The Yuletide Rescue

by Margaret Daley

  David gathered her to him. “I want to be out there searching, too. That’s what I do. But right now it’s important to keep you alive and find the people behind this. We need to go to the cabin and discover what they must be looking for. That might help us find Gail.”

  His arms anchored Bree to him. She listened to the beating of his heart and dug deep for her fighting spirit. These people were not going to win. God is my refuge and strength. She needed to remember that.

  Tears stung her eyes, but she was determined not to release them. There was too much that must be done. She pulled away from David’s embrace and rose.

  God is my refuge and strength.

  “I don’t want to stay long at the reception,” she said. “We need to get ready to leave tomorrow. I wish we could go right now.”

  “We’ll be there by the time the sun rises in the morning.” David stood, and, with her beside him, headed for the exit. “We’ll stay no more than fifteen minutes. Thomas will be glad when we leave. If he had his way, you wouldn’t have come.”

  “I know, but I owed Jeremiah at least this, even if I’m angry and confused. I still love him.” As Bree walked into the reception hall, she wondered why she could forgive Jeremiah for lying to her all these years, but she couldn’t forgive herself for Anthony’s accident. Why was she holding on to the past?

  * * *

  “This must be it.” David flew low along a stream, staring at a cabin set back in the forest of evergreens and bare deciduous trees.

  Bree leaned forward and looked out the windshield. “Yes. There’s a stretch of ground he used to land on, next to the stream not far from the cabin.”

  “I see it.” David threw a look over his shoulder. “Dad, are you okay back there?”

  “I’ll be fine once we’re on the ground.”

  “You would think he’d be used to flying with a son who is a pilot. If this wasn’t really important, he wouldn’t be here.” David sent Bree a smile. “I have a good feeling about this. We’ll find what we need, and the people will be caught. Gail will be located alive and well.”

  “That’s what I’ve been praying for.” She turned to David. “It’ll be nice to have a change of scenery. I was going stir-crazy in your house. You didn’t even show me your workshop in the back.”

  “I promise I’ll give you the grand tour when we aren’t worried about someone coming after us.” David flew over the spot he would use as a landing strip, then came back around to line up to set his Cessna down. “This is a nice place to land. I wonder if Jeremiah worked on it and cleared some of the bush.”

  “When it came to his plane, he was very particular, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”

  David glanced at his dad’s pale face and white-knuckled grip on the seat. “In a moment you can kiss the ground if you want.”

  “Bah! Bree, can you believe this guy loves to tease his dad about flying?”

  She chuckled. “Yes. We’ll have to figure a way to get back at him.”

  “I like that. Hear that, son? You better watch out.”

  The plane touched down and came to a smooth stop seconds later. “In case you don’t know, we’re here.” David heard the click of the seat belt as he spoke to his father.

  The door opened, and his father scrambled to the ground.

  “I’m not sure we’re related.” David shut down the Cessna.

  “How did he get to Alaska?”

  “He drove.”

  Bree pressed her lips together, but laughter danced in her eyes.

  “Now you see how monumental this is to have my dad in my plane.”

  “I’m going to give him an extra hug. With all that has been happening, I would have wanted him to stay back at your house. But what if they had come after him to get to us?”

  “Don’t tell him that. He thinks he can take care of himself in any situation, and usually he can, but anyone can be overpowered. Ready?”

  “Yes, we have a cabin to search.” Bree unfastened her seat belt and exited the Cessna.

  David followed and opened the cargo bay, then passed their bags to Bree and his dad. David carried the box of provisions through the snow to the porch of the cabin. “It’s comforting not to see any footprints.”

  His dad headed toward the side of the place. “With that said, I’m checking the whole area.”

  Bree took out the key she’d found in the safety-deposit box and unlocked the front door, then thrust it wide. When she entered, she stopped a few feet inside and scanned the main room with a kitchenette and breakfast nook off to the left. “No presents.”

  David put the supplies down on the counter dividing the living area from the kitchen, then gestured toward the winding stairs to the right at the back. “Upstairs maybe. I’ll check while you look down here. Jeremiah could have put them in a cabinet.”

  David climbed the steps and poked his head through the opening to the second floor, a loft with two doors that led to bedrooms. After checking what few spaces a person could hide something, he went down the winding stairs.

  Bree emerged from behind a door on the right side. “That’s the bathroom but no presents.” She pointed across the cabin. “The pantry has no presents, either, but fully stocked shelves. It doesn’t look like we’ll starve.”

  “So what happened to that bag of presents you saw Jeremiah bring to the cabin?”

  “The one that would give us all the answers to what’s going on? Beats me. But we’ll tear this place apart until we discover the answer.”

  The front door to the cabin opened and his dad came inside, stomping the snow off his boots. “No footprints around except ours.” He shut the door. “I notice there’s a sturdy lock on this. That’s nice. I might sleep well tonight. Any presents?”

  Bree shook her head while David said, “No, but it would have been nice if he’d had them under a decorated tree just waiting for us.”

