Protection

by Linda Rettstatt

  “Better since I took the pain meds the doctor gave me.” He dropped into the recliner and put his feet up.

  “Is there something you like to watch?” she asked.

  “Not especially. You pick.”

  She browsed the online TV guide. “Ooh, I love this movie.”

  “What is it?”

  “Nights in Rodanthe. Richard Gere and Diane Lane. It’s based on a book by Nicholas Sparks.”

  “Oh. Is that what they call a chick flick?”

  “It’s Richard Gere.”

  Shannon found herself caught up in the romantic tension between the characters in the movie. It wasn’t until Jake stretched and sat up that she remembered he was there. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  By the time he returned, the movie had reached its end and Shannon sat sniffling and dabbing her eyes.

  “What happened?”

  “They fell in love, but didn’t end up together.”

  “I thought you’d seen this before. Didn’t you know how it ended?”

  “Yes, but I keep hoping for a happier ending.”

  “Why couldn’t they be together?”

  “He was on his way to South America to make amends with his son. She’s married, but she isn’t happy.” She blew her nose. “That’s what Mark told me, you know. That he hadn’t been happy for a long time. That’s got to be the oldest line ever. I know it was wrong but, somehow, that made it okay.”

  “You were in love with him?”

  She nodded. “I thought I was. I was bouncing back from a broken engagement. That’s no excuse, but an explanation.”

  He sat down beside her. “I sort of know what that’s like, thinking you’re doing the right thing and then, wham, it hits you that it was all wrong.”

  “You do?” She turned her face to gaze at him. “You were in love and it fell apart?”

  “You might say that.”

  Without warning, it hit her—sadness, anger, grief, loneliness—all at once. She hunched her shoulders and wept.

  Jake patted her back at first, then put his arm around her to soothe her. She leaned into him, enjoying the warmth and strength of him. His palm moved along her arm and he whispered soothing words to her.

  Shannon heaved a deep, shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. She lifted her face to his. The draw was magnetic. Her lips touched his and she was sure she felt a spark. She pressed closer, the kiss deepening. He didn’t move into the kiss, but didn’t move away. She felt his arms tighten and heat build between them.

  She parted her lips and welcomed his exploring tongue. Her breasts strained against his chest.

  Easing her down onto the sofa, he moved over her, his body covering hers. His mouth teased her earlobe before leaving a hot trail down her neck. His hand slid beneath her tank top, searing her skin. She slipped her hands beneath his shirt, feeling the firmness and heat of his back.

  The evidence of his arousal pressed against her thigh and she moved her leg slightly, causing him to groan.

  Then he stopped abruptly and rolled off her, getting his feet under him. “Oh, God. Shannon, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what….”

  “Jake, it’s okay.” She sat up, breathing hard.

  He turned away from her, dragging his fingers through his hair. “No, it’s not okay.” He grabbed his keys. “I’m going out for a bit. Lock up behind me and don’t answer the phone.”

  Shannon watched as he strode to the truck and then sped down the driveway like someone was chasing him. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the absence of his embrace. She locked the doors and went upstairs, though she knew she wouldn’t sleep. Tomorrow she would be out of here. She and Jake would have some distance and maybe eventually he’d tell her why their being together was so wrong.

  What had possessed her to initiate that kiss? What must he be thinking of her now? She literally slammed into his life a little over a week ago, a single mother with a baby born out of an affair with a married man. And now she was putting moves on him. He was clearly into it, too. She touched her thigh. Clearly. So what was the problem?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jake pulled into the parking lot at Rusty’s and sat with the truck idling. He was still trying to catch his breath. If he had any doubts of a mutual attraction between himself and Shannon, that kiss had dispelled them. He hadn’t seen that coming, but he also hadn’t done anything to stop it. Confusion roiled in his head. His heart still pounded and he needed to sit for another minute.

