Termination Dust

by Alana Terry

  “Of course.” She glanced around, trying to figure out where he could sit. Even without his trooper hat, Taylor was over six feet tall, and she felt like she’d get a kink in her neck if she had to stare up at him from this wheelchair for very long.

  He reached out his long arm to shut the door then leaned against the exam table. He still wasn’t sitting, but at least his relaxed posture made it easier for Kimmie to meet his eyes. He grinned at Pip. “How’s the little guy? Is he doing okay?”

  She nodded. “The PA says he’ll be fine.”

  Taylor leveled his eyes. “And what about you?”

  His question caught her off guard. Warmth flushed to her cheeks, warmth she probably couldn’t attribute to her piles of blankets. “I’m fine, too. Thanks.”

  “Good. That’s a real answer to prayer.”

  She waited for him to say more, still slightly confused why he was here. How had he heard about what happened to Pip and her unless Chuck had called the station when he found them missing? And what did it mean that he wasn’t in uniform? Was he working tonight, or had he heard she was here and come in to check on her?

  He reached down and brushed some hair off of Pip’s forehead. “You look tired, little buddy.”

  Pip blinked his drooping eyelids once before they closed shut. Kimmie was relieved to feel him relax in her arms.

  “I just got out of a meeting with your sister.” Taylor’s words didn’t make any sense. Her sister?

  “She’s here? In Glennallen?”

  Taylor nodded. “She showed up at your home to check on you. Your stepdad told her you were already asleep and refused to let her in, but she had a bad feeling about it all. She went around to the window and saw your empty room from the outside. She said there was also a rifle poking out from under the mattress.”

  Kimmie tried not to blush. She thought she’d done a better job hiding it.

  Taylor was staring at her with a gaze full of compassion. “Are you still cold?”

  She hadn’t realized until then she’d started shivering. The nurse said it might happen as her body regained heat, but she suspected the reaction had more to do with the thought of her sister sneaking around Chuck’s trailer like some sort of amateur sleuth. Meg had no idea what kind of man she was dealing with. What was she thinking? If Chuck had found her snooping through the windows, who knew what he might have done?

  “I’m all right.” Kimmie smiled in an attempt to appear more convincing. “It’s just been a really long, hard night.” She swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. Why did it always feel like when she was with Taylor she was going to break down into tears? He was strong and confident, the kind of man who should make a woman feel at ease. Instead, his strength only heightened her own sense of vulnerability, and the compassion and gentleness of his demeanor reminded her that she and Pip deserved so much more love and happiness than life had given them.

  Taylor leaned forward and tucked in one of the blankets that had fallen off Pip’s shoulder. “Here.” He wrapped Kimmie and her sleeping brother closer together. “Is that better?” As he pulled away, the back of his hand brushed against her cheek. She jumped involuntarily.

  If he noticed her reaction, he didn’t show it.

  Taylor sat in the PA’s swivel chair. Rolling it a little closer to her, he held her gaze steady. “A lot of people were really worried for your safety.”

  She tried to read from his expression if he’d been one of them.

  He lowered his voice. “Can you tell me what happened tonight?” She didn’t know what he was asking. She had no idea how to respond. What did Taylor already know? What did he suspect? According to the story Kimmie told the clinic staff, she and Pip had gone for a walk to look at the stars and gotten lost in the woods. It was on the far side of believable, but nobody had asked for any corroborating details.

  Taylor looked stern. “I want to help you, Kimmie. And I think you need it.”

  She didn’t bother contradicting him. It was true. She had risked her life tonight to get Pip to safety. Now here she was, only a few miles from home, but she was with someone who could help her. Taylor would know what to do.

  “You don’t have to be afraid.” He reached out and took her hand. It wasn’t until she felt the steadiness of his touch that she realized how much she was trembling. “You can trust me.” His voice was earnest. “I want to help you.”

  She glanced down at her brother, soundly asleep in her arms, reminding herself that she would do anything to keep him safe.

