“No, and I thought they would at least try, but we don’t know what that crazy bastard’s likely to do. He may have taken their cell phones. Most likely that’s what’s happened. I just bought Amanda and Ashley cell phones to be used in an emergency. Stephanie and I both told them if they ever found themselves in trouble and couldn’t call, we made sure they know how to send a text message. I’ve checked my phone repeatedly, and there’s nothing.” Patrick sounded defeated, as if the very life had been sucked right out of him. Claire understood, as she felt the same way. Though she was new to this love thing, that didn’t make it any easier.
“So we wait? Isn’t there something you can do? A back door the cops can use to slip inside? Something that kook in there isn’t aware of?”
“Not that I know of. Give me a minute, let me think.”
Claire watched the anchorwoman, but she simply repeated what she’d just said minutes ago. There was nothing new to report. She hoped and prayed that was a good sign.
How could such a perfectly good plan go awry? Claire was having a tough time comprehending the sheer insanity of the situation, the odds of something like this happening here, in Telluride. Candy Lee shook with sobs, and Claire wanted to comfort her, but she was afraid to put her phone down for fear she’d lose her connection with Patrick. She knew he could talk, text, and answer incoming calls on his iPhone. She hated her old outdated BlackBerry just then and wished she’d purchased something new when it was all the rage. What a stupid thought to have at a time like this. Though she’d heard somewhere that when people were under extreme stress, their thoughts tended to be a bit haywire. She totally understood that now.
“Claire, are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“I think there might be a way for the police to get inside without Jeb’s knowing.”
“Then hang up and call them now! Hurry!”
“I’m going to put you on hold, don’t hang up, okay?”
“I won’t,” Claire said, her eyes focused on the TV. Something was happening. The anchorwoman kept messing with her earpiece like she was having trouble hearing something, or someone. She turned around to look behind her. Claire and Candy Lee both stared at the scene unfolding live on the air.
“Oh my Gawd, that’s him!” Candy Lee said, pointing at the television set. “That’s that insane psycho, Jeb Norris!”
Captivated by the scenario Claire almost had a heart attack when she saw her mother and father being held at gunpoint out in the parking lot by the madman! The anchorwoman raced to get as close to the scene as the police would allow.
Jeb Norris couldn’t have been a day over twenty if that. He was medium height but much too thin. Claire saw the signs of drug abuse all over his face. The sunken cheeks, dark circles under his eyes, the manic way he stared into the camera. “Listen up!”
They did. The television, while live, was totally silent.
“These two are gonna be the first to go. I’m startin’ with the oldest ones first.”
Claire watched in horror as her father was shoved to the ground. Her mother tried to help him up, and when she did, the madman slapped her hard, sending her flying to the ground, her back slamming against the icy pavement. Tears fell from Claire’s eyes. She could not watch her parents die. Someone had to do something, and from what she could see, no one was doing a damned thing. She laid her phone on the countertop. “Stay on the line. If Patrick comes back on the phone, tell him I’m going for help. I can’t just sit here and watch my parents die on live television!”
Before Claire had a chance to reconsider, she flew out the door. She didn’t know what she would do, but she had to at least try. She raced around to the parking lot, where the fired ex-employee had her parents. Several police cars surrounded the area.
“Ma’am, get down!” a police officer called out to her. “This is a hostage situation. Stay where you are!”
Claire dropped down on the wet, icy pavement. “Do not move!” came another voice.
She wasn’t going anywhere, and now she realized the folly of her impulsiveness. She had to try, she told herself as she lay on the cold concrete. She couldn’t live with herself if something were to happen to her parents.
“Claire.” A loud whisper came from an area beneath the steps that led to the back door of Snow Zone. She turned to find Patrick huddled under the stairs. “What the frig are you doing out here? I told you to stay inside! Damn it, Claire, you don’t always have to be the one in control of things. You’re going to get us both killed lying out here in the middle of the parking lot where that nut job can see you!”
Tears fell from her eyes. He was right. She had always wanted to be in control. Of everything. Why, she didn’t know, and now it didn’t matter. She should’ve listened to her brother.
