Falling Like Snowflakes (14 page)

T
ime to put the toys away, Jack,” Eden said.

Eager for the promised sleigh ride, Jack couldn't move fast enough. While he scrambled for Legos, she stopped by the Christmas tree to retrieve a fallen ornament. She hung the paper angel on a high branch, smiling at the crayon face one of the Callahan brothers had no doubt drawn in some elementary school class.

She remembered the Christmas trees they'd had when she was married to Antonio. He'd hired a decorator to come in every year. The enormous artificial tree gleamed with extravagant ribbons and rich burgundy and gold ornaments, probably hand-painted in some exotic country.

She preferred this look, she thought, standing back to survey her handiwork. The smell of pine in the air. Memories attached to each ornament. Maybe they weren't her memories, but they meant something to someone.

The front door opened and Beau stuck his head in. “Ready?”

“We'll be right out,” she said.

Eden helped Micah with the rest of the Legos, then told Miss Trudy they'd be back soon.

They met Beau in the front yard, where he waited with a red sleigh and two horses, one white and one black. The sun had set, and the darkening sky was swathed in pinks and purples.

The black horse nuzzled the palm of Beau's hand.

He smiled at Micah as they approached. “Jack, come meet Salt and Pepper, our escorts for the evening.”

“They're beautiful,” Eden said.

Micah held his hands up to Beau, and Eden almost gasped. Without hesitation Beau scooped her son into his arms and began showing Micah how Pepper liked his nose stroked.

She watched in wonder as Micah boldly followed his direction. He hadn't reached out to anyone but her since his dad was killed. Not even Walter, and they'd had ten months to bond. Maybe he was finally beginning to heal. Maybe he'd be okay someday. Maybe they both would. She had to believe that.

“Want to give Pepper a treat?” Beau pulled a handful of carrot sticks from his coat pocket.

Micah wrinkled up his nose, and Beau laughed. “Believe it or not, Pepper considers carrots a treat.”

Eden watched Micah feed Pepper the carrots, then Beau let him give Salt peppermint candies.

Beau popped one into his own mouth, and Micah smiled as he followed suit.

“All right, now they're ready to work. Want to ride in the front seat with me or the back with your mom?”

Micah pointed to the front, where he could be closer to the horses, and Beau set him in the red sleigh while Eden climbed in
behind them. Beau tucked a blanket around Micah, then handed her a thick blanket and helped tuck it around her as well.

He smiled up at her. “Warm and cozy?”

“Surprisingly, yes. What's this thing made of?”

“Magic.” He winked.

The sled rocked as he climbed up beside Micah and snapped the reins. “Here we go.”

The bells around the horses' necks jingled as Beau guided them toward the lit trail that wove through the pine forest. The sleigh's runners shushed through the snow.

Beau chattered to Micah about the horses, but most of it was lost on the wind. Eden tucked her hands under the blanket, reveling in the smile that bloomed on Micah's face. He'd had precious little to smile about lately. Her eyes flittered to Beau, and her heart squeezed at his kindness.

God, please. I want Micah to have more moments like this. I want him to know life can be good again. Help me to be able to give him that.

As they entered the forest, the trees sheltered them from the wind, and the heavy scent of pine saturated the air. She snuggled into the cushioned bench and watched the landscape pass.

Awhile later, Micah startled her when he shot up straight in his seat, pointing to the right. Eden's heart nearly burst out of her chest until she saw four deer pawing through the snow.

One of them looked up, and seconds later they scampered away, disappearing among the pine trees.

“Good eye, Jack. They like to feed on the spruce and fir twigs in the winter. Sometimes they damage the smaller trees, and we have to put out repellent. Have you seen a moose yet?”

Micah shook his head, looking up at Beau with wonder.

“Stick around long enough, and you will.” He launched into a story about a bull moose that lived on their property when he and his brothers were little.

Eden was content to let Beau carry the conversation. He handled Micah's muteness well, asking questions, content with a nod or a shake of his head. And he talked about things that would interest a young boy. Her son hung on to every word.

Before long they'd meandered through the whole farm and circled back to the house. Darkness had fallen, but the porch light spilled across the yard.

“Whoa.” Beau pulled back on the reins, and the sleigh came to a stop. He climbed off and lifted Micah down, then extended a hand to Eden.

She slipped her gloved hand in his and stepped down. “Thank you so much.” Beau dropped her hand as Micah tugged on her coat. “Jack says thank you too.”

“No problem.” That smile, directed at her, made her knees a little wobbly.

He turned to Micah, ruffling his hair. “Get some rest. See you in the morning.”

Beau popped in his earbuds and started his country playlist. The upbeat rhythm of “Ready Set Roll” came on, breaking the stillness of the morning.

Set for music, he slit the twine on the Frasier fir and leaned it against the wooden rack. The farm didn't open for a couple hours, but he had plenty to do. The cut tree lot had been picked through, and they'd gotten a fresh load of trees this morning.
This was usually Riley's job, but Beau had needed to get out of the house.

Things had been strained between him and Paige since their date two nights ago. They'd sent a few short texts, but his one call to her had gone to voicemail. He knew she was upset over Riley leaving soon, and he hated that he'd added to her stress.

On top of that, he kept thinking about Kate. It had felt good the other night to take her and Jack out for a sleigh ride. Just seeing the boy's smile had been reward enough, but when Kate had looked up to him, gratitude shimmering in her honey-brown eyes, he felt like he'd just hung the moon.

He kept seeing that look when he closed his eyes at night, kept remembering the feel of her gloved hand in his as he'd assisted her from the sleigh. And then he'd push the memory from his mind and chide himself for thinking of her at all when he already had a wonderful girl.

