Safe in His Arms--A Clean Romance

by Anna J. Stewart

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “Oh, so not true.” Frankie took a long drink from her root beer. “Hunter’s too crazy about you to screw up, which means you did something. Spill.”

  “No.”

  “Okay, fine. I’ll ask him.”

  “No, don’t.” Kendall caught her arm. “Don’t ruin the party, Frankie. It’s... I’ll work it out.” Not that she knew how. Especially not with all these people swarming around the lighthouse. Pretty much everyone she knew in Butterfly Harbor had turned up, from Mrs. Hastings, Paige’s across-the-street neighbor, to Sebastian Evans and his daughter, Mandy, who always seemed to be exchanging smiles with Kyle Winters when no one was looking. She saw Holly and Luke Saxon sitting on one of the benches someone had been smart enough to bring, while Abby, Paige and Alethea were playing a mean game of horseshoes. Frankie’s twin brother, Monty, was discussing his newest nautical acquisition with Xander while Calliope flitted about, filling glasses with lemonade or margaritas depending on desires.

  The kids who had become so familiar of late raced around as if they lived there, which, of course, they practically did now. The laughing and shouting and crying and goading should have been driving her back into her solitude, but it didn’t. Instead she found the energy and affection among her friends to be soothing and comfortable.

  “Hey. Earth to Kendall. Flip it.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, never mind. Give me those.” Frankie snatched the tongs and called over a few people to claim their steaks. “Go find him and work it out already. And would you please kick cranky Kendall to the curb? She’s boring.”

  “Charlie.” Kendall asked the little girl as she flew by, “Have you seen Phoebe?”

  “Hunter said she wasn’t feeling well. She’s taking a nap in the motor home.” Charlie pouted. “Bummer. ’Cause we need her for an even team. Is everything okay?”

  “It’s fine.” No, that was wrong. She was wrong. She’d been wrong to confront Eleanor, and she’d been even more wrong to agree to her terms. She didn’t want to leave Butterfly Harbor. She’d worked long and hard to make this place her home, and now that she could call it that, she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. But first she had to find Hunter and explain.

  Hunter.

  Kendall turned in circles, looking for him. She finally spotted him talking with Willa O’Neill. She couldn’t stop looking at him. Didn’t want to. Not now. Maybe not forever. Because she loved him.

  “Time to eat crow. A whole big pot of it.” She smoothed a nervous hand down the front of her shirt and headed toward him.

  Willa smiled at her and went to speak with Calliope, leaving Hunter on his own. He wasted no time, once Kendall was at his side.

  “You lied to me.”

  “I—um. I did.” Did she admit everything in one big purge, or did she let him decide what she needed to say? “It’s complicated, Hunter. And I’m sorry for earlier. Especially for Phoebe, but I had to—”

  “You talked to Eleanor last night. That’s where you went instead of going to dinner with us. Don’t bother lying again. You stink at it, and besides, Willa said she called her down to the lobby for you.”

  “She did?” Kendall frowned. “Willa isn’t a gossip. Why would she volunteer—”

  “She didn’t volunteer, I pressed her, because guess what?” He grabbed up her hands and stepped in to kiss her. “Because I know you, Kendall Davidson. And that even though you don’t want to admit it, you love me. And you love Phoebe. You’d only walk away from us and your friends if there was a greater good being served. So, what was it?”

  “I—”

  “Hey, what’s going on over here?” Matt, surrounded by his fellow deputies, asked. “Kendall, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Matt.” She held out her hand to wave him off.

  “You tell me, you tell all of them, why you’re going to skip town for good,” Hunter insisted.

  “You’re what?” Matt, instead of standing behind her, circled around to join Hunter. “What the—”

  “Kendall, why would you do that?” Lori moved in, as did the other partygoers as the din quieted. “This is your home. Why would you leave?”