“Try to slide over toward me, okay?”
She nodded, then carefully moved her body like an inchworm until she was just a few feet away from the back entrance. Jeb Norris was still standing in the middle of the main hall parking area, and from what she could hear, her parents were still on the ground, unharmed at this point.
A loud voice, which sounded like it was coming through a megaphone, filled the air. The negotiator, Claire guessed.
“Jeb, if you give up now, you can walk away from this. You haven’t injured anyone yet. There is no need for you to keep the other hostages inside. Let them go, and you and I will talk.”
Claire breathed a massive sigh of relief; and then she prayed, something she hadn’t done in a very long time. She tried to catch Patrick’s eye. She did and saw that he’d heard what she had. No one was injured at this point. Thank God. But who knew what this drugged-out crazy kid would do before all was said and done.
“I want to talk to that son of a bitch Patrick O’Brien. This is between me and him! This is all his fault!”
“Listen, son,” the negotiator said. “This isn’t anyone’s fault. From what I’ve been told, you’ve got a bad cocaine habit. I can get you some help, but in order for me to help you, you have to help me out. You can start helping both of us by letting all the hostages go.”
Claire strained to hear, but nothing was being said.
“How do I know you won’t try to shoot me?” Jeb Norris said. Claire knew this was a good sign. He was beginning to ask for help in his own sick way.
“I am a man of my word. If I tell you I will see that you get help for your addiction, then that’s exactly what I will do. But you have to help me, too, remember? You can help us both right this very minute, Jeb. All you have to do is let all those innocent people leave. They’ve done nothing to you, right?”
Claire and Patrick waited for him to respond.
“I don’t trust you,” Jeb called out.
“Jeb, listen to me. I am all you have right now. I’m the man that’s keeping you alive. As soon as I give up on you, they will, too. We have professionally trained sharpshooters. They can take you out right now if I give the order, but I’m not going to do that because I know you’ve got problems, and I know that you need help. Take it while I can still offer it, Jeb. I’m just doing my job, you understand? I don’t want to see anyone hurt. I don’t think you do, either. It’s Christmas. You know that there are kids inside that dining hall right now, don’t you? Kids who still believe in Santa Claus? Kids whose lives you’ll be responsible for ruining if you don’t let them go home to their mothers and fathers. Where’s your mother, Jeb? Think she’s watching this on TV right now? I bet she is, and I bet she’s crying her heart out. What do you think?”
“My mom ain’t got nothing to do with this! You leave her out of this, you hear me?” Jeb’s voice was trembling now.
“I’m running out of patience, Jeb. Seriously. My boss tells me I’ve got ten minutes, after that . . . well, remember what I said about those sharpshooters. They can take you out in a split second. And I think some of them want to. They’ve got kids, and they don’t like to see little children frightened or threatened in any way. Yo
u think about that, Jeb? Okay, I want you to think about it.”
A loud crashing noise, then the sound of crying as Jeb Norris dropped to his knees. Before he had a chance to make the slightest move, he was handcuffed and lifted off the ground, then escorted to a cruiser.
The next hour was pure pandemonium. Claire rushed to her parents’ side. They were unharmed, thank God. One by one, the police officers escorted the remaining hostages out of the dining hall. When Claire saw Quinn, she ran toward him and threw herself in his arms. “I was so afraid for you,” she said, as they walked arm in arm to the temporary tents the police had set up. There were twenty-three people who’d almost lost their lives. It was going to be a very long day for all of them.
Chapter 10
The night before Christmas Eve . . .
Claire lost count of the cookies after the twenty-third dozen. Her entire family was gathered at Hope House, a shelter for battered women where Max Jorgenson, his wife Grace, and their daughter Bella held their annual cookie bake-off.
