by Debbie Mason
He put his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t call them. Now tell me, what happened?” Up ahead lights bobbed in the woods as men and women shouted Blair’s name.
“She’s missing. We’ve looked everywhere, and we can’t find her.”
“I’ll call it in.” Owen pulled out his cell phone.
“No, wait. She has to be close by. It’s only been minutes. Ten at most. Please, Owen, Hunter will find her. I know he will.”
“Abby, there’s more…” He trailed off when Gabriel gave him a warning look and the detective pulled out his phone.
Hunter took Abby by the hand. “Come on. Tell me what—”
She hung back, pleading with Owen. “Please, you don’t understand. If Elsa finds out we were at the standing stones, she’ll turn everyone against me like she did when I first moved to town.”
“Sorry, Fancy Pants,” Owen said. “But I don’t have a choice here. There’s a dangerous—”
Gabriel cleared his throat as he followed Hunter to the standing stones.
“The woods can be a dangerous place,” Owen corrected himself. “Just ask Hunter. His brother died when the old gem mine collapsed not far from here. Robbie was only ten, but he knew the woods better than most men three times his age. Accidents happen.”
At Abby’s devastated expression, Hunter shot Owen a glare. She didn’t need to hear something like that now just so Owen covered his ass, and Hunter didn’t need to be reminded of losing Robbie.
Gabriel saved Hunter from having to say anything to Abby. “Was Ms. Gray with the group when Ms. Maitland disappeared?” It looked like Owen planned to let Gabriel take the lead.
“I’m not exactly sure when she disappeared.” Abby gestured to the clearing, where six women stood with their hands pressed against the standing stones. “We noticed she was missing after Sadie had gone through the standing stones.”
Gabriel cocked his head.
“She didn’t really go through the stones, but that’s what we said. We distracted the bachelorettes with our hunky highlanders, who were running through the trees.”
Gabriel rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, so we have hunky highlanders running through the woods. And where would they be now?”
“Looking for Blair, I think.”
“What are they doing?” Gabriel pointed at the women with their palms pressed to the standing stones.
“Umm, they think Blair traveled back in time, and they want to go too.”
“Welcome to Highland Falls,” Hunter said when the other man looked at him like they’d entered the twilight zone. “Now, if you’re finished questioning Abby, I’m going to tell everyone searching for Blair to return to the clearing. You can question them while I see if I can pick up Blair’s trail. If I don’t pick it up within the next ten minutes, we’ll talk about calling in SAR.” Search-and-rescue.
At Gabriel’s and Owen’s nods, Hunter cupped his hands on either side of his mouth and yelled for those who were searching to stop and reconvene at the clearing to await further instruction. “I want to talk to Blair’s friends before I start looking. It might save us some time,” he said as he took Abby by the hand, glancing back at the trees. The moon wasn’t overly bright tonight so he couldn’t be sure, but he’d caught a glimpse of what looked like fair hair and a flash of plaid. “Any chance that Dylan and his friends were out here tonight?”
“Not that I know of.” She cast a worried glance at Gabriel, who walked to where Sadie and Mallory were huddled on the edge of the clearing. “He can’t think Sadie and Mallory had anything to do with this, can he?”
“No. He’s just trying to get answers,” Hunter said as he went to question Blair’s friends. “Stay with me, and we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“You think Dylan is involved?”
“Maybe.” After his talk with the six women, Hunter believed he was on the right track. He signaled to Gabriel that he was going to start his search as he tightened his grip on Abby’s hand. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
He knew which way to go from where the women’s eyes went when he asked where they last saw Blair. Their physical responses were automatic, unlike their verbal responses, which were clearly rehearsed. He needed to find Blair before Gabriel spoke to them and they shared their suspicions that Mallory, and possibly Sadie, were involved.
“Hunter.” Abby tugged on his hand as they left the clearing.
He stopped to look down at her. “What is it?”
“I’m sorry about your brother.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest.
“Thank you, but it was twenty-seven, almost twenty-eight years ago that it happened.” He kissed the top of her head.
