Covert Christmas

by Marilyn Pappano

  Cam had taken pains to arrange for his housekeeper and farmhand to take off so he didn’t have to face anyone on Christmas Eve. He would much prefer to spend the time by himself, toasting the good woman he’d lost four years ago that night.

  He glanced in the mirror again and saw Chloe pouting. What a beautiful child she was. Even when she was throwing a tantrum or crying, she simply glowed with beauty and good spirit. It ripped his heart out not to be able to hold her in his arms. To be the daddy she so desperately needed. But he couldn’t bear it. He just couldn’t.

  Instead, his housekeeper, Maxine, did the hugging. And his mother-in-law gladly stepped up in the hugs and kisses department. The tension between him and Chloe was building fast. He knew he had to act now. His daughter deserved the best life he could provide. And that didn’t include living with a shell of a man.

  “I had another dream about my mommy.” Chloe’s voice was soft and tenuous. She knew he didn’t like it when she talked about her mother.

  Like the talk about Christmas snow, this was one more problem his mother-in-law had brought down upon them. Constantly talking about Mandy and showing Chloe pictures of her dead mother was not helpful. He knew Patricia meant well, but what good did it do?

  None. All this talk was only causing Chloe to have bad dreams about a mother that she had never met. He would have to speak to Pat again about keeping Chloe grounded in the present and thinking about the future instead of dwelling on the past. He did plenty enough of that for all of them.

  “I really wish you’d…”

  “But, Daddy, Mommy said she was sending me a Christmas angel to be my new mama.”

  Sighing, Cam lowered his voice. “Chloe, would you like to live with Nana and Grandpa permanently and have Nana be your new mama? You love them. Think of all the fun you would have. Plus, next year when you go to school, you’ll be able to walk from their house instead of taking a bus. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  “I guess so. But I wouldn’t mind the bus. And who’s going to take care of you?”

  Not waiting for the same boring answer he always gave when she asked things like that, Chloe sat back in her seat and pouted. Cam stayed silent, watching the heavy white snow falling against the backdrop of green spruce and pine covering his grandfather’s mountaintop.

  He loved this mountain and his family’s home here. Most of his school years had been spent living down in the valley in the tourist town of Juniper with his parents, or off in the East at college. But his heart had always remained rooted in the deep forests and valley views of the large home and small farm his grandfather had built.

  He never wanted to leave for long.

  But the Farrell family was nearly all gone now. His grandparents gone due to natural causes and his parents taken by a deadly airplane accident. He missed them all. Chloe was the only real family he had left, and he couldn’t stand being around her for very long at any one time. Just as well. He wasn’t fit company for anyone, let alone a child, on most days.

  When his in-laws had permanently moved to Juniper after Mandy died, Pat had said he should feel like a part of their family. She’d offered him a home. He liked Pat and Robert well enough. They were kind souls who’d lost their only daughter on the day he’d lost his wife.

  But nothing had felt right to him when he’d tried to move in with them in Juniper after his rehab. Nowhere else on earth could ever be truly home except up here in the isolation and stark beauty of his family’s mountain. The peace and the magnificent charm went a long way toward healing his body, if not his soul.

  When he’d been well enough, he’d brought his baby daughter up to the mountain. They’d had plenty of help and his in-laws were always near when he needed them. But recently, taking care of a growing, needy daughter had become too difficult. Especially when it hurt so much just to look at her.

  His tires slipped against another hidden patch of ice and Cam was forced to give his full concentration to navigating the long, narrow road down the mountainside. He’d hoped he could make it to Juniper and drop off Chloe before the worst of the storm made climbing back up this road totally impossible. He was determined to spend the holiday alone, as usual.

  Tara Jackson hung on to her steering wheel for dear life. That same car was following her again. And now it was snowing and the roads to Cam Farrell’s home were slippery as hell.