This was the first time Claire had attended, and she knew without a doubt that she would return next year. She was having so much fun, no wonder Tilly had chosen to be a chef over her career as a medical doctor. Donald Flynn, the old coot, was getting his way in spite of all the trouble he’d created last week when he demanded Claire come to Ireland where he supposedly lay on his deathbed. Though she wanted to stay angry at him, she couldn’t. He would be eighty years old in a matter of days. Claire and Quinn were waiting until then to tell him they were a couple now. With every passing minute, she knew she’d made the right decision when she let Quinn Connor into her life, and into her heart. Connor was his mother’s maiden name, she’d discovered. She hadn’t wanted Quinn to be burdened with the Flynn name and had chosen to use her maiden name instead. While “Flynn” was close to “Trump” in Ireland, here in the States, it was just another Irish name.
“Can we call you Uncle Quinn yet?” Amanda asked.
“I’d be delighted if you did,” he replied.
“So you’re gonna marry Aunt Claire?” Ashley asked as she slopped gooey red icing on her Santa cookie.
Quinn looked at Claire. “I plan to.”
“But don’t you have to ask her first?” Ashley asked again.
Stephanie chose that moment to enter the kitchen, carrying another tray of cookies to the table to be decorated. Something both girls were quite good at.
“Are they being nosy?”
“No, they’re just being girls,” Quinn said, and winked at Claire.
There were cookies in every possible Christmas design. Angels, stars, Santas of all shapes and sizes, reindeer, Christmas trees and snowflakes set on cooling racks on the dining room table. This was the cooling station. Grace had them all set up in assembly-line fashion. The messiest job, the decorating, was done in the kitchen.
Claire’s mother and dad helped to mix the batter. Once the dough was chilled, and they had lots of dough, the kids—Amanda, Ashley, and Bella, and Megan and Nathan’s boys—Joseph, Ryan, and Eric—helped to roll out the dough. Abigail, Mark and Colleen’s remaining daughter, supervised the young kids.
Later that evening, they would take the cookies to local nursing homes and hospitals. Claire knew there was a big surprise coming up, but she kept it to herself. She and Patrick had decided she wouldn’t even hint that she knew what that surprise was.
When the adults returned from delivering the cookies, they all gathered in the formal living room, where Grace served them cookies and hot toddies, and cocoa for those who didn’t wish to imbibe. Claire was definitely in the latter group. After the episode at JFK, it would be a very long time before she had another alcoholic beverage.
When the adults were settled, and the younger children put to bed for the night, they watched Bryce, Grace’s brother, set up his new Apple computer. They made a big production of turning the computer on, then Bryce clicked the mouse a few times and a face appeared on the screen.
“Claire, I think you should look at this,” Quinn said, seeing that she was engaged in a conversation with Melanie, Bryce’s wife.
“Look at what?” she asked, then before Quinn had a chance to answer, Claire squealed with delight. “Kelly! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!”
“Aye, these computers are quite amazing, huh? We can Skype now that Quinn gave me a computer. I can’t tell ya how excited I was when he tol’ me and mother we were gettin’ a new place to live! And Paddy loves his new boots.” Claire had just sent them three days ago, but she’d sent them overnight air, so she knew they’d receive them before Christmas.
“I’m glad he likes them. Wait until next year, he’ll be walking in those boots. No, he’ll be too big. I’ll make sure to keep little Paddy supplied with boots, and his mom with shoes.”
“Aye, the Kate Spades were ta die for! Thank ya so very much.”
Claire knew Quinn had a few more surprises for Kelly. She couldn’t wait to see the expression on her face. “Kelly, Quinn wants to have a peep, is that okay with you?”
She laughed. “Of course it is!”
Quinn leaned close to the microphone so Kelly could hear him. “A little birdie told me you wanted to go to school to become a nurse.”
“Aye, it’s always been a dream o’ mine.”
“Beginning in January, your tuition is paid in full at the university. And Paddy’s, too, though I know it will be a while before he heads off to college, but Claire and I just wanted to make sure he had that opportunity.”
Tears rolled down Kelly’s face. “I don’t know what ta say, except thanks to ya both; my life, me mum’s life, and Paddy’s life are better for knowin’ ya, all of ya.”
