Reunited by Danger

by Carol J. Post

  “Maybe it went farther than you realized.”

  She moved deeper into the trees and searched until she was sure she’d covered every square inch of ground.

  Finally she heaved a sigh. “I can’t believe I’ve got to tell Uncle Randy I lost one of his new arrows.”

  “I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

  While Caleb spoke, a rustle sounded nearby and she stiffened, her right hand going for the weapon hidden under her shirt. “Do you hear that?” Her words were barely above a whisper.

  Caleb stood stock-still. “I don’t hear anything except the wind.” His tone matched hers.

  “I thought I heard someone moving through the woods.” She lowered her hand but the tension lingered. “I’m hearing things.”

  She had to be. As she’d driven over, Caleb had constantly surveyed their surroundings, the two deputies some distance behind. No one knew where she was—at least no one who would communicate her whereabouts to the killer.

  She shook off the uneasiness. She’d heard the wind and her stressed-out mind had turned it into something more.

  When they exited the woods, Uncle Randy was walking toward the archery area.

  “Archery competition at one o’clock.” He looked at his watch. “One hour to get yourself warmed up.”

  She handed her bow and the arrows she’d collected to her cousin Mark and headed toward her uncle.

  He watched them approach, a friendly smile spreading across his face. “I hope you young’uns are enjoying yourselves.” Raised in Alabama, he spoke with a slow drawl and had that Southern gentleman charm down to a T.

  Amber returned his smile. “We are. But I think I’ll pass on the archery competition. The three-legged race is more my speed.”

  “Your aunt Louise is getting people together right now in the field east of the barn. You know where it is.”

  Yes, she did. Though Uncle Randy had added other events over the years, the three-legged race had been part of the games for as long as she could remember, along with corn hole and lawn bowling.

  As she made her way toward the barn, Caleb grinned. “I haven’t been called a young’un in about fifteen years.”

  “To Uncle Randy, anyone born after 1970 is a young’un.” Husband to her dad’s elder sister, he was a good decade and a half older than her parents. But he wasn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. Acres of fields lay harvested and plowed, ready for next month’s planting, and he’d added several cows to the couple dozen grazing the pastures.

  When they reached the barn, Aunt Louise was passing out large bandannas. A whistle hung on a cord around her neck and several ribbons with medals were draped over one arm. Six or eight couples already had their bandannas secured and were practicing walking, Hunter and Meagan included. At the other end of the field a group of scrub oaks stood draped in Spanish moss, an orange finish line sprayed on the grass in front of them.

  Aunt Louise held up a bandanna. “Are you kids going to play?”

  Amber hurried forward to take what she held. Five minutes ago, they were young’uns. Now they were kids. She thanked her aunt and moved to where Caleb waited at the start line. After rolling up the scarf, she tied her right leg to Caleb’s left. “This is something I’m good at. The secret is setting up a rhythm.”

  She straightened and slid an arm around his waist. “Hold me tight. We have to work as a single unit.” After Caleb wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she continued. “We’ll start with the tied legs and count one-two-one-two, gradually picking up speed.”

  When everyone was in place, Aunt Louise blew the whistle. Caleb immediately adjusted his stride to match her shorter one and they fell into an easy rhythm. A few yards from the orange line, Caleb cast a glance over her shoulder.

  “Your brother’s catching up.”

  She groaned. “Not again.”

  They pushed for a little more speed and lost the rhythm as they crossed the finish line. Amber stumbled and only Caleb’s tight hold kept her from falling. Once she’d fully regained her balance, he released her and she removed the tie. When she’d finished, Aunt Louise stood in front of her.

  “First place in the three-legged race. Congratulations.” A red, white and blue ribbon went around Amber’s neck, the gold medal hanging right below her chest. Aunt Louise presented a matching one to Caleb and selected silver ones for Hunter and Meagan.

  Amber held up her medal. “Whoever collects the most of these by the end of the day wins.”

  “What do we win?”

  “Absolutely nothing.” She grinned. “A few years ago, Aunt Louise ordered about five hundred of them from a discount party supply place. For each game, a medal is awarded for first, second and third place.” She dropped the medal to let it dangle from its ribbon. “What do you say we grab some of that picnic lunch spread out in the pole barn?”

  “Sounds good. I need my nourishment for the archery tournament coming up.”

  When they’d finished eating, they joined eight or ten other people in the field. Two held bows.

  Uncle Randy addressed the group. “We’re missing the third bow. I think someone’s trying to play Robin Hood and walked off with it over his shoulder.”

  Some chuckles went through the group but Amber’s chest tightened. Her arrow and now the bow. The rustle she’d heard in the woods. Had someone taken her arrow and waited until everyone had left the area to steal a bow?

  As she studied the trees beyond the targets, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Surely someone wouldn’t be bold enough to take a shot at her with people all around. Besides her family and Caleb, one deputy was watching her vehicle and another had been close by ever since she’d arrived.

  She shifted her gaze to her uncle, who was providing instructions to the contestants. Everyone would get three shots. The three people who came closest to the center of the bull’s-eye would square off against one another.

