His Garden of Bones

by Vickie McKeehan

  Skye patted Elizabeth’s hand. “You forget how much Harry helped me. In those early days when I first came back to Seattle, Harry was the one who looked me up, determined to become a friend. Maybe that’s because he knew I needed one.”

  “It’s good of you to remember that,” Harry finally chimed in.

  Before the conversation turned overly emotional, Skye wanted to know, “So how will you spend your time? If you find yourself bored, there’s always private work you could do for the foundation.” She leaned in to Elizabeth. “That goes for you, too.”

  Harry rocked back on his heels. “We’ll keep that in mind. Right now, though, the plan is to take some time off to travel. Elizabeth and I have always talked about seeing a little bit of the world other than our own boring backyard.”

  “We’re starting with Hawaii,” Elizabeth offered. “I want to see Maui before the kids decide to ship us off to a nursing home. We have reservations for March to stay in Kahului.”

  “Good for you,” Skye said. “Be sure to send us a postcard.”

  The background music changed to something a tad more adult. Leon Redbone’s distinctive baritone sang out with his rendition of Let it Snow about the time Rhonda Braddock glided into the entryway. True to her word Skye had made sure Rhonda showed up without a date.

  Skye spotted Winston the moment he caught sight of his heart’s desire. Rhonda had managed to squeeze herself into a low-cut, tight-fitting red dress. It would be darn near impossible for any male in the room not to notice her. Which, of course, Skye supposed was the point.

  Before the programmer’s eyes bugged out for real, Skye decided to dish out some advice. “Hey Winston, dig deep, find your courage to approach her. Go for what you want.” When Winston stood planted in one spot, Skye took his arm. “Come on, I’ll break the ice for you. But after initial contact, the rest is all up to you. And it seems you’re in luck. From the looks of that outfit Rhonda’s wearing, she’s in a party mood.”

  Winston’s only comment was, “She’s gorgeous.”

  “That’s a given.” Skye gave him a little push toward the target. “Now shoo, go impress her with your brain.” She watched Winston walk away and could only hope that Rhonda saw the intelligent side to the shy man.

  “What are you thinking?” Josh wanted to know.

  “That if Rhonda dares to break Winston’s heart, I’ll do something vile to her.”

  Josh grinned just as Lena circled back around sipping a vodka and tonic.

  Lena glanced out into the darkness of the backyard and teased her friend, “I thought you wanted to plant a vegetable garden out back. Why haven’t you done that already in your spare time?”

  Skye burst out laughing. “You’re kidding, right? Maybe if serial killers would take a break for a few months, I might be able to turn that patch around the pond into a decent garden. After admiring Theron King’s massive gardens, minus the bones of course…” She shuddered remembering all the graves unearthed there, twenty at last count. But she refused to let evil touch the festivities tonight. “Josh even agreed to help me build raised beds to keep Atka from digging up the seeds.”

  “She’s waiting until spring when the weather warms up. Right now she’s drawing up plans to plot the ground using the ‘Three Sisters’ approach,” Josh explained.

  “I’ve heard of that,” Lena said to Skye. “Actually, your father explained it to me yesterday when he talked about what steps he might have to take to replace Theron King’s produce. He was exaggerating of course, but the system, as I understand it, is Native American and goes back centuries.”

  Travis came up, looped an arm around Lena’s waist. “The Three Sisters concept involved planting beans, corn, and squash as an interdependent crop in a way that best served the village. Since Natives believe the bounty of the harvest was a gift from the Great Spirit, they held ceremonies before planting and when it was time to bring in the crops. They passed the knowledge down from generation to generation. There are Native people who farm in the Pacific Northwest that still use this concept today.”

  Skye took up the story adding her own take on what she’d learned. “Because the corn depletes the soil of nitrogen, and the beans add nitrogen to it, the combination makes for an all-around balance. They’d begin by planting the corn in the center, then move out from there to plant the beans around the base of the corn because the stalk acted like the perfect climbing pole, allowing the beans to wrap and grow up. The cornstalk trunk also acted as a shield in harsh weather, protecting the squash growing below and closer to the ground, in between the rows. In turn, the squash acted as a buffer, keeping the garden soil sufficiently moist but weed free. When you stop and think about it, the system was incredibly savvy and offered up a near perfect diet. Corn is a great carbohydrate, beans offer protein, and squash is considered a fruit with a ton of vitamins. No wonder they took time out to thank the Great Spirit with songs and legends for what generally yielded a fairly nutritious meal.”

