From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone (24 page)

Chapter 12

“I’m telling you, I heard a helicopter!” Bruce shouted at Sally from the bottom of a steep incline he’d slid down. The wind had picked up and was blowing fiercely and the frigid rain that had held off was now pouring down in buckets. He was soaked, even though he’d borrowed Adam’s down jacket, and heavy-treaded shoes from Ed, which were the only ones that would fit his size 14 gunboats.

Sally climbed up the incline, slid on her knees, and pulled herself up until she had a bird’s eye view from where they’d come. Her hood was up and she placed her flattened palm above her eyes as she scanned the area. “I can’t see anything, and the wind’s blocking any sound. What do you want to do?”

Bruce wondered for a minute if it was his imagination. He was exhausted, and he knew he couldn’t completely trust his senses. “I don’t know. But if that is help coming, shouldn’t we go back?”

Sally shook her head. “Your call, Bruce. Do we keep going, or head back? Ideally, we want to stay by the plane, but remember: it won’t be easy for them to see it from above… especially in this.”

But Bruce didn’t want to be in charge. Even at work, all final decisions came from his boss, Mr. Driscoll. And Bruce had learned long ago not to butt heads, but to play the
bureaucratic game, be non-committal. Of course, that was only after his first two significant decisions had been overturned on a whim by Driscoll, without any consultation.  But then, working for the state as one of many anonymous minions, he’d realized it wasn’t about right and wrong; it was politics, exactly the opposite of the ethics he taught his son. Maybe that’s why Bruce hesitated now to make a decision.

“Let’s keep going. How long do you think it’ll take us to walk out?”

Sally slid down the incline on her heels. “A day. Maybe two.”

Bruce loosened the strap on the pack that held the bottles of water they’d filled at the river a few hours before.

“Let’s go,” Sally said. “I have an idea of where we can stop, a sheltered area to get us out of the rain, but we need to pick up the pace if we’re going to make it before dark.” Sally moved past Bruce and took the lead once again.

Bruce had just started to follow, when he had this feeling of a dark presence behind him… as if being watched. It had a shiver coursing through him, and every hair on his back standing up. “Hey, Sally--” Suddenly something knocked him down and growled. And then leapt past him.

Sally screamed. Bruce rolled over and jumped up. A blurred vision of a large cat pinning Sally down and biting her finally connected in his brain. Sally was screaming and fighting it off, hitting it with her arms as she covered her face. Bruce froze, unsure, and then he heard a man yell, and then again. And it took him a minute to realize it was he, himself, as he ran at the mountain lion and kicked it, throwing his arms in the air, roaring at top of his lungs and leaping again as he kicked at the cat again, but it wouldn’t let her go. Bruce could see the blood and flesh from her torn pants where it had clawed, and bitten her.

The cat faced him and growled, teeth barred, and took a swipe at Bruce. He jumped back and screamed at the animal again. The cat clawed him but he couldn’t feel it. He roared once more, arms high, and kicked at the cat again and again, and then swung his pack at the cat, trying to beat it back.

A gunshot pierced the air. It was so close, Bruce’s ears were ringing. And the cat took off. Bruce dropped to his knees where Sally was. She was crying, her leg all torn up.

Someone grabbed his shoulder, and when he glanced up he saw a man with a rifle and then two more sliding down the hill behind him, heading right for them.

“Are you Bruce Hines?” A man with a heavy mustache asked.

“Yeah. Oh boy, am I glad to see you.”

The man patted his shoulder. “We’re with search and rescue, you’re the last two we’re looking for. If you hang tough we’re going to have you out of here in no time. I have to tell you, if wasn’t for two people who really care for you, I don’t think we would have found you. You have a very persistent brother-in-law who insisted we weren’t looking in the right area. He pointed us here and gave us a message to give to you. David’s waiting for you and you need a better pair of shoes.”

Bruce fell back on his butt, and laughed until tears streaked his cheeks. And then he cried.

Chapter 13

The doorbell rang again. More people came, even Mr. Driscoll, sitting in the living room with Dad. David had been glued to his dad’s side ever since they met him at the hospital in Seattle to which he’d been flown, with Sally.

Dad had a mild concussion, and was dehydrated. The hospital had kept him overnight for observation. He’d looked thinner and dirty when David had been allowed to see him, once Bruce was settled into a private room. Uncle Paul had stayed with David, and went with him to see his dad. Gloria perched on the side of the bed beside Bruce, holding his hand.

