Dakota Homecoming (9 page)

“They adopted a baby?”

“Come on, Georgie. You know he doesn’t have to go through legal channels for anything. I heard his wife talking to the nanny. She’s claiming the baby is hers. She doesn’t want anyone to know the truth. They stole that baby, Georgie.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him to do anything.”

“I…he saw me looking at the baby.”

“You’re working in the house. Cleaning. Why wouldn’t you be looking at a new baby?”

“This whole thing has me so afraid. The baby. She’s…”

“What?”

“She’s very fair skinned. Her hair is fair.”

“She’s a baby. Babies change almost daily.”

“I heard Eduardo talking to Ava. The baby is American.”

“American?”

“He said The American can’t know. He’ll never know. And that Ava shouldn’t worry about The American interfering any more. As if Cash Montgomery had something to do with the baby. I think I heard them say…”

“What? What did they say?”

Angela paused a second. Georgie could hear the sound of traffic through the phone. She was probably down at the marketplace.

“Angela?”

“I think the baby’s father is Cash Montgomery. I think that’s why Eduardo has been so crazed about the man.”

“Are you sure?”

“I need to go. I may not be able to risk calling again. At least not for a while. Please don’t contact me.”

Someone called Angela’s name from a distance. The sound of the phone being muffled drowned out what was being said.

“Angela?”

“I have to go. Tell your friends to hurry. I don’t want to be here anymore.” The phone call disconnected.

Georgie’s heart pounded when she glanced down at her cell phone and as if she could bring Angela back. Georgie had gotten out. But her cousin was still there. Still at Eduardo’s compound. And still in the middle of Eduardo’s rule. And after today’s phone conversation, it looked as though she could be under new scrutiny now that Eduardo had brought home a child for his wife.

She needed to talk to Julian. This wasn’t just about her cousin staying for the sake of a baby. It was about a baby who may have been kidnapped. And if Angela knew the truth, then she was a target for Eduardo.

With her phone still in her hand, Georgie opened the bedroom door and headed downstairs in search of Julian. She heard laughter coming up from the kitchen. Loud male chuckles, Joan’s voice, and more.

Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, she clutched her cell phone and then took three cleansing breaths to steady her nerves. She didn’t want the McKinnons to see her rattled. They were too in tune to each other and they would know immediately that something was wrong. When she was reasonably sure she wouldn’t lose it, she walked into the kitchen, she made her way towards the laughter, hoping Julian would see her quickly. If he wasn’t in the kitchen, she didn’t know what she would do.

* * *

Georgie hadn’t had to say a word when she came into the kitchen. Julian felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and saw the look on Georgie’s face and he knew instantly that someone had contacted her. She walked into the kitchen without looking at anyone else and stopped behind the chair he was sitting in at the table. Bending down, she wrapped her arms around him and put her mouth to his ear as if she were about to kiss him.

The move seemed so natural for a couple in love that no one else sitting at the table seemed suspicious.

Georgie whispered in his ear, “We need to talk.”

When he glanced up at his mother, he saw she was smiling. It was Georgie’s way of getting his attention without rousing suspicion. But his mother didn’t know that.

“We’ll be back in a minute,” Julian said, getting up from the chair. “Mom, do you mind pouring two coffees for me and Georgie?”

“Sure, honey.”

Julian took Georgie’s hand and led her into the living room, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying attention to them. He wrapped her in his arms as if he were about to kiss her passionately. But instead of kissing her the way he’d dreamed of doing many times, he whispered in her ear.

“You’ve had contact?”

“Angela. She said Eduardo has brought home a baby girl. She thinks the baby is Cash Montgomery’s child.”

It made sense. Kelly hadn’t known about a wife until a few days ago.

“It makes sense. Kelly didn’t know Cash had a wife until just a few days ago. The wife’s family has had ties to the Aztec Corporation and Manuel Turgis.”

Julian released Georgie and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He pressed the button for the downloads he’d made from the Internet and showed Georgie a picture of Manuel Turgis.

“Is this the man who was talking with Eduardo when you were there?”

Georgie looked at the picture on the cell phone. “I think so, but the man I saw was older than this man.”

“It’s an old stock photo. I think Angela has hit on the reason Cash Montgomery went to Colombia and why Eduardo was so eager to capture him.”

“He kidnapped Cash’s baby girl?”

“Perhaps. We need to get in touch with Angela. We need to know for sure if the baby at the compound is really Cash Montgomery’s child. If she is, then we’ll need to get her back.”

“What about Angela? She told me not to call her. She called me from a pay phone using a calling card today.”

“It’s too dangerous. She’ll have to sit tight for now. Don’t worry. It may look like nothing is happening but there is a lot going on behind the scenes. It’ll all be over soon.”

It should have given him a sense of relief. But instead, Julian knew it only meant that he was one day closer to having Georgie leave his life for good.

* * *

There had been no more phone calls that day or the next. Georgie kept looking at her cell phone as if Angela’s name and picture would magically appear there and she would know for sure her cousin was okay. Julian had insisted things were moving along behind the scenes. He couldn’t tell her anything more, so she might as well just relax and enjoy the wedding rehearsal dinner party that his aunt Kate had planned for the family.