  After forming two lines, the first contestants stepped forward and took aim. Within a few minutes Uncle Randy announced the three finalists. Caleb would be competing against her father and her cousin Mark.

  Caleb stepped forward, took aim at the far left target and released. The arrow hit the board less than an inch right of center.

  Next up was her father. He was good, likely equal to Caleb. He’d taken up the hobby a year ago, bought a bow and installed a target near his rear fence. It was probably his prodding that had convinced Uncle Randy to add archery to their July Fourth activities.

  Her father released his arrow. A second later its point was embedded in the wood just left of center. Unless Mark’s shot was perfect, this one would have to be decided with a ruler.

  Caleb handed his bow to her cousin, who positioned himself in front of the third target. His arrow also made the bull’s-eye, but wasn’t as close to center as the other two.

  Uncle Randy moved forward to inspect both targets. He didn’t have a ruler, but he made due with his fingers, using his pinkie as a guide. After moving back and forth between the targets, he stopped at one and held up a hand. “This one’s closer by a quarter of a finger’s width.”

  Caleb sighed, but his smile said he was enjoying himself too much to feel any real disappointment.

  “I lost to your father.”

  “That’s okay. As long as we don’t lose to Hunter. Competition’s always fiercer between siblings.”

  Uncle Randy draped a ribbon around Caleb’s neck. A silver second-place medal hung from it. Mark approached wearing a bronze one, and after Amber gave him a high-five, he pulled her into a hug. Aunt Louise and Uncle Randy’s youngest, he was the same age as Hunter and had always been like another big brother.

  By the time Mark released her, her father was standing next to him. She smiled up at him and wrapped both arms around his neck. “First place. Congratula
tions, Daddy.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart.” His hold on her tightened. Her father hugged like he meant it, the gesture always filled with love and acceptance. Even when she’d been at her worst, and discipline was involved, she’d never doubted his love.

  When she stepped away, Caleb was grinning. “So the winners get a medal and a hug?”

  She gave him a teasing smile. “Congratulations on your incredible performance out there.”

  She looped her arms around his neck and his came up to circle her back. A few seconds later he gave her a couple of rough pats and released her. A sudden awkwardness hung between them. The awkwardness was likely just on her end.

  Her dad spared her any further discomfort. He extended his hand to Caleb. “Congratulations. It was almost a tie.”

  Caleb accepted the handshake and her dad patted his shoulder with the other hand. “I’m glad you could come today. Amber mentioned you’re a detective and you’ve been working on a case together.”

  She cast a sideways glance at Caleb. She’d warned him on the way over that her parents didn’t know about the attempts on her life. As far as her father knew, the deputy hanging close was a coworker of Caleb’s there to enjoy the activities. Reducing his stress sometimes meant keeping things from him.

  Caleb nodded. “Yes, we have.”

  “Take good care of my little girl.”

  “I plan to.”

  Amber stifled a groan and let it escape as soon as her father was out of earshot. At least he hadn’t given Caleb the talk. Of course, she was ten years older now. Besides, Caleb wasn’t a date. If he was, her father would probably approve and find the talk unnecessary.

  As Amber headed toward other activities, her skin pickled again with a sense of being watched. She cast a glance at the woods and stiffened. Had there been movement? Or was she imagining things?

  “Are you okay?” Caleb’s brow was creased in concern.

  “I’m wondering what happened to my arrow and the other bow.”

  “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

  She tried to shake off the uneasiness. “No one knows I’m here.”

  “We weren’t followed.” Caleb’s tone reflected her own doubts.

  As she moved farther from the archery field, her uneasiness gradually dissipated. She and Caleb participated in more games and, by the time they sat down to dinner, they’d each collected several more medals.

  After filling up on ribs, baked beans and garlic bread, Amber and Caleb headed to the archery field with several others.

  Caleb leaned toward her as they walked. “This gives me another opportunity to try to beat your dad.”

  Her father turned and grinned at him. “I heard that. You sure you’ve got it in you?”

  As they lined up for their shots, the banter continued, the sense of competition as high as it’d been when there were medals at stake.

  When they’d finished the first round, Caleb moved forward with Amber’s dad and cousin Mark. Amber followed and stood beside one of the targets while they compared their best shots and declared Caleb that round’s champion.

  He gave her a fist pump, and she laughed. It was fun seeing him have such a great time. She leaned against the painted board and smiled at him. “Congratulations.”

  Something whistled through the air behind her, and a fraction of a second later, an arrow hit the back of the board inches from her arm. She gasped and whirled around.

  Mark and two others ran past her toward the woods. Caleb stopped long enough to make sure she was unharmed before following the other three. When she turned around, the deputy was running toward her, speaking into his radio. He’d been standing some distance behind her and to the side.

  She ran with him into the woods. Caleb wouldn’t be thrilled with her decision, but only he and the deputy were armed. A little extra firepower wouldn’t hurt.

  “Here’s the bow.” Caleb’s comment carried to her from a short distance ahead. “No one touch it.”

  She stopped and listened. With so many people looking for the killer, there was rustling all around her. She moved forward, pistol drawn.

