The Christmas Wishing Tree: An Eternity Springs Novel

by Emily March

  Now Devin’s grin turned sheepish. “What can I say? I’m a fan.”

  Jenna watched her son hug his Santa Claus and murmured, “Me too.”

  Everyone in Eternity Springs knew that Jack Davenport was a descendant of one of three partners who had discovered the Silver Miracle mother lode in the 1880s. Townspeople knew that he and his wife Cat ran a charitable foundation named after their deceased daughter Lauren, and one of its numerous projects was the Rocking L summer camp, which had been built on Davenport family land. The grand estate Jack had built in a picturesque valley on Murphy Mountain was more of a mystery. Rumor had it that Eagle’s Way had a level of security that rivaled Camp David’s, and the handful of people in town in position to know the veracity of that rumor didn’t talk about it.

  They did, however, gather at Eagle’s Way on Sunday afternoon with potluck offerings, swimsuits, and pieces of a plan to rid the Stocktons of the threat under which they’d been living. Because they came with a whole gaggle of children in tow, the decision had been made to party first, thus giving the little ones a chance to wear themselves out.

  Eagle’s Way boasted an outdoor living space and swimming pool worthy of a five-star resort. With floating step pads, chaise lounges on a tanning ledge, a spillway spa and rain curtain, and a bar table inside the pool. Every time he visited, Devin wondered why the Davenports only spent about half their time in Colorado. If he owned Eagle’s Way, it would take a bulldozer to get him out of this valley. That was saying a lot, considering how far away this place was from an ocean.

  In keeping with his bodyguard role, Devin had volunteered for lifeguard duty. The boy in him chortled with glee when Jack produced a whistle and a red throw float to assist in the effort. “Cool. Thanks, Jack. Though I’d have brought zinc oxide for my nose if I knew I’d be in uniform.”

  With more than a dozen young people in the pool, Devin did pay close attention. He blew his whistle judiciously and used his stern voice to demand obedience, but the only time he got seriously sidetracked was when Jenna emerged from the pool house in a one-piece swimsuit. His mouth went dry and he’d have licked his lips except that he felt the weight of his mother’s interested gaze. Due to his beachfront lifestyle, Devin was accustomed to seeing women in scraps that barely covered anything. How was it that a conservative one-piece in a gray-blue that matched Jenna’s eyes and complimented her creamy skin distracted him so thoroughly?

  “You feeling a little hot?” his father asked, his tone brimming with innocence. “Want me to take over as lifeguard so you can cool off?”

  “Gee thanks, Dad.” Devin shoved the float at his father and started to walk away.

  “Hey! What about the whistle?”

  Devin rolled his eyes, tugged the whistle chain over his head, and tossed it to his dad. Then he strolled toward the end of the pool where the women had congregated, tugged off his T-shirt, and kicked his flip-flops beneath a chair.

  Then a splash from one of the Callahan girls caught him by surprise, and he had no choice but to cannonball in beside them. He played with the kids until his father blew the whistle loud and called everyone out of the water to eat. After dinner, Cat Davenport took the children inside to the theater room, and Jack asked the adults to gather around. He called the meeting to order by asking Jenna if she had anything she wished to say before individual team members began their presentations.

  Jenna glanced at Devin, who gave her a reassuring nod. She blew out a breath, then said, “I’m even more overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity today than I was last week.”

  Jack’s answering smile to her was gentle. “We’re happy to help you, Jenna. Those of us here have benefitted from the efforts of friends in the past. It’s good to be able to give back in some small way. Now, why don’t we start with your report, Daniel? I trust you were able to speak with your colleague about Jenna’s case?”

  “I was.” Proving that old police detective habits die hard, Daniel removed a small notebook from his pocket. “He faxed me your file, Jenna. After studying it and making a few follow-up inquiries, I don’t see any glaring mistakes. He identified three suspects.”

