Holiday Hideout (5 page)

She wasn’t worried about having the baby at home.

Lovely.

Memories assailed Abby, nearly suffocating her. Her sister’s joyful cries as she called to tell Abby it was time. Abby’s rush to Keira’s home. Everything moved along like it was supposed to, then the baby just seemed to get stuck. She wouldn’t move down the birth canal.

And then her sister’s sudden, terrifying silence.

Abby shuddered. No way would she ever deliver another baby outside of a hospital.

“So, here we are in the kitchen.” Fiona’s bright voice sliced through her terrible memories.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, forcing a smile. “I love the Christmas tree in the corner and the mistletoe hanging above the door.”

Fiona nodded. “I told Joseph I wanted a tree in every room of the house. He thinks I’m crazy. Then he came up with the mistletoe. Said if I got a tree in every room, he got to have mistletoe hanging above every door.”

Her twinkling eyes told Abby the woman didn’t mind a bit. She imagined Joseph didn’t mind the trees, either. A shaft of longing swept through her. Would she ever have a relationship in her life that lasted longer than one interrupted dinner? Most of the men she’d dated—and there hadn’t been that many—didn’t like the fact that when she was on call, she didn’t waste any time getting to the hospital to deliver a new life into the world. If that meant leaving the dinner table, walking out of a movie or being unavailable on Saturday night, so be it.

But she wanted a man who could handle the crazy hours she sometimes worked.

Her mind flashed to Cal. Someone like Cal would understand. She was sure he put in some crazy hours himself as a cop. Then again, how much crime could there be in this little town?

Fiona ran a hand over the black-and-gold granite countertop. “This is my favorite place in the house. The kitchen. I love to cook and Joseph loves to eat, so it works out well.”

Abby took another glance out the window and said a small prayer that the snow would stop. Then she grimaced. She’d given up talking to God the day her sister died. No need to start now. He hadn’t listened then, He sure wouldn’t listen now.

But a small part of her wanted to get over her anger at God. The other part argued that He could have saved Keira and she had every right to be angry with Him.

Fiona touched her arm. “Are you all right?”

Abby jerked. “Oh, sorry, just thinking. Yes, I’m fine.”

Fiona didn’t look like she believed it but nodded. “The great room is off the kitchen through here. This is where we spend most of our time.”

The big-screen flat-panel television mounted over the fireplace played a news channel but was on mute. Noting yet another Christmas tree in the corner of the massive great room, Abby moved to the oil painting on the wall. “Is this the ranch?”

A soft sad smile curved Fiona’s lips. “Yes, a cousin of mine did it for me about a year ago. It’s almost a perfect rendering of what the ranch looks like from a bird’s-eye view.”

“It’s beautiful. Your cousin is very talented.” She leaned forward and studied the signature. Brianne Sawls.

“Yes, she was. Thank you.”

Was?

The sad smile and the use of the past tense made Abby wonder if the cousin was dead. Before she could ask, Fiona seemed to shove off her melancholy and said, “Two bedrooms are down the hall and two are upstairs. I thought we’d let you keep the apartment in the basement. It’s more private and we won’t bother you.”

“The apartment is lovely. Everything is. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you letting me stay here.”

A knock on the door sounded. Fiona excused herself and walked over to open it.

“Hi, Aunt Fiona.” Abby heard Tiffany’s high-pitched little girl voice.

“Hey, there, darling. Hi, Mom.”

Abby followed, watching as Fiona helped the little girl off with her coat. Mrs. McIvers said, “We decided to take a walk in the snow and stop in to check on you.”

“We’re fine. I was just showing Abby around the house.”

Fiona’s mother held up a bulging bag. “Jesse went into town to stock up on some groceries and ran into Mrs. Paula. He dropped these off and said he gave him this for us to share.”

Fiona laughed. “Fruit or veggies this time?”

“A little of both, I think.”

Fiona took the bag while her mother hung her coat on the rack next to the door. “That’s so kind of her.” She looked at Abby. “Paula is in Mom’s Bible study at church. She owns the fresh market in town and is always providing us with fresh fruit and vegetables.”

“Nice.” Abby’s heart did something strange at that moment. And she realized what it was. A longing to belong to something like this. A community. A group of people who cared about one another, took care of each other—shared something as simple as a bag of fruit.

She loved her patients and the babies she delivered, but in the end, they were in and out of her life after about a year. She had a few “repeat customers,” and that was nice, but…bottom line, Abby wanted more.

She had few friends because of her work schedule and because she’d quit going to church after Keira died. In the face of this family’s love and caring for one another, her own loneliness was like a slap in the face.

Swallowing hard, Abby pushed aside the lump in her throat and decided she’d have to postpone the pity party. Fiona walked over to the sink and placed the food in it. She looked at her mother and little Tiffany. “You guys want to help me cut up and cook some fresh veggies?”

“I do!” Tiffany cried.

Fiona said, “Great. You’re in charge of putting them in the steamer after I cut them. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Abby asked Fiona, “Do you have a computer I could use? I don’t need the internet. I just need to look at something on a flash drive.”

Fiona nodded. “Sure. You can use my laptop. We have wireless internet throughout the house if you want to check your email.”

“No,” Abby said quickly. “That’s okay.”

Not only was she afraid to use her cell phone, but she was afraid her brother-in-law—or one of his friends—might be monitoring her email account. He would be able to tell when she logged on and then trace her back to Fiona’s. And that couldn’t happen. Unless he’d already followed her, knew she was there and her caution was useless. The attack on her said that might just be the case.

Then again, maybe the person who attacked her was just some random trespasser and she’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a ranch, in the mountains, several miles from the nearest town.