  Kimmie told Taylor everything.

  CHAPTER 29

  Kimmie was shaking so hard that a few minutes into her story Taylor reached over and helped her settle Pip onto the hospital bed. “I don’t want you to drop him,” he explained gently.

  Kimmie felt even more vulnerable and exposed without her brother on her lap. It was as if her entire body was a window into the pit of her psyche, and as long as she had Pip shielding her, the curtains were at least partially drawn. Now there was nothing to separate her and Taylor, nothing to filter out the awful truth.

  She clutched her blankets around her shoulders and told him everything, not just about tonight when Chuck had threatened her with a rifle but all that she and her mom had endured. Horror stories she hadn’t recalled in years came tumbling out like a tangled mass of words, but instead of bringing healing and catharsis, she felt defiled having to relive those haunting memories, victimized all over again in the retelling.

  Taylor was a patient listener, asking a few pointed questions that kept Kimmie focused, making compassionate mmms at the right times, nodding his head in sympathy. When Kimmie had drained her memory banks completely dry, Taylor held her gaze. “Thank you for being honest with me. I’m sure that wasn’t easy.”

  She was still trembling, but he didn’t mention it. She stared at him, wondering what was supposed to happen now. She’d done her job. She’d gotten Pip out of Chuck’s house and managed to tell the trooper about all the abuse they’d suffered. Her mission, as gruesome and excruciating as it was, had been a success.

  Taylor sighed heavily in his chair, and Kimmie wondered if she’d depressed him with her stories. He was so engaged while she was talking, but now that everything was disclosed, he looked tired. For a second, she wondered if she’d made a mistake. What if he came back and said there was nothing he could do? If not even a state trooper could free her brother from Chuck, her dreams of freedom and safety were nothing but an illusion.

  The thought led to a terrifying conclusion.

  What if Taylor couldn’t help her? What if he told her it was out of his jurisdiction? What if he told her that since Pip himself hadn’t been the victim of physical abuse, he had to go back home and live with his dad?

  Kimmie braced herself, certain that the next words out of Taylor’s mouth would tell her that everything she’d suffered through tonight was in vain. She and her brother would never be free.

  Instead, he reached out toward Pip, who’d rolled out of his blankets, and tucked him back in carefully. Taylor looked at Kimmie with a gaze full of sympathy and trust. “I’m glad you were able to talk about these things. All your stories are going to help us build our case.”

  “What case?”

  Taylor was gazing at Pip while he slept peacefully in the hospital bed. “The case against your stepfather. We’ve put out the warrant for his arrest.”

  “Because you thought he hurt us and that’s why we were missing when my sister came by?”

  Taylor shook his head. “No. Because we’ve received solid evidence that implicates him in your mother’s murder.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Kimmie stared at the trooper, wondering why Taylor’s words didn’t cause any of the emotional reactions she might have expected.

  “So you found proof?” She realized that she sounded clinical and unmoved, but that’s also how she felt. Taylor suspected that Chuck was involved in her mom’s death. Was sh
e truly surprised, or was he simply telling her the truth that she’d been trying to deny?

  He nodded. “Your sister … well, maybe I should let her explain it to you.”

  Kimmie wished he wouldn’t. Taylor would never understand the kind of relationship she had with Meg. “I think I’d rather hear it from you,” she admitted, hoping she didn’t sound too rude.

  He nodded in understanding. “Well, I guess your mom was making plans with your sister. Meg was going to drive out to Glennallen to pick up you and your mom and your brother and take you to her house in Anchorage.” He leveled his gaze. “Your mom was getting ready to leave Chuck.”

  No matter how much Kimmie might have wanted to believe those words in the past, she still couldn’t believe them to be true. Mom was scared. She was timid. How would Meg have convinced her to find the courage to leave?

  Jumbled thoughts and half-formed arguments raced chaotically through Kimmie’s mind. Meg had always disliked their stepfather. She could have made something up. If Mom were ever going to leave Chuck, it would have happened years earlier, before things got as bad as they had. Meg didn’t know what she was talking about. She was just trying to find a way to take charge over the family that she’d abandoned so long ago.

