Liam ushered Maggie into the passenger seat, promising to bring Chad later to retrieve the van. She wished he wouldn’t do that. Use such impeccable manners. It made her all uneasy and fluttery inside to have his supporting hand under her elbow...the way he pulled the seat belt over for her. She was strong and capable and didn’t need such assistance. At the same time, she could not deny that Liam’s presence drove some of the uncertainty away.
When she called the Lodge, Helen told them that Tammy had been given some pain medicine for her ankle and was fast asleep. There would be no discussing the police involvement with her until morning. The fact didn’t discourage Liam in the least.
“First thing tomorrow, then. Aunt Ginny is home from the ER with her ankle taped, so Jane’s cooking. That’s my brother’s new wife.”
“Your brother?”
“In every way except the DNA. Chad, too. Mitch and Chad are brothers to me and Helen.” He chuckled. “Now we got ourselves a sister in Jane and I got promoted to uncle to her little son Charlie. He’s almost four. Cracks me up how much he loves trains. Same way I felt about toy soldiers when I was his age.”
“So you were soldier material as a kid, too?”
He jerked a look at her. “Nah.”
“Why did you become a Green Beret?”
He grinned. “Doesn’t everyone want to be the best of the best?”
“No, so why did you?”
He shifted, fiddling with the buttons on the heater. “Haven’t been asked that in a long while.”
She waited patiently.
He huffed out a breath. “Uh, my dad sort of checked out of our lives after my mom died. This one time...” He rubbed at his brow. “I was around fifteen, I think. I have this vivid memory of him breaking down at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial because those were his buddies, his family. I felt this strange mixture of pride and resentment. He’d been something, mattered in some way, and he had this family that meant more to him than we did. I guess I...” He shifted again. “Wanted something like that, too.”
“You’re so close to Helen.”
“What?”
He hadn’t heard. “You have such a tight bond with Helen,” she said a bit louder. “I assumed you were from a pretty close family.”
“Helen probably would like me to be a little less bonded. She says I act like I’m the boss of her.”
It was hard for Maggie to make out the subtle shift of his demeanor, but she heard it in his tone, the forced lightness, the cheerful patina that covered up something much deeper. He was sorry he’d shared things about his father with her, she surmised.
He parked the truck in the curving driveway of a stunning two-story ranch-style home with an elegant tower rising above the top floor. “Let’s get some dinner. I’m starved.”
He’d dismissed their moment of intimacy firmly. Unsure why she felt stung by his reaction, she followed him into the main house, through the tiled foyer and into a warm, inviting dining room done in varying types of wood.
A dark-haired woman with her hair pulled into a ponytail was just sliding a tureen of corn chowder onto a festive table. Behind her was an enormous man, even taller than Liam, with a scar on his cheek, dark hair and eyes.
“Mitch Whitehorse,” he said, dwarfing her hand in his. “And this is my wife, Jane, and our son, Charlie.” Our son. She heard a mountain of pride in those words, though she knew that Charlie was not Mitch’s biological child.
He shot a look at Liam. “Got the photos of the trailer you sent to me and Danny Patron, but I’m not certain why you didn’t share the situation earlier. You have a few things to explain.”
“Yes,” Liam said. “I do.”
Charlie was staring in rapt attention at the train track circling the base of a twinkling tree.
“Gonna say hello to your uncle?” Liam snatched up the boy and swung him onto his shoulders. Charlie squealed in delight, gripping Liam’s ears as he carried him to the table. “This is Miss Maggie,” Liam said. “You met her sister Tammy. They look a lot alike.”
Charlie solemnly reached down from his perch and shook her hand. “Mice to meet you.”
“Nice,” Liam said with a laugh, “not mice.”
Maggie marveled at the joy that shone from Liam’s face as he lifted his nephew down and settled him in a chair.
Charlie frowned in concentration as he bent his fingers and thrust them toward Liam.
“Whatcha doin’, kiddo?” Liam asked.
“He’s showing you what he learned in preschool,” Jane said.