  The parking lot was full, meaning a lot of the guys he had worked with one time or another were likely inside. Maybe a beer or two and a few games of pool would clear his mind. He made his way to the bar.

  “What happened to you?” Angie asked.

  “I tripped over something.”

  She slid a Coors in front of him. “I can’t believe you drink that stuff. You ever gonna try something different?” she asked.

  The question caught him off guard. He’d just tried something different. “Not tonight. Thanks, Angie.”

  “We don’t usually see you here this time of night. Couldn’t sleep?”

  “Nope.” He sipped the beer.

  “My mom’s enjoying that baby girl she’s minding for your friend.”

  He grinned. “Bailey. Yeah, she’s a cutie.”

  “And her momma don’t look so bad either. What’s the story between you two?”

  “There’s no story. She’s a friend. She had car trouble on her way north. Now she’s decided to stay here in Snoqualmie for a while.”

  Angie’s eyes twinkled in the overhead lights of the bar. “How good a friend?”

  Jake drained his beer and slid off the stool. “Not that kind of friend.”

  She picked up his empty glass and swiped a rag along the bar. “Too bad.”

  Jake found Rico and few other construction workers in the back room shooting pool.

  “Choirboy, what’s with the nose?” Rico asked.

  “I ran into something hard.”

  One of the other guys shouted, “Yeah, I had that happen once, too. It was her husband’s fist.”

  Jake ignored the comment.

  “You wanna shoot a game?” Rico asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  By the time Jake checked his watch, it was past one a.m. He placed the pool stick back in the rack. “Time for me to head out. Thanks, guys.”

  He gave Angie a wave on his way to the door. As he approached the cabin, he saw that every light in the place was on. He sped up, his heart racing as he pulled the truck to a stop and hurried inside.

  “Shannon? Hello.” He searched the downstairs with no results. He took the steps two at a time to the second floor. “Shannon?”

  Her bedroom door opened and she stepped out into the hallway, gun aimed at the floor. “Oh, thank God. Someone was here. A car pulled up in the driveway and just sat there.”

  “You should have called me.” He pulled her close for a moment, then released her and took a step back. “Are you okay?”

  “I didn’t know where to reach you. I didn’t have your cell number. I turned on all the lights and the TV and then locked myself and Bailey in our room.”

  “What did the car look like?”

  “I don’t know. It was dark. Whoever it was parked out of range of the outside lights. It looked like a bigger car, black or dark blue. The driver never got out, just sat there for about fifteen minutes, then left.”

  “How long ago?”

  “Half an hour or more.”

  “I’m really sorry. I should have stayed here.” If the biker was after him, then who had come here earlier? Someone to finish what the biker started, or someone looking for Heather Carlson a/k/a Shannon Chase?

  “Let’s go downstairs so we don’t waken Bailey,” he said.

  In the kitchen, he poured her a glass of wine. “Sip this. It’ll help you relax.”

  She accepted the glass and set it in front of her.

  “The car pulled in at the bot
tom of the drive, sat running, and then pulled out again?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Might have been someone who got lost. They pulled into my driveway to check directions or reset their GPS.”

  “That makes sense. I’m so on edge, I see someone after me at every turn.”

  He understood that feeling. “There weren’t any calls, were there?”

  “No.”

  He could see her anxiety level dropping as they talked and she drank the wine. “So let’s not assume the worst.”

  “You’re right.” She finished the wine and stood. “I’m so sorry for crashing into your life and disrupting it this way. You’ve been more than generous to us.”

  “I did what any decent human being would do. That’s all.”

  “There aren’t that many decent human beings around, though.” She bent next to his chair and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Jake Garber.”

  He sat for a while, confused. A good man? A good liar was more like it. It seemed as if his two worlds had collided when Shannon and Bailey crashed into his life. He’d responded to their needs the way he believed a priest should respond. And they’d both found a place in his heart, making him question his priestly vocation. After what he’d done in the past twenty-four hours, how could he call himself a priest?