“The whole time in the woods, David, I could not shake this powerful sense of you,” Bruce suddenly said. “As if you were there with me.” Bruce glanced up at Paul, “So I understand I have you to thank for getting search and rescue to the crash site.”

Uncle Paul shook his head and squeezed David’s hand. “No, not me. I was just the messenger. You have your remarkable son David to thank. He dreamed of you, where you crashed, and he told me the details of when you went to look for water with this lady named Sally, and she told you Bitterroot Mountains, and one of the rivers that branched into the Columbia. And I remembered that area well.”

Bruce paled and blinked. His face softened as he glanced at David. “That’s right. Sally and I did go for water. You dreamed that? How?”

Gloria got up from where she sat, pressed her hands to her cheeks, and strode around the bed toward David.

David stepped closer to Paul. He wanted to hide behind him. But Gloria was on her knees now, her arms out to David. He hesitated until he felt a nudge from a warm hand in his back, and he fell into his mother’s arms. Gloria Hines cried, and thanked little David over and over.

Now, as David sat in the living room of their comfortable home filled with relatives and friends celebrating his dad’s return this Christmas Eve, he glanced over at the piles of gifts under the tree and gazed back at his dad… the greatest gift he’d just received.

Lost and Found

Walk the Right Road Series, Book 2

An Edgy, Powerful, Emotional Thriller that will leave you breathless!

Each choice we make causes a ripple effect in our lives. When things happen to us, it is the reaction we choose that creates the difference between the sorrows of our past and the joy in our future.

— Chelle Thompson, Editor of Inspiration Line

Prologue

“Hey, you two look great.” Richard McCafferty propped his axe against the woodshed and strode away from the large stack of chopped firewood. He wiped away beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his heavy work glove.

Marcie shivered underneath her purple down vest, her fingers linked with the love of her life, Sam’s. She leaned against him, into him, and couldn’t erase the smile she’d swear was now etched permanently into her face. She couldn’t explain the joyful sense of lightness that filled every part of her. Maybe that’s why she needed to touch Sam, be with him, near him.

Richard gripped Sam’s hand the way good friends do. He winked at Marcie as if he could read her every secret. She dropped her eyes; after all, when had she ever been successful at keeping something from Richard?

“Your cast is gone, Marcie; you’re all tanned and healed. Those beaches down in Mexico look like they agreed with you. So when’d you guys get back?”

Sam wrapped his arm around Marcie’s shoulders and rested his chin on the crown of her head. “Last night. Rented a car in Seattle and drove around the peninsula. Thought we’d stop in. Check on you and Maggie before heading over to Marcie’s granny’s place.”

The screen door squeaked.

“Hey you two, didn’t know you were back.” Maggie dashed down the stairs yanking on a thick green sweater. She skidded around the pile of leaves, nearly tripping over a garden rake. She hugged Marcie and then kissed Sam on the cheek.

“You’ve got quite the glow happening there, Marcie.” Maggie shoved in between the couple. “The way you two are glued together, you’d think you’d not seen each other in like forever.”

Sam smiled broader and leaned against the black SUV he’d rented. His blue eyes, brighter than before they left for Mexico, watching Marcie in a way that let her know how much he loved her. His look would have told her even if he hadn’t said the words a few hours ago and every day since she’d told him the big news.

Maggie was eye-to-eye with Marcie. Toffee-colored eyes lit up as if she’d guessed what Marcie held onto.

“Should we tell them, Sam?” She was teasing, and Richard gave nothing away as he stared first at Sam and then her.

“Okay guys, what gives?” asked Richard.

Sam blurted out, “Marcie’s pregnant.”

Richard grinned and high-fived Sam. “Congrats, guys.”

Maggie squealed and hugged Marcie and then patted her still flat stomach. “So, how far along?” Maggie was almost bouncing with excitement as she tucked her shoulder-length, dark curly hair behind her ears. Her pale cheeks glowed a natural rosy pink from the chill in the late fall air.

“Not far, just a few weeks.” Marcie could swear her joy shimmered in the air between her friends.

“Mom! ” Ryley called from the door.

“Oops. Come on in, guys.” Maggie hurried to the steps. Ryley burst out the door, his sneakers undone, wearing only a dark long-sleeved T-shirt hanging outside jeans with patched up knees. “Put your coat on, young man; and go finish raking those leaves before I kill myself. And this time, put the rake away when you’re done.”

“Hey Ryley, no school today?” Sam bent down and retrieved the rake while Ryley pulled on his red jacket.

“Naw, it’s a teacher work day, and Mom won’t let me play on the computer. She’s making me work.” Ryley skulked down the steps.

