7. Chapter 7 – Rae
S ince I was taking the kids hiking with us, Vi volunteered to drive Lucy and Anya to meet us at the trailhead.
Zach and I had fallen into a rhythm of sorts.
He got up early for work. I got the kids dressed and to their summer camp before going to work.
In the afternoon, Zach picked Tae and Hana up from camp and either took them to Harbor Brews or home, depending on how much coverage he had.
He was already at work when I loaded Hana and Tae into the car. We met Vi and the others at the trailhead at Jakle’s Lagoon.
“Hey, Tae. Hana. How are you today?” Anya wore her blond hair in a bouncy ponytail and looked disgustingly awake in bright turquoise leggings and a matching sweatshirt.
“Good,” Tae said.
I’d fought a losing battle to get him to wear pants. The sun wasn’t high enough to truly warm things up. I could see my breath fogging the air.
“I’m grrreeat!” Hana said, adding an innocent smile.
“And that has nothing to do with the pastries we picked up at the bakery yesterday.”
Anya transferred her smile to me. “I’d be smiling too if I had one of Harlow’s scones powering my morning.”
“Yes. Sugar is pretty much my one interim-parenting move. ”
“Sounds like a solid strategy to me,” Lucy said, saluting me with her coffee mug. Her dark hair was under a baseball cap.
“Whatever gets everyone out alive,” Vi added. “I’m pretty sure Gran went through a five-pound bag of sugar every time our folks left town.”
I arched my brow. “I don’t think of your gran as a baker.”
Vi grinned. “Oh, she’s not. Pretty sure Drew took over the cooking duties when he was about twelve after one too many burned grilled cheese sandwiches. Gran makes a mean cinnamon-sugar toast though.”
“It’s a wonder you and your brothers don’t all have diabetes.”
Vi chuckled. “Gran used to say she was sour enough to cancel out all the sweet.”
I snorted. “That, I can believe.”
We set out on the loop toward the top of Mt. Finlayson. Hana skipped along the rough dirt path in leggings and a pink and purple shirt. Tae followed his sister more sedately, scuffing his feet. I let them go ahead.
“How’s it going, co-parenting with my least responsible brother?” Vi exchanged a knowing grin with Anya.
“Don’t sell Zach short. I know you idolize Drew, but the man lived at home until recently. That pedestal is a little wobbly. And Cole? He ran away from home like five years ago. I hardly think he counts.”
Vi held up her hands. “Didn’t mean to strike a nerve.”
My face softened. “Zach’s been pretty great, actually.”
“You’re giving me a hard time for doubting him, yet you still sound surprised…”
I lifted my shoulder, adding a sheepish smile of apology. “I shouldn’t have jumped all over you. He picked the kids up from camp every day this week and cooked dinner last night. I’m starting to feel guilty that I’m not pulling my weight. He even reads bedtime stories.”
“With the voices,” Hana volunteered. I started guiltily. I didn’t realize she’d been paying attention. “He and Auntie Rae have even been snuggling.”
“That’s so sweet,” Vi said.
“You mean they’ve been snuggling with you or with each other?” Lucy asked.
“With each other,” Hana answered innocently.
“Less sweet,” Lucy added with a wry glance in my direction.
“Do you have something to share with the class, Rae?” Violet asked.
We’d been friends too long for me to lie. But it wasn’t a lie when I hadn’t sorted out the truth for myself.
“No comment.”
Vi let me slide on my non-answer, but she cast me a glance that said I’d pay for my evasiveness later.
By the time I drew up at the house after our morning hike, Hana had fallen asleep in the back seat, the sun and country roads having a soporific effect. I yawned. Indulging in a nap was moving higher on my to-do list too.
I juggled my mug and sling bag, digging for my keys. It would be easier to carry Hana to the couch if I unlocked the door first. Tae slid out of the front seat, closing his car door softly. I extended the house key, pausing when the door creaked open.
My heart stuttered. While locking up was a bit novel after living so long on a sailboat, I wasn’t careless. My hands had been full this morning too, but I distinctly remembered stowing my purse and mug in the front seat before coming back to lock up.
The door swung open easily now. Not locked. Not even closed properly.
My shoulders tightened. I gripped the keys, making a fist.
“Tae. Go back to the car and sit with your sister please.”
Something about my urgent tone stalled the frown between his brows. I pulled my phone out with my opposite hand, dialing without looking. Zach picked up on the first ring.
“Everything okay, Dawkins?”
“Did you drop by the house after I left today? Possibly forget to lock up?” I asked.
“No. If the door is open, don’t go inside. Lock yourself in the car.”
“Maybe a neighbor dropped by?”
“Rae. Lock the damn doors.” Zach’s voice boomed from my phone. He’d never spoken to me with such authority before. I couldn’t decide if I liked it. “Rae. Are you safe?”
His prompt pushed me into action. I backed away from the door, sliding behind the wheel.
“I’m safe.”
“I’ll be right there. Sit tight.”
“What’s wrong?” Tae asked. “I thought we were going inside.”
“We’re going to wait for Zach first,” I said, trying not to betray my worry. The easiest explanation was that I’d forgotten to lock the door or shut it properly. A neighbor could have a key. But something about the way the wooden door swung spooked me.
A few minutes later, Zach parked beside me, hopping out of his truck and striding for the house. He pushed at the door, sliding inside.
