Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep (28 page)

“I wouldn’t say that.” There was a smile in Cassie’s voice, and Bree knew it was going to be all right.

Anu had already put Davy to bed at her house. Bree showed Cassie and Salome to the lighthouse guest rooms, then went down to make popcorn and put in a pizza.

“This is like a slumber party,” Cassie said, grabbing another handful of popcorn. “Got any good movies to watch?”

“Princess Bride.”

“Oh, that is the
best
movie!” Salome said. “I’ve been trying to get her to watch it, but she says it sounds too stupid.”

“It
is
stupid, but that’s what’s great about it.” Bree got out the DVD and put it in the player.

“No, don’t make me watch it,” Cassie begged.

“Inconceivable!” Salome and Bree said at the same time.

Bree laughed. “Naomi will be mad she missed this.”

“I’ll trade places with her,” Cassie muttered. Her face sobered. “I’m only teasing. It was so great of you to have us. The company would have paid our hotel. You didn’t have to be inconvenienced.”

“I’m loving it.” Bree hit pause on the remote. “We need to get to know each other. I wouldn’t mind if you stayed for weeks.”

Cassie studied her face. “I think you’re telling the truth.”

“I’ve never had a family to be close to. I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk.” Bree hadn’t realized until now how much that had bothered her. Davy, Anu, Hilary, and Mason were her family, but she’d longed for the closeness she saw between Hilary and Rob when he was alive, that feeling of having shared parents. Though she and Cassie only shared a father, the blood ties could be strengthened if Bree had enough courage to do it.

“We can watch the movie tomorrow,” Bree said. “Tell me how our father is doing. He seemed great today.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“I’m sure.”

Cassie took a sip of her Pepsi. “I feel so guilty for not taking care of him, but he has times where he forgets how to bathe or how to get dressed. He’s still having some great days, like today.”

“You had to keep him safe. He had wandered several times. I’ve had to search and find people like him often enough over the years. “

“I know I had to do it, but it’s still hard. I’ve been all he has for so long, and I’ve always wanted to please him.”

“Which is why you’ve pushed yourself,” Salome put in. She stood. “I think I’ll go to bed and leave you two to your confidences. I don’t want to intrude.”

“’Night,” Cassie called.

“Does my mother know where he is?” Bree asked.

Cassie nodded. “He gets packages from her every now and then. The last letter said she might come see him. He wrote and told her not to come. I think he doesn’t want anyone to see him like this.” She bit her lip. “At least no one but you.”

Bree started shaking her head. “What about the cancer?” The anger she’d felt over him leaving her in her mother’s care was disappearing, she realized. Maybe she was coming to understand her life wasn’t perfect. She’d made plenty of mistakes herself.

“He’s got maybe three months.” Cassie’s face contorted with pain. “I don’t know what I’ll do without him. I think that’s why I wanted to find you so badly. You’ll be all the family I have left.” She touched Bree on the arm as if she were afraid.

Bree felt the sting of tears at the backs of her eyes. “We can try,” she said. “Just remember, God will go through those deep places with us.”

Cassie pulled her hand away. “If he cared about me, he wouldn’t take my father.”

“I used to say that about Davy and Rob too. But when I reached the bottom of my well, I found God there.”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Cassie said. “But I think I can work on learning to love you, Bree.”

“And I you.” Bree took her hand and squeezed it. “But only if you’ll watch
Princess Bride
with me.”

22

T
he woman blew her hair away from her eyes in frustration. “I don’t like this.”

“We have no choice. We can’t find the papers. The old man is our only link to our future.” The man grabbed her arm roughly. “Let’s get this done.” He marched her toward the nursing home.

Nearly midnight. The residents’ rooms were dark, but they knew which one was the old man’s. Luckily it was near the front door.

They walked confidently inside. The woman in the office had her head bent over a book, and the TV played softly in the background. Perfect. They went to room 101 and stepped inside.

She shook the snoring old man. He awoke with a start and stared up at them in the moonlight streaming through his window.

“Cassie?” he muttered.

“That’s right. We have to go, Dad. Right now. Come along.”

Bree stared at herself in the mirror. She didn’t feel like going out tonight, not when her sister would be here later, and they were enjoying the time together. But she didn’t know how to get out of it with Nick. He’d been insistent about a date with just the two of them.

