Beneath Winter Sand

by Vickie McKeehan

  Hannah began to cry. And after Tina walked out of her life there was no one to talk to that she could trust. She began to have trouble sleeping. The nightmares came and wouldn’t leave for a long time. Whenever she asked about her baby brother someone would always change the subject. The secrecy she felt were lies that kept her angry and made her feel like she needed to do something to find him herself.

  A month went by without knowing anything. One day a detective showed up to ask her questions. It soon became clear that law enforcement couldn’t locate the “social worker” who’d showed up that chaotic afternoon at the Lambert house and whisked Micah off for his hospital checkup. The police and other authorities seemed embarrassed about relinquishing a baby to a total stranger without having been shown proper credentials, a woman who had no affiliation to Child Services at all. And if the people in charge couldn’t locate the lady who’d taken the baby, it finally dawned on Hannah that they couldn’t very well tell her or anyone else where Micah had ended up.

  As the weeks turned into months and the months turned into years, Hannah made a pact with herself. She’d never stop looking until she found her little brother. Not ever.

  Because for Hannah, one thing was forever. After that one hideous day, she would never again get to cuddle little Micah in her arms, or put him to bed, or play with him in his crib.

  It wasn’t enough that she’d lost her parents that awful day. It didn’t matter that her father had gone crazy and done something stupid. That was the official story. Robert Lambert had killed his wife and then himself. And afterward, some horrible woman had stolen Micah, taken him in broad daylight while the police watched her drive away. Even a young girl knew that was bold and daring, maybe even desperate. And it didn’t make sense.

  Hannah’s world had turned upside down in a way that could never be fixed. And as Hannah fought the fear she felt over the years, she vowed she wouldn’t rest until she found out the reason why. It was the only thing that kept her going through the turmoil.

  Micah Lambert was out there somewhere. And she intended to find him or die trying.

  One

  Present Day

  Pelican Pointe, California

  New Year’s Eve at The Shipwreck brought in the biggest crowd since its grand opening two weeks earlier. The pub was elbow to elbow, three deep, at the long mahogany bar and people were waiting to place their orders. From one end to the other, the main room reverberated with a lively mood that went along with the loud music. The classic rock mingled with country tunes was courtesy of the local band, Blue Skies, who’d been on stage now going on three hours.

  People sat or hovered around the small tables toe-tapping and listening, or watching the fast and furious game of darts play out between Zach Dennison and Archer Gates. Others hung out near the back room, a small area with two pool tables, looking on while Fischer Robbins and Cooper Richmond squared off in a not-so-affable game of cutthroat. Losing a few bucks between friends, it seemed, was a good way to cap off the old year.

  Across the room, Hannah Summers was one of two waitresses covering the entire bar, and she had her hands full. The other server was Jill Campbell’s little sister, Geniece Darrow, down from Portland who’d decided to stay on in town permanently. Both women had been slinging drinks for eight straight hours and didn’t have much time to socialize with the customers other than keeping a steady flow of drinks coming.

  It wasn’t even midnight yet and Hannah’s aching dogs were beginning to cry foul. She’d been busy from the minute the doors opened around three and hadn’t even sat down for longer than five minutes, let alone taken her mandatory break because of the crowds and the demand.

  Three hours ago, she’d formulated a simple strategy to get her to closing. To keep the tips coming in, she plastered a smile on her face, ignoring the pain in her feet, and made the most of the packed house. As long as the drinks flowed, her tips were on a record track to put a huge dent in her expenses and she didn’t intend to let it slip away because her feet hurt.

  Thank goodness the place had a no smoking policy nowadays. If not, her sinuses would be on fire after hours breathing in the secondhand smoke. She understood the new rule was a departure from what the previous owner had allowed. Some of the customers let her know about the change by grumbling loud and long whenever she got within ten feet of their table, giving her an earful about how much they didn’t appreciate the directive.

