The Widow's Protector

by Stephanie Newton

  He murmured against her hair, “You okay?”

  She nodded against his chest and then stepped away, her eyes damp, which told him she wasn’t okay at all. Far from it.

  “Sean?” Hunter eased back, but kept within easy reach of her.

  “He’s safe. My cousin Bridget took him to her house today after school.” She pushed her fingers through hair that was falling out of its usually neat ponytail, shivering even though she was wearing a blazer over her T-shirt and jeans. “I keep thinking about that. What if they’d come here instead? My hands are shaking. I’m a mess.”

  Quickly he placed Bridget among Fiona’s many cousins. She was the school teacher—taught fifth grade at Sean’s school and had been providing after-school care for Sean since he’d started at Fitzgerald Bay Elementary. If they’d been home when someone broke in, it could’ve been bad. “Fiona, the dispatcher said it was a bomb threat.”

  “Douglas didn’t tell you?” She shot her brother a look. “When I got home the door was hanging on its hinges like that. I called Douglas and waited outside.”

  Fiona paced two steps away and back again, clenching her fingers nervously. “Douglas went into the house to make sure the intruder was gone. He found the device on the desk in my office. It looked like the detonator on a bomb.”

  Hunter narrowed his eyes. “What exactly did it look like?”

  “Douglas, can you please come here?” She crooked her finger at her brother, the police captain, who was in conversation with Danny. He walked closer and she held out her hand. “Let me see the photo.”

  Douglas handed her a cell phone and she turned it around to show Hunter. He studied it for a minute, trying very hard to school his features so she wouldn’t know what he was thinking. Her brother knew exactly what this was, which was why he had called in the accelerant-sniffing dog from the state police’s Arson and Explosives Unit.

  Hunter put his arm around Fiona. “Douglas was right to call in for reinforcements. We don’t want to take any chances.”

  * * *

  Two hours later, Fiona learned the house had been cleared by the Arson and Explosives Unit. There was apparently no accelerant used. Whoever left the device in her home just wanted to scare Fiona.

  The guys from the arson unit were out on the lawn, talking fires with Hunter’s crew. He was standing beside her waiting for her to get up the nerve to actually walk in the door.

  “You know, we can nail the door shut tonight and you can come back tomorrow morning when it’s light. No one’s going to think less of you if you don’t go in.” Hunter leaned against the wall beside the ruined door.

  “I’ll think less of me.” Fiona took the rubber band out of her hair, slicked back her red hair into a smoother ponytail and took a deep breath. There was no way she was letting fear get the better of her. Of course, she was spending the night at her cousin Bridget’s with Sean—she wasn’t stupid.

  She also wasn’t a coward. She was definitely going in to see the damage before she left.

  The door hung on its hinges, but she pushed it open anyway. Her kitchen didn’t seem to be too bad, but she kept a box on the counter with bills and things that needed to be addressed during the week. The box had been upended, its contents scattered over the kitchen counter.

  The living room was the same, as if whoever had come through was looking for something in particular. The expensive stamps from her grandfather’s collection she had framed on the wall were still there, but the books on the bookshelf had been thrown all over the room. She swallowed hard, smoothing a hand over her hair again.

  Hunter was right behind her. She didn’t have to do this by herself, a fact she’d reminded herself of every single day since Jimmy had died. It was so tempting to wallow in self-pity, but that wasn’t her style. She’d loved Jimmy and she’d grieved. But wallowing wouldn’t honor his memory.

  Surviving every day became a testament to his life. Knowing she had Hunter to help gave her the strength to get through some really dark days. He’d been there, just like he was right now.

  Across the hall was the office. She stopped in the door, her hand to her throat. Everything from every drawer and every shelf had been thrown around the room. The detonator had been left in the center of her desk. Now there was fingerprint dust all over the surface.

  She took two steps into the room and crunched glass. Looking down, she saw a photo of her, Jimmy and Sean smashed on the wood floor. She’d known in her gut all along and now she had proof.

  This wasn’t just a random attack. This was personal and it was vicious.

  She picked up the photograph from the floor. Glass fragments rained down around her feet.

