“It’s a good thing we have leeway to do what we need to do, then.”
“Uh-oh. You’re starting to sound like me.”
“I need to know if we have a mole.” She swallowed hard. “And take a look at Marshal Bradford.”
Kurt breathed out. “You once told me you would trust that man with your life.”
It hurt to hear it aloud. “At the moment, I still do, but I need to know my trust isn’t misguided.” The sound of crunching gravel prompted her to end the call.
She stepped out of the booth and hid around the corner, where Bruce held a now-sleeping Winnie against his shoulder. Delaney sneaked a glance and watched a slow-moving red-and-white Ford pickup truck. The driver, wearing a red ball cap, looked over his shoulder briefly at the gas station. Delaney pulled her head back in, bumping up against Bruce’s shoulder. “You need to stay back.” She noticed Bruce’s face had gone white. “What is it?”
“For a second I thought for sure that was my stepbrother.”
* * *
Exhaustion must have fried Bruce’s brain. “But it couldn’t have been him.”
Delaney led him behind a barn situated next to the gas station. “Your stepbrother? His name is Trevor, right? Why couldn’t it have been him?”
Bruce laughed. “Because Trevor wouldn’t be caught dead in an old junker, let alone wearing an old ball cap.”
“You’re saying he’s fond of money, then.”
A defensive streak he didn’t know he still had flamed to life. “Who isn’t? He likes nice things more than some of us. Always did.”
They crept behind a shed until they reached a barbed wire fence. Delaney pointed due east and they remained on the small dirt trail next to the boundary. “You said Trevor is supposed to be in the Caribbean?”
“That’s where he told me he was heading. Planned to sell all his possessions and move there to live it up after I bought him out.”
“There should be a road over there that will lead us directly to the safe house.” She adjusted her holster, not even trying to hide the handgun that she’d moved to her hip. “I need to make sure no one sees us approaching it.”
The silence after the storm felt thick as he breathed in the air smelling of freshly cut grass.
“I know this is a sensitive topic, but—”
“You want to know how much I paid him.” He’d been thinking about it, as well. “A million dollars.”
She sputtered. “A million?”
“I don’t have that kind of cash, if that’s what you’re wondering. I give myself a modest salary and any profit from the business goes back into investing in the company. We did have the assets in the company to pay Trevor, though. There was the potential for him to have made significantly more if he had just stayed. We had the ear of some big banking chains. I was actually supposed to meet with them Monday. Of course, now the entire company might go under, thanks to the CryptTakers.”
“I want to promise you that your business is safe but—”
“I’m not asking you to, Delaney.”
“A million dollars in the Caribbean could go fast. They’ve been hit hard with hurricanes in the past few years.”
“I know, but I would like to think he would’ve contacted me if he got short on funds. I’d take him back in a heartbeat.” Trevor’s departure, especially after Shannon left, had cut him deeply, but he still felt that same compulsion to take care of him if Trevor needed help. Besides, they had once made a great team.
“You haven’t had any contact with him since he left?”
She was touching on a sore spot and he didn’t have enough energy to filter his words. “He was the one who left. I’d hoped he would’ve been the one to call me first.” It sounded so petty when he heard himself say it aloud, but the feelings behind it were true. “I did try to call once, but he must have changed his cell number.”
Delaney frowned and Bruce realized that made Trevor sound all the more suspicious. “Feel free to check him out, but I don’t think he would have anything to do with this. He may be selfish, but he wouldn’t ever try to kill me.”
“Is your mother still married to his dad?”
“No. Quite frankly, Trevor’s dad was a lowlife. I never liked him. After Trevor’s dad ran off, who knows where, I suppose I felt a little overprotective. I may have only been a year older, but I’ve always watched out for him. Started in junior high and never stopped. Well, until recently. But it was his decision to leave.”
They turned onto the side road she indicated. She kept glancing at him until he laughed. “You clearly want to ask something. Go ahead.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Does she—” her head bob indicated Winnie “—know she’s adopted?”
Bruce didn’t know how Winnie was fast asleep in damp clothes in his arms, but he didn’t blame her for being tired. She’d been a trouper. “The short answer is yes. Shannon actually wanted it that way.”
“When you divorced?”
“Before, really. I think she was trying to prepare me and Winnie, in a small way.” He sighed. “Shannon just wanted more in life.”
“Sounds a little like your stepbrother.”
He felt his eyebrows rise. “They were two peas in a pod in many ways. They were both in my ethical hacking group, and for a while I thought she was more into Trevor than me, though she insisted that wasn’t the case.”
Delaney looked pained by the news but didn’t say anything.
“I think all along Shannon knew she might not stick around. She was already disappointed I had chosen to start the business in the Silicon Prairie instead of Silicon Valley. She wanted more excitement, and I wanted a family, so she thought a baby would provide both. When Winnie had health issues, Shannon couldn’t cope.”
Delaney stumbled and regained her balance. “Health issues?”
“Her vitals seemed normal when we first adopted her, but it turned out she had a heart defect. Her breathing was pretty fast. They called it patent ductus something or other. I could never say the diagnosis right. It basically meant that a heart vessel that should’ve closed after birth still diverted blood away from her lungs. They ended up shrinking it with medicine.”
