by Katie Knight
“Perfect. Thanks.” He ducked out the back door of Lila’s cabin and headed to his own place next door, his boots crunching loud on the frozen snow. At least it would be a white Christmas, he supposed. With everything else going on, he might have all but forgotten about the holiday coming up the next week if it weren’t for the decorations crowding every corner. One more service Nancy and Tom provided to their guests—pre-decorated Christmas trees in each cabin, though he’d barely had time to enjoy his. As he ducked inside his own place and closed the door behind him, he couldn’t help wondering if he should get gifts for Lila and Parker. When he’d come up here to the cabin, he hadn’t expected to get close enough to anyone to buy them presents, but now… While he hit the speed dial for James, he contemplated ideas for the two people who’d suddenly become the focal point of his life.
Parker would be easy enough to buy for. The kid loved anything to do with art. Plus there were always books. Lila, though, was harder. Back during their summer of love, as he’d started thinking of it, she’d loved sparkly things—clothes, jewellery—and flowers. Now, though, perhaps circumstances had changed. He felt like he was beginning to get to know her again, but there were still so many things he didn’t know about her, so many things that had changed between them.
For a moment, yearning pinched his heart—yearning to go back to the way they’d been and hold that time still like the precious treasure it had been. But everything was different now and he needed to accept that. He’d promised to keep them safe and he would, no matter how difficult it would be to let them go afterward. He pulled off his jacket and headed for the bedroom.
James picked up on the fourth ring. “Still no word yet on a new mission. Even the military takes a holiday once in a while.”
“Understood.” Preston shook his head and opened the closet to rummage through his duffle. “That’s actually not why I’m calling.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. There’s been a development here.”
“A development?” James sounded curious. “What kind of development?”
“The not-good kind.” He dug out his Glock 19 from the bottom of his bag where he’d stowed it for the trip up here and jammed a fresh magazine into the butt of the gun. If that asshole from the hospital tried to get to Lila again here at the lodge, Preston wanted to be ready this time. “The woman I told you about, Lila, has suffered a couple of accidents since I’ve been here. At first, I didn’t think too much about them. Ice breaking beneath her while we were ice skating, evidence of someone breaking into her cabin but not taking anything, making me think it might just be kids making trouble. Rotten luck or whatever. But then a few days ago, someone pushed her off the ski lift and she was injured pretty badly.”
“Jesus. That’s awful. How’s she doing now?” James asked.
“She’s okay. Got discharged from the hospital this morning. Bumps and bruises and a pretty good knock to the head, but nothing broken, thank God.” He slid into his shoulder holster and buckled it into place. “But yesterday, when I got there in the morning to check on her, I found a guy in her room on the verge of smothering her. He attacked me when I tried to confront him and knocked me down. He got away before I could stop him.”
The memory of that still made Preston’s blood boil. “Now I’m thinking maybe all these things that have happened to Lila weren’t accidents at all. Maybe someone’s after her.”
“After her?” James sounded about as confused as Preston felt by it all. “But why? You told me about her—she’s just a waitress with a kid, right? Who would want her gone?”
“No idea. Yet.” With his sidearm handy, Preston felt a bit more prepared for whatever might come at him. He added his toiletries from the bathroom to his still-packed duffle—a remnant from his SEAL days, always ready to move at a moment’s notice—before carrying his bag back to the living room to get his jacket. “I wondered if you could do some unofficial digging, see what you can find out that might give me a clue who that guy was from the hospital. I’d swear he had black ops training. I can’t tell you if the guy’s still active or not, but maybe you can find out if anyone’s been recently put on leave or court-martialled or anything. Someone who might have a grudge or something. Or maybe someone tied to Lila’s uncle who died. That’s maybe the only reason I could imagine someone might be after her. The guy might’ve thought he should have inherited that house her uncle left to her and when he didn’t he was pissed. It’s a long-shot, I know, but it’s all I’ve got at present.”
“I’ll check it out,” James said. “You sit tight there until you hear from me, got it? And take care of that woman of yours.”
“Will do. And thanks again,” Preston said before ending the call.
After securing his own cabin, he walked back to Lila’s place and set his duffle by the back door before rejoining the others in the living room. The sounds of laughter from the living room and the scent of toasted cheese and tomato soup from the kitchen helped take a bit of the chill away.
“You’re back,” Clara said when he walked in. “Good. I need to get my kids back home.”
“Everything all right?” Lila asked Preston, watching him over her mug of soup. “I didn’t know you’d left.”
“I just had to run back to my place to get some stuff, since I plan on sleeping here tonight,” he said, feeling suddenly awkward. “I mean, on the sofa or whatever.”
“Sure.” Clara stood and chuckled. “Right. Well, Lila, I’m sure you’ll be safe and sound with this strapping hunk around.” She patted Preston’s arm, then grabbed the twins’ coats from the hook by the front door and helped them into them. “You kids be good tonight. And call me if you need anything. Lila’s got my number.”
Parker, who was sitting on his knees by the coffee table eating, waved. “Bye!”
“Bye, sweetie,” Clara said, ushering the twins out the door. “Talk to you soon.”
