The Black Sheep's Redemption (9 page)

Burke spun on his heel and left, seemingly unaware of the eyes that followed him. Charles cleared his throat and seated himself in front of Brianne. His daughter frowned. “Bad man, Daddy. Don’t like him.”

Demi choked back a surge of laughter, not thinking it was an appropriate response. Then she caught the glint in Charles’s eyes as he nodded to Brianne. “Very observant young lady.”

Brianne grinned as though she understood and Demi’s heart softened at the exchange. She glanced at the door where Hennessy had just left. “I admire your restraint,” she said softly.

Charles nodded his head. “Me, too.” Pulling in a deep breath, he let it out slowly. Demi watched him for a moment longer, wishing she had the right words to say. Having none, she stayed silent.

He looked up and said, “How do you feel about fishing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Why?”

“Because I think that might be just the thing to take our minds off everything that’s going on around here.”

“And your mind off Burke Hennessy?”

“Exactly.”

“Sounds good to me.” She smiled then shivered as her eyes caught Burke’s staring back at them from outside the restaurant window.

His malevolent glare said he wasn’t finished with them.

TEN

S
urprisingly, the rest of the week and most of the next passed without incident. Thursday rolled around with no more break-ins, no more weird messages. And nothing on Demi’s true identity.

It made Charles nervous, but relieved, too. Maybe whoever had been causing problems decided to move on to something else.

The twist in his gut told him he could hope for that, but not to stop watching his—or Demi’s—back just yet.

And the DNA results
still
hadn’t come in.

Owen said that he and their father were nagging the lab, promising to leave them alone as soon as they passed on the results. So far there’d been no word. Charles refused to get his hopes up that they would come through any time soon.

He gathered his fishing equipment from his garage and turned to see Owen’s orange Ford Raptor pickup pull into the drive. Victoria and their nine-year-old daughter, Paige, were with him.

Demi rode up on her bike just then and Charles found his attention centered on her. With windblown hair and pink cheeks, she looked about eighteen years old. He gulped then caught the knowing glint in Owen’s eyes.

Feeling the heat creep up his neck he focused on loading the equipment into the back of his truck. “Morning,” he called over his shoulder.

Demi parked the bike and greeted his brother and Victoria. Paige hopped out and slammed the door. “Can I help get the twins ready?”

“They’re already in their car seats.” Charles offered his niece a grin. “It was the only way
I
could get stuff ready.”

Demi smiled. “I could have come a little early and helped.”

“I appreciate that, but they’re in a good mood this morning so I handled it.” He turned to Paige. “But you can entertain them.”

The girl gave an eager nod and climbed in the car where she was greeted with two-year-old squeals of glee.

Charles felt the hair on the back of his neck spike and he glanced around. All morning, he’d felt the presence of someone lurking, spying, and the feeling was getting old. He didn’t spook easily, but the thought of someone watching him and the children made him jumpy.

He stared toward the cliffs where Olivia had fallen to her death and shuddered.

“Something wrong?”

Owen’s perceptive question made Charles blink and he forced a smile. “Nope. Not a thing. Let’s go have some fun.”

“I called Dad and told him we needed an extra rod for Demi. He said he had one hanging in the storage building behind his house and to stop by and pick it up.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

Demi stashed the bike in the garage and climbed in the vehicle with him. Paige decided to ride buckled in between the twins.

Charles cranked the truck and headed to his dad’s house. The sun continued to creep higher in the morning sky and the day promised to be a warm one. They’d shed their jackets in a couple hours, relax and maybe catch a fish or two.

A perfect day made even better because of the woman sitting beside him. “I’m glad you wanted to come with us. It took a little longer to get this trip lined up, working around Owen’s schedule and Victoria’s need to find someone to cover the shop, but I’m glad you decided you’d come.”

Demi smiled. “Sure. I don’t know if I’ve ever gone fishing before, but the adventure sounded too good to pass up.”

He laughed. “Yes, I’m sure
adventure
is the right word for it.”

