Murder Under the Mistletoe

by Terri Reed

  The thought of Liv’s extravagant tastes sent a shudder through Heather. “There’s something we need to talk about,” Heather blurted. She didn’t want to burden Liv with the sad state of the farm’s finances, but she also didn’t want Liv spending money when she may need to be saving it for herself.

  Liv halted and spun around, sending her loose blond hair swirling. Cocking her head, she blinked at Heather. “Can it wait?”

  Heather chewed the inside of her lip. Guilt ate at her for not being able to spit out what she needed to say.

  “You can do this.” Tyler leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “She’s an adult. She can handle it.”

  Freaked out by the fact that he could tell what she was thinking, she slanted him a glance. He arched an eyebrow. Okay. Shaking off his uncanny ability to read her mind, Heather walked back down the stairs and gathered Liv’s free hand in hers. “I don’t want you spending your money on the farm.”

  A crease appeared between Liv’s eyebrows. She opened her mouth to undoubtedly protest, but Heather rushed on to say, “Seth wasn’t managing the farm’s money well. He used the farm’s income that should have been for paying bills to buy personal items.”

  At least Seth had been responsible enough to make payroll. Heather hadn’t taken a salary from the farm, since she had no part in running the business. She’d assumed it would be her retirement nest egg.

  Liv convulsed as if Heather had sent a bolt of electricity through her. “What are you saying?”

  Though Heather had to get the issue out into the open, she still cringed as she explained. “Seth used funds that weren’t his to buy your car. And the down payment on the town house...”

  For a moment Heather feared Liv would either pass out or get sick. Her eyes went wide, her jaw dropped open.

  Liv lifted their joined hands. Her diamond ring glinted in the sunlight. “This, too?”

  With everything in her, Heather wanted to say no and let Liv keep the memento of Seth’s love, but she couldn’t lie to her. “I’m afraid so.”

  Liv pulled free of Heather’s hand and slipped the ring off her finger. She handed the gold-and-diamond engagement ring to Heather. Her hand shook; her face paled. “Here. I can’t do anything about the car or the town house right now, but next week...”

  Tears burned the backs of Heather’s eyes. She hated hurting Liv like this. But this was Seth’s fault. A simmering anger boiled inside. “That will be soon enough.” She held the ring out. “If you want to wear this until next week, you can.”

  Liv’s sad smile wobbled. “No. I would have to take it off eventually. Might as well be today.” With a small cry of distress, she hurried to where she’d parked her new luxury sedan and drove away.

  Heather clutched the ring in her hand and pressed her fist against her heart. “Oh, Seth. You hurt so many people.”

  Sensing Tyler behind her, she didn’t resist when he put his arms around her and pulled her close. She needed his strength at the moment. Her throat worked, but she couldn’t thank him.

  Slowly, he turned her to face him. With his hands on her shoulders, he dipped his head to meet her gaze. “You did the right thing by telling her.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

  He rubbed her arms. “We have a Thanksgiving feast to get ready.”

  She appreciated his attempt to distract her. “Yes. We do.” She stepped back and regained her composure. “I’m going to wake Colin and get him ready.” She slipped the ring in her pocket. “Then we’ll have to grab tables and chairs out of the barn’s attic.”

  A loud explosion rent the air. The earth shook.

  Startled, Heather jumped and collided with Tyler. He held her tightly against him. She grabbed his arm as an anchor as her mind tried to make sense of what was happening. A black plume of smoke billowed from behind the building that housed the farm’s machinery.

  Stricken, she met Tyler’s gaze. “Oh, no! The propane tank!”

  Flames shot toward the sky. Even though the wave of heat made sweat break out on her brow, the dawning horror sweeping through her froze her blood. “There are gas tanks inside the building. If the fire reaches it—”

  She broke free of Tyler’s arms and ran toward the fire.

  Tyler caught her about the waist and hauled her off her feet. “No.” He swung around to face the house and carried her to the porch.

