Seven and a half months pregnant, she didn’t move as quickly now, and she often had trouble getting up out of a chair, but she still moved with the grace of the ballerina she once had been. As she walked past the large monitor, words scrolled across the screen: COLORADO 1870S. She stopped, studied the alert, then eased into the chair next to David, rubbing her belly.
“Are you researching the property Connor is looking at?”
David continued typing on the keyboard. “When’d ye talk to him last?”
She pulled her smartphone from her jacket pocket and scrolled through her text messages. “He sent a text last night during the flight. I didn’t know he was going back to Denver. He sent a link to a ranch for sale. I think it’s perfect. Can’t wait to see it.” She returned the phone to her pocket and rubbed the small of her back. “What are you doing?”
David swiveled in his chair to face her. “Has Connor mentioned Olivia Kelly to ye?”
“She’s the broker he’s been working with. Are you asking if I know he’s got a thing for her? Yes, I know. Although I don’t think it’s reciprocal.”
David turned his attention back to his keyboard and tapped a few more keys. “That’s the impression I got, too.”
A map of Colorado flashed on the screen with green blinking stars next to Cañon City, Leadville, and Morrison. JL pointed to the map. “Does the ranch have three locations?”
“Locations? Aye. But not for the ranch.”
She leaned forward to get a better look at his computer monitor. It mirrored the image on the large screen mounted on the wall. “You’re being cryptic, McBain. What’s going on?”
He pushed away from the desk, crossed the room to the refreshment center, and put a pod into the coffee maker. “Do you want a cup of decaf or bottle of water?”
“No, and you’re stalling. What are you not telling me? Is it about the woman Connor’s interested in? Don’t tell me she’s married.”
The desk phone rang. JL glanced at it. “Elliott’s calling, but he can wait.” She stood and gave David her best cop pose and matching glare. “Spill it.” The phone rang again. David took a step toward the phone, but she backed up to block him. “Come on, McBain. The longer you dick around with this, the more upset I’m getting, and stress isn’t good for the baby.”
He really didn’t want to have this conversation with her, but she was like a hound dog with a large brown nose low to the ground following a scent. “This is confidential for now. Olivia’s sister has gone missing.”
JL’s gaze flashed to the large screen. “From one of those places? Give me something to do.” She scooted her chair to the next monitor and tapped the keyboard to log in. “Connor will need more help. What’s her name? How old is she? A teenager? Where was she last seen?”
David gave her a stony silence instead of answers. His cell phone rang. JL snatched it off the desk. “It’s Elliott. Does he know about the sister?”
“Not unless Kenzie told him.”
“People can’t keep secrets around here. If Kenzie knows, Elliott knows. If Elliott knows, Meredith knows. If I know, Kevin knows, or will know. But you should have told me.”
“Oh yeah?” David took the cup of coffee back to his desk. “Where have ye been for the last few hours?”
“At the doctor and meeting with the decorator about the nursery.” He took the phone from her. “Enough said.” He punched accept and the phone stopped ringing. “McBain.”
“What the hell is going on around here?” Elliott asked. “There’s a disturbance in the Force.”
Smiling, David sat back in his chair and raked his fingers through his hair. He had worn a military haircut since graduating from high school. At Kenzie’s urging, he’d been growing it out. His hair now curled over his collar. He hadn’t told her, but he’d made an appointment with Elliott’s stylist. The hair was coming off. He hated it falling into his eyes and teasing his neck.
“That’s crap, Yoda,” David said. “Ye’ve talked to my bride.”
“I just got back from a run. I haven’t talked to a soul in over an hour. But something is wrong. I sense it. Have ye heard from Meredith?”
“I talked to her about fifteen minutes ago. It’s bad out there. The fires are heading to Napa. She said Kit and Cullen are devastated. They lost their house once, and now the whole winery could go this time.”
“I’ll call her. The winds could change any minute and they could be cut off. I should have gone out with her. I didn’t have any idea Northern California would be ravaged like this.”
