“We should invite everyone here for Christmas,” Cait said. Even though the huge secret her parents hid from her hung like a rock over her head, she still missed them.
“To do that, we have to go into town and get a cell phone signal,” Brian reminded her. He put his arms around her and nuzzled the back of her neck. “I know you’re afraid of driving down the mountain, but if you don’t, how will you ever go home?”
Cait closed her eyes and shuddered, reliving the car crash. “I know we can’t stay up here forever. I just wish the nightmares would stop.”
“I thought you only needed me to hold you.” He looked disappointed. “You said everything would be all right if I did.”
“I did, but I can’t get it out of my mind that something bad is going to happen. What if that maniac who tried to run me off the road were to attack again?”
“The worst is over,” Brian said. “You survived the crash and you’re feeling better. Let’s get back to the cabin before the storm blows in.”
He threaded the loop behind the star over the highest branch he could reach and picked up the rake. Taking her by the hand, he led her back on the trail toward the cabin with the two dogs following.
As they climbed up the bank of the creek, Melia charged ahead, bounding toward the house and barking. Sierra emitted a low growl and stood in front of Cait and Brian.
“Must be an intruder.” Brian tucked Cait behind him. “You stay here with Sierra while I take a look.”
Cait hid herself behind a tree and peeked out as Brian trudged after Melia to the clearing where the cabin sat.
A police car was parked in the driveway, and two sheriff deputies circled the house, looking for something or someone.
Melia’s barks alerted them, and they reached for their guns.
“Hands up,” one of the deputies shouted at Brian. “Are you Brian Wonder?”
“Yes, I am.” Brian held his hands up.
“Call off your dog,” the second deputy said, pointing his gun at Melia.
“Melia,” Cait called, rushing forward. “Come back here.”
“Hands on the car,” the first deputy said to Brian.
“Wait, what’s going on?” Cait jogged toward the officers. “What did Brian do?”
The first deputy cuffed Brian and the second one said to Cait, “He’s under arrest for attempted murder and kidnapping. I suggest you call a lawyer.”
“Those are some serious charges,” Cait said. “Brian wouldn’t kidnap or kill anyone.”
“I’d watch my back if I were you,” the arresting officer said. “He tampered with your brake lines and that’s why you crashed. As for the kidnapping, he’s been sending messages to Thornton’s son, and now the kid is missing. We suspect he has him stashed away somewhere out here.”
“You’re welcome to search the cabin,” Cait said. “There’s no one here but us.”
Of course, she hadn’t been to the woodshed or up in the attic to know for sure, but surely, if Glen was around, the dogs would have acted differently.
“Don’t worry,” the second officer said. “We have search warrants, and if this kid is anywhere on the property or in the vicinity, we’ll find him.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
~ Glen Thornton ~
That was a close call. I climb higher up a tree and stay hidden behind the thick boughs of the evergreen. I’m downwind of the dogs, and they don’t detect me and give away my position.
It’s a good thing I decided to hide and observe Wonderman and his wife before breaking into their house. I had a feeling I was being tracked, especially after I bought the GPS navigator watch after I hopped off the train in Sacramento. I then stowed away in the back of a camper making its way up the pass. They actually drove past my position, but fortunately stopped for gas and food, allowing me to slip away.
I’ll wait until the police finish searching the house. It looks like they are arresting Wonderman, and I bet it has something to do with me. After they leave, I’m guessing the wife will drive down the hill and call a lawyer, giving me a chance to get my dogs.
I’m not sure where I’ll go after that, but I hope they have food in the house. Maybe they won’t be back for a while, and I can hide out until Christmas.
This place isn’t too far from my parents’ vacation home, and right now, there’s only a caretaker around. I should head over there to get my mom’s jewels. I’ll need money if I’m going to see the world.
Too bad Wonderman got arrested. He looks like a pretty cool guy. I mean, he’s a redhead like me and so is his wife. My dogs like them, so that means they’re good people, and they don’t have any other kids.