  Zoe had been listening. Impressed with just about anything that came out of Skye’s mouth, the teenager wanted to know, “ever think of giving up the pursuit of bad guys to be a stay-at-home mom? ’Cause it sounds like you want to go domestic.”

  Zoe took in the faces in the crowd and realized she might’ve opened her big mouth only to stick her foot in it. “Not that it’s a bad thing.”

  Skye slung her arm over the girl’s shoulder to show she wasn’t upset by the question. “I’ve given some serious thought to it lately. Should we tell them our news, Josh?”

  “Now’s as good a time as any.” Josh drew Skye close, raised his glass. “If you guys could give us your attention for a minute, we have an announcement.”

  A hush fell over the crowd as everyone gathered in a circle around the couple.

  “We’re happy to tell you all that we’re having a baby,” Skye said, clasping hands with Josh.

  “What? You’re adopting?” Travis asked as he pushed a few people aside in the throng to get to his daughter’s side.

  Skye smiled. “Not exactly, although we were prepared to do that. But it seems the Great Spirit has other plans, giving us our very own Christmas present. I’m pregnant, due next August.”

  Travis wrapped her up in a hug even though he had to wait to take his turn. After Phyllis and Doug let go, Travis latched on. “I thought…there was no chance of that,” he whispered in his daughter’s ear.

  “So did we. So I phoned my doctor this morning after I took the test for the fifth time and he couldn’t explain how it happened either.”

  Josh squeezed her a little tighter, nibbled her mouth. “However it happened, we’re over the moon. We’d already discussed making an appointment with an adoption agency after the first of the year.”

  Lena took her turn bundling Skye up. Curiosity got the better of her though. “I’m wondering, how long have you known?”

  Josh fielded this one. “A couple days. Skye hasn’t been feeling well for the past week. We thought it might be stress. That business with Dillard Barstow took its toll. We decided she might be suffering from exhaustion or maybe coming down with the flu.”

  Skye patted his chest. “What he isn’t telling you is that as the date of the party grew closer, I started freaking out a little. There were so many things I hadn’t done—shopping, ordering food, getting the tree, seeing to every detail. The very last thing either one of us thought about was that I might be pregnant.”

  She spread her arms out wide. “Just look around though, it all came together. Josh and I discussed not telling anyone until a few months had passed but… Right before the party, we both had a change of heart. Caught up in the spirit of the holiday, I guess. Anyway, we’re so happy it wouldn’t be right to keep the news to ourselves. We’re sharing it with the people we love. Everyone in this room at one time or another has come through for us when we needed you the most, whether it was at the foundation or something more personal. So to all of you, thanks for coming. There’s plenty to eat a
nd drink. And know that Josh and I wish you all a very merry Christmas.”

  Hank Fielding stepped forward holding little Alec in his arms, his other hand gripping Melina’s. “My wife and son wouldn’t even have a place to live if it weren’t for these two. I wouldn’t have a job either. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room feels the same way we do. You gave us a second chance. We’re grateful for it, more than you’ll ever know.”

  No longer shy, or introverted, Judy Howe did the same. “This time last Christmas I wouldn’t have been able to leave my apartment. Tonight I’m standing in the middle of a party among people like a normal person. Because Skye and Josh caught the guy who tried to kill me, I have a chance at leading a normal life now. I’ve come this far because of what these two people did for me, what they do each and every day for the people of Seattle. I’m one of the success stories. The thing is, I’m not the only one.”

  Skye sent the woman a wide smile before extending it to the others standing around the room. “And that’s one reason Josh and I intend to keep up the work. The foundation gets new volunteers who step up all the time. In the spirit of Christmas, I have to say from the heart, you’re all heroes in my book.”

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Vickie McKeehan has twenty-two novels to her credit and counting. Vickie's novels have consistently appeared on Amazon’s Top 100 lists in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense and Mystery / Thriller. She writes what she loves to read—heartwarming romance laced with suspense, heart-pounding thrillers, and riveting mysteries. Vickie loves to write about compelling and down-to-earth characters in settings that stay with her readers long after they've finished her books. She makes her home in Southern California.

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