“There’s soup and a sandwich for you in the kitchen,” Lila said, once the others had left. “Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” Preston took a seat on the sofa. They ate in peace for a few minutes. He realized he’d not had any food since this morning. That was probably why the toasted cheese tasted so amazing and the soup hit the spot. Or maybe it was the company. Or both.
By the time he was done eating, Parker was finished too. Preston cleared their plates and took them to the kitchen, only to find upon his return that Lila had moved from the chair to the sofa by herself. She winced as she tried to get comfortable and Preston rushed over to fluff the pillows behind her back and to make sure Parker had everything he needed to be happy and quiet for a while.
Once they were both settled, he finished cleaning up from dinner then returned to the living room. Taking a seat on the far end of the sofa, he placed Lila’s feet in his lap and began massaging them through her thick wool socks. Dr. Busmati had advised him that keeping Lila’s muscles relaxed would help with the stiffness and speed her healing. She sighed as he slowly worked his thumbs against her arch.
“That feels amazing,” she said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the cushions. “I didn’t realize how much the fall had taken out of me until I left the hospital and had to move on my own again.”
“Yeah. It’s always worse a few days after the accident,” he said, finishing with one foot before starting on the other. “I remember recovering from missions. Once the adrenaline wore off, I felt every ache and pain.”
“How’s your head?” she asked, her words little more than a purr of satisfaction when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. The low sound went straight to his groin before he could stop it and he shifted slightly in his seat, thinking maybe this massage hadn’t been such a good idea after all. “Still sore?”
He swallowed hard before answering, not trusting his voice. “Fine.”
The word squeaked out higher than usual, like a hormonal teen. Preston cursed inwardly and tried again, deeper this time. “Fine.”
&nbs
p; “You sure?” She peeked one eye open to stare over at him. “You sounded kind of funny there for a second.”
“Yeah. I’m good.” He set her feet aside and moved closer to her. “If you can turn a little, I’ll do your shoulders next.”
She did as he asked, moving a bit easier now. When he placed his hands on her body and began to work her muscles, Lila gave a small moan of pleasure that made his chest squeeze and his heart race. If he could freeze time right now and stay here like this forever, he would. With Lila so close and Parker colouring contentedly near the fire, this little corner of the world seemed perfect.
Perfect and precious and his to protect.
Mine.
Tom’s words from a few days prior rushed back to his head.
I only wish I’d stopped all that driving and grinding earlier and settled down…
Preston had never wanted to be anything else but a SEAL, had never wanted to be anywhere else but in the thick of the action. But now, for the first time, he started to imagine a different future, a different place for himself that didn’t involve war and brutality and never staying in one place too long.
A different world where he could put down roots and have his own version of happily ever after.
But first, he needed to catch whoever was after Lila and keep Parker safe.
Only then would he be able to really consider any of that seriously.
Twenty-One
Lila behaved herself the first day back at the cabin, but by the second day, she was restless and bored and ready to climb the walls. Unfortunately, poor Preston took the brunt of it—sitting around, being all helpful and adorable as he played with Parker, and just generally making her fall for him all over again when that was definitely the last thing she should be doing.
“Did the police call back yet?” she asked him, her tone more annoyed than she’d intended. “What’s taking them so long?”
“I’m not sure, but I bet they’re busy and understaffed, with the holidays and all.” He stood from where he was sitting on the living room floor playing with their son and grabbed his cell phone from the charger in the kitchen. “Let me call Detective Morrison and see if there are any updates.”
He walked down the hall, so all she could hear was his murmured voice, not loud enough to make anything out. When he returned a few minutes later, his expression looked as frustrated as she felt.
“Well?” Lila asked.
“Nothing yet.” Preston exhaled slowly and tossed his phone back on the kitchen counter. “Morrison said he’s still working on his report and that he should have it finished ‘soon’.” He rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I was right about the holidays slowing things down. He said we should try to enjoy our Christmas and not worry too much about this. They’ve got it under control.”
“Hmm.” She crossed her arms, feeling more irritated than ever. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I guess we don’t have too much of a choice, do we?”
“Mommy, look!” Parker held up a drawing of a crooked Christmas tree with three stick figures beneath it, holding hands. “It’s us!”
Her heart pinched at the sweetness of it and she glanced up to see Preston smiling over at her. The tension inside her eased and Lila smiled back. If they were going to make the most of things, then upping her holiday cheer was a must. Luckily, she had just the activity in mind to do it—but first things first. “That’s so great, Park. See if your daddy will put it up on the fridge for you.”
“Sure thing, bud,” he said, coming over and sweeping Parker up into his arm and carrying him into the kitchen. From her vantage point before the fire in the living room, she saw them carefully place the drawing to the fridge with one of the magnets stuck to the front of it. “There. All done.”
“Thanks, Daddy!” Parker hugged Preston.
“You’re welcome, buddy.” He returned the kid’s embrace then put him down. Parker ran off down the hall to his room to get more paper.
“So, what do you want to do?” Preston asked Lila once they were alone.
