Rock Harbor Series - 01 - Without a Trace (36 page)

Screaming in anger, Palmer tried to bring the gun up to shoot Samson, but the dog whipped his head back and forth, and the gun flew from Palmer’s fingers. With his front paws on Palmer’s chest, Samson pushed his muzzle against Palmer’s throat.

At the feel of the dog’s teeth, Palmer screamed and thrashed. “Get him off me!”

“Lie still, Palmer, or he’ll tear your throat out,” Bree warned.

Bree finally felt the rope give. Twisting her wrists, she managed to get one free, then the other. She jumped to her feet and dived for the gun.

Bree pointed the pistol at Palmer and moved to untie Mason. “Samson, release,” she commanded.

With a final growl, the dog stepped back, his eyes still following Palmer’s every move. Palmer shook himself and got slowly to his feet. His wide-eyed stare fastened on the gun in Bree’s hand.

“You know you won’t use that,” he said easily. He started toward her, but Samson immediately moved to block him. The dog’s low growl stopped Palmer in his tracks.

“I will shoot you if I have to,” Bree said. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.” She’d never shot a gun, but she’d empty every bullet in this gun into Palmer if he forced her.

“Sit in that chair,” she ordered.

Palmer must have seen the intent in her face, for his smile faded and he moved slowly to the chair. Keeping an eye on him, Bree finally got Mason free and gave him the gun. She picked up the rope and tied Palmer to the chair.

An ironic smile touched the corners of his mouth. “You’ve surprised me, Bree. I didn’t know you could be so ruthless. Have you thought about what this will do to Lily and the girls? You could just let me go. I’ll get Lily and the twins and leave town.”

“You killed two people, Palmer,” Mason said. “Even if she wanted to, I couldn’t let you go.”

Bree called Samson to her. She saw the bloody tracks he left on the floor. “You’re hurt,” she said softly. She knelt to check on the dog’s wounds. Once she made sure the blood was from superficial cuts, she put her arms around him and buried her face in his fur. He’d risked his life for her. “Thanks, Samson,” she whispered as he licked her face. Then she rose to go to her son.

24

K
ade and Steve parked the snowmobiles outside Louis Farmer’s barn and thanked him. Bree carried her son through the snow to the Jeep. She knew she could put him down and let him walk, but she couldn’t bear to let go of him. If God hadn’t sent Samson at the right time, they would all be dead. There was no doubt in her mind that once Palmer realized Davy was missing, he would have tracked down Davy and Naomi and killed them too.

Steve and Kade both offered to carry Davy for her, but she refused. She wanted to get him home and pore over every inch of him to make sure he was all right. His good arm clung tightly to her neck, and she breathed in his little boy scent with a joy so overpowering she thought her heart would burst.

He was several pounds heavier and a bit taller; otherwise, he hadn’t really changed in the year they’d been separated. But Bree knew he had undergone psychological changes after the ordeal he’d been through. She would ask the pastor at Rock Harbor Community Church if he could recommend a good counselor.

She couldn’t seem to shut off the tap of tears. The rest of the family would be overjoyed. Bree could only imagine Anu’s and Hilary’s reactions. The whole town had mourned with her; now they would all share her joy. Her happiness was tinged with sorrow for what Rob and Fay had gone through. And what Lily and the girls would go through in the years to come.

They reached the Jeep, and she buckled Davy in with the seat belt
beside her in the back. Kade drove, with Naomi in the passenger seat and Rachel in the back with Bree and Davy. Steve had offered to help Mason transport Palmer.

Davy leaned his head against Bree and fell asleep before they reached the main access road. Bree curled her arm around him and pulled him close. She’d nearly lost him a second time. Anu and Naomi said coincidence was how a nonbeliever explained God’s hand in the world. Now she knew there was no such thing as coincidence. God moved in the world as he saw fit.

They reached the edge of town, and Bree asked Kade to drive straight to Anu’s store. Hilary should be there today too. “Lay on the horn and drive slow,” she told him.

Kade grinned and obliged. Bree felt like a queen as they rode toward Nicholls’s. She lowered the window and shouted into the air, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” The horn blared in cadence to her shouts.

Davy woke up at the commotion, and she pulled him onto her lap. “Wave, Davy, wave,” she whispered.

Folks came to their doors to see what the disturbance was about. “Davy’s alive!” she yelled again.