She brushed a bit of taupe shadow over her lids and added a touch of mascara. That would have to do. Elaborate makeup and fancy dresses weren’t part of who she was. Shaking her head, she put her toiletries away and went down to wait for Nick.

Davy lay on the floor with his head on a pillow. His face was intent
on the book in his hand. He looked up after a moment and saw her. “You look pretty, Mommy. How come I can’t go with you? Nick won’t mind.”

“Lauri would be disappointed if she didn’t get to spend the evening with you. You two are going to the party at Yancy’s, remember?” Yancy had invited half the town to a cookout. Bree had thought she and Nick would go, but he’d nixed the idea.

Davy considered that, then scowled. “She could come with us. She could be my date.”

Bree hid a smile. “You can come next time.”

The lot at Syl’s was full when Nick parked his Mercury Mountaineer. Bree hadn’t felt like driving farther than Mass City, and Syl’s had great food, though the ambience was backwoods hunter meets home cooking. Still, it was better than driving clear to Houghton.

“How’s the investigation going?” Nick asked, opening her door.

“Nowhere fast. Mason ran ballistics on the gun I found, and it was the murder weapon. But the serial number had been filed off, and it was wiped clean of prints. So it’s another dead end.”

Nick nodded and led her inside. Once seated in a back corner facing the mural of mountains, Bree sipped her water and wondered what to talk about. She’d never felt so ill at ease with Nick—or so distant. He didn’t seem to notice though, for he kept up a steady stream of banter about the goings on at the fire station. She made the appropriate noises at all the right times, but her thoughts were at a cabin in the woods. Kade never left her thoughts for long these days.

They ate their dinner, but the conversation never seemed to touch more than the surface.

“Want to go for a ride in the moonlight?” Nick suggested.

The moon over Lake Superior was a sight Bree never tired of. “Sure.” Her smile felt plastered on. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t being fair to Nick, feeling so disconnected. She told herself to snap out of it, but that seemed impossible.

Nick’s warm hand clasped hers as they walked back to his SUV. Kade would have noticed her distraction, and it made Bree wonder how Nick saw her. Couldn’t he tell she had something on her mind?

Nick drove out past her lighthouse to the turnoff that went to a tip of land jutting into the lake. He opened her door and, when she got out, tucked her hand into his jacket pocket to keep it warm from the cool breeze blowing off the lake. He led her to a bench with a vista of the water that nearly took her breath away.

He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head against his chest. Why didn’t she feel safe and protected with him? He tried and did all the right things.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bugging you? You’ve been as far away as Minnesota tonight. I was ready to get a boat and cross the lake to reach you.”

“I’m right here.” She didn’t know how to answer something she didn’t know herself.

He was silent for a time, and she looked up at his profile in the moonlight. His strong jaw and full lips reminded her of that statue of David by Michelangelo. Any woman would be thrilled to be keeping company with him, but all she felt was emptiness. He deserved more than that.

“What? You’re staring.”

“I guess I do know what’s wrong,” she said slowly.

He turned to gaze into her eyes. “Is it me?”

“No, it’s me.” She swallowed the fear that dried her mouth. “I don’t think I’m ever going to feel about you like you deserve.”

“What’s that mean? You aren’t attracted to me? I can make you love me if you give me the time.” He cupped her face in his palms. “Just give me a chance,” he whispered.

Shouldn’t his touch make her pulse race? All she felt was pity. “I love Kade,” she said simply. It was the truth she hadn’t wanted to admit to herself. She loved the big-hearted ranger more than just as a friend.

Nick drew back and scowled. “He’s not the man for you. You’ll be stuck in this backwater forever. Once I make fire chief here, we can move on to a bigger, better place. It won’t take long, not when there’s no real competition.”

“I guess that’s what confused me for a while. Your dreams sound exciting, but I realized they’re your dreams, not mine. I want to stay here, to raise Davy near his family. I want to have more children who can grow up safe and happy along the shores of this lake.”

His arm fell away from her shoulders. “I guess that’s it then. I couldn’t stay here forever. Not even for you.”