  It had been ten long years since the last time she’d come this way. Once upon a time she had even lived in Cam’s grandfather’s house on the mountaintop. As Tara gingerly stepped on the gas, hoping her tires wouldn’t come out from under her on the ice before she could reach the safety of the Farrell home and Cam’s help, she wondered if she would make it before her stalker caught up.

  She had to. Not much question in her mind about why she was being followed. Her boss had probably guessed that she was a spy for the governor, and then had put a contract out on her. If she didn’t reach Cam’s place before the hitman reached her, she would never live to see Cam or anyone else again.

  Glancing down at her backpack in the bucket seat beside her, she figured her boss, the Colorado attorney general, would also sincerely love to get his hands on the computer thumb drive she’d hidden in with her extra underwear, makeup and her .38. The computer drive contained proof of his criminal activities. She’d worked hard over the last year, gathering enough evidence, and her undercover investigation was almost over.

  Tara had hoped to reach the governor with her information today. After talking to the governor in person and turning over her evidence, she would then be able to take the necessary steps to hide until the attorney general and his cohorts were behind bars.

  Unfortunately, it was looking more and more like she would not be talking to the governor today. And judging by the weather, she would be damned lucky to make it to the top of this mountain in one piece.

  Cam was her best hope. He was the closest lawman she knew she could trust. Everyone else was suspect.

  She hadn’t seen Cam in nearly ten years, but knew he had graduated from college and run for county sheriff—winning in a landslide. Tara had always thought being the sheriff was a perfect job for Cam. He was honest and strong, and truly cared for people’s welfare—though she also knew his long-term goals were more political. Cam’s dream as a boy had been someday running for the United States Senate like his father, Wild Bill Farrell.

  A senate seat had been his father’s dream for Cam, too. And was the whole reason why she and Cam weren’t still together today.

  As usual, a ten-year-old ache came back to drive a stake into her heart whenever she thought back to their breakup and his parents’ role in it. Tara forced a deep breath of air into her lungs and pushed away the painful memories. She wasn’t going to a sweethearts reunion and needed to remember that. No, this was a life or death mission. When she’d turned off the highway and headed for Cam’s, she had committed. Now she had no other choice.

  Besides, the last thing she’d heard of Cam was when his parents had been killed in a private airplane crash in the mountains. At that time, nearly five years ago, the papers stated that Cam was married and his wife was expecting a child. Tara had tried then to push him out of her mind for good. But she’d been trying unsuccessfully to do just that for the last ten years with little luck.

  The only thing saving her sanity was her work. With other things to worry about, she didn’t think of her lost lover every minute.

  But today she desperately needed help from somewhere. And Cam was the closest lawman she dared trust.

  She sure hoped his family still lived on this mountain and that they hadn’t gone away for the holidays. With the reminder of the time of year, Tara thought back to the many wonderful Christmases they’d spent with Cam’s grandparents up on this mountain. The Farrell family home had always been filled with music and laughter and warmth. So unlike her own desolate and lonely home—at any time of year. A loud ping hitting the trunk of her car snapped Tara out of her reverie. She glanced in t
he mirror and nearly peed her pants.

  That was the sound of a bullet! Now that they’d driven off the main highway and into this isolated country, the hitman was taking his chances. Even through the falling snow she saw his gun arm hanging out the window with the barrel pointed directly at her car.

  She stepped down hard on the gas as her entire back window exploded in a shower of breaking glass. Shrieking in terror, she pushed even harder on the gas and jerked against the wheel without thinking.

  She only knew that she had to get away.

  Her tires began to slip and the car spun sideways, crashing off the roadway and into blowing snow and trees. Everything around her was white for a moment. But the next thing she knew, a forest of trees loomed directly ahead. She tried steering, but it was a lost cause.

  Still high on the mountain, but now on the two-lane public road, Cam felt more in control.

  “Daddy, look! There’s my Christmas angel! Stop!”

  “Chloe, please. I can’t stop here. There’s a car coming around the bend. See the headlights?”

