Chapter 14

fourteen

LIAM

By the end of the flight from Milwaukee to Boulder, everyone was feeling stressed.

We'd met two special agents at the airport. Even though the agents wouldn't be traveling to Sunrise Bay, it was good to know they were close.

After they gave me the keys to an SUV, they helped load our suitcases and the boxes Paul had packed into the vehicle. Before they left, they handed me a folder.

What was in there could wait until Amy was asleep.

So far, the journey between Boulder and Sunrise Bay had been uneventful. We were lucky the snowplow had been along this stretch of the highway. Before I'd left Milwaukee, I'd checked the latest weather forecast. With winter storms hitting the bay almost daily, it was the worst time to be going anywhere.

"Are we nearly there?" Amy said from the back seat.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. "Nearly."

"That's what you said last time."

"It's true. The house we're staying in belongs to someone I know. It's about five minutes away."

"Is that a long time?"

Paul looked over his shoulder. "It's about as long as it takes to tie your shoelaces."

Amy looked down at her feet. "Okay. I can wait that long."

I turned into a driveway and carefully wound my way up to the house. After what had happened this morning, the last thing anyone needed was our truck sliding off the road.

When I stopped in the front yard, Paul's gasp of surprise made me smile.

"It's beautiful."

What the house looked like was the least of my worries. But seeing the two-story home now, I had to agree with Paul.

Even in the half-light of dusk, the snow-covered gable roof and wide veranda looked like something you'd see in a visitors' guide to Colorado. A chimney rose from the center of the building, reminding me of roaring fires and sweet, toasted marshmallows.

But that wasn't the best part of the property. "Wait until you see the view. The house overlooks the town of Sunrise Bay and Willow Lake."

"Is this one of the FBI's usual safe houses?"

I pushed the button on the remote control and the garage door opened. "It belongs to a friend of mine. He's living in Europe and was happy for us to use his home."

"Can we build a snowman, Liam?" Amy asked.

I drove into the garage and turned off the engine. "Not now. I think your uncle would want us to wait until tomorrow. It's almost pitch-black outside."

Paul turned to Amy. "Liam's right. It's too dark but, after we've unpacked everything, we could explore the inside of the house."

A grin broke across her face. "Yeah!"

I'd forgotten how quickly five-year-olds bounced back after something traumatic happened. "I'll bring our bags inside. The electricity and hot water have been turned on, and there should be food in the refrigerator."

"You thought of everything."

"I hope so." I kept an eye on Paul as he helped Amy gather the toys she'd played with on the way here. He was exhausted, and it showed in every slow movement of his body.

Amy jumped out of the SUV with Dolly clutched in her arms. "We're going to explore."

Paul held out Amy's backpack. "After we've helped Liam."

Amy sighed but wiggled her arms through the shoulder straps. "Can we have some hot chocolate before we go to bed?"

"As long as Liam has some chocolate powder, we can."

"There should be some in the kitchen." I pulled one of the boxes Paul had bought with him out of the SUV. It was no wonder he'd paid a fortune in additional luggage fees. "This is heavy."

Color stained his cheeks. "I brought my mixer with me."

It took a couple of seconds for me to work out what he meant. "A food mixer? Why?"

"It isn't just any old mixer. It's my KitchenAid stand mixer. I couldn't leave Milwaukee without it."

"We could bake you a cake," Amy said.

I studied the serious expression on Paul's face. His food mixer meant more to him than I realized. "That would be great. Especially if it was chocolate. "

Amy turned excited eyes toward Paul. "We could bake Liam a cake like Corey's."

Paul ruffled Amy's hair. "Except without the dragon."

I didn't know who Corey was or anything about a dragon, but it looked as though Paul wasn't letting his trusty food mixer out of his sight.

"I'll take my suitcase through to the kitchen, then come back for more bags." Paul extended the handle of the bag and wheeled it toward the house.

"The kitchen's at the end of the hallway," I said quickly. "If you're hungry, help yourself to anything that's there. Did you bring other appliances with you?"

"Only my razor-sharp knife set and a dough hook."

I didn't think he was serious—until I looked into his eyes. I couldn't believe the boxes he'd brought with him had made it through security. "Remind me to ask what's inside your bags before I fly with you."

His sad smile made me regret my words. If it weren't for a potential breach in national security, we wouldn't be going anywhere together. I only hoped the next flight we took was back to Milwaukee.