Liam’s expression was perplexed so she explained. “It’s sign language for ‘I love you.’”
Liam’s mouth softened, splitting into a tender grin as he bent to kiss Charlie. “I love you, too,” Maggie heard him whisper.
Charlie beamed. Her heart throbbed at the tender moment between the two.
“Your mama’s made something yummy,” Liam said conspiratorially. “We’re gonna have a good meal.”
“You’d eat cardboard if we served it to you,” Jane said.
Liam pulled out the chair for Maggie to sit. She blushed. Dinner was usually a bowl of soup eaten standing up between shifts. This grand table with the centerpiece of poinsettias and woven striped napkins dazzled her.
The woman who must be Aunt Ginny, silvered hair cut in a neat pixie and her ankle in a brace, arrived, followed by a handsome man in his sixties.
“I’m Gus and this is Ginny. Welcome.” He shook his head. “Forgive my staring. Liam filled me in just a little. We met your sister when she and Liam were...” He cleared his throat. “Well, anyway, you just look so much alike I would have mistaken you for your sister in a heartbeat.”
“It’s the twin thing,” she said. “But I’m younger by two minutes.”
Everyone laughed. After Uncle Gus said grace, they dug into the savory soup and hunks of homemade herb bread. Maggie didn’t realize how hungry she’d been. Liam ate heartily, also, reaching over to butter the bread for Charlie and wipe the dribbled milk from the boy’s chin. The simple gesture fluttered something inside her chest.
When the meal was almost finished, Liam gave a streamlined version of Maggie and Tammy’s situation. “Maggie’s staying in the saddlery tonight, Ginny and Gus are okay with it. We’re going to lay this all out for Danny Patron tomorrow. I already called and left a message on his cell phone, and we’re driving over there to meet with him as soon as she talks to her sister.”
Mitch fingered his water glass. “Need me on this?”
“I was hoping I could rope you in.”
“No need for roping. I’ll be there.” Mitch didn’t smile but his gaze came to rest on Maggie. “Liam’s good at recruiting help.”
“Green Berets are force multipliers,” he said with a grin. “That’s one of our strengths. We go into hostile territory and win over the hearts and minds of the people.”
“Candy diplomacy,” Mitch said with a smile. “Your best trick is winning over the stomachs of the people.”
Liam laughed. “Whatever works.”
Charlie was excused to watch the train go around the tree.
“I apologize for bringing our problems into your home,” Maggie said.
Jane waited until Charlie was engrossed before she said softly, “I felt the same way not too long ago.” She looked at her husband. “This family saved me and Charlie and gave us back our future. We would do anything for Liam—” her gaze shifted to Maggie “—and anyone he cared about.”
Maggie found she was not able to meet Jane’s eyes. Cared about? Her? She immediately felt the sting of her own foolishness. Jane obviously meant that the family was willing to help because of Liam’s connection with Tammy.
Mitch cleared his throat. “Checked out Joe Albertson. He’s clean. He was hired to write a computer program for Bill Salvador’s feed and grain business. He’s got a good rep for quality work. Lives in an apartment outside of Sand Dune. Drives a five-year-old Subaru. No priors except for a speeding ticket and a fender bender.”
Liam nodded. “You work fast.”
“I work smart. I texted you his phone number so you can pass it on to Tammy.” His eyes swiveled to Maggie. “If Virgil is able to get close to you, it’s a matter of time before he finds your sister, too.”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” Liam said.
Maggie pursed her lips. “I appreciate it, really, but we don’t expect ongoing help. There’s no reason to put you out any further. I know Virgil’s dangerous and I’m way out of my depth here, but I will do what I have to for my sister.”
Mitch nodded after a moment. “I get it. Same applies to me and mine.” He reached for Jane’s hand and kissed her on the knuckles. “Sometimes you have to take risks to protect what’s important.”
Maggie felt Liam looking at her and dropped her gaze to her lap. Relieved when everyone began to clear the plates from the table, Maggie gathered up an armful.