  But the new proprietor, Durke Pedasco, held firm. If a person wanted a smoke now, they had to partake in the habit by stepping outside in the alleyway or linger along the front entrance. No exceptions.

  That was fine by Hannah. She liked being able to breathe clean air and encouraged Durke to stick to the law, which the other owner had obviously chosen to ignore.

  Hannah’s eyes scanned the room, looking for anyone who needed a refill. Not for the first time tonight, they landed on Caleb Jennings, sitting at one of the tables with his family. The two had been eyeing each other all night. She in her short black skirt and white blouse, and he, wearing a brown wool pullover and a pair of tight, light-colored jeans that made his ass look firm and hard. No doubt from all that physical labor he did at The Plant Habitat, she mused.

  In case he needed another beer, she walked over to where the group sat near the fireplace, huddling around a table. They’d been there for most of the evening, politely ordering, and not once all night had they harped about the new smoking policy. That went a long way in Hannah’s book.

  “You guys need anything?” she asked.

  Landon Jennings called out over the din, “I’ll try an order of those wings. They look fantastic, much better than the crap McCready used to serve in here.”

  “They seemed to be very popular tonight. How many? You can get a half order or the full dozen.”

  “Give me the twelve-piece variety, the hotter the sauce, the better. Add some fries to that. We can all share. I think that should hold us until we ring in the new year.”

  “I’ll take another beer,” Cooper said as he came up with Fischer in tow.

  Drea drained her glass. “I’ll have more of the chardonnay. That has a lovely flavor and nothing like that house wine Flynn used to serve.”

  “I’ll be sure to mention it to Durke,” Hannah said, reaching to pick up Caleb’s empty bottle of beer and found it still half full. She swirled the liquid contents around. “Looks like you’ve been nursing this one for several hours. It’s bound to have gone flat. Want me to bring you another?”

  Just to keep her at the table a little longer, Caleb nodded in agreement. “Sure. That’d be great. I think maybe this time I’ll try one of the local craft beers.”

  “Which one?”

  Caleb made her go through the list until she got almost to the end. “I’ll take that one.”

  “No problem. While I’m in the kitchen, I’ll bring you guys out a fresh order of chips and salsa. By the way, any drinks you order from this moment forward are on the house until after midnight. Thane Delacourt just phoned Durke to let everybody know Isabella went into labor this afternoon.”

  Fischer held up his phone. “Oh jeez, thank goodness. She was two weeks overdue and Thane’s been driving everyone nuts. That man’s been on edge every one of those extra fourteen days. I haven’t even checked my messages for hours. Maybe I should see what’s going on.”

  Hannah lightly elbowed Fischer in the ribs. “What’s going on is simple. Pelican Pointe’s population increases by one. The Delacourt family gets a new baby to ring in the new year. Anyway, Thane wanted to buy everyone a drink. So…”

  Caleb could only stare at the waitress. He didn’t hear the last part of her spiel. He had to concede this might be the most boring way he’d ever spent New Year’s Eve. For most of the evening he’d felt like the biggest third wheel horning in on date night. Sitting with his brother, Cooper and Cooper’s wife, Eastlyn, Caleb could tell the newlyweds weren’t out of their honeymoon phase yet. His sister, Drea and her boyfriend, Tuck
er Ferguson, were almost as kissy-feely. If that wasn’t bad enough he had to watch Shelby and Landon—his parents and his employers—go at each other like a couple of teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.

  He wouldn’t have minded it so much if not for the fact that he was flying solo, had been for months now. He hadn’t gone out on a date since he broke up with Kara Bergstrom. The breakup had happened last spring. In his mind, eight months was too long to go without a female.

  The only bright spot to this entire night had been the interesting and lovely Hannah Summers. Watching the pretty waitress zip from table to table had been pure pleasure. In fact, watching her do most anything provided him the best entertainment of the evening.

