Christmas Reunion Read online

  He grimaced comically. “Ugh. You should have said something. That’s like a coffee emergency. I could have rushed to your rescue, bringing my coffee maker over right away.”

  She laughed, enjoying Ian’s wry sense of humor. “I know. What was I thinking?”

  He poured her a steaming mug and then pushed the creamer and sugar containers across the counter so they were within reach. “Better get started before you go into coffee withdrawal.”

  She added a drop of cream and then took a deep breath, inhaling the aroma before taking a sip. “Crisis averted,” she murmured with a sigh. “This is great, thanks.”

  Ian stared at her over the rim of his own coffee for a long moment, making every nerve in her body tingle in awareness. She had the sense that he was remembering their kiss as well. And she was crazy enough to want to kiss him again.

  She couldn’t seem to remember any of the reasons that had seemed so important as a reason to keep Ian at a distance. She’d fallen hard for him that summer they’d spent together, but she liked him even more now.

  “I’ve never forgotten you, Sarah,” he said in a low tone. “The summer we were together was the best time of my life.”

  She couldn’t find the strength to tear her gaze from his, despite the fact that she knew they were treading on dangerous ground. “For me too,” she finally acknowledged. “But I can’t regret all the decisions I made back then because I wouldn’t have Ben. And my son is everything to me.”

  “I understand and I’m not saying that I want to go back to change things. We were too young to make any sort of commitment. But now that I’ve found you again, I don’t want to lose you.”

  She sucked in a quick breath in response to Ian’s blunt admission. And even though she’d promised herself she’d never be dependent on a man again, she knew she didn’t want to lose Ian either.

  “I’m not trying to rush you,” Ian said, backpedaling to fill the silence. “Right now, I’m not sure I’ll keep my job. But if by some miracle I am still employed, I’d like to spend time with you and Ben.”

  Wait a minute. What had he said? “What do you mean, if you’re still employed?” It was easier for her to focus on the first part of his statement than on the implications of the latter. “What happened between the night you found me in the ditch and today?”

  “A few months ago I arrested my brother because he went over the deep end,” Ian said. “He was held captive in Afghanistan, and when he returned home he wasn’t the same man. He couldn’t bear to be indoors. Then he tried to hurt innocent people. Thankfully we stopped him, and I worked hard to get him the psychiatric help he needed. He’s been in a psychiatric hospital but apparently escaped sometime early yesterday morning. Probably around the time I was outside chopping wood.”

  She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Your boss thinks you helped your brother escape? Why would you? And besides, I can vouch for the fact that you were chopping wood for us.”

  “Yet you didn’t really see me until I brought the wood in, right?”

  She hated the fact that he was right. “Still, I can vouch for you,” she insisted.

  “I’m not asking you to lie for me, and there’s more. Jesse took some of my hunting and camping gear, including a knife, which isn’t going to look good for me. But I’ve already left a message with Sheriff Torretti to request a meeting. Until I clear this up, I’ve been taken off the schedule.”

  Sarah scowled truly upset on Ian’s behalf. “That’s just ridiculous. Maybe I should go with you to meet with the sheriff. I’m sure I can set him straight.”

  “No, there’s no need for you to be involved. I’ll be fine,” he said firmly. “This is my problem, not yours. I was getting ready to make breakfast,” he abruptly offered, and she understood that, as far as Ian was concerned, the personal conversation was over. “Does Ben like French toast?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, willing to drop the issue of Ian’s job for now. Especially since she had more pressing concerns. Like wishing the cabin had indoor plumbing. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, heading over to pull her jacket off the peg by the door.

  “All right,” Ian said, following her outside to stand on the porch. “I’ll wait here for you.”

  She rolled her eyes and ignored him as she followed the path to the outhouse. There was a tiny part of her brain that chafed at how overprotective Ian was acting. Watching her walk to the bathroom? Really?