  Weariness overtook him. He walked around turning off lights before ascending the stairs. He had to believe things would work out the way they were intended to. But he hadn’t convinced himself the car in the driveway was a coincidence. He doubted he’d convinced Shannon.

  *

  Shannon was wakened a few hours later by Bailey, demanding to be changed and fed. Her body felt weighted as she tried to get out of bed. Jake was already in the kitchen brewing coffee. He looked as bad as she felt.

  “Good morning,” she mumbled.

  “Morning.”

  “What time do you want to leave for the apartment? I’m sure you have work to do, so I can be ready any time.” She strapped Bailey into her carrier and prepared a bottle.

  “I’ll be ready when you are.” He poured a cup of coffee and sat at the table, smiling at the baby who smiled right back at him.

  “I’ll shower, then bring my things downstairs.”

  “I’m going out to the garage. Give me a shout.” He picked up his coffee and strode out the door.

  She watched him go, then settled in the living room to feed the baby. She made a mental list of all she still needed—pick up the crib, fill the refrigerator and pantry, arrange for internet service. Until Caleb got back to them with documents, she couldn’t even set up a bank account. The thoughts of carrying around eleven thousand dollars in a briefcase made her understandably nervous. But it would all work out. She had to tend to one thing at a time.

  By noon, she had her belongings in the apartment, had a good supply of groceries, and Jake had gone to fetch the crib from Dawn Kohler. Abe called up to her from the driveway.

  “Oh, hi, Mr. Swinson.”

  “Can you come down for a minute?”

  “Sure. Let me get Bailey.” She picked up the baby and slipped into her shoes.

  “I want to show you something.” He opened the garage door to reveal a very old Buick the size of a small boat. “She doesn’t look like much, but she runs.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I’m not allowed to drive anymore. Cataracts and arthritis in my hands.” He held up a gnarled hand. “I’ve kept the registration and insurance up to date. So I want you to feel free to use the car.”

  “Me? Oh, but….”

  “It would be a big help if you did our grocery shopping. We’ve been having things delivered and they charge a fortune.”

  “Well, of course. I’ll be happy to.”

  “And you use it for yourself. Young woman like you, you need to get away now and then, go shopping.”

  “That’s very generous. I’ll let you know any time I’m taking the car out.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. You want to come in and see Helen for a minute? I know she’d like to see the baby.”

  “I’d love to.” She followed him inside.

  Helen sat in the middle of the living room in her wheelchair, tilted slightly to one side, a cloth draped on her shoulder and chest to catch the stream of drool. It was sad, Shannon thought, to end up like that.

  “Helen, look who’s come to see you? Remember Shannon and Bailey?”

  Helen rolled her eyes up to look at them and a semblance of a smile tugged at one side of her mouth.

  Shannon knelt in front of the woman, balancing Bailey on her knee. “How are you today?

  Helen grunted a response.

  “I’ll be coming to help you out starting on Monday. Bailey will be here, too.”

  Though Helen couldn’t respond, Shannon saw the change in her eyes, a twinkle that said she was happy about this.

  She stood and turned to Abe. “What time should I come down on Monday?”

  “I give her breakfast at eight, so any time after eight-thirty is fine. She’ll need a shower. I can show you how to get her out of the chair and into the shower chair. She has some strength still in her legs and she’ll help. You won’t have to be here all day. We’ll work out the schedule.”

  “Sound great.”

  “If anything happens up there and you need help, you just call.” He produced a three by five card with a number scrawled on it. “That’s our phone number down here. If you was my granddaughter, I’d hope someone was looking out for you.”

  “Thank you.” Her throat ached and tears threatened. She hadn’t known her grandparents, but Abe’s concern made her think of her mom. She wondered if or when she’d see her again.

  “Well, I won’t keep you. You probably have lots to do to get settled in. I’m glad you’re with us.”