  Beating at his arms, she cried, “We have to move the equipment out.”

  “Someone will.” He set her down but kept a firm hand on her arm. “But not you.”

  His cell phone buzzed. He yanked it from his pants pocket. “Yeah?...I see it. I’ll call nine-one-one. Heather says there are gas tanks inside the building...Roger that.” He clicked off, then dialed the emergency number and quickly explained the situation. When he hung up, he turned his grim gaze on Heather. “Blake and Nathanial will do what they can to keep the fire contained until the fire department arrives.”

  “This wasn’t an accident, was it?”

  “I seriously doubt it.”

  Her hands fisted. “We should help them.”

  “It’s too dangerous. I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you or Colin, and I mean to keep that promise.”

  She shook her head. “But you can’t make that kind of promise.” Her gaze went to the rising black smoke. “Bad things happen despite how much we pray and hope they won’t.” Tears blurred her vision. “Ken promised he’d come home, but he couldn’t have predicted his helicopter would crash.” She turned her gaze to Tyler. “Any more than you can guarantee whoever is trying to hurt the farm, hurt me, won’t succeed. Life is random. Unpredictable. And scary.”

  Taking her in his arms, he held her close. His heart beat a frantic tune in her ear. “You’re right. I can’t anticipate every scenario, control every moment, but I can promise I will do everything humanly possible to keep you and Colin safe. The rest I have to trust to God.”

  His words reverberated through her. Trusting God. She did. But yet there was a small part of her that held back. Anger reared up, demanding to be acknowledged. “I’m so mad. Mad at Seth. Mad at the person doing this. Mad at God.”

  But not Tyler. She’d let go of her initial anger at him for using Seth because ultimately the responsibility of all this lay on Seth. And he’d paid a steep price for his actions.

  Tyler pulled back to look into her face. “It’s okay to be mad, but your feelings shouldn’t dictate your trust of God. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His love and faithfulness never changes.”

  She really wanted to believe him. But at the moment it felt as though God were far away.

  Behind her, the front door opened and Colin raced out to latch onto her leg. “Mommy? What’s happening?”

  She disentangled herself from Tyler and bent to pick up Colin. “Something caught on fire.”

  As her employees raced to help, she did a mental head count to make sure everyone was accounted for. Thankfully everyone was.

  It seemed like an eternity before the distinct sound of a fire engine approaching drew her attention. “Hurry, hurry,” she muttered.

  Colin pointed toward the drive. “Look, a fire truck.”

  Hugging her son close, Heather was grateful Colin was more interested in the truck than the fire.

  The three of them watched the six firemen disappear behind the building to extinguish the flames. Colin was awed by the whole process. Heather had to admit she was pretty wowed, as well. She had no idea they used foam to put out this kind of gas fire. She’d never seen firefighters in action in real life. While some of the firemen worked at extinguishing the propane fire, others hosed down the outside wall of the machinery building with water to keep the building cool so there’d be no secondary fires. When the fire was finall
y out, Heather, Tyler and Colin thanked the firemen. The captain even let Colin climb inside the truck and sit behind the wheel.

  Blake and Nathanial joined Tyler and Heather. Both men were covered with soot, their faces streaked with black ashes.

  “The fire investigator will be here later to take a look at the scene,” the captain told them. His curious gaze landed on Blake and Nathanial. “You two did a good job of isolating the flames.”

  The two men looked almost embarrassed. Heather hid a grin. She was thankful she could smile now that the catastrophe had been averted. Though the air still reeked of the residual propane that had burned and smoke created a haze that she hoped would dissipate by tomorrow when they opened for business. Fortunately, the Christmas Village was on the far side of the property and was accessed by a different entrance.

  “Captain, would you and your men like to stay for Thanksgiving dinner?”

  “That’s kind of you to offer, Mrs. Randall, but we’re set with our own feast waiting back at the station house,” he replied, then plopped his hat on his head. “Happy Thanksgiving.” He held up a finger and made a circular motion. “Let’s round up and hit the road.”