  Of course, Kimmie would be stupid to defend Chuck of all people. He’d certainly shown himself over the years capable of a rage that could turn murderous, but there was a part of her brain that still wanted to believe Mom decided to end her life on her own terms. If Chuck really had killed Mom, there must have been something Kimmie could have done to intervene. Something she could have changed. She could have fought harder to get Mom out of that trailer. She could have told somebody about the abuse that was going on back when she was in high school. Her teachers would have had to get protective services involved. Kimmie could have done something differently.

  She could have saved her mother.

  “Are you all right?” Taylor asked. “It’s a lot to take in.”

  She wanted to yell at him. Wanted to scream that her sister was a liar. But Meg had no reason to make a story like this up. Hadn’t she told Kimmie she had more information about Mom’s death?

  Taylor wrapped his arm around her, which only made her tremble harder. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “But the good news is you’re here now. You and your brother are both going to be safe.”

  “So you found him then?” Kimmie asked.

  Taylor shook his head. “He wasn’t home when our men went by earlier, but don’t worry. Soon your stepfather will be behind bars, right where he belongs.”

  Kimmie looked into Taylor’s kind and earnest eyes and trusted him.

  She didn’t have any other choice.

  CHAPTER 31

  “Thank God you’re safe.” Meg threw her arms around Kimmie’s shoulders in the hotel lobby then flung a smile at Taylor. “Thank you so much, officer, for all you’ve done for our family. You’re an angel.”

  Kimmie bristled at the flirtatious tone her married sister had adopted, and she reached for her brother, asleep in Taylor’s arms. “I can take him from here.”

  Taylor shook his head. “You’ve had enough physical exertion for the day, I think. Let me carry him up to your room. It’s no problem.”

  Meg draped her hands over his bicep and crooned, “You’re right. I bet to you he’s no heavier than a piece of paper, right?”

  Taylor smiled and raised his eyebrows at Kimmie as if to ask, is your sister always like this?

  She shrugged. Unfortunately, yes.

  Meg led the way up the hotel staircase and to their room on the second floor, past several moose and caribou heads mounted on the wall, their sad and mournful eyes seeming to follow the procession. Meg fumbled with her key card, laughing airily when she realized she’d been trying to insert it upside-down.

  “Which bed is his?” Taylor asked. Kimmie glanced at the two doubles in their room. If Chuck found out where they were hiding and barged into the hotel, where would Pip be safest? A dozen scenarios ran through her head, pictures of her stepfather breaking into their room, rifle aimed to kill.

  “Let’s settle him down here.” Kimmie pulled down the blankets on the bed by the window, but Meg shook her head.

  “You don’t want him sleeping that close to the heater, do you? It can’t be good for his breathing, all that dust blowing around in the air. Why don’t you put him here? He’ll stay warmer if he doesn’t catch a draft.”

  Taylor looked from one sister to the other, still holding Pip in his arms. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Kimmie.

  “Fine,” she answered. “He can sleep there.”

  Meg grinned smugly as Taylor lowered Pip into the bed by the door. Kimmie would sleep on the other side of him, so at least if Chuck barged in he’d have to get through her first.

  Was this what her life was reduced to? Hiding from Chuck in a cheap hotel room, wondering when he’d attack? Maybe she’d feel better when they got to Anchorage. But would she ever be truly safe?

  Meg stepped between her and Taylor. “Thanks again for all you’ve done, officer. You’re so brave. I’m just so thankful we have people like you looking out for all us little guys.” She let out another girlish giggle.

  Kimmie studied Taylor’s expression, trying to figure out if he was the kind of guy who would immediately fall under Meg’s dazzling spell. Twenty-seven and rich enough to afford her own personal trainer and year-long visits to the tanning booth, Meg looked like she came off the pages of a beauty magazine even wearing her simple designer jeans and casual blouse that clung tightly to her figure.