Davy peeked over the side of the window and waved. “Do I know them?” he asked.

“They know you,” she assured him. Some ran after the car when they recognized Davy, and by the time the Jeep reached the store, the crowd had grown to the status of a parade.

The Jeep rolled to a stop outside Nicholls’s Finnish Imports. Bree threw open the door and scrambled out with Davy in her arms as Anu and Hilary came to the door.

“What is going on?” Anu said.

“I’ve found him. It’s Davy! He’s alive!” Bree said through sobs.

Disbelief and shock rippled over Anu’s face. Tears began to stream over her cheeks as her expression registered recognition. “Davy?” She closed her eyes then opened them again.

Hilary dropped the white vase she held, and it shattered on the sidewalk. She put her hands to her cheeks and began to weep. Stumbling over the broken pottery, she and Anu ran toward the Jeep.

Bree rushed to meet them. “Remember Grammy, sweetheart? And Aunt Hilary?”

Shyly, Davy nodded. “Grammy gave me Pooky,” he said.

The color washed out of Anu’s cheeks until she was as pale as the pieces of pottery littering the sidewalk. “It is my Davy,” she whispered. She held out her arms, and her grandson looked at Bree then stepped into them.

Anu hugged him for several long moments before she gently passed him to Hilary. Around them, the townspeople murmured, and Bree saw many wiping tears from their cheeks.

Hilary kissed Davy. “Remember me and Uncle Mason?” she asked.

Davy regarded her for several seconds then nodded. “You have a train in the garage,” he said. “I saw Uncle Mason. He arrested Uncle Palmer.”

Hilary gasped and looked to Bree. Bree nodded and made a shushing motion.

“That’s right,” Hilary said. “You and Uncle Mason put the train together.”

Davy twisted in Hilary’s arms, and he looked through the crowd until his gaze found his mother. “Mommy,” he called.

Bree knew she would never tire of hearing that word. She went to him, and he reached for her. She pulled him close, and he wrapped his legs around her and put his head on her shoulder.

“I’m tired, Mommy,” he said.

“We’ll go home soon,” she promised. Home. Their lighthouse would be a real home again. The thought brought tears flooding back to Bree’s eyes. Though she hated to let go of Davy, she passed him to Naomi and asked her to take him into the store to see if he needed to potty. Quickly she told Hilary and Anu how she’d found Davy.

“Mason has taken Palmer into custody. He killed Fay.” She paused. “And Rob.”

Hilary gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Her wide eyes filled with horror. “What are you saying?” she whispered. Beside her, Anu swayed, and Hilary put an arm around her mother.

“Palmer found gold in the mine.” Bree quickly explained Palmer’s schemes.

“Poor Lily,” Anu murmured.

The women fell silent. The past months of wrestling with Rob’s infidelity had given Bree a taste of what Lily would go through, except Bree had been fortunate to discover her husband really was the honorable man she’d married. Lily would have no such comfort.

Naomi brought Davy back outside, and the family and townspeople milled around, talking and rejoicing with them.

The crowd finally began to disperse, and Bree was ready to head back to the house when Mason showed up. He got out of the vehicle the grimness around his mouth easing when he saw Bree with Davy in her arms. “This makes everything worthwhile.” He took Davy in his arms, and the little boy patted his face. Mason’s eyes welled up with tears.

“What about Palmer?”

Mason handed Davy back to Bree. “In jail and in shock. I hate to have to tell Lily,” he said in a low voice. “I need to find out what this woman knows,” he nodded toward Rachel.

“I was just heading home. You can question her there.”

While the happy reunions were going on, Rachel Marks had sat motionless in the backseat of the Jeep. Her stony face stared straight ahead, but Bree was sure the woman wasn’t as stoic as she seemed. She’d seen the emotion in Rachel’s face when she proclaimed her love for Davy.

Kade moved to Bree’s side. “Davy’s tired, and you’re exhausted,” he said. “Let’s get you home.”

“Come with me?” she whispered. He nodded and pressed her hand. She felt the promise in it. The future seemed as bright as the sun bouncing off Lake Superior.

Naomi kissed Bree on the cheek. “Just drop me by my place. I want to tell Mother and then call Donovan and the kids. Emily and Timmy will be so excited to know they can play with Davy anytime.”

They piled into the Jeep, and Mason followed in his SUV. Bree dropped Naomi off at the Blue Bonnet then parked in front of the lighthouse. Exhausted from the day, Davy had fallen asleep again, so Bree carried him, eagerly guarded by Samson, up the stairs to his room.

