Sudden Second Chance

by Carol Ericson

  “As a man, that’s the best way I know how to offer comfort. But pity? I don’t pity you. So, you’re not Heather Brice with the perfect family waiting for you at the end of the rainbow. I knew my family, knew where I came from—and it wasn’t perfect. Maybe the Brices aren’t perfect, either. You’ll weather the storm.”

  “You’re right. The news about the Brices’ DNA was just a hiccup.”

  “I meant what I said, Beth.” He massaged the back of her neck. “As long as I’m stuck in cold-case hell, I can turn you on to a few good stories.”

  “That would be great once I’m done here.”

  “Not that I won’t miss you, but I can drive you to Seattle and you can get on the next plane to LA. I’ll have to stay here, of course, but I’m sure Mick won’t mind if I take a few weekends off and head to LA.”

  “I’m not leaving right away, Duke.”

  “You don’t need to pretend with anyone. I’ll make sure word gets out that your producer cut the story or you felt you didn’t have enough to create a compelling enough episode of Cold Case Chronicles.”

  “I mean—” she pulled the sheet up to her chin, her heart thumping “—I’m not giving up here.”

  The massage stopped. “What does that mean? You don’t have anything on the Timberline Trio. There’s no story for you here.”

  She sat up, adjusting the pillow behind her back. “I don’t care about the Timberline Trio case, especially now that I’m not involved in it at all.”

  His dark brows collided over his nose. “I don’t understand. What is there for you in Timberline?”

  “What was always here—my true identity. I may not be Heather Brice or Kayla Rush, but the secret to my origin is here in Timberline. And I’m going to stay here until I discover it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  A chill stole over Duke’s flesh, still damp with the exertion of making love. He rolled away from Beth and planted his feet on the carpet. “You can’t be serious.”

  “You can’t be serious to believe I’d give up now that I’m so close.”

  “Close to what? For whatever reason, a person or persons unknown to you does not want you poking around Timberline, and as long as you continue to do so, your life is in danger.”

  “I don’t give a damn what the people of Timberline want. I know my past lies here and I’m going to solve the mystery of my identity if it’s the last thing I do.”

  “It just might be.”

  She flicked her fingers in the air. “There have been some warnings, but nothing life-threatening.”

  He smacked his forehead. “Someone shot at you.”

  “He missed. Do you really think an experienced hunter would miss his prey?”

  “We don’t know that the person shooting at you is an experienced hunter, and I’m sure hunters miss all the time.” He fell back on the bed so that his head was in her lap. “Beth, it’s not worth it. You don’t know what you’re looking for.”

  “I’m looking for a cabin with a red door and two birds somewhere. If I can trace the property records for that cabin, maybe I can find out who had it twenty-five years ago and discover what happened there.”

  “I’m in awe of your...”

  “Brilliance?” She combed her fingers through his hair.

  “Stubbornness.” He captured her fingers. “What if you do discover your true family? They may not be the loving family the Brices were. The Brices had their child stolen from them. Your family gave you away and didn’t want to be traced. I’m not gonna stand by and watch you get devastated by the discovery.”

  “I...I’m not going to be devastated. It is what it is. I just want to know at this point. Wouldn’t you?”

  “I would.” He pressed a kiss against the center of her palm. “I just don’t want to see you hurt—physically or emotionally. You’re back in my life now, Beth, and I don’t want to lose you again.”

  “Stand by me. Stay with me. If you’re going to be my family, then that’s what it takes.” She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “I’m tired of secrets, Duke. I want a fresh start with you, a clean slate before we...do whatever it is we’re going to do.”

  “If you’re going to stay here in Timberline, I’ll be with you. I’m not going to let you run off looking for red doors by yourself.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that because I don’t think I can do this by myself. I’m better with you, Duke.”

  “I just hope you don’t get hurt.”

  “If I do, I know you’ll have my back.”

  “Count on it.” He slid off the bed and swept her card key from the nightstand. “I’m going to my own room to brush my teeth, but I’ll be back.”

  She snuggled against the pillow and closed her eyes. “I’ll be waiting.”

  When Duke returned to his room he punched a pillow. He hadn’t been happy when the Brices’ DNA didn’t match Beth’s, but he’d been relieved. He’d figured she’d give up on Timberline and go back to LA, but she felt some connection to this place. He had to trust her instincts.

  He brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face. He pulled on a pair of running shorts and returned to Beth’s room.

  The TV flickered in the darkness and he crept over to her bed. She’d fallen asleep on her back with her foot propped up on pillows beneath the covers.

  He dropped his shorts and slid between the sheets, next to her. She hadn’t bothered putting her pajamas back on and he rolled to his side to press his body against her nakedness.

  She murmured something through parted lips and he kissed the corner of her mouth. Beth had no intention of giving up her search, and whatever happened, he’d be there for the fallout.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING after breakfast, he and Beth joined Rebecca in her office. She led them to a conference room and flipped open her laptop. She eyed Duke over the top of her computer. “This isn’t part of the FBI investigation, is it?”