  She had long legs that went with her graceful, five-nine height. Her model good looks came with Rita Hayworth hair that tumbled down to her shoulders. She walked with a seductive saunter that he was convinced could lure men to their fates if she put her mind to it. She had a way of sashaying through the throng, hips swaying, taking drink orders and delivering a brew with a smile and a flirty attitude. But it was those sexy eyes of hers, a wild shade somewhere between amber and bronze, that just sucked him right in every time she looked at him.

  He’d first bumped into the auburn-haired beauty in the grocery store. He’d never thought of the produce section at Murphy’s Market as a great place to meet women. But that day she’d been filling a bag with cotton candy grapes and testing the fruit’s sweetness. She’d looked sexy that day in a pair of little shorts and a cropped top, and every other day since.

  To Caleb, they’d exchanged more than pleasantries, more than attraction. There’d been a connection of sorts. Some type of deep, down soul-searing appeal that dug in and wouldn’t let him go. He couldn’t explain more than that. That’s why near checkout he’d asked her out for coffee. It wasn’t like a date or anything, but rather a simple “welcome to town” sort of thing among neighbors, a friendly gesture that clearly showed having a cup of coffee together was the first step to appreciating and accepting newcomers.

  It had been hardly his best pick up moment, albeit successful enough.

  That day, they’d spent thirty enjoyable minutes drinking lattes before he’d been called into work. Disappointed didn’t cover how he’d felt leaving her sitting alone in the booth at the diner. One thing he was sure of—during their brief encounter he’d been able to pick up on—something that didn’t quite mesh.

  Even though the woman seemed to exude an outward bubbly personality, he got the feeling it masked something else. In that half hour window, he’d had no problem spotting the guarded demeanor that usually went up around the same time he asked about her past. A simple get-to-know-you approach had a way of putting Hannah on edge. The cautious way she answered questions about herself only intrigued him more. Which made him want to dig deeper into that mystery she wore like a shroud.

  When she brought back his beer and the chips and salsa, he forced himself to bite back his interest. It wouldn’t do to come off too eager or too aggressive, not with a woman like this.

  “They’ve been keeping you busy tonight,” he heard himself say.

  “And then some,” she said with a polite smile. “The wings will be out soon. Because there’s such a huge crowd here tonight, the kitchen’s backed up with orders. Kirby has his hands full in there, so you may have to wait longer.” She held up the chips and salsa. “These should keep you from starving though. And with Thane’s offer, Durke’s having trouble keeping up now, too. But I promise to get everything out to you as soon as it’s ready.”

  “Take your time,” Caleb called out over the noisy chatter. “We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

  “She likes you,” Drea whispered to her brother once Hannah had gone on to the next table.

  Caleb rolled his eyes toward his sister. “She has a job that depends on tips which generally equates to friendliness and good service.”

  “BS,” Cooper chimed in. “You’ve been eyeing that woman all night. There’s interest in your eyes, brother.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s nice to look at,” Caleb returned, refusing to let Cooper get under his skin tonight. “I’m single and unattached. I can look all I want.”

  Cooper wrapped an arm around his wife. “Although I’m married I still know a hot body when I see one.”

  Eastlyn tugged on her hubby’s hair. “Just don’t go acting on that hot body,” she cautioned in a mock warning.

  Coop grinned and whispered something suggestive in his wife’s ear. But not low enough that Caleb couldn’t hear the evocative phrase.

  “Jeez, guys,” Caleb groaned. “Give me a break, get a room. The sooner the better. That goes for all of you. You’re all making me—”

  “Jealous?” Drea piped up.

  “No. More like sick to my stomach. I’d’ve been better off staying at home and watching one of the bowl games on TV.”

  “No, you wouldn’t have,” Landon chided. “Drea’s right. That woman likes you. You’d be crazy not to see it for yourself. You stay home on a night like tonight and you’d miss her checking you out.”

  “She’s not checking me out,” Caleb protested. Best not to admit he thought otherwise. And the idea made him almost giddy. He couldn’t blame it on the beer as he hadn’t had that much alcohol.

  As the night wore on, he simply ignored the gentle jibes from his family, waiting out the hour when he could leave and get home to some peace and quiet.