  The six firefighters climbed aboard the truck and waved as the red engine backed out of the driveway and then drove away, back to Bonners Ferry.

  As soon as the truck was out of sight, Heather looked at Blake and Nathanial. “Thank you both for...everything.”

  “Just doing our job,” Blake stated with a cryptic look at Tyler.

  Nathanial flashed a grin. “We weren’t going to let a fire ruin our feast.”

  “Speaking of which,” Heather said. “I can take it from here. You need to clean up and meet back here at two. We’ll eat at three.”

  Blake gave a single nod before turning on his work boot heel and striding away.

  Nathanial shook his head at his coworker’s retreating back. “He’s not one for too many words.” He smiled again at Heather. “We’ll be back to help set up.” He saluted Tyler, then jogged away to catch up to Blake.

  Heather caught Tyler’s gaze. “I don’t know what I would have done if you and your team hadn’t shown up when you did.”

  For that she would thank God every day. Even when Tyler left, she’d know she’d been changed by his presence. For the better.

  * * *

  Tyler was so proud of the way Heather managed to keep a positive attitude as she tirelessly served the twelve men in her employ who didn’t have family in the area to go to for the holiday meal. Ernesto wasn’t among them. Nor did he recognize the face of the man he’d wrestled with last night. The one wearing the ring Tyler’s face had become well acquainted with.

  They’d set up another long table connecting end to end with the farmhouse’s dining room table. The turkey was moist and delicious, the side dishes mouthwatering and the pumpkin pie sweet. After the excitement of the fire, which Liv seemed convinced was a terrible accident, everyone, including Blake, Nathanial and Liv, seemed to be having a good time. Conversations and banter filled the house. Colin couldn’t sit still. He bounced from person to person, retelling how the firefighters had put out the flames and declaring he wanted to be a firefighter when he grew up.

  Sitting back, watching the festivities, Tyler knew a contentment he’d never experienced before. To be a part of a family-type gathering was something new for him. Oh, his grandparents had tried to make the few holidays he’d been able to spend with them homey, but it hadn’t been like this, noisy and festive and full of cheer. His grandparents had been somber people with quiet voices, but they had been filled with love for each other. And love for Tyler.

  As an adult he always volunteered for an assignment on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Better to let those with families have the time off. He’d never minded missing out on something he never had to begin with. But he was glad that today he hadn’t had to miss out. This could be his one and only opportunity to experience a real family-style Thanksgiving feast with people he would like to call friends.

  That was, if he weren’t so aware that besides his team members, Heather, Liv and Colin, any one of the others could be involved in murder and part of a drug ring. Kind of put a damper on things. But for the moment, Heather and Colin were safe and clearly enjoying themselves. He’d take it. As a memory to cherish.

  Colin climbed onto Tyler’s lap. “Mr. Tyler, what are you thankful for?”

  Tyler tweaked the boy’s nose. “I’m thankful for Christmas trees.”

  A big grin spread over Colin’s face. “Me, too!” He rubbed his hands together. “I can’t wait for Christmas.”

  “Hear, hear,” someone said.

  Tyler met Heather’s gaze over the top of Colin’s head. The gentle affection in her eyes and the small pleased smile playing at the corner of her mouth hit him like a ton of bricks. Momentarily stunned, he realized the war within himself to keep his defenses from crumbling was in full battle mode. Uneasy concern slipped into his psyche like a sliver festering beneath a fingernail. Yet he found he didn’t want to fight it. He wanted to embrace this new and wonderful occurrence.

  Blake scooted his chair away from the table and cleared his throat. Tyler’s focus snapped to him. Blake jerked his head toward the door before he left the table and exited the room.

  Nathanial scooped up a roll and popped it into his mouth before following Blake.

  Tyler sighed, reining in the wayward emotions that would only lead down a path he really had no business traveling. The fun and games were over. Time for Blake to leave with the truck full of trees stashed with cocaine.

