36. Overwhelming Feeling Of Home

36

OVERWHELMING FEELING OF HOME

S ix weeks later, Van was walking into The Retreat on Amore Island hoping that he didn't get choked out by the tie he was wearing with the only suit he owned.

Kelsey was in a long black dress that made his tongue roll out of his mouth.

He wasn't sure how he got talked into attending this wedding but knew that he wouldn't be able to tell her no any more than he didn't have a choice not to spend Thanksgiving with the Raymonds. Nor would he with Christmas in a few days.

"This is going to be so much fun," she said. "You are going to get thrown to the wolves, but I'll be here to back you up."

He'd been told more than once this was going to happen even though he'd met some of the Bond family already.

Not nearly all of them though.

"I can't believe someone in your family is getting married a few days before Christmas." He looked around the room they just entered and saw it was decorated in reds and greens. Christmas screamed, but it was tastefully done.

"Laine is quirky that way. She said she had to be married within a year of getting engaged. Carson proposed on New Year's Eve last year. They were running out of time, but she said it'd be fun to do this and her father was sparing no expense."

He'd heard a bit about the artist of the island and the twins that were going to be in the wedding. "They won't be dressed like elves will they?" he asked.

She burst out laughing. "You know, that might be funny. I wouldn't put anything past Laine."

"I was kidding," he said.

"She might not be though," she said. "Oh, there is the table with the names. I'm sure we are with my parents and Duke."

She pulled him over and found their tags and then located her parents. They were sitting with family.

At least he wouldn't feel completely out of place, but they were early yet and so far multiple people had made their way over to chat with Kelsey and get an introduction.

One of them being Penelope Zale with her husband, Griffin. Though he'd met Griffin a few weeks ago to sit down with him to get a lay of the security system.

Things were quiet so far at the hotels. At least for the most part.

He was learning as he went, but no one had their nose bent out of joint in the process.

Not that he was aware of.

"It's so nice to meet you," Penelope said. "I've heard a lot about you. Not from my husband because he doesn't say much."

He saw the smirk between husband and wife and wondered if Penelope had a warped sense of humor like Kelsey did.

"Not everyone has to talk nonstop," Griffin said. "Now you've got our daughter doing it too. My ears bleed at times."

"You love that Zandra is a Daddy's girl. You're jealous that Micah only wants to be with me."

"You're the food source," Griffin said.

"Not anymore," Penelope said. "Not for months. Don't pull that. You get one and I get one. It seems only fair. Or not fair at all considering I carried them both."

He watched the two of them laughing while they talked as they moved off.

"Are they always like that?" he asked.

"Yep," Kelsey said. "It can run in the family. That was another marriage after the baby."

"It happens," he said. "Where are all the kids? I expected them everywhere."

"I believe they are up in Hunter's penthouse with a few babysitters. Ashley, who is Roark's sister-in-law. That's his wife Chelsea's younger sister. Ashley and a few of her friends are watching all the kids. They are on college break." Kelsey stopped and pointed. "Roark and Chelsea are over there. Chelsea is the pregnant one. She's due in two months. There are a few pregnant ladies here."

"I see that," he said, looking around. People were milling in.

One of those pregnant ladies came rushing over though she looked as if she was going to burst the kid out in the process.

"So glad to meet you, Van. I'm Hailey Bond-Knight."

He shook hands with her. "You too," he said. "My grandfather's lawyer is part of your firm."

"Yes," Hailey said. "I knew your grandfather. He wanted me to take over his business, but I only cover the family. The rest of my time is running my practice."

"Which she needs to take a break from for a while."

"My husband, Rex. He's protective, but he's right. Just poor timing that one of my second-in-command is having a kid right after me."

"Roark works for Hailey," Kelsey said. "And Chelsea does too."

"Keeping it in the family," he said.

Hailey laughed. "Something like that. I'm going to get off my feet before my husband picks me up and carries me. Don't want to break his back."

Van turned to look at Kelsey. "How many more are coming over here?"

"Not many now. The ceremony is going to start. You'll see one more pregnant woman here. Or at least one that is showing. Who knows how many more there could be besides Hadley? Carson's sister, Ava, is pregnant and in the wedding. She's not due for another three months or so."

"How big is the wedding party?" he asked. "Carson has a twin, right?"

"Yes. Hudson is the best man. Seth is a groomsman. That is Ava's husband. The matron of honor is Hudson's wife, Delaney. Everyone is paired up nice and tidy. Seth and Ava's daughter, Adele, is a flower girl and their son, Brayden, is a ring bearer. Hudson's twins aren't in the wedding. I'm sure if they could have walked down they might be," Kelsey said. "It's going to get a bit crazy as it is with Carson and Laine's twins, I'm sure."

"I guess we are going to find out. Let's take a seat. I think they are going to start the ceremony."

For the next forty minutes Van watched the ceremony. The bride was escorted down by her father who was in a wheelchair. The exchanging of the vows while the bride and groom each held one of their twins. Then a big smacking kiss at the end.

They stayed where they were while pictures were taken and hors d'oeuvres were brought out and circulated.

The bar was open and food and alcohol were flowing.

"Hey, Van," Jarrett said. "I keep meaning to call you. Sorry to come over during this, but I saw you and figured we'd have a few minutes."

"Did you find anything out?" He hadn't heard back from Jarrett other than Miles Thatcher had gotten his lawyer and said that, yes, he'd been on the island. That wasn't a crime. He was at the casino and just lost track of the dates.

