Unforgettable Christmas Dreams: Gifts of Joy

by Rebecca York

  “Wasn’t Katie wearing this tonight?” he asked.

  Lexie grabbed it from him. “Oh my God, Katie! Where is she?”

  Simon’s gut rolled. “Not here. Heller must have her.” He made for the door. “He’s headed for the pier.”

  “I’m coming with you!” Lexie said, rushing to catch up.

  Cliff was right behind her, but Simon couldn’t deal with the man right now, not when his daughter was in danger. He grabbed Lexie’s hand and ran full-out, the chorus of ghostly voices in his head growing in urgency. They were three-quarters of the way to the boathouse when the door flashed open. Through the mists, Simon saw Heller drag Katie down the pier. She was a little spitfire, fighting him with everything she had, but she was just a kid.

  His kid.

  “Heller! Let go of Katie now!”

  Ignoring him, Heller forced the girl into the speedboat, then jumped in beside her. Simon let go of Lexie’s hand and raced for the pier so fast, his feet seemed to skim the earth as if he were about to take flight.

  “Don’t try to follow me and I’ll let the girl live!” Heller shouted, starting the engine. “I’ll even call you to tell you where to find her!”

  The speedboat nearly jumped as it took off.

  Simon reached the pier too late to climb aboard, but not too late to see his daughter’s tear-stained, frightened face before it disappeared into the fog.

  A face that would haunt his every waking moment…

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lexie screamed in horror as the fog swallowed her daughter, perhaps forever. For a moment, she remained frozen, her mind a void, as if she were dying.

  But she wasn’t dying and she refused to let Katie go without a fight. Whipping around to find Cliff coming up behind her, she shouted, “That new speedboat — the fast one — tell me it’s here.”

  Cliff nodded and ran past her into the boathouse.

  Lexie ran to Simon and as he turned to her, she saw an unfamiliar sheen in his eyes.

  “Lexie, I’m sorry,” Simon said. “I should have gone after that bastard Heller right away.”

  “You couldn’t have known he’d stashed Katie in the boathouse. We’ll get her back. We have to.” The reassurance was as much for herself as it was for him.

  “He won’t let her go. She’s seen his face.”

  Though Lexie already knew that, she couldn’t lose hope. “We’ll catch up to them.”

  “How do you think we can catch him with the head start he has?” Simon asked, even as an engine roared to life from the boathouse.

  Lexie took Simon’s hand and pulled him farther along the pier, while Cliff edged the futuristic-looking craft out of the boathouse and toward them.

  “That’s how.”

  As the speedboat came alongside them, Simon leaped onto the hull, then held out a hand for Lexie. She grabbed it and jumped, her stomach shaking as the boat rocked on contact. He helped her navigate the hull and climb into the seat behind Cliff, then jumped into the one next to her.

  “Go!”

  The speedboat practically flew into the fog. Lexie had no idea how Cliff knew where he was going or even what direction he should take as he ripped through the blinding wet cloud.

  Dear Lord, let them find Katie… let them get their daughter back safely.

  Lexie knew it was her fault that Katie was gone. If she hadn’t distracted Simon, Heller would never have gotten away. But if she hadn’t done so, Simon might have killed Heller. Simon had been so focused on the man, she’d feared he would do something he would regret. Killing in combat, even as a soldier in a private army, was a whole different thing from killing someone in civilian life.

  Had Simon done that, he would have been held accountable. To the authorities. To her.

  To himself.

  For, no matter what he said about his past, Simon was truly a decent man. He had a conscience. Had he taken a life when he could have restrained Heller and handed him over to the authorities, Simon never would have rid himself of that ghost.

  Right now, though, with Katie in danger, Lexie wondered if she hadn’t made a mistake in stopping Simon. And if something happened to her daughter… Lexie could see how easily a person could get caught up in dark, dangerous thoughts like revenge.

  A moment later, they tore through the fog into open water and rough seas. Through the remaining trails of mist, she could see the wake left by the other speedboat.

  And then the boat itself.

