2 Mayhem in Christmas River

by Meg Muldoon

I stood in the kitchen, making us up another round of sangria. I could hear their voices drifting inside from the back deck. They were laughing hard about something.

  Not that I didn’t want them to. I had no right to have a dinner for one of Daniel’s old friends and not expect that they’d talk about the good old days. In fact, I knew that sometimes with old friends, the past was all you could really talk about because most of the time, your lives had drifted so far apart you didn’t have much left in common.

  But there was something in their conversation that I didn’t quite like. And it wasn’t only because I was feeling left out.

  Stephanie was the picture of niceness, and I felt guilty for having the thoughts I was having.

  But maybe that was just it. She was too nice.

  And if I was being honest, I didn’t like the way she’d been looking at Daniel all night.

  I’d never considered myself to be the jealous type. But maybe I’d been fooling myself all these years. Maybe that was exactly what I was.

  Or maybe Daniel just brought it out in me.

  I chopped up some more oranges and lemons, threw in a few more grapes, and crushed the fruit with the back of a wooden spoon. I added more red wine, orange juice, and more vodka than I probably should have.

  I was going to need it.

  I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself before I went out there again.

  He wouldn’t do that to you I told myself. You’re just being foolish.

  Daniel is not Evan.

  I grabbed the pitcher and carried it through the sliding glass door out onto the deck where the two of them were sitting. I had invited Warren along, but he was over at Larry’s house for a beer brewing night. Besides, this dinner party wasn’t exactly his kind of scene.

  I walked out, my flip-flops slapping the wooden deck. I placed the sangria on the table in front of them.

  Daniel was leaning back in a chair. Stephanie was dressed nicely in a white tank top and gold hoop earrings that brought out her aqua blue eyes.

  “That guy was such a loser,” she was saying while laughing. “I can’t believe he lasted on the force that long.”

  “They shouldn’t have let him on in the first place,” Daniel said. “Could have saved us all a lot of trouble.”

  “Oh thank goodness, Cinnamon,” she said, looking over at me. “I just had to have another glass of that sangria. You’ll have to give me the recipe sometime.”

  I refilled her glass.

  “It is good, Cin,” Daniel said. “Kind of dangerous, though. It sneaks up on you when you’re not looking.”

  “And that’s just how I like my drinks,” Stephanie said, winking.

  “I remember,” Daniel said.

  My stomach tightened and I started to grind my teeth. But I stopped when I realized what I was doing.

  It was little quips like that that set me on edge.

  But I tried to let it go as best I could. I tried to refill Daniel’s glass, but he said he was good. I refilled mine, giving myself a little more than Stephanie. I had a feeling I would need it.

  “I hope we’re not boring you with our conversation,” Stephanie said. “We’ll stop talking about the old days from now on.”

  “No, no, no,” I said, trying to sound graceful and at ease, the way a good hostess should. “Don’t let me stop you. In fact, I want to hear what Daniel was like back then.”

  I pulled on an apron and started up the grill.

  It was good that I was making dinner. The more I could focus my mind on something else other than the sparks flying between Stephanie and Daniel, the better I’d be able to get through the night.

  “Let’s not talk about that, please,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “Not while I’m right here.”

  “Dan Brightman, are you being bashful?” Stephanie said.

  I stabbed one of the raw pieces of steak that I’d set aside on a plate with a prong and threw it on the grill.

  “That’s not how I’d describe it,” Daniel said. “Bashful isn’t in my vocabulary. It’s just that I’m not that much different now than I was then.”

  That sent Stephanie into a fit of laughter.

  She clapped her hands and looked over at me.

  “You know when I first met Dan at a department function, I thought he was the rudest, most troubled man I’d ever met,” Stephanie said. “He hardly said a word and just stood in the corner brooding all night.”

  I turned back to look at them.

  “Really?” I said, raising my eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like the Daniel I know at all.”

  “She’s exaggerating,” he said, looking at me. “She’s well-known for doing that.”

  “Sure, but that doesn’t make it any less true, Dan. You used to be one moody guy,” she said. “Cinnamon, I don’t know what kind of magic you’ve worked, but he seems to have lost all his hard edges.”

  She poked him hard in the arm.

  “Hey,” he said, rubbing his shoulder.

  “See what I mean? He’s gone all soft.”

  I turned back around, placing the rest of the meat on the grill and then covered it while it sizzled. I took a seat at the table.

  “I wouldn’t say I’ve lost all my hard edges,” Daniel said.

  “All I’m saying is that you seem like a changed man,” Stephanie said. “I always knew you had a tender side buried somewhere deep down. I’m glad to see that you’re letting it shine a little more these days.”

  She suddenly appeared to be lost in Daniel’s eyes, giving him a wishful, nostalgic look that made me squirm in my chair.

  The worst part of it was that Daniel didn’t seem to want to break Stephanie’s stare.

  But he suddenly noticed me looking at him and his eyes went downwards, and he cleared his throat.

