Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 1 of 2: Undercover Marriage\Collateral Damage\Forgotten Past (33 page)

“Honey, did he hurt you? Did you hit your head?” She felt tears on Emma's face.

“Sis?”

“I'm right here.”

“I hit my head again. Nick said—”

“Nick was scaring you,” he said. “I'm sorry.” He dropped to his knees beside them.

As he did a head check on their daughter, Sarah felt such a rush of trust and peace. This was right.

The flashing lights of a police cruiser reflected from surrounding trees, and the loud, single call of a siren announced its arrival in Jolly Mill. Another figure came walking toward them across the clearing.

“I just talked to Petra.” It was Alec. He sounded breathless and agitated.

“That's Billy.” Sarah stood up and pointed toward the fallen man. “He attacked Emma. What on earth is happening here? Why would he—”

“Because she's Nick's daughter.” Alec's weary, roughened voice seemed forced from him. “Petra told me more than I wanted to hear. I left Gerard with her. Couldn't take any more. We'll have more police cars here before long.”

“Then tell me why Billy Parker would attack my daughter.” Sarah glanced at the silent, cooling body of Nick's cousin.

“Will Parker always pointed to Nick as the kind of man he wanted his son to be,” Alec said. “Billy rebelled.”

“That's no reason to hurt our daughter.” Nick helped Emma sit up.

“Where's Nina?” Emma asked. “Is she hurt?”

The dog whimpered and nudged Emma's hand.

Sarah wanted to go to them, to turn her back on everyone else and be with Nick and Emma, but she needed answers. “Alec, we need to know what she said to you.”

“I'm sorry. I should've picked up on some of this sooner.” Alec shook his head. “Usually I can read people pretty well, but—”

“That's hard to do when you're falling in love.” Sarah felt badly for Alec, but she still needed answers.

“When Petra came to Jolly Mill the first time, Nick, you were kind to her when some of the other kids weren't,” he said. “She crushed on you, even though Billy fell head over heels for her.”

“He was looking for her the night of the party,” Sarah said.

“He heard her asking for Nick. You can imagine that for Billy that had to be a huge kick in the gut.”

“He never said anything to me.” Nick took off his jacket and wrapped Emma with it.

“He didn't have time to act on it before you left for college, and with you gone, he settled down.”

Nick helped Emma to stand, then put an arm around Sarah and drew them both close. “If Petra didn't kill Cindy or Chaz, does that mean Billy did?”

“He told her today that he never stopped loving her, and he'd proved it by covering for her.” Alec's voice broke for just a second. “When Chaz questioned Billy about the chafing dishes being too close to the gas lines when he and Petra catered the retreat, Billy went to Petra and started asking questions. He knew how Petra felt about Mark. Sorry, Sarah.”

“So he killed anyone who could connect the first explosion back to her,” she said. “What about Emma? She was no threat.”

Alec's shoulders slumped. He shook his head. “I'm sorry, guys, but when Emma walked into the diner this morning, I could see both of you in her so clearly, I mouthed off something about how she must be your kid. I guess he must have snapped. He had to have overheard me asking Carol where Emma'd gone off to, and so he used the cavern to reach her before we could. Petra was working on her new concoction in the basement near the cavern entrance, and she saw his footprints in the flour and spices.”

The crackle of tree limbs and the crush of last year's leaves reached them from the direction of the cruiser, which was parked behind Alec's car. Gerard was walking toward them.

“Deputy's here. Ambulance coming. You all okay?”

“Billy's dead,” Nick said.

The reality of it hit Sarah. She burst into tears and buried her face into Nick's shoulder.

* * *

Sarah awakened the next morning with a feeling of deep sadness and unbound gratitude as she glanced from her hospital cot to see Emma resting peacefully in the bed. And on the other side of Emma, Nick was stretched out on a sleeping chair, watching their daughter as if nothing in the world had ever been so precious to him.

Once upon a time, Sarah had thought love could conquer all. Until last night.

A nurse knocked on the door, bringing breakfast trays for each of them, but Sarah didn't have much of an appetite this morning.

Nick eased up from the chair with a frown when Sarah pushed her tray aside. “I think Billy and Petra are still harming others,” he said softly.

Emma opened sleep-clouded eyes, saw the food and raised her bed. “I'm starved!”

Nick's gaze softened on their daughter, then he looked at Sarah. She couldn't look away, and she also couldn't hide the sadness that gripped her. Their attempts to explain all these years of secrecy to Emma had not worked.

Closing her eyes, Sarah recalled Emma's words to her last night. “My parents are gone, and no one's ever going to take their place.”

“I know that's how you feel now,” Sarah had told her. “And we have a lot of things to work out, but you have a father and grandfather you never knew, and since you need them now more than ever, it's best you have the chance to heal here. In Jolly Mill.”

Sarah would never forget the expression of sorrow in her daughter's eyes at that moment last night. “You've had your time with me for sixteen years, Sarah. I need some quality time with them.” She swallowed. “Without you.”

Sarah felt the plunge of a knife into her heart. “You want me to return to Sikeston.”

Emma held her gaze as tears dripped down her face. “If you really love me, you'll give me this. For the summer.”