  Simon squeezed her hand and, tears forming in her eyes, Lexie met his gaze.

  “We’ll get her back,” he promised.

  She had to believe him. Had to believe there could be a happy ending, at least as far as Katie was concerned. Nodding, she forced down the growing lump in her throat and focused straight ahead.

  Cliff guided them through the other boat’s wake like it was child’s play, yet the seas were rough, the ride nearly painful at times when the boat lifted into the air and then slapped down hard. Water sprayed her, but Lexie hardly noticed. She could see the people in the other speedboat now, her daughter huddled in a rear seat, Heller standing behind the wheel.

  Heller kept looking back as they inched closer. Lexie could almost feel his panic increase as Cliff tried to bring their boat alongside his.

  “Get as close as you can!” Simon shouted, letting go of Lexie’s hand.

  Simon then climbed over the front seat, over the windshield onto the hull, which rocked and bounced in the choppy seas. Even so, he stood firm, his knees slightly bent and acting like shock absorbers to his body as the boat slipped expertly alongside Heller.

  Without warning, Simon leaped from the hull and Lexie’s chest went tight as she stopped breathing.

  ***

  Heller’s face twisted in fury as Simon landed on the killer, the voices in his head screaming for vengeance. Heller had the advantage, however, and threw Simon off long enough to gun the boat’s engine and pull it in such a tight circle away from the other craft that Simon couldn’t get back up on his feet.

  He threw a quick look at Katie and saw that while her eyes were swollen from crying, they were focused on Heller, and her expression was mutinous, as though she was ready to join the fray and attack the man who’d kidnapped her.

  Getting her attention silently, Simon indicated that Katie should stay put, but he wasn’t certain she would.

  Suddenly, the engine stalled and the boat slowed and righted, allowing Simon to rise as Heller fumbled with his pocket.

  When the killer pulled out a gun, Simon reacted, kicking out and hitting Heller’s arm so that the gun tilted up, a shot going wild. And Simon knew that if he could, Heller would kill them all. The voices in his head urged him to stop Heller any way he could.

  And he could see only one way…

  Simon grabbed the other man’s arm and they engaged in a bizarre dance, fighting for control of the weapon. Heller had to be stopped, no matter what it took. Instinct made him throw a quick glance at Katie, even as she rose from her seat.

  “Stay there!” he yelled, getting hold of a pressure point in the other man’s arm that allowed him to rip the gun from Heller’s hand.

  Simon didn’t even have time to aim before Katie climbed onto the seat. As fast as she rose, Heller acted faster. With a sweep of his arm, he smacked her across the chest, tossing her off the boat. She hit the water with a scream that seared Simon’s soul.

  “Oh my God, Katie!” Lexie yelled.

  Instinct drove Simon over the seat into the icy water after her. At the first shock of cold, he let go of the gun. Stunned, he cleared his head and focused, then grabbed for his daughter. Tossed by the rough seas like a rag doll, she eluded him and then went under.

  “Katie!” Lexie screamed again.

  No, it couldn’t end like this! Katie couldn’t be lost to him before he even got to know her!

  Simon dived down after her, blindly reaching for her, his hand brushing against her but unable to get a grip. He came up for air and wen
t down again, deeper. This time, he couldn’t find her. Couldn’t see her. Panic blossomed in his chest. She couldn’t die. Not Katie! Not another innocent. Another senseless death.

  Gasping for air, he surfaced to an explosion of sound. Lexie was screaming their daughter’s name. An engine was turning over, but not starting. The voices in his head were urging him to dive again, to rescue Katie.

  He went down for a third time and thought if he couldn’t find her, there was no use his coming back to the surface. He couldn’t face Lexie without their daughter.

  Even as he thought it, the blackness of his surroundings lifted for a moment, as if a beam of sunlight shot through the water. Or as if a ghostly mist had dived deep with him. Suddenly he was able to see a fragile hand floating as if reaching for him. A surge of strength pulsed through him and he kicked and reached out until he caught it. Tugging hard, he pulled an unconscious Katie to him.

