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She whirled to face him. “Which shows how little you know Kylie! The first time Nate’s parents call to chat with her, she’llmention it. And theydocall on occasion. Not often enough, but they have to know the truth. Even if just for Nate’s sake, they deserve that.”
Annie was so stubborn and sure she was right. He’d been patient, and it was time.
She rubbed her head, and the stiffness around her shoulders slumped. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t want to, but if Sarah tells her first, it will be even worse. But let me do it by myself. I’ll go now.”
When she marched up the steps, he let her go and followed at a slower pace. While he would like to be with her, Kylie was still prickly around him. It would be better coming from her mother.
She went inside and he settled to wait on the steps.
Loons warbled from somewhere in the distance, and he shuddered. Hopefully it wasn’t a bad omen.
Annie had never been a coward, but he didn’t understand why she kept putting it off. Women were hard to understand. They got all bound up in emotions. As a surgeon he was used to seeing a problem and fixing it. It seemed the sensible thing to do with everything in life. Why talk about it endlessly when the solution was to cut to the chase with the truth?
His thoughts transitioned to dinner with Mike tonight. He hadn’t told Mike about the problem with his former practice right away either. He’d put it off until dinner tonight, so was he any better than Annie about facing something uncomfortable? Maybe he didn’t realize how hard this was for her.
The lighthouse door opened behind him, and he twisted where he sat to see Annie close it behind her. “How’d it go?”
“Kylie was asleep. It will have to wait. I just hope Sarah doesn’t tell her first.”
He rose and started to embrace her, but she moved past him. “I’m going home. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Her stiff voice warned him she needed space, so he dropped his arms back to his side and watched her walk to her truck. When her taillights vanished around the curve, he started for the Blue Bonnet on the other side of Bree’s lighthouse. The path took him past the guesthouse where Sarah stayed. Should he stop and talk to her about what she’d overheard? He stopped and stared at the cottage, but no lights were on.
Waking her up didn’t seem a good way to start a difficult conversation, so he continued toward the bed-and-breakfast. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep without making it right with Annie, so he pulled out his phone and called her. She didn’t answer. He’d have to let her cool off, then he would apologize tomorrow.
***
Tears kept leaking from Annie’s eyes and blurring her vision as she made the drive home. Her phone rang, but she tossed it onto the passenger seat when she saw Jon was calling. The argument with him brought back too many bad memories of their final breakup. Why couldn’t he see how hard this was for her? Shehatedcausing her little girl pain, and this blow would only be secondary to the murder that took Annie’s parents and Nate.
Was she being a coward about everyone knowing the truth? She didn’t think that was what was holding her back. She kept thinking of gazing into Kylie’s trusting blue eyes and telling her Nate wasn’t her daddy. And yet, he was too. He’d believed it all his life and had been the best daddy a little girl could want. Shatteringthat illusion would hurt them all. But waiting wouldn’t change anything. That heartbreak was taking aim at them, and they’d be unable to escape the bull’s-eye on their chests.
How did she preserve Kylie’s memories of Nate and also make room for Jon? It felt like an impossible tightrope to walk. Didn’t she owe it to Nate to make sure his memory was still treasured and intact? He’d snatched Annie from despair and given her hope a month after Jon left when she thought her life was over. While she hadn’t loved him like she did Jon, he’d been there for her when she needed him most.
She parked in the marina’s lot and leaned her head against the steering wheel. Things seemed to be smooth sailing for a while, and now this. Was it the beginning of the end?
Taking her phone from the passenger seat, she grabbed her bag and got out. Her thoughts about the evening ran in a jumble. Who would have the technology to hack into a car? It seemed preposterous. They’d just seen Idoya, but though she’d followed them, she didn’t seem to have the technological know-how to hack into a car.
Annie stared at her old truck. Built in 1969, it didn’t have any newfangled electronics that would make it vulnerable to what had happened tonight. But could there be any other kinds of danger from it?
She turned on the flashlight on her phone and shone it around the old truck. She checked the rear seat of the crew cab, under all the seats, and the outside bed. Nothing. She dropped to the ground in her dress and lay on her back to scoot under the truck. The light illuminated the truck’s structure, and she studied the exhaust system and gas lines. She was about to give up when she spotted a small rectangular box.
She scooted closer and tried to pry it off. It popped off, and she examined it. A magnetic tracking device. Who had put it here and why? Was there one on Jon’s car too?
She scooted out from under the truck and turned off the flashlight. Should she call Jon? The clock on her phone displayed the time of nearly midnight. She didn’t want to wake him if he’d managed to fall asleep. It could wait, but she hugged herself as she walked slowly toward her dark cottage. If only she’d left on the outside light on the back deck.
The distant sound of a guitar told her a camper was up crooning with friends, and other sounds indicated that the resort wasn’t totally asleep and unaware if she needed help. She unlocked the back door and stepped into the kitchen.
Something felt off. A scent, maybe? She set the magnetic tracker on the counter and flipped on the lights. Nothing happened. She flipped the switch up and down again and sniffed the air. The scent was a man’s cologne, so she bolted outside again. Should she call Mason or get one of the men camping to help her check the house?
She’d better call. A civilian might get hurt if anyone was inside. She was dressed up so she hadn’t brought her gun. Her hands shook as she dialed 911 and recognized the dispatcher with a sense of relief.
“Dana, is that you?”
“Annie? What’s wrong?”
Dana had moved to town a few years ago and gotten a job as a dispatcher. She was married to Boone Carter, owner of a small group of cabins on the other side of the county.
“I think someone is in my house, and my lights aren’t working. I think he cut the power.”