  Surprisingly, Taylor offered a quick word of thanks then turned his attention to Kimmie. “Are you going to be all right here for the night?”

  She thought it was weird that he was asking her. Wasn’t it his job to know how safe she was? Shouldn’t he be able to answer that question far more readily than she would?

  “We’ll leave for Anchorage first thing tomorrow.” Meg took a step closer to him and flung her shoulders back. Kimmie wondered if her sister realized how silly she looked trying to catch the gaze of a near stranger or if her filthy-rich husband had any idea how she acted around other men when he wasn’t around.

  Taylor glanced at Pip curled up on the hotel bed, and Kimmie watched his gentle features soften even more. “I think that’s good.” He was talking to Kimmie, staring at her now with an intensity that made her face heat up. “You’ll be safe in Anchorage. Does Chuck know where your sister lives?”

  “I don’t know how he could,” Meg answered, clearly waiting for this chance to insert herself into the conversation. “He never let Mom come and visit. I don’t think Mom even had my address.”

  “That’s good.” Taylor looked relieved. He lowered his voice, leaning in toward Kimmie. “Do you still have my cell number?”

  She nodded. Kimmie didn’t have to put her hand in her pocket to know it was there. All night long, she’d been fingering its wrinkled corners, trying to muster up the last of her courage and strength while she was trying to lead Pip out of those cold woods.

  Taylor smiled. “Why don’t you give me a call once you feel settled and let me know how you’re doing.”

  Behind him, Meg raised her sculpted eyebrows, and her mouth dropped open into a tiny O before spreading into a grin that made Kimmie feel queasy.

  “Officer,” Meg sang out in her most melodic voice, “I’m sure it’s going to be hard for Kimmie to leave everything she knows behind here in Glennallen. I bet it’d be a real treat for her if you’d come have dinner with us one night. We’re up on the hillside, and we’d love to have you.”

  Kimmie wanted to join her brother in bed and throw the blankets over her face, but Taylor was still gazing straight at her, holding her captive by the intensity of his stare. “I’d like that,” he said.

  Kimmie ignored the sloshing feeling in her gut, the skipping and erratic heartbeat in her chest. He’d fallen prey to Meg’s
charm, and that was all. There wasn’t a single member of the male species who could refuse her anything.

  Meg was wiggling her eyebrows up and down when Taylor wasn’t looking. Kimmie had no idea what information her sister was trying to convey or why she was making such a fool of herself. Whatever it was she suspected, Meg was reading the situation wrong. Taylor wouldn’t drive all the way to Anchorage just to visit some fancy home on the hillside. He was only saying that to be nice, the same way an adult smiles at the little kid who says they’re going to grow up to become an astronaut or the president. Taylor was doing what any polite person in his situation would do, but unless he had to relay more information regarding her stepfather’s case, Kimmie knew she wouldn’t see him again.

  Meg had no idea how much she was humiliating herself when she put her manicured fingers on Taylor’s shoulder and giggled, “It’s a date then.”

  Kimmie wanted to apologize for her sister’s behavior, but when she found the courage to glance at Taylor’s face, she was surprised to find a gentle bemusement where she expected to see impatience or irritation.

  “Funny coincidence,” he said. “But tomorrow’s my day off, and in the afternoon, I’ve got to drive my friend to the airport. Any chance you ladies would be free around six?”

  “Tomorrow?” Meg asked.

  Taylor looked at the alarm clock by Pip’s bedside. “Actually, it’s today if you wanted to be technical.”

  Kimmie had about two dozen different arguments. She and Pip were still exhausted. A few hours of sleep in a strange hotel followed by a four-hour drive to her sister’s wasn’t going to leave anybody with energy to play hostess. Pip would be confused enough being in a new place surrounded by new people. The last thing he needed was Taylor stealing Kimmie’s attention away from where it really needed to be.

  Kimmie shot her sister an imploring look, one she was certain Meg was going to ignore.