“Still, it must’ve been awful. Were you with him?”
“Yeah, me and Shane. We shouldn’t have been there. My dad warned us not to go near the mine. But telling that to a kid is like waving a red flag at a bull.” He stepped back and took her hand to continue the search, looking for signs that someone had walked this way.
He and his brothers had crossed this same trail. It was almost three decades before, but he remembered the day Robbie died like it was yesterday. The smell of fall had been in the air, and the leaves were starting to change color, a reminder that their daylong adventures in the woods were coming to an end and they’d soon be stuck in school. They’d decided to celebrate the end of summer with the biggest adventure of all and set off early that morning.
“Robbie went in ahead of me. I told him we had to wait for Shane to catch up, but he was impatient. A couple of men from town were thinking about reopening the mine as a tourist site. Robbie was determined to find the emeralds he’d heard my dad talking about. Robbie told me I could wait if I wanted to—he wasn’t waiting for anyone.” Hunter stopped at the rustle of leaves and the snap of a twig ten yards away. Just as he was about to head in that direction, he spotted the reason for the noise. A racoon skittered through the underbrush.
“What happened then?” Abby asked.
“Shane had fallen, and I went back to get him,” he said as he scanned the woods up ahead. “Then that was it. All I remember was a loud bang, and I was blown off my feet by a cloud of dust and debris. Shane ran to get help. I should’ve gone with him, but I had to get to Robbie. He called for me, at least I thought he did. Shane got lost, and by the time my dad came looking for us, Robbie was gone. He died in my arms, just like Danny.”
At her hiccupped sob, he looked down. He hadn’t meant to say the last part out loud. “Don’t cry, Abs. Come on, please.”
“How can I not? No little boy should have to go through that, no man either.” She hugged him tight before lifting her head to look at him. “But as hard as it must’ve been for you, it must’ve brought some comfort to your family and Danny’s knowing that you were with them at the end. They didn’t die alone. They died with someone who loved them holding them in his arms. It would’ve been a comfort to your brother and Danny too.”
He cleared the thick ball of emotion from his throat. “I never thought of it that way.”
“You wouldn’t. All you’d see is that you failed to save them, but you can’t save everyone, Hunter.”
He nudged her to get her moving. He’d told her too much, more than he’d told anyone else. “We don’t have time for this, Abby. We have to—” He spotted a couple of broken branches on low-lying shrubs and let go of her hand to walk a few feet ahead. He crouched to survey the forest floor. “We’re on the right track.” There were two sets of footprints. One he suspected to be female given the imprint of a heel. And from what Hunter could tell, no one had dragged the woman away. She’d gone of her own volition.
He straightened, about to share his observation with Abby, but she was staring at him with so much compassion in her eyes that he couldn’t help himself.
“You’re wrong. I could’ve saved Danny. Granny MacLeod prophesized that he’d die in my arms like Robbie. Two days before we were set to come home from ou
r last tour, he did. I didn’t believe her, and I laughed at Sloane when she said we should tell him. I could’ve saved him, but I forgot about it. Completely put it out of my head. And because of that I lost Danny and Sloane.”
The Sinclair family had moved to Highland Falls a few weeks after Robbie died. Hunter didn’t know how he would’ve survived that year without Danny and Sloane.
He cupped Abby’s face with his hands. “I won’t make the same mistake with you. You need to be careful, Abby. No more going into the woods.” Next week would be a month since Granny MacLeod had delivered her prophecy.
“I promise. I’ll be careful, Hunter. But nothing will happen to me. Granny MacLeod saw my past, not my future.”
He kissed her with a desperation that shocked him. He knew then that Abby had stolen his heart. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her.
“Is someone there? Please, help me.” A few feet ahead of them, Blair stumbled onto the path. She was blindfolded with a plaid bandana, her hands tied behind her back, a ragged piece of cloth that had probably been used as a gag hanging around her neck.
“Oh my gosh, Blair,” Abby cried out as she and Hunter ran to the woman’s side. He removed her blindfold.