  His dad removed his heavy gloves and rubbed his hands. “Let’s see what we know. Bree watched Jeremiah go toward the cabin with the presents and come back to the plane empty-handed. No footprints in the area. From the weather of this area, it hasn’t received any snow since that storm moved through. So that means the presents are still in here hidden somewhere.”

  “We’ll search some more after I let Thomas know we made it.” David pulled out his satellite phone and called his friend. “We’re here but haven’t found anything useful yet. How about you? Any progress on the case?”

  There was a long silence. David started to ask if Thomas was still there when the detective said, “We found Sonny Franks this morning.”

  “Great. Maybe he’ll talk.”

  “I don’t think so. He’s dead.”

  TEN

  When David said, “Great. Maybe he’ll talk,” Bree perked up and watched him as he talked with Thomas. The smile that had been on his face almost instantly fell, and he turned his back to her.

  Was David talking about Bruce Keller? Or Sonny Franks? Whoever it was obviously didn’t give Thomas any information on who was after her.

  She walked over to the back window by the fireplace and stared out at the large stack of firewood covered in snow. When was Jeremiah planning to come here? The shelves were stocked and there was enough wood in the bin inside the cabin as well as outside to last a month or two.

  What were you up to, Jeremiah?

  Where did the money come from?

  Why are people after me?

  The sound of David saying goodbye to Thomas drifted to Bree. She swung around. Her gaze locked with his, and she didn’t like what she saw in his eyes. The news wasn’t good.

  He covered the distance to her, his shoulders squaring as though preparing himself to impart bad news. “Sonny Franks has been found. He was murdered. His body was in the field behind h
is house.”

  “Any idea who killed him?” Bree asked, almost detached from herself—as if viewing the scene from a distance.

  “No. There was no evidence at the scene, but they’re going through his house inch by inch for any indication of where Gail might be, and they’ll keep pressing Keller for information.”

  “We’ve got to find what they’re looking for. Then maybe we could use it for an exchange for Gail.” If she’s still alive. But Bree couldn’t say that out loud.

  “That’s what we’re here for. Let’s start down here. How big was the bag of gifts?” Don asked from across the room.

  “Like a grocery store paper bag.” Bree indicated the size with her hands. “I’ll take the kitchen area.”

  “We’ll work on the living room.” David held her look for a few extra seconds. “And pray we find something.”

  Bree started with the pantry but didn’t find anything. When she sat on the wooden floor and began opening the lower cabinets, she discovered the cloth bag the presents had been in, folded and stuffed in the bottom series of drawers. She hopped up and waved it. “At least I’m not imagining that Jeremiah stopped here and brought some gifts in this.”

  With a frown, David rose from looking in the wood bin next to the fireplace. “That means he took the presents out of the bag and hid them somewhere. Why? If this is his place, as we know it is, then why bother to do that?”

  “For that matter, why wrap them? Why the big charade? There weren’t many people at the runway in Daring to see it. I don’t even remember anyone handing the bag to Jeremiah.” Her head began to throb, and she massaged her temples. “Why didn’t he just tell me about his new cabin and say he was taking supplies or something like that to it?”

  “Because he didn’t want you to know. The only reason you do now is because he’s dead. Otherwise it would probably still be a secret to you.” Don got down on his hands and knees and checked beneath the couch.

  Bree looked through the cabinet under the sink, withdrawing the large covered trash can. She pulled out the plastic bag and spied some wrapping paper in the bottom. She stood up and dumped the contents on the counter. The red that had covered the top box in the cloth sack tumbled out along with some crushed boxes.

  “I found the remains of the gifts, but nothing that was the actual present, unless you like moldy coffee grounds, a few empty cans and a TV dinner.” Bree wrinkled her nose at the odor emitting from the trash bag.

  Joining her, David stared at the mess. “So he brought the gifts, quickly unwrapped them and then stashed whatever was in one box or boxes somewhere. Did he bring anything back from the cabin that day of the wreck?”

  Bree pictured Jeremiah trudging back in the snow, his arms and hands empty. “No. I suppose he could have stuffed something into his coat pockets. I didn’t notice a bulge, but then I wasn’t looking for one.”

  “If that was the case, then why come after you? They inspected Jeremiah’s body most likely when they came that day after the wreck. If not, they sure did when they took the plane and dumped him under the trees.”

  Don approached the counter and leaned over to see the trash. “Then it’s here in this cabin. We have to keep searching.”

  As David and Don went back to the living area, Bree swept the trash into the plastic bag, walked to the front door and placed it outside. Making her way back to the kitchen, she scanned the cabin for any idea where Jeremiah would have hidden anything. Nothing stood out, and for a few seconds defeat edged its way into her mind, until thoughts of Gail spurred her on. She had to find it and fast.

  * * *

  After hours searching the cabin, David sought a breath of fresh air, even though the temperature of that air was near zero. Out on the porch, he leaned against the railing and thought back to his so far unsuccessful search for some unknown asset worth killing for. Through the trees David stared at the stream with frozen sections, especially along the sides, and shivered, not so much from the cold as from the lengths these people would go. Kidnapping. Murder.

