Heart of the Night

Then he turned and rushed out the front door. For a minute, Gena couldn’t move. She felt trapped between the duty of protecting her son and a mother’s love. And she felt trapped by the brilliant shards of happiness and longing she’d seen in Eli’s eyes right before the panic and the doubt had taken over. Thinking she should go after him, she started for the door.

Then Scotty called out to her. “Mom, I can’t find the syrup.” The phone rang, its shrill tone reminding her that she had a job to do and a son to take care of. No time to feel sorry for the man who’d come here to mess with her life.

Gena stared at the door, then turned to go and help her son, grabbing the cordless phone as she moved through the house.

Eli stood out on the craggy rocks, facing the brisk wind coming in off the gray, churning waters of the Atlantic. He was cold, a gentle shiver moving up and down his body. But the shiver wasn’t from the frigid air hitting his wet face. It was from a dark fear battering his soul.

Wiping at his eyes, he whispered to the wind. “I’m not good enough for that boy, Lord. Not nearly good enough to even lay claim to him.”

He closed his eyes, reliving those precious moments when his son had come down the stairs. Eli’s heart had pounded with pride and awe even while it pumped with trepidation.

“Help me,” he whispered, his words disappearing as the wind carried them out to sea.

Lydia had told him to turn to God when he was afraid or when he thought he might want to seek revenge or retribution. But there was no retribution here. No way to make up for the losses that boy and he had suffered. Scotty would never know his mother’s beautiful smile even though he had the same smile. He’d never hear her pretty Southern drawl. He’d never be able to hug her close and call her “Mommy.” And Eli would never have her in his arms again. Never. But he had his son now. If he could face the tremendous responsibility of that.

“Help me.”

That was the only prayer his trembling lips could form. So he just stood there, frozen and unyielding, staring out at that harsh, brutal water, tears falling like melting snowflakes down his face.

Until he felt a hand on his arm.

“Eli, come inside and let me make you some coffee.”

He jerked away, then turned to stare at Gena. Her dark hair lifted around her face, her eyes were wide with worry. She clutched his arm, her expression full of a sympathy that just about did him in.

“I’m afraid,” he admitted. “I’m so afraid of him.”

Gena moved closer. “He’s just a little boy. But it is scary, being a parent. It’s the kind of love that holds your heart so tightly…well…it’s just hard to imagine life without your child.”

He turned to her then, understanding piercing the cold wall of his heart. “I came here not knowing, not thinking about that. But now I get it. Fools rush in—”

“Where angels fear to tread,” Gena finished.

He touched her hand on his arm, his fingers covering hers. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Then he saw the tears forming in her eyes. “It’s okay. You have a right to know your child. I only ask that you be patient with us. And we’ll try to do the same with you.”

He faced the ocean again. “I’m normally not a patient man.”

“I can tell,” she said, her smile indulgent. “Your son has inherited that particular trait, I think.”

That made him smile. “I pray he hasn’t inherited my other bad traits.”

“Time will tell, won’t it?”

She shivered as the wind picked up.

“Let’s get you inside,” he said, turning to take her by the hand.

She nodded, following him back up the slope to the house. “I have scrapbooks—it’s a hobby of mine. You’re welcome to look at them. They show our life—from the time Devon brought him to me until now.”

Eli swallowed back the lump in his throat. “I’d like that.”

“C’mon in, then. I’ll brew some fresh coffee and I have some homemade cinnamon rolls. You can take as long as you need.”

Eli followed her up onto the tiny back porch. He needed a lifetime. But for now, he’d take all the precious moments he could get.

It took a few days, but Eli fell into a routine. He didn’t sleep much, but he got up with the sunrise each day to stare over at the cottage across from his own, waiting and sipping coffee until he saw the kitchen light flick on. Then he’d head over to have breakfast with Gena and Scotty, sitting silent and watchful as he absorbed their endearing daily rituals.

After they took Scotty to school, Gena would go about her computer work while Eli would go back to his cottage to look over yet another frilly scrapbook full of pictures of Scotty and Gena.

And what a pretty picture those two made.