  In the early stages of her marriage to David, she’d thought he cared about her safety and security too. Only to discover that David’s true intent had been to control her, isolate her from everyone she knew. And once she was cut off from her friends and family, the verbal abuse started—turning to physical abuse when she’d gotten up enough nerve to file for divorce. And the physical abuse escalated when he’d tried to kill her.

  Logically, she knew Ian wasn’t anything like David. Ian was a cop, so of course he had strong protective instincts. She needed to stay focused.

  But couldn’t help wondering if she’d ever be totally free from David’s abuse.

  When Sarah emerged from the outhouse, she saw that Ben was standing beside Ian on the cabin porch, bundled head to toe in his winter gear. They were talking about something intense, and the way her son gazed up at Ian, with blatant adoration in his eyes, made her heart stumble in her chest.

  The feeling forced her to realize that while she might be willing to explore a relationship with Ian, there was more than just her own emotions at stake.

  She was potentially sacrificing Ben’s too.

  Ian enjoyed cooking breakfast for Sarah and Ben, and the child’s enthusiasm for Christmas was infectious. When Ben learned that Ian had brought ornaments for the tree, he jumped up and down waving his arms excitedly.

  “Can we decorate the Christmas tree now? Can we? Please?” Ben begged.

  “We have to do the dishes first,” Sarah said with a smile. “Remember the rules? Mr. Ian cooked so we have to clean up.”

  “It’s okay,” Ian said, but she sent him a stern look.

  “No, it’s not. We have all day to decorate the tree. We need to do the dishes first,” she insisted.

  “Oh, Mom,” Ben whined.

  Ian recognized the stubborn glint in Sarah’s eyes and knew better than to interfere with her parenting style, so he nodded and backed off. “That’s fine, I need to make a few calls, anyway,” he said. He took his phone off the charger and moved into the living room, leaving Sarah and Ben to their cleanup duties.

  He called the Hope County dispatcher first, hoping to catch Sheriff Torretti before the holiday, but of course he wasn’t there. Ian asked to be transferred to the sheriff’s voice mail so he could leave another message.

  He stared at his phone for a minute and then called the dispatcher back. “Hey, Kristin, I need you to put an alert out on a guy by the name of David Franklin,” he said. “I’ll send you the link to his mug shot so you can put the deputies on notice. His ex-wife and son are here in Crystal Lake, and he might be planning to violate the restraining order she has against him.”

  “Do you have a reason to believe he’s in the area?” Kristin asked. “Has he called or threatened her?”

  Did his gut instincts count? “No, nothing that concrete but it doesn’t hurt to put his picture out there just in case.”

  “I guess not,” Kristin reluctantly agreed. “Okay, shoot the mug shot over and I’ll put all the deputies on alert.”

  “Thanks.” He disconnected from the call and then sent the picture through his phone.

  Fifteen minutes later, Ben came rushing over. “We’re done with the dishes,” he announced. “Can we decorate the tree now?”

  Ian glanced up and caught Sarah’s wry gaze over Ben’s head. “I don’t know,” he said to Ben. “Maybe you need to ask your mom?”

  Ben spun in a circle so fast he nearly toppled over. “Can we Mom? Please?”

  “Yes, Ben, we can go outside to decorate the tree.�
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  Ian opened the box of ornaments and showed them to Ben. Some were fancy and others were homemade, by both him and Jesse. They had put a clear plastic coating over their school pictures one year and he was surprise his mother had kept them. “Some of these are fragile, so we have to be careful, okay?”

  Ben’s eyes were wide with awe. “Okay.”

  Ian carried the ornaments outside to the porch while Sarah helped Ben with his coat and boots. She brought out their handmade garland too, and then walked over to the small pine tree not far off the porch.

  “I thought this one would be the perfect size to decorate,” she said. “I’d rather not cut it down so we can decorate it next year too.”

  “All right,” Ian said, secretly thrilled to hear that Sarah was planning to stay in Crystal Lake. He only hoped that he could hang onto his job, since he wanted nothing more than to celebrate more holidays with her.

