Strangers in the Night (27 page)

Abbie broke away from Jake. Listening, waiting. Then she heard it. A faint cry she would have recognized anywhere. “Emma.” She tore down the steps, nearly falling into Jeff.

“Mommy.” Jeff relinquished his hold on the child as she fell into her mother's arms.

Someone wrapped them in a blanket. “Mommy, don't cry. I knew you would come.”

Abbie, too choked up to speak, just held on.

Later, Abbie learned than Dawn had left cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and water for Emma. There had been a cot and blankets and a child's potty chair. The experience had to have been traumatic for Emma, but she seemed to rally quickly once she was reunited with her mother. Still, the police took her to the hospital to make certain she was all right.

A week later, life seemed to be leveling out for Abbie. Her little trouper was getting ready to share her room with her soon-to-be big sister, Cassie. Dawn and Keith had signed their parental rights over to Abbie and given her permanent custody of Cassie.

She'd taken Cassie to visit her mom, who explained everything. Abbie teared up just thinking about it. Cassie, of course, had been devastated, and Abbie doubted she fully understood what was happening. A trial date had been set, but Dawn and Keith were looking at life sentences. Justice would be done.

Though the police had learned more and shared their findings with Abbie, she still couldn't reconcile what had driven Dawn to take such drastic steps to protect her family.

She'd killed Barbara because her old friend recognized them and was going to turn Keith over to the police. She'd shot Barbara and pushed the car over the cliff then dumped her body in the lake and planted the newspaper article in Travis's kitchen to cast suspicion on him.

It was Keith who had stolen Floyd's old pickup and run Brent off the road. When Abbie saw it after the fact, she realized it had not been the one parked near her home. In the end, they concluded that the pickup parked there had nothing to do with the case.

Dawn also ransacked Barbara's apartment looking for any evidence the woman might have had there. She'd found Barbara's journals and burned them. Dawn had grown desperate in her attempts to keep Cold Creek the same as it was when they'd moved there. In the end, she'd failed.

In a way, Abbie understood that desperation. She'd broken the law in order to keep Emma. It didn't seem possible, but she and Leah had worked out their differences.

Murray had made the trip to Oceanside, and he and Leah stayed with the Grants for a week. Leah's demeanor changed completely from when Abbie had lived with them. She not only enjoyed her visit with Lyle and Carlene, she made a visit to Cold Creek to see what this artists' retreat was all about.

“Maybe you'll need someone to run the bed and breakfast,” Leah ventured on the eve of their departure.

Abbie turned to meet her gaze and realized she was serious. “Do you mean it? You'd actually consider living in Cold Creek?”

“Well, it looks like Daniel plans to stay, and you'll be busy with your town.”

Murray cleared his throat. “We've been talking about retiring, Abbie. If you think you might like us hanging around, we'd be pleased to consider it.”

“We'd be right there to take care of Emma,” Leah said.

Abbie flung her arms first around Leah, then Murray. “I can't think of anything I'd like more.”

“Now hold on just a minute.” Carlene jumped into the fray. “You can't have Emma all the time. I want her at least once a week.”

Murray and Lyle looked at each other and laughed.

At eleven, Abbie sat alone in the living room. The grandparents had retired for the evening after having negotiated who would have Emma and when.

She smiled as she replayed their banter in her mind. It was Leah who'd reminded them that they might want to let Abbie have her on occasion. Leah had surprised her with something else as well. She'd asked Murray to bring Abbie's art supplies when he came. They were still in the living room where Murray and Daniel had set them earlier. Maybe Leah hadn't disliked her so much after all.

Hearing footfalls on the porch steps, she felt her heart pick up its pace. It slowed back down when she realized it was Skye and Daniel. They settled into the swing. Both Skye and Daniel had been smiling more lately, and Abbie suspected that she might be receiving a wedding invitation before the year was up. Skye was beginning to look healthy and happy for the first time in years. She still needed to gain weight, but that would come.

Feeling left out, Abbie tipped her head back on the sofa cushion. She hadn't seen much of Jake since they had found Emma. He'd stopped coming over for their morning walks. She'd invited him to come for dinner several times, but he always seemed to have work to catch up on. Abbie suspected he'd changed his mind about loving her. Maybe that was just as well. She had plenty to do without being in a relationship.

She missed their talks and walks and more than that, his kisses. She missed looking into those blue eyes. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the first time she'd seen him. How romantic the night had been. What were the chances he would find her the way he had? Divine intervention, her mother had called it. Abbie had to agree.

She could tell herself it didn't matter, but it did. If she had any sense at all, she'd go to his house, knock on his door, and ask him if he'd forgotten about their walk. Maybe she would.

She heard the door open and close. Probably Skye coming in. When her sister didn't say anything, Abbie turned to look. There in the entry stood her blue-eyed handsome stranger.

“Hi.” She shifted to get a better look.

“Did you forget about our walk?”

She laughed. “No, but I thought you had.”

He stepped toward her at the same moment she stood. Holding out his arms he said, “Could I have this dance?”

She bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering and moved into his arms. “There's no music.”

“It's in here.” He pressed her hand to his heart.

She melted against him. “Where have you been?”

“Blaming myself.”

“For what?”

“For nearly getting you killed. Putting Emma in danger. None of this would have happened if I hadn't gone to Grand Forks to get you.”

She leaned back. “Silly man. If you hadn't come for me, I'd still be looking over my shoulder and living in fear. Mom and Dad were right. It was time to stop running. They were right about Cold Creek. And they were right about you.”

Laying her head on his shoulder, she added, “I do blame you for one thing though.”

He pressed his lips against her forehead. “What's that?”

“For making me fall in love with you.”

She tipped her head back and raised up just enough to kiss him.

Internationally known author and speaker, Patricia H. Rushford has book sales totaling over a million copies. She has authored more than fifty books and written numerous articles.

Her mystery novel,
Silent Witness
, was nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America and won the Silver Angel for Excellence in Media. Her romantic suspense novel,
Sins of the Mother
, won the Golden Quill Award for Inspirational Romance.

Patricia is a registered nurse and holds a master's degree in counseling. In addition, she conducts writing workshops for adults and children. She has served as the co-director of Writer's Weekend at the Beach as well as the popular Oregon Christian Writer's Summer Conference.

Pat has appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows across the U.S. and Canada. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Ron.