Laura Scott - The Christmas Rescue

She wished she didn’t need Rafe’s help, but she couldn’t turn down his offer. Her daughter Brianna’s safety had to be first and foremost. After all, wasn’t that the main reason she’d called him? She’d known he’d take charge.

Keep them safe.

“If you’re sure,” she said, meeting his gaze. She was thankful Ellen had agreed to stay with them for a while, too, so that she could take Rafe up on his offer.

“I’m sure.” He smiled, and suddenly she remembered all too clearly those moments when he’d caught her close in his embrace.

She swallowed hard and glanced away. She could only hope that allowing Rafe to stay wasn’t a huge mistake on a personal level.

For Brianna’s sake. Or her own.

grew up reading faith-based romance books by Grace Livingston Hill, but as much as she loved the stories, she longed for a bit more mystery and suspense. She is honored to write for the Love Inspired Suspense line at Steeple Hill Books, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of faith amid the thrilling danger.

Laura lives with her husband of twenty-five years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance.

Please visit Laura at www.laurascottbooks.com, as she loves to hear from her readers.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

—Psalms 1:6

This book is dedicated to my brother Mike, his wife, Karlene, and their daughters, Brianna and Michaela, with love.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

LETTER TO READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

“Mommy? What’s that red thing floating in the lake?”

Kayla Wilson glanced in the direction her five-year-old daughter, Brianna, indicated. The bright sunlight reflected blindingly off the water. Kayla squinted and raised a hand to shade her eyes.

Something red bobbed up and down in the water. She shivered. Not something. Someone. A body. A bloated, dead body. Lying face down, partially snagged on the rocky shore of Lake Michigan.

She sucked in a harsh breath and clutched Brianna close, turning her daughter away from the grotesque sight. She fumbled for her cell phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed 911.

“What’s the nature of your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.

“There’s a—d-dead body floating in the lake, about a mile north of Pelican Point.” Kayla didn’t like the idea of her daughter listening to the conversation, but there was nothing she could do.

“A dead body?” Brianna echoed in a high-pitched squeak, tightening her grip on Kayla’s waist.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll be fine,” she murmured reassuringly.

“We’ll send a squad. Do you have any reason to suspect you’re in danger?” the dispatcher asked.

Suddenly apprehensive, Kayla swept a glance around the area. This section of the lakeshore was usually deserted in December. She and Brianna had wandered north from Pelican Point, away from the memorial that had been recently placed in honor of her dead husband, Jeremy.

Her gaze landed once again on the dead body. She was hardly an expert, but considering the decomposition she could see from here, she suspected the body had been in the water for a while.

“No, I don’t think there’s any danger,” Kayla assured the dispatcher.

“I need you to stay at the scene until the officers arrive,” the woman informed her.

“We will.” Kayla snapped her phone shut and looked down at Brianna, bundled in her bright pink winter coat and hat. “The police are on their way, Bree.”

Brianna kept her face hidden against her side, and Kayla smoothed a hand over her pink knit cap. Her daughter had been only three when her father had died in a freak drowning accident when his charter fishing boat was caught in an unexpected storm. On this second anniversary of his death, she’d brought Brianna here in an effort to keep her husband’s memory alive. She worried about Brianna growing up without a father.

Lately, her daughter talked about her friends’ fathers with a subtle longing in her voice. Kayla knew Brianna desperately wanted a father of her own.

“Do you think he fell off his boat, too?” Brianna lifted her head to ask, her tiny face pulled into a compassionate frown. Kayla grimaced. Unfortunately, instead of sweet memories, they’d stumbled upon a grisly reminder of Jeremy’s death. Brianna had obviously made a connection between the dead person in the water and her father’s drowning.

“Brianna, we really don’t know what happened,” she started to explain, and then broke off, when a movement off Brianna’s left shoulder caught her attention. She shifted to see better and her eyes widened when she saw a man wearing a brown canvas jacket and a green stocking knit cap. Something about him was familiar, and as she stared at him, recognition dawned.

Greg Landrum. The guy who’d rented a room in her bed-and-breakfast last weekend.

She didn’t know where he’d come from, since she hadn’t seen any sign of him earlier, but there he stood staring at them. Belatedly, he smiled and waved, as if he’d recognized them, too.

She swallowed hard and waved back, even though she was keenly aware of their isolation. She wished desperately they’d brought Clyde, their cocker spaniel puppy, with them on this venture. Clyde loved everyone, except Greg Landrum. For some reason, Clyde had taken an instant dislike to her guest. At least his constant barking, growling and nipping might have kept Greg Landrum away.

Kayla turned and opened her phone again, pushing the speed dial button for her brother, Alex, hoping desperately Greg Landrum wouldn’t walk over to strike up a conversation.

The guy gave her the creeps.

“Hi, Kay. What’s up?” Alex asked.

Comforted by her brother’s familiar voice, she managed to keep calm. She didn’t want to alarm Brianna by letting her fear show. “Hi, Alex. Where are you? Do you think you could come down to meet me and Brianna at the lakefront?”

“Sorry, Kay, Shelby and I brought Cody to the museum in Milwaukee. Why? What’s wrong?”

Her heart sank. Just her luck Alex would be out of town. “Nothing really, but Brianna and I were walking along the lakeshore and we, uh, found a dead body floating in the water.”

“What? A dead body?” Alex shouted in her ear. She pulled the phone away with a wince. “Where are you? What part of the lakeshore? Pelican Point?”

“Yes, we’re about a mile north of Pelican Point. Don’t worry, I’ve already called the police. They’re on the way.”

“Are you all right? Is Brianna all right?”

“We’re fine. But it’s a little creepy being out here.” She glanced over her shoulder to the spot where Greg Landrum had been standing, but he was gone. Puzzled, she swept a glance over the entire area. Surely she hadn’t imagined him.

The distant sound of a car engine drew her attention and she realized Greg Landrum had simply gone back to his car when she’d called Alex. She watched with overwhelming relief as the bright taillights of a small silver car pulled away from the curb and headed south.