“Thank God, it’s you,” Blair sobbed. “They kidnapped me, but I got away.” Her dry eyes narrowed on Abby. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew Mallory paid them to kidnap me.”
“No, of course not. But Mallory would never do something—”
“Do you know who kidnapped you?” Hunter asked, turning the woman around to untie her hands. As he did, he mouthed to Abby that it would be all right. All he had to do was break Dylan and his friends.
“No, it was too dark to see their faces.”
All hell had broken loose by the time they made it back to the clearing with Blair. Half the town had arrived, including his aunt and members of the Sisterhood.
Owen spread his arms to keep Elsa and her friends back. But he couldn’t stop them from yelling as Sadie was led away in handcuffs, along with Mallory. “They should be taking you away in handcuffs too, Abby Everhart! You’re the worst offender of them all. Your aunt left you the farm to honor her legacy, not to make a mockery of it for fame and fortune. Do you hold nothing sacred?” Elsa yelled, as some of the locals egged her on. “Is fame and fortune the only thing you value?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Abby was almost positive the Sisterhood had put a curse on her, Sadie, and Mallory. Life had certainly taken a distinct turn for the worse since Blair faked her own kidnapping last week. Hunter had gotten a confession out of Dylan later that same night but even that hadn’t exonerated them in the eyes of Highland Falls and the press.
Sadie and Mallory were released from jail early the next morning, but the damage had been done. Yesterday, the Atlanta Star reported on Mallory’s night in jail. Her lawyer believed that the incident in Highland Falls wouldn’t help her court case. Abby felt horrible for the part they may have played in giving Mrs. Maitland the First more ammunition against Mallory.
Here in Highland Falls, Abby and Sadie were persona non grata thanks to Hunter’s aunt Elsa. Although Sadie was less non grata than Abby, as Granny MacLeod was her actual granny and a founding member of the Sisterhood. But those events weren’t the reason Abby believed they’d been cursed. As the week went on, things got progressively worse.
Someone stole the tour bus. Its burned-out shell was found ten miles from Highland Falls, and poor Sadie got hauled into the station again. The rumor in town was that her brother had staged the theft in hopes of claiming the insurance. The problem with that theory was that Highland Tours’ insurance had lapsed two weeks earlier, which was news to Sadie. All Abby could think was that they were incredibly lucky nothing had happened on the bachelorette tour—aside from Blair’s fake kidnapping.
But that wasn’t the end of their bad luck. While some people in Highland Falls thought Elijah might have died in the fire, Sadie and Abby had discovered he was very much alive. Two days ago, he’d called Sadie demanding money. When Sadie refused, on account of the fact that she didn’t have any, Elijah hijacked Abby’s YouTube channel.
He knew about the channel and his sister’s involvement from hacking into Sadie’s computer. Apparently, Elijah was a world-class hacker, and as Abby watched Sadie try to outmaneuver her brother online, she realized that Sadie was equally skilled herself.
She prayed that Sadie soon figured out a way to beat her brother at his computer games and regain control of the YouTube channel before he ruined Abby and Sadie’s best opportunity to earn a living.
Abby sighed and returned her attention to her sisters on FaceTime. They’d called earlier in the week to let her know they wouldn’t be making it to the Highland Games as planned. As today was the big day, they were feeling bummed that they weren’t here and, if Abby wasn’t mistaken, guilty too.
“No, I know you wanted to be here, but you can come to next year’s Highland Games.” Abby worked to keep a wide smile on her face. She could’ve used a visit. “Mom’s right though. You’re getting the keys to the town next month so it wouldn’t look good to refuse the mayor’s request to judge the pies at the fair.”
“Cutest dog too,” Haven said.
“You might want to get out of that one,” Abby suggested. “The last thing you want to do is tick off the doggy mamas of Shady Mills.”
“Not a chance the mayor will let us pass it off. He claims we’re unhateable. I’m not sure that’s even a word. Anyway, that’s why we got the job. That and we’re not up for re-election,” Haley said.