  I took a long swig of my sangria, as if that would wash away the image I’d just seen.

  “So, uh, Stephanie. How long do you think you’ll be in town for?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m not sure,” she said, taking a long sip from her glass. “Not too much longer I hope.”

  “Who are you looking for here?” I asked. “Daniel hasn’t told me yet.”

  She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and then rubbed her neck.

  “Well, it’s kind of complicated,” she started.

  “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Daniel said.

  “No, no. It’s fine. I just don’t want to ruin a lovely dinner.”

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t be,” I said.

  She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, even though the sun had already left the back deck.

  “I’m looking for my brother,” she said. “He kind of went AWOL a few months ago. My mom and I have been looking for him ever since. Dan’s been good enough to help me with the search.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

  She sighed and then looked from Daniel to me.

  “Well, he’s always been the kind who marches to the beat of his own drum,” she said. “He’s always been that way. But this past winter, he just took off without telling my mom or me anything about it. Then he stopped calling us. The only way we knew he wasn’t lying in a ditch somewhere were these postcards he’d send us from all the places he visited.

  But those postcards stopped coming a few months ago. And we haven’t been able to get the police to do much about a missing person’s report. I mean, we don’t even know for sure if he’s still in Oregon.”

  “That’s terrible,” I said.

  She played with the napkin in front of her.

  “My mom’s in hysterics. I finally decided I’d come here and see what I could do about it. The last postcard we got was out of Christmas River here. I was just lucky that it so happened to be Dan’s hometown, too.”

  “There’s not a way to track him by his phone or something?” I asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Like I said, he just
marches to a different tune. He’s never liked cell phones. He doesn’t even have a Facebook account. But he’s a good guy. I mean, we haven’t had it easy growing up. Our dad left when Nick was only seven. He had a rough time during adolescence. But he turned out okay.”

  She trailed off as her words became thick with emotion. She took a deep breath.

  “It’s been really hard not knowing where he is all this time. I’m so scared of what I’ll find out.”

  I got up to take the steaks off the grill. I turned off the barbecue, and then I refilled her glass with more sangria.

  “Hey, thanks,” she said, wiping her nose.

  I felt bad for her. I couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through in these past few months.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said. “I hope you find him soon. If there’s anything I can do, like put up posters in my shop or around town or something, just let me know.”

  She nodded.

  “That would be really nice of you,” she said. “I’ll stop by tomorrow with some flyers if that’d be all right.”

  “Of course,” I said.

  She took a sip of the sangria and then let out a long sigh.

  “See? I told you I was going to ruin dinner,” she said. “Let’s change the subject. Dan, tell me what’s it like being back in your old hometown.”

  She forced a smile and looked at him.

  Daniel started talking about the old house and his job at the sheriff’s office, doing his best to lighten up the conversation. I placed the steaks on three plates and went inside to get the Caprese salad that was sitting in the fridge.

  When I came out, Daniel was still talking.

  But Stephanie’s hand was now resting lightly on his arm rest, her fingers touching his forearm.

  I bit my lip.

  I felt for Stephanie. I truly did.

  But I had a gut feeling about her.

  She may have come to Christmas River to find her brother.

  But maybe she had found another reason to stick around.

  Chapter 33

  “You are one incredible lady,” Stephanie said. “I can see why Dan’s so smitten.”

  She hugged me and held onto me a little too long for comfort.

  Her breath smelled full-blown boozy. She pulled away and in the muted light from the porch lamp, I could see that her eyes were glazed over and matted.

  The sun had gone down a while ago and a large bright moon had taken its place. A hot wind was rustling through the trees. They convulsed and quivered violently when a gust hit their out-stretched branches.

  The night had a wildness about it. It was out of control in some way. Maybe it was the full moon. People were always crazier during a full moon.

  Maybe that’s why dinner had been so uncomfortable.

  We’d talked about Stephanie’s job at a public relations firm, my shop, and Daniel’s chances at becoming sheriff this fall. The conversation was pleasant enough. But Stephanie had had a lot to drink, and as the night wore on, she made less of an effort to hide her feelings toward Daniel. And every time she called him Dan, my jaw clenched.

  Toward the end of the night, it became clear that there was no way she was driving back to her hotel in her condition.

  I offered for her to spend the night at my house, but she said she didn’t want to put me out.

  “I’ll drive you,” Daniel volunteered.

  She didn’t try and talk him out of it.

  She’d probably been secretly hoping he’d step up.

  “Thank you for a wonderful evening,” she said as she stood up from the table. “I really needed a night like this, you know? I’ve been so stressed lately.”

  “It’s been a pleasure having you here,” I lied.

  We went inside. Stephanie stepped into the bathroom before leaving.

  Daniel wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

  “Thanks for making dinner. The steaks were perfect. I can tell Steph had a really good time,” he said. “Maybe a little too good of a time.”

  He laughed.

  “It’s good you’re driving her,” I said.

  “I think she liked your sangria a whole lot,” he said.

