Chapter 2 #2
“Of course, sweetheart. You know I’m always wary of strangers.
Especially when they show up at such convenient times during an investigation.
” Carrie hesitated before whispering. “Be careful, Tessy. You’ve already heard what these people are capable of.
And there’s at least one police officer involved. ”
“I will be. You be careful too, Mom. Promise me you’ll stay out of this investigation. Leave it to me. Keep Maggie safe.”
Carrie closed her eyes, nodded, though her daughter couldn’t see. “I promise.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” Carrie’s throat suddenly felt dry, and her gut twisted. She hated that more of her family was now involved in this mess.
The line clicked dead.
Carrie lowered the phone slowly, staring at it as though the words might still echo in the air. Her heart didn’t feel quite as heavy as it had earlier, but it beat faster, threaded with unease.
Before she could gather her thoughts, the front door burst open and the house filled with voices—Matt, Alisha, children, dogs. Carrie stuffed Cheryl’s number and her phone into her pocket and pasted a smile onto her face as Maggie ran in, cheeks flushed with excitement.
But her pulse spiked again when she caught Matt’s eyes across the room. He smiled at her, warm and sure, and she felt her heart lurch in answer.
Their moment was interrupted by her excited granddaughter. “Gran, you should’ve come!” Maggie said, dropping her shoes by the door. “We cleared so much junk off the beach. Cody found a whole fishing net tangled up in the dunes!”
Cody chimed in, eyes wide with triumph. “And Gramps dragged it out by himself. It was huge.”
Matt stayed just outside the door, brushing sand from his jeans, his laugh low and warm. “Exaggeration,” he said, meeting Carrie’s eyes with that easy smile that had already begun to chip at her defenses. “We all worked together.”
Carrie forced a smile, slipping Cheryl’s number deeper into her pocket, as though hiding it would ease her anxiety. “Sounds like a productive morning.”
“More like heroic,” Alisha added, closing the door behind them. She carried herself with calm, though her glance toward her father was quick and assessing. “I think the whole town’s going to be out there by this afternoon.”
The dogs barked, circling Maggie and Cody as if they hadn’t been gone an hour.
Carrie cleared her throat and pointed toward the kitchen. “Why don’t we sit down and have lunch before the next adventure. It won’t take me long to put together some sandwiches.”
Cheers erupted from the children. They dashed toward the kitchen, followed by the dogs in a stampede of paws and squeals. Alisha followed, shaking her head with a faint smile, leaving Carrie and Matt standing in the entry.
“Did you manage to get some peace while we were gone?” Matt said.
Peace is not what I’d call it. Carrie gave a dry laugh and kept her thoughts and Cheryl’s visit to herself. “I hear Alisha met my daughter while you were all cleaning up the cove?” She chose to ignore the questions about peace.
His smile softened. “Yes. Alisha feels awful about what happened to Maggie and Cody. She felt even worse knowing that Tessa had blamed you for it.”
“Well, it looks like our daughters became friends within minutes,” Carrie added. “Tessa has all the details of your house sale, and she told me she was getting to work on it.”
Carrie was about to turn and follow the children into the kitchen, but Matt reached out and stopped her.
The contact of his hand on her forearm made her skin tingle and her heart do flips.
“Carrie, wait.” His voice was low. She turned to look at him, and he glanced at the kitchen door.
“I overheard Alisha telling Tessa about Trent. Did he really disappear with Ian?”
“It seems that way,” Carrie said, swallowing hard, betrayal ripping through her once again as the thought spiraled back into her head. How could my own son have lied to me about who he is or what he does?
“I’m sure he has good reason to,” Matt assured her. “He is FBI.”
“Myself, Alisha, and now Tessa,” Carrie said, “are not too sure who Trent works for.”
Matt’s eyebrows rose, but before they could say more, Maggie popped her head around the door. “Gran, are you coming?”
Carrie forced a smile for her granddaughter. “We’re right there, sweety.” She turned quickly, leading Matt into the kitchen where the smell of fresh-brewed tea mingled with damp salt air drifting through the open windows.
The children were already seated, and Alisha had already started buttering slices of bread. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said to Carrie, “but the kids are starving.”
“Not at all,” Carrie told her and went to help Alisha finish the lunch.
While they were making lunch, Carrie managed to message Cheryl’s number to Tessa. A while later, they sat around the dining table, and Carrie reached for a sandwich on a stacked platter. Tea was sitting in steaming mugs beside each adult, and Maggie and Cody were drinking cool lemonade.
“So,” Carrie said, shifting in her seat, “tell me about this cleanup.”
Maggie launched into a dramatic recounting—how she and Cody had filled three bags of trash on their own, how the mayor had driven past and honked his approval, how even the dogs had tried to help by dragging sticks toward the pile.
Cody interrupted every few sentences to correct or embellish, while Alisha listened with patience, occasionally smoothing Cody’s hair or catching Maggie’s hand when she became too animated.
Carrie let their chatter wash over her. Normal. It sounded so normal, like the storm and the kidnapping and the secrets hadn’t cracked their lives wide open. For a moment, she let herself imagine it could stay this way.
Matt leaned closer to her, his shoulder brushing hers as he reached for a sandwich. The faint warmth of him sent her pulse fluttering again. “Our haul was not bad for one morning,” he murmured.
Carrie swallowed. “Not bad at all.”
Maggie’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Gran, can Cody and I take the dogs back out after lunch? Just for a little bit?” She took a long sip of her lemonade. “There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Carrie hesitated, hearing Tessa’s warning voice in her head, but Alisha spoke first. “Maybe later, sweetheart. We all need a rest.” She glanced at Carrie for approval. “If your grandmother agrees, I’ll take the two of you and the dogs.”
The children groaned, but Matt distracted them by promising milkshakes if they helped tidy up after the meal. That did the trick, and soon sandwiches disappeared as quickly as the tension had risen.
Carrie stayed quiet, sipping her tea, her mind turning back to Cheryl Winters.
The woman’s sharp eyes, the too-rehearsed sorrow in her voice.
It all clung to Carrie’s thoughts like seaweed.
Carrie had skillfully kept her distance, said as little as possible, but something told her Cheryl would be back.
After lunch, Alisha gathered the children and the dogs for a quiet game in the sunroom, leaving Carrie and Matt at the table to clear the last of the dishes.
Matt wiped crumbs into his hand. “You’ve been quiet since we came back. Something on your mind?”
Carrie forced a light smile. “Just tired, I suppose.”
Matt stretched. “I am too. I think I’m going to do what I’ve hardly ever done and go take a nap.”
“I may just do that too,” Carrie confessed. “We didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“I’ll go see how badly Alisha is beating the kids in the game,” Matt said with a smile.
“I’m just going to finish putting the leftovers away, and I’ll be right there,” Carrie told him.
As Matt left the kitchen, Carrie’s phone buzzed. She pulled it from her pocket and read a message from Tessa:
Mom, if Trent contacts you, call me right away. Alisha was right. He is not with the FBI. And now I know why he didn’t want you doing that house swap with Lori. He was working with Trevor and the CIA, tracking a criminal organization run by Dick Stanstead’s family.
Carrie’s hands trembled as she stared at the screen.