  He held up his hands. “I’m off duty today. Would it make a difference?”

  “I just don’t want to get subpoenaed or have our records called into evidence.”

  “This is for the show only. You don’t even have to be on camera if you don’t want to be.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t mind that as long as you get a shot of my sign out front. Unless—” she powered up her computer “—the story ends up driving potential buyers away from Timberline.”

  Beth shrugged off her down vest. “The case was twenty-five years ago. I don’t see how that’s going to affect Timberline’s reputation. If anything, Wyatt Carson already did that by trying to play the hero.”

  As she typed on her keyboard, Rebecca gave an exaggerated shiver. “That was creepy, but I still managed to get a good price for Kendall Rush’s house.”

  Duke cleared his throat. “What are you going to look up this morning?”

  “I have access to all of Timberline’s old housing records, along with some pictures. With any luck, I should be able to identify several of the homes with the red doors.”

  “Let’s get started.” Beth scooted her chair closer to the table and leaned over Rebecca’s arm.

  Rebecca’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Let’s see. Twenty years ago, twenty-five, not much construction during that period. Thirty, thirty-five. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  Beth leaned forward, poking at the screen. “This is new construction for that time period?”

  “Yes. I can click on the photos for this bunch.”

  A cabin filled the computer screen, but it didn’t have a red door.

  Beth slumped back in her chair. “That’s not one.”

  “Let me click through these photos.” Each time Rebecca tapped her keyboard, a new cabin popped up on the screen. None had red doors.

&n
bsp; “There’s another grouping. I’m going to close out this bunch.” She launched another set of photos and Beth sucked in a breath when the first one appeared.

  “This is it.” Beth practically bounced in her chair. “These are the cabins.”

  Rebecca brought up the cabins one by one and each cabin sported a red front door.

  Duke counted the red-door cabins aloud until she came to the end. “That’s eight cabins with red doors. Do you recognize any of them, Rebecca?”

  “I thought I recognized a couple.” She minimized the window and brought up another application. “I’m going to copy and paste the cabin addresses in here to get their locations and to see if they still exist.”

  An hour later Rebecca printed out a list of five red-door cabins that were still standing. The other three had been demolished.

  “You are the best.” Beth plucked the pages from the printer. “If I ever know of anyone moving to this area, I will send them your way.”

  “Just give me a plug on your show.” She squinted at her laptop. “I have to get ready for my open house. Have fun investigating, and if you annoy anyone by poking around, don’t tell them I sent you.”

  When they got into Duke’s SUV, Beth smoothed out the paper on her lap. “GPS?”

  “Plug in all of them and we’ll try to hit them in order of location.”

  Beth tapped in the address of each of the cabins on the list and they designed a route so they wouldn’t be backtracking.

  Duke turned the key in the ignition and glanced at Beth. “What’s your plan? Are you going to invite yourself into someone’s home, stand in the middle of the room and tell them you’re waiting for a psychic experience?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’ll figure it out when I get there.”

  “Okay, it’s your rodeo. I’m just the technical adviser...and the bodyguard.”

  She squeezed his bicep. “I like the sound of that.”

  They drove out to the first two cabins, which resided on the same street. Civilization had encroached on the wilderness in this area as a wide, paved road cut through the forest, giving the houses on this street manicured backyards bordering the forest edge.

  Duke parked his car on the street in front of the first cabin and looked at Beth. “What now?”

  “I...I’m going to get out and walk around. Maybe I’ll knock on the front door and pretend I’m looking for someone.”

  “Yeah, because you’re not totally recognizable in this town by now.”

  “I could use that to my advantage.” She unbuckled her seat belt and reached into his backseat. “I’ll take my video camera. I was filming areas before.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  He went around to the passenger side to get Beth’s door.

  She looked up from the camera in her lap. “Might as well start filming now. In fact, this is a good way to get a record of each cabin.”

  He helped her out of the car. “Are you going to be able to hold the camera and navigate with your crutch?”

  “I don’t think so. Can you play cameraman for me?”

  “Yeah, just don’t tell Adam.” He took the camera from her. “Where is your crew, anyway? Are they getting antsy?”

  “They’re working on something else right now. I already indicated to Scott that this segment might not be a go and to hold off sending them.”

  “All right, then.” He held the camera in front of him and framed the cabin in the viewfinder. “Cabin number one in the red-door cabin follies.”

  Beth poked him with her crutch and then appeared in his frame. “I’m going to knock on the door.”

  He followed her to the porch and then the door swung open and a boy cannoned down the front porch, leaving the door standing wide behind him. He tripped to a stop when he saw them.

  “Hi there. Do you live here?”

  “Mom!”

  “Tanner, close the door.” A petite woman appeared at the doorway. She put a hand to her chest. “Oh, you scared me.”

  “Sorry.” Beth flashed her pearly whites. “I’m doing a little filming in the area. Do you mind?”