  “Because Eleanor and Stephen know about my past.” What was the point of covering for two people who didn’t deserve it? “It’s bad, Hunter. Bad enough that I’m not the best person to be around Phoebe, even though I adore that little girl. They have my medical records, and know that I was arrested once, which I should have told you about though I didn’t because I was worried that you’d be worried, but now they’re going to use it all in the custody case—”

  “Excuse me.” Leah Ellis emerged from the crowd looking elegant and regal as always. Leah had reminded Kendall of one of those women who could tackle the world with one hand and knit an entire blanket with the other. Never a hair out of place, not even on a casual day like today, she was pressed and presentable for any court or possible suitor. “Did you say they have your medical records?”

  “They must. She knows things.” Kendall took a deep breath. “She knows about my time in the hospital. And about the depression. A court certainly isn’t going to want me anywhere near Phoebe.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Hunter stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. “Of all the ridiculous, harebrained—”

  “Dude.” Matt dropped a hand on his shoulder.

  Hunter pulled Kendall into his arms and held her close. “We love you, you fool. The good and the bad. The darkness and the light, remember? More than that, we need you. Especially for this custody fight. The court has to see who her mother is going to be.”

  Kendall tried to talk, but her voice was muffled. And she laughed.

  “What?”

  “She said she can’t breathe.” Calliope moved in. “While this confession is no doubt good for the soul, might I ask where Phoebe is? I haven’t seen her this entire time.”

  “She’s in the motor home,” Hunter said.

  “No, she’s not!” Charlie yelled from the open door behind them. “I just checked. She’s gone. And so is her jacket and her copy of Charlotte’s Web. I can’t find her anywhere.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “WE NEED TO organize search parties,” Sheriff Luke Saxon announced without missing a beat. “Ozzy, Fletcher...”

  Kendall barely heard anything beyond she’s gone. The past descended on her so hard and so fast her knees went weak. People scrambled in all directions while Hunter kept her tight to his chest, looking as uncertain and worried as she felt.

  “We’ll find her.” It took Kendall a good few seconds to realize she was the one who had spoken. “We’ll find her,” she repeated, and this time she put her hands on the sides of Hunter’s face and pressed her forehead to his. “I’ll find her.”

  “I know.”

  Because she was looking into his eyes when he said it, she knew he was telling the truth. Because Hunter MacBride didn’t lie. Not to anyone. And especially not to her. Kendall could find Phoebe, bring her home. And when she did, she was going to hug that little girl until neither of them could stand it.

  “Mom? Dad?” Simon Saxon dived for his ever-present school bag. “I have a map I drew the other day. I used it when we were playing hide-and-seek.”

  “My little genius.” Holly grabbed hold of him and kissed the top of his head.

  “Aw, Mom. Cut it out.” Simon shooed her away as he unfolded the pieces of paper. Everyone gathered around as Simon pointed out what was what.

  “I need to borrow one of your deputies,” Leah Ellis said to Luke.

  “What for?”

  “To make an arrest. Where’s Hamilton? Gil, who’s on duty at the DA’s office this weekend?”

  Gil had rushed over and pulled out his phone. “Ah, that would be Kevin Marshall. What do you need?” />
  “Charges brought against Stephen and Eleanor Cartwright. But I’ll settle for them being questioned first.”

  “What kind of charges?” Hunter asked as Kendall committed Simon’s map to memory. Charlie busied herself giving pointers about the various hiding spots as Frankie turned down the smoker and set the meat aside. “Question them about what?”

  “We can start with illegally accessing a person’s private medical file. Was that your military record, Kendall?”

  Kendall nodded. “Yeah. I’ve only ever been treated at the VA.”

  “Excellent. Maybe Kevin can come up with a federal charge to really scare them. Time will tell. I’d like a record of it. Is that possible?”

  “So long as the DA signs off on it, sure.” Luke nodded. “I’ll bring them in personally.”

  “Oh, please, let me come with you.” Matt passed his drink off to his fellow deputy. “I will owe you for life.”

  “Fine,” Luke agreed. “But we want this done by the book. No mistakes on this one. By any of us.”

