by Karen Kirst
They left the town center behind and headed deeper into the foothills that marched alongside mountains and acres upon acres of protected forests. His spicy scent filled the truck cab. The traces of horse and leather were new, but not unpleasant.
A couple of miles later, he flicked the turn signal and guided the truck onto a ribbon of pavement. His driveway was a straight shot through the woods. The trees thinned to a clearing, revealing a white farmhouse with a red metal roof, shutters and front door. A wraparound porch invited visitors to enjoy a respite from the hot days. White and yellow rhododendron bushes brushed against the large windows. A flagstone path led around the house to a storage shed. It could’ve been a calendar photo for the month of April.
Once out of the truck, she studied the large willow tree trailing wispy fingers over the shed and a bubbling creek meandering to the woods. From here, she could see the top tip of a blue-green mountain.
“It’s beautiful.”
“It suits me.” He avoided her gaze, gesturing to the house with his keys. “There are some things that still need attention, but everything works.”
Tessa lifted Lily out of her car seat and, shifting her slumbering weight, climbed the porch steps. Mason went ahead of her and unlocked the door. She was glad she wasn’t walking into a space rife with memories. Being near him was difficult enough.
Inside the foyer, she was met with ivory walls, shiny, mahogany floors and the bottom half of a staircase. To her left, sunlight drew colored diamonds across the planks and a cream throw rug. A round-armed denim couch faced the brick fireplace. A cloth ottoman stood in place of a coffee table, and the antique globe light fixtures could’ve been original to the home. On their right, shadows draped a formal study, allowing her a vague glimpse of a masculine desk, chair and built-in bookshelves.
Mason paused, looking uncertain. “She still takes naps?”
“Not every day. But we caught snatches of sleep in a roadside motel overnight. Yesterday and today’s events have exhausted her.”
“Do you want her on the couch? Or I have a guest bedroom upstairs.”
“The bedroom will work.”
His dark gaze seemed to soak in Lily. “Will she mind if I carry her up?”
Tessa took a step toward him. Lily didn’t stir as she transferred her to Mason’s arms. The sight of her daughter’s pink, plump cheek resting against his broad chest, with her curls spread over his uniform, made Tessa’s heart swell. This reunion hadn’t been planned, but it was right.
He carried her to the second-floor hallway and turned left. There were four rooms in all, two bedrooms on this end and another bedroom, possibly the master, shared the other end with a hall bath. He went inside the room that looked out over the rear of the property. A fluffy, powder blue rug was splashed over the refurbished floorboards and anchored with a white frame double bed. A white coverlet with dainty blue sprigs topped the mattress. Matching curtains hung at the windows. A single dresser was stationed against the outer wall and a mirror above it. The furnishings were sparse, but the home was welcoming.
Mason placed her on the bed and covered her with a quilt. He didn’t immediately move away. He gazed down at her for multiple heartbeats, then he bent and brushed a kiss on her forehead. Feeling like an intruder, Tessa retreated to the hall.
Taking their relationship beyond the proper boundaries hadn’t been part of God’s plan. She hadn’t realized it then. Now that she had a personal relationship with Christ, she basked in His forgiveness and the promise of new mercies each morning.
Downstairs, he led her through the living room to the kitchen, which ran the length of the house. A new fridge was out of place in the worn work area. The cabinet paint was peeling, and some of the doors hung at odd angles. The sink was stained with rust. At the far corner, a rough-hewn table and chairs sat in front of a window with a forest view.
“Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
He rummaged through the cabinets and removed a pair of mugs. Once he had the machine set to brew, he pointed to a room out of sight and around the corner from the table.
“I’m going to get out of this gear. Milk’s in the fridge. Sugar is in that jar. Help yourself.”
Tessa hesitated. In the past, she’d been completely at home among his belongings. They’d often cooked together in his cramped duplex kitchen. Actually, she’d done the prep work under his direction, and he’d done the cooking. Her mouth watered just thinking about his spaghetti Bolognese.
He returned wearing a black Serenity mounted police cotton shirt, faded jeans and scuffed tennis shoes. A streamlined, black-and-white watch cradled his wrist. His hands were bare of other jewelry. With a start, she realized he could be in a serious relationship and that her sudden appearance might cause trouble.
She licked her dry lips. “Is anyone going to be bothered by my presence here?”
He arched a brow. “Besides me?”
The verbal shot wasn’t his style. At her grimace, he lowered his gaze.
“It didn’t occur to me that you might have a wife or fiancée. I was focused only on getting away from Dante.”
“There’s no one,” he said flatly.
Tessa hated that his answer pleased her. This trip wasn’t about reuniting their family. It was about surviving Dante’s vengeance.
Mason poured them both coffee, fixing hers as she’d preferred before, half milk and two dashes of sugar. He walked the length of the kitchen and gestured to the table. She sat and cupped the mug between her hands. He stared out the window...formidable and untouchable.
“I know you have questions,” she ventured. “I’ll answer them to the best of my ability.”
“Tell me about Lily.”
“She’s spunky. Sweet. She gets cranky when she’s hungry.”
He grunted. “Like you.”
