Twilight at Blueberry Barrens (Sunset Cove #3)(32)
“You’re a good dad to them, Drake. The best. We’ll get them through this together.”
He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Kate. I know we will.”
Warmth spread from his hand down her chest and settled in her belly. This man moved her like no one else ever had.
*
Kate couldn’t sleep. Her conversation with Drake about the girls kept her tossing and turning until after one, and she finally got up to check the locks on the doors. Maybe some warm milk would help. She heated it on the stove, then carried it out under the stars. She rubbed her burning eyes and took a sip of the warm milk at the table on her back porch.
A footfall behind her made the back of her neck prickle, and she jumped to her feet. “Who’s there?” She peered through the shadows at a tall figure looming in the moonlight.
Wait a minute, she knew that floppy hat and rangy figure. He looked just as handsome as ever with his salt-and-pepper hair. “Uncle Paul?” She hurtled down the steps and flung her arms around him. “I thought you’d already headed for Canada.”
His plaid shirt smelled of fresh air as she buried her nose in his chest. He hugged her back but quickly released her as if he wasn’t sure her hug was genuine. “I wanted to see you before I went.”
The rush of joy ebbed as reality returned. He was a convicted murderer. The things he’d done had hurt Claire and Luke tremendously. How could she claim to love her sister if she let him get away? But her phone was in the house.
He must have seen her smile fade because he crossed his arms across his chest. “I need you to do something for me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t help you. You’re a fugitive, and you tried to kill Claire.”
“I was good to you, Kate. I was the only father you knew. You can do this one little thing for me.”
“And I’m grateful for all you did. I still love you, Uncle Paul. It’s impossible to turn love on and off like a hot-water tap, but you need to turn yourself in. You need to pay for what you did.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her with him toward the blueberry barrens. “It will only take a minute. I’d do it myself, but I’m too big to fit.”
She struggled against his tight grip, but she couldn’t break free. Dew drenched her feet, and the blueberry plants tore at the skin on her soles. He dragged her toward the tree line on the other side of the fields. It did no good to fight him, so she gave up the struggle and walked with him toward the woods. Once they were in total darkness, she’d make a run for it. She never would have believed he’d manhandle her like this.
Her arm felt bruised where he gripped it. “You can let go. I’m coming with you.”
His face was expressionless and he shook his head. “I know you, Kate. You think you can outrun me when we get to the trees, but that’s not going to happen. Do what I tell you, and you’ll be home for breakfast before the dew is gone from the grass.”
She examined the dark outline of the approaching trees. She knew the area well, but her uncle was even more familiar with it. He hunted back here all the time. What could he want with her? Once he got what he wanted, he’d be out of here and halfway to Canada by the time the sheriff arrived.
The air cooled as soon as they entered the thick shade from the trees. Eastern red cedar mingled with poplar, ash, and birch in the forest as he dodged the trunks and pulled her toward a rocky hillside dotted with spruce and pine trees. Her bare feet kicked up the scent of pine from the fallen needles. She tried to remember what terrain lay this way. The small lake. Did he intend to kill her? He dragged her closer to the sound of the waterfall until they were close enough she could smell the water, and she struggled harder.
He stopped beside the lake and reached down to grab a length of rope. “I’m sorry, but I can’t trust you. Besides, this way you won’t be guilty of helping me. The marks on your arms will prove I forced you to help me.” He yanked her arms behind her back and tied her wrists together, then attached the other end to a jack pine tree. “I’ll untie you in a minute.”
She twisted her wrists and hands, but he was an expert at tying knots and she couldn’t budge the rope. Maybe once his back was turned she could get loose from the tree.
He bent down and pulled a small kayak from behind some shrubs, then reached inside and withdrew a flashlight. He stuffed it in the waistband of his jeans before untying her. “There’s a small cave behind the waterfall. You’re going to crawl in there and get a bag with a passport and money in it. It’s in a Ziploc baggie on the right side of the cave about ten feet in and around the bend to the right.”
Shaking her head, she backed away. “I’m not going to help you.”
“You have to. I can’t get in there myself.”
“Then how’d you get that stuff in there?”
“An old girlfriend about your size.”
“Becky?”
“Maybe.” He removed the rope, then put the flashlight in her hand. “The sooner you get to it, the sooner you can get home to breakfast. I’m not letting you go until I have my stuff. If you don’t go, I’ll burn down Claire’s house. And I’ll make sure she and Rocco are in it.”
For the first time she felt her chest tighten as she stared up into his expressionless face. Initially she hadn’t believed he could do the things he’d done. What made her think he wouldn’t do whatever he had to this time as well? For all she knew he’d pick up a rock and bash her head in too. She looked at the waterfall, silvery in the moonlight. She’d do anything for her sister.