She turned red. “No, I never got past burning everything so I gave up. Dad and Bill were the cooks in our family.”
“I can teach you. You’ll pick it up in no time.”
Hannah was grateful when the food arrived. It changed the subject. “Where are we shopping tomorrow?”
“We need to get new decorations for the restaurant, for the tree and the walls. It looks very bare compared to this place.” Jake studied the walls. “I would like to see more lights strung around the main dining hall, this year. But I want to be careful and not make it look gaudy.”
“I think dark green and dark red lights alternated.” Sarah offered.
“She can be quite the decorator if you turn her loose,” Bill bragged.
“Let’s do that shopping first thing in the morning then finish up our Christmas shopping before we go back. I think we should head for home while it’s still daylight, don’t you?” Jake looked at Bill.
“I don’t think it’s wise to go over that mountain pass in the dark, especially if it starts to snow.” Bill agreed.
“Well, I think it’s time for bed for these two,” Sarah said.
“I’m not far behind.” Hannah yawned, “Sorry.”
Two men followed them onto the elevator. Hannah assumed they were guests. But when they reached their suite, Jake unlocked the door and sent one man inside while the other stayed with them.
“What’s going on?” Bill asked.
“I asked Trenton to get us a couple of men for security. Guy is checking the suite to make sure no one has been in there while we were eating. He and Bob will be outside our door all night.” Jake spoke with the authority that doesn’t take no for an answer.
Hannah yawned. “That’s a good idea. I’m so tired I would never know if anyone came in my room. But Jake, there is more to your story than you’re telling us. When I’m awake, I want the truth.”
Guy came out and said, “All clear, Sir.”
“I’m with Hannah, Jake. I want to know what’s going on.” Bill said sternly.
“Let’s get some sleep first and I’ll explain tomorrow.” Jake opened the door and ushered everyone inside and bolted the door. “I promise,” he kissed Hannah’s forehead and then gently pushed her toward her bedroom. “Good night.”
Chapter Eleven
Hannah woke slowly and not certain where she was. If she rolled over, would she land on the floor? She sat up and realized she was in a hotel. The clock on the night stand said 8:00 but was it morning or night? She slid off the bed and opened the drapes. It was morning. Had she really slept twelve hours straight?
While in the shower, Hannah remembered that Jake had hired security guards to watch over them through the night. No wonder she slept so sound. But Jake had secrets and she intended to find out what was going on. Heavenly Father, thank you for keeping us safe. Help me get the answers I need to know about Jake. I like him, Lord. Is he the one for me?
Hannah opened the door to the living room of the suite. Food! She smelled bacon, eggs, hash browns and pancakes. Her stomach growled.
“I heard that,” Jake said. He crossed the room and gave her a hug and whispered softly, “Good morning beautiful.”
She felt her toes curl. “Good morning.”
“You and Daddy are sleepy heads.” Cindy spoke quietly. She and Mindy were on the floor beside a Christmas tree.
“Where did the Christmas tree come from?” Hannah turned to Jake.
Jake smiled and shrugged, embarrassed. “The place seemed kind of bare without one so I asked Trenton if he could bring one up.”
“It’s kind of naked.” Mindy said. “But we like it.”
Jake laughed. “Compared to the one you have at home, any Christmas tree would look naked to you guys.”
Bill opened the door from the master bedroom. He inhaled the aroma of breakfast and rubbed his tummy. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Morning, Daddy,” Cindy said.
“Look at the tree.” Mindy stood and made a sweeping gesture.
“Wow. Did Santa bring that in the middle of the night?”
“Nope. Just Jake,” Mindy said.
Sarah laughed. “What do you say to ‘just Jake’ for the tree?”
“Thank You, Jake.” They both jumped up and hugged him around the waist.
“You’re very welcome, Ladies.” Jake blushed at their attention.
“I’m glad you caught up on your sleep,” Sarah put her arms around Bill. “You and Hannah should eat so we can finish shopping.”
“We also need to have a conversation with Jake before we leave.” Hannah looked up at him to watch his reaction then went back to filling her plate from the food cart parked next to the table.
“I can talk while you eat,” Jake pulled out a chair for Hannah, kissed the top of her head and then sat beside her. He waited for Bill to join them.
Sarah had cleared the table after she and the girls ate. She sat at the table writing in a notepad. When Jake looked questioningly at the notepad she said, “I’m keeping track of what we have so far so I know what we still wanted to get for them.”
Jake sat back in his chair and folded his arms, causing Hannah to wonder why he felt the need to protect himself. “I wasn’t born in a happy family like you were. I was an accident when my mother had an affair with her boss. She was almost sixty and my brother and sister were already in their thirties when I came along. Her husband divorced her when she refused to give me up for adoption.”
“Oh, Jake. I’m so sorry. How hard for you.” Hannah was shocked.
“The hard part was starting school and finding out how different I was from other kids. My mother did her best and my brother tried to do things with me a father would have done.”
“You lived a totally different life than we did,” Bill said. “But it seems you grew up to be a pretty good man. But where is all this money coming from?”
