Danger on the Mountain

“Dead.” She heard the matter-of-fact tone in her voice.

When she turned, surprise glistened in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“I am, too. Sorry he’s dead, not sorry he’s out of my life.”

TWO

The woman just kept surprising him. The gentle, mommy demeanor hid a spine of steel. Also evidenced by her cool-under-fire reaction at the bank earlier.

Opening the door, she led the way inside, holding the carrier in front of her. “I’m surprised she’s still sleeping.” She set the baby carrier on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator to pull out a bottle filled with milk.

“Why aren’t you sorry he’s out of your life?”

While Maggie placed the bottle in a pot of water she began heating on the stove, she kept her back to him. He wanted to turn her around so he could see her face. When she didn’t answer, he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, wondering why he was asking questions that were none of his business.

At first he thought she was going to pretend she hadn’t heard him, but when she turned, she said, “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Reese lifted a brow at her.

She shrugged and grimaced. “He wasn’t a very nice person.”

He’d abused her. She didn’t say so, but she didn’t have to.

His gut tightened as visions of women he’d pulled out of domestic violence situations crowded his mind. Their bruises, their damaged faces, bodies...souls. The ones who had died. He blinked the images away and focused on Maggie.

“When did he die?”

“About a month after Belle was born.”

“Car accident?”

Maggie sighed. “Not exactly.”

She didn’t want to tell him?

Belle woke suddenly and let out a howl. Reese flinched and watched Maggie calmly unbuckle her daughter from the car seat and pick her up. She then pulled the bottle from the heated water, tested the temperature of the milk on her wrist and stuck it in the squalling mouth.

The silence was sudden.

“You’re good at that.”

Maggie laughed. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

As the baby ate, Reese took in his surroundings. “Nice place.”

She looked up from Belle’s face to smile at him. “I like it. It’s simple, functional and pretty much everything Belle and I need.”

He nodded. “You said you were an online teacher.”

“I am. I teach learning disabled students online. It’s perfect for us. I get to make a living and Belle gets to stay home with me. So far so good.”

“What about when you have to teach and Belle doesn’t want to cooperate with your schedule?”

Maggie grinned. “I have a neighbor who comes over. Mrs. Adler. She’s a retired nurse and lives twelve hours away from her grandchildren. She loves Belle and acts as if every moment she gets to spend with her is the highlight of her day.”

A shadow moved across the window right in his line of sight. He straightened and narrowed his eyes. She caught his expression and frowned. “What is it?”

“Probably nothing,” he said. “Just thought I saw something move outside of your window.” He walked over to it and, out of habit, stood to the side, keeping himself from being a target should someone other than a friend be out there. The blinds were open, the sun high in the sky.

What had he seen?

Anything at all?

Or was he still jumpy from this morning? He saw Maggie settle into the rocking recliner next to the couch, Belle’s small hands clasped firmly on the bottle she eagerly devoured. In his mind’s eye, he replaced the scene with one containing Keira and his own baby girl. But that wasn’t to be. Sorrow clamped hard on his heart, and he had to make a supreme effort to shut the feeling down.

He was in Rose Mountain, making a new start. There was no place for sorrow or sad memories. Two things he’d been desperate to get away from back in Washington. “I’m going to check outside around your property.”

Her frown deepened. “You think someone is really out there?”

“I don’t know, but it won’t hurt to check.”

Worry creased her forehead as her eyes followed him out the door.

Once outside, he stood still, taking in the sights and sounds he’d become familiar with in such a short time. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing set off his internal alarm bells.

He made his way over to the window in the den. The open floor plan had allowed him to be standing in the kitchen, looking into the den. If he’d kept his eyes on Maggie and her daughter, he’d never have seen the shadow.

If that’s what he’d seen.

Circling the perimeter of Maggie’s house, he kept an eye on the area around him and on the ground in front of him.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the air had a bite to it. He shivered, wishing he’d grabbed his coat on the way out. The hard, cold ground held no trace of any footprints. No evidence at all that anyone had been in front of the window.

Then what had caught his attention? Anything? Or was he so on edge that he was now seeing things?