  Although Ian knew that even if he was able to stay on with the sheriff’s department, he’d have to take things slow. Sarah had every reason to be gun-shy when it came to entering into a relationship. She knew him well enough to feel safe with him. To know that he’d never hurt her or Ben. But that wasn’t the real issue holding her back.

  Sarah claimed she needed to be able to stand on her own two feet, but she’d already proven that by filing for divorce and surviving David’s vicious attack. Ian sensed that the real problem was that Sarah wasn’t sure how to care about someone else without losing herself in the relationship.

  People who cared about each other, supported and encouraged each other to do better. But she hadn’t experienced that phenomenon with her ex.

  He hoped he could show her what a true relationship was all about. Obviously the main reason he hadn’t found someone else was because he’d subconsciously compared other women to Sarah.

  Only to find them lacking.

  He smiled to himself as he helped put smaller Christmas ornaments on the top of the small pine tree, leaving Ben and Sarah to decorate the lower branches. He was already envisioning a quiet Christmas Eve in front of the fire. He didn’t have gifts to give Sarah and Ben, but somehow he knew Sarah wouldn’t mind.

  “Oh no, the box is empty,” Ben complained.

  “Don’t forget the garland we made,” Sarah said. “And we have time to make more too, if needed.”

  Ben’s grimace made Ian smile. When his phone rang, he pulled it out, his pulse quickening when he recognized the number of Sheriff Torretti on the screen. He connected with the call, moving up toward the cabin porch for some privacy.

  “This is Deputy Kramer,” Ian said adopting a formal tone. “Thanks for returning my call.”

  “You left three messages, Ian,” the sheriff said dryly. “I figured there had to be some sort of emergency, so I decided to give you a call before leaving for the afternoon. My kids are in the church Christmas pageant.”

  Ian cleared his throat, a little taken aback by the knowledge that Sheriff Torretti attended church on a regular basis. “Thank you, sir, I appreciate the call. However, I was hoping to discuss my status with you in person. I could be there in fifteen minutes, if that works for you?”

  “What about your status?” Sheriff Torretti asked.

  Ian was surprised at the question. “Lieutenant Greene took me off the schedule after my brother Jesse escaped from the psychiatric hospital yesterday morning.”

  There was a long moment of silence, and Ian really wished he was there to see Sheriff Torretti’s face. Was it possible he hadn’t known about Greene’s action? Could it be that his lieutenant hadn’t sent the paperwork through yet?

  “Did you have anything to do with your brother’s escape?” Sheriff Torretti finally asked.

  “No, sir, but there’s more. I believe my brother got into my house and took some of my hunting gear. And I don’t have the best alibi either. I was here, chopping wood at Sarah Franklin’s cabin, but she didn’t see me until roughly zero eight hundred hours.” Ian glanced over to where he’d left Sarah and Ben decorating the tree, frowning when he didn’t see them.

  “Does Lieutenant Greene know about your alibi?” the sheriff asked.

  But Ian wasn’t listening. Still holding the phone near his ear, he jumped off the porch, looking all around the clearing for any sign of Sarah or Ben. He even ran down the path to the outhouse, only to find the building empty.

  “Kramer,” the sheriff said sharply. “Are you there?”

  Fear gripped him around the throat, making it difficult to breathe. “Listen, I need you to send two deputies here right away,” Ian said urgently. “I also want an APB put out for David Franklin. I believe he’s kidnapped his ex-wife and his son.”

  To his credit, his boss didn’t hesitate. “Done. Don’t do anything stupid, Kramer. Your backup will be there soon.”

  “Thank you,” Ian choked out before disconnecting from the call. He slid the phone into his pocket and returned to the area where Sarah and Ben had been winding their homemade garland around the tree.

  There, behind the tree, closest to the dense woods, he saw extra footprints in the snow. Two sets of footprints, heading into the woods.

  No way was he waiting for backup. Ian ran inside the house, grabbed his service weapon and then bolted back outside.

  He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Sarah or Ben.

