Chapter Seven
“Nat! Nat!” Terry raced in the front door, lower lip trembling, eyes swimming with tears. “My hat! I lost my Pilgrim hat.” He bounced from foot to foot, his hands flailing helplessly. “I can’t find it.” Tears slipped down his cheeks, dripping off his chin. “I thought it was in the car, but it’s not, and I can’t be in the parade without a hat.”
“Shh, baby, shh.” Nat hurried to him, going down on her knees and enfolding him in a hug. He looked utterly adorable in his brown muslin pants and shirt with the large collar, big black buttons and shiny black belt. His dark hair was tousled even though she’d combed it less than fifteen minutes ago. “We’ll find it, sweetheart. Don’t cry.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead, then wiped his tears with a tissue. “Now tell me, where did you see it last?”
Wiping his drippy nose with his arm, Terry sniffled, then hiccuped. “Dunno.” He scratched his head. “I think Ditka and Ruth were playing with it while we was eating breakfast.”
Natalie wanted to groan. She should have made an extra hat just for the blasted dogs, she thought. One or the other of them had been trying to snatch the boys’ hats since the day she’d started making them. Something about the large, pointed things apparently fascinated the two dumb mutts.
“Okay, honey, where were Ditka and Ruth playing with it last?”
Terry shifted from foot to foot, scowling as he thought. “When we was eating breakfast, I think they took it out of my bedroom, but Grandpop took it away from them and brought it back.” He shrugged his slender shoulders. “And then I thought I took it to the car, but it’s not there.” His eyes swam with tears again. “And now I’m not gonna be in the parade,” he blubbered, throwing himself against her and wrapping his skinny arms around her neck.
“Shh, baby, don’t cry.” Hugging him, she patted his back. “You’re going to be in the parade. We’ll find your hat, I promise.” Natalie glanced at her watch. They were due at the parade staging area in less than twenty minutes, and she still had to pack up the juice boxes and snacks she’d bought for the boys, since they wouldn’t be having dinner until later in the afternoon. She’d put the turkey in the oven just a few moments ago and crossed it off her to-do list, but there was still a mountain of things to do—foods to prepare and a table to set.
Jared and Tommy had pitched in as much as possible, but they were basically useless in the kitchen. Besides, she was enjoying preparing this, the first holiday dinner she’d spent with family in many years.
While she was at the parade with Tommy and the boys, Jared was going to the airport to pick up his brother Jake.
Ignoring her own panic at all the tasks left undone, she drew another tissue out of her jeans pocket to wipe Terry’s tears. “Now, tell you what.” Smiling, she glanced around him out the open front door. “Is Timmy in the car?”
He nodded. “Grandpop’s with him.”
“Okay, you go on out to the car and ask Grandpop and Timmy to help you look out back, in the doghouse and your playhouse, to see if those fool dogs took it there, okay? And I’ll search inside the house.” She smiled encouragingly. “Okay?”
He nodded, wiping his eyes again. “Okay.”
She held the tissue to his drippy nose. “Now blow.” He did, thoroughly and noisily, making her laugh. “You sound like a goose, you silly goose.” She tickled his belly until he giggled, tears forgotten. “Now go see if you can find your hat.” She turned him around and gave him an affectionate pat on the behind. “I’ll check around in here.”
He raced toward the door, then skidded to a halt to turn back with a worried look.
“Nat?”
“Yes, honey?”
“You’re not gonna be mad at the fool dogs, are you?” He looked so concerned, she laughed again.
“No, sweetheart. I’m not going to be mad at them.”
“Cool.” Grinning, he raced out the door.
With a sigh, Natalie stood, mentally organizing all the things she had to do in just a few moments. She went back into the kitchen and quickly pulled the snacks together, setting them on the table to pack. She was just reaching for the box of graham crackers in the pantry when the phone rang. Absently, she reached for the receiver, her gaze scanning the kitchen for Terry’s hat, making a mental note to pull out the frozen topping from the freezer or they’d have no holiday dessert.
“Ryan residence,” she said, juggling the phone with her shoulder while closing her fingers on the box of crackers.