“I make sure to keep snacks with us,” she said. “Her favorite food at the moment is grilled chicken. She likes any type of fruit. She dislikes green beans and refuses to try mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese.”
He finally turned his gaze on her. “I thought those were standard fare for kids.”
“I thought so, too.”
“How do you support yourself? Was she born on time? Were there any complications? She looks healthy. Is she?”
Tessa blinked, and he inhaled sharply. He pulled out the chair opposite and lowered himself into it. “I have a hundred questions. I don’t even know where to start.”
“Ask me whenever they come to you.” She pressed her palms to the warm mug, hoping he didn’t notice her nervousness. “The pregnancy was uneventful. I didn’t gain as much weight as the doctor would’ve liked—”
“You didn’t have enough money for food?” His eyes were so very dark, his eyelashes thick and inky black. She wished he’d look at her like he used to, when he’d thought she was interesting and beautiful and fun.
Those days are gone forever.
“It wasn’t that. I just found it difficult to eat. My worry about being found didn’t help the nausea any.” Tessa had spent the first months reeling from Mason’s abandonment and the fact she was, by all definitions, a fugitive. “Lily arrived a week before her due date, but she was perfect. No health concerns. Normal weight.”
“I’m glad you were both okay,” he said solemnly.
“When I left New Jersey, I took jewelry I’d received over the years and sold it piece by piece. It was enough to cover room rentals and food. Once I settled on Walton, I found a small home to rent for a decent price. And I started working when she was three months old. I got a job at our church’s day-care program so that I could have her with me.”
His eyebrows winged up. “You go to church?”
“This may surprise you, but my priorities have changed. My life is now centered around my faith in Jesus.”
“I try to live
the same way.” His gaze roamed her face, regret twisting his features. “I wish I could say the same about when we were together.” Before she could comment, he said, “What are her favorite things to do?”
“She loves to color and paint. Anything that’s messy, really. She wants to learn how to bake cookies, and not the premade, tear-apart kind. I’ve promised to find someone to teach her when she gets older. I take her every week to the library’s story hour.” Her smile faded. “That’s where we were yesterday when Mrs. Smith tipped me off.”
“How do you think he tracked you down?”
“I don’t know for sure.” She hadn’t accessed her old social-media accounts and had paid cash for literally everything.
“I wish you’d have come to me back then. We could’ve figured it out.”
“I did what I thought was best for you,” she said, knowing he would never understand. He hadn’t lived her reality, hadn’t seen what Dante was capable of. “And for our unborn child. If Dante found me here, he might’ve killed you out of spite.”
His fingers balled. “Yet you risked untold dangers by heading into the unknown. I’m a cop, Tessa. I could’ve found a way to protect you.”
“Cops are his favorite targets.”
The words were automatic, a whisper of the past. Their truth had faded enough for her to choose this town, this man, as her safe haven. Too late, she remembered Fisk’s terrible death. She pressed her hand to her mouth.
“I should’ve gone west, not east.” Shoving out of her seat, she lurched to the window, leaned on the sill and drew in deep breaths.
He came up behind her. “What did you say?”
She pressed her forehead to the cold glass and closed her eyes. “I didn’t stop to pray or consider. I heard his voice on the surveillance system, and I panicked. That’s what he wanted. To keep me from making the right move.”
“Tessa, coming here was the right move. If you hadn’t, I would still be in the dark about my child.”
“But at what price?”
* * *
Tessa’s fear was palpable. Fear for him. Kind of difficult to swallow after all these years of thinking she’d played him for a fool.
He didn’t know if he was angrier at her or himself. He hadn’t been looking for a relationship that long-ago afternoon when he’d come upon Tessa’s vehicle, her tire busted and no spare in the trunk. Her unruly curls and winsome smile had enchanted him. As he’d taken her in his cruiser to the nearest automotive-parts place, he’d become intrigued by her. She was passionate about her work pairing foster kids with loving couples. From that one conversation, he’d glimpsed her heart for service, and that mirrored his own life path. By the time they’d returned to her car and gotten the tire patched, he’d known she was someone special. His instincts had been right. She was not only kind and quick to defend the weak, but she also had a zest for life. He’d fallen for her, plain and simple.
Tessa was the only woman who’d inspired thoughts of wedding rings and lifelong commitment. Near the end, she’d gotten distracted and anxious, and he’d panicked. He’d made the mistake of thinking that taking the next step in their relationship would fix things.
When Mason had believed she’d been unfaithful, he couldn’t see her or talk to her without damaging her with his words. He’d been that decimated.
He should’ve given her a chance to explain.
“It’s too late to switch courses,” he said. Her silken hair was a curtain around her face. He prayed she wouldn’t break down, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist holding her. “Tell me what I need to know about your brother.”
Her shoulders lifted and fell. “There’s no mercy in him. No compassion.” She faced him, her eyes telling tales of a sinister history. “He thrives on other people’s misfortunes. Once he sets his mind to something, he won’t be dissuaded.”
“You said your father stopped him from killing you.”
