The Quiet Storm

by RaeAnne Thayne

  He was such an idiot.

  “Anything I can do to help?” Griff asked.

  Yeah, take back the last two weeks, before Elizabeth walked into his life with her solemn eyes and her Grace Kelly hair and her lush mouth. “No. Unless you have any ideas about how to apologize to a woman when you’ve been a complete jackass.”

  Griffin raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought you’ve had plenty of practice with that in your lifetime, haven’t you?”

  He made a face. He hated to admit it, but Griffin was starting to grow on him. He was going to have to figure out how to keep the kid around. Right after he figured out how to convince the woman he loved to take a chance on a stubborn, ornery cuss of a cop.

  Chapter 16

  When can Beau come and play with us again?

  In the vast, gleaming Harbor View kitchen, elbow-deep in dough, Elizabeth mentally groaned at what had become Alex’s favorite question. In the week since their boat ride, the boy had mentioned Beau at least a few dozen times a day.

  Beau said this. Beau did that. Beau is so strong he could row all the way to China.

  She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Several times she had tried to gently explain to him that although Beau had been kind enough to take them out on his boat once, she wasn’t sure when—or if—he would be able to do it again.

  No matter how many times she explained it, though, Alex didn’t seem to comprehend. He would nod as if he did, then bring up Beau’s name again just a few moments later, asking the same question.

  How could she tell him Beau would probably never be coming again? Harbor View was likely the last place on earth Beau Riley wanted to see after the tension between them when she had left his house early Monday morning, but she didn’t know how to tell Alex that.

  As usual, no words came immediately to mind. Frustrated with herself—how hard could it be to speak to a five-year-old, for heaven’s sake?—she glanced across the kitchen at Luisa, but the boy’s grandmother wasn’t any help at all. She simply raised one dark eyebrow, then went back to work at her cutting board.

  “I’m not sure.” Elizabeth finally repeated the same thing she’d been saying all week, signing the words as well as speaking them aloud. “Beau is very busy.”

  She tried to turn his attention back to the dough they were kneading for rolls, praying this time Alex would be content with the answer and stop asking.

  Even the mention of his name scraped her raw heart. How could he have become so vital to her life in just a few short weeks? His smile, his laughter, his strong, sturdy shoulders. Without him, she felt bleak, hollow. Empty.

  She missed him. Dear heaven, she missed him so much she wanted to weep with it.

  She needed to call him, to ask the status of the investigation into Tina’s murder—if there still indeed was an investigation. She knew she had to call him, but so far she hadn’t been able to gather the courage.

  Although she had picked up the phone several times since Sunday night when she had left his bed, each time her heart pounded so loudly in her ears she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hear herself think. She had hung up quickly before even dialing the last number.

  She was such a baby. A big, stupid baby. She sighed and flipped the dough over, directing Alex to do the same with his smaller ball of dough. The little boy usually loved the tactile ritual of measuring ingredients, pouring, mixing, working the dough.

  She could only hope it would keep his hands busy enough that he wouldn’t be able to ask any more heartbreaking questions she didn’t know how to answer.

  Not this time. After another pause, Alex pulled his hands out of the dough and carefully wiped them on his white apron.

  Is Beau mad at us? he signed the words with a forlorn little look.

  Elizabeth’s hands clenched in the dough. Because of Tina’s lifestyle and his special needs, Alex had had so many transitory people in his little life. Baby-sitters, speech therapists, Tina’s friends. She hated trying to make him understand that Beau—the man he so adored—would probably be another one.

  Her heart heavy, she wiped her hands as well and signed back. He’s not mad at you. I promise.

  Just me, she added to herself.

  Then why won’t he come back?

  I told you, honey. He’s very busy. He works hard all day long to catch people who break the law. He doesn’t have much time to go on his boat or to call us.

  She paused and forced a smile. Now let’s stop talking about Beau and help your grandmother with the rolls.

  Alex’s lower lip jutted out in ominous warning of an approaching tantrum. I don’t want to make rolls. I want to go on the boat again. I want to see the whales. I want to play with Beau!