  Setting Colin back on the floor, Tyler ruffled the boy’s hair. “Gotta see Blake off.”

  Heather came over and took Colin’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Time to start cleaning up.”

  At her cue, the men rose, clearing their plates and the serving dishes from the tables.

  “Colin, let’s wash the dishes together,” Liv called from the doorway to the kitchen.

  Heather let go of his hand. Colin ran to help Liv.

  “He’s a great kid,” Tyler told her as they moved to the entryway. “You’ve done such a good job with him.”

  She beamed. “He is great.” Her smile dimmed, and she lowered her voice. “So it begins?”

  He knew she referred to the sting operation that the IBETs were orchestrating on the tree farm in Canada that would be receiving the illegal drugs. That was if the trees cleared customs. Seeing how well they’d hidden the drugs and concealed the scent, Tyler didn’t doubt the truck would be waved through this time. But after that, never again. The IBETs director would make sure every border crossing was aware of the sneaky way the drugs were being smuggled.

  Rob hobbled over to join them. “It’s fortuitous of your friend to have family up north. I appreciate him volunteering to drive the truck across the border.”

  Wary of Rob’s intentions, Tyler shrugged. “Yes, it is.”

  “Is it his parents that live near Calgary?”

  Remembering the cover story they’d devised, Tyler shook his head. “No. Cousins.”

  Rob raised his eyebrows. “Ah, right.”

  “Rob, would you mind going over tomorrow’s schedule with me one more time?” Heather asked, drawing the older man’s attention away from Tyler.

  Bless her. Tyler would have to thank her later for giving him the perfect opportunity to slip out the door.

  Blake and Nathanial were waiting at the edge of the driveway.

  “Everything is in place,” Blake said. “Border Patrol agent Jeff Steele is meeting me at the Eastport–Kingsgate crossing.”

  “Good.” Tyler liked Steele. He was a stand-up guy. They’d worked together on a few assignments. Though Tyler hadn’t been on the assignment where Steele had met his wife, Dr. Tessa Cleary, Tyler had met the redheaded fish biologist at t
heir wedding. He’d liked her. And Tyler had to admit he’d been slightly envious.

  The thought of having someone to spend the rest of his life with tied Tyler up in knots. An image of Heather danced through his mind, and his mouth went dry. The battle he’d been fighting seemed to lean toward disaster. He was in real jeopardy of falling hard for this woman.

  He gave himself a mental shake to dislodge the image. Not meant for him. What did he have to offer Heather and Colin? Nothing. With determination, he told himself to stop longing for what would never be and put his mind on the job that needed to be finished.

  ELEVEN

  After the Thanksgiving dishes were cleaned and put away, and the guests had dispersed, Heather took a moment to sit down on the couch with Colin tucked beside her in the same position she’d seen Tyler with Colin earlier.

  Seeing them together had brought an ache of loss for all that Ken had missed and for Colin not knowing his father. And for what couldn’t be with Tyler.

  He’d made it clear he wanted no part of being a family. He’d made the statement he wasn’t father material, but he was so wrong. He related well to Colin, playing with and teasing her son. Encouraging him on his trike and being content to sit with Colin watching a kids’ show. Tyler would be an excellent father.

  She wished she could tell him that, but she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t make his eventual leaving any more difficult by pointing out that he wasn’t being honest with himself. That denying his own abilities and worth was keeping him from potentially finding the beauty of a family. Of love.

  Not that she’d fallen for him.

  Okay, maybe a bit, if she was honest with herself. But she couldn’t let affection for him make her vulnerable to hurt, not if she hoped to survive his leaving.

  Liv came into the room carrying a mug. “I made you a cup of tea.”

  “Thank you.” Heather accepted the cup and wrapped her hands around it, letting the heat warm her. The calming scent of chamomile rose with the steam. She took a sip, warm but not too hot to drink. It felt good going down, but after a bit she realized the tea didn’t agree with her tummy.