“Our father is the only person Dante will heed. His health is failing, however. I’ve kept up with Vitale news through local papers and social-media accounts. I don’t know that he could stop this. I don’t know where I stand with Father anymore, not after I acted against them.”
Mason was having trouble understanding how such a family operated and how it could’ve produced Tessa.
“He’s five years older than me,” she continued. “Seven years separate him and Fran. He disdained spending time with us because, in his mind, he was more worldly and important. While Fran and I were playing with puppies in the garden, he was being molded into the Vitale second-in-command. It wasn’t until I stumbled into one of their retaliation kills that he started paying attention to me.” She pressed her lips together and smoothed her hair behind her ears.
“It wasn’t the kind of attention you wanted.”
Her eyes awash in misery, she shook her head. Mason was tempted to cup her cheek and smooth his thumb across the soft, freckle-dusted skin. How could she have hidden this part of her life from him for so long?
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “How old were you?”
“Thirteen.” She closed her eyes. “I came to the receiving room in search of Father. I’d won some certificate at school... I can’t remember now what it was. Father and his men didn’t see me, but Dante did. He shoved me behind the couch, covered my mouth and made me watch as they stabbed that man again and again. It wasn’t a slow death,” she whispered bleakly.
Mason blew out his breath and switched his attention to a bluebird perched on the feeder outside. He’d let a ruthless killer convince him that Tessa was the one without morals. He’d basically driven her back to that place of torment, and she’d been carrying his baby.
His eyelids pricked. Tessa had been vulnerable and alone.
Lord Jesus, thank You for keeping Your hand on them. Thank You for bringing Lily into my life. Please help me to be the kind of father You want me to be. Help me keep them safe.
There was much, much more he needed to know, but he couldn’t digest any more at this moment. Before he could suggest she rest for a while, the window to their right exploded. Glass shattered. The distinct whistle of a bullet registered, followed by Tessa’s scream.
Mason grabbed her. Shoved her beneath the table and slid into the space with her.
“You hurt?”
Her eyes were panic-stricken. “No. You?”
Another shot whizzed inside, digging into the Sheetrock behind them. The shooter was on the move, getting closer.
“Stay here. I’m going outside.”
“Mason, don’t.” She seized a fistful of his shirt.
He placed his cell in her hand. “Call Silver.”
Then he snagged his pistol from the counter and went in search of the enemy.
FOUR
Mason crouched in the screened-in porch and searched for the glint of a rifle scope among the trees. The sun’s angle was unfortunate, and the slanting rays made his unprotected eyes water. He shifted to ease a leg cramp, and a bullet pierced the screen near his head, pinged off the patio table and burrowed into the wood siding.
Above the drumming of his heart, he heard sirens echoing off the mountains. An engine revved out of sight. A blur of black caught his eye. Before he could take aim, a door slammed and tires burned against pavement.
He shoved through the porch door and rushed to the corner of the house, pressing close to the facade. Peering around the edge, he glimpsed the tail end of a Cadillac Escalade as it sped down his driveway.
Mason retraced his steps. Inside the kitchen, glass bits crunched beneath his sneakers. A honeysuckle-scented breeze seeped through the open fissures and stirred the curtains. The chairs around his table were disturbed and the space beneath was empty.
“Tessa?”
After looking in the utility room and first-floor bath, he strode the length of the house, checking
other windows for damage. She wasn’t in the living room or the office. The front door was secure. His pulse began to gather speed. Had they lured him out back on purpose? Had they gotten to her? To Lily?
He pivoted and was about to scale the stairs when her ballet flats tapped down the wooden treads. She’d had at least two dozen pairs when he’d known her, and these were black with a subtle sparkle. Next, her tailored black pants came into view, a silver band around her wrist and finally her scoop-neck shirt and slinky earrings. Her features creased with worry when she saw him.
“Are you okay? I was upstairs when I heard the second shot.”
His grip on the pistol eased slightly. “I’m good. Lily?”
“Still asleep.” Reaching the foyer, she held out his phone. “Silver promised to send help. Did you see Dante?”
“There was one shooter in the woods. He heard the sirens the same time I did. I didn’t get a good look at him, but I saw a single SUV.”
Moving into the living room, he stationed himself at the edge of the picture window and monitored the yard while he contacted police dispatch. One of the mounted-police-unit trucks pulled through the trees and parked behind his. A low-slung black Corvette jerked to a stop farther down the drive.
Tessa had come to stand beside him, close enough that her particular scent, a blend of vanilla and cinnamon, taunted him.
“I need to brief my unit.”
Nodding, she turned her attention on the officers exiting the truck. Mason tucked his Glock in his rear waistband, about to trade the cool interior for the balmy evening. He descended the porch steps, meeting Cruz and Raven halfway. They were still in uniform but had left their helmets in the truck.
Silver’s car alarm chirped, and he pocketed his keys as his long strides ate up the tender green grass.
“What’s going on?” Cruz looked from Mason to the house. The newest member of the unit, he had transferred from Texas last year. He’d shared snippets of his previous life, although not enough to gain a clear picture.
“Full disclosure. The woman inside the house is Tessa Vitale, daughter of Antonio Vitale. You may have heard of him.”