What was wrong with him?

The sound of an engine purred over the music, and he looked up to see Sheriff Colton's patrol car approaching. Snow crunched under the tires as he pulled into the lot.

Beau sheathed his knife and pulled his earbuds, meeting Colton as he got out of his car. “Morning, Sheriff.”

“Beau, you're out early. Thought I'd catch you still at the house.”

Hoped, was more like. “I'm sure Aunt Trudy's up and about if you want to stop by and say hi.”

The sheriff shifted, his cheeks going ruddy, as he gestured inside the car. “Well, I did bring some doughnuts for the family.”

Beau's lips twitched. “Nice of you. Got a custard in there?”

“You know it.”

He grabbed the box and let Beau help himself to the chocolate
iced custard. They used to stop by the Sugar Shack on a regular basis for their favorite doughnuts and a tall cup of java.

Beau bit into the tasty confection. He didn't mind being a cliché if it tasted like this.

“How's the new deputy?” he asked.

The sheriff scowled, his red mustache twitching. “He's no Beau Callahan, that's all I can say.”

“I heard he gave Pastor Daniels a ticket for jaywalking.”

“Yep.”

“And Alma Walker a ticket for doing 37 in a 35.”

“He's a regular Barney Fife.”

Beau chuckled. Alma was eighty if she was a day, and it had been her first ticket. “She was pretty riled up about it. Gave me an earful at Frumpy Joe's.”

Colton scowled. “You got nothing. She read me the riot act over the phone for twenty minutes. What am I supposed to do? I can't undermine my deputy, and she
was
breaking the law. Technically.”

“He'll settle in. He's just a smidgen overeager.”

“Well, I hope he calms it down before I have a town riot on my hands.” He shook his head. “Pastor Daniels . . .”

“Well, let me know if I can help.” Beau took the last bite and licked the chocolate off his index finger. He wished he had a nice cup of hot coffee to wash the doughnut down with.

The sheriff leaned against the car, crossing his burly arms. “So I looked into that housekeeper of yours.”

Beau swallowed the bite. “And . . .?”

“Unless your Kate Bennet is really Arnold William Davis and a plumber from Topeka, Kansas, she gave you a false soc number.”

All the breath left Beau's lungs. “Well, rats. I was afraid of
that.” She
was
hiding something, and it couldn't be anything good. “Maybe it was an accident,” he said halfheartedly.

“I think we both know better. I ran her plates, and they belong to a James Edward Boyd of Augusta, Georgia. I could run a search on her name, but I highly doubt she's using her real one. There's always fingerprints, but unless she's in the system . . .”

“True.”

“You could always snoop around her things. She's got to have a driver's license, a birth certificate for her kid . . . something.”

Beau shook his head. “Everything she had was stolen when she got to town.”

The sheriff's eyes sharpened. “Why didn't I hear about this?”

Beau stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She didn't report it.”

“Pretty much tells you all you need to know, don't you think?”

“Not necessarily.”

The sheriff cut him a look.

So he was being defensive. Seemed he and Riley had something in common besides their taste for buffalo wings.

“She's either running from the law or she's hiding from someone. A set of fingerprints might narrow it down.”

Beau rubbed his neck. And what if she was guilty of some crime? He didn't think Kate was capable of anything heinous, not unless she was protecting herself or Jack. And he couldn't stand the thought of bringing more trouble on her. What would happen to her son? They didn't seem to have anyone they could count on.

The sheriff reached for his door handle. “Well, you think on it and let me know.”

“Will do. Thanks for your help.”

A minute later Beau watched the patrol car ease down the lane and wondered what he'd gotten himself into with Kate.

Kate. Was that even her real name? Maybe it was. Maybe she'd only used a false soc number to throw the government off her trail.

If it was her real name, he knew who could dig a little deeper into her past.

He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed as he entered the shelter of the barn.

Abby picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Beau. Good to hear from you.”

“How's married life treating you, cuz?”

Abby had remarried Ryan McKinley after they'd visited Summer Harbor several months ago. They'd spent the weekend pretending to still be married for her parents' benefit, and apparently the pretense had rekindled their feelings. They lived in Chapel Springs, Indiana, now.

“Couldn't be better. My agency's up and running, and Ryan's school year is going great. They had a pretty good football season.”

Beau paced across the pine-needle-strewn floor. “I heard. Ryan sent me a pic when they won regionals.”

“Yeah, he was stoked. We hoped they'd win state, but maybe next year. So . . . I'll bet you're crazy busy with the farm. I heard you got a bunch of snow recently.”

“That's winter in New England. But, yeah, the farm's doing great.”

“How are Riley and Zac? They never call. Tell them they're deadbeat cousins.”

Beau smiled. “They're helping out here as much as they can, and Zac's got his hands full with the Roadhouse.”

“I can't believe that woman ditched him like that.”

“He's still pretty heartbroken.” Beau had wanted to wring Lucy's neck a hundred times for the heartache she'd left behind.

“Did he ever get any answers?”

“Not really. He's trying to move on.”

“What about Riley? What's going on with him?”

“I guess you haven't heard . . . He enlisted. He's headed off for boot camp in a few weeks.”

“I'll be darned. I can't believe it. Coast Guard?”

“Marines.”

“That's right. He used to talk about it.”

“It was a real shock, to be honest, and I'm still not keen on the idea. I mean, why now? Right after losing Dad and everything?”

Abby was quiet for a beat too long.

“What?”

“He's a big boy, Beau. He can take care of himself. Maybe he just needs to stand on his own two feet, be his own man, you know? There in Summer Harbor, he'll always just be the baby Callahan brother.”