“The White Elephant exchange at the lodge,” she said. “It’s this afternoon and should be a blast.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Preston said, frowning. “That’s probably not such a good idea. You’re still recovering and all and whoever attacked you at the hospital is still at large. Shouldn’t you and Parker stay here where it’s safe and where you can rest?”
Lila scowled. Using her son to guilt her into staying in the cabin was a low blow, but darn it, it worked. “Fine. This Christmas is going to suck though, being stuck in here the whole time.”
“Hey, now.” He came over and took a seat on the end of the sofa near her and took her hand. “I’m sure it’s not the holiday you wanted, but we can still have fun. And maybe we can get out for a little bit. Not right now, but Christmas Eve’s in a few days. The cops might have more information by then or even a suspect in custody. If so, we can go to the big party at the lodge. You’ll be stronger by then. Parker would love it and I’ll be there to keep you both safe, either way. How’s that sound?”
He looked so eager that she couldn’t help but smile. “Fine. I guess that would be fun.”
Parker returned with his paper and the three of them spent the next couple of hours colouring and drawing everything from their trip so far. The sledding, the ice skating, the skiing, the lodge. Lila stopped at one point because she was getting a cramp in her hand from overuse and just sat back, marvelling at how well Preston and Parker were getting along. At first, she’d worried that her son might react badly to having his father just show up in his life, but kids were more resilient than people gave them credit for and Parker had not only seemed to accept Preston, he’d embraced him, literally and figuratively. A squeeze of sadness tightened her chest before she shrugged it away. Gone were the days where she alone was her son’s whole world. Where it was just the two of them facing it all together. Now that Preston had re-entered their lives, he’d be there to stay, if not physically, then at least emotionally. Parker might only be two, but Lila was pretty sure he’d remember these days for a long, long time.
Parker’s giggles roused her from her thoughts. “Daddy. What is that?”
Preston scrunched his nose and held up his drawing. Lila tilted her head from one side to the other as she stared at the thing, trying to figure out what it was. The guy might be great at a lot of things, but drawing was not one of them, apparently.
“It’s a reindeer,” he said. “See? This is its nose and these are the antlers and—”
“Seriously?” This time it was Lila who chuckled. “I thought it was a gnarled log or something.”
“Do logs have legs?” he asked, giving her a look. “Right here. Legs.”
“Those are not legs. They look like… Well, I don’t know what they look like but not legs.”
Parker was rolling on the floor laughing at them both, and Preston tossed his ugly drawing aside to tickle his son. Lila grinned at them from her chair, wishing she could get down there with them, but knowing she was still far too sore to even attempt it.
Things seemed pretty perfect right about now, if you didn’t count the whole someone trying to kill her deal. She still couldn’t figure out why anyone would want her dead. She and Parker didn’t really have anything, other than the money she’d gotten from selling her uncle’s house. And she doubted that had anything to do with it. Her uncle had made his money in stocks and had invested well over the years. Nothing fraudulent or shady about him that she knew of. She kept going back to Sal and his pawn shop, but there’d been nothing that stood out about that either. Sure, the guy was crooked and more than likely involved with the mob, but then that was kind of par for the course with guys like Sal, right? And she’d never run afoul of the guy during her dealings with him, always paying on time and even paying off her loan early. He’d have no reason to come after her.
None of it made any sense at all. Maybe it was just a random act. Maybe the cops would catch the guy resp
onsible and find out he was mentally unstable or something, targeting her for no more reason than an accidental resemblance between her and his ex, or some other random reason. Maybe she should just stop worrying about it and enjoy this time they had together as a real family, like Preston had said. That would probably help the hint of a headache starting near her temples.
“All right, buddy,” she leaned forward slightly, wincing at the pull in the hip she’d fallen on. “Time for your bath.
Lila started to get up, but Preston stopped her. “I got it.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m certain.” Preston stood and pulled his son up by the hand. “Ready for bath time?”
“Yes, Daddy!” Parker chatted on about his toys and his drawings as the two of them walked toward the hall.
“Be back in a minute,” Preston said to her over his shoulder.
“Okay.” She stood and made her way slowly toward the kitchen. “I’ll start something for dinner then while you two get cleaned up.”
“Sounds good.” He smiled and her whole world warmed.
While sounds of the two of them in the bathroom drifted to her down the hall, she got busy heating up some canned chilli and frozen garlic bread. By the time her two guys got back, the food was ready and on the table. Preston helped Parker up onto his chair, then took a seat across from Lila, with Parker in between them in his superhero PJs.
As Lila served up her son some chili and bread, she looked over at Preston. “So, what are you going to do about your cabin? Seems silly to pay for two if we’re both staying in this one.”
“Yeah, I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it until now. Does seem kind of wasteful to keep them both, doesn’t it? I didn’t bring much with me.” He hiked his thumb toward the duffle bag sitting at the end of the sofa. “That’s basically it. I’ve still got some stuff in the fridge over at the other place, but it would be easy enough to grab it and bring it over here. And the sofa looks comfy enough too. I’m fine sleeping out here, that way you and Parker can have your rooms to yourselves.”