  He signed this last so emphatically that his hands caught the side of the bowl containing the dough. It whirled around and then skated across the counter. Elizabeth reached for it but her hands were slick and messy and she couldn’t grab hold. All she could do was gasp as it soared off the edge of the counter.

  The dough went flying one way, the bowl another. The plop of the dough hitting the floor and the clang from the metal bowl doing the same seemed to echo on forever in the kitchen.

  For one horrible moment Elizabeth was afraid she would burst into tears. Alex looked as stricken as she felt. He covered his mouth with sticky fingers, and his eyes welled up.

  “Ah, niños. No es importante.” Luisa bustled over and began cleaning up the mess. “I can make more dough.”

  I’m sorry, Alex signed with a sniffle, the tears now sliding down his little nose and pooling at the corners of his mouth.

  “Oh, sweetheart. I know you are,” Elizabeth replied.

  “I will finish this,” Luisa said. “Now that the rain has stopped, why don’t you take that dog outside and enjoy the sunshine for a while? I will tell you when dinner is ready.”

  Shall we wash our hands and then take Maddie outside to play? she signed to Alex.

  He nodded and swiped at his tears with his sleeve, then followed her to the sink to wash up.

  By the time their hands were clean and they went to Maddie’s crate in the family room where the puppy was taking a nap, his sniffles had stopped with the rapidfire mood swings of small children and he had tugged his hand from hers to sign rapidly to her about a game he had played at preschool that morning.

  As she watched his pudgy little fingers signing so enthusiastically, she had to fight tears again. He was such a sweet, happy little child, brimming over with joy and love. How could anyone not adore him?

  She wanted so many things for him—most of all for him to know without any doubt that he was loved. She and Luisa would give him that, now that his mother was gone. They already had through much of his life, but she wondered again if it would be enough.

  He did have a parent left, she reminded herself. Her thoughts immediately drifted to Andrew. Although he hadn’t called since the party Sunday night, he claimed he wanted to be part of Alex’s life. What part would he play?

  She was so grateful he didn’t appear in any hurry to make a place for himself in his son’s life. Alex needed time to adjust to his new circumstances before he had to cope with a father he didn’t know.

  Can we play in the water? Alex asked as they unhooked the dog’s crate and let her out to jump around them in delight.

  It’s probably too cold for us. But Maddie can swim if she wants. The dog was thrilled to be outside playing after several days of rain. With her tail pumping like crazy, she raced around, sniffing at every rock and rain-soaked plant.

  Alex giggled, content for now to chase after her around the garden, so Elizabeth gravitated toward her favorite bench overlooking the water and the city skyline where she could keep a careful eye on them.

  Traffic was light on the water today, probably because the Sound was still choppy from a week of stormy weather.

  She watched a few commercial ships for a while, trying fiercely to keep her thoughts from straying toward Beau. They had been
outside for perhaps a half hour when she spotted a blue-and-white craft veer away from the main channel and head in her direction.

  For one heart-stopping moment, she thought it might be Beau. Joy burst through her and she caught her breath. As the boat neared, she exhaled on a disappointed sigh. Not the Mari, she could see now. Beau’s cabin cruiser was comfortable and well-appointed but this yacht, though smaller, screamed luxury, from the teak decks to the sophisticated lines.

  The yacht seemed to be heading right for Harbor View. The captain brought her hard to starboard then maneuvered against the dock. Elizabeth frowned again. She was going to have to tell whoever was at the helm that this was a private moorage—the public landings were farther north in Eagle Harbor.

  The yacht must have finally caught Alex’s attention. He and the dog skidded to a stop near the bench, both panting hard. Alex gazed at the watercraft for a few seconds, then offered up a huge smile that lit up his little face.

  “Beau!” he signed and spoke aloud. The word surprised her—although his therapists had been working on oral speech, Alex had stubbornly resisted using his voice.

  “Beau! Beau! Beau!” Alex repeated. He gave three or four excited hops, then raced down the dock toward the boat.

