Читать книгу Heart of the Night - Lenora Worth, Rachel Hauck - Страница 11

After watching Gena drop Scotty off at the door and noting a teacher was right there to escort the younger children straight into the building, Eli turned to her. “Is this school secure?”

She kept her gaze on the road. “We’ve had this conversation already. I told you Devon made sure of that. Besides, they have a resource officer on duty during school hours and at all after-school events.”

Eli didn’t know why he felt so uneasy this morning. Probably just his lack of sleep and the memories that kept creeping up on him in the dark of night. “Maybe I need to make sure of that myself, just in case.”

Gena stopped at a traffic light, then glanced over at him. The brilliant white of the morning snow reflected all around them. “Is there something you’re not telling me? You’ve been jumpy and on high alert since you arrived at my door and even though I know that comes with the territory, you’re making me nervous.”

He looked out over the snow-covered cottages. Should he tell her? He’d never been one for sharing a lot of information and he really didn’t trust anyone. Ever.

But this woman had raised his son and after spending time with her, Eli could tell she was honest and hardworking and she took good care of Scotty. Maybe he needed to bend the rules for her. So she’d understand. “I’m worried about his safety,” he admitted. “I had a long stay in New Orleans with Kissie after I was released from the hospital. You know her—the Woman at the Well.”

“Devon speaks highly of her. What did she tell you?”

“We had some information come through. Might be nothing, might be something.”

She hit the steering wheel with her palms. “And you waited almost a week to mention this? You’d better tell me everything, and I mean everything.”

He touched a hand to the dash. “After you get me home. I hate snow and ice.”

Gena’s hands were shaking so hard, she couldn’t unlock the door. “So this is the real reason you came all the way up here. You’re worried about Scotty, right?”

Eli grabbed the keys from her, then jammed them into the lock. Pushing her in out of the cold, he turned and handed her the keys, then reset the alarm. “That’s part of it, true. After the dust settled on my grandfather’s criminal deeds, Kissie and Devon assured me that everything was all right, but they couldn’t get verification on some of his associates. People who were involved with my grandfather were making inquiries about things they didn’t need to know, and that’s all we could find out—not the who or the why. I need facts and I like details. Not being one to wait around, I wanted to see for myself that Scotty was truly safe.” He shrugged off his coat. “And I’ve been watching all week to make sure. So far, things seem okay, but I just can’t seem to shake this feeling. I don’t like taking other people’s word for things, you understand?”

“I’m beginning to understand a lot,” she retorted, as she stalked up the hall. “You came here to see Scotty and you’ve also been casing my house, haven’t you? I suppose you’ve tested every lock, checked and rechecked the security and memorized every way off this peninsula just to be sure. But you need to tell me the whole story. I have a right to know. You’ve just been twiddling your thumbs, sitting around when—” She froze as she came to her desk tucked into an alcove just off the kitchen.

Eli saw her halt, heard her intake of breath, and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. “What is it?”

“My laptop is on.” She dropped her tote bag and hurried to the tidy desk. “And my papers have been rearranged.”

Eli looked at the efficient little desk. He’d walked by it enough to know something wasn’t quite right. Gena was tidy to the point of being obsessive and she always closed her laptop whenever she wasn’t using it. He’d seen her do that several times.

“Are you sure you didn’t leave it open before we left?”

She stood staring at it, then breathed a sigh of relief. “You know, I think I might have. Remember, I had that couple coming to check in? They’re renting the other cabin through Christmas.”

“But that was last night, right?”

She nodded, touched a hand to the papers on her desk. “But the man called this morning and had some questions about their bill. I pulled up the account, then looked through the papers on my desk to give him a local restaurant number.” She whirled, shaking her head. “Then Scotty couldn’t find one of his school books, so I rushed to help him. I guess I left everything in a mess as we hurried out the door.”

Eli remembered that much at least. She’d called to Scotty that they were going to be late. He tried to let it go at that. But…he’d never been one to accept things on a surface level. Because by his way of thinking, things were never what they seemed.

“What did your guest—Bennett’s the name, right—what did Mr. Bennett ask you?”

“He just asked about an extra charge on their deposit. I explained about the linen service. Then he asked me about where to get a good Maine breakfast. I told him about the café up the road. We made small talk about the weather, then he hung up.”

“Are you sure?”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Yes, pretty sure. You don’t think—?”

“I need to know for certain,” he said, turning at the door. “I’m gonna walk the perimeters of your property. See what’s what.”

Gena halted him with her hand on his arm. “Eli, are you being completely honest with me? You can’t come here and do this. I mean, you can’t just put yourself in charge like some guardian or bodyguard, based on a bad feeling. I don’t mind you wanting to see Scotty, but if you know something…” She inhaled a deep breath. “I couldn’t bear it if something happens to him.”

Eli saw the fear in her eyes and hated it. He’d known that same fear and he lived it over and over in his nightmares. He hadn’t been able to save Leah and he hadn’t been around to help Gena raise Scotty. Maybe he was just imagining things and scaring her unnecessarily because he needed to prove something to himself. Turning back to face her, he said, “Look, I’m just a paranoid kind of guy. I’ve been trained to be that way. So don’t let me worry you. I always take extra precautions. Even more now that—”

Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Now that you’ve lost your wife and never knew your son?”

“Isn’t that reason enough?” he asked, hoping she’d see the sincerity in his eyes. “I’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

He opened the door and felt the arctic blast of winter hitting him in the face and he knew in his heart he’d walk the whole earth if need to be. To protect his son.