  Just before midnight Durke brought out the champagne and started popping corks. Hannah dutifully handed out little plastic flutes, circling the room with a tray laden down with glasses filled with bubbly.

  As the clock approached the midnight hour, the countdown began, and with it, Blue Skies tried out several rousing renditions of Auld Lang Syne, much to the delight of the crowd. Around the room, the choruses were boisterous as cheery toasts went up, hailing in the new year with more cocktails, which thrilled Hannah. More booze meant more tips.

  After the festivities began to wind down and the last drink had been poured, the throng began to thin out. By the one o’clock curfew there was only a handful of hearty souls left to shove out the door and send on their way. Durke wisely herded them out with instructions to depend on their designated drivers for a safe ride home. But many had already thought ahead. They’d walked there on foot and would get home the same way under their own power.

  Durke turned the lock on the door and leaned back, letting out a loud sigh. “What a night. I thought closing time would never get here.”

  Along with Geniece, Hannah dutifully began to bus tables, collecting the empties and clearing away glasses, piling her tray to the brim to cut down on trips back and forth to the kitchen.

  Hannah unloaded everything on the pass-through ledge leading into the kitchen near the bar sink. She turned to watch Durke near the cash register as he began counting out the day’s take.

  “Did you think it’d be this busy tonight?” she asked as she tossed paper napkins and other trash into the garbage bin.

  “Nobody warned me, that’s for sure. For such a small town, they showed up in hordes.”

  “Lucky you, lucky me. I must’ve made close to four hundred in tips tonight.”

  “Same here,” Geniece piped up with a grin. “A day at the spa, here I come.”

  Hannah sighed in ecstasy. “A spa sounds great. But right now, all I want is to get off my feet. That means tallying up what I owe to the house and get out of here. If my math is correct, that’s forty bucks to the house.”

  A tired Durke smiled. “You girls keep that. Both of you worked your tails off for it tonight. Besides, I decided when I bought this place that my waitresses wouldn’t have to pony up a share of their tips. Manning the bar allows people to leave me a few extra bucks in the tip jar. That’s enough for me.”

  Hannah grinned back at the affable boss. “And a break from the norm that I could learn to love. Although I don’t much care fo
r the little short skirts you make us wear.”

  “Thank the short skirt for the wad of cash in your hand,” Durke pointed out. “The fish net stockings are almost as effective.”

  Hannah didn’t want to get into a snit about the uncomfortable high heels that went with the nylons. “No doubt that’s probably true, but I’m too tired to debate the issue. Thanks for letting me keep it all. You’re a good soul, Durke. I’m happy to work for you any time you need me.”

  “You were a lifesaver, Hannah. Thanks for filling in for Darla. I know you weren’t scheduled tonight. I appreciate you dropping whatever you had planned and coming in here like you did at the last minute.”

  “Not a problem. My plan was to heat up a frozen entrée in my little microwave and watch reruns of Fraser until I fell asleep.”

  Geniece shook her head. “That is just sad, girl. I wanted to kick up my heels tonight and got stuck here instead.”

  Hannah tried to remember the last time she’d “kicked up her heels” and couldn’t. “Doesn’t matter to me. You let me know whenever Darla calls in with a sick baby. I can usually sub on any given night.” She held up her wad of cash before pocketing the roll. “And I can always use the money. Any time you need an extra pair of hands around here, give me a call. Want me to stay and help you clean up?”

  “Nah, I’ve got this. You girls get out of here. Go.”

  Hannah didn’t have to be told twice. But she did stop in mid-stride on her way to retrieve her jacket. “Did you get an update from Thane yet? About the baby…?”

  “Sure did. The new doc delivered a baby boy a few minutes after midnight.”

  “They pick out a name yet?”

  Durke scratched the side of his face where a stubble grew dark. “Jace, I think. It seems they had to scramble for a name because they were expecting it to be a girl. You go on home now, Hannah. Get off your feet.”