“Hey, now. Let me help,” Liam said.
“I got this. You’re a force multiplier, I’m a restaurant rock star. Go play with Charlie.”
That made him tip back his head and laugh with gusto. The sound thrilled her. Before she could react, he leaned over and kissed her temple as if it was the most natural thing in the world, the brush of his warm mouth buzzing her pulse. Then he was gone. But the off-kilter cascade of emotions remained.
Temporary situation, she told herself. Liam Pike, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, was not going to become a stalwart presence in her life. Exes were and would always be off-limits. Period.
He’s just a charming cowboy helper, she mused, but the words failed to quell the hum dancing deep in her veins.
Liam brought out the box he’d stowed away on a bookshelf, opening it up for Charlie.
The boy’s eyes widened to the size of silver dollars as he took out the wooden tunnel. Liam had asked Mitch to carve it and then Liam had painted it with snowy mountains and added a minuscule mountain goat wearing a collar of jingle bells.
“I thought that was going to be a Christmas present,” Mitch said.
“Nah, I’m working on something else for his real Christmas present.”
“You’re going to spoil him.”
“That’s what uncles are for.”
Something crossed Mitch’s face and his mouth tightened. Liam waited.
“It’s hard to forget that his biological father is...”
A serial killer.
“Behind bars, so he loses his kin badge,” Liam said firmly. “Mitch, God is good and Charlie’s got an amazing father in you and a spectacular uncle in me, if we’re being honest.”
Mitch fired him an uncertain smile. “Sometimes I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. Everyone will confirm that I’m spectacular.”
He got the laugh he’d earned. Mitch stepped away to answer his cell and Liam knelt next to the train tracks that circled the tree, helping Charlie set the tunnel in place. They both cheered when the toy train chugged around and emerged from the newly installed tunnel.
He stood and backed away a step or two, holding his cell phone to get a picture of Charlie and the train. A presence made him jerk around to find Maggie behind him. His elbow knocked the mug of cocoa she held, spilling it all down her front.
“Oh, man,” he said, rushing to the table and grabbing up some napkins. He stood there, face burning, helplessly clutching napkins. “I didn’t hear you. I’m awful sorry.”
“It’s okay.” With a calm smile, she took the napkins from him while he grabbed the half-empty mug from her. She dabbed at the splatters on her shirt and pants. “I’ve been showered with plenty worse stuff, let me tell you. You haven’t lived until you’ve had liver and onions all down your front.”
He tried to smile but something thick and heavy held down his spirit. He hadn’t heard her. “Did I... I mean...are you burned?”
“No, it wasn’t that hot.”
But it could have been and it might just have showered down upon Charlie and scalded him. Liam shook his head, eyes on his boots, and then felt her arm on his.
“It’s okay. An accident. No harm done.”
No harm, except another reminder of his narrowing world. He forced a smile. “Hey, yeah. Well, I hope you didn’t have your heart set on that cocoa.”
“It was for Charlie, but no worries. I’ll make him another cup. Do you want some, too?”
“No, uh, I’m just gonna make sure the cabin is all set for you.” He turned, but she sidled in front of him.
“I’ll go, too. You shouldn’t do all the work.”
“Nah,” he said, forcing a jolly tone. “Easier on my own.”
He hurried to the door, ready to step into the darkness that would allow him to hide his feelings. As he reached for the handle, the doorbell chimed.
Yanking it open, Liam found a stranger with thick, sandy hair and wire-rimmed glasses standing on the porch. His guard went up. Strangers didn’t usually invite themselves onto ranch property, not unless there was a very good reason.
“Can I help you?” Liam said.
“Yes,” the man said. His gaze drifted past Liam. A quick glance told Liam that his object was Maggie. He saw her expression change from confusion to recognition to the barest flicker of fear.
Liam edged over a step, blocking the man’s view. “I said, can I help you?”
The man nodded. “I’m sure you can,” he said, looking at Maggie. “I have been looking all over the place for you, Tammy.”