Her Mistletoe Protector(23)

The thought caused him to pause before heading soundlessly into the dense wood. As a single mother, Rachel didn't have anyone to count on when it came to raising Joey. She had to play the role of both parents.

Was it any wonder she was so protective?

He focused on the task at hand, moving slowly and methodically so he didn't miss any signs now that it was daylight. The day was overcast, denying him the sunlight he would have preferred. He stood in the clearing, imagining that the log cabin was the center of a large clock with the south side, straight ahead from the door, at the twelve-o'clock position. He began to make his way around the circle.

In the three-o'clock area, he found a tuft of brown fabric stuck to the tip of a branch that was roughly shoulder height. He stared at it for a long minute, trying to estimate how long it had been there.

He could check the internet for how long it had been since the last snowfall, but he figured, from the dusting on the ground, that it had been within the past day or two. But if the snowfall had been light, the tuft of fabric might have survived intact.

By December the gun deer-hunting season was over, but bow-hunting season lasted until January. Was it possible that someone dressed in camouflage-colored clothing had been through here recently, bow hunting? Uncle Wally's land was posted, but considering no one had been up here lately, he figured the No Trespassing signs didn't mean much.

He wanted to believe there was a hunter in the woods rather than some other random person. Because if it wasn't a hunter, then he was forced to consider the fact that this cabin might not be as safe as he'd thought.

* * *

Rachel finished the dishes and then went over to straighten up the quilts on the bed. Near the end table, she found an old Bible. Opening the flap, she was surprised to discover it belonged to Nick's mother.

She carried the Bible back to the main living area, wondering if Nick's mother had left it here or if it belonged to Nick, himself? The book was clearly old and well used. The edges of the paper were gold and there were small cutouts for each of the Bible sections. In the center there was a place for family names and she discovered it had been filled in with neat handwriting stating the names of Nick and his two sisters.                       
       
           



       

She hadn't known about Nick's sisters. And she realized there were probably a lot of things she didn't know about Nick.

Curious, she opened the book and scanned the various chapters. It wasn't easy to decipher the meaning of the writing since, according to the title page, it was written in the Authorized King James Version.

"What are you reading?" Joey asked, coming over to sit next to her on the sofa.

She glanced down at her son, remembering the conversation he'd had with Nick before breakfast. It had nearly broken her heart to hear Joey describe how alone he'd felt in the dark room where Morales had kept him. She realized now that she'd done her son a disservice by not teaching him religion. "This is a Bible, which is a collection of God's words," she explained, hoping she was describing it right.

"Are there stories in there?" he queried, leaning over to see for himself.

"Yes, there are," she replied, although she wasn't sure exactly where they were. She vaguely remembered some Bible stories from her childhood, but how to find them in this huge book?

She opened the Bible to the New Testament, and the pages opened to the Gospel according to Saint John. "'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,'" she read out loud. Joey leaned against her, seemingly content so she continued, "'The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.'"

Soon, she got into the rhythm of the words, and the lyrical quality of the text helped her to relax. So intent was she on reading that she didn't hear Nick return.

When she glanced up, she saw him watching her, a gentle smile on his face. She stumbled over the next sentence and then stopped.

"You sound like you've been reading the Bible your entire life," he murmured, admiration reflected in his gaze.

She felt herself blush. "I hope it's okay that I'm reading your mother's Bible," she said. "I found it on the bedside table in our room."

"She'd be thrilled," he assured her. "John's Gospel is one of my favorites. Although you also might try the book of Psalms-those are where I go when I need to reconnect with God. Or we might want to review the Gospel surrounding the birth of Jesus, as that's what Christmas is all about."

"All right," she agreed, thinking that this was the first time in her entire life that she'd had a conversation about the Bible with a man.

Actually, with anyone. Yet she found it wasn't the least bit awkward, at least with Nick.

Joey scrambled off the sofa and ran over to Nick. "Did you find any deer in the deer bed?" he asked, the Bible stories forgotten.

"Nope, didn't see any deer there today," he said with a wry smile.

She frowned and set the Bible aside. "What did you find?" she asked, sensing there was something bothering him.

He shrugged. "Could be nothing, but I think I'll call Jonah, just in case."

She did not like the sound of that. "Just in case what?"

He hesitated. "Just in case the bit of fabric I found outside doesn't belong to a hunter poaching on my uncle's land."

* * *

Nick tried Jonah several times before he connected with his friend. "I might need some backup," he said bluntly.

"What happened?" Jonah asked.

In the background he could hear Mallory's voice but not exactly what she was saying. "I found some fabric stuck to a tree branch about fifty feet from the cabin. Can't be sure it's a random hunter or someone who could have followed us."

There was a moment of silence. "I want to help you, Nick, but Mallory has been having contractions. She says it's probably false labor, since she's not due until next week, but I'm not willing to take the chance."

"Hey, no problem," he hastened to assure his friend. "Stay with Mallory, I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Maybe you should call for backup? Or, find another place to stay," Jonah suggested.                       
       
           



       

"Yeah, maybe." Neither option thrilled him. He trusted his boss but didn't want to bring in anyone new. And if they left, he'd have to use his credit card, since he was almost out of cash. If the Mafia was involved, they likely had the ability to track them that way. Not to mention, he rather liked the coziness of the cabin. "Take care of Mallory, and call me if I'm going to be an honorary uncle."

"Nick, wait," Jonah said, before he could hang up. "I did find something interesting. I know you weren't keen on the Mafia angle, but guess who's back in Chicago?"

Nick rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. "Tell me you didn't find Frankie Caruso."

"Bing, bing, bing-you win the grand prize," Jonah joked.

Nick could barely drudge up a smile. "Where was he spotted?"

"That's what was so interesting. He was at a fund-raiser put together by the mayor to raise money for diabetes research."

Diabetes research? "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, but check it out online if you need more information."

Another coincidence. "Why does the Chicago mayor care about diabetes?"

"Because his wife was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and he thinks there should be more research into finding a cure."

"Okay, thanks for the heads-up," Nick said. After ending the call, he crossed over to the table and booted up the laptop.

He quickly pulled up a search engine and put in Caruso's name along with the word fund-raiser. Sure enough, there he was standing next to the mayor and his wife.

As he stared at the elder Caruso, he couldn't help thinking that Rachel may have been right all along. Caruso might have been the mastermind behind Joey's kidnapping. Seeing as he was such good friends with the mayor, it could be that Caruso wasn't happy about Rachel's failed diabetes medication. Could be that the mayor had a bone to pick with Rachel's company, too.

What better revenge than to kidnap her son, forcing her to sell off her shares of the company? And the added bonus? Making himself rich in the process.





TWELVE

Rachel could tell something was bothering Nick, but with Joey sitting right there, she was hesitant to ask too many questions about the investigation.

"Mom, can I work on my deer carving?" Joey asked from his favorite spot on the sofa.

"Deer carving?" she echoed with a raised brow. Nick's sheepish expression gave him away. "You taught him to do that?" she asked.

"Um, yeah. Hope you don't mind."

She should mind, but oddly she was touched that he'd taken the time. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"My uncle taught me how to carve when I was about his age, and I stressed the importance of being careful with the knife."