  Chapter Seven

  Sarah wanted to claw the smirk off David’s face as he held a knife against her son’s temple. But she didn’t dare let her hatred show on her face, keeping her expression as neutral as humanly possible.

  Please, Lord, please keep Ben safe in Your care!

  David had emerged from nowhere, grabbing Ben before she knew what was happening. From their position behind the Christmas tree, she could barely see where Ian had been standing and talking on the phone, immersed in his conversation with the sheriff, much less take the risk of calling out to him.

  Not when her ex-husband had figured out the best way to get her cooperation was to manipulate her weak spot. Threatening to kill Ben was enough to make her bite her tongue and to follow along with his plan.

  “Shut up,” David said harshly, when Ben whimpered in fear.

  “You’re scaring him,” she pointed out rationally.

  “Too bad. Move it, Sarah. Now.”

  She did as he asked, following David who was carrying Ben. Her ex-husband wasn’t an outdoorsy kind of guy, but David wove a path through the trees, seeming to know exactly where he was going. As she followed David deeper and deeper into the woods, her mind raced as she tried to think of a way to get Ben away from him. Because, deep down, she knew David didn’t want their son.

  He wanted her.

  But even worse, he wanted to make her suffer the way she’d made him suffer by sending him to jail. Her greatest fear was that David would torture Ben as a way to wound her.

  She curled her fingers into fists, determined to do whatever it took to divert David’s anger to her, drawing it away from Ben. But how?

  “Hurry up,” he said in a low tone, when she lagged behind. “The road isn’t far.”

  The road? Was that his escape plan? Did he have his car there? She wished she knew how David had managed to find her location so quickly. Obviously he’d remembered that innocent comment she’d made about vacationing in Crystal Lake. He must have done some research to pinpoint the location of her grandparent’s cabin.

  It was too late to worry about that now. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach when she didn’t see Ian anywhere behind them. She’d thought for sure he’d notice they were missing by now.

  David was moving at a swift pace, which convinced her he had a plan. And she was very much afraid they’d reach David’s car before Ian even knew they were gone.

  She stifled a scream when her ex-husband tripped badly, letting go of Ben to brace his fall. Her son fell first, partially beneath David. Fearing the worst, she rushed forward and tripped too, landing clos
e to her son. She crawled over the snow to reach her son, pulling him away from David, the sounds of Ben’s tortured sobs tearing at her heart.

  Gathering Ben close she surged to her feet, preparing to run. But Ian abruptly emerged from the woods, jumping on top of her ex to prevent him from getting up.

  “Watch out! He has a knife,” she shouted.

  Ian dug his knee into David’s back, pressing on the back of his head so he couldn’t move. “David Franklin, you’re under arrest for violating your restraining order,” Ian said in a harsh tone. He grabbed David’s wrists and snapped on a pair of silver handcuffs.

  “He came! Mr. Ian came,” Ben whispered.

  “Yes, he did.” Sarah’s eyes filled with tears of happiness. And love.

  She loved Ian. How that was possible in such a short timeframe she had no idea, but she loved him more than she’d thought possible. She’d been infatuated with the eighteen-year-old he’d been ten years ago.

  And she loved the man he was today.

  But Sarah knew that things wouldn’t be easy. Especially with his brother’s escape hanging over him. But she didn’t care. She’d do whatever possible to help him restore his career.

  So they could have a future, together.

  Ian tightened his grip on Franklin, determined to prevent him from getting away.

  And he silently thanked God for protecting Sarah and Ben.

  “I’ll get you for this,” David said, squirming frantically.

  “Was that a threat?” Ian asked, hauling David up to his feet. “I’ll be glad to add that to the list of pending charges. You’re not going to get out of jail for a long time. Didn’t you know that kidnapping is a federal offense?”

  David acted as if he wasn’t listening. His gaze seemed to be glued to Sarah. “You’re nothing but a whore,” he said in disgust. Then he spit at her.

  Ian yanked him backward but David’s heels became caught on something. Ian scowled and glanced down at the ground. “What in the world?”