“Nobody did. At least the inventory is safe in the wine cave. We shouldn’t lose any product, except what’s left on the vines. Kevin is supervising the move of the business records, paintings, computers, and antiques to the cave.”
“Should I go meet her in San Francisco?”
“No. They’re staying until they get evacuation orders. I’ve got a helicopter standing by to take them to the Sacramento airport. Meredith promised they wouldn’t delay.”
“Delaying can prove lethal. I’d feel better if she left now, but I know she won’t until she’s done all she can do.”
“I heard from Pops earlier. Jeff, Shane, and Pete dismantled the security operation and moved the equipment to the cave. Now they’re loading up the horse vans.”
“I hate imposing on McCann Ranch, but until we have a facility of our own in Colorado, we’ll have to board the horses there. Let’s get a contract signed on a ranch today.”
“Where are ye now? I want to talk about Colorado.”
“I need a shower. Meet me in my office in thirty minutes. One more thing… After everyone leaves the winery, how will we know if the fire damages the property?”
“There are websites and aerial satellite footage showing areas that have burned. We’ll know.”
“Damn. I should be out there.”
“Yer doctor doesn’t even want ye around cigars. And ye want to be in the thick of that wildfire smoke? It’s made the Bay Area air quality its worst on record. Clouds of ash and smoke are spreading beyond the flames. Cullen shouldn’t be out there either with his heart condition. I know ye don’t like it, but ye can’t go.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Elliott abruptly disconnected the call.
David glared at the phone, as if the phone had dropped the call, not the caller. He turned his attention back to JL to find her reading the notes he had jotted down on a legal pad.
“What the hell is this?” She jabbed her finger on the pad. “A puzzle box? An outline of a brooch? Olivia’s sister isn’t just missing, is she? She’s like…disappeared.”
David nodded, knowing the news of another brooch would remind JL of the last adventure, and how horrible that had been for her and Kevin. It hadn’t been a picnic for the rest of the travelers either.
“Crap. The family is dealing with so much right now. We don’t need this.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “How about we keep Kevin out of the loop for now.”
Relief poured off her in waves. “Thanks for understanding. If we lose the winery, it’ll devastate everyone, but it will traumatize him.”
“I think ye’re wrong, lass. It will traumatize Meredith, Kit, and Cullen. Kevin will come out of this stronger. He’ll see the potential in rebuilding, and Meredith will spend more time in Tuscany bugging the crap out of Gabe.”
“That could be a disaster. He only agreed to manage the winery if she left him alone to do his job. But what about Kit and Cullen?”
“Cullen will research ways to protect the winery from fire. Then he’ll go back to his time and put modern fire reduction procedures in place to protect the property. He’ll encourage property owners abutting Montgomery Winery to do the same. Ye can’t stop fires from occurring, but ye can mitigate the damages.”
“I hope Connor understands we can’t go after Olivia’s sister right now. Everybody but my brother Patrick is consumed with the fire. And afterward, there’ll be too much to do.”
&
nbsp; “I forgot about Rick. Where is he?” David asked.
“Patrick, you mean? I’m sorry, but I can’t call him Rick.”
“He’s Rick now. The Marines shortened his name.”
“Then how come he can change his, and I can’t?”
David laughed. “Ye might have lost some of yer hard edge, but ye’ll never lose enough to be called Jenny. Sorry, lass, but that’s the truth of it.”
“You go right ahead and call him Rick, but I’ll still call him Patrick, and as for where he is, I guess he’s still at the VA. He had a checkup this morning. He was planning to fly out to San Francisco later today.”
“He doesn’t need to go to California, but he could fly out to Reno and meet up with yer other brothers. He could help drive the horses to Colorado.”
“That makes more sense. Why don’t you suggest it? If it comes from me, he’ll think I’m trying to mother him. And don’t tell him about the brooch. He’ll want to go on an adventure, and the timing is terrible. Not only for Patrick or Rick or whatever he’s calling himself right now, but for everyone. Let’s hope you’re wrong about this and Miss Kelly hasn’t gone really missing.”
