Covert Christmas

by Hope White

  She dismissed the idea as soon as it came to mind. She loved Luke, but he already saw her as his baby sister. Calling him for help would just reinforce the perception that she needed him to take over and decide what was best for her. She’d been trying to break him of that habit since she was about ten years old, begging Luke and his best friend, Will, to take her with them on their adventures, and hearing time and time again that she was too young. No, she’d have to handle this herself. She was an adult.

  McKenna climbed in her car, slamming the door shut behind her and jamming her thumb against the lock button with more force than necessary. Hopefully she could solve this case fast and wrap everything up before anyone else ended up hurt.

  Or worse.

  Chills started at the back of her neck and chased each other down her spine. She was as sure as she’d ever been about anything—someone was watching her. Not just watching. Observing. Studying.

  Stalking.

  She studied her surroundings. There were too many places someone could be hiding. Under the trailer that made up her office. Or farther away, in another car, behind a building.

  It was impossible to know.

  But she knew for sure she wasn’t imagining it. Someone had her in his sights. And since she’d never felt this way before, it seemed safe to assume it had something to do with the case today. Someone knew she’d found the bodies. Now they were following her.... Why? To see what she did with that information?

  McKenna didn’t know. And she didn’t know what to do about it. Her mind tried to form a coherent prayer, but part of her resisted. She wasn’t in over her head yet. No need to bother God about it now when she could still handle it herself.

  She drove away, the uneasiness dissipating with the distance she traveled, confirming further to her that it hadn’t been nerves, but that someone had been very nearby, watching.

  Maybe she was closer to over her head than she’d thought.

  * * *

  Will Harrison shut his locker and blew out a deep breath.

  “Rough day, Harrison?” His friend Matt Dixon entered the staff room and gave him a slap on the back as he walked by him.

  “You could say that.” The tourists he’d taken out today were hardly competent to hunt wildlife, as they’d paid to do through his employer, Truman Hunting Expeditions. He’d spent the day on edge, cringing every time someone picked up a gun. If it had been up to Will, he would have refunded their money and sent them home, but Rick, his boss, had made it clear that he’d accept whatever clients came their way, take them on a successful hunt and keep them safe.

  Some days that seemed like a lot to ask for.

  “Want to come over tonight? Lexi’s cooking caribou stew.”

  Lexi’s food was some of the best Will had ever tasted. But he shook his head anyway. “Thanks, man, but not tonight. Think I’m just gonna go home and crash.” Maybe look at his bank statements again and see if he had enough yet to open his own guide service. One where sure, he’d have the stress of running his own business, but he wouldn’t have the hassle of taking people he didn’t feel comfortable giving guns to on dangerous hunting trips.

  The door opened. “Good day, guys?” Rick Truman asked as he walked in. Matt nodded his answer, Will said nothing. There were some things he and Rick didn’t see eye to eye on, and the clients were one of them. But overall he was a good boss, and besides, Will needed this job. Just until he finished saving money. Then he’d have his own agency, do business his way.

  “I have a little bit of bad news. Those raises I promised you guys?” He shook his head. “They won’t kick in quite yet. It may be a few more months.”

  Will raised his eyebrows, waiting for more of an explanation.

  “Seriously?” Matt shook his head. “Man. I was counting on that so Lexi could stay home when the baby comes.”

  Rick’s expression was pinched. “Sorry. You’ve earned it. Both of you. But things are tight. Tighter than I thought they would be.”

  Will took in Rick’s camos, which looked as if they’d never been worn, in contrast to his and Matt’s, which had seen more than a few hunting and guiding trips. Maybe Rick had a different definition of “tight” than they did.

  Rick sighed. “It’s the economy right now. It’s tough on everyone. But we’ll push through it, take some more trips, come back out on top.” He sounded as if he was reassuring himself as much as them, which made it easier for Will not to hold the lack of raise against him. “You’ll see, guys.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Will finally spoke up. “It’s just money.”

  Matt nodded along with him, as did Rick, who cleared his throat and added, “Just money indeed.”

  “Listen, I’ve got to head out. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” Will waved on his way out the door.