  “No, honey. It’s not Beau,” she began, but of course he couldn’t tell what she was saying with his back turned. She hurried after him on the rain-slick dock, the dog racing around her legs.

  Alex had a head start and his way wasn’t hindered by fifty pounds of excited dog. He beat her to the yacht just as she saw someone throw a bowline to secure the craft to the dock.

  She stopped in shock when she saw Leigh Sheffield step off the yacht “Leigh! This is a…surprise. What brings you to Harbor View?”

  “I was visiting friends up north. As I was passing around the island and saw Harbor View, I realized I hadn’t been here since your father died. I had a sudden whim to come out and show off my new Piazzo. I’m so excited about her, I’m showing everyone.”

  “She’s beautiful. Truly b-beautiful.” She cringed at the stutter, wondering why Leigh always seemed to bring out the worst in her. Probably because whenever she was with her, she was once more a lost, lonely little girl trapped in a world of silence, desperately eager to make herself understood.

  To her relief, Leigh didn’t make any of her usual sly, cutting comments. “Yes. She is,” she murmured, then turned her attention to Alex. “And who’s this?”

  Elizabeth instinctively grabbed Alex’s hand, even though she knew her sudden protective impulse was silly. Leigh wasn’t going to hurt him.

  Oh, dear heaven, she realized suddenly. Leigh was Alex’s half sister. Why hadn’t she made the connection before?

  “This is Alex,” she said after a moment, forcing a polite smile.

  Leigh continued to study him with a strange expression on her face, one Elizabeth couldn’t identify. Did she know about Andrew and Tina? That Alex was her father’s child?

  She couldn’t possibly know. Elizabeth couldn’t imagine Andrew taking his daughter into his confidence about something so awkward and complicated.

  Still, she had to wonder, especially at Leigh’s next question.

  “Is this Tina’s kid?” she asked, her voice taking on a hard, flat tone.

  That didn’t necessarily mean she knew Alex was Andrew’s son, Elizabeth assured herself. Maybe it had more to do with Tina.

  The two of them had always rubbed each other wrong. Leigh looked down her snobby nose at Tina for being the daughter of the hired help and Tina used to make Elizabeth rock with laughter at her dead-on imitations of Leigh at her most bitchy.

  “Yes,” she murmured just as Alex pulled his hand free and signed that he wanted to go onto the boat.

  No, honey, she replied. Not now.

  Leigh narrowed her gaze at the two of them. “What did you two just say?”

  Elizabeth considered lying but she couldn’t come up with anything that sounded remotely credible so she stuck with the truth. “Alex wanted to see your yacht. I told him no.”

  Leigh’s smile was several fathoms short of friendly. “I would love to show it to the cute little guy. Why don’t the two of you come aboard and take a closer look?”

  Elizabeth hesitated, uneasy for reasons she didn’t quite understand. Every time she talked to Leigh she felt as if she was swimming through thick, confusing layers of meaning. Leigh probably did it on purpose to make her feel even more stupid.

  She paused for too long, until Leigh began to frown with impatience. Still, Elizabeth couldn’t come up with a single plausible excuse not to accept the invitation so she grabbed Alex’s hand, ordered Maddie to stay and followed Leigh onto the yacht.

  The craft was small, sleek. It wasn’t as large as her father’s yacht had been but was every bit as luxurious, from the glossy teak trim to the sparkling paint.

  “It’s lovely,” Elizabeth murmured in the salon, with its plush cushions and efficient galley.

  “Thank you. I had it custom-made in Italy for me. The Italians know their yachts, even though it took them long enough to finish the damn thing. I’ve been waiting nearly a year for it.”

  Of course Leigh would spare none of Andrew’s money in pursuit of her own pleasure.

  Elizabeth couldn’t help comparing this grand craft to the Mari. Despite all the stately amenities of Leigh’s yacht, she thought Beau’s boat was far more comfortable.