“My Father. We didn’t know how wealthy he was until the reading of the will. Trenton and I met at college and hit it off right away. At the reading of the will we learned we were brothers, half-brothers. That’s why we look so much alike but have different hair. I don’t know why Father didn’t let us know about each other growing up. We would have had a ball.”
“My God. That must have been quite a shock.” Hannah said.
“It was wonderful finding out I had a brother the same age as me. We were born in the same year.” Jake ran his fingers through his black hair. “Trenton grew up in the same kind of situation as me. I guess my dad had a thing about older women.”
“I’m so glad you found each other,” Sarah said. “I was wondering about the restaurant here. It looks so much like yours.”
“Trenton bought the hotel then asked me to make his restaurant look like mine. So I did. But I like the way he did the Christmas decorations so today I asked him if he would get me the same decorations for my restaurant.” Jake got up. “By the time we get back from our shopping, he should be back, too.”
“The girls and I are ready to go,” Sarah said. “How about the rest of you.”
Bill and Hannah rose and joined them. “There is still so much I want to know about you,” Hannah said.
Jake held the door open for her. “Good.” He grinned.
Chapter Twelve
They returned three hours later loaded with packages. “I’m hungry Daddy,” Mindy said.
“Me, too, baby girl.” Bill said. “Let’s get the vehicles loaded and we’ll stop for fast food on the way out of Denver.
Hannah turned to Jake. “Your security men followed us all over town. Are they coming back to Hopeful with us?”
“That’s the plan,” Jake said. “Jeremy doesn’t know where we are right now, but it stands to reason he knows we’ll go home the same way we came.”
“You’re right. That’s the only road open this time of year so we have no choice,” Hannah said. “Now I’m scared again.”
“We’re going to be safe if we’re cautious and pay
attention to our surroundings.” Jake wrapped his arms around her. “My truck is loaded with restaurant Christmas decorations and ready to go. Are you packed?”
“Is everyone ready to go?” Bill asked. “I’m starved. Let’s get going so we can get something to eat.”
The two vehicles they came to Denver in became a three-car caravan. Sarah insisted they stop for food right away so the girls would nap most of the way home. She signaled the others when they reached the small place she wanted to eat at. “I’ve eaten here before. It’s good food,” she promised.
Once on the road again, it began to snow. “I hope it doesn’t get worse when we reach the top of the pass,” Hannah said.
“I heard the snow plow is working full time up there.” Jake said. “So it shouldn’t be too bad.”
Bill called Jake on his cell, “The girls need to pull over at the rest stop when we get there.”
“Okay. Don’t get out of your car until we’re all there.”
“Good idea.” Bill said. “I was just speaking with Officer Walters. He said Jeremy was in prison for arson. As if we hadn’t figured that one out. The warden stressed that Jeremy showed no violence while he was there. So they let him out early.”
“Burning up his sister sounds violent to me,” Jake said. He had put the phone on speaker so Hannah could hear the conversation.
“Maybe she was dead when he got there, from an overdose or something,” Hannah said. “I almost knocked her door down and she never answered it.” She left the truck and joined the girls to climb the stairs to the bathrooms.
When the ladies returned they found Bill with tears running down his face. “What’s wrong, honey?” Sarah rushed over and threw her arms around him.
Bill looked at Hannah, grief-stricken. “Dad’s house is on fire. Right now. Officer Walters just called.”
“What? How can that be? Jeremy was in Denver. We saw him.” Hannah sobbed.
Jake put his arms around her. “He must have driven straight through with no bad weather to stop him. He went from your dad’s house to your apartment building and tried to set it on fire, too.” He felt Hannah stiffen. “It’s okay. My security team stopped him. He got away from them but they stopped him.”
“What about the newspaper. What if he goes after that?” Hannah sniffed.
“I have people there, too.” Jake said. When they were on their way again, Jake said, “You know I have a pretty big place of my own. All of you could stay with me until this guy is caught.”
“We might have to if he keeps burning down everything we own. We need to stop him.” Hannah scooted over to Jake and laid her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders while she cried.
Just before they reached home, Sarah asked if they could eat before going home. “I’m not sure there is very much food in the house and I’m too worn out to fix it if there is.”
Jake directed the caravan to Bob & Jake’s restaurant. They found the restaurant busy even though it wouldn’t be supper time for another couple of hours.
After they were seated, Mindy said, “Uncle Jake, do you have special menus for us like Uncle Trenton does?”
“I don’t have any right now but I am having some made. They’re such a great idea, aren’t they?” Jake said.
“Can we order the same thing we got at Uncle Trenton’s restaurant?” Cindy asked.
“You certainly may.” Jake looked at the waitress and pointed to Cindy. She’ll have spaghetti and meatballs and she’ll have macaroni and cheese and a hot dog.”
“You remembered, Uncle Jake,” Mindy said. “You’re really smart.”
“Thank you, thank you.” He bowed for them, making them giggle.
He sat next to Hannah and put his arm around her. “How are you doing? Are you hungry, yet?”
“I’m getting there,” she said. “I need to go freshen up first. She excused herself and went into the ladies restroom. She heard another person enter and thought nothing of it. As she washed her hands she looked in the mirror and saw Jeremy standing behind her.