  Daniel looked toward his wife and nodded. Shannon Garrett drew a handful of manila folders from a briefcase and passed them out to team members. Daniel continued. “First, we have Nashville attorney Jeremy Tomlinson whose wife was an obstetrical patient of Dr. Stockton’s.”

  “Wait. Excuse me.” The sheriff’s wife, Savannah Turner, stepped forward. “You’re a doctor? An obstetrician? I missed this piece of news.” She turned a scolding gaze toward her husband. “Zach, you didn’t tell me that.”

  The sheriff gave his wife an apologetic smile. Savannah waved dismissively, then said, “I’m sorry, Daniel. I’ll be quiet.”

  He gave her a blue-eyed wink. “Jeremy Tomlinson accosted Jenna in her office building parking lot and struck her with a slap to the face following his wife’s first trimester miscarriage. Another physician witnessed the altercation and called the police. Dr. Stockton refused to press charges.”

  Everyone looked at Jenna, who shrugged. “He was grieving. I didn’t take it seriously. Besides, he apologized.”

  “Tomlinson’s firm learned about the incident and he lost his job.”

  “Serves him right,” Luke Callahan muttered.

  “I’ve never believed he was my stalker.”

  Devin imagined his own expression mirrored the skeptical looks he spied on the faces of the people around him.

  Daniel continued. “Our second person of interest is Dr. Alan Snelling. Jenna reported the surgeon for sexual harassment to hospital administration. He denied it and started a campaign of innuendo against her. But after seven more women came forward with similar charges, he lost his hospital privileges. At that point, word of the scandal made it onto social media, and that apparently was the last straw for his wife of”—Daniel checked his notes—“thirty-four years. She filed for divorce. Jenna, anything to add?”

  “I know that surgeons often have the reputation for being egotistical jerks, but in my experience, that’s seldom true. Dr. Snelling, however, is a different animal. He’s an egotistical pig. While I could easily picture him hiring someone to torment us, I still don’t see him doing it himself.”

  “Which brings us to the third suspect identified by Jenna’s investigator, Adam Zapel,” Daniel said. “Mr. Zapel is a singer-songwriter whom Jenna dated briefly three months before the first harassment incident. He was unhappy when she told him she didn’t want to see him anymore. He contacted her three subsequent times in an effort to change her mind. And”—Daniel glanced her way.—“he wrote a song about her.”

  “Jenna!” Sarah said. “A song? This was in Nashville. So, a country music song? Did he record it? I want to hear it.”

  “No. Please, no.” Color stained Jenna’s cheeks. “It’s so embarrassing.”

  “He’s cute,” Savannah said, peering over her husband’s shoulder at the file.

  Devin flipped through his own file folder to a picture of Zapel. Huh. He didn’t look like a country and western singer. More of a used-car salesman, to Devin’s way of thinking. Of course, he could be prejudiced.

  “He’s also married now with a baby on the way,” Daniel continued.

  “So does that take him off the list?” Maddie Callahan asked.

  Daniel shook his head. “Actually, it makes me want to dig even deeper. Here’s what I propose to do.”

  He outlined a plan of investigation that revisited these three characters, doing a deeper dive with the technological assets the Callahan family was able to bring to the table. During a pause in the discussion, Jenna asked the question that had occurred to Devin. “Is what you’re suggesting legal? That seems awfully intrusive.”

  “We’re fighting fire with fire, Jenna,” Mark Callahan explained. “The law hasn’t caught up with technology, I’m afraid. However, you can be assured that law enforcement will be able to use any information we give them to aid in the prose
cution of the man—or woman—who has caused you such grief.”

  “Woman?” Savannah repeated. “You think this person could be a woman?”

  “We’d be foolish to ignore the possibility,” Daniel observed.

  Mark nodded. “We won’t do anything that jeopardizes the end goal, which is putting this jackwagon in jail for a very long time.”

  “I appreciate that, but—”

  Seated beside her, Devin placed a hand on Jenna’s knee and spoke one word. “Reilly.”

  She closed her mouth.