Gena decorated each page with cute little captions and colorful cutouts. There were a lot of firsts in those decorative little story boards—first birthday, first Christmas, first tooth, first snowman, first hockey practice. He had missed a lot in the last few years, but these clever picture books told the story of his son’s life. Gena loved Scotty, that was for sure.

And so did Eli.

Now as he trudged through the snow to the cottage, he did a visual surveillance—this, too, had become part of his daily routine. So far, nothing seemed amiss even though Eli still woke in the night with a sense of dread in his soul. But he did notice an SUV parked at the cottage across the way on the other side of Gena’s house. She’d told him a couple was coming to stay through Christmas. Eli wondered who they were and why they’d chosen such a cold, isolated place to have a vacation. Maybe they wanted some alone time.

He didn’t have time to ponder that. His thoughts went back to his son. How did you protect someone when you didn’t know what you were trying to protect him or her from?

He couldn’t answer his own question. The minute he entered the back door, Scotty bombarded him with fast-paced conversation.

“It’s the last day of school, then we get out for the Christmas break,” Scotty told Eli in between bites of fluffy pancakes. “Hey, want to help me build a snowman when I get home today, Mr. Eli?”

“I think I’d like that,” Eli said, wondering how Gena kept up with this little bundle of energy. He always had another adventure to share. “I’ve never built a snowman before.”

“Honest?” Scotty gave him a look of disbelief. “Why not?”

“Well, we don’t get much snow down in Louisiana.”

“I’m learning my states,” Scotty said, moving on to another subject. “But where’s Lous-anna?”

“It’s Louisiana,” Gena corrected from her spot in front of the stove.

Eli gave Scotty an indulgent smile. He’d been careful not to give out information unless the kid asked. “It’s near Texas and the southern part is right on the Gulf of Mexico. That’s where I grew up.”

“That’s big water,” Scotty said with a bob of his head.

Eli watched as the kid’s hair bounced and bobbed, too. “It is big water, very big. I go shrimpin’ in the Gulf a lot whenever I’m home.”

“You don’t stay home much?”

Eli shook his head. “No, not much. I’ve been away a long time now. But I might go back soon.”

“Maybe one day I can come and visit you,” Scotty said on a pragmatic note. “In the summer.”

Gena shot Eli a warning look tinged with fear. Although she seemed to trust him more and more each day, Eli wasn’t fooled. She was still afraid he’d steal her son away in the middle of the night.

“It gets real hot in Louisiana in the summer,” Eli replied, ever careful with his choice of answers. “But you’d be welcome at my door anytime, for sure.”

“I could help you catch shrimp.”

Eli nodded. “My maman used to say ‘Les petites mains fait bien avec les petits ouvrages.’ Little hands do well with little tasks.”

Scotty giggled. “You talk funny.”

Gena placed another batch of pancakes on the table, then sat down. “Eli is Cajun, Scotty, so he’s speaking French. His ancestors left Nova Scotia, Canada, and went all the way to Louisiana many years ago.”

“From one big ocean to another one,” Eli said, his eyes meeting Gena’s. “But that’s a long story.”

“Cool,” Scotty said, draining his milk. “I know where Canada is. We’re near there.”

“For sure,” Eli replied. “One day, I’ll tell you all about my Cajun ancestors. People get the wrong impression about us, so I like to set the record straight.” He gave Gena a long hard look on that note, hoping she’d try to change her impressions of him. Not that he was making it easy on her. But he had tried to back off and play nice.

Scotty looked confused. “Whatcha talking about?”

“I like to tell people about my culture—the good and bad of it,” Eli explained. “It’s not all about wrestling ’gators and talking funny, although I do both.” He winked, then grinned. “Never met a ’gator I couldn’t wrestle.”

Scotty’s dark eye grew wide. “Have you wrestled a really big one?”

“Not more than six feet or so.”

Scotty’s gaze filled with wonder. “Wow.”

Gena put her hand under her chin and gave him a skeptical look. “I didn’t peg you for being so open, Eli. Or so modest.” Her sarcasm was cute and he was getting used to this friendly banter even if it was mostly for his son’s benefit.

He leaned close, pasting on his best charming smile. “Well, maybe you had me pegged all wrong, oui?”