Those words had haunted Sarah's dreams all night.

* * *

Nick watched fresh lines of grief shadow Sarah's eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and hold her and never let her go. But Sarah'd promised Emma that she would leave today. He'd been unable to argue her out of it.

How paradoxical that if the explosions hadn't happened, he and Dad might never have known about Emma. He knew he couldn't travel back in time to stop the killing, but he could move forward. Dad had a new reason for living after losing Mom, and so did Nick. The only problem—the horrible problem—was losing Sarah. Yesterday there'd been no time to consider the consequences of Sarah's silence all these years. He'd have expected to experience some outrage at being kept from his daughter, at his Mom's having been robbed of a granddaughter. The only anger he felt toward her was that she was leaving. All the words of reassurance he'd spoken to her—hadn't they affected her at all? Yesterday he'd been ready to marry her and give Emma her own, true parents for the first time in her life, but Sarah wouldn't cooperate.

Emma had held on to him for long moments last night in the hospital room. She'd kissed him and Dad on the check, held on to Dad, told them both she was so glad they were in her life.

And Sarah? She'd stood at the far corner of the private room, the pain in her expression palpable, as it was now.

Emma touched Nick's arm. “Want some of my bacon?”

Though he loved this child of his with a power that overwhelmed him, he wanted to have a long, hard talk with her. She had to see what she was doing to Sarah, but the paradox was that Sarah wouldn't allow him to do so. Until she was gone, he couldn't say the words that would change Emma's mind about Sarah staying.

“Sleep last night?” he asked Emma. He hoped her conscience hadn't allowed it.

She shook her head.

Good. “Me, neither.” He gestured to Sarah. “You know it wouldn't be safe to start out on a five-hour drive across the state when you're sleep deprived.”

He noticed Emma's hand stop with her fork halfway to her mouth. He wanted her to say something, anything, to prevent this travesty.

“No problem. I slept.” Sarah shoved the tray away and stood up, smoothing her shirt and jeans, running her fingers through her hair. Even rumpled and sleepy eyed, she looked wonderful to him, and he knew the way he felt about her right now wasn't going to change.

* * *

Sarah had never been one to wallow in guilt, except when it came to Emma. Right now, as she stood facing Nick and Emma, the guilt and agony of loss were tearing her to pieces inside. The only thing that kept these emotions from destroying her was Nick. She could see in his eyes that he didn't want her to go. Those dark eyes gave her hope in the midst of blackness.

“I've signed a form so you or Edward or Carmen can provide or seek healthcare for Emma,” she told Nick as she sat down to pull on her shoes.

Nick didn't respond. She looked up to find him watching Emma, whose eyes had overflowed with tears.

“Sweetheart, I don't want to leave you,” she told Emma.

“It's just for the summer.”

Sarah bit her tongue. She knew the child would not change her mind. But after summer, then what? Would Emma decide she wanted to stay here in Jolly Mill for good?

FIFTEEN

I
t was late July by the time Sarah Russell edited the final chapter of her third novel in as many years. She sat back in her spine-support chair, stretching her muscles. Instead of reveling in the joy of accomplishment, she stared around her study at the walls of books that hovered over her. All she saw at the moment was emptiness. It had been two months since she'd left her daughter with Nick and Edward.

She could still hear those wonderful men, their voices gentle as they begged her to stay. Carmen had gathered her friends together in an attempt to convince Sarah not to listen to a confused sixteen-year-old girl.

Sarah continued to wonder if she'd done the right thing, even though she'd heard from Nick and Edward often, and Emma emailed her several times a day, and all seemed well.

She recalled driving home with a shredded heart and a spirit of gloom. John, bless him, had followed in a two-car convoy, making her stop every couple of hours for a break and time to talk. Last month, however, when Gerard Vance offered him a job in the newly developed police department—where he would be close to Lynley Marshal—he'd returned to Jolly Mill for good.

Sarah missed him like crazy, but she was happy her cousin had found love again.

She missed Nick as she'd missed him for sixteen years. If Emma weren't thriving with the love of her father and grandfather—and they weren't thriving with her there—she might have wished she'd never returned to Jolly Mill. Might have.

On a whim, she pulled out another manuscript she'd printed recently—it was a compilation of all the emails she and Nick had sent to one another during the past two months. It was thicker than any of her novels. To her surprise, Nick had proven to have a way with words, and she'd discovered she would rather write to him than work on her imaginary stories and beloved characters. At least now she felt there might be a “someday” for her.

The tears had ended about a month after her return home. Though she still missed her parents, and Emma, and wanted badly to be in Jolly Mill with the man she'd never stopped loving, she was gaining perspective again. Hope was a powerful motivator. Nick had given her that.

He and Edward could have happily settled in with Emma and left Sarah out in the cold, but their posts and lengthy phone calls to her, their emails, their caring hearts, had helped her feel that despite the miles, she was not alone.

Time for lunch, and Sarah was padding barefoot into the kitchen for a salad when the telephone rang. She read the caller ID with surprise. Why on earth was Shelby calling her?