I don’t get along with other children. They hate me and I hate them. If they can promise not to send me to school and not let my father know where I am, I can use this cabin as my winter hideout.
I fully plan on wandering around, though. One thing the military school taught me is survival skills and orientation.
I wait until the police leave. Mrs. Wonderman leaves shortly afterwards. She drives very slowly, like an old lady. I wait another fifteen minutes in case she comes back for anything, and then I shimmy down the tree.
There’s one thing I have to do for them, though. I can’t stand to see the star on their Christmas tree sitting at an angle in the middle of the tree.
That’s not where the shining star is supposed to go.
I backtrack to their tree, making sure no one sees me.
Won’t they be surprised that their wish for a little elf comes true?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cait’s heart thumped into overdrive as she pulled onto the main road going down the mountain. The day was getting darker, and a storm was coming in, according to the radio. She had to get to town and call her family to let them know what had happened to Brian.
Nothing made sense. Brian had just put in new brakes, and the Subaru Outback was the car he usually drove. Why would he sabotage his own car when it was almost new?
Maybe the police report was wrong, or the insurance company didn’t want to pay since she hadn’t spoken to them.
Someone beeped at her, and she slammed on the brakes. More angry honks and beeps sounded. A line of cars snaked down the road behind her, and the guy in the rearview mirror was shaking his fist.
Cait put on her emergency blinkers and slowed down, hoping they’d pass her.
Cold sweat ringed her neck, and her breathing was shallow and ragged, as her heart tried to jump from her chest.
Something white drifted over her windshield, followed by another fluffy flake. It was snowing, and the pavement was rapidly turning white.
Cait didn’t have snow tires on her little Toyota, and Brian had complained that they were almost bald. She slowed to a crawl as a din of horns blared continuously. The man behind her passed quickly, almost slamming into her, and others flashed their headlamps or shook their fists.
The road curved into a hairpin turn up ahead, with a turnout right before it. If only she could reach it without sliding off the cliff. Cars passed fast, and her Toyota shook with the wind. She rode her brakes down to the curve and gritted her teeth when she ran the car off the shoulder onto the gravel turnout.
Her head was light and dizzy and flashes of light zapped under her eyelids. She was unable to catch her breath, and her heart felt hollow and weak.
She had to help Brian. He was all alone, taken to jail, and accused of heinous crimes. Fortunately, the deputies found no sign of Glen at the cabin, and they’d left to chase another lead. But if Brian had continued to contact Glen, he would be in a world of trouble if the boy could not be found.
Cait dug her cell phone from her purse. Still no service. Meanwhile, snow flurries whirled around her and covered the windshield. She turned on the wiper blades and cranked up the defroster. She had to help Brian, no matter how afraid she was.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone rapped on her window.
Cait lowered it and peered at a man wearing a
down jacket and a cowboy hat.
“Need some help, ma’am?” the dark-eyed, dark-haired man asked.
“Actually, I don’t know,” Cait stammered. “My husband got taken by the sheriff, and I can’t drive in the snow. My cell phone doesn’t work here, and I have to go into town to call my parents and a lawyer.”
“I can drive you there.” The man opened her car door. “This little car isn’t safe once the roads turn to ice.”
She closed her windows and took the key from the car. Which was more dangerous? Driving in a snowstorm with bald tires down a steep, winding road, or going to town with a strange man wearing a cowboy hat?
“Don’t worry about me,” the man said. He gave her his hand. “I’m Chad Colson, the sheriff’s brother. I believe you must be Mrs. Wonder. Your husband created quite a stir when he told the entire town he’s the late Mrs. Thornton’s baby daddy.”
“Your last name is Colson?” Cait shook the man’s gloved hand. “Do you know Linx?”
“My sister.” His smile was so wide, his teeth twinkled. “I’ll call her when we get closer and let her know you’re coming to visit. You don’t happen to have the dogs with you, do you?”