  It couldn’t be too late, he thought, arm around her middle as he kicked to the surface. Cliff and Lexie were frantically looking over the side of the craft.

  “You’ve got her!” Lexie yelled, leaning out over the water, reaching for her daughter.

  Cliff reached, too. “C’mon, Simon!”

  His arm hooked over her chest, Simon was careful to keep Katie’s head above water as a wave rolled toward the boat. He was exhausted and shivering. The cold water held him in a death grip. Even so, he mustered enough strength to lift Katie up to her mother and grandfather. They caught the girl’s arms and pulled her up and into the boat.

  “Katie, honey, it’s Mom!”

  Cold froze Simon’s limbs and sleep called him. Or was it Cliff?

  “Simon, give me your damn hand!”

  Cliff was hanging over the side of the boat again, arm outstretched. Simon tried reaching for it, but he couldn’t do it. He had nothing left.

  Then Lexie popped her head over the side of the boat. “Simon Shea, fight. Your daughter is alive because of you. I’m alive. We need you!”

  Somehow, Simon found a kernel of strength to reach out and grab hold of Cliff’s outstretched hand. Cliff grasped him with both of his, then slowly dragged him up out of the water. Lexie grabbed hold of his jacket and with more strength than he’d known she had, helped haul him inside the boat.

  Simon immediately looked to his daughter. Wrapped in her mother’s coat on one of the rear seats, Katie was coughing.

  Teeth chattering, he muttered, “H-Heller,” then blinked and focused on the other boat. “C-can’t let him g-get away.”

  Simon blinked again as a familiar mist hovered over the hull of the other craft. Lexie pressed into him, her hand gripping him hard as if she saw the same thing he did.

  “What in the world…?” Cliff whispered as the mist took shape.

  The kid he’d seen shot materialized, the apparition making Heller jump, his substantial weight whacking the side of the boat and rocking it precariously.

  “What the hell!” he shouted as a large wave tossed the craft, tilting it nearly on its side.

  Though Heller fought to stay upright and grab on to something — anything — he couldn’t manage it. He was swept off the boat and into the water.

  Simon moved to the rail, ready to grab for the killer when he came up.

  Seconds passed. A minute.

  “He’s gone,” Lexie said. “Just like that.”

  Simon looked up to the hull of the righted boat.

  Not only was Heller gone, so was the ghost.

  ***

  Dressed in clothing one of Cliff’s former girlfriends had left at his place, Lexie felt uncomfortable, if dry and warm, as she sat and watched her daughter sleep in the emergency room bed. Even though Katie was safe now, the pressure in Lexie’s chest had hardly diminished.

  How could it when she had to see her child hooked up to all this monitoring equipment?

  Needing to stretch her legs and get some air, she rose, kissed Katie’s forehead and left the cubicle. She could hear Simon in the next cubicle giving his statement to Detective Rand McClellan, who’d already interviewed her.

  She wanted to get home and shower and change, but she wasn’t about to leave until Katie and Simon were cleared to go with her, which, according to the doctor, wouldn’t be until morning. They would be monitored all night. She’d called her parents to let them and her sister know what had happened. They’d wanted to rush to her side, but she’d asked them not to come. She’d assured them that Katie would be fine and that she needed time alone to think things through.

  Pacing in the hall, Lexie couldn’t help but replay the nightmare in her head a dozen times.

  She had to hand it to Cliff. He’d come through for them at his own expense. He’d gotten them back to land and into dry clothing while they’d awaited an ambulance. And then he’d called the state police and had turned himself in. He’d said he hadn’t wanted to put the burden on her or Simon; they’d already been through enough because of him.

  That she’d been wrong about Cliff deeply saddened Lexie, especially now that she knew he was Simon’s biological father and Katie’s grandfather.

  Lexie started when she almost bumped into Detective McClellan.

  “I’m done for now,” he said. “I will have to talk to your daughter, as well. It can wait until she’s home, though.”