Abby wished she was unhateable like her sisters. She wasn’t looking forward to attending the Highland Games, where approximately fifty percent of the people were mad at her. The other half were tourists. Abby prayed Tiffany and the Bel Air Bs weren’t among them.
When Sadie informed Tiffany that they couldn’t fit her in this week, she’d thanked Sadie for getting back to her and said they’d find someone else. Abby, Sadie, and her sisters had been stalking the Bel Air Bs’ social media for any sign they had. So far everything was quiet—almost too quiet.
“I have to go, guys,” Abby said when a horn honked outside the farmhouse. Sadie was picking her up for today’s opening of the games. Abby had expected to go with Hunter, but he’d left for the field before she woke up. He had to help with last-minute setup. At least that’s what he’d told her when she’d texted him earlier.
She was feeling a little less than confident in her relationship with Hunter these days. She knew it was her old insecurities getting the better of her, but knowing where the doubts came from wasn’t exactly helping. They weren’t spending as much time together as she would’ve liked. Hunter told her she was being ridiculous when she’d complained about it last night. Since he’d more or less moved into the farmhouse and they slept together every night, he had a point. Still, with everything that had happened in the past week, she was feeling particularly vulnerable. She just needed something positive to happen to correct the downward spiral she felt she was in.
“Abs, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Everything’s great. Promise. I gotta go before Sadie leaves me behind.”
“Okay, don’t forget to send pictures. Go Clan Farquharson!” The Findlays didn’t have their own clan. They were a sept of Clan Farquharson.
Abby didn’t tell her sisters that she wasn’t sure if the Farquharsons still wanted her after the drama at the standing stones. Instead she blew them kisses with a fake smile on her face and disconnected. As though sensing she was feeling down, Bella licked her leg.
Abby picked her up. “I’m sorry I can’t take you, Boo. I could really use you on my side today, but Hunter said you had to stay home.” She gave Bella a cuddle and then gave her a treat and a toy before slipping on a pair of sneakers and picking up a backpack she’d found at the cute vintage clothing store on Main Street before she realized she was broke again. She’d also bought
the outfit she had on—a red T-shirt paired with a short kilt of Farquharson plaid in dark blue with red and yellow diagonal lines.
She gave Bella another quick cuddle before heading out and locking up. She turned to the 1950 white Chevy sitting on the gravel drive. It was Granny MacLeod’s pride and joy and known around town as the unicorn mobile due to its unicorn seat and steering wheel covers, the unicorn flag flying from the antenna, and the sparkly unicorn decals on the doors. Abby was relieved to see Sadie wasn’t wearing her pink-and-gold unicorn headband, which Granny MacLeod insisted she wear at the store. Sadie had been working at I Believe in Unicorns for the past three days.
“Sorry. Granny insisted I take it to the field today. But I’ve got an awesome surprise that will make it worthwhile.”
“Oh my gosh, you genius! You beat your brother, and we’re back in business?” She wouldn’t tell Sadie, but she’d begun to doubt that they’d ever get the channel back up and running.
Sadie grimaced, and Abby’s heart sank. Then Mallory leaned forward in the backseat to wave out the open window. “Sorry, I’m the surprise.”
“Don’t be sorry! You’re the best surprise ever. I’m so glad you’re here.” Abby stuck half her body in the window to give Mallory a hug.
“Sit up front, Abs. I had to put the equipment in the backseat. I couldn’t get the trunk open.” Sadie nodded at the video equipment on the seat beside Mallory. “I’m not giving up, and neither should you. We’ll get some amazing video at the games, and companies will be begging to advertise on your channel as soon as we get it back online,” she said as Abby slid into the passenger seat.
“You’re the best. And it’s our channel.” She leaned over the console to hug Sadie. “You’ve given as much time and energy to it as me. No”—she shook her head when Sadie opened her mouth in what looked to be protest—“don’t argue. I’ve given it a lot of thought. Besides, I have an ulterior motive. I’m hoping you’ll reconsider moving back to Highland Falls.” She straightened and looked back at Mallory. “I’m still hoping you’ll change your mind and move back too.”