  With the wind picking up, he needed to see to his plane and make sure it was secure a couple hundred yards away by the level ground near the stream. He straightened.

  The sound of the cabin door opening and closing drew him around to watch Bree exit, bundled up as though she were going for a long walk. She smiled. “I thought I would join you. I had to get away for a few minutes. The frustration of coming up empty-handed is getting to me. We’ve checked every nook and cranny. We know it was here at one time. So where is it, whatever it is?”

  “A good question I don’t have an answer to. I thought after I make sure the plane is okay, I’d walk around and get a feel for the landscape.”

  “You think he hid it somewhere besides the cabin? He was only gone ten minutes or so.”

  “There isn’t much left for us to check in the cabin. It’ll be dark soon, so I won’t be gone long.” He took a step toward her, then another to close the space.

  “Your dad is going to make a fire, but first he’s examining the fireplace to make sure nothing was hidden up the flue.”

  The warmth in her eyes chased away the chill in the air. “We wouldn’t want what they’re after burning up.” He framed her face with his black-gloved hands and said what he’d been thinking for the past few days. “I want this over with so we can spend time really getting to know each other.” He knew he should take his words back, but he couldn’t, because what he said was true. He was tired of being alone.

  “I know this is a stressful time,” she replied. “But I’ve always believed that stress brings out the true nature of a person. Over the past few days, I’ve learned that you’re dedicated to what you need to do. You care about others and your family. Your rapport with your father illustrates that. You’re worried about when your daughter shows up, but remember she’s coming. She might be ready to mend your relationship. Holding on to anger doesn’t really satisfy anyone.” Bree clasped her arms around his waist. “It only destroys. Melissa wouldn’t be coming to see you just because your dad is here. She could have chosen another time to see him. She didn’t.”

  In all Bree had said, she really didn’t address their relationship or them continuing to get to know each other after the ordeal was over. Although she cuddled up to him, he sensed a barrier between them—fear of getting too emotionally involved. After what he’d gone through with Trish, he could understand how she felt, but now he wanted more—with his daughter and most especially with Bree.

  “I know I wouldn’t be here without you, David,” she continued. “You have been beside me from the beginning, but I can’t promise anything beyond the moment,” she finally said.

  He rubbed one of his thumbs across her lips. “I know. Do you trust me?”

  “Yes, with my life.”

  “Everything will work out in the end. I have to believe that.” He dipped his head and savored her taste on her lips. Somehow he would make those words come true. They would find what they needed because once they did Bree would no longer be the target.

  He pulled slightly away and kissed each corner of her mouth before covering it again. His arms glided down her back to hold her close. “As much as I like this, I need to see to my plane before it gets dark. We wouldn’t want to come out tomorrow morning and see it blown over.”

  “I’ll come with you. I need a change of scenery.”

  He grabbed her hand, and they descended the two steps to the snow-covered ground. He followed their tracks from earlier, and when they reached his Cessna, he removed a drill from the plane to make the holes for the anchors. With Bree’s help, he finished with a little light still left.

  “Want to explore around the cabin or have you had enough of this cold?” David asked, as he put his equipment into his aircraft.

  He turned toward her just as a snowball pelted him in the middle of his
chest. She laughed and backed away. With quick reflexes, he bent, packed the snow and threw it at her, catching her arm while she spun around and began running as far as she could in the foot of snow.

  “I guess that’s your answer. You want to play.” He chased after Bree, her laughter music to his ears.

  His long strides closed the distance between them, and he leaped forward, tackling Bree to the ground. He rolled with her in his arms until they both were covered with snow. He ended up pinning her beneath him. Their gazes bonded, and suddenly the atmosphere between them changed. He could hear the pulsating beat of his heart in his head.

  He released his hand about her wrist and brushed the flakes from her face. Then he leaned down and gave her a kiss that said everything he couldn’t really put into words yet. His feelings for her were evolving. He knew if anything happened to her, something would die inside him. With her, his hope had been renewed, and he didn’t want to let that go. She made him want to revive his shaky relationship with God, too. Despite all that had happened to her, she still believed in God. That faith came through and challenged him to do likewise.

  “If you weren’t cold before, you’ve got to be by now,” he said and moved to her side, offering her his hand. “It’s getting too dark to explore the area. Maybe tomorrow.” After he stood, he tugged her to her feet.

  “That is, if I thaw out by tomorrow.”

  “At least the plane should be okay.”

  She plowed toward the porch. “I told your dad I’d help with dinner tonight. You get to clean up.”

  He scooped up some snow and aimed for her back. Splat. Bull’s-eye.

  She froze. Then she swept around, scooped up some snow and lunged for the tree nearby while she hurled her snowball toward him, hitting him square in the face. He began stalking her.

  She squealed and dashed for the cabin entrance. “You don’t play fair.”

  When she hit the steps, his dad flung open the door, and she raced inside just as David’s snowball struck the wall next to her.