“I’ll be right back,” I locked the car behind me to follow.
“Zach!” I called, stepping into the kitchen.
A shiver slid down my spine. Nothing looked amiss. But something still didn’t feel quite right. The sounds of footsteps echoed from the hall.
“Zach!” I called again. A frantic edge seeped into my voice .
He’d walked in, bold as you please, without a weapon in sight.
“Back here,” he called.
I rushed through the living room, noting that nothing seemed out of place. Tae’s game system lay undisturbed on the coffee table. Hana’s tablet sat on the couch. If someone had been looking for things to steal, they’d missed a few obvious options.
Zach stood, hands on his hips, frowning at the desk in Jordan’s office.
My cousin ran the business operations of his whale-watching company out of his house.
A basic wood desk and mesh office chair took up most of the floor space.
One large window overlooked the backyard, and a framed photo of a pod of orcas had pride of place on the north wall.
The laptop sat where I’d seen it last, layer of dust and all. If someone had been inside, they hadn’t been interested in pawnable electronics.
Zach gestured to the filing cabinet. “I don’t remember those gouges in the metal, do you?”
Deep scrapes marred the shiny black three-drawer cabinet.
“No.” I’d hoped it was my imagination. A false alarm. A shiver zipped down my spine, dread filling my belly. A whale-watching business shouldn’t be interesting to thieves. They’d bypassed too many other options for me to believe the damage was accidental.
“You think someone broke in while we were out?” I shuddered.
Voicing it made it real.
“I do,” Zach said, voice steady. He pivoted on his heel. “You don’t remember seeing anything suspicious before you left?”
“Nothing.”
Zach traced the slashes, paint peeling away as he rubbed his thumb along the dent. “Either they found what they wanted somewhere else, or…”
“They’ll be back,” I finished. “I’m going to call the sheriff.”
“Go back to the kids and call from there. I want to do a full walk-through of the house.” His expression was grim. I decided not to argue.
The house felt tainted as I walked through to the back door, the tight bands across my chest easing as I spied the kids. Tae played on his phone. His sister was still sacked out, forehead resting against the back window. Oblivious to the drama.
“What’s wrong?” Tae asked.
“We think maybe an animal took a tour through the house while we were out,” I lied smoothly. “Zach’s just making sure there are no raccoon babies hiding under the floorboards.”
“Oh. Okay. The raccoons usually hide under the bathtub.” Tae added the last part matter-of-factly.
“Excuse me?” I asked, eyes round.
“If the raccoons are back, they usually nest under the house. Last year, you could hear them from the bathroom downstairs. Mom says they like sheltering under the tub.” His nose wrinkled.
“I don’t like the idea of them crawling up the drain to bite my toes, though dad said that wasn’t possible.
It’s why I started to shower in the upstairs bathroom. ”
“Oh,” I said, second-guessing our earlier conclusion.
Zach appeared at the threshold, the faint shake of his head helping my shoulders relax. I was going to feel really silly if raccoons had broken in. They already looked like miniature bandits.
Zach carried Hana inside to her bed. Tae skipped after them. I waited until he was out of earshot before calling the sheriff’s office .
I waited for Deputy Vega outside, not wanting Tae to overhear our real suspicions.
As far as I knew, Jia and Jordan hadn’t had much of value beyond the usual household items. San Juan Island had its share of theft and other petty crime, but there was a special place in hell for the kind of ghouls who stole from a family who’d experienced loss like Tae, Hana, and Jia had.
Zach sidled up beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist. And I let him prop me up. Just for a moment.
I sighed, sinking against his hard body. The familiar scent of him, clean laundry and coffee, was ordinary. Soothing in contrast to my chaotic thoughts. It helped me believe that none of it was real. That there hadn’t been a break-in. That the air wasn’t thick with unanswered questions.
He dropped a kiss on my temple. Just for a moment, I let myself live the fantasy.
That he was mine. A caring husband, trying to comfort me in my moment of distress.
But too many elements had turned nightmarish.
Someone had broken into Tae and Hana’s home.
And the question I couldn’t shake clawed at my ribs, demanding an answer. Why?
The thought circulated as Deputy Vega arrived, cool and competent.
It didn’t escape my notice that her smile turned flirty when she shook Zach’s hand—still professional, but the hint of warmth in her eyes and the gentle curve of her mouth implied an invitation.
My mental scoreboard ticked upward. Zach’s dimples: one hundred eighty-seven. The women of Friday Harbor: zero.
I had no right to the flare of jealousy. Zach wasn’t mine. I had no prior claim. But knowing didn’t make it any easier to watch her practiced sternness fold in the face of his easy charm.
Her eyes cooled as he wrapped his arm around me again.
His move was casual, almost absent-minded.
And she noticed, her interest receding like the tide pulled back out to sea.
I let myself sink against him, silently offering comfort in return.
Whether he only meant to soothe me and show solidarity didn’t matter in that moment.
Petty satisfaction warmed the aching hole left in my chest by our morning drama.
He’d chosen me.
After too many years standing on my own, keeping secrets that kept me walled-off from him, it mattered.
Maybe I was reading too much into an offhand gesture, but something about the way he pressed me more tightly against him whispered that I was his to protect.
That the bonds I’d worried I’d severed by revealing my fake situationship with Simon had bounced back, sure and strong.