Melting the Ice (19 page)

“And his work, these ethnic bullets?”

“We have it all now. We have the samples and we have the technology. We can use it now to work on a plan for developing antibodies and treatments. Bio Can Pharmaceutical will do that, under government contract.”

Hannah sighed. “I still feel for Ken Mitchell. He may have screwed up in Marumba but he devoted every minute of his life trying to put this evil behind bars. It drove him crazy.” She took a sip of her red wine. “He saved me, you know, twice.” She looked at Rex. “He pulled me from the river after Vasilev pushed me in.”

“So that explains it. He must have tackled Vasilev and earned that gash on his face.”

“And a bullet in the leg from you.”

“You have a gun?” Danny’s eyes were wide.

“Policemen have guns, Danny. Your dad was doing a job like a policeman, chasing the bad guys who tried to hurt me.”

“Like the bad guy who took me.”

She leaned over and kissed his head. “Yes. Now eat up, we need to get you into bed.” Hannah made a mental note to call a counselor tomorrow. Danny would surely need someone to talk to after all he’d been through.

“Who was this Plague Doctor going to sell these magic bullets to?” asked Al.

“Someone at the conference, we think. It could have been a representative from any number of the countries attending. They would have done it on the side. That’s how these information exchanges often happen, through conferences like these that serve as meeting grounds. If the doctor doesn’t confess and tell us, we may never know. That is why organizations like the Bellona Channel must remain ever vigilant.”

Scott cleared his throat, commanding attention. He clinked his knife against his glass. “Speaking of Bellona, Rex, I’ve been asked to tell you that Killian has named you to the board.”

Hannah flinched at Scott’s words. She held her breath waiting for Rex to respond.

He turned to look at his colleague. “I’m flattered, Scott, but I have other plans.”

Hannah breathed out a sigh of relief.

Scott took a sip of his wine. “I understand, Rex, but hear me out. Killian says he wants to keep you running your division of Bio Can, except he wants it relocated out West here in B.C. And, as a Bellona board member, you call the shots, decide on policy. There is no fieldwork. You get a crack at a normal life.”

Rex set his glass carefully down on the table. Hannah could see him weighing the options. She knew what his work meant to him. She could see it in his eyes when he spoke. Until now it had been his life. Could it be possible that they could have the best of both worlds?

“Scott, why would Killian want the indigenous medicine division out West?”

“He doesn’t want to lose you.” Scott tilted his head, catching Hannah’s eye. “None of us do.”

Danny piped up. “That’s for sure.” His interjection raised a chorus of laughter.

Rex looked at Hannah, one brow raised in question.

“It sounds too good to be true, Rex.”

“Think about it, buddy. You and Hannah talk it over. The way I see it, old Killian is not too much longer for this world and he’s looking ahead.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“He needs to groom a replacement for board chair.”

Danny’s eyes were drooping. Hannah stood up. “Come, Daniel, I think you need to call it a night. Let’s say good-night to everyone.”

Danny turned to look up at his father. “Will you still be here in the morning?”

Rex reached out and placed his large hand over the little one. “Yes, Danny. I’ll still be here. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”

“Will you come tuck me in?”

Hannah could see Rex struggling with his emotions. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse and gentle. “Of course.”

He looked up at Hannah. She could see the sparkle, the shimmer in his light eyes. It was as if a swimmer had broken the surface of those cold blue pools, refracting light in a million directions. It was time, she thought, that a swimmer played in those cool depths.

“I’ll take him up, Rex. I need to talk to him. We’ll call you when he’s ready to be tucked in.”

She helped Danny brush his teeth and put on his Winnie the Pooh jammies, relishing the beauty of this simple routine. She tucked him and his yellow teddy bear into his bed and bent to hold him. She held him like that for a long time, smelling the mintiness of his warm toothpaste breath, the clean soapy smell of his skin.

“Danny?”

“Yes, Mom?”

