Chapter 17 #3
Lakin’s face crumpled in sympathy. “Oh, Noelle! I’m so sorry. Geez, and here I was gushing about how great the Coltons are to me.” She wrinkled her nose in regret. “Forgive me.”
Noelle shook her head vehemently. “No, you did nothing wrong. I asked, after all, and I wanted the truth. I’m glad they accepted you. It bodes well for me, if—”
Lakin’s face brightened. “If you and Eli get married?”
Noelle gasped so hard she choked. Coughed. Waving a hand and chuckling, she croaked out, “Whoa. Slow down. We’re not even dating. I just meant if—” she picked up a glass and started drying it without meeting Lakin’s eyes “—if we were to get back together.”
Lakin threw her arms around Noelle and squealed softly. “Oh yes! I would love that! And I know it would make Eli so happy. He really mourned losing you when you broke up. I don’t think he ever stopped loving you.”
Noelle returned Lakin’s hug before pulling away.
“Don’t say anything to anyone about that.
Not that they aren’t all thinking it already, but I still don’t know what’s going to happen with Eli.
We have things to work out, and… I have a life in Seattle.
I’m only supposed to be here to handle the final arrangements for Allison. ”
Lakin’s shoulders drooped, and her smile fell. “I promise. But for what it’s worth, my vote is for you and Eli to patch things up and let yourselves be happy at last.” She pulled a shy grin, adding, “It’s been pretty awesome for me and Troy.”
Noelle gave Eli’s sister a warm smile. “I can tell.”
Lakin faced the sink again and handed Noelle the last dish. “I think that’s all the dirties until we serve the cake. Let’s get outside before all the marshmallows are gone. The guys tend to use them for projectiles rather than dessert, and the puffs disappear rather fast.”
Sure enough, when Noelle and Lakin headed out to the bonfire, small white blobs were being hurled around the yard to the amusement of the men. Some were caught in mouths, others caught by hand and lobbed again, a few tossed in the fire to become gooey, blazing kindling.
Sasha tucked Noelle’s arm under hers and gave her a withering look. “I apologize for these ludicrous shenanigans, dear. Some things, boys never outgrow.”
Noelle watched Eli duck a marshmallow thrown by Parker. In a smooth follow-up motion, Eli returned a puff by underhand toss to Troy, who caught it ably in his mouth and, cheeks stuffed with the sugary treat, grinned broadly.
“No apology needed. I love it.” Noelle tugged Eli’s mother closer, savoring the maternal connection. “They’re having fun. Making happy memories. What could be better than that?”
Eli spotted Noelle then and hurried over, wrapping her in a one-armed hug as they stood beside his mother.
“I’m just happy the predicted storm front held off long enough for us to have a bonfire.
The forecast says we’re in for possible whiteout conditions and up to a foot of snow later tonight,” Sasha said.
As if to echo her statement, a stiff breeze crossed the yard, making the flames dance and stretch sideways.
Noelle snuggled closer to Eli and pinched her coat closed at the throat.
After the bag of marshmallows was depleted, the family eased into quiet conversations around the bonfire. Eli arranged two lawn chairs beside Kansas’s chair and tugged Noelle over.
“Any news on Scott’s whereabouts yet?” Kansas asked Eli quietly as Noelle was settling in her chair.
“Not really. Workin’ on it.”
“Hey,” Will said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Eli and Kansas. “You know the rule at family gatherings. No business talk. Family time is for relaxing.”
“Aye, aye, Captain!” Eli called to his father and cast Kansas an amused look and shrugged. “Have you been to see Asher today?”
Kansas looked reluctant to answer but finally gave a quick nod. “What if I did? He’s been discharged from the hospital for about thirty-six hours, and someone needed to be sure he was following his doctor’s orders.”
Eli scoffed. “You say that as if I haven’t checked on him every day since the accident. I even took him a pizza tonight and shrimp salad from the Cove last night,” Eli aimed a finger at Kansas, “which, I have it on good authority, you helped him eat after I left.”
“Maybe I did. What of it?” Kansas said with a note of lighthearted challenge.
Noelle listened to the cousins’ banter while casting her gaze around the circle of chairs.
Only Kansas wasn’t paired up with a significant other.
The affection between the Colton couples, young and old, snuggling against the cold, made her ache for that kind of forever connection with Eli.
The smiles and camaraderie between siblings and cousins tugged at her heart while also raking her soul with claws of longing.
Did Eli have any idea how blessed he was to have such a large, loving family?
“You’re awfully cozy with Asher considering your ongoing feuds at the office,” Eli said, continuing to tease Kansas.