  We walked to the front door. It felt good to have his arm around me.

  “So… do you want to come back after you drop her off?” I asked. “Warren’s going to be playing poker all night at Larry’s. You know how he gets when he’s on a winning streak. I’m just going to be here by my lonesome.”

  I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows.

  But I knew by his expression what the answer was.

  “I don’t know if I should,” he said, looking away.

  “Really?”

  He shifted his feet.

  “I just need some time to think about the arson cases. Just some quiet to clear my head. Things have been so cluttered lately.”

  My heart sank.

  He’d never needed time away from me like that before.

  I tried not to let him see the disappointment in my eyes, but I was no good at hiding it.

  “I don’t know if I’ve just been in the woods too long, but I feel rusty. Like I’ve lost my touch with this case. Things aren’t moving like they should be. I’ve got all these numbers, but they don’t add up. But I know if I can put them in the right order, they will.”

  “You don’t want to talk it through with me?” I asked.

  I suddenly remembered the conversation I had earlier with Kara about Craig Canby. I hadn’t told Daniel about it yet.

  “I had something related to the case that I wanted to tell you anyway,” I said.

  “If it isn’t anything urgent, maybe we can talk about it in the morning,” he said. “Plus, maybe you need some time to think about things yourself tonight.”

  The last remark cut me for some reason. He hadn’t said it maliciously, but it felt that way somehow.

  I heard the hinges of the bathroom door squeak as Stephanie came out. She wasn’t full on stumbling, but she wasn’t exactly walking a straight line either.

  “Well, Dan, is the carriage ready and waiting?”

  I wanted to roll my eyes at that one.

  “It’s ready when you are,” Daniel said, looking over at me a little sheepishly.

  I guess he thought that sounded pretty stupid too.

  “Thanks again for a lovely time, Cinnamon,” she said.

  “Anytime,” I said.

  I didn’t really mean that.

  I opened the door for her, and she walked out. Daniel leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

  “I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” he said.

  “Okay,” I said. “Try to get some decent sleep.”

  I watched him walk down the steps and down the driveway, catching up with Stephanie. She leaned on him for support as he opened the door of his truck for her.

  I waved goodbye and watched them pull away down the street.

  I rubbed my arms, trying to rid them of goose bumps.

  As Daniel’s truck disappeared, I had the oddest feeling. Like him and Stephanie were the couple, and I had just been a friend having them over for dinner.

  And there was one other thing bugging me.

  Daniel hadn’t told me he loved me. The way he usually did when we parted.

  He just had said he’d call in the morning.

  I stood out on the front porch a long time before going back inside the house.

  “Trust,” I whispered, letting the wind take my voice off into the woods. “Just trust him.”

  But that was easier said than done.

  I had a lot of trouble falling asleep that night. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Stephanie had rested her fingers on his arm.

  And the fact that I didn’t know for sure whether or not Daniel was at his house tonight.

  I just couldn’t be 100 percent sure about anything.

  Chapter 34

  In my entire life, I’d only dreamt about my father three time
s.

  And that night, he came out of nowhere, making it four.

  We were in our old backyard, in the house I lived in until I was 13 years old

  It was summer. A stand of feathery aspen trees danced in the soft breeze, their bright green-apple leaves electric in the late afternoon sun.

  I was only eight years old.

  “Hey, kid. Catch!”

  I looked up from the book I was reading, finding a white, stitched softball flying at me.

  I caught it just in time.

  I looked up. He was smiling. One of the few times I ever remember him smiling.

  He looked dirty and disheveled, the way he usually did when he came back from his job. But he was happy today, the way he usually wasn’t after coming back home from the mill.

  I remember back then, it was like my whole world revolved around him. When he was upset, I felt upset. When he’d come home and get in fights with my mom, I’d feel horrible.

  But on the few occasions that he came home and he was happy, my whole world lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “I thought I could teach you how to play,” he said, holding out a small, child-sized plastic bat.

  My facial muscles almost snapped with joy.

  “Really, dad?” I asked. “You mean it?”

  “Sure, champ,” he said. “You’ve gotta learn if you want to play softball in the fall.”

  I got up, my eight-year-old heart beaming with happiness.

  We threw the ball back and forth as the sun sank low in the sky. He taught me how to grip the ball right and how to swing the bat. He talked a lot about major league baseball and the Pittsburg Pirates. He told me what an RBI was, and that The Phillies were our sworn enemies.

  He laughed and we joked, and at the end of the night when I hit the softball over our fence into the neighbor’s yard, he picked me up and spun me around like we’d just won the World Series.

  “You’re a born winner,” he said, raising me up. “I always knew you were.”

  Then it was my bedtime. He helped me get ready, tucked me in, and even read to me as I dozed off.

  “Tomorrow’s a brand new day,” he whispered to me right before I fell asleep.

  He closed the door.

  A few hours later I woke up to the sound of my mother and him arguing. Something loud crashed into the living room floor, and then there was more shouting.