“You’ve been through a lot. I’m going to get someone who is trained in dealing with these things to come and talk to us. To make sure we are all really feeling okay. It’s not good to bury things, you know. We need to talk.”

She knew it well enough. She had been burying things deep for the past six years. The relief she felt now was beyond description.

“I’m okay, Mom. My wish came true.”

She sat up and looked into those eyes, his father’s eyes.

“What wish?”

“My wish for a dad.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about that wish, Danny?”

“’Cause I know it made you sad when I asked about my dad.”

His words ripped at her heart. She hugged him tight. “You have him now.
We
have him. Sometimes we have to wait for the good things.”

“I know. We have to fight and pass all the tests before we get to the treasure.” His clear little voice was imbued with a wise and knowing tone. “It can take many years.”

“Where did you learn that?”

“TV.”

“I see. So it does teach you something.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “You sure you want to sleep in your own bed tonight?”

“You’ll be in your bed?”

“Yes.”

“And Granny, she’ll be in the spare room?”

“Yes.”

“And Dad, he will be in your bed?”

Hannah smiled. “I think so. You okay with that?”

Danny grinned over the top of his duvet. “I’m okay with that. Can you call Dad now, to tuck me in?”

Rex climbed the stairs to say good-night to his son, his large frame silhouetted against the light in the stairwell. As Hannah watched him, he turned and blew her a kiss. She smiled. She felt a spurt of warmth in her chest that radiated out through her body, like ripples from a pebble cast into a pond. If Daniel’s wish had come true, so had hers. She had her own little family, and they were going to build on pillars of love. It had taken six years to get here, but it was worth every minute of it.

She turned into the kitchen to put the coffee on. Al touched her arm. “I’m happy for you, Hannah.”

“Thank you, Al. You were always there for me. You helped me cope during the dark times. If it wasn’t for Amy, we might never have come this far.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I feel like I can finally put her soul to rest. Her work has been done.” Al paused for a moment. “Will you come up to the glacier with me tomorrow? I want to scatter her ashes. I haven’t been able to do it until now. I thought I’d have a little ceremony. She would want it that way, for the wind to carry her ashes over the distant peaks. It’s where her spirit will always be.”

Hannah felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. “Of course I will, Al. I would be honored to.”

“And I’d like Danny and Rex, your family, to come, too.”

“Thank you.” She kissed Al’s crinkled cheek. “We’ll all say goodbye. We will set her free.”

Al helped Hannah carry the tray of coffee into her sunken living room. Through the large picture windows, the town of White River was a sparkling jewel nestled between the two mountains on the opposite shores of Alabaster Lake. She smiled inside as she handed Scott his coffee. She had vowed to have things under control by the time she returned to her home, her sanctuary. And she did. But not in her wildest dreams had she thought things would turn out the way they had. She’d laid solid foundations for herself and her son in White River. And now they were going to build on them, together, as a family.

“Where’s Rex?” Scott asked over the rim of his mug.

“He’s still with Danny. I’ll go get him.”

Hannah climbed the stairs, softly pushed open the door to Danny’s room. And her heart cracked. The man she loved was bending over their son, kissing him on the forehead.

“Night, my boy.”

“Goodnight, Daddy.”

She felt tears slip down her cheeks as Rex tucked the duvet tight around Danny’s little frame.

“I’ll always be here for you, you know that now, don’t you?”

Danny nodded his dark head and snuggled against his teddy bear.

Rex stood, flipped off the light and moved to join Hannah in the doorway. He lifted his hand and gently wiped the moisture from her cheeks.

“No more tears,” he said.

“They’re happy tears.”

He nodded, bent to kiss her mouth. Before his lips touched hers, she felt the warm whisper of his breath. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, Mrs. Logan.”

“Yes.” She whispered against his mouth. “But we’ve got a lifetime to do it in.”

ISBN: 978-1-4268-8099-5

MELTING THE ICE

Copyright © 2003 by Loreth Beswetherick

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com [http://www.eHarlequin.com]