She answered with trepidation. Her sister did, after all, live in Africa, and with all the wild animals and civil wars, it wasn't the safest of places. Telephone calls from Tanzania always frightened Sarah a little.

“Shelby?”

“Hi, sis.”

“Everything okay?”

“We're fine here. Well, okay, maybe I'm not fine, but it's my own fault, and you know how stubborn I can be.”

Sarah held out the phone, looked at it with a frown, then returned the receiver to her ear. “Huh?”

“Emma's been nagging me for two months to make amends for all these years I've...well...been mad at you. I just called to say I'm sorry, and I know it's long overdue, and it was never your fault that you got pregnant in the first place. Somehow Emma figured out why I've been mad, and that kid doesn't let up.”

“Did she tell you what happened in Jolly Mill?”

“She's told me everything. She's your little champion. Let me tell you, sis, your daughter adores you with all her heart.”

Really? “That's what people do who love me? Get as far away from me as they can? You to Africa, Emma to Jolly Mill, Mom and Dad to heaven?”

“No, honey. That's not it at all. I didn't leave you because I was angry with you. I left because I was called to serve where I was needed. Anyway, now I'm calling you to say I'm sorry, and that I love you, and that you never did anything to deserve the treatment you received.”

Sarah stood staring out the kitchen window at the overgrown garden in the backyard. What on earth had made her think she had a green thumb?

“Sarah?”

“Um, yes, I hear you.” All she could think about was Emma being her champion. “Sorry, I'm still catching up.”

“I have a lot of growing up to do,” Shelby said.

Sarah waited. Her experience with her sister in the past had been apologies transforming into yet more recriminations.

“You know, we used to get along,” Shelby said.

“Yes, we did.”

“I want that again.”

Yeah, but for how long? “That would be nice.”

“And it's occurred to me that blaming you for something that wasn't your fault was childish and unacceptable. I am, after all, a missionary. That means I'm supposed to live my life as an example for others. How can I do that when I can't even love and cherish my own twin sister? Is that twisted, or what?”

“Wow, Emma must have really lit into you.”

There was a soft sigh. “Sarah, I love you. I admire you, and though I used to be disappointed when I discovered we weren't ever going to be perfect images of one another, someday I want to be like you. I don't know if that'll ever happen, but there's one thing I can do right now to start making up for the way I've treated you.”

Sarah's stomach growled. “Okay, I don't need you to grovel. We're fine. I love you, too, and—”

“Would you shut up a minute? I need you to glance in the mirror and make sure you don't have spinach between your teeth.”

“I haven't eaten since breakfast. Besides, why would—”

“Eggs, then. Just do it!”

Impatient, Sarah did as she was told. “Now what?”

“Then go to your front door and look outside.”

“Why?”

“Do it!”

Sarah smiled. That was the bossy sister she'd always known. Typically, she would rebel, but this time she opened the door. She gasped. There on the porch stood Nick and Emma.

“You didn't check in the mirror, did you?” Shelby asked.

“None of your business.”

“Just so you know, this was all Emma's idea.”

“It was?”

“Yes. I wish I had her maturity. I'm hanging up now. Love you.”

“Love you too, sis.”

Sarah set her phone down beside the door, rushed out onto the front porch and fell into the arms of the two people she loved most in all the world. Her family.

Nick kissed her as if he would never let her go. Emma clung to her so tightly Sarah thought she might not be able to catch her breath, but when she came up for air, Nick held out three small jewelry boxes.

“First, let me say that I like the eternity ring best, because it represents us so well,” Nick said.

“But I liked the traditional solitaire, two-carat diamond,” Emma said.

“We also thought you might like to choose something different, so the other box has a folded catalog of choices,” Nick said.

Sarah allowed her heart to pound as she studied the boxes without opening them. “May I ask what, exactly, you two are talking about? Because in all our emails and phone conversations and letters, I don't recall any kind of invitation.”

“You mean, as in, will you marry me?” Nick asked. “Because I love you.”

“And I love you, sis...Mom.” Emma swallowed and her face puckered. Her eyes filled. “I'm sorry I hurt you. I understand everything so much better. Dad and Edward have helped.”

Sarah looked at Nick. “Dad and Mom?” She hugged Emma. “Honey, you had a dad and mom. Are you sure that's what you want to call us?”

“I told her that as long as she honored us as her parents, she could call us what she wanted,” Nick said. “This was what she chose. And, Sarah, I wish I'd known the moment you conceived so we could have battled all the hardships of young, inexperienced parents working their way through school with the help of four doting grandparents.”

“We can't change the past.”

“We have a future, though.”

“Mom,” Emma said softly, “will you marry Dad? I don't think he can live without you.”

For the first time in a month, Sarah felt tears in her eyes. Her daughter had called her Mom.

“Well, we can't have a man dying because of me, can we?” she asked as those dratted tears dripped down her face once again. “I guess I'll take the eternity ring because I can't imagine us not being together for eternity.”

Nick caught his breath, as if he'd been afraid she wouldn't accept. He wrapped her in his strong arms, and he whispered “I love you” in her ear.

Her life had suddenly filled to overflowing, and she knew it would be that way from now through eternity.

* * * * *