“I left them at the cabin. I thought it’d be a quick trip.”
“With my truck, we’ll be back before sundown. They have food and water?”
“They do. Has Thornton said anything about the dogs?”
Chad opened the door to his truck and waited for Cait to step up to the passenger seat. “We haven’t seen hide or tail of him, but his caretaker was skulking around the rescue shelter inquiring about two blue chows.”
“Oh, no.” Cait clapped a hand over her chest. “We want to get those dogs back to Glen, not have them be destroyed by someone who doesn’t want them.”
“Agreed.” Chad shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. After putting his truck in drive, he said, “No one around here much like the Thorntons. They cater to the Hollywood and Silicon Valley elites, killing our water rights and passing land use bills to regulate us out of existence.”
“Does that mean you’ll help us keep the dogs safe?”
“That’s the plan, but right now, your husband’s story is the talk of the town. Word got around fast that day your husband spilled the beans. You know how it is in a small town.”
“Uh, sure, but no one’s said anything to me.” Cait held on tight to the safety handle on Chad’s truck as he drove at a reasonable speed down the hill.
“Wife’s always the last to know.” Chad pursed his lips and kept his eyes on the road. “Anyway, I think we’re close enough to get a cell signal. Why don’t you call Linx and tell her you’re on your way? Then you can call your family and figure out how to help Brian.”
“I’m sure Brian’s innocent.” Cait put on a brave face and swallowed hard. Brian might be eccentric, but he was a kind and gentle man. He would never resort to violence to get his way. Hadn’t he kept Alana’s secret all those years? “It doesn’t make sense why he would tamper with his own brake lines.”
“Except he was the only one who had the opportunity to do so,” Chad said. “My brother really didn’t want to arrest your husband, but Mr. Thornton’s attorney presented a case on how dangerous Brian could be. He said Brian enticed Glen to run away from school, and someone from the gaming community sang like a little bird once she found out Glen was only twelve years old.”
Cait palmed her face. “I told Brian not to contact the kid. What are we going to do now?”
“Call my sister,” Chad said, turning onto the main street through the tiny town.
By now, the snow was falling heavily, and visibility was almost zero. Cait punched in Linx’s number and told her what had happened.
She wasn’t ready to call her parents and endure the avalanche of emotional outpouring that inevitably followed any sort of bad news among her clan. Besides, they would all blame Brian, especially her brother Grady who seemed to have it in for him.
That was because Grady didn’t know Brian, having left home as soon as he turned eighteen. He hadn’t spent holidays with the family, or been around when Brian drove people to the airport or helped with their yardwork or unclogged sinks or grilled steaks while everyone ate and partied. Brian was always part of the cleanup crew and he never complained about doing favors for family members. At this very moment, Cait’s parents were living at Brian’s house and they’d given them the master bedroom suite.
“Here we are.” Chad pulled up to the tiny house with the large yard full of dog runs where Linx ran the Mountain Dog Rescue.
Cedar bounded down the porch, and Linx scurried out after her.
“Cait, you have to tell us what happened.” She led Cait into the house. “I brewed some tea and made you lunch.”
“Thanks.” Cait gave her newfound friend a hug. “I have to make a bunch of phone calls, and then I’ll tell you everything.”
A large man stood from the couch when Cait walked into the parlor. It was one of the officers who’d arrested Brian.
“I’m Sheriff Todd Colson. I’ll need a statement from you. You can either sit here and have tea with my sister, or come to the station. Whichever you prefer.”
Cait whipped her head around and glared at Linx and Chad. She felt the ginger inside her snap. “You two set me up. How could you? I thought we were friends.”
“We are,” Linx said. “My brother’s only doing his job.”
“And you?” She snarled at Chad, the oh-so-gallant cowboy. “Were you following me?”
“I was actually on my way to your cabin to fetch you. Your husband’s in a lot of trouble,” Chad said. “You might want to let my brother know everything, so we can help.”
“I’m not saying anything until I have an attorney.” Cait backed from the parlor.