“Hello, Natalie. It’s been a long time.”
Everything inside of her froze and the box of crackers slid from her fingers, bouncing to the floor.
“Raymond.” Her voice was a hoarse, terrified whisper and her heart seemed to stop for a moment in sheer, unadulterated terror.
“You never did listen very well, now did you, Natalie?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the panic that slid over her like an insidious snake. Her gaze went to the front door and beyond, to where she knew the boys were.
The boys!
If Raymond knew where she was, then that meant he knew where the boys were.
Oh God!
Her fingers clutched the telephone receiver until her knuckles turned white.
“W-what do you want?” She closed her eyes, forcing herself to concentrate. She couldn’t fall apart now; she had to find out what he wanted, and more importantly, how much he knew. Although her hands were shaking, she forced herself to calm down and take a deep breath.
“I thought you understood what I wanted, Natalie. But apparently I was wrong.” There was a long pause that caused cold fear to trickle down her spine. “So tell me, how are our children?”
The tone of his voice, the mere fact that he’d even mentioned the boys, infuriated her, snuffing out some of the fear, replacing it with a white-hot fury.
“Listen to me, Raymond,” she fairly hissed, her vision hazed by a protective maternal fury so strong it nearly overwhelmed her. “If you come near my boys again, if you ever try to contact them, if you ever do anything to hurt them, I swear I’ll—”
“You’ll what, Natalie?” He laughed, and the sound sent wicked shivers racing through her. He was mad, truly mad. “You disobeyed me once, remember? You refused to ask your father to drop the charges against me, and do you remember what happened?”
Oh God! Feeling suddenly weak, she almost sank to her knees. She remembered all too well. He’d stolen her children. Her breath hitched, coming in short gasps as she tried to fill her aching lungs with air.
“I thought you’d be reasonable, use your influence with your father to get him to drop the charges against me, but you wouldn’t, would you, Natalie? No, pure little Natalie couldn’t lower herself to go to her father and ask him to do this one little thing for her—”
“You embezzled over two million dollars from my father,” she yelled, tears clogging her throat.
“In retrospect, a mere pittance compared to the value of our children, don’t you think?”
“They’re not your children,” she snapped fiercely, pressing a hand to her forehead. A deep, aching throb had started just above her eyes. “And I’m warning you, you’d better stay away from them, Raymond.”
“Warning me?” He laughed again, the sound a bit more hysterical and desperate, terrifying her even more. “Natalie, you’re in no position to be warning me about anything. Gotta go, Nat. I’ll be seeing you. And the boys,” he added in a hideous whisper just before the phone went dead.
Frozen in terror, Natalie stood there a moment, unable to move. What she’d feared for so long had now come true.
Oh God, what was she going to do?
Pressing her fists to her eyes, Natalie struggled to control her panic. She couldn’t fall apart now; she simply couldn’t. She had to think!
She had to protect the boys. This time she would take no chances, nor would she underestimate Raymond.
“Lassie, are you all right?” Tommy stood in the open door
way, looking at her with a curiously concerned expression.
Struggling to contain her emotions, Natalie took a deep breath, hung up the phone and picked up the box of crackers she’d dropped. “I’m fine, Tommy,” she said, turning to him and praying he wouldn’t be able to see her fear. “Just dropped the crackers.” She set them on the table with the rest of the snacks, her hands trembling.
With a slight frown, Tommy came to her, taking her hands in his. “Lass, what is it?” His gaze searched her face. “Whatever it is, we’ll help, Natalie. You’ve only to tell us and we’ll help.”
His kind words were her undoing. “Tommy.” Her voice trembled and the tears came, tears of fear, of terror. She wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth, to tell him about Raymond and the boys, and how frightened she was that he would do something to harm them, now that he’d found her and the boys again.
But she couldn’t.
Couldn’t tell him because it would break his heart to know that she’d knowingly and willingly deceived him and his family.
“There, there, lass, nothing can be that bad.” Tommy gently took her in his arms, rocking her slowly. “Let it out and you’ll feel better,” he encouraged, patting her shoulder as she sobbed.