“What’s a teacher work day?” Marcie asked.

“It’s where all the kids stay home from school and teachers are supposed to have a continuing education day, where
they
learn something. Or so we’ve been told.” Maggie shook her head and went inside.

Marcie couldn’t hear what Sam said when Ryley took the rake, but he laughed so hard he wiped what she assumed were laugh-tears from his eyes.

“Sam looks pretty happy, Marcie,” said Richard. “He wants kids. See how he is with Ryley?”

Marcie looked up. Richard was so tall, and his dark hair was a little on the shaggy side. “Yes he does.” Marcie swallowed. Her head felt a little thick this morning, but she’d heard that was normal.

“How are you feeling? Maggie was sick the first few months with Ryley. With Lily, she was just tired all the time.”

The lines around Richard’s eyes made him appear older, wiser, and damn handsome. And he knew darn well he still had every woman taking a second look when he entered a room.

“Tired. Feeling like I’m coming down with something. But it’s good.”

He shook his head; a grim line stretched taut across his lips. “You know Marcie, I’m glad you and Sam had time to get away. Does Sam regret leaving the DEA?”

“He hasn’t said. But being with him in Mexico… just us and nothing hanging over our heads… I’ve got to tell you Richard, I didn’t want to come back. It was magical, as if I was inserted into my fairy-tale ending where everything was perfect, and nothing could touch us. I worried coming back on the plane if maybe there would be some repercussions when setting foot back here. I can’t say this to Sam, but I can’t shake this feeling there’s something brewing in the wind with Dan and his crew. You know… payback.”

Richard pulled off his work gloves and stuffed them into his back pocket. He stared up at the house for a moment before turning and looking at her in a meaningful way. She was sure he knew more than he was telling.

“Marcie, this game, this business… even the people who aren’t involved but know about what Dan and Lance and that whole underworld do… they don’t talk.”

“Richard, are we in danger?” She shivered as a light breeze swirled her hair. Marcie swept her fingers through the strands, distracted for a minute by how silky, wavy, and long her hair had recently become.

“You need to know something -- and I haven’t told Maggie this. I found out one of the disabled kids Sandra Carter had at her home the night you and Maggie delivered all the marijuana… well, he died last week. Whoever his full time aide was had a way of communicating with the boy. And she said the kid was scared of Sandra. Before he died, he told her… Sandra hurt him.”

“Are you sure? I thought those kids couldn’t talk. And why does Sandra still have a contract to care for them?”

Richard just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know everything, just what Diane told me. But they’ve suspended Sandra’s contract pending an internal review.”

“Well, how did the kid die, and how’s Sandra responsible?”

“I don’t know that either except they’re presuming a mix-up in his meds. Both kids were on so many. Look Marcie, the reason I’m telling you this is Sandra’s out for blood. And she’s made drunken threats to some friends against Maggie, and you too. Both of you broke the cardinal rule and ratted them out, her and Dan, and that’s her quote. But you understand that world. You knew this was going to happen—we all did when we set them up. This underworld has a way of looking after things in their own way. We all need to be careful. Lance Silver is one dangerous and powerful bastard, and Sandra and her family are unscrupulous. Remember, Dan won’t cross Sandra. Not once during that whole mess did he ever point the finger at her.”

She glanced over just as Sam dumped a handful of leaves over Ryley’s head and then tossed him on the pile.

“Why would he protect her, Richard?”

“You still don’t get him. He and Sandra go way back. He’s cagey, and he knows who he can screw over, and who he can’t. She encouraged his behavior. And he controls her to a point. If he crosses her, he knows he’ll be dead. Have no doubt he’ll protect Sandra. Because that will protect him, too.

“He casts illusions even with me, keeping me off guard. He was scared I’d kill him for involving Maggie; what goes through his mind after he screws people is… what he can say to keep from getting the shit pounded out of him? Lance Silver, Sandra, that whole underworld Dan slithered his way into… it’s… let’s just say that Dan doesn’t play by their rules. He’s not part of them; he’s an outsider who slithered in. Sandra’s a part of that world because she grew up in it. I still can’t figure out Lance and Dan’s connection, and why’s Dan still walking around. I know he’s screwed one too many of them.”

Marcie frowned, looking back at him, and tried to read past the sudden hardness encasing Richard. “How do you know this, Richard?”