  “I am, too, Abe.” She stopped and waved. “Bye, Helen. We’ll see you on Monday.”

  When Jake returned with the crib, the two of them unloaded it from the truck. Jake stood and stared and the long, narrow steps. “If I take the bottom end, I can support most of the weight. You take the top and just make sure it clears the steps and the railings. Okay?”

  “Sure. No problem.”

  He hesitated. “Should I wear body armor? I mean, you’ve shot at me and nearly turned me into a eunuch. This task could either go very right or terribly wrong.” He grinned.

  “I swear I’ll try not to hurt you.”

  They made a slow climb up the stairs with Shannon tugging on the crib and steering it between the building and stair railing. When they got to the top, she set her end down on the landing. “Now what?”

  Jake still bore the weight of his end. “Now we take it inside,” he grunted.

  “Yeah, um…how do we turn it to take it inside? Is it even going to fit through the door?”

  He braced the crib against his shoulder and peered around it. “Okay, we’ll have to lift it above the rail and angle it.”

  Shannon looked at the height of the railing. “I don’t know.”

  Under his constant instruction she managed to raise her end high enough for him to lift the crib and swing it above the railing. It barely fit through the door, but was finally in the apartment.

  Jake set his end down and stretched, rubbing his lower back. “How can a little baby need a bed that heavy?”

  Shannon ran her hands over the crib painted white and decorated with flowers and teddy bears. “This is beautiful.”

  “I’ll get the mattress. It’s still in the truck.” He plodded back down the stairs and returned. “Dawn says you might want to wipe it down with disinfectant. It’s been in her garage.”

  “I will. Can we take it back to the bedroom?”

  “Of course. That’ll be easy. It’s on wheels and here are the locks.” He demonstrated how to lock the wheels so the crib wouldn’t move.

  Steering the crib into the bedroom without scraping paint as they turned proved another challenge. Soon it was in place against the w
all across from the foot of Shannon’s bed. The room shrunk considerably with the added furniture, but it would be cozy.

  Jake looked around. “So, this is it. You’re all set.”

  “This is it. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll have you over for dinner some evening to thank you.”

  Things were suddenly awkward between them.

  “That’s not necessary. I mean, to thank me. Dinner, now I won’t turn that down.” He returned to the living room and she followed.

  Jake bent over the carrier and grinned at Bailey. “I’m going to miss you, that’s for sure.”

  Shannon swallowed the lump in her throat. “You can come by any time to visit.” Then she asked, “Have you heard anything from your friend Caleb?”

  “Not yet. He said it might take a week. He’s good for his word. If he calls me, I’ll let you know. If he calls you, I’d like to know, too.”

  She nodded.

  Jake walked to the door and stood with his hand on the doorknob. “So, I guess I’ll see you?”

  “I hope so.” She took a hesitant step forward and hugged him. “Thank you for everything. You were our Godsend.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jake drove back to the cabin. He had gotten behind on a few carpentry projects that would soon be due and needed to make up for lost time. Shannon’s parting words kept pinging around in his brain like a pinball, “You were our Godsend.” Was that all it had been? God finding a way to use him out here in the middle of nowhere? Or was it the other way around? That Shannon was sent to show him his true path, to give him the clarity he needed to choose his future.

  If that was the case, it hadn’t worked. He was more confused now than ever. He got out of the truck and stood for a moment, staring at the cabin. It was empty. And it would be empty when he went inside at the end of the day. He wished to hell they’d just capture Lou Crowley and Sara Martin, find out about their possible international trafficking connections, and let Jake go back to New York and testify. It was time to end this. Maybe Caleb’s men had been able to get something out of the biker.

  Jake unlocked the garage door and stepped inside, turning on the lights and the fans. He looked at the three specialty pieces he needed to finish, chose an ornate headboard a newly-married couple had ordered, and set to work. It felt good to focus on the intricacies of the carving and keep all other thoughts at bay.