  “What are you doing?” Hunter followed Kendall, who’d sprinted into the keeper house. She ripped open her bag and threw her belongings out, searching for her boots.

  “I’m going to look for her. I bet I know where she went.”

  “Then fill me in along the way.”

  “No. You need to stay here in case I’m wrong. If someone brings her back and we’re both gone, she’ll be even more scared.” Hunter stared down at her as she laced up her hiking boots. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

  “You’re not. It’s just nice to see this Kendall again. Do me a favor?” He bent down and kissed her. Hard. “Don’t lose her again.”

  “I won’t.” This was what she was good at. Solving problems. Fixing things. And if anything ever needed fixing more than Phoebe’s broken heart, she didn’t know what did. She grabbed a flashlight, a baseball cap, then tugged on a jacket. “Give me your cell.”

  “Wh—ah, okay.” He dug it out of his pocket. “You know how to use one of these?”

  “You have one of those compass apps on here?” She tapped open the screen. “I need your password.”

  “Kendall.”

  “Hunter, please, don’t argue with me. I need your password.”

  “Five three six three two five five. Kendall.” He shrugged. “I changed it a few weeks ago. I’m a romantic.”

  “And a keeper. Okay.” She tapped open the application. “Time to go find our girl.”

  * * *

  KENDALL’S VOICE WAS raw by the time the sun set. Calling for Phoebe to respond seemed a lesson in futility. But into the forest between the Liberty and the ocean she went, down, down, down, into the darkness of the thick trees and rock formations.

  Simon’s map had been rudimentary, but she’d noticed one spot, the very highest spot that was far to the west. Far enough to the west she could only hope that area wasn’t as close to the cliff line as she feared.

  In the far distance she could hear the search teams calling for Phoebe, as well. They’d headed out in all directions, leaving Frankie and Hunter at the lighthouse along with Mrs. Hastings and Holly, who, despite Luke’s pleas to head home, declared she wasn’t going anywhere until Phoebe was found safe. Calliope, ever the voice of reason, also stayed behind with the children, urging them to be calm and send positive thoughts—and in Calliope’s case a few flittering butterflies—into the universe.

  The deeper Kendall walked into the trees, the louder the past roared in her ears. This was what happened when you cared about someone. That paralyzing fear, that dry mouth, can’t-even-scream-because-it-would-hurt-too-much sensation.

  In her mind, she heard the detonation of a bomb, saw behind too-wide eyes the flash of flame and smoke that had taken out her combat unit and left her smoldering among the wreckage. The suddenly quiet voices of the men she’d called brothers, voices she’d never hear again except in her nightmares.

  Voices that guided her now as she kept the image of Phoebe in her mind. Phoebe, she told herself. Whose face no longer morphed into that of another little girl she’d loved. One she’d lost. She was not going to lose Phoebe, too.

  She glanced down at the cell phone. She’d lost reception ages ago, and silently willed the little girl to hang on. That she was on her way. That she would spend the rest of her life making up for the betrayal of this morning.

  Kendall shoved the phone into her pocket and clicked on her flashlight, arcing it up and around, down and about. There!

  A flash of white light. Something in the shadows. “Phoebe?” Kendall called again and moved toward it.

  Her flashlight flickered, sputtered and died. Kendall smacked it against a tree. “Stupid piece of plastic. I just replaced the batteries last week. What the—”

  The shadow or white light flashed again. Kendall’s breath froze in her throat. Her entire body went cold as the light stretched and brushed against her, reminding her of a person. A lithe woman she’d only seen grainy images of in history books. “Liberty,” Kendall whispered.

  The white light darted into the trees. Kendall ran after it, ran after her, ran so far and so fast she had to stop to catch her breath. And then she heard it.

  What was that? Kendall tried to block out every other sound over the pounding of her heart. “Phoebe?”

  A child’s sob rent the darkness.