He didn’t look at her; instead he watched his son. “Marcie, you’re a big girl. If you’re going to live out here, you need to be aware of what’s going on around you. There’s some ugly stuff, and the people involved lead outwardly picture perfect lives. You and my wife got dragged into something…” Richard yanked his gloves from his back pocket and swatted the leather across his jean-clad thigh. He lowered his voice and said, “What you
see
and what is real are two different things.”

Marcie looked away, toward the bare towering willow that would shade the front lawn nicely all summer. “Have you spoken with Dan?”

“Nope. I’m just saying you need to constantly watch your back. Retribution doesn’t always come in ways we expect.”

“Richard, Sam said he took care of everything so we’d be safe…”

His jaw stiffened and scratched his head as he watched Sam and Ryley turn a big pile of leaves into a spread out mess as Ryley dove in over and over.

“There comes a time when you need to look after home first. Sam did that for you; he did what he needed to. For me, that’s Maggie and the kids. But make no mistake, whatever Sam and I do, anything can still come out of left field. We all need to be aware and not so trusting that we’re safe. Because that’s when mistakes happen... and someone gets hurt.” He continued to watch Ryley.

Marcie hadn’t noticed before, but tinges of gray now threaded through the strands of hair by his ear. It was thicker than before. Richard then turned and smiled at her, but the light didn’t reach those steely blue eyes. “Come on, oh pregnant one, let’s go on in and have some coffee.”

“Tea for me, please.”

This time Richard laughed, and it wasn’t so forced.

* * * *

Marcie leaned against Sam in the warm cluttered kitchen. Richard shoved a log into the wood stove while Maggie picked up the spoon Lily had tossed under the table—for the second time since they’d walked in. Five-year-old Lily, severely autistic, swayed in her booster seat at the table, lining up the cheerios on the table instead of eating.

“Maggie leave her, I’ll take over,” Richard offered.

Maggie handed Richard a clean spoon. “Good luck, she’s driving me nuts this morning; she’s already dumped her first bowl on the floor.” Richard gently squeezed Maggie’s shoulder and then moved to the messy table and kissed the top of Lily’s curly dark bed hair.

“Come on my girl, what’s this about giving your mama a hard time?”

Marcie would swear Lily smiled in amusement. She was definitely a daddy’s girl. Marcie needed to speak with Maggie about adding some natural remedies to aid in Lily’s therapy. Diet, vitamins, the holistic approach that was so controversial, no track record or data, but an approach Marcie was convinced would help Lily be more responsive. Maybe before they left today, she’d broach the subject.

Richard spoon-fed Lily. And Lily leaned in for her daddy and took each bite.

“You know Marcie, I remember the first few months with Ryley, just the smell of coffee would send me racing to the nearest bathroom.”

Marcie clutched the warm mug of green tea. She could feel how relaxed Sam was behind her. He’d not worried like she did about coming home. Marcie had asked him twice what he meant by “taking care of things” so they were protected from Lance and Dan. But he wouldn’t elaborate. And try as she might, she couldn’t figure out what he’d done.

“Thanks for the coffee, Maggie.” Sam’s southern charm whispered like honey when he spoke. She’d never tire of listening to him talk because he meant what he said, and he spoke from his heart—always. She knew by the way Maggie smiled at him; her friend too loved listening to his smooth southern accent.

“All done, my girl.” Richard helped Lily down from her chair. She still wore her fuzzy pink pajamas and fluffy elephant slippers. She bolted straight for the screen door and pushed it open. Richard grabbed her before she went any farther.

She screamed, “SA, SA,” and reached for the door.

“Let’s put your coat on. It’s cold outside, silly girl.” Richard had just zipped up her purple down jacket when she dashed out the door.

Richard held the screen door open. Ryley was raking leaves as Lily dashed past him. “Ryley! Watch your sister. Take her over to the swing and keep an eye on her; I’m going to grab a coffee, and I’ll be right out.”

“Aww Dad, why do
I
have to watch her again? You wanted me to rake the
leaves
, why do I have to do both?” he whined like any young boy tired of being responsible for his sister.

“Go… now.” Richard’s voice was direct while he pointed toward Lily now running in circles on the grass. Ryley dropped the rake and stomped after her.

“Richard, did you put her shoes on, or is she still in her slippers?”

Richard leaned past Maggie and poured himself a coffee. “She’s fine, Maggie. Stop fussing so much about what she’s wearing. At least she’s got something on her feet.”

Bile suddenly, inexplicably burned the back of Marcie’s throat, and rose up like a sharp wind. She grabbed Sam’s arm and nearly dropped her tea as she was flooded by a wave of dizziness. A harsh chill rushed through her. “Oh no,” she mumbled.