“Terry’s hat is lost.” It sounded silly and ridiculous, but it was all that came to mind. She couldn’t tell Tommy the truth. Not now. Not like this.
“Yes, lass, I know. Terrible thing it is, but I’ve come in to tell you we found it. Ditka and Ruth were about to bury it in the backyard. Had the hole almost dug when we caught them in the act.” He drew back, noting the absolute terror on her face, and knew that whatever had caused her tears, it wasn’t a lost hat. “All’s well now, Nat. Don’t cry.”
But she couldn’t seem to stop. He continued to hold her, to rock her, and she allowed herself to lean on him and let go…just let go, letting the tears and her fears come pouring out.
“I miss my father,” she said, her voice muffled by tears. It was so true. At this moment she wished her father were alive, wished she could lean on him, confide in him, knowing she wouldn’t have to face Raymond or her fears alone. She’d never felt so alone in her life. Alone and terrified. “It’s the holiday and—”
“Aye, so that’s it, lassie.” Tommy nodded, holding her gently. “Well, lass, it’s understandable. But know that you have a family here, in us.” He smiled, pulling a clean, pressed handkerchief out of his back pocket and handing it to her. “Know that the Ryans are your family now.” He tilted her chin up. “You’re one of us now, lass. Aye, perhaps not by birth, but by love.
“And know too, lass, that whatever it is that’s troubling you, you’re not alone. Aye, not alone at all. The Ryans will stand with you, no matter what the problem.”
“Oh, Tommy,” Natalie sobbed, not knowing what to do, what to say, how to even begin to explain the truth of who she was and why she was here.
Or that by coming here, she’d put the boys in danger.
She couldn’t think of anything except that she had to protect the twins, keep them safe from Raymond and his insanity.
And she knew in her heart there was only one person who could help her do that: Jared.
Natalie went through the day in a fog, doing all the things expected of her, but not really focused on anything except her own fears.
She was surprised to find that Jake, Jared’s older brother, was a taller version of Jared. A little bit rougher, a little bit more cynical, but still almost a carbon copy. She liked him immediately.
His wife, Rebecca, whom she’d learned was an investigative reporter, and expecting her first child, gave her a moment of worry, fearing she might sense her distress in the way that women have. But Rebecca was genuinely nice and gracious, pitching in to help serve the meal, and Natalie took to her immediately.
Dear Tommy never took his eyes off of her, watching and worrying. She knew it, but couldn’t seem to do anything to ease his concern, not when she had so much to worry about herself.
All through dinner, Natalie listened to the conversation with half an ear, trying to stay involved. But between watching the twins so they didn’t turn dinner into a disaster, and her own concerns, she was not much of a participant.
As soon as dinner was completed, she cleaned up the boys and sent them to their room to play quietly until she could give them their baths and get them ready for bed. They were utterly exhausted from excitement and fatigue. The parade this morning had worn them out.
Once the boys were in their room, her concerns about not taking part in the conversation passed quickly when she realized that the after-dinner conversation revolved around Jake and Rebecca’s trip to Texas, and possible clues leading to the discovery of what had happened to Jesse.
“So do you think this is just another wild-good chase?” Jared asked his brother over coffee as Natalie began clearing the table. “Or do you think it might be a solid lead?” It had been too many years, with too many false leads, for him to get his hopes up yet.
Jared reached under the table for Rebecca’s hand and held it tightly. “I’m not sure, bro. We’ve tracked down the woman who called me after Rebecca’s story broke.”
Rebecca’s story about the Ryan family—including information about Jesse Ryan’s disappearance twenty years ago, and the impact the Ryan family had had on the history of the Saddle Falls area—had run in the local paper a few months before. A picture of the entire Ryan clan had been included, which was how Harry Powers, the investigator Natalie had hired, had recognized the boys.
Rebecca’s story had also sparked a lot of interest in Jesse Ryan’s disappearance, and since its publication, calls and leads had been coming in. Rebecca and Jake had been personally checking out every single one.