  After Daniel wrapped up his presentation, Zach outlined his security plans. “The music festival presents a unique challenge. On one hand, we’ll have all the extra security the Callahan family has arranged, and they’ll obviously be brought up to date on this situation. On the other hand, our town will be busting at the seams, and my guys will have their hands full. You and Mac will need to be on your toes, Devin.”

  “With any luck, this will all be over by then,” Jack said. “It’s quite possible that our prey will reveal himself shortly after we start the clock ticking.”

  “All we need is a nibble,” Mark Callahan said. “We’ll be on him like ducks on a June bug.”

  Jack asked, “Do you foresee any problems having your monitoring in place by the fifth?”

  Luke Callahan stretched out his legs and laced his fingers over a belly still admirably flat for a man in his fifties. “None at all. We have a few last things to tie up tonight, but we’ll be ready when the clock starts ticking on Thursday.”

  “That’s one thing I’m not clear about,” Jenna said. “How exactly do we kick things off?”

  Daniel responded. “We have an eight point list to return you to the grid, Dr. Stockton. First on the list, and most important, is for you to apply to practice medicine in Colorado.”

  “Awesome,” Shannon Garrett said. “Do you know how badly Eternity Springs needs our own obstetrician?”

  Thirteen

  Retail businesses in Eternity Springs counted the Fourth of July as one of their busiest and most profitable days of the year because they benefited from the crowds who collected to watch the parade travel the length of town on Spruce Street. Members of the public were invited to join the parade, the sole requirement being that the entry be decked out in red, white, and blue. As a result, led by the Eternity Springs Community School band, it was patriotic conglomeration of motorized vehicles, pedestrians, and pets.

  “If we’re here next Fourth of July, I’m going to put Sinatra in the parade,” Reilly declared.

  “It’s fun,” Michael said. “Last year we dressed up dogs from the shelter and took them.”

  With her ankle much improved and numerous offers for a ride to and from the day’s events, Jenna had invited Michael to attend the parade with her and Reilly, thus freeing Devin to help his father at Refresh and Lori to spend time alone with her husband before the second summer session at the Rocking L began the following day.

  Jenna was glad to have the distraction. She was nervous about sending Reilly off to camp and borderline paranoid about launching the effort to find the stalker.

  Not that she doubted the talents of the people on their team, because she didn’t. Especially not after witnessing them in action. However, reliving the stalker-related events during a three-hour interview with Daniel yesterday had stirred up the memories of all those fear filled moments and left her with a lingering sense of discontent. Dare she hope that Jack Davenport was correct in his assessment that this nightmare might possibly end within a week?

  On the way back to town last night, Devin had told her to believe. Well, he is Santa Claus, after all.

  Reilly tugged on her arm. “The parade is over. Is it time to go to the party yet?”

  She checked her watch. “Not yet. Another hour and forty-five minutes.”

  “Oh.”

  Jenna smirked at his obvious disappointment. Reilly would just as soon skip the picnic and fireworks. He was counting the minutes until morning when he picked up Sinatra on their way to the Rocking L. He’d lobbied hard to get the puppy today, and Jenna finally put the matter to bed by asking Lori to explain to Reilly about the trouble dogs have with fireworks. Of course, after that he’d tried to convince Jenna to pick up Sinatra and head up into the mountains away from the noise. She’d finally used her Mean Mom stare, and the boy got the message.

  “What are we going to do for an hour and forty-five whole minutes?” Reilly asked.

  “We’re not far from the park. We could go to the playground.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Michael said.

  Ten minutes later Jenna sat on a park bench watching the boys as they climbed on a wooden jungle gym. The park was crowded, the children loud. She didn’t notice the man approach until an ice cream cone appeared in front of her face. “Ice cream solves everything.”

  She smiled up at Devin. “Hello.”

  “For you. It’s strawberry and vanilla with blueberries.”

  “Thank you.” She took a lick and said, “Mmm. Delicious and patriotic.”