He frowned, shook his head and walked back into the house to find Maggie still holding Belle. The baby swiveled her gaze to him and he swallowed hard when she grinned. Two little white front teeth sparkled at him.

Maggie asked, “Did you find anything?”

“No. It was probably just nerves left over from this morning.”

She shot him a doubting look. Fear flickered in her eyes before she turned back to Belle, who’d finished her bottle. Maggie settled the baby into a sitting position and started a rhythmic patting on the small back. Her actions were automatic, but her eyes said her thoughts were on their conversation. She asked, “You think it could be the man who said he’d kill us?”

Did he? “I think that guy’s long gone.”

Maggie bit her lip and he wondered if she believed him. And he couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t sure he believed it himself. She sighed. “So what’s next?”

“We’ll question the robber in custody, see if he’ll talk for a deal.”

Maggie shuddered. “Did you see his face? His eyes? They were hard. Empty. I don’t think he’ll be talking any time soon.”

“Don’t be so sure.” He glanced again at Belle who stood on Maggie’s thighs, holding on to her mama’s hands. Reese averted his gaze. “I’m going to head back to the station and see if he’s said anything.”

“All right.” Maggie stood and shifted Belle to her hip. “She’s got a nap to take, and I’ve got an afternoon class to teach.” She paused. “Will you keep me updated on what happens? I’m still a little nervous about that threat.”

He smiled, hoping to reassure her. “Sure thing.”

* * *

Maggie walked him to the door and locked it behind him. Then she walked into Belle’s room and placed the sleepy baby in the crib. Even though Belle had fallen asleep for a short time on the ride home from the bank, she needed a real nap or by the evening, she’d be so cranky Maggie wouldn’t know what to do with her.

Belle protested for a while, but she finally fell quiet, her cries fading as she slipped into sleep.

Maggie smiled. It had been so hard to learn to let the baby cry, but once she’d tamped down her instinct to hold Belle every time it was naptime, they were both a lot happier. Belle slept better, and Maggie was able to get a few things done.

Like teach her online class. She still had about ten minutes before she had to sign in. Mrs. Adler should be arriving soon. The woman lived just a few houses up from Maggie and often walked over to be there in case Belle woke up while Maggie was in the middle of a class. Maggie paid her a weekly wage, and Mrs. Adler was thrilled to be making money and honing her grandmother skills.

With Reese’s dominating presence gone, she now felt an absence she’d never noticed in the small house before. What shocked her was her lack of nervousness when he was around. She’d actually let him in the house. The fact that he was a cop helped. She felt safe with him in a way she didn’t feel with other men who were not in law enforcement. Officers had helped her when she needed it most. Like Felicia Moss, the officer who’d listened to Maggie’s story and then taught her how to hide once she escaped from Kent.

All that knowledge, and she hadn’t needed it. Kent had been killed before she could put into practice everything she’d learned.

Gulping, she pushed aside the memories and booted up the computer. Signing in, she greeted the students already in the room and got started.

Forty-five minutes later, she signed off, thanked God once again for the ability to work from home and got up to check on Belle. Sleeping soundly.

Mrs. Adler had slipped in and was sitting in the recliner reading a book. “Hello there.”

The woman set the book in her lap and looked up to smile at Maggie. “Hi. Belle’s sleeping away, and I’m enjoying a good book. How’d your class go?”

“Great. I only had three show up today, and we had a fascinating discussion about right angles.”

Mrs. Adler grimaced. “Please don’t talk about math. I still get hives if I have to think about numbers without a calculator in front of me.”

Maggie laughed. “I love math. I actually prefer it.” A noise outside the door made her jump and turn. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Shivers danced in her stomach, but she didn’t want to alarm Mrs. Adler unnecessarily. “Um...I thought I heard Belle. Do you mind checking on her?”

“Sure, hon.” Mrs. Adler walked down the hall and Maggie swiveled to stare at the front door.

She slowly walked over to it.

The knob jiggled and she stepped back, heart thumping. “Who is it?” She hated the tremble in her voice, but after this morning, the bank robber’s threat loomed close to the front of her mind.