  Leigh paused at a doorway off the salon. “And this is the pièce de résistance. The stateroom.” She opened the door and gestured for them to go inside ahead of her.

  Elizabeth tightened her hold on Alex’s hand, afraid he would accidentally break something, and stepped into the cabin.

  The Italian designers had pulled out all the stops in here. If the rest of the yacht was luxurious, the stateroom was positively opulent, from the thick carpet to the glittering chandelier to a vast, plush-covered bed.

  The only odd note was a huge mirror above the bed that gave the room the feel of a high-class floating bordello.

  “Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Leigh asked behind them.

  “Um, yes,” Elizabeth answered. Except for the mirror. She would absolutely hate staring at herself first thing in the morning before she had time to put on makeup or fix her hair. Leigh probably didn’t need to worry about that, though. She likely woke up looking as gorgeous and polished as she did right now.

  “Take a look at the marble tub in the head. I had it custom-made to my specification.”

  Elizabeth only wanted to get off the blasted boat and return to her comfort zone at Harbor View. Maybe if she humored Leigh, they could exit the yacht that much quicker. She opened the door to the bathroom and admired the creamy tub.

  “It’s beautiful,” she started to murmur to Leigh just as she heard a door being closed.

  What on earth? She turned to the now-empty stateroom just in time to hear the snick of a lock engaging.

  “Leigh?” She hurried to the door and twisted the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. “Leigh, what’s going on?”

  A harsh laugh on the other side of the door met her question. “Sorry about this, Lizzie. You’ll be staying right where you are for a while. The three of us are going to have to take a little trip now and I’ll be too busy up top to worry about you getting into trouble.”

  For the first time, panic began to replace her confusion. What was Leigh up to now? “We need to get off, Leigh. Luisa will be looking for us.”

  “Poor thing. She’s going to have a long and fruitless search then, isn’t she?”

  Elizabeth stared at the teak door with its brass fittings, wishing she could see the other woman to read by her body language what in heaven’s name was going on.

  “Leigh, this isn’t f-funny. Unlock the door.”

  “F-f-fraid not, Lizzie.” Leigh laughed again. “You and the little deaf-mute are going to be staying right where you are.”

  Elizabeth gazed down at Alex, grateful he couldn’t hear Leigh’s der
ision. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to them. He had settled on the wide bed and appeared to be having a grand time wielding the remote control to open and close the oak cabinet that held a sophisticated entertainment system.

  “Leigh, please. Let us out.” She hated the pleading note in her voice, especially when it was directed toward this woman who had always been so cruel to her, but for Alex she would endure any humiliation.

  “Nope. Now I’ve got to run for a while. Don’t you two go anywhere.”

  Leigh laughed again and then all Elizabeth could hear was the sound of receding footsteps.

  A few moments later she heard the yacht’s diesel motors start up then the craft smoothly pulled away from the dock.

  Alex grinned with excitement to be on the water again. Are we going to see the whales? he signed.

  She gazed at him, panic a wild fluttering in her stomach. She had to stay calm for Alex’s sake. I’m not sure. Maybe.

  While Alex busied himself exploring the stateroom, Elizabeth sat on the edge of the luxurious bed, stunned into frozen inactivity. What could Leigh be thinking? Was this another of her cruel, taunting games? Would she circle around and drop them off at Harbor View in a few moments?

  Somehow she didn’t think so. This all had the feel of something carefully planned. But why? What could Leigh possibly have to gain by kidnapping them?

  Ransom? If she had only taken Alex, Elizabeth might have reached that conclusion—she would pay anything to have the child back if someone kidnapped him. But Leigh certainly had no need of money. Andrew was as wealthy as her own father had been.

  Besides, taking both her and Alex for ransom didn’t make sense. Who would Leigh petition for the money? Certainly not Luisa. She wouldn’t be able to access any of Elizabeth’s accounts.

  Alex stopped in front of her. He must have sensed her tension because he was suddenly subdued, watchful. I wish Beau was here, he signed.

  Oh, me, too, honey. She managed a smile and pulled the child close to her.