“The evidence can’t be ignored.”
“But let’s leave Patrick out of the loop. Okay? He’s only been back from Afghanistan a few weeks and most of that time has been spent in the hospital.” She held onto the corner of the desk as she pulled to her feet. “I just came by to pick up my plant. The movers left it in the window.”
“We’ll miss ye over here.”
“They have food in the corporate center. All you have here is whisky and chocolate, which is fine if you’re not pregnant. In my condition, I prefer healthy snacks.” She paused a moment and then said, “I know you were the one who came up with my new position. Thanks. I like it.”
“VP of development and operations fits ye fine. Ye’ll be working with Elliott more. Can ye handle that?”
“I’m married to his son, an Elliott mini-me. What do you think?”
She walked back to her former office and David returned to his computer. He sent several documents to the printer, then password protected the file. Members of MacKlenna Adventure Company could access the file but no one else. Not even someone with his depth of computer knowledge.
With everyone managing the fire, he couldn’t send anyone back to rescue Amber Kelly, except maybe Braham? David considered him for a moment, but the 1870s was too close to the time Braham left the past, and with his connections to the railroad and soldiers who fought in the Union Army, he might be recognized. Considering the unavailability of his assets, David couldn’t recommend anyone to go back for Amber—yet.
“Are you ready? If not, I’ll go on over.”
JL’s voice pierced David’s concentration, and he jumped to his feet. “Hell, ye can’t carry that. It’s bigger than ye are.” He took the small tree out of her hands. “I’ll carry this if ye’ll get the copies off the printer and grab my laptop.”
They walked next door to the corporate center, and JL knocked on Elliott’s office door while David set the plant down on her desk.
“Come in,” Elliott said.
“Only if you’re out of the shower and decent,” JL said.
“I’m decent.” David followed JL into Elliott’s office. The bathroom door was open, and Elliott stood at the sink combing his hair. David had a flashback of Elliott years earlier, limping out of the bathroom, carrying a glass of whisky, and yelling about some goddamn this or that.
Elliott walked over and kissed JL’s cheek. “I thought ye were at the doctor. How’s my grandson?”
“I was there this morning. Prenatal appointments don’t take all day.”
“Aye. The only experience I’ve had is with Meredith. Hers did take all day and usually included chemotherapy.” He visibly shivered. “I’m glad ye’re here. I guess David wants to talk about the Colorado ranch.”
JL raised her hand in a stop gesture. “Wait. Why do you think this baby is a boy?”
Elliott shrugged. “Oh, I had a dream, but I’d love a wee lass, and so would Meredith.”
“A dream?” JL asked. “You expect me to believe that? The OB/GYN department is moving into a new wing at the hospital. Did you make a large donation just to get confidential patient information?”
He gasped. “I wouldn’t do that, and the hospital wouldn’t indulge me anyway.”
“Aha. So you tried.”
Elliott threw a grin at her to show he was kidding, but David wouldn’t put it past him to try. JL and Kevin didn’t want to know the sex until the baby was born. Their decision was driving the family nuts, especially the women who wanted to buy newborn clothes.
David changed the subject. “Have ye seen Kenzie?”
“When I came in from running, her door was closed.”
“Still is.” David punched in his wife’s number on his smartphone. “Hey. When will yer conference be done?”
“Just ended. Why?”
“Can ye meet with JL, Elliott, and me in Elliott’s office?”
“Oh, McBain. I’ll meet you anytime, anywhere, especially if sex is involved.”
He smiled. “Can ye hold that thought for about an hour and come in here and talk about the Colorado project?”
“I’ll try to hold it for an hour and if that doesn’t work out, I’m calling you for phone sex.”
He laughed. “That won’t be necessary.”
“You two are disgusting,” JL said, getting comfortable on the sofa. “I didn’t have to hear Kenzie to know what she was saying.”