The knob stilled. Faint footsteps reached her ears, and she felt her pulse kick it up a notch.

Maggie went to the side window and looked out just I time to see a slim jean-clad figure race around the side of the house.

Slim, tall, ragged, loose-fitting jeans.

Slim? The man from the bank?

Her breath snagged in her throat and fear thumped through her.

Fingers fumbled for the phone. Finally, she wrapped her hand around it then punched in 911.

* * *

Reese slapped the pen down onto the desk. He’d prefer to work with a computer, but his hadn’t been set up yet. Looking around, he smiled. Not that much different in this office than the one he’d come from. Washington, D.C., was just bigger and louder.

Eli shoved a ragged-looking man in front of him as he escorted him down the hall to the holding cell. The man let loose a string of curses that didn’t stop even when the door clanked shut.

Reese’s radio crackled on his shoulder.

Nope, not that much different. And maybe just as loud.

He looked at Eli and gestured toward the prisoner. “That Pete?”

“The one and only.”

Pete Scoggins. The town drunk. Reese had heard about him five minutes after being in town.

Pete wilted to the floor of the cell and Eli slid into the desk opposite Reese. “Anything on the bank robbery?”

“No. Anything on the identity of the man who cracked his head on the floor?”

Eli shook his head. “He’s awake and released from the hospital and into our custody, but he’s not talking.”

“She said he wouldn’t,” Reese murmured.

“What’s that?”

“Maggie. She said the man wouldn’t talk.”

Eli blew out a sigh. “Well, she’s got it right so far.”

“Anything on a gunshot wound coming in at any of the hospitals?”

“Nothing.” Eli pursed his lips and ran a hand over his chin. “I’ve gotten the word out to be on the lookout for the two other robbers, one with a gunshot wound in his shoulder. So far, we’re batting zero.”

“Hey, I can hear you back here real good,” Pete hollered from his cell. “You talking about those boys who robbed the bank, ain’t ya?”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Pete. We are. We’ll try to keep it down so you can sleep it off.”

“I seen ’em, you know.”

Reese lifted a brow and got up to follow Eli. Eli stood in front of Pete’s cell. “Where? What do you know about them?”

Pete yawned and shrugged. “I’ll tell you after I get me a good hot meal.”

“Aw, you’re just yanking my chain,” Eli said and turned to go back down the hall. But Reese wasn’t so sure.

“Give me something on those guys, and I’ll see what I can do about the hot meal.”

Pete eyed him. “You’re new here.”

Reese met his gaze. “I am.”

“Don’t know if I can trust you.” He looked down the hall. “Hey, Eli! This new boy trustworthy?”

“Yep,” Eli hollered back.

“Saw ’em in Miz Holly’s café eating before the robbery. I was sitting at the counter drinking me a coffee and they were talking real low, but I could hear ’em. I inched over and heard one of ’em say he’d take care of the woman.”

The woman. Maggie? Reese’s gut clenched. How would they—

The dispatcher’s voice came over his radio. “911 call, an intruder at six, seven, zero, Firebird Lane.”

Eli frowned and stood, grabbing his keys. “That’s Maggie’s address.”

Reese’s heart thudded, his sudden adrenaline rush familiar, pushing his senses to the hyperalert range that had kept him alive more than once. “I know. I just dropped her off.”

The two men raced for the door, Eli barking into his radio. “Let her know we’re on the way.”

“Hey!” Pete hollered. “Don’t forget my food!”

The ten-minute drive up the mountain to the clearing that led to the lake seemed to take forever. Reese found himself imagining all sorts of awful things happening. “Do you think he came back?”

Eli didn’t ask who he meant. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have thought it, but weirder things have happened.”

Worry surged through him. Would the bank robber, known only as Slim, have any compunction about hurting a baby? A wave of nausea swept through him at the thought.

“Is she still on the phone?”

Eli relayed the question to the dispatcher then nodded. He shot a glance at Reese. “She said the guy ran off into the woods. He had on baggy jeans and a black T-shirt with short cropped hair.”

Reese’s jaw tightened. “That’s pretty close to how the robbers were dressed. They all had masks on, too.”