  Relief surged through her, drove her on, branches and twigs scraping at her face and catching on her jacket. Vines tangled around her feet as she tried not to trip. “Phoebe, it’s me! It’s Kendall. Make some noise. Tell me where you—” She skidded to a stop, grabbing hold of a tree to keep from toppling over the cliff’s edge. Dirt and debris rained down into the ocean. “Phoebe.” The sob she heard now was her own. “Oh, no, please.”

  The light exploded again, just in the distance and to the tall stack of rocks stretching up into the sky. And there the light settled, just above Phoebe’s head.

  “Phoebe! I’m coming. Stay there. Do not move!”

  Kendall scrambled carefully along the path and climbed up the hill, gripping her cold and sore fingers into the rocks, up and up until she brushed against the fabric of Phoebe’s jacket.

  Phoebe sat there, arms stretched above her head, looking up at the silvery light shimmering around her. “Mama.”

  Kendall stopped breathing. Never in her life had she ever heard a more beautiful sound.

  “Phoebe?” Kendall sat beside her, wrapping her arms around the little girl and pulling her securely into her lap. The battered copy of Charlotte’s Web fell and tumbled into the ocean.

  “Mama!” Phoebe cried and tried to dive after it.

  “No. No, baby, you can’t. It’s not safe. We need you here.” Kendall buried her face in Phoebe’s hair, willing the little girl to understand. “I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean anything I said. I’m sorry, Phoebe. I’m so, so sorry.” Tears obscured her vision as she glanced up and the silvery light began to fade.

  But before it did, three beautiful monarch butterflies soared in a circle above their heads, then disappeared.

  They sat there together, rocking back and forth against the growing chill, the two of them crying out their pain.

  “Mama,” Phoebe whispered.

  “I know, baby. I know you miss her.” And there was nothing she could do about it.

  Phoebe leaned back, pointed to the sky, then just as her uncle had done in the past, she clasped Kendall’s face in her palms and stared into her eyes. “Mama.”

  “I’m Mama?” Kendall asked on a sob. “Oh, no. So much. So sweet. But I don’t... I can’t—”

  “Mama.” Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. In that moment, beneath the barely there moon and the crashing waves, Kendall saw Hunter in his niece’s face. And knew she’d found her home.

  “Okay, baby.” Kendall brushed
her hair back and kissed her forehead. “For you, I’ll be Mama.”

  * * *

  “LOOK! KENDALL FOUND HER!” Frankie yelled to the crowd that had formed, the night binoculars still held up to her face. Most of the search parties had returned, and Ozzy had put out the call to town, bringing out even more residents to help.

  Hunter sagged to the ground, the hope that had been keeping him upright surging out of him. “I think I might pass out.” His mind spun from relief. Kendall had had the right idea the other day; clearly she was right and they needed to put a bell around Phoebe’s neck. Matt threw an arm around his shoulder. “Hey, Frankie! Time to celebrate. Fire that grill and smoker up again!”

  “One-track mind, that husband of mine,” Lori muttered as she joined Calliope in helping Hunter to his feet. “I know now might not be the time, but I did hear the old Stedman place might be going up for sale. Seeing as the lighthouse will be open for business soon, you might want to take a look.”

  “An excellent suggestion,” Calliope agreed. “Lots of land, and there’s a large workshop for Kendall and her projects. And a lovely office overlooking the ocean.”

  “You guys are trying to sell me real estate now?” Hunter couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing as they went on about the home’s amenities and how it was the perfect place for a family. “Okay, stop. Enough. I’ll take a look. This really isn’t the time—”

  “Told you it would work,” Lori said to Calliope, who stepped back and waved her arm as Kendall, carrying a sleepy-looking Phoebe, stepped out of the woods behind the carriage house. “Kept you distracted for just long enough.”

  Hunter ran straight for them, and as Kendall let Phoebe down, he scooped his niece into his arms and squeezed. “Don’t you ever, ever run away from us again, do you hear me? Running is never the solution to anything. Never. Right, Kendall?”

  Kendall leaned against him and nodded, stroking Phoebe’s hair. “He’s absolutely right.”