Kansas lifted a casually dismissive hand. “I’m cutting him a break while he’s injured. When he’s back on the job, being a pain in my backside, I’m sure our relationship will revert to normal.”
Before Eli could reply, the jangling of his cell phone interrupted the peaceful evening and murmur of conversation. Noelle jolted, having become so relaxed and at ease, that the strident tones sent a ripple of alarm through her.
“Don’t answer it!” someone called, while others groaned.
“No phones!” Will grumbled when Eli pulled out his phone to check the caller ID.
Sasha put a hand on his arm. “It’s okay, honey,” she said calmly. “Our boy has important work. He has to stay connected.”
Eli’s screen glowed brightly in the night-darkened yard, and Noelle held her breath, as if sensing the call was bad news. Hadn’t most of the calls she’d answered lately been something ugly or troublesome?
Pressing the phone to his ear, Eli answered with, “Agent Colton here. What’s happened?”
In the light from his phone, Noelle studied Eli’s face and saw the swirl of a few fluffy snowflakes beginning to fall.
He grunted as he listened, and his brow furrowed.
With an angry huff, he lurched to his feet.
He paced away from the fire, toward the house, where he could take the call in private.
Noelle and Kansas exchanged worried looks.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Noelle said quietly.
“Unless it does,” Kansas said, a hopeful note in her voice. “Maybe they’ve caught him. Maybe they’ve got a confession or located his car or…” She grimaced as if knowing her optimism wasn’t likely to pan out.
Noelle gnawed her bottom lip and watched the back door for signs of Eli returning. When he didn’t for several minutes, her concern grew.
Kansas, too, seemed restless, and finally Eli’s cousin stood and signaled to Noelle. “Come on. Let’s go see what’s up. I’m sure it’s not nearly as bad as we’re imagining.”
The women hustled inside and found Eli at the kitchen table, his head bowed and his phone set on speaker as he talked to a male caller.
While Eli took notes on a scratch pad, the man on the line said, “We’ve alerted teams in all the nearby districts to keep an eye out.
They have full descriptions of all the principals and for the car. ”
“Good. Send some uniforms to the area and have every business in a one-mile perimeter pull up their CCTV recordings for the time around the sighting—no, make that the last twenty-four hours.” Eli paused and frowned.
“Damn it, go back as much as five days on every camera in the area since that’s when he disappeared.
He may have been casing the region and targeting this woman. ”
Targeting this woman?
Noelle heard Kansas muffle a gasp, and her own stomach dropped. Bile filled her throat. Had another woman been killed? The grave expression on Eli’s face said that was likely the case.
He angled a glance to find them standing at the end of the table and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Look, I should go. I need to get to my office and dig into the matter from there, watch the footage for myself.”
“I should tell you,” the man on the phone said, “we’re keeping an eye on this storm front that’s moving in. It’s ugly and getting here faster than predicted. Towns to our west are already reporting high winds and heavy snow. Our search capabilities will be severely limited within hours.”
Eli sighed and scrubbed his face with his palm. “Understood. Keep me posted. All right? Anything and everything you learn, no matter how trivial it seems.”
“You got it.” The man disconnected.
Sighing deeply, Eli raised a dark gaze to Kansas and Noelle. “That was Bobby Reynolds.” Eli’s eyes shifted to Noelle’s as he added, “He’s a senior officer at the Shelby PD.”
Holding her breath, Noelle nodded for him to continue.
“Witnesses reported what appears to be a kidnapping in a key shopping district downtown about two hours ago. A man grabbed a woman off the street and shoved her in his car before racing away. They’re gathering CCTV footage from cameras in the area, but the description of the man and the car the two witnesses gave fit Scott Montgomery. ”
“Which if we’re right about him,” Kansas said, her voice hoarse, “means he could be about to kill again. Another victim of the Fiancée Killer.”
Eli’s jaw hardened, and his blue eyes grew flinty. “Not on my watch. Not if I can stop him.” He gathered up his scribbled notes and shoved his phone in his back pocket. “Kansas, will you let the family know that the bad weather is ahead of schedule and roads will start getting bad soon?”
His cousin nodded.
“And see that Noelle makes it home safely? I have to go in to headquarters.”
Noelle raised a hand to halt Kansas’s response. “Forget that. You made me a consultant on the case. I’m coming with you.”
Kansas edged toward the door to the backyard. “I want to help, too. I’m sure the SAR team will be put on standby any minute. As soon as I let the family know the weather update and tell Will and Sasha we’re leaving, I’ll be right behind you.”