  She turned it so Hunter could see it and raised her eyes to meet his. “Do you still think there’s a chance I’m not a target?”

  * * *

  Fiona swept glass from the broken picture frame onto the dustpan while Sean built a castle with his Lego pieces on the floor in the hall.

  “Why aren’t we going to Granddad’s today? It’s Saturday. Bridget said everyone was going for a cookout Saturday if the weather was nice.” Sean didn’t look up from his Lego creation, since his dragon was smashing into the wall where he’d stashed the princess.

  “We have a lot to do, bud. Mommy needs to get all this cleaned up before work on Monday.” Truth was, she just couldn’t face all the questions. Cops and firefighters were the best, loyal to each other to the end. She loved them. But they were nosy.

  She just couldn’t take it, not today. And the family had enough to deal with, without adding her mess on top of it.

  “It’s messy in here. I want to go play.” Sean’s voice edged toward a whine.

  Fee took in a deep breath. Patience. She had a list and the list didn’t include losing her temper with her six-year-old. “We can play here, Sean. We’ll have fun.”

  He stomped to his Lego blocks and she had to resist the urge to stomp her way back to the glass she was sweeping. Yes, it was just as well that she had too much to do cleaning up here to go to the family dinner. She might growl at someone.

  The doorbell rang. Sean popped to his feet. “I’ll get it.”

  “Sean, wait—” Before she could get the words out, he was gone. She followed him to the front door, which he wrestled open.

  “Hunter!” Sean immediately ran for his Lego masterpiece. “Come look at this!”

  Fiona looked into Hunter’s eyes and shrugged. “The dragon’s attacking the castle. These are dangerous and exciting times if you’re a princess.”

  “I’ll say.” He followed her into the house and closed the door. “So, is there a reason you’re not outside enjoying the warmest day so far this season?”

  She stopped midstep. “My brother Owen called you, right?”

  Hunter chuckled. “How’d you know?”

  “I knew it had to be one of them and he thinks he’s the boss of me. He’s only three years younger than I am, but the way Mom used to tell it, he always thought he was in charge.”

  “Yeah, I remember that time that Owen and Douglas had to rescue us when the boom broke on your little sailboat. They were really mad that we went outside the cove.”

  “Yeah, but I was really glad to see them, no matter how mad they were. So, they told you to come and get me?” She could totally believe they would do it.

  “Please, Mommy, please, Mommy, please.” Sean bounced at her feet like a jumping bean. He had way too much pent-up energy.

  Fiona leaned on the broom. “I’m not going to win this argument, am I?”

  Hunter shook his head slowly.

  “I’d have to change my clothes.”

  He looked down at her rolled-up jeans and soft leather flats. “We’re going to be out on the lawn for a cookout. I think you’re dressed fine. Just grab a sweater.”

  She hesitated another minute. There was so much to do here, but maybe he was right. It was a beautiful day.

  Hunter walked into the hallway and stooped to look at Sean’s
Lego creation. “That is an amazing castle you’ve got going. Is the towel the moat?”

  “Yeah, and there are alligators with big, giant teeth, see?” Sean moved the towel to show the plastic alligators he’d tucked into the folds.

  “Awesome.” He pounded fists with Sean. “You wanna go get a jacket?”

  Sean whooped and ran for his bedroom, a tower of Lego pieces skidding away from his fast-moving feet.

  Hunter stood and his eyes connected with hers. The same exact way they’d connected thousands of times since they were teenagers, but this time it felt different. This time she felt something different.

  Maybe it was just that she’d been watching him with Sean. Maybe it had been too long since she’d looked at a man with anything other than brotherly affection. Maybe she’d just totally lost it. He was her friend.

  “Fiona?” Confusion clouded Hunter’s eyes.

  “Let’s go!” Sean ran into the hall. Fiona snatched him up, holding him between her and Hunter.

  She didn’t know what had just happened, but she couldn’t help but feel she was treading on unsteady ground.