“The lady who said she might have some information on Charles, the man you think was involved in Jesse’s disappearance?” Jared asked now with a frown, sipping his coffee.
Jake nodded, glancing affectionately at his wife. “Yeah. Apparently her sister used to live in Saddle Falls, right about the time Jesse disappeared. Seems she was going out with a married man named Charlie, too.”
“Think it’s the same guy?” Jared glanced at Natalie, then smiled as his heart gave a pleasant bump. He was grateful she was here for this, grateful she’d had a chance to meet his brothers.
“Sure sounds like it,” Jake admitted, glancing around the table at his family.
“Even if it is, where do we go from here?” Josh asked with a frown, glancing at Tommy, who’d been listening intently. Josh was a more slick and polished version of his older brother. Natalie had expected him, as a lawyer, to be more formal, but there was no denying he was a Ryan. He had the same dark good looks and the same blue eyes, but Josh’s were sharper and a bit more cynical.
“I say we keep digging,” Jake said with determination. “These are the first clues we’ve had in over twenty years. I don’t want to stop now.” He shrugged. “We know that Rebecca’s mom, Margaret Brost, wasn’t involved or even in the house when Jesse disappeared. We know she’d been dating a married man named Charlie, whom she was supposed to meet that night. He never showed up, and when she returned to the house, Jesse was gone.” Jake frowned, trying to put all the details in order. “We also know that Margaret wrote a ransom note, fearing Charlie was involved in Jesse’s disappearance and, because she’d been dating him, she would be, too.” Jared blew out a breath, took a sip of coffee. “We also know Margaret was questioned and released simply because there wasn’t enough evidence against her. Charlie was waiting for her when she got out, and threatened to harm Rebecca if Margaret ever told the cops anything.
“When Rebecca’s story about Jesse’s disappearance, and her mother and the mysterious Charlie, hit the papers, we received lots of calls and leads. One was from a woman in Houston, who said her sister used to live in Saddle Falls and might know this Charlie. That’s why we headed to Texas in the first place. The woman thought her sister might have dated a prominent married ma
n name Charlie, and it might or might not be the same man.”
Jared paused, looked at Rebecca, his eyes filled with love, then glanced around the table. “And the rest you know. It’s something, but not nearly enough for us to find Jesse yet. So what do we do? Do we keep digging, knowing this could be just another wild-goose chase, a blind alley that leads nowhere, like all the others in the past? Or do we stop?” He glanced at his grandfather. “Tommy, it’s your call.”
Tommy gazed around the table at his grandsons, his heart overflowing with love. At Jake, the eldest and the daredevil, the one he’d worried the most about, married now, with a family on the way.
Then there was Jared, who’d always hid his emotions beneath a quiet, calm facade. Totally responsible and reliable from the time he was a lad, Jared valued the land and family in the same way Tommy himself did. It pleased him to no end, but still brought on worry.
Tommy’s gaze shifted to Natalie, who was balancing a stack of plates on her way to the kitchen, and his gaze softened. She’d brought love and laughter to this house again, which had been far too long without it. Hopefully, Jared would recognize the need he had for her, and the love, too. And hopefully Jared would have a wife of his own again—soon. Nothing could please Tommy more.
His gaze shifted to Josh and he grinned. Josh had always been a cool, calm businessman, the one most like Tommy himself. The one who loved the art of the deal, could out-think and outmaneuver anyone around a business table. It was Josh who would handle the reins of Ryan Enterprises after he passed away. The lad was still alone, though, Tommy thought with a frown, simply because Josh didn’t trust outsiders enough to let his emotions go. Since Jesse disappeared, Josh had simply stopped showing any emotion. It was as if he buried it, filling his heart with the competition of business. ’Twasn’t good, but Tommy couldn’t complain, since Josh had handled all of the Ryan businesses with a ruthlessness that doubled their net worth. But Josh was still a worry, for Tommy feared he would never trust a woman enough to let his heart go. Maybe one day when Josh met the right woman, Tommy thought with a sigh, ever hopeful.
Anything for Her Family Page 12