  “But she’s in trouble, Daddy. We need to help her.”

  Cam seldom indulged his child in her many fantasies the way her grandmother did, but this time the tone of her voice was urgent. Still, as narrow as the road was and as dangerous the icy patches, it was impossible to stop. He hoped the other driver was going slow enough to avoid a collision.

  “You must’ve fallen asleep and dreamed the angel, Chloe. You know angels aren’t real. There’s nothing there. Daddy has to pay attention to the road now. Please calm down.”

  “But, Daddy…”

  “Not now, Chloe.”

  The other car kicked up a cloud of snow as it sped by, going way too fast for the conditions. It just missed slamming into the side of his SUV but the driver never slowed for a moment. Cam didn’t get a good look at the driver but he knew none of his neighbors drove a car like that. If this was a visitor to the mountain, he’d picked the wrong day and would probably end up headfirst into a tree before he reached his destination.

  With both hands back on the wheel, Cam entered the next curve in the road. He’d already engaged the four-wheel drive, but these damned icy patches were still treacherous.

  As his headlights rounded the turn, Cam saw something terrible and his breath caught. Another car had tried to make the curve too fast and was crashed headfirst into a tree.

  There was nothing to do now but stop. Cam couldn’t leave anyone stranded in a snow drift in this kind of weather. Even if it turned out to be a drunk. Because drunks had families too.

  He found a straighter patch of road so his SUV could be spotted before anyone rammed into it blind. Stopping as far off the road as possible, Cam put it in park but left the engine running and the heat blasting.

  “Stay here, Chloe. I’m going back to check on the people in that wrecked car. I hope no one was badly injured. It’ll be tough getting an ambulance up here in the storm.”

  “Maybe you’ll see my angel, Daddy. Help her too. She needs us.”

  Cam swore under his breath. This angel business was all he needed today. “Just stay put, young lady.”

  As he wrenched open his door and stepped out into the wind, Cam’s right knee almost gave out on him, reminding him of why he was no longer a sheriff. Mostly healed after years of rehab, his shattered kneecap had nevertheless gone a long way toward ending his career in law enforcement. The recurring stiffness when the weather turned cold and wet was also a painful reminder of why he hated Christmas Eve.

  Cam ignored the ache and carefully limped his way off the road and plowed through snow and brush into the trees. The closer he came to the car, the more his instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong. Things were too still. Too quiet.

  He hoped to hell no one had died in the wreck. What would he tell Chloe?

  Calling out, he was forced to give up when the wind killed any sound. By the time he was five feet behind the car, he could see something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. On the car’s trunk, both fenders and the shattered back window—bullet holes.

  Hesitating, he checked his surroundings and looked back to the road. Chloe and the SUV seemed safe and sound where he’d left them. Nothing was stirring in the woods. This was the first time since he’d become disabled and gave up his job that Cam wished he still carried a weapon. He wondered what kind of tragedy he would find when he checked the driver’s seat.

  But things were quiet. Had this happened last night?

  Dreading what he must do, Cam plowed around the car to the driver’s side. He couldn’t see a thing through the new snow clogging up the view to inside.

  He tried the door and found it ajar, telling him that the driver had either gotten out of the car or someone had already found the wreck and opened the door from the outside. Either way, he wasn’t surprised when he pulled on the door handle—and found the seat empty.

  He also wasn’t terribly surprised to find a small amount of blood. On the steering wheel and inside on the door handle. Was it from the accident? Or from the bullets?

  The blood looked fresh. He tore off his glove, reached around and laid his hand flat on the hood. Still warm. Considering the growing windchill, this car hadn’t been sitting here for too long.

  But where was the driver now?

  Turning in a wide circle, Cam thought back to the speeding car he’d met on the road. He was absolutely positive there had only been one person in that car—the driver. And if an injured person was lying down in the backseat, and the driver had been speeding and hoping to make it to a hospital, they were crazy for going up the mountain road instead of back down to town.