“And I couldn’t leave for you.” A part of her wondered what she’d do if Kade asked her to move. She thought she might be able to do it if he asked. That told her a lot about how she really felt about Nick. And about Kade.

“I’ll take you home,” Nick said.

“That might be best.”

They drove in silence back down the road to her lighthouse. He parked in front and leaned across her to open her door. “What about Davy?”

“Try to let him down easy. Stop and see him occasionally.”

“I do care about him, you know.”

“I know. He loves you too.”

His jaw twitched, and she hated that she’d hurt him. She got out and watched until his taillights disappeared around the curve. She thought she’d feel heavy-hearted, but the only emotion that came to her was something that felt like she’d been released from prison.

Donovan pulled Naomi close and kissed her. “Um, you smell good, like sunshine.”

“It’s my shampoo.” She snuggled close to him, trying not to think of the stress of the past week. They’d just had dinner. Emily was doing her homework while Timmy played with his trains on the living-room
floor. They had these few precious moments to themselves, and Naomi intended to milk them for all they were worth.

“We need a date, all to ourselves,” Donovan whispered. “How about we see if Lauri can babysit tomorrow after church and we’ll go to Houghton for the day, go shopping, out to eat, whatever you like.”

“Sounds like a plan.” The doorbell rang, and she groaned. “It never fails,” she groused. “You want to get that while I stick the dishes in the dishwasher?”

“Sure.” He kissed her on the nose and jogged to the front door.

“Mr. O’Reilly?” A woman’s voice reached Naomi’s ears, but it didn’t sound familiar. Curious, Naomi stepped to the doorway. The smile froze. She’d seen this woman with her graying hair and chilly gray eyes before. Ellen Wright, the child welfare advocate.

The woman nodded to Naomi. “Mrs. O’Reilly. I’m Ellen Wright, child welfare. I’d like to discuss the custody situation with you. May I come in?”

Donovan seemed as shocked and scatterbrained as Naomi felt. “Ah, of course.” He swung the door open wider and stepped aside to allow the woman to enter. “The kids are in the living room, so it might be best if we talk in the kitchen.” He looked helplessly at Naomi. “Could you get Ms. Wright some coffee?”

“Nothing for me, thanks,” Ms. Wright said. She followed Donovan to the table and pulled a notebook out of her briefcase. She took the glasses hanging from a chain around her neck and adjusted them on her nose. “Let’s see, the mother has lodged a complaint that her son is being neglected and as a result his diabetes is out of control.”

She smiled at Naomi, and the warmth in her gaze made Naomi breathe a little easier.

“Would you term that an accurate assessment?” Ms. Wright asked.

“I would not!” Naomi leaned forward across the table. “I love those children as if they were my own. I set a timer for Timmy’s shot, and I plan menus two weeks in advance to follow his diet precisely.” She reached for her meal planner on the counter and slid it across the table
to Ms. Wright. “No one could do more than I have to make sure Timmy’s blood sugar has been stable for months. I have no idea why it’s suddenly gone out of control.”

Ms. Wright flipped through the planner and nodded. “And you, Mr. O’Reilly, what is your part of the story? How often are you home to make sure things are rolling smoothly?”

“I run a business, as I’m sure you know,” he said flatly. “I leave the house at six thirty every morning and I’m home around six at night. Naomi is doing a fine job with the kids. Marika’s accusation is rooted in her attempt to gain custody after abandoning our kids. In the two years she was gone, she never so much as called the kids or sent them a card or birthday present. We weren’t sure if she was dead or alive.”

Ms. Wright frowned. “I don’t have that in my notes. Is that accurate?”

“It most certainly is,” he said.

Naomi had rarely seen Donovan so incensed. His face was red, and anger pinched his mouth. She touched his arm. The woman seemed to be on their side.

“I’d like to look at the children’s rooms, if I may.” Ms. Wright stood and pulled her glasses from her nose.

“Of course. Follow me.” Naomi took her down the hall and showed her the rooms. Luckily they were spotless other than a few toys on the beds.

“Very nice.” Ms. Wright’s voice was warm with approval. She kept writing things down in her notebook. “I’d like to talk to the children now.”

“Is that really necessary?” Donovan crossed his arms over his chest. “They’ve been upset enough by all this. There’s no need to involve them in Marika’s little game.”