Scotty looked from his mother to Eli. “How’d you guys meet?”

“By accident,” Eli said, seamless and simple.

“How long you gonna stay?”

Eli gave Gena a determined stare. “Well, now, that depends on a whole lot of things.”

Scotty sat still for a minute. “What do you do, Mr. Eli? For work?”

Gena’s head came up and the gloves came off as she stared daggers of warning at him. She’d made it clear in their conversations that she did not want her son involved in CHAIM in any way. And Eli couldn’t blame her.

“I do all kinds of things to make a living,” Eli said, careful to choose the right words. “I travel a lot and help people in trouble.”

“Are we in trouble? I mean you’ve stayed with us longer than most of our other visitors.”

Gena stood and took Scotty’s empty plate. “No, we’re not in trouble, but you will be if you’re late for school. Go brush your teeth and get your coat.”

Scotty got up but stopped in front of Eli. “Are you riding to school with us again?”

“I just might,” Eli said. “If it’s okay with your mom.” He’d already insisted it be okay. He’d made it his business to help get Scotty to school and home each day since that first morning. His fear of trouble had easily overcome his fear of being a father. Or at least, he kept telling himself that.

Gena shrugged. “You’ve been with us every day this week and today is the last day. Why break tradition?”

Eli gave her an appreciative nod, hoping that would cover his real motives.

Scotty pumped his fist. “Will you be here when I get home? To help me with the snowman, remember?”

Eli swallowed, glanced across at Gena. “I’ll be right here.”

Then he watched as Scotty left the room. “Mon petit garçon,” he said, shaking his head. “My little boy.”

Gena turned away to stare out the big window behind the sink. Eli could see the ocean churning off in the distance beyond her. He felt that same intense churning inside his stomach.

“What are we going to do, Eli? We can’t just stay here in limbo forever.”

He got up and came to her, his hand tentative on her arm. “I won’t do anything…to upset him. I understand that now. I can’t do anything to hurt him. I wouldn’t.”

She turned, her eyes misty and big and searching. “You’ve been great these last few days, but are you sure about that?”

Like ice in the sun, his bitter heart melted just a fraction more. “Very sure. I’m not so cold and uncaring that I’d hurt a child…or his mother either, for that matter.” He looked down at his boots. “And I told you, I’m sorry about…scaring you that first night. I haven’t exactly been trained in the social graces and, funny, there’s nothing in the rule books about how to handle finding out you’re a father.”

“Good, because I can’t let you stay here and get close to him if it means he’ll be hurt or confused in any way. And I can’t—I won’t—let you take him away from me. That would hurt me. That would destroy me.”

“Then we have a big problem,” he said as he backed away. “I have a legal right to him, but you are his true mother and I can’t do that—separate a child from his mother. We’re at an impasse, chère.”

“Yes, we are, but we’ll talk about it later.” She whirled past him. “I have to take him to school and then I have to make sure our young couple got settled in yesterday.”

“You’re not taking him to school without me,” Eli reminded her, grabbing his coat. Even though he and Gena had reached a truce, he wasn’t letting them out of his sight again. Protecting both of them had become his new mission and that meant watching over them for as long as Gena would allow him to do so.

Because he just couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

FOUR

After watching Gena drop Scotty off at the door and noting a teacher was right there to escort the younger children straight into the building, Eli turned to her. “Is this school secure?”

She kept her gaze on the road. “We’ve had this conversation already. I told you Devon made sure of that. Besides, they have a resource officer on duty during school hours and at all after-school events.”

Eli didn’t know why he felt so uneasy this morning. Probably just his lack of sleep and the memories that kept creeping up on him in the dark of night. “Maybe I need to make sure of that myself, just in case.”

Gena stopped at a traffic light, then glanced over at him. The brilliant white of the morning snow reflected all around them. “Is there something you’re not telling me? You’ve been jumpy and on high alert since you arrived at my door and even though I know that comes with the territory, you’re making me nervous.”

He looked out over the snow-covered cottages. Should he tell her? He’d never been one for sharing a lot of information and he really didn’t trust anyone. Ever.