He found that convenient that the guy confessed and even stayed at the casino for days afterward. A good place to hide the van for several days where no one would look.

"Not a ton. I'm not convinced Miles wasn't at the house, but he says he was at the casino. We've gone over the footage and saw he'd been on the island the day before and left a few days later. He was in the casino most of the time gambling, but they can't verify his every movement. That early in the morning, he claimed he was in his room, but we have him leaving the casino around six thirty."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes. Griffin has the grounds under surveillance. Miles left in a white van at six thirty and returned at seven thirty-eight."

"Enough time to leave and stop to put lettering on the van, then drive away, stop to remove it and drive back to the casino," Van said. "The house is about fifteen minutes away."

"It is," Jarrett said. "But no proof other than our gut. Not sure how much more we can do other than keep an eye on him. There were no fingerprints. Nothing was taken. The renters seem happy with the results."

"I guess that is all that matters," he said.

"But you're not?" Jarrett asked.

"I don't know what I think. I can't get it out of my head. Could be because I own the place and feel guilty. I've installed cameras on all the properties and not sure why my grandfather hadn't before."

"It's all you can do," Jarrett said.

"You have to let it go," Kelsey said. "Don't take it personally."

"I've said the same thing," Kyle said. "But some people are stubborn."

"Just like Barry," Kelsey said.

He lifted one eyebrow at her. He'd heard it more than once. He'd been hearing a lot about his grandfather lately.

Between that and finding all the things in storage that were his mother's, he'd gotten this overwhelming feeling of home.

It felt odd to him, but he realized he was at peace here more than he thought he'd ever be.

"If you say so," he said.

"I do," she said. "Am I going to be able to get you on the dance floor later?"

"No," he said.

"Don't hold firm to that word," Karen said. "Kelsey always seems to get her way."

"I'm learning that too," he said.

And hours later when they left the wedding and drove back to his place, he was almost smiling.

"Admit it," she said. "You had a great time. My family isn't that bad."

"They were fine," he said.

"You didn't admit you had a good time."

"I had a good time," he said, looking at her. "But watching you in that dress busting a move was the highlight of my night. What do you have on under it?"

"You're going to find out," she said. "I might even do a striptease for you to get it off."

"Sounds like the best way to end my night."

They pulled into the garage and got out of her SUV. No reason to go in his truck. He'd decided to keep his grandfather's truck in storage for the winter. Carter Bond had looked it over and done some work to it, but for now he wasn't going to drive it until nicer weather.

They walked to the door to his mudroom.

When his alarm wasn't blinking, he stopped and got in front of her. "Go back to the garage," he whispered, pulling her out.

"What?"

He put his hand over her mouth and hit the button to open the door and dropped the fob to her car in her hand. "Get in and drive out, leave if you need to."

"What's going on?" she asked.

He walked to his truck and pulled a gun out of the glovebox.

"Someone was in the house and I'm not sure if they still are. I never leave without setting the alarm. It's off."

"Are you sure you didn't lose power?"

"I would have gotten a notification if that was the case. Go!" he hissed.

Van moved past her into the house, walking around to make sure it was clear. There was no sign of anyone, but he knew someone had been in his office.

He flipped the light on and saw a drawer shut that he always left open a little on purpose.

He let out a sigh and went to get Kelsey. "Come on. It's clear. Frankie is all worked up, but I didn't let him out of the crate yet. I didn't want him running through the house until I knew it was clear."

"Was someone in the house?" she asked.

"Yes. I need to call the police. I'm going to call Jarrett over Mac."

"Do you think this is connected?"

"I do," he said. "Someone was going through my desk."

He didn't explain to her how he knew, just talked to Jarrett who said he'd be right over.

"You should have called me," Mac Bond said, fifteen minutes later when he arrived with his brother.

"I should have," he said. "But I think this is connected to the case Jarrett is handling. Two of my properties now."

"You're sure someone was in the house?" Mac asked.

He turned to the chief of police. "Don't you set traps in your house?"

"Of course," Mac said.

"Always," Jarrett said.

"Well, so do I. Someone was in the office looking for something," he said.

"Do you know if anything is missing?" Jarrett asked.

"I'm going to find out, but first I'm going to pull up the security cameras. I'll know when they were shut off and wanted to make sure I did this all while the police were involved."

"Why?" Kelsey asked, holding Frankie in her arms.

"Because you don't want to worry about any tampering," Mac said. "Van would know this. It keeps the investigation cleaner."

He pulled his laptop out and they saw exactly when the alarms were shut off. They'd have no idea when the person left since they weren't turned back on. Whoever it was knew the code to get into the house and the alarms.

That bothered him more than anything.

"Who set up this system, do you know?" Mac asked.

"I've got a card here somewhere. I'm going to call and see if they can see something I'm not able to." He went through the camera feed and tried to scan any movement in the front and didn't see anything. No one coming through the front of the property.

"Go back," Jarrett said. "Lights flickered there."

He rewound and noticed on another screen that his motion lights in the back came on, but an animal could have caused that. Only he didn't think so when it was a minute before his alarm went off.

"There is a door to the garage back there. You need a key for it," he said.

"Which might explain how someone got in," Jarrett said.

"Do you know anyone that Barry might have given a key to?" Kelsey asked. "I'm positive my father knew how to get in the house, but he was at the wedding and he'd never do that."

"I have no idea," he said. "I'm going to see if I can find any activity in the last few days around the house."

He didn't have far to go to see a familiar face show up on his front porch and then move back before it could trip the fact someone was there on his phone.

"Who is that?" Mac asked.

"My father," he said.