  “It’s the theme of the day. I like the sock.”

  Jenna lifted her leg, showing off the toeless, flag themed sock she’d slipped over her brace. “Thank you. It was Reilly’s idea.”

  “You’re still on one crutch, I see. So all the activity yesterday didn’t adversely affect you?”

  “No. I’m fine as long as I’m careful. Steps give me a challenge, and I certainly won’t be dancing anytime soon, which is a shame because I hear the band tonight is supposed to be fabulous and I love to dance.” She paused to savor another lick from her ice cream cone, then asked, “I thought you were helping your dad?”

  He was staring at her mouth. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. I am. I had time to tie a few flies that a customer ordered before we opened this morning. I was going to deliver them to him before the picnic, but when I saw you and boys, I called and asked him to meet me here.”

  From the playground Michael yelled, “Devin, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m looking for a brother to spank.”

  Michael stuck out his butt, daring Devin, then when another child called his name, promptly ignored the adults. Devin gave his ice cream cone a lick and wryly observed, “He might as well just say ‘Go on back to Oz.’ So, did you enjoy the parade?”

  “I did. I especially liked the Krazy Kazoo Bicycle Band.”

  “Aren’t they awesome? Mom usually rides with them, but she decided to skip the parade this year.” A frown knit his brow as he added, “I’m getting a little worried about her. She’s just not acting like herself.”

  “She said she was feeling great yesterday. She certainly held her own in pool volleyball.”

  “Yeah.” He considered a moment and shrugged. “You’re right. I think that flu bug really knocked her back. Maybe once she . . . oh . . . here comes my customer.”

  Hearing the odd note in his tone, Jenna followed the path of his gaze to see Boone McBride strolling toward them.

  She hadn’t seen Boone since he sent her the flowers, so she needed to thank him. But wow, this again would be a little awkward. Why did she only see the man when she was with Devin?

  “Red, white, and blue ice cream. I like it,” Boone said when he drew near.

  “It’s delicious.” She lifted her cone up to him. “Want some?”

  “Thank you.” He took a testing bite. “Okay, that tastes a lot better than it looks. Where did you get it?”

  She dipped her head toward Devin. Boone drawled, “What . . . none for me?”

  “The lady gets ice cream. You get flies.”

  “Story of my life,” the lawyer said with an exaggerated sigh.

  He really was a fine-looking man, Jenna observed. “I want to thank you for the flowers, Boone. It was a lovely surprise, and the sunflowers make me smile every time I look at them. That was so sweet of you.”

  “You are welcome.” He gave her a flirtatious wink and added, “I’m sweet as ice crea
m.”

  The sexual innuendo was obvious, and judging by the gleam in Boone’s eye, another place, another time, he might have offered to let her lick him. Devin must have noticed too, because he warned, “Gotta be careful with ice cream. Listeria can be a problem. Wasn’t there a Texas ice cream maker than shut down due to listeria?”

  Boone ignored that and extended his hand. “Let’s see my flies. I’m hoping to do a little fishing during the picnic. There’s a great little spot on a creek that runs through the North Forty.”

  Devin handed him the bag containing the flies. Boone opened it, and while he studied the contents with interest, Devin nonchalantly asked. “So you are going to the Callahan picnic?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  “I hear Branch Callahan made it up to Colorado again this year.”

  “He did. I’m pretty sure Branch will outlive us all.” Devin spoke to Jenna. “You should have seen how

  Branch threw every single woman in attendance at this cowboy last year. Between Branch and Mac Timberlake’s shenanigans, it’s a wonder he didn’t end up married to Caitlin Timberlake before the fireworks ended.”

  Boone smirked. “It was an interesting event, to say the least.”

  “So, are you bringing a date today in self-protection?”

  “No, I’m going stag. Probably a mistake on my part, though.”

  Devin took a deliberate bite of his ice cream, and then pursed his lips as though it tasted sour. He cleared his throat and suggested, “In that case, you should take Jenna as your date.”