  FOUR

  Fiona’s siblings and their offspring were spread out on the lawn of her family’s home high on the hill above Fitzgerald Bay. As they pulled into the driveway, Sean was out of the car and streaking across the yard to his cousins before Hunter turned off the ignition. Even though he’d grown up playing on the very same yard, the whole scene intimidated Hunter just slightly. Fee’s uncle was his boss at the fire department and her dad was the chief of police and currently running for the mayor of Fitzgerald Bay.

  They weren’t exactly shy and retiring. They were, however, the salt of the earth. They were good people who served the town their family had founded generations before. Hunter often wondered what it would’ve been like to have that kind of family, rather than the family he’d been born into, with a father who had found himself out of one job and then another and another. Hunter didn’t know if it was the job losses that led to his father’s depression and drinking or if it was the other way around. It didn’t really matter when the end result was the same.

  Fiona opened her door and stood watching as her son took a rolling tumble and was pounced on by one of Vanessa and Joe Connolly’s grandchildren. She smiled faintly. “It was a good idea to bring him. He hasn’t said anything about the break-in, but I think he knows. He needed to get out of the house.”

  “So did you. Your family wants to make sure you’re okay. Do you blame them?” Hunter shut his door and watched as multiple pairs of bright blue eyes turned to check out the new arrivals. He’d been adopted into the Fitzgerald family by Fiona’s mom when she’d realized that the Reeces often didn’t have groceries at their house. She’d feed him and then send the leftovers with him, insisting that a growing boy needed them for the walk. Mrs. Fitzgerald wasn’t around anymore, but her presence sure was felt here.

  “Just remember, you got us into this. They think because I’m the only one in the family who hasn’t carried a firearm to work that I somehow need protecting. Even Charles was in the military.” She slammed her door. Her brow was furrowed, the eyes that matched the dozen pairs currently staring at them narrowed in thought.

  He walked around the car and put his arm about her waist. “Come on. I think you’ll be fine. They’ve got a lot going on right now. Maybe they’ll leave you alone.”

  “You don’t know them like I do. They’ll be happy to have a new topic of conversation.”

  “I can’t believe you’re scared. Fiona Fitzgerald Cobb isn’t scared of anything.”

  She stopped and looked back at him. “Oh, Hunter. I’m scared of everything.”

  He spoke quietly. “You do a pretty good job at faking it.”

  Her sister, Keira, yelled across the yard. “Hey, Fee, catch!”

  A football came flying at her. She snatched the ball, pulling it to her chest.

  Keira pumped her fist into the air. “Sisters unite! You’re on my team.”

  “Thanks, Keira, I feel loved.” Hunter opened the back door of the car and picked up the grocery bags that Fiona had insisted on stopping for on the way over.

  “Aww, Hunter, I didn’t mean to hurt your wittle firefighter feelings.” Keira made a smoochie face at him and he laughed.

  Her Uncle Mickey met Hunter in the driveway and took one of the grocery bags. “So his ‘wittle’ firefighter feelings don’t get hurt, maybe Hunter should be on my team with Liam and Danny.”

  The two brothers, both wearing FBFD T-shirts, bracketed Hunter on either side to form a line facing Keira. They crossed their arms, making their muscles bulge. They’d apparently been making good use of their downtime in the gym at the fire station.

  Hunter grinned at Keira. “Works for me.”

  “But that wouldn’t be fair because—”

  Fiona put her arm on her sister’s shoulders. “I think you’re stuck with the bookworm. Maybe you shouldn’t pick on the firefighters, at least the ones who aren’t afraid to fight back.”

  Keira laughed and swung her free arm around Fiona, tucking the football under the other one. “Not a chance.”

  Hunter smiled. Fiona needed to be here, whether she realized it or not. Her family might bug her, but they would also bolster her, giving her the strength she needed to get through this. He grabbed the last two bags out of the car and slammed the door shut.

  He dropped off the bags in the kitchen with Fiona and, grabbing a couple of carrots from a tray on the island, headed back outside.

  Fee’s dad, Police Chief Fitzgerald, called from the deck. “Hamburgers are ready. Youngest to oldest. Line ’em up, boys and girls.”