Right.

Possible? Maybe. Did she believe it? Not really.

Abby flashed back to the train station. Had she been hallucinating when she thought she’d seen Reese’s face? Or had he truly been there?

There was no way to know at this point and she sure wasn’t going to ask Deputy Sheriff Cal McIvers to find out for her.

Fiona emerged from a bedroom down the hall and gave Abby the laptop. She said, “You’re welcome to stay up here. While I have some good help—” she looked at Tiffany and grinned “—I’m going to start working on supper.”

Abby placed the laptop on the kitchen table.

Laughing, Fiona and Tiffany got to work while Abby stared out the window. Had she seen something? A glint from the sun off something metal? She waited to see if it would happen again. For several minutes, she listened to the others in the background and kept her eyes on the area where she’d seen the flash.

When nothing else happened, she shivered.

If it was Reese out there, she felt sure he would make another move soon.

She would just have to sleep with both eyes open and pray she could get away before he could fulfill his terrifying threat.

In the bunkhouse living area, Cal looked at the men in his employ and gave a silent thanks for their expertise and loyalty to his family. It was one of the leading reasons he’d hired them.

“I don’t know who that guy was, but we need to make sure he doesn’t come back. Who’s willing to lose a little sleep at night? Maybe split the night shift? I’ll pay you overtime, of course.”

Donny nodded. “I’m in.” Donny’s family lived on the edge of Cal’s property. “If he’s causing trouble on your land, he might bring it over onto mine.”

Mike shifted. “If he’s out there, I’ll spot him.” Mike had been a homeless man his father had caught sleeping in the barn sixteen years ago. He’d offered him a job and a bed in the bunkhouse. Mike had been there ever since. And he’d adopted the McIvers family as his own.

Jesse crossed his arms across his ample waist and gave a nod. “We’ll work out a schedule and have the ranch covered as much as possible. But with this many acres, you know we won’t be able to be everywhere all the time.”

Zane said nothing, but his eyes and ears didn’t miss a detail, Cal knew.

Cal looked at Jesse. “I know. Like you said, we’ll do what we can. I’ll ask Eli if he’ll let Joel and a couple of the other deputies patrol the roads bordering the ranch a little more heavily.” Sheriff Eli Brody, a good sheriff and a great friend. He’d be willing to help as much as he could. Cal slapped his thighs. “Anything else?”

“Nope.” Zane stood and jammed his hat onto his head. “I’m going to check out the area along the fence that was cut.” He looked at Jesse. “Y’all let me know what the schedule is. I’ll do whatever’s needed.”

Jesse nodded and Cal cleared his throat. Grateful didn’t begin to describe how he felt about these men.

“I’m going to check on the girls.”

By girls, he really meant Abby, he supposed, as he found himself outside her apartment door. He wiped his boots on the mat and knocked. When he didn’t get an answer, he turned the knob. Unlocked.

He frowned and made a mental note to be sure to advise her to keep the door locked. Usually they didn’t worry about that out here in the middle of almost nowhere, but after the incident with Abby being attacked, he’d feel better knowing she was locking the doors.

Cracking the door, he called, “Abby? You in here?”

No answer.

Pushing the door open a little farther, he scanned the inside are of the small apartment and confirmed Abby wasn’t there. His gaze landed on her cell phone on the end table. The battery lay on top of it. The pile of cash next to the phone made his brows lift and his brain start clicking with various reasons she’d have that kind of money.

He stopped and stood there for about three seconds before making a decision. Picking up the battery, he slid it into the phone and powered up the device.

Was she having trouble with the phone?

The welcome screen came up, then her home screen.

Seemed to be working fine.

Then again, what if that guy at the bus station was after her? The one she’d asked for protection from. Cal hesitated. Took a deep breath.

Then made sure the GPS tracking option was turned off. Not that the call couldn’t be traced, but it would be a little harder and take a little longer for someone to get a location without the GPS feature.

Quickly, he scrolled through her contacts feeling only slightly guilty for doing so. But they’d—
he’d
—brought a stranger home and she was now living in his sister’s house. No one would blame him for the precaution.

You could just ask her.

No, he’d already read her body language. She was hiding something. His mind went to Fiona and the baby she carried. She and Joseph trusted his judgment and were willing to open their home to Abby because Cal asked them to.

He continued to scroll.

Mom.

So she did have someone who might be worried about her.

Before he could consider the consequences of his actions, he dialed the number.

It rang twice.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Abby Harris’s mother?”

“Harris? No. I know an Abigail O’Sullivan, though, and this is her cell phone number. Who are you and why are you calling from her phone?” The starched tone pushed his wary button.

“I’m a friend of Abby’s.” O’Sullivan? So, she’d used a fake name. “She’s been very sick. I thought someone might have missed her by now.”

Silence. Then the woman said, “She’s on vacation. At least that’s what her note said. As for being sick, I’m sure she can take care of herself. Now, if that’s all, I have an appointment in twenty minutes.”

Incredulous at the coldhearted response, Cal asked, “Ma’am, don’t you want to know where your daughter is?”

A pause. “I no longer have any daughters thanks to Abigail. So no, I’m not interested in her whereabouts.”

Click.

Cal shivered and it wasn’t because the room was cold. Whew. That woman sounded like she could spit icicles. If that was Abby’s mother, Abby definitely had his sympathies.

He went back to the contacts. A few names and numbers that meant nothing to him.

Thinking about the revealing conversation with Abby’s mother made him frown. He removed the battery once again and replaced the phone just like he’d found it.

Abby O’Sullivan.

Estranged from her family, followed and attacked by an unknown assailant. His eyes landed on the end table again. And a large amount of cash.