They finally pulled into the driveway he’d just left about an hour earlier. Deputy Jason White swung in behind them.

On the outside, everything looked fine, peaceful. Undisturbed. But when Maggie opened the door, he could see the strain on her face, the tension in her shoulders.

Climbing out of the car, he and Eli walked up to the porch. She pointed to the back of the house. “He ran that way.”

Eli nodded and glanced at Reese. “You stay with her. I’ll check it out.” He looked at Jason. “You go that way, make a search of the perimeter.”

Jason took off.

Reese took her soft hand in his and led her back inside. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me what happened.”

She dropped onto the couch, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “I do believe this has been the longest day of my life.”

Reese could see her frustration, her fear.

“My husband called. I’m going to have to go.” Reese looked up to see a woman standing in the doorway to the den.

Maggie made the introductions. He reached for his radio and said, “Just a minute. I’ll get Deputy White to escort you home as soon as he’s finished clearing the perimeter of the house. Until we find out the intentions of the person snooping around, I don’t want you out there by yourself.”

Mrs. Adler nodded, her frown furrowing, the lines in her forehead deep with worry. Five minutes later, in response to Reese’s call, Deputy White appeared on the front porch and Reese waved him inside. “Anything?”

Deputy White shook his head. “Nothing that I can see. If someone was here, he’s gone now.”

“Thanks. Mrs. Adler’s ready to go. Do you mind taking her home?”

“Sure, be happy to.” The deputy escorted the woman out to his car.

He turned back to Maggie, opened his mouth to question her further—and heard Belle crying.

A low groan slipped from her throat and before he could stop himself, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll get her.”

Grateful surprise lit her eyes, and she melted back onto the cushion.

Reese followed the wails down the hall to the nursery. It was tastefully decorated in pink-and-brown polka dots, and he couldn’t help but smile.

The smile slipped when he saw the baby standing up, holding on to the railing, staring at him and blinking. A puzzled frown creased her forehead, and she looked as if she might start crying again. “Hey there, Belle. It’s all right. It’s just me.”

His throat tightened as he recognized what he was doing. He was using the same voice he used to—

Oh, God, help me.

What had he been thinking? Volunteering to get the child from her crib. All he could see when he looked at her was his own baby daughter’s lifeless face. The last baby he’d held, and she’d been gone. She’d never had a chance to pull in a breath this side of heaven. His hands shook, and he clenched them.

You can do this.

But he wasn’t sure he could.

“Reese? Everything okay?” Maggie called from the other room.

He found his voice and some small measure of strength. “Yeah. Just fine.”

When Belle’s face scrunched up again as if she was getting ready to crank out a cry, he hurried across the room and lifted her from the crib. Her frown stayed as he held her at arm’s length straight out in front of him.

And that’s the way they walked down the hall into the den.

Belle’s head swiveled and when she saw her mother sitting on the couch, her face brightened and she leaned toward her. Reese let her slide from his outstretched grasp into Maggie’s embrace.

He backed up and perched on the edge of the recliner, his heart aching, memories fogging his thinking.

“Are you all right?” Maggie asked. She cocked her head, looking at him as though trying to figure out what was going on inside him.

She probably thought he was an idiot, based on how he carried Belle. He clamped down on his emotions and cleared his throat. “Yeah. Sure. I’m fine. I just...” He motioned toward a now-content Belle.

“Don’t have much experience with babies?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Ah, no. I don’t.” Desperate for a change of subject, Reese touched the radio on his shoulder and got Eli. “Anything?”

“Nothing really. I’ll be up there in a minute.”

True to his word, Eli knocked about a minute later and let himself into the house. Wiping his shoes on the mat, he said, “I found some disturbed ground, but can’t tell if it’s recent or not.”

“Like someone watching the house?” Reese asked.

A pause. “Yeah. Could be. But probably not. I don’t think it was the robber.”

Reese wasn’t sure. “Maybe not. Maybe it was just a teenager or someone looking for an empty place to crash for the night. The more I think about it, the more I don’t see how someone could have been waiting for her. How would they know who she was in the first place, much less where she lives?”