  “Oh, I know who you are.”

  “Mom, can I go to Joe’s house now?”

  “Go ahead.” She crossed her arms and propped up the doorjamb with her shoulder. “This area doesn’t have much to do with the Timberline Trio, and I didn’t even live here then.”

  “I know that, but a few of these cabins were standing twenty-five years ago. I’m just getting a sense of the area back then.”

  “You can film outside the house if you want, but I don’t have time to talk to you and if the dog starts barking you’re going to have to leave.”

  “I understand. Thank you.”

  But the woman had slammed the door on Beth’s thanks.

  Duke shifted the camera to the side. “Ouch. She’s not too interested in appearing on TV, is she?”

  “No, but I’m not getting anything from this house anyway.”

  “Like, recognition?”

  “Like, any kind of vibe.”

  “You’re not Scarlett.” He snapped the viewfinder closed. “You felt those things with her because she let you into her vision.”

  “She told me I had a particular sensitivity. That’s why this landscape in Timberline, the forest, the greenery, sets me off. It always has.”

  He wasn’t going to argue with her or convince her otherwise. He had a support role today and he planned to fulfill that role to the best of his ability. “On to cabin number two, then.”

  Cabin number two was similar to one—more like a house and inhabited with residents, none too eager to speak with Beth. Duke filmed the exterior for her, but this cabin didn’t speak to her, either.

  They had more luck with cabin number three. As they drove up to the front of it, Beth sat up. “This looks spooky, doesn’t it?”

  “It looks abandoned.”

  “I’m getting the chills already.” Beth stretched her arms out in front of her.

  Duke cut the engine and hoisted the strap of the camera over his shoulder.

  He filmed the front of the cabin as Beth hobbled up to the porch without her crutches. “Hello?”

  Duke tried the door, but the rotting wood held firm. He picked at a chip of paint with his fingernail. “I think this still has the original red paint on the door.”

  “Seems to be locked up tight.” Beth stepped off the porch steps. “I’m going to look around the side.”

  “Hang on.” He put the camera down. “The landscaping, if you can call it that, is overgrown with weeds. Grab my arm.”

  Taking his arm, she leaned against him. He navigated a path through the tangled shrubs and turned the corner of the cabin. The wild brush of the forest grew close to the exterior cabin wall.

  Beth tugged on his hand. “The window’s broken.”

  They crept up to the shattered window and Duke dug for his phone. Poking his head inside the window, he turned on the phone’s light and scanned the room.

  “Do you see anything?”

  “It’s a big mess. Looks like animals, kids, transients or all three have been in here.”

  She yanked on the back of his shirt. “Let me have a look.”

  He backed away from the window and handed her the phone. “It’s too high for you to see inside, especially without cutting yourself on the jagged glass.”

  He scanned the ground and spotted a stump of wood. “This’ll work.”

  He dragged the wood under the window and helped Beth stand on it, holding her around the waist. “Do you see anything that grabs you?”

  “No, but it’s creepy. I’d like to find out more about it.”

  “I’m sure Rebecca can help with that.”

  Duke filmed more of
the cabin before they got back in the car. “Three down, two to go.”

  Beth checked her phone. “They’re in the same general area, farther out in the boonies.”

  “Let’s go and you can review my awesomely professional video later.”

  He swung off the main highway, down one of the many roads that branched into the forest. Cabins and small houses dotted the road. “I wonder when housing for the Evergreen employees is going to creep out this way.”

  “I think there’s something about the zoning that doesn’t permit certain types of housing.”

  “I’m sure Jordan Young is working on an angle for that right now.”

  “And he’ll probably give all the work to his worthless buddy, Bill.” She tapped her phone. “Oops. I think the GPS lost its way.”

  “We don’t have too many choices here until we plunge into the forest.” He pointed to a marker up ahead on the side of the road. “There’s an access road there.” When they reached the marker, he made the turn.

  Beth’s knees bounced and she wedged her hands beneath her thighs. “Reminds me of Scarlett’s area.”

  “Remote and rugged. These must be hunting and fishing cabins.”

  Beth scooted forward in her seat, her back stiff.

  “Are you okay?”

  Her lips parted and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

  “Beth? What’s wrong?”

  She cupped her hands around her nose and mouth and huffed out a breath. “Feeling a little anxious. I’ll be fine.”

  The trees crowded in on them, shutting out the light of the afternoon. Mist clung to the windshield and he flipped on the wipers. “We can stop right here, turn around.”

  Shaking her head, she hugged herself. “It’s that feeling, Duke. The forest is closing in on me, suffocating me.”

  “I’m turning around.”

  “No!” She grabbed the steering wheel. “I can do this. I can get through it.”

  They came across a path leading from the access road. “My guess is the first cabin’s back there.”

  “Then we’d better take a look.”

  He parked and helped her from the car. “How about one crutch?”

  “I’ll try it.” She tucked it under one arm and he held her other arm.