“We have one right here,” Linx said, opening the kitchen door. A pixie-haired brunette wearing a silver gray pantsuit gave Cait a finger wave. “My sister, Bec, short for Becca, short for Rebecca.”
“There are a lot of shorts in there,” Chad chuckled, clearly amused at his petite sister’s daintiness.
“I’m a lawyer,” Bec said to Cait. “I’ve already spoken to Brian, and now I need your side of the story. There are some pretty powerful people trying to get your husband locked up for good, but hopefully we can get him out on bail.”
Cait’s jaw dropped, and she stared at one Colson after the other. If she thought her family was aggressive, they were nothing compared to the Colsons who were forcibly taking her under their wings.
She could use friends right about now, and part of her was relieved that the sheriff’s family would want to help her, but the city girl in her couldn’t relax. What if the Colsons had been set up by the senator to worm their way into her life to get evidence against Brian?
What if they could prove Brian was an unfit parent? Then he’d never get to see his son or have a chance for custody.
“I’ll answer Sheriff Colson’s questions and no more than that,” Cait said, taking a hot mug of tea from Linx. “I want to get this cleared up as soon as possible so Brian and I can get back to the cabin and celebrate Christmas.”
“Of course,” Bec or Becca said. She took Cait by the arm and seated her at the kitchen table. “Todd, you can ask questions to Mrs. Wonder now.”
The sheriff stepped into the tiny kitchen and pulled out a chair. “Tell me in your own words what happened the day of the accident.”
Cait took a deep breath and licked her dry lips. “The truth is I don’t remember much. Bits and pieces. There was a black SUV who followed me after we left town to go back to the cabin. I was nauseous from the news, obviously, so I asked Brian to pull over in a turnout to let me throw up. I know, gross.”
“About what time was this?” the sheriff asked.
“Around noon, or a little before. It was right after we left the diner after I met your sister.”
Linx sat in a chair catty corner to Cait and nodded, while running her finge
rs through Cedar’s bear-like mane.
“I saw that SUV,” Linx said. “I was feeling kind of miffed when you didn’t want to come with me, so I followed you.”
“Did you get the license plate?” Cait asked.
“No, actually I didn’t,” Linx said. “But I thought it was unusual how close it tailgated you.”
Todd shifted in his seat and huffed. “Let’s stay on the subject of the accident. This SUV trailing you earlier in the day isn’t relevant.”
“Objection,” Becca barked. “The SUV could contain either witnesses or people who were interested in Mr. and Mrs. Wonder’s movements that day.”
“Or it could be a coincidence,” Todd said, tapping his pen. “What happened when you came down the mountain? How long did you stay in the cabin? Let’s get to that part.”
“I switched cars with Brian, since I was going to take the dogs to Linx,” Cait said. “I don’t usually drive his car, so when the brakes felt spongy, I thought it was just the way they were.”
“Wait, this is important,” the sheriff said. “Were the brakes spongy before you dropped off the dogs or after?”
“I, uh, I don’t remember.” Cait grabbed at straws, but her brain still had blank spots. “I just know that I tried to stop and I couldn’t.”
“But you were okay coming into town,” Linx pointed out. “So, maybe someone messed with the brakes while we were talking about the dogs.”
“Or, there could have been a slow leak in the line, and the brakes only failed after she left town.” The sheriff scribbled in his notebook. “How long did you two talk?”
It wasn’t long, but Cait didn’t want to implicate Brian so she shrugged.
Linx also shrugged. “I was petting her dogs and we were talking about her mother’s allergies to dogs and why she had to leave them with me.”
“Okay, that’s fine.” Todd waved his hand. “Let’s talk about Brian and his claims that Glen is his son. When did you find out?”
“When he blurted it at the diner.” Cait felt her cheeks heat. “I mean, if it happened, Mrs. Thornton was a monster and should have been put behind bars.”
Blue Chow Christmas: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 4) Page 12