Susan Sleeman - Holiday Secrets

He narrowed his eyes. “How can you be so sure it’s the right bike?”

“The envelope with Lexie’s name on it was in a saddlebag. Empty, of course.”

“She told me the shooter has been incarcerated before. So any prints Tessa lifts should return an ID in the database.”

“Don’t hold your breath, bro. Lexie also told Dad that the suspect wore gloves. I doubt we’ll get prints.”

“What about the bike’s registration?”

“Bike’s not street legal, so no plates, but Kendall’s looking up the VIN number as we speak.” Their other sister, Kendall, had worked part-time as a deputy for nine years while she’d worked on her degree in information technology and was now a full-time deputy.

“Okay, so say this is the bike ridden by our suspect,” Gavin said. “No way if he owns the bike that he would abandon it and let us run the title to discover his identity.”

“So it’s likely stolen, but we haven’t had any dirt bikes reported stolen.” Matt frowned. “We’ll just have to wait on Kendall.”

Gavin didn’t want to wait. He’d rather log in to the database and get an instant answer. But taking over someone’s work was the kind of thing that drove others crazy. He would hold off for a bit, but if they didn’t hear from his sister soon, he would take charge and deal with the consequences later. “People around here don’t always register new bikes. It could also be secondhand and not registered to begin with.”

“Then if the VIN leads nowhere, we’ll need another way to find the owner.” Matt hooked his thumbs in the corner of his pants’ pockets.

His brother might be taking the wait-and-see approach, but Gavin wasn’t about to take the laid-back approach. “We need to figure it out ASAP so we’re ready to act if needed.”

“Whoa. When did you become such an all-fire control freak?” Matt shook his head. “City living, I suppose, but you’re back home now. You’ll need to learn to relax again or you’ll tick people off.”

Gavin wouldn’t admit the incident with his dad had changed him. Better to let Matt blame it on the city and move on. “You’re running the envelope for DNA, too, right?”

Matt crossed his arms. “We may not be a big, fancy department, but we do know how to investigate a crime.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, and you know it.”

Matt continued to eye him.

“I’m gonna grab a cup of coffee. You want one?” Gavin asked before saying something else to make his brother mad.

“Yeah, sure.”

Gavin led the way to the kitchen. He glanced through the dining room’s French doors to see Lexie with her arm wrapped around Adam’s shoulders. Dark pain lingered in her eyes and cut Gavin to the quick. Adam, the teenager Gavin had come to care for, darted his gaze around the room, as if looking for a way to flee or for help in dealing with his grief.

Lexie met Gavin’s gaze and frowned before looking away. He sighed. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He’d asked her to move to Houston with him, but her dad had forbidden her to move Adam out of town. Made no sense. Not when her father had little to do with either of them, but still, he’d had legal custody of Adam. Which meant she’d be stuck in Lost Creek for years. Gavin had suggested a long-distance relationship, but she’d shut him down fast.

Although a part of him wished he could go back and change things, he’d been right to move to Houston. Confirmed it, too, the minute he’d talked to his father tonight. But, no matter what, Gavin wasn’t going to flake on her now. He wasn’t going anywhere. At least not until he was confident she was safe.

FOUR

Lexie tightened her hold on Adam’s hand, but he was trying so hard to be a grown-up that he shrugged free and jumped to his feet. He marched across the room and lifted a stuffed Santa Claus from an antique sideboard to stare at it.

“I know Dad has been a loser father,” Adam said, “but I can’t believe he’d get involved in something illegal.”

“We don’t know that he broke the law,” she said, wishing the same comfort she’d once offered for skinned knees would work for Adam tonight. “Just that he was involved with a syndicate of some sort.”

He spun around. “Sounds bad, though, right?”

She got up to join him but shoved her hands in her pockets to keep from reaching out to him. “That’s because in our world the word ‘syndicate’ often refers to a group involved in illegal activities.”

Adam’s eyes, blue and large like their father’s, narrowed. “Yeah. Dad getting shot makes it almost a certainty.”

“Perhaps.”

He set down the Santa and it toppled to the floor. He stared at it. “What do you think he was mixed up in?”

“I don’t know.”

“Had to be drugs.” He grabbed the Santa Claus and settled it on the shelf with great force.

Due to his grief, she ignored the way he manhandled the keepsake item the McKades had owned for generations. “Why would you say drugs?”

“Dunno. Just sounds likely is all.” He chewed on his lower lip. “Do you think I’m in danger, too?”

“I hope not.” She played it down so she didn’t terrify him more. “Either way, we both need to be extra careful. As of this minute, there’ll be no going anywhere without me at your side.”

An impish grin lit his face. “Cool. That means no school.”

“You wish.” She knuckled his head. “I can’t have you fall behind.”

“But I’ll be alone.”

“I’ll see if Gavin or the sheriff can arrange to have someone go to school with you.”

“Gavin. Pfft. Why’s he even here?” Adam dropped onto the nearest chair, sliding down so far, she thought he’d slip off.

“I don’t know, but he can help us, so we have to give him a chance.” She couldn’t believe she’d not only downplayed their father’s actions, but now she was standing up for Gavin. What was next? Welcoming Gavin back into their lives?

No. No way.

“Like you’re happy to see him,” Adam muttered.

“I was when he came to my aid at the airstrip,” she admitted and left it at that. The last thing either of them needed was to get into a heated discussion about Gavin. “Let me see if the sheriff arrived and we’re cleared to go home.”

“Home?” His voice squeaked. “Is it safe?”

Gone was his bravado. Sitting before her was the little boy she’d held during crazy Texas thunderstorms. Comforted after their beloved pets had died. When he’d gotten his immunizations...and on and on. Her anger flared. How could their father put them in this position? Easy. He thought only of himself.

She squeezed Adam’s shoulder. “If Sheriff McKade or Gavin say it’s not safe, we won’t go there. Okay?”

“But where will we stay?”

“Let me talk to them and we’ll figure something out.”

She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Walt had returned from the crime scene and he sat with Kendall on the old plaid sofa. Gavin and Matt both leaned against a wall as if they planned to spring into action. His mother and grandparents sat in side chairs, both ladies crocheting.

“Can I speak to you a minute, Sheriff?” Lexie called out as soon as there was a break in the conversation.

She felt Gavin’s gaze on her, but she wouldn’t make eye contact. His father got up and strode toward her, no questions asked. Gavin pushed off the wall and tagged along. Walt frowned at Gavin, but he held his ground as if he’d been standing up to his father all his life, when in fact all of the McKade siblings tried not to buck Walt’s decisions unless it was of utmost importance.

“I told Adam about Dad,” she said to them both. “But I didn’t want to terrify him, so I didn’t share details like Dad’s warning. I’d appreciate it if you all kept it to yourselves, too.”