He could still remember putting his hand over her little body and pleading with God to help them find answers. “She didn’t have to go through surgery, and after that her health was normal, but for the first month we were in the hospital a lot. Winnie was put on a ventilator and poked and prodded by specialists before they figured out what was going on.” He’d never been so thankful as the day they’d left the hospital with a good prognosis. “Anyway, I think it’s part of the reason Shannon never really bonded with Winnie, though how a mother could ever give up her child I’ll never understand.”
Tears gathered in Delaney’s eyes and her body shuddered. “I had no idea Winnie... You went through all of that. Th-that had to be so hard.”
Bruce wanted to pull Delaney into his arms. Her compassion overwhelmed his already full heart. He smiled. “Why would you? I doubt that’s the sort of thing the Marshals would put in my file.” He shifted Winnie slightly. “She’s one tough cookie, a fighter. I think that’s why she’s done so well this week.”
Delaney nodded and kept her eyes on the road, but he could tell she was still overcome with emotion. It was such a stark contrast to the all-business deputy he had met days ago, hard and determined to prove herself. Was this her true self? Soft and warm and full of love?
They passed a sign about a government-funded prairie. “How much farther?”
She stopped at a dirt driveway. “We’re here.”
“A prairie? No offense, but when someone is after me I prefer hard walls over camping underneath the stars.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been assured the walls will be tough and filled with two law enforcement officials who hopefully are as averse to technolo
gy as my grandparents.” They passed the waist-high grasses and lavender until they spotted a stately house in the distance.
“You can’t see that at all from the road,” Bruce said. “I’d never have suspected a government-funded prairie would have a house on the land.”
She picked up her pace. “Exactly. Let’s hope they have some hot water and beds ready for us.”
They climbed onto the stately porch, and Delaney knocked on the door. A petite lady with sharp eyes answered, then gaped.
Delaney’s face had turned ashen. “Grandma?”
THIRTEEN
Her grandmother put her hand over her mouth, her fingers visibly shaking, before she reached out and pulled Delaney into her arms. “I’ve missed you so much, sweetheart.” Delaney felt a kiss on her forehead before Grandma hollered, “Bob, come here!”
Delaney pressed her hand on her ear, still ringing from the shout at such a close distance. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Bruce fighting a laugh as Winnie stirred in his arms.
Grandma stepped back. “Come in, come in. I’m sorry. I got so excited to see my sweet pea I completely forgot to be quiet.”
Winnie lifted her head, blinked slowly and studied Delaney’s grandmother without saying a word. Grandma sucked in a deep breath. “She—she looks so much like you.” Her eyes glistened as she turned back to Delaney. “You didn’t put her up for adoption after all?”
If the floor opened up and swallowed her whole, Delaney would have welcomed it. Her stomach heated, and she kept her gaze on Grandma. “This is Bruce’s daughter.”
“Oh...oh.” Grandma put a hand up in the air. “Of course. I’m sorry. Same coloring of hair and eyes, I just thought...”
Delaney could feel Bruce’s questions in the air, but she refused to look. Grandpa strode over the wooden floors, a frown firmly in place—probably because he hated when Grandma shouted for him—until his eyes widened at the sight of Delaney.
She was struck mute even as her grandpa’s burly arms pulled her into a hug so fierce that she feared her nose would break against his chest. Grandpa was in his seventies now, and even though it’d been more than three years since she’d seen him, he could still be considered a bruiser.
He had retired as the chief of police in Waterloo years ago, where she’d thought they still lived. “Since when do you guys live on a prairie?”
Grandma gave Grandpa a glance. “Well, we figured out we both wanted to try homesteading. We took some classes, bought ourselves some property, built the house and applied for a grant. Before we knew it, we’d joined the network of prairies. We accept visitors—even class field trips—during certain times of year for all sorts of things. Oh, you should see your grandpa pulling a tractor load of kids around the property. The prairies help the farmers on either side of us as well, with nutrient deficiency and runoff problems and—”
Grandpa cleared his throat. Grandma laughed and placed a hand on her chest. “Well, I get excited,” she said. Her eyes grew sad. “I’m glad we finally get to share it with you.”
Grandpa folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. “Are you here for a visit or are you on official business?”
Grandma shook her head. “Surely not.”
Delaney sucked in a deep breath. “I was told you agreed to act as a safe house.”
Grandpa hung his head. “He could’ve told us you were the one coming.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell us?” Grandma asked.
Bradford knew good and well who her grandparents were. He also knew that Delaney had been estranged from her family ever since Raymond came into her life. Her parents and grandparents had never liked Raymond, despite the fact he was a fellow law enforcement officer.
Delaney shouldn’t have trusted Bradford after all. Her anger could fester later, though, because at least his sneaky reconciliation skills proved to her that Bradford was definitely not the mole. He was still going to get an earful from her...later. He never mentioned the two law enforcement officials they’d be staying with would be retired and related to her.