A few minutes later, they pulled into his father’s drive. “Sit tight. I’ll just go in and get the rod.”

Demi nodded and Charles climbed from the vehicle.

Owen met him. “I want to get some tackle, too.”

Together the brothers entered the building and Charles went for the rods hanging on the wall while Owen opened the steel cabinet attached to the back wall.

Charles found a rod he thought Demi could use and turned to find Owen holding something and frowning at it. “What’s wrong?”

“These.”

Curious, Charles walked over for a look.

Several pictures of a couple, one holding a baby, stared back at him. “Where’d you find those?”

“In Dad’s tackle box on the bottom under a bunch of fishing stuff.”

Owen flipped through them, his face paling with each one.

Charles took them and did the same. He swallowed hard. Several showed a man and a pregnant woman in various poses. In one, the man had his hand possessively on the belly of the young woman, a grin on his face. He flipped the picture over and read, “My little one. Boy or girl?”

And then there was the picture of the man and woman holding a baby. No names or a date on the back.

“Hey, what’s taking so long?” Victoria asked from the door. “The natives are getting restless.”

Owen turned to her and held out the picture. “Look at this.”

With a question in her eyes, Victoria took the photo and looked at it. Then her brows pulled together at the bridge of her nose. “Why does this picture look so familiar—like I’ve seen it before?”

“Where would you have seen this?” Charles asked.

“I’m not sure, but…”

Charles’s heart thudded, dread coursing through him. His eyes met Owen’s. “Is it possible?”

Owen swallowed hard. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“An affair?” Just saying the words left a foul taste in his mouth.

“A what?” Victoria sputtered.

“This is Dad in the picture, Victoria,” Owen said.

She squinted. “Really?” A pause. “I didn’t see it at first, but yes, the resemblance is there.”

“And the woman he has his arm around is not Mom,” Charles said.

“Who’s the baby?” Owen asked quietly. “You don’t think…”

Victoria gaped as she took in what Owen was saying. “That doesn’t mean that your father…”

“…had an affair or that we have a half sibling,” Charles finished the sentence for her.

Owen looked at Charles. “That’s true. We don’t know who this woman in the photograph is.” He paced from one end of the toolshed to the other. Then he spun and jabbed a finger at Charles. “Just like I don’t believe you killed Olivia, I don’t believe Dad cheated on Mom.”

Charles sucked in another breath. “You think I want to believe it? There’s no evidence pointing to me being a killer.” He shook the picture. “This just raises some questions, that’s all.”

Owen ran a hand down his face. “I don’t know. I just…don’t know.”

“Looks like we have something to talk to Dad about. And soon.”

“No,” Victoria protested. “Not yet. Douglas and Merry are getting married this weekend. Don’t ruin the wedding for them.”

Charles paused, his heart thumping with adrenaline. This possibility of an affair, a half sibling, if it was true, sucked the air from his lungs. “I don’t know. This is pretty serious stuff.”

“I agree,” Owen said. “I want some answers.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his father’s number. Charles waited impatiently.

Finally, Owen said, “Hey, Dad, give me a call when you get a chance, will you? We need to talk.”

He hung up and rubbed a hand down his suddenly haggard face. Charles suddenly wasn’t much in the mood for fishing.

* * *

Demi didn’t mind waiting in the truck, but she wondered what was taking them so long in the shed. Tears spilled down Brianne’s cheeks as she kicked her feet. “I want out!”

“Don’t you want to go fishing?” Paige asked.

“No!”

Demi stepped from the truck, ready to release the child from her car-seat prison when she saw Charles, Owen and Victoria exit the shed. Charles carried the fishing pole while Owen tucked something into his shirt pocket.

Victoria looked shaken and pale.

What had happened?

Everyone climbed into their respective vehicles. Charles placed the fishing rod in the back and the troubled, tight look on his face worried her. After pacifying Brianne with a peanut-butter cracker, Demi looked at Charles. “What’s wrong?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror. “I just need to process something before we talk about it, all right?”