But this woman had raised his son and after spending time with her, Eli could tell she was honest and hardworking and she took good care of Scotty. Maybe he needed to bend the rules for her. So she’d understand. “I’m worried about his safety,” he admitted. “I had a long stay in New Orleans with Kissie after I was released from the hospital. You know her—the Woman at the Well.”

“Devon speaks highly of her. What did she tell you?”

“We had some information come through. Might be nothing, might be something.”

She hit the steering wheel with her palms. “And you waited almost a week to mention this? You’d better tell me everything, and I mean everything.”

He touched a hand to the dash. “After you get me home. I hate snow and ice.”

Gena’s hands were shaking so hard, she couldn’t unlock the door. “So this is the real reason you came all the way up here. You’re worried about Scotty, right?”

Eli grabbed the keys from her, then jammed them into the lock. Pushing her in out of the cold, he turned and handed her the keys, then reset the alarm. “That’s part of it, true. After the dust settled on my grandfather’s criminal deeds, Kissie and Devon assured me that everything was all right, but they couldn’t get verification on some of his associates. People who were involved with my grandfather were making inquiries about things they didn’t need to know, and that’s all we could find out—not the who or the why. I need facts and I like details. Not being one to wait around, I wanted to see for myself that Scotty was truly safe.” He shrugged off his coat. “And I’ve been watching all week to make sure. So far, things seem okay, but I just can’t seem to shake this feeling. I don’t like taking other people’s word for things, you understand?”

“I’m beginning to understand a lot,” she retorted, as she stalked up the hall. “You came here to see Scotty and you’ve also been casing my house, haven’t you? I suppose you’ve tested every lock, checked and rechecked the security and memorized every way off this peninsula just to be sure. But you need to tell me the whole story. I have a right to know. You’ve just been twiddling your thumbs, sitting around when—” She froze as she came to her desk tucked into an alcove just off the kitchen.

Eli saw her halt, heard her intake of breath, and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. “What is it?”

“My laptop is on.” She dropped her tote bag and hurried to the tidy desk. “And my papers have been rearranged.”

Eli looked at the efficient little desk. He’d walked by it enough to know something wasn’t quite right. Gena was tidy to the point of being obsessive and she always closed her laptop whenever she wasn’t using it. He’d seen her do that several times.

“Are you sure you didn’t leave it open before we left?”

She stood staring at it, then breathed a sigh of relief. “You know, I think I might have. Remember, I had that couple coming to check in? They’re renting the other cabin through Christmas.”

“But that was last night, right?”

She nodded, touched a hand to the papers on her desk. “But the man called this morning and had some questions about their bill. I pulled up the account, then looked through the papers on my desk to give him a local restaurant number.” She whirled, shaking her head. “Then Scotty couldn’t find one of his school books, so I rushed to help him. I guess I left everything in a mess as we hurried out the door.”

Eli remembered that much at least. She’d called to Scotty that they were going to be late. He tried to let it go at that. But…he’d never been one to accept things on a surface level. Because by his way of thinking, things were never what they seemed.

“What did your guest—Bennett’s the name, right—what did Mr. Bennett ask you?”

“He just asked about an extra charge on their deposit. I explained about the linen service. Then he asked me about where to get a good Maine breakfast. I told him about the café up the road. We made small talk about the weather, then he hung up.”

“Are you sure?”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Yes, pretty sure. You don’t think—?”

“I need to know for certain,” he said, turning at the door. “I’m gonna walk the perimeters of your property. See what’s what.”

Gena halted him with her hand on his arm. “Eli, are you being completely honest with me? You can’t come here and do this. I mean, you can’t just put yourself in charge like some guardian or bodyguard, based on a bad feeling. I don’t mind you wanting to see Scotty, but if you know something…” She inhaled a deep breath. “I couldn’t bear it if something happens to him.”

Eli saw the fear in her eyes and hated it. He’d known that same fear and he lived it over and over in his nightmares. He hadn’t been able to save Leah and he hadn’t been around to help Gena raise Scotty. Maybe he was just imagining things and scaring her unnecessarily because he needed to prove something to himself. Turning back to face her, he said, “Look, I’m just a paranoid kind of guy. I’ve been trained to be that way. So don’t let me worry you. I always take extra precautions. Even more now that—”

Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Now that you’ve lost your wife and never knew your son?”