“Just because ye and Kevin are separated for a few days, don’t take yer frustration out on me.”
Kenzie entered the office carrying a tray holding a carafe, coffee cups, and bagels. “Who’s frustrated?” She kissed David. “Besides me. Let’s hurry this meeting along.” She set the tray on the table in front of the sofa. “Coffee and bagels left over from my conference. Help yourself.” Kenzie sat down next to JL and patted her leg gently. “You feeling okay? How was your appointment?”
“Back hurts,” JL said, shrugging. “It’s part of the deal, right?”
David called Connor from Elliott’s desk phone and when he answered, David put the call on speaker. “Connor, I’m in Elliott’s office with JL and Kenzie. Where are ye now?”
“We’re still at the cabin. Olivia is napping in another room.”
Rick sauntered into the office. “Is that Connor on the phone?” Rick poured a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. “Tell him I need ten minutes when he can work me in.”
“I thought you were at the VA,” Connor said.
“Just got back. My arm and side are fine. Healed up well. Still sore, but that’ll take a while. I’m released to start rehab with Elliott’s trainer instead of going to the VA. What’s going on with you? When are you coming back?” He hitched his hip on the edge of Elliott’s desk and sipped from a green MacKlenna Farm mug.
“Not today. Something has come up. David already knows about this, so I’ll fill the rest of you in. As you know, I’ve been working with Olivia Kelly to find a ranch in Colorado for the company to buy. The perfect property just came on the market, so I flew up last night to visit the ranch today. When Olivia came to the hotel to pick me up this morning, she received a call that her sister Amber was missing.”
“Where does she live? In Colorado?” Elliott asked.
“She lives in Denver, too,” Connor said. “Amber spent the weekend at their family’s log cabin in the mountains close to Leadville. She was supposed to return to Denver last night. No one has seen or heard from her since early Saturday. At my urging, Olivia postponed the appointment to see the ranch, and we drove to the cabin to look for Amber. There’s no sign of her here.”
“Did you notify the sheriff?” Elliott asked.
“He wasn’t helpful,” Connor said. “As it turns out, Amber has a history of disappearing for days at a time.”
David hooked his laptop to the AV system
and handed out summaries of his research.
“And how old is she?” Elliott asked.
“Thirty-two,” Connor said. “She’s a mining lawyer and an amateur paleontologist. When she comes up here to the cabin, she goes rock and fossil hunting and loses track of time.”
“Do ye think she’s in danger?” Elliott asked.
“Yes,” Connor said. “When we entered the cabin, I discovered three things. Amber’s bags hadn’t been unpacked, even though she had supposedly been here for forty-eight hours. A piece of a very old loom had broken off and left a gaping hole in the loom’s breast beam, and there was a puzzle box on the floor.”
David projected the pictures Connor had taken onto the wall screen above the small conference table.
Kenzie walked over to the screen and looked closely. “That looks exactly like my puzzle box.” She turned toward David. “Another brooch?”
“I enlarged interior shots of the box,” David said. “Ye can see here”—he pointed with a laser pointer—“and here, a faint outline of a brooch. The measurements match the brooches we have.”
“How’d you get it open?” Kenzie asked. “Not that you couldn’t figure it out, but those suckers aren’t easy.”
“It was already open when I found it on the floor—empty.”
“Jesus Christ.” Elliott dropped into his desk chair. “Fires are burning California off the map, and the family is still recovering from the last clusterfuck.”
“Do you think she’s gone to one of those cities you highlighted?” JL asked. “What were they? I remember Leadville, but not the other two.”
“Morrison and Caǹon City,” David said. “My best guess is 1878 or ’79.”
JL shoved a pillow behind her back and sort of wiggled to get comfortable. David had watched Kenzie do the same thing during both pregnancies. He had never told her, but he thought she looked even more beautiful when she was pregnant and nursing than at any other time. She was done though. The twins and Laurie Wallis were enough for her. A dozen wasn’t enough for him.
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 13