  A few minutes later, an engine roared to life. Her heart pounded. That sound hadn’t come from where they’d all parked. She made a sharp right and took off.

  A minute later, she broke through the tree line and skidded to a stop at a fence. Ahead of her, a packed dirt road separated two fields. A thunderstorm had come through around four o’clock and released all its fury over the course of twenty minutes. While everyone had waited under the protection of the pole barn, the downpour had turned the freshly plowed ground to mud.

  Caleb stopped next to her and the others joined them.

  Amber pointed. “Look.”

  On the other side of the fence, a vehicle had slung mud in a fan-shaped spray, then fishtailed for several yards before gaining enough traction to make it down the dirt drive. The wide metal gate at the end was open. But whoever had left the erratic trail was gone.

  Mark stepped up next to her. “What’s going on?”

  When she looked at her cousin, her father was approaching from behind him. His gait was stiff, his jaw tight. “That’s what I want to know.”

  As soon as he reached her, she put a hand on his arm. “You shouldn’t have run out here.”

  “You think I’m going to stay behind when someone’s shooting arrows at my little girl?”

  She stifled another groan. When she’d announced her intention to pursue a career in law enforcement, her father hadn’t been pleased. His only consolation had been that she’d planned to try to land a job with Cedar Key. Not only was it a small, safe town, her dad had envisioned Hunter always being nearby to keep her safe.

  Before she could form a response, Caleb stepped to her aid. “Whether it was a prank or some kind of warning for one of us, we should probably get going.”

  She nodded. They’d planned to make their excuses and leave before dark anyway. As they headed back the way they’d come, she cast a glance at her father. He was smart enough to know something was up. But at least Caleb had bought her some time to formulate an explanation.

  After brief goodbyes to her uncle and the others, she hurried to the RAV4 with Caleb. He insisted on driving. She didn’t argue.

  As soon as she’d settled herself in the passenger seat, she closed her eyes and let her head fall against the headrest, suddenly exhausted. When they were on their way, she pivoted her head to the left and opened her eyes. “Thanks for coming with me.”

  “Thanks for inviting me.” He grinned over at her. “Or I should say thanks for not fighting your brother when he invited me.”

  Until thirty minutes ago, it had been a good day. Her aunt and uncle’s Independence Day bash was always fun. Spending it with Caleb had made it even better. She couldn’t deny the physical attraction between them. But it was more than that. Caleb almost made her feel whole again. There was something soothing about his presence. He exuded a calm peace that she’d lacked for most of her life. If she could spend more time with him...

  No, it wouldn’t be fair to Caleb. She didn’t do relationships. She didn’t have the time.

  “So what are we missing?” His question penetrated her thoughts.

  “A couple hours of shooting the breeze and telling stories, seeing who can top the others. Then fireworks.”

  “Uh-oh, would we have had to arrest someone if we’d stayed?”

  She smiled. “My uncle’s stash consists of sparklers, firecrackers and glow worms—the legal stuff. I can’t vouch for what my cousins and their friends bring.”

  “Maybe it’s best we’re not there to witness it.”

  He turned onto Highway 316, and she stared through the windshield. Ahead and to the left, the sun was sitting low in the sky, staining it shades of pink
and lavender. By the time they got to Cedar Key, it would be dark.

  She glanced again at Caleb. He seemed to be avoiding discussing what had happened. Or maybe he was waiting until she was ready.

  “How did he find me?”

  Caleb frowned, his brows drawing together. “I don’t know.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone except Liv and Hunter where I was going. And I talked about it during a phone conversation with my mom.”

  “Someone apparently overheard.”

  “Any chance my house is bugged?” Just the thought made her feel violated.

  “We’ll definitely have it checked out.”

  It was the only thing that made sense. The killer wasn’t omnipresent. And he couldn’t read minds.

  But he’d somehow known where to find her, taken a shot and slipped away without being seen.

  What kind of enemy were they dealing with?

  EIGHT

  Caleb turned onto Noble Avenue and cast a glance over at Amber. This morning’s trip to Williston had taken place under a brilliant blue sky. But Amber’s face didn’t reflect the cheeriness outside. She looked to be on the verge of tears.

  He covered her hand with his. “They’ll be all right.”

  She gave a couple quick bobs of her head but didn’t speak.

  “It’s temporary.” Hopefully “temporary” wouldn’t stretch into weeks. Law enforcement had gotten the warrant they’d requested to search Logan’s home and turned up nothing. Monitoring his cell phone and emails hadn’t given them anything of worth, either.

  Caleb braked at a traffic light and squeezed Amber’s hand. “If the cats haven’t found permanent homes by the time this is over, you can take them again.”

  “I know.” Her smile was equal parts appreciation and sadness. “I feel like I’m abandoning them. Did you see how sad they looked?”

  “They’ll get over it. Think how happy they’ll be when you come for them.”

  He released her hand and stepped on the gas. He was driving Amber’s RAV4. She’d ridden in the back all the way over, a carrier holding two cats on each side of her. She’d taken turns consoling them, her voice soft and soothing against a backdrop of caterwauling.