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Some things were better left undone, and this was one of them.
CHAPTER SIX
John closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of his brother’s sofa. This last week had gone from bad to worse. The only good thing to come out of everything had been the trip with Bella and Rachel to Emerald Lake.
Grant nudged his feet on his way past. “You can’t fool me. You’re not asleep, you’re avoiding my questions.”
“Which one?” John opened one eye. “And if it’s the one about my non-existent love life, then you’re not going to get any answers.”
Grant grunted. “Fine. Start with the teacher. Does Rachel enjoy working with Bella?”
“Of course she does. What’s not to like?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The gorilla beside me could have some kind of influence on her happiness. I heard you went to Emerald Lake the other day?”
That got John’s attention. “How did you find out?”
“Mrs. Daniels,” Grant said smugly. “I called her to see where you were. She told me you’d taken a helicopter out to the lake. Did you see much apart from snow and ice?”
“Scoff all you like. I wanted to see what the view from the house would be like in winter.”
“You took a helicopter out for that? You’ve got more money than common sense.”
“Probably,” John muttered. “So how’s the world of mountain rescue?”
John’s brother had been a volunteer with the Gallatin County Search and Rescue Team for the last eight years. He’d seen some horrific accidents, but he kept going back, year after year, to help the people who needed it.
Grant put his mug of coffee on the table in front of him. “Avalanche season is well and truly here. We had a fatality on Sunday. A family was out on their snowmobiles and triggered an avalanche. Their teenage son was killed.” He shook his head. “You think they’d learn by now. We’ve been issuing warnings all week for where the avalanche happened. They had all of the safety gear you can buy, but it didn’t help their son.”
“How was the team after you got back?”
“Not great, but they managed to pull two of the family out, so that was something. You changed the subject.”
“Didn’t work for long.”
Grant pointed at the newspaper. “The fighting in the Middle East looks as though it’s getting worse. Another five soldiers were killed in separate suicide bombings last week. Do you think your drone can help?”
John hadn’t told Grant much about the prototype drone that he’d been working on. It was more than commercially sensitive information. If what he’d learned last week was true, it could be deadly.
“It’s got the potential to help. But that’s up to the Department of Defense. They own the technology.” John wished it was that simple. It could have been, but people with more money than he’d ever see had been spinning the militia wheels in Europe.
“Are you sure everything’s okay? You’ve been looking more stressed than usual over the last few weeks.” Grant looked closely at him. “You can’t tell me, can you?”
John nodded. “I wish I could, but it would put you in danger and that’s not going to happen.”
“What have you gotten yourself into?”
“More than I thought.”
“You could always go to dad’s hideout. He might have been extreme, but he was prepared.”
John and Grant had the same mom, but different fathers. Grant’s dad had been a survivalist. He’d created a world within a world, preparing for the worst that could hit mankind. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been post-apocalyptic America that had killed him. It had been a car accident fifty miles southwest of Chinook.
A year after he’d died, Grant’s mom had met and married John’s dad, a rancher from Bozeman. John had arrived a year later and he’d never thought of Grant as anything other than his brother.
John closed his eyes and tried to sort through the words he wanted to say. “I don’t need to use the hideout. Not yet.”
“You’ll tell me if it gets worse?”
John nodded. “I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
Grant looked at him over the rim of his mug. “Just so you know, the place was restocked with fresh water and food last month.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in conspiracy theories or end of the world predictions?”
Grant smiled. “I don’t, but I guess I’m more like my dad than I think I am. I like to be prepared, and his bunker makes more sense than most things in life.”
The bunker Grant was referring to wasn’t your standard subterranean hole in the ground. It was an elaborate network of rooms that were linked together in Hill County, Montana.
Grant scowled at John. “Is the money you’ve made worth what you’ve been through?”
“It’s not as simple as that.”
“Sure it is.”
John’s life hadn’t been simple for the last six years. He’d pushed himself hard and told himself it was because he wanted to provide a good home for Bella. But it went deeper than that, far deeper than anyone knew. Making money was his way of proving that he was more than the grieving single parent that had returned from the Middle East.
He was an ex-Navy SEAL. He’d be damned if he’d let anyone threatened his family.
“You’re not thinking of doing anything stupid, are you?”
John glanced at his brother. “You know me, cautious to the core.”
“Yeah, right. You’re the least cautious person I know. If you get into trouble, head to dad’s bunker.”
John’s cell phone beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the caller display. “I’ve got to take this.” He pushed a button and held the phone to his ear. “What is it, Tanner?”
“I had a call from Simon. The New Orleans contract is in trouble.”
“I’m on my way.”
Grant didn’t bother asking what had happened. He handed John his jacket and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t do anything stupid. You’ve got a daughter and a brother who love you.”
“I’ll never forget.” He opened the front door and walked down the icy porch steps.
Something beyond the normal issues his company dealt with was going on, and he knew who was behind it.
***
Rachel adjusted a little girl’s angel wings, then moved to the next child in front of her. The drama club’s Christmas play would be starting in fifteen minutes. It was a sell-out audience. All of the children’s parents, except two, were sitting in the library auditorium, waiting for the opening song.
Bella raced across the stage and stood beside Rachel. Her usually sunny smile was nowhere in sight. “He’s not here, yet. Mrs. Daniels is sitting beside Tanner, but I can’t see dad.”
Rachel gave Bella a quick hug and kneeled in front of her. “He said he’d try to be here. Tanner’s going to record the play, so even if your dad isn’t here, he’ll still get to see it.”
“But it’s not the same.” Bella’s hands were fluttering at her side and her eyes were full of tears. “He said he’d be here. Everyone else’s parents are here except my dad.”
Frankie was next in line, waiting for his final inspection before taking his place on stage. “My dad’s not her either,” he said quietly. “He had to work at the gas station.”
Bella’s big brown eyes settled on her friend. “Did he try his hardest to be here?”
Frankie nodded. “He doesn’t get much time off. He said he’s here in spirit, whatever that means.”
Rachel straightened Frankie’s halo. “It means that he wishes he was here. When you’re singing on stage, your dad will be sending lots of love your way.”
“But it’s not the same as being here.” Bella blinked back the tears from her eyes and looked at Frankie. “Is someone else here so that they can hear you sing?”
Frankie shook his head.
“You could borrow Tanner’s video. He’s pretty good and won’t miss much.”
Frankie looked down at the ground, studying his worn sneakers as if they were covered in gold. “We don’t have anything to play it on.”
Bella’s hands stopped twisting together. “You could come to my house with your dad. We could watch the play together and tell them about the parts that Tanner missed.”
Frankie’s gaze never left Bella. He was such a serious little boy that Rachel had no idea what he was thinking. The librarian that helped at drama club had told her that Frankie’s dad worked at a gas station, earning what little he could to support his family. He didn’t have a lot, but he did love his children.
“I don’t know if coming to your house is a good idea.” Frankie lowered his voice. “Dad’s not home very much. It might not suit your dad to have us there.”
“My dad won’t mind,” Bella said slowly. “He’s not home very often, either.” She glanced back at the curtain spread across the stage. “At least Mrs. Daniels and Tanner are here.”
Frankie nodded. “Your dad could be here in spirit, the same as mine.”