  Fiona’s brother Charles snagged one of the twins as the little boy ran by being chased by his sister, as fast as her little legs would pump. Hunter reached down to pick up Brianne as she careened by. She went still, her big blue eyes going wide. “Hey, princess, you ready for a hamburger?”

  She nodded slowly, popping her thumb into her mouth. He’d never seen her without braids, but today her black curls were a wild halo around her face.

  He followed Charles to the buffet of hamburgers, baked beans, chips and fruit. “What does Brianne like?”

  Charles looked up from the plate he was preparing for Aaron. “Oh, thanks, Hunter. If you copy exactly what I put on Aaron’s plate, we should be fine. Otherwise, there will be complete meltdown. I learned that the hard way after Olivia…” He cleared his throat. “Well, after.”

  Charles’s nanny, Olivia Henry, had been found dead at the base of the bluffs by the lighthouse where he lived with his children. There was foul play involved and while no one who really knew Charles believed that he could be behind it, there was a small segment of the town’s population who seemed determined to spread rumors that he had committed the crime. Lately, Hunter believed that it had more to do with Charles’s father’s mayoral race than actual suspicion.

  He put a few pieces of cantaloupe on Brianne’s plate beside the hamburger and followed Charles to a child-size picnic table where they seated the children. Hunter watched as Charles cut up the hamburger patty into bite-size pieces on each toddler’s plate.

  Charles handed Aaron a fork and sank onto the bench lining the deck behind them, absently rubbing his knee. Hunter sat down beside him. The line of Fitzgeralds and Connollys waiting for food was long.

  A sippy cup went skidding off one side of the table. Charles leaned forward and grabbed it before it hit the ground. He placed it back on the table and shot a weary smile at Hunter. “It’s this way all the time. Like I have wild raccoons loose in my house. I’ve never been so tired in my entire life. Not in residency, not even in Afghanistan.”

  “How are you holding up with the case and everything?” He didn’t know how to ask tactfully. It seemed a little inappropriate to him, but Charles was a friend. Besides, it was kind of like the elephant in the room that no one would talk about but everyone was thinking about. He figured it was hard to forget that
people suspected you killed someone.

  The Fitzgerald family home sat on a rise, high above the town, with the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. Charles stared at the faraway blue water, like maybe he wished he could sail away on it. “I survive from one moment to the next. The children adored Olivia—they miss her. And frankly, I miss her. She was a huge help.”

  He turned back to look at Hunter, stabbing his fingers through his still military-short brown hair. “If you hear of anyone looking for a job as a nanny—” he stopped “—anyone not afraid of working at a suspected murderer’s house, let me know.”

  Aaron tried to get off the picnic table, caught his foot and tumbled backward. Charles sprang forward to catch him just before his curly head hit the deck floor. The little boy started to cry and Charles picked him up, cradling him against his chest and patting his back.

  Hunter stood. “I’ll let you know if I think of anyone. It would be hard to find cuter kids. Want a hamburger?”

  “Thanks. And no.” Charles shot him a grateful look as Aaron scrambled away and ran for the stairs to the yard. “I’ll get one in a few minutes. Maybe.”

  Hunter knew that the Fitzgerald Bay police department was working feverishly to find Olivia Henry’s killer. No one would be more relieved than Charles when that person was found. Hunter could only imagine the strain of being wrongly accused.

  As the daylight waned and the air outside cooled, Vanessa and Joe Connolly, Fiona’s aunt and uncle, left with their family and Mrs. Mulroony took the children inside to watch a movie. Fiona’s oldest brother, Ryan, lit a fire in the fire pit and the adults gathered their chairs around. Fiona edged hers a little farther back and tried not to be annoyed when Hunter gave her a knowing look.

  * * *

  Fiona glanced around the circle. These were the people she counted on, her brothers and sister. Her grandfather and her father, who had been a constant source of stability and often, strength. While they might drive her crazy, she knew she could depend on every one of them when the going got tough. Just like they could depend on her.

  They were adding new members to the circle now. She prayed that as the Fitzgeralds grew in number that they would always make family a priority.