“I came to get you so we can start our lives together,” he said reaching for her.
She backed away. “We are never having a life together. Didn’t you hear my father tell you that?”
“I remember, and I had June push him down a mine shaft for it. Now he has nothing to say about it.” Jeremy grinned like he won the argument.
Hannah felt shock rock her, “You had June kill my father?” she screamed, banging Jeremy on his chest with her fists. “I will never have a life with you. I will hate you forever.”
Jeremy backed up in shock. The security guards entered and grabbed both his arms and dragged him from the restroom.
Jake rushed in. “Are you okay?” He pulled her into his arms.
“He said he had June push Daddy into a mine shaft.” Hannah couldn’t stop yelling. “Daddy’s really dead.” Bill came to her and the three of them held on each other and cried.
Chapter Thirteen
Hannah woke feeling she had slept a long time. Then she remembered, Jake had called a doctor to her apartment. The doctor had given her and Bill shots so they could rest. She sat up and realized she was on the cot in her own bedroom. Bill was asleep on her bed. Ha! He snores, too.
She decided to use the shower before he woke up. When she entered the living room, Jake was there to hold her. The twins were in the corner happily wrapping presents. When she looked around for Sarah, Jake told her she went shopping.
“How long have we been out?” She felt she was in a fog.
“It’s supper time again so you slept around the clock. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling fine now.” She looked up as Bill entered the room. “How about you?”
“I’m good. Where’s the rest of my family?” Bill looked around then sat on the couch.
“Daddy, you’re awake,” Cindy said. The girls ran to him and hugged him and kissed his cheeks.
“Where’s Mommy?” Bill asked hugging his girls.
“She went shopping cause we used all the scotch tape wrapping presents,” Mindy said.
“I think she had cabin fever and needed a break.” Jake got up and stretched. “Our supper was interrupted last night so I’m having it delivered.”
“I’m starved. I can’t believe I’m so hungry,” Bill said.
“Jake says we slept around the clock. That’s three meals we missed. Can we talk about what happened yet?” Hannah said.
“No. I want to be awake longer and have my supper first.” Bill said.
“I want to go to the wishing well tonight. I don’t care if there’s a full moon or not,” Hannah said.
“We want to go, too,” Mindy said. Both girls jumped up and down. “Can we, Daddy?”
“Absolutely,” Bill answered. “It’s a family thing.”
“Tell me about the wishing well. Most people around here act as if I should already know.” Jake gave Hannah his full attention as she explained how the wishing well came into being and continues to this day.
“And you’ve had your wishes come true?” Jake looked around at all of them.
Both Hannah and Bill nodded. “Yes we have,” Hannah said.
“Then I want to come, too,” Jake said. “I have wishes to make.” He said, smiling at Hannah.
Sarah came home just before their supper arrived. After eating, they sat around the table, no one willing to be the first to talk about what happened. Officer Walters came to the door.
“Come in,” Hannah said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
“Jeremy Samuels confessed to having his sister, June, lure your father to a mine shaft so she could push him in. She brought him a gold nugget and offered to show him where she got it,” Officer Walters said.
Bill hung his head then asked, “Did he say which gold mine it was?”
Walters nodded. “A crew has been sent to retrieve your father’s body.”
“I can’t believe it was June that killed him. I thought we
were friends,” Hannah said shaking her head.
“Jeremy said June pretended to be your friend. She planned to kill you that day she asked you to go see her. Of course Jeremy didn’t want you dead so he went there first and killed her to stop her.” Officer Walters said. “He waited until he thought you left the building before he started the fire. He didn’t know about you babysitting.”
Sarah sighed. “We lost everything we owned so Jeremy could cover up murdering his sister.”
Bill grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “We’re going to be fine, Sweetheart. You’ll see.”
“We haven’t been by their dad’s house, yet. Do you know how much of it was lost?” Jake reached for Hannah’s hand when he saw her shudder.
“It was a pretty old house, and fortunately the renters had moved out,” Officer Walters explained. “It burned to the ground very fast. I’m sorry.”
After he left, Hannah paced the floor. “I know it’s not midnight, but I think it’s late enough. Let’s go to the wishing well.”
They found hats, coats and gloves. The girls pulled on their snow boots. Though it was late, Cindy and Mindy were excited and full of energy. They led the way through un-shoveled snow the three blocks to the wishing well.
For the first time in days, Hannah felt it was safe to walk at night to the wishing well. She smiled at Jake and reached for his hand. Thank you, Lord for helping us get through this. Overhead, brilliant stars shone through openings of clouds.
No one spoke on their three-block trek. Going to the wishing well was a happy thing, a hopeful thing. It was easy to spot the well because the night was clear and the fact that another family was ahead of them.
“We’ve always been the only ones at the well. This has never happened to us before,” Hannah said to Jake.
Bill reached down and scooped snow into a ball. “The snow is wet. I bet we could build a snowman.”
Bill and Jake rolled the largest balls of snow. “We made the bottoms of two snowmen,” Bill huffed.
Sarah and Hannah’s snow balls made the bellies and went on next. “You guys will have to lift these.” Sarah said. “Way too heavy for us.”
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