  That whole idea seemed too outrageous to contemplate seriously—even for lost tourists. But then why…?

  Cam looked toward the woods, wishing he could take the time to do a thorough search for survivors. But the storm was getting worse by the minute and he needed to get Chloe off the mountain.

  After tramping his way back to the SUV, he slipped into the driver’s seat without letting in more than a handful of blowing snow. “You okay back there, Chloe?”

  “Did you see my angel, Daddy? Was she all right?”

  “No angels. In fact, I didn’t see anyone.”

  Chloe began to whimper and Cam gritted his teeth. “If what you thought you saw was really an angel, she can take care of herself. Maybe she flew up to heaven.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “I’m sure of it. Now you be a good girl and stay quiet while I call Sheriff Reiner to report the…uh…incident.” In the rearview mirror, he saw Chloe nod and then stare out the window and up at the sky.

  Cam flipped open his cell, only to find it had no bars. The storm must be interfering with reception. Irritated, he stuck the phone on the seat beside him and put the SUV into gear.

  It would take an hour to go the usual twenty-minute distance down to Juniper in this weather. But he had no choice. He planned to stop every fifteen minutes and check the phone.

  Cam tried to concentrate on his driving. But he couldn’t stand the idea of someone possibly lying in the woods bleeding to death while he could do nothing about it.

  Chapter 2

  Standing in his mother-in-law’s foyer with Stetson in hand, Cam shifted from one foot to the other, fighting to excuse himself and leave as soon as possible. “Jingle Bells” was playing through the sound system. Mistletoe over the door, decorated pine wreaths and the smell of gingerbread left little doubt about which season was being celebrated in this house.

  Christmas was a bigger pain in the ass than ever. The whole thing gave him heartburn.

  He wanted to be on his way back up the mountain before the storm got any worse. Along the route, he planned to check on what the sheriff had turned up at the car wreck scene.

  “Daddy, come see!” Chloe had dashed into the great room the minute he’d pulled off her coat and handed it over to her grandmother. Now she was calling him to join
her.

  “I have to be going, Chloe.” Cam didn’t move but looked helplessly over to Pat, Chloe’s grandmother.

  “I happen to agree with your daughter, son. You just got here. You haven’t even taken off your coat yet. At least have a glass of eggnog.”

  Cam stared down at his boots, which were dripping on the gleaming cherrywood floor. “I can’t stay. I have to make sure the animals are okay and meet the sheriff on the mountain road before this storm socks us in.”

  Pat tsked at him. “The sheriff can handle that wreck without your help. And your man Jim Tisdale would never walk away from those lambs and chickens and leave you unprepared to last a week. The animals will be fine for a few hours. You just want to be up there alone on your mountaintop to brood over Christmas.”

  She put her hand on his arm, and lowered her voice. “Amanda’s death was not your fault, Cam. She would’ve died giving birth to Chloe whether you were there with her or not. I miss her, too. Every day. But it’s been four years. You can’t go on living under a rock and blaming yourself for something you couldn’t control. Your daughter needs you, and you need her.”

  He did not want to talk about this. Not now.

  “Let’s revisit this discussion in the new year, Pat. I’ve been thinking about making different arrangements for Chloe and I’d like to run them by you then. But right now I really do have to go before the snow piles up too badly on the narrowest part of drive. Jim isn’t there to plow.”

  “Have you considered staying with…” Pat’s words were interrupted by a three-foot-tall tornado.

  “Come on, Daddy.” Chloe flew into the room, her blond curls swirling around her head, and grabbed his hand. “You really need to see this.”

  She tugged frantically on his hand, and he had little choice but to stumble after her into the great room. “What is so important? I told you I can’t stay.”

  “Look!” She pointed at the Christmas tree, with all its festive twinkling lights and colorful decorations. “That’s her.”