And Gena, too.

Gena fidgeted around her desk, searching for any signs of sabotage or espionage. She didn’t like this. Since the day Devon had brought Scotty to her, she’d had to watch her back. Caution had become second nature to her, but only because she always knew that one day he’d show up. Eli Trudeau was not the kind of man to ignore his own flesh and blood, especially when that flesh and blood had been taken from him without his consent.

But that was the least of her worries today. Eli was here now and as much as she feared the worst, she knew he’d do what was best for Scotty. He was that kind of man.

No, today her caution and concern centered on the other dangers out there, dangers that Eli might have stirred by showing up here. What was Eli hiding? Did he know something horrible that he refused to tell her? Or was he truly just being overprotective?

She went to the window to look for him. He wasn’t in the front yard. Hurrying to the back of the house, she looked out toward the sea and saw him standing on one of the craggy bluffs, staring out at the constantly crashing ocean. That seemed to be part of his daily routine now.

Gena immediately put on her coat and rushed out the back door toward him. “Eli?”

He turned when he heard her voice. “I talked to Devon,” he said, a frown marring his face. “He ripped me up one side and down another for being here in the first place, but he’s going to check into things for us.”

She inched closer, pulling the fur of her coat collar up around her face. “What kind of things?”

“We’ll start with your computer. Since he’s set up to monitor all your files anyway, he’ll do a complete scan to see if it’s been compromised.”

“He does that routinely. How can that help?”

“Well, now, he’ll do an extra check just for good measure. Devon knows ways to find out things no one would think to look for and it’ll be much more discreet for him to do it from a long-distance location.” He glanced toward where the car he’d seen earlier was still parked at the other cottage. “Looks like your boarders are settled in and back from breakfast.”

Gena glanced around. “I hadn’t even noticed. I left them a key at the door. They weren’t sure when they’d get here.”

“Well, they must have come in the middle of the night.” He gave her a direct stare. “We’ll need to do a more in-depth background check on them, too.”

Gena couldn’t believe this. “They’re just a young couple from New York.”

“And they drove up to Maine because?”

“That’s their business.”

“Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, Gena.”

She couldn’t read his expression. “Is there more here?”

He shook his head. “Not for now. We’ll just have to watch and wait.”

“Easy for you to say. It’s close to Christmas, Eli, and tomorrow is Scotty’s birthday and the Christmas play at the church. How can I relax when I’m so worried?”

He turned to her, his skin flushed from the cold, his dark hair swirling around his face and neck. He had the blackest eyes, unreadable and bottomless, sometimes cold and calculating, sometimes warm and liquid. “Let’s keep things cool for Scotty’s sake, okay? You’ll get your postcard-perfect Christmas.” He turned toward the house.

“I don’t want a perfect Christmas. I want a safe one. I want my son safe. Can you promise me that?”

He stopped, looking at her with such intensity that Gena took a step back. “That’s why I’m here. We can agree on that, at least.”

It was Christmas Eve. Scotty’s birthday—or rather, the day Gena celebrated his birthday.

Eli trudged across the snow toward the warmth of Gena’s cottage, his gaze encompassing the yard and woods as a frigid dusk settled over the land. The snowman Scotty and he had built stood fat and formidable, wearing a black muffler and an old battered baseball cap. Noting the young couple’s car was gone from next door, he wondered when he’d hear anything back from Kissie on their background. On the surface, Craig and Marcy Bennett looked as all-American and squeaky clean as a toothpaste ad. They took long walks along the bluffs, holding hands and cooing sweet nothings in each other’s ears and they waved to Eli in passing. Mostly they kept to themselves. Perfectly normal activities for a young married couple in love.

Too perfect. Too normal. Eli didn’t like the perfection of it all.

“You’re scowling,” Gena said as he opened the door and entered the kitchen, rubbing his hands together as the heat hit him.

“I hate snow and cold,” he retorted to hide his concerns.

“We all get that, Eli,” she replied with a wry smile. “Can’t you fake it for Scotty’s sake at least?” She pointed to the cake she’d baked earlier. “It’s a celebration. But first we’re off to the Christmas Eve play at church.”

Eli took in the “Happy Birthday, Scotty” lettering on the big cake. “I thought I’d skip the play.”

“You have to go, Mr. Eli,” Scotty said from his spot at the arched doorway. “I’m playing a sheep.”

Eli looked from Gena to his son. “I didn’t see you there, petit peu.”

Gena shot Eli a daring glance. “We’d like you to go to church with us tonight.”

Eli knew a feminine command when he heard one. And how could he refuse either of them? “Okay, then. I guess that particular problem is settled. I’ll be on my best behavior, sitting in the very front pew.”

Scotty giggled. “You’ll see me up close in my sheep costume. Mama made it and it tickles our noses.”

Eli touched a finger to Scotty’s nose, giving it his own tickle. “Do you get to go ‘Baahhh’?”

Another giggle. “Nope. I just stand there, watching over Baby Jesus.”

“And you sing songs to praise Him,” Gena reminded him.

“That’s right.” Scotty rushed to the table. “Wow, chocolate cake. My favorite.” Turning to Eli, he held up his fingers. “I’m six today.”

“Hard to imagine,” Eli said, sinking down in a chair as his legs became weak. This kind of love could do that to a man: bring him to his knees. “You’re growing up right before my eyes.”