Grandma shook her head and stared at the little girl. “I imagine this little one wants some cookies and dry clothes.” Winnie wiggled out of Bruce’s arms and accepted the hand Grandma offered.
Grandpa laughed at Bruce’s face expression. “Don’t you worry. We’ll make sure she gets a healthy meal, too.” He winked. “Or were you hoping to get a cookie, too?” Grandpa left the entryway, following Winnie and Grandma.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea it would be them,” she said.
“Your grandparents were both in law enforcement?”
She exhaled, so thankful that was his first question. He must hate her right now, after Grandma had basically admitted she’d given up a child for adoption. Bruce had said it himself—how could a mother ever give up her child? He’d said he’d never understand. “Grandma worked as liaison with the public and Grandpa was a police chief. They met on the force.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. “Your grandpa is right. I don’t want to miss out on the cookies either.” He walked after them, leaving her alone in the entryway. Framed photographs on the wall showed her mom and dad standing in front of the prairie sign.
“You’ve missed a lot.” Her grandma’s voice was soft and quiet behind her.
Delaney turned, but she didn’t meet Grandma’s eyes. “I wasn’t welcome.” Her voice cracked despite her best intentions.
“Excuse me?” Grandma pulled her chin back into her chest, surprise lining her features.
“Don’t get me wrong, Grandma. I’m not proud of the decisions I made. I know I need to earn everyone’s forgiveness. If I could go back and change—”
Grandma stepped forward shaking her head. “If you don’t hear anything else, hear this. You always have been and always will be welcome wherever we are.” She wrapped her fingers around Delaney’s shoulders. “Sweetie, I don’t know what exactly you remember, but we didn’t shut you out. It was the other way around.”
Delaney looked up at the light fixtures, reliving the heated conversations. “But you and Grandpa, my parents—”
“We didn’t care for Raymond. We felt he didn’t respect your dreams and... Well, we don’t need to get into the particulars again. It’s true we didn’t like some of your life choices. I’m sure we could have communicated that in a more loving way, but, honey, we were only upset because we wanted the best for you. I know I can speak for your parents, as well. The last thing we wanted was to push you away. We wanted you to be happy!” She released a heavy sigh and stepped even closer. “We all tried to reach out after we heard about Raymond and the baby, but you had already moved, changed your number...” Grandma teared up. “It was obvious you didn’t want to hear from us, but know that I hated not being there for you when you had to be in pain.”
“I’m sorry, Grandma. I—”
“Sweetie, you don’t need to apologize. We all have regrets on what we would’ve done differently. Maybe the one you really need to ask for forgiveness is—”
“I’ve already prayed, Grandma.” Delaney’s faith in her childhood years was largely due to her grandmother. Looking back, though, Delaney didn’t really make it her own until she needed Him most.
Grandma smiled. “Good. Sometimes, though, even though we have God’s forgiveness, we need to forgive ourselves before we can move on.” She pulled Delaney into a hug. “Just remember we didn’t deserve Christ dying for our sins either, so why can you accept His forgiveness but not forgive yourself?” She let her go. “I’m going to make sure your rooms are ready. Your grandpa is picking some corn for dinner.”
Her words hovered in the thick air, and not just because Delaney dreaded the smell of corn at the moment. Had she really misinterpreted her family’s concern? Isolated herself for years for no reason?
She hadn’t meant to cause her family p
ain, but they had already been estranged before Raymond died. Delaney wouldn’t have been able to handle the disappointed looks on their faces after they found out she’d given up her baby for adoption—she could barely cope as it was—which was why she’d left. Even now, there were traces of disappointment, but her softened heart couldn’t battle it.
Was Grandma right? Did it hurt so much because she hadn’t forgiven herself?
* * *
Bruce drank a cup of tea in the study, relishing the quiet and solitude, sitting in a leather easy chair surrounded by wooden shelves filled with encyclopedias and photo albums. One book, marked Delaney, caught his eye. He hesitated. Would it be a violation of her privacy? Though he supposed if they didn’t want people looking through the albums, they wouldn’t have displayed them on the shelves. He slipped the album out.
The photos were grainy and slightly faded, coming from a time when film was still processed. He skimmed the first few pages quickly. Aside from Winnie, he could never tell the difference between babies. The toddler photos, however, gave him pause. Delaney had the same color hair as Winnie, but the photos featured her in a police officer costume, standing proudly next to her parents. Her wide-eyed grin also reminded him of Winnie, but he supposed that was a trait all excited little girls shared.
He heard Delaney’s groan before he noticed her in the room.
“I guess I’m busted,” he said.
Delaney rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know what all is in there. Let me save you before you reach the awkward teenage years.”
He doubted she’d ever looked awkward, but he handed the album over. “Is Winnie still keeping your grandma busy? Should I go give her a break? I feel bad she’s still awake.”
“We’ve completely messed up her sleeping schedule, haven’t we?” Delaney sat down on the couch next to him. “Don’t feel bad about Grandma. She’s having the time of her life reading Winnie stories she hasn’t pulled out in years. Before you know it, Winnie will be ready to go to sleep again.” She glanced at him. “How are you holding up?”
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