  Barrow Dry Goods was crowded when Will ran in to pick up dinner. Maybe he should have accepted Matt’s invitation. Anything would have been better than eating alone at a two-person table in his kitchen, listening to the silence in the house that screamed of how alone he was.

  Nights like this made him miss what he’d had—before the accident had taken Rachael from him.

  He fought to push those thoughts away as he headed down the aisle toward the frozen foods. The past was long gone and he knew—he’d heard it often enough—that it was time to move on.

  Still, as he surveyed his options and weighed them—frozen pizza versus frozen Chinese food—he couldn’t seem to stop the memories from coming. Marrying right out of college had probably been half-crazy, but they’d been kids in love and unwilling to listen to anyone who thought they knew better. And they had several happy years. At least they were happy for Will. He’d always felt a little like he was holding Rachael back. She’d wanted to explore all of Alaska, take every adventure life had to offer, and he’d just wanted to live life with her. He wasn’t afraid of taking chances, but he didn’t seek them out the way Rachael did. The avalanche that had claimed her life on a wilderness skiing trip had been only two years after they married. Seven years ago in January.

  He grabbed the frozen pizza and shut the freezer door, spinning around and running right into another customer. As his pizza and whatever she was holding crashed to the ground, Will berated himself for not paying better attention. He had to get out of his head. Stop living in years long past.

  He brushed himself off, located his pizza and stood, offering a hand to the woman he’d run into. She took it and he helped her up.

  And then the past was standing right in front of him again in the form of his childhood best friend’s little sister. All grown up.

  “Will?” McKenna’s green eyes blinked their disbelief.

  “What are you doing here?” The words came out harsher than he meant them to. He knew it as soon as her eyes narrowed and he saw in them a flicker of her Irish temper.

  “Is this another one of those places that’s too dangerous for a girl?” she retorted.

  “You’re seriously still mad that Luke and I wouldn’t let you tag along when we were kids?”

  “No,” she said with a frown that clearly said yes.

  “We were young. I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Not to mention the fact that Will had always thought she was kind of cute. Staying away from her as much as possible had always seemed like the best option—it broke about a hundred guy rules to have a crush on your friend’s little sister.

  “I could take care of myself just fine back then.” She straightened even taller and lifted her chin, which stretched her height to an unintimidating five foot three. “And I can take care of myself even better now.”

  Will nodded slowly and lifted his hands in surrender. “Okay. It was just a question.” He let out a breath slowly, willing his heart rate to return to a normal speed. He could still vaguely remember the day when, as a five-year-ol
d, he’d gone over to see his best friend’s new baby sister. He was the youngest in his family and hadn’t been around babies much, so he’d expected her to be cute and quiet like babies on TV. Instead, her newborn face had been scrunched into a scowl and she’d screamed like she was being pinched.

  She’d been a spitfire since day one, and nothing had changed.

  “I’m here,” McKenna began, “because I got a...” She stumbled over her words. “I got a promotion.”

  “And what is it you’re doing now?” Will couldn’t remember if Luke had said what McKenna was up to last time they’d talked. And though Will had wondered, he never felt comfortable asking.

  Her gaze darted around them. “I’m a wildlife trooper,” she said softly.

  “Why are we whispering?”

  She looked around again. Uneasiness crawled over Will as he felt his muscles tighten. “What’s wrong?”

  McKenna licked her lips, swallowed hard and then shrugged with forced casualness. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “McKenna, just tell me.”

  It had been the wrong thing to say. She glared in his direction and tilted her chin in the air the way she’d always done when she was trying to look taller. “It was nice seeing you, Will. But I’ve got to turn in early tonight, so I’d better be going.”

  He wasn’t done talking about whatever was making her act weird. Not even close. But the firm set of her lips made it clear she was finished with that discussion. At least for now.

  “I’ll be seeing you around, I guess,” he offered. “Let me know if you want to get together sometime.”

  Her half smile was less than convincing. “I’ll do that.”

  Without a backward glance she whirled around and strode off, dark red hair bouncing on her shoulders as she walked. He was alone. Again.

  Will looked down at the pizza he held and shoved it back into the freezer. He wasn’t so hungry after all.

  Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Varland

  ISBN-13: 9781460341261

  Covert Christmas

  Copyright © 2014 by Pat White

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