“Kelly, there is one more thing,” Quinn said, his voice full of happiness. He looked at Claire, and she raised her brows. She didn’t know what else he had up his sleeve, but whatever it was, she knew it would be life-changing.
Quinn Connor was a giver, a doer, and a life changer, for all those who were lucky enough to have him as a friend.
“I don’t know of anything else, I have everything I could possibly want.”
“When I told you the house was yours to live in as long as you want, I meant it. The deed is now in your name, and the house is yours, free and clear.”
Claire looked at Quinn, then back at the computer monitor, where she saw Kelly crying her eyes out. She blew her nose on one of Paddy’s diapers, then laughed when she looked into her camera. “There’s nothing ta say, Quinn, nothing left to say, except thank ya, you changed me life.”
No one said a word. They were all lost in their own thoughts, their own reasons for being especially thankful on this blessed night. They’d all survived during the hostage takeover, each had their wounds, but all had a new appreciation for all that was good in their life.
The computer monitor went black, and they all clapped and congratulated Quinn on his generosity.
Patrick chose that moment to clap his hands. “Listen up, folks. I’ve got a bit of good news I’d like to share with you while we’re all together.”
This was Stephanie’s clue to join her husband. “Amanda, Ashley, would you come here just for a minute. We have something we want to say, and since you’re both big girls now, and don’t have to go to bed for at least”—Patrick looked at his watch—“another fifteen minutes, your mom and I thought you should hear this.”
Claire wanted to tell him to hurry up and share their good news, but this was special and deserving of those few extra words as it was a life-changing event for them all.
Patrick rubbed the palms of his hands together, excitement brightening his handsome face. He looked at his wife, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Go on, Stephanie, tell them.”
“Yeah, tell us.”
“Come on, don’t keep us in suspense.”
“Spit it out, bro, I need to . . .”
“Okay, okay. Stephanie, the honor is yours.”
She grinned, her big brown eyes shining like
jewels. “Patrick and I recently learned we’re going to have a baby!”
Shouts of joy, backslapping, hand clapping, and tears flowed like a fine wine. Joseph and Eileen were just as thrilled with this news as they were when Colleen had told them she was pregnant with Shannon. Though the eldest granddaughter wasn’t there in body, somehow the grandparents knew she was there in spirit.
Max shook Patrick’s hand. “It’s about time, my friend. Grace and I were starting to worry about you.”
“Bull,” Patrick said.
“Watch your mouth, there are kids in this house,” Grace called out, and they all laughed.
Everyone continued to offer Patrick their congratulations. Amanda and Ashley were so excited, the adults knew it would be quite some time before they settled down.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, do you know yet, or is it too soon?” Claire asked.
“No, we haven’t had the ultrasound yet. Don’t we have this scheduled for next week? I plan to make a full day of it. Taking the girls with us, too.”
Stephanie cleared her throat loudly, hoping to focus the attention on herself. “I hate to be the one to bring up bad news, especially tonight when we’re all together as a family for the first time in a very long time, but I don’t think there’s going to be a more appropriate time, so please”—she paused—“hear me out.”
When she saw she had everyone’s undivided attention she continued, her voice quiet but strong. “When Jeb Norris held us in the dining hall the other day, I prayed for all of us. I prayed for my girls and my husband, and I also prayed for my unborn child. But as some of you know, being a mother is so much more than a name or an act. It’s who I am, what I do best.” She smiled when both girls took a bow. “As you can see, I’ve raised two hams. However, as I was saying, a mother is the greatest joy in life, at least it has been in mine.” They all knew there was time in Stephanie’s life when she lived in fear for her daughters’ life and her own. But those days were in the past, and nothing more but a faded memory. “When we all escaped without injury, the mother in me couldn’t relax until I knew my unborn baby was safe. So, I pulled a fast one, and Patrick, please don’t be upset with me for going behind your back, but I had to. I had an ultrasound the day after, and I know the sex of our child. I hope you’re okay with this?” Stephanie’s eyes filled with fear, but only for a moment. She was safe with Patrick and knew he would never lash out at her in anger.
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