“Isn’t that reason enough?” he asked, hoping she’d see the sincerity in his eyes. “I’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

He opened the door and felt the arctic blast of winter hitting him in the face and he knew in his heart he’d walk the whole earth if need to be. To protect his son.

And Gena, too.

Gena fidgeted around her desk, searching for any signs of sabotage or espionage. She didn’t like this. Since the day Devon had brought Scotty to her, she’d had to watch her back. Caution had become second nature to her, but only because she always knew that one day he’d show up. Eli Trudeau was not the kind of man to ignore his own flesh and blood, especially when that flesh and blood had been taken from him without his consent.

But that was the least of her worries today. Eli was here now and as much as she feared the worst, she knew he’d do what was best for Scotty. He was that kind of man.

No, today her caution and concern centered on the other dangers out there, dangers that Eli might have stirred by showing up here. What was Eli hiding? Did he know something horrible that he refused to tell her? Or was he truly just being overprotective?

She went to the window to look for him. He wasn’t in the front yard. Hurrying to the back of the house, she looked out toward the sea and saw him standing on one of the craggy bluffs, staring out at the constantly crashing ocean. That seemed to be part of his daily routine now.

Gena immediately put on her coat and rushed out the back door toward him. “Eli?”

He turned when he heard her voice. “I talked to Devon,” he said, a frown marring his face. “He ripped me up one side and down another for being here in the first place, but he’s going to check into things for us.”

She inched closer, pulling the fur of her coat collar up around her face. “What kind of things?”

“We’ll start with your computer. Since he’s set up to monitor all your files anyway, he’ll do a complete scan to see if it’s been compromised.”

“He does that routinely. How can that help?”

“Well, now, he’ll do an extra check just for good measure. Devon knows ways to find out things no one would think to look for and it’ll be much more discreet for him to do it from a long-distance location.” He glanced toward where the car he’d seen earlier was still parked at the other cottage. “Looks like your boarders are settled in and back from breakfast.”

Gena glanced around. “I hadn’t even noticed. I left them a key at the door. They weren’t sure when they’d get here.”

“Well, they must have come in the middle of the night.” He gave her a direct stare. “We’ll need to do a more in-depth background check on them, too.”

Gena couldn’t believe this. “They’re just a young couple from New York.”

“And they drove up to Maine because?”

“That’s their business.”

“Criminals come in all shapes and sizes, Gena.”

She couldn’t read his expression. “Is there more here?”

He shook his head. “Not for now. We’ll just have to watch and wait.”

“Easy for you to say. It’s close to Christmas, Eli, and tomorrow is Scotty’s birthday and the Christmas play at the church. How can I relax when I’m so worried?”

He turned to her, his skin flushed from the cold, his dark hair swirling around his face and neck. He had the blackest eyes, unreadable and bottomless, sometimes cold and calculating, sometimes warm and liquid. “Let’s keep things cool for Scotty’s sake, okay? You’ll get your postcard-perfect Christmas.” He turned toward the house.

“I don’t want a perfect Christmas. I want a safe one. I want my son safe. Can you promise me that?”

He stopped, looking at her with such intensity that Gena took a step back. “That’s why I’m here. We can agree on that, at least.”

It was Christmas Eve. Scotty’s birthday—or rather, the day Gena celebrated his birthday.

Eli trudged across the snow toward the warmth of Gena’s cottage, his gaze encompassing the yard and woods as a frigid dusk settled over the land. The snowman Scotty and he had built stood fat and formidable, wearing a black muffler and an old battered baseball cap. Noting the young couple’s car was gone from next door, he wondered when he’d hear anything back from Kissie on their background. On the surface, Craig and Marcy Bennett looked as all-American and squeaky clean as a toothpaste ad. They took long walks along the bluffs, holding hands and cooing sweet nothings in each other’s ears and they waved to Eli in passing. Mostly they kept to themselves. Perfectly normal activities for a young married couple in love.

Too perfect. Too normal. Eli didn’t like the perfection of it all.