  “Thank you. Bray said you were understanding.”

  “I might be, but parts of your story are going to be hard to sell the brass.”

  The ghost part, she knew. Not that he needed to put that in his report. A wave had tossed Heller’s boat nearly on its side. Whatever he decided, Lexie would back him up and she was certain Simon would, as well.

  “You’ll be hearing from me, probably tomorrow afternoon. I’ll give you a chance to get back home and settle in.”

  Lexie waited until he’d left before venturing into Simon’s cubicle. Still covered with several warming blankets, he lay back in his bed, his eyes closed. She stopped to look at the face she so loved and, lump in her throat, wondered how much longer she would be seeing it.

  His eyes fluttered open. “Katie?”

  “She’ll be fine. They just want to keep her overnight for observation. You, too.”

  “I’m all right.”

  “You’re more than all right,” she said softly, sitting on the edge of his bed so she could touch him. She ran her hand along his chest. “You’re a hero. You saved our daughter’s life.”

  “She wouldn’t have been in danger if not for me.”

  “Where do you get that?” Lexie said.

  “I stirred up a hornet’s nest by coming back here.”

  “You’re not guilty of anything but trying to find the truth. I’m the one who had the key. Even if you hadn’t come back—”

  “Don’t go there.”

  She nodded.

  “At least the souls of the dead here can rest now,” he said. “And you and Katie will be safe.”

  “Because you’ll be with us?”

  He looked away from her. “I’m no good for either of you, Lexie. I wanted to kill Heller tonight.”

  She didn’t tell him she’d felt the same when he’d tossed Katie over the side of the boat. “But you didn’t.”

  “Because you stopped me from strangling him.”

  “You could have shot him once you got the gun from him, Simon, but when faced with the decision of getting revenge or saving Katie, you didn’t even hesitate.”

  “I couldn’t have done anything else.”

  “I know that now. I know there are things more important to you than vengeance. People.”

  They locked gazes and Lexie wished with all her heart that she could be with Simon forever.

  “I was thinking about my old man… Rufus… about how he’s changed. He couldn’t have done it alone. I don’t know that I can, either.”

  “You don’t have to be alone. You have me. And a daughter who will adore you. And you can get professional help if you need it, Simon, someone who knows how
to deal with the kind of memories and nightmares you must have. A man can change. You proved that tonight. Please, think about staying. You have a daughter. A kid should know her father, be close to him.”

  “You’re sure you want that?”

  “Only if you do,” she said, smoothing the blanket over his chest, feeling his heartbeat grow stronger. “Only if you’d be happy here. I keep worrying you’ll miss the excitement and danger—”

  “I’ve had enough danger for a lifetime. As for excitement…” He pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her. “You’re all the excitement I can stand. I love you, Lexie, and I want to stay and get to know you all over again.”

  Lexie felt herself open up inside. “I love you, too, and your staying would be the best Christmas present ever.”

  As they kissed, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more.

  Epilogue

  “Da-a-ad! Stop eating the Christmas cookies or there won’t be any left for our company!”

  “I can’t help myself. They’re terrific. I’m going to expect you to keep me well-fed. Your mother has lots of talent, but not in the kitchen. Do you know she tried to feed me peanut butter and jelly for breakfast?”

  Entering the kitchen to see Simon pop some powdered sugar on their daughter’s nose, Lexie smiled. Katie had taken to her father as if she’d just been waiting for him to show up all her life. And from the loopy grin Simon wore, it was obvious he was in love with his daughter, as well as with her.

  “Hey, everyone is asking for you two,” she said, grabbing a plate laden with fresh appetizers.

  Simon lifted the tray of cookies and Katie grabbed bowls of chips and dip and followed her into the living area, now decorated every bit as beautifully as Drake House. The three of them had turned the living room into their own winter wonderland just that afternoon.

  Now it was Christmas Eve and Lexie’s parents and sister, Carole, plus Rufus, Brandon and Marie were there for the evening. Michael and Chelsea and her Aunt Sophie had stopped by for a drink.