made mistakes, and Cassie and I have paid the price.”

“Your mother has suffered too,” Anu said gently.

“She didn’t suffer. She drowned everything with alcohol.” Bree moved restlessly. “Look, let’s talk about something else.”

“You’re going to have to face it someday.” Naomi said. “We all make mistakes as parents. God is the only perfect parent.”

“This one is going to take a little while to gear up to.” Bree’s smile was strained. “Take off your Dread Pirate Roberts persona, and let’s talk about something else.”

18

K
ade heard the ruckus before he saw it. Shouts, cries, and the sounds of a crowd of people stomping through the vegetation carried on the wind. He urged Moses into a gallop. He blinked as the scene at the mine came into view.

An angry mob stormed the entry to the lab. Men pounded on the door with their fists, and women waved placards and signs. The news media was here as well.

Telling them the water samples he’d taken had come back clean would fail to sway a mob like this. He needed help. Wheeling Moses around, he climbed to the top of a hill and managed to get a signal on his cell phone. The ranger station promised to send help and to notify the sheriff for more assistance. Waiting would be a good idea, but it went against his instinct. Was everyone inside all right? He knew Bree would be worried about Cassie.

Deciding he couldn’t just wait here, Kade rode along the side of the mine. There was a side entrance back here somewhere. With luck, the mob wouldn’t know about it either. One side entrance was thronged by more people, but Kade knew of another, more hidden one that only lifelong residents of Rock Harbor knew about. Vegetation crowded in on both sides of the trail, raspberry bushes reaching out prickly fingers for him as he passed. He left Moses tied to a tree at the trail and forced his way through the thorny bushes. A dead oak tree, split by lightning several years ago, marked the overgrown entrance if he could just find it.

Ah, there it was. He pulled the vines off the door and revealed the small entrance. It might not even be usable anymore. Sometimes these
old mines caved in along some of the veins, though he’d always heard this one was in good shape.

The door didn’t budge when he yanked on it. Probably locked from the inside. “Cassie!” he pounded on the door. Maybe she would hear him. “It’s Ranger Matthews.” He continued to jiggle the knob.

Nothing. He pressed his ear against the door but could hear no sound on the other side. He kicked it a few times, then turned to go. But a slight scraping sound stopped him. He paused and put his hand on the door handle. “Hello? Anyone in there? It’s Ranger Matthews. I’m here to help.”

He winced at the screeching sound. Then the door creaked open a few inches. He saw Yancy Coppler’s round face peering out at him. “It’s me, Yancy. Let me in.”

The door swung fully open. The rest of the crew crowded behind Yancy. Kade caught a whiff of smoke and gun powder. “Are you all right?”

Cassie stepped out from behind Yancy. “Yeah, but my plants aren’t.” Her red eyes and quivering lips told their own tale of the day’s trauma.

“What happened?”

“Someone set off a bomb in the plant room. All the tobacco plants are destroyed. I’ll have to start all over again.” Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she ran her hand over her eyes. “You’d better get in here before they see you. They’re a bunch of kooks.”

He slipped inside and shut the door behind him. Yancy threw the bolt into place. The acrid odor of smoke burned Kade’s throat and he coughed. “Help is on the way. Show me what happened.”

Cassie led him to the door of the plant room. Piles of rock and rubble barred his entrance into the room.

“It’s not safe,” he told her when she started to step over the rocks. He peered into the room but couldn’t see much for the haze of smoke and ash. “How did they get in?”

“I have no idea. We thought our security was airtight.” She gave a bitter laugh. “They claimed no security was safe enough to keep these plants from escaping. I guess this proves their point about the danger. If
they can get in, someone could transport the plants out. I’m going to have to see what I can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“You’re continuing?”

Her face was grim. “Of course.”

Nodding, he took her elbow and led them all back to the reception area. “Have a seat.” He sat on the edge of the receptionist’s desk while the lab personnel gathered around.

“Someone tell me exactly what happened today.”

Cassie sighed and told him.

“So no one was inside as far as you know?”

“We didn’t see anyone.”

“Could they have gotten in and planted the bomb last night?”

“I would imagine that’s what happened.”

The older guard shook his mane of white hair. “We was here all night, missy. It was real quiet. I don’t see how anyone could have got in without us knowing about it.”

“Has everyone been through a security check?”

Cassie nodded. “Extensive security check. And we all get one yearly.”

“When was the last?”

“About ten months ago.”

Someone here could have developed connections with the organization outside since then, but to what purpose? Kade stared at the faces turned up to his. He didn’t really know any of them well. “Any of you know Marika Fleming?”

The blank faces didn’t change at first, then Salome nodded. “She’s our neighbor.”

Would Salome blow up the lab? Kade didn’t think so. He frowned, and his gaze lingered on Salome’s face. It was pale and set, and he wanted to dismiss his suspicions. She was Cassie’s friend; she couldn’t be guilty. But the suspicion wouldn’t die.

“Who does your computer work?” he asked abruptly.

“Phil used to do most of it. Now I do,” Salome said. “Why?”

“Just thinking.” Maybe he was barking up the wrong tree, but
something didn’t feel right about it. How could anyone get into the mine without help? But why would Salome or any of them want to destroy their own work?

The security measures here rivaled Fort Knox. His gaze met Cassie’s, and he saw the same confusion in her eyes. If there was an internal problem, it was her worry.

And he had a feeling Bree would be right in the middle of it as well.

The crowd’s roar seemed to soften, and Kade looked toward the door. “I’m going to see what’s going on out there,” he said.

“I’ll back you up,” Chito said.

From his tone, Kade knew Chito was hoping for the opportunity to fight. Clenching his teeth, Kade went to the door and peered out. He almost didn’t believe what he was seeing.

Marika Fleming stood at the head of the crowd. “You’re not helping matters,” she shouted. “This is wrong! All of you go home. I’ll handle things. I’m with NAWG, and I can tell you this lab is harmless. I’ve called the sheriff, and he’ll be here any minute. If you don’t want to go to jail, get out of here.”

The crowd muttered and complained, but it was slowly beginning to disperse. Kade heard the distant sound of sirens, and the mob began to move faster.

Bree rubbed her throbbing head. Two weeks without her dog. She didn’t think she could stand another minute of it. Sitting in the Suomi, she saw the sympathetic glances diners threw her way. It was all she could do to stay seated with Naomi and Anu gone. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was almost time to meet the team. Naomi had run home to change clothes.