Maggie said, “So this was just a random thing? Someone tests the doorknob to see if I’m home and then runs off when I ask who’s there?”

Eli sighed. “It could be some high school kids. We have our fair share of troublemakers. Nothing too serious, but...”

Maggie frowned and bounced Belle on her knee.

Reese said, “There hasn’t been time for the guy who threatened you to find you. It was just a few hours ago.”

“What if he followed us home?” she asked.

Eli and Reese exchanged a glance. “You mean these guys pretended to leave the bank and doubled back to watch the action?”

She shrugged. “Why not?”

Another exchanged glance with Eli and Reese rubbed his chin. “I can’t say it’s not possible. Highly unlikely, but not impossible.” He paused. “Then again, you were really the one who made it possible for us to capture one of them.”

She grimaced. “And he did threaten me—us.”

Reese looked at Eli. “What do you think?”

Eli pursed his lips. “I think it’s too soon to say, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Reese nodded. Eli then said, “Why don’t you keep an eye on things around here just until we know for sure.”

“You mean while he’s on duty, right?” Maggie asked. She swiveled her head back and forth between the two men. “I mean, I wouldn’t expect him to volunteer his time or anything.”

Surprisingly enough, the thought of volunteering to spend time with Maggie wasn’t a hardship. If only looking at her with the baby didn’t send shards of pain shooting through his heart.

“I don’t mind. I live just across the lake. If you need me, just call.” It was the least he could do, wasn’t it? After all, she’d probably saved him from taking a bullet when she’d pulled the ropes and downed the bank robber who had his gun pointed at Reese.

He pulled out his cell phone. “What’s your phone number?”

Maggie rattled it off. He punched it in his phone and soon heard hers ringing. He hung up and said, “Okay, now it’s on your phone. Put it on speed dial and use it if you need it.”

She bit her lip then said, “I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not putting me out, I promise.” But the faster he got away from here, the faster he could start figuring out how he was going to handle being around a baby on a regular basis. Because he already knew he wanted to get to know Maggie better.

Belle started squirming and Maggie stood with the infant on her hip. “Then if you don’t mind, I’ll take you up on the offer.” She shot a look at the door. “Because whether you believe it or not, I have a feeling this is only the beginning.”

Reese thought about what jailbird Pete had said and had a feeling she was absolutely right.

THREE

Maggie’s words echoed in her own ears long after the men left. She shivered, feeling scared and unsafe in the house for the first time since she’d moved in.

Knowing Reese was across the lake helped, but...

She fed Belle supper, played with her until her bedtime, then put her down.

In the quiet darkness, she now had time to think. To process everything that had happened over the course of the day.

As she thought, she checked the locks, tested the doors and peered through the blinds. She left every light outside burning.

Through a small copse of trees, she could see her nearest neighbor’s den light burning. Mrs. Adler. Fondness filled her. The woman reminded her very much of her own grandmother, who’d passed away about five years ago. Maggie missed her. Almost as much as she missed her mother.

She’d never known her father.

A fact that weighed heavy on her heart.

While Maggie had had her grandfather the early years of her life, she didn’t want Belle growing up with the emptiness of not having a father figure in her life.

With that thought, she slid into the recliner, noticing the lingering scent of Reese’s musky cologne. Drawing in a deep breath, Maggie felt a longing fill her.

And a loneliness.

She wanted someone in her life. Someone to share good times and bad. Someone to share Belle with.

But memories of her husband intruded, filling her with that familiar fear. What if she picked the wrong man again? What if there was something wrong with her judgment meter? She couldn’t live through another abusive marriage. And she had more than herself to think of now. She wouldn’t make decisions without first considering every consequence.

And why was she even thinking about this anyway?

Lord, we need to talk...

Her phone rang and she rose with a groan to answer it on the third ring. She frowned at the unfamiliar number displayed on her caller ID. “Hello?”

“Maggie, is that you?”

“Shannon?” Her sister-in-law. Her husband, Kent’s, only sibling. “How are you? How did you get this number?”

“I’m fine and tracking you down wasn’t easy, believe me. What are you doing? Hiding out?”