“I’m making coffee,” Kade called up after her.

She was so glad he’d come with her. She needed him here, and he’d sensed it. Standing at the door to Davy’s room, she realized the room was stripped of his possessions, so she carried him to her bed. She would restore his room before he awakened.

Rachel and Mason were in the parlor when she went downstairs. Rachel stood against one wall with her hands behind her. She pressed herself against the plaster as though she wished she could sink right into it, and Bree felt a twinge of pity for the woman.

“The coffee will be ready in a few minutes,” Kade said. He came to stand behind her and put his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him, thankful for his strength.

“Do you want to press charges?” Mason asked Bree.

What could Bree say to that? While she hated that the woman had kept her son from her, Bree was grateful she had saved Davy’s life.

Mason waited, and fear replaced the stoicism on Rachel’s face.

Bree shook her head. “I’m not going to press charges, Mason. Davy is alive. I can thank her for that. God must have sent her to him.”

Tears welled in Rachel’s eyes, and she dropped her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Mason nodded then questioned the woman about what she’d seen,
scribbling notes. “I’m going to need an address where I can reach you when Palmer’s case comes to trial.”

Rachel gave him her brother’s address in Chicago. “Can I go now?” she asked.

Mason nodded. She walked to the foyer and looked longingly up the steps. “Could I see Sa—Davy, one more time?”

Bree hesitated and turned to look up into Kade’s eyes. “What could it hurt?” he said softly.

Davy was sleeping anyway. She reluctantly left the warmth of Kade’s arms to lead the way to her bedroom. Samson lay on the floor beside the bed, and Bree knew it would be many days before the dog let the little boy out of his sight.

Davy lay on her Ohio star quilt with one arm flung out to the side. It was a pose he’d adopted as an infant, and tears clogged Bree’s throat to see it again.

Rachel clutched the doorjamb as she watched the sleeping child for a few moments. “Thank you, ma’am,” she said. “If he ever asks about me, would you tell him I love him very much? I wouldn’t want him to think I deserted him.”

Bree nodded. She touched Rachel’s arm. “Before you go—I want to thank you for burying my husband.” Her grieving for him would begin again, as it must. He hadn’t betrayed her, after all. It was going to be hard to forgive herself for the way she’d screamed at him, the accusations she’d flung.

“I knew the boy would want his father buried.”

“Thank you then from both of us,” Bree said. “And thank you for caring for my son.”

“You won’t forget to tell him what I said?” Rachel’s faded blue eyes swam with tears and a resignation that tugged at Bree’s sympathy.

“I’ll tell him,” Bree said. She escorted Rachel down the steps. “Mason, could you run her to the bus stop? It’s a long walk to Ontonagon.”

Mason nodded. “Let me get my coat.” He motioned for Bree to follow him to the living room.

Bree followed him. “What’s wrong?”

“You sure that was wise?” Mason asked.

“I couldn’t put the woman who saved Davy’s life in jail,” she said softly. “And I feel so bad for Lily and the girls. They’ll be devastated. I need to go to her.”

He pressed her arm. “You’ve got a little boy to enjoy right now. Give Lily a chance to absorb the blow. She might blame you at first.”

He rejoined Rachel in the entryway, and they left.

“It’s been quite a day,” Kade said. “Ready for some coffee?”

Bree followed him to the kitchen. The coffee aroma made her stomach rumble. “We haven’t eaten all day,” she said.

“I thought I’d whip us up something. You’re all done in.” He handed her a cup of coffee. She took a gulp, and the hot liquid began to warm the places that were still chilled.

“First, I need to make up Davy’s bed,” she said. “Unpack his things. I’d packed them all away.”

“I’ll help you,” Kade said. He carried the boxes to Davy’s room.

Bree took great joy in making Davy’s bed and putting away his toys while Kade hung the curtains back on the windows.

“I have something else I want to do,” Kade said. “Come with me.” He led her up the stairs to the light tower. The Fresnel lens glittered in the bright moonlight. “I came by with my electrical kit this morning, but you’d already left. The door was unlocked, so I went ahead and hooked up the electricity to the light.” He reached over and flipped a switch.

Light flooded the tower then began to strobe out over the water. Bree let out a cry of delight. She turned to Kade and stepped into his arms.