Demi bit her lip. “Sure.” He didn’t want to talk in front of Paige.

But for her, some of the excitement of the day had dimmed in light of whatever had happened in the storage building.

They rode in silence, broken only by the chattering of the children and Paige’s exuberance at fishing in the river. “It’s going to be so much fun!”

“I think it’s funny that we’re going out into the woods to find a river to fish when there’s a whole ocean with a pier practically in your backyard,” Demi teased.

Some of Charles’s tension seemed to ease from his shoulders as he shot her a forced smile. “It’s a place with a lot of memories. I grew up going fishing in this little spot. You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

Ten minutes later, Charles pulled into a clearing. Demi could see the path that led down to the river. Stepping down from the truck, she helped get the children out of the car seats and grabbed a folding chair. The men loaded themselves with all the fishing paraphernalia and Victoria lugged a rolling cooler behind her.

Paige helped with Aaron while Demi took charge of Brianne. Bringing up the rear, she let Brianne study her surroundings. The little girl clapped her hands and walked to the edge of the path.

“Ladybug,” the little girl said.

“Where?”

“There.” She pointed to a leaf where the insect sunned itself.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“Pretty,” Brianne agreed, her black pigtails swinging back and forth with the movement of her head.

A twig snapped behind her and Demi turned.

Empty space stared back at her.

Demi turned to Brianne who still watched the little insect with fascination.

A rustle in the bush next to her made her jump and spin.

She could see nothing to cause her alarm, but the hair on her arms lifted and her heart thumped a little faster.

A shivering sensation slid along her spine and suddenly she realized how far ahead the others had gotten. She picked up Brianne in her arms. “Come on, sweetie, let’s go catch a fish.”

“Want the bug.”

“Maybe we can find another one.”

“Want that one.”

Demi carried the little girl who was willing to be distracted with the idea of catching a fish. As she walked the path through the overgrown trees, following where the others had walked only moments before, she cast a glance over her shoulder.

Still she could see nothing and no reason to be alarmed.

But another rustling to her left made her flinch.

She picked up her pace and within seconds saw Charles’s broad back. Relief filled her as she set Brianne down on the blanket someone had placed on the ground.

“Are you okay?” Charles asked.

Demi smiled. She didn’t want to sound silly about thinking someone had been behind her, so she said, “I’m great. When do we get to fish?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Soon.”

For the next half hour, Demi was able to put the creepy feelings aside and concentrate on having a good time with the Fitzgerald family.

With her line dangling in the river, her eyes on Charles and Owen as each man held a child, helping cast and reel to the children’s excitement, she felt peaceful, content for the first time in a long time.

Leaning toward Victoria, she asked, “I have a question.”

“Sure.”

“Brianne spotted a ladybug on the trail out here and was fascinated with it.” Demi held up an empty plastic container. “I thought I’d go find her one she could keep for a few days.”

Victoria smiled. “What a great idea.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Demi walked into the trees, studying each leaf, still wondering how she’d found herself in the midst of such a wonderful family.

She walked a good ways then stopped, remembering the creepiness she’d felt earlier. The feeling of being followed and watched. She supposed she could attribute the noises to an animal in the woods, but…

Nerves rippling, she glanced around. No animals, no strangers, nothing. Just her and the privacy of the woods.

And a pretty little black-and-red ladybug sitting on the leaf near her nose. Smiling, she scooped the little bug in the container, picturing Brianne’s excited glee.

She turned to return to the river, but stopped as she realized she wasn’t quite sure where she was.

The uneasiness in the pit of her stomach returned. Had someone followed them? Followed her?

The longer she stood there, the more the ominous feeling grew. Spinning, she hurried in the direction of the river.

At least she thought it was the right direction.

As she walked, she realized she’d gotten turned around. Sighing in frustration, she turned again and walked in the opposite direction.

Only to come to a small clearing that she didn’t recognize. “Well, that’s not right,” she whispered to herself.