The sign on the diner said CLOSED FOR PRIVATE PARTY. For days, Julian had been telling Georgie about his aunt Kate’s famous diner in the center of Rudolph. The McKinnons were a fixture in this town and the diner was at the apex of everything that happened here.

The parking lot was already filled with vehicles. Glancing in the window, Georgie saw familiar faces of McKinnons she’d met the other night. She didn’t have to hear the laughter to know they were all happy to be here and glad to see each other.

She took a deep breath and sighed. “Is it only your family?”

“Pretty much. You’ll meet my cousin Sam and his fiancé Summer. They’ve been in Colorado for some training. Sam’s been a Hotshot firefighter for a few years now. They’ve been talking about setting up training here in South Dakota though so they may be moving here permanently, which I know will thrill my aunt.”

“She likes having her family around her.”

“Of course.” He got out of the car and slammed the door. She didn’t wait for him to walk in front of the car and open the passenger door for her like he always did. Georgie did it herself.

“She hated it when Wade was gone,” Julian said, walking in front of the car and taking Georgie by the hand. “Everyone did. We’d thought we’d lost him.”

“Lost him? How?”

He steadied Georgie as she walked on a patch of snow and ice as they made their way to the front door.

“We thought he’d died in a tsunami in Samoa. He was gone for five years. It was quite a thing when he’d returned and we found out about him and Skylar. And Alex.”

“Alex?”

“Their son. Skylar and Alex had been here in Rudolph all along.”

“Skylar was the woman I met the other night who is pregnant.”

“Right.”

“And the woman with the baby?”

“That’s Poppy. She’s married to my cousin Logan. They’ll be here tonight, too.”

She stopped walking and looked down at the length of her jacket which was much too casual for the dress she’d worn. But she didn’t have a dressier coat to wear. “Am I dressed okay for this?”

“You look beautiful. Don’t worry so much.”

“I’m not.”

He slipped his hand over hers and led her to the door of the diner. “Yes, you are. But you’re going to have fun.”

“Is that an order?”

He opened the diner door and laughter spilled out into the night. He smiled and held the door for her. “Oh, I know better than to do that. Stay close to me. It’ll be fine.”

Julian led Georgie by the hand through the diner. The food was lined upon the counter in chafing dishes. Kate McKinnon stood behind the counter making sure all the containers were filled with food as family members stood along the length of the counter with plates ready to fill up. The aroma of home cooking assaulted Georgie’s nose. The smiling faces and lighthearted chatter filling the room showed how much everyone enjoyed being here and being together.

“You made it,” Logan said. His smile was wide when he saw his cousin. He held a sleeping baby in his arms. Little Emma McKinnon had a small patch of red hair on her head, the same color as her mother’s hair. Logan was completely content holding the baby while visiting with the family. Every so often, one of the family would pass by and place a hand on the baby’s back or kiss her hand and touch the baby’s cheek. The gesture seemed so natural for all of them. So loving.

Georgie’s heart squeezed as the realization of what she had lacked in her life hit her. She’d definitely had the love from her mother and her cousin. But this… She’d never experienced the kind of open heartedness the entire McKinnon clan had for each other. And what shocked Georgie more, was how open they were to having her among them. As if she really belonged there.

There’d be a day of reckoning. A day when Julian would have to tell them the truth about why she was really there celebrating with their family. About how her presence could have potentially put them all in danger if Eduardo knew she was there and wanted to hunt her down as he had others.

But that day was not today. Grace smiled at her and touched her arm as she and Julian walked by. Two little giggling boys ran past her leg on their way to a booth by the window where Julian’s dad and uncle were seated. Both of them were engrossed in conversation about something. Julian’s brother Gray was holding little Jonathan, one of the young twins that Ian and Abby had adopted after their mutual friends’ had passed away. Abby held the youngest of the siblings they adopted; little Lola who was just eighteen months old.

“Do you want to eat something?” Julian asked. “There’s plenty of food.”

“I’ll say. But no, I’ll wait. I’m still full from the lunch your mom made earlier.”

He led her to a table where his brother Luke was sitting with the love of his life, Tessa. Tessa’s six-year-old daughter, Haley, was sitting between them in a booth eating a bowl of ice cream.

“Hey, where’d you get that ice cream?” Julian said to Haley as they reached the table.

Haley held a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in her hand and giggled. “From Auntie Kate!”

“Auntie Kate has ice cream?” The animated way he talked to the little girl made her laugh harder. “Did you eat it all?”

“No, silly!” she said.

“Did Luke eat it all?”

“No!” Haley said with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, that’s a good thing because chocolate is my favorite.”

Julian motioned for Georgie to sit down in the empty booth seat. “I’m going to get a drink. Want something?” he asked.

“Sure. Anything,” Georgie said.

Julian spun around and addressed his family. “Anyone want a drink while I’m behind the bar?”

“No going behind the bar. I’ll get you what you want,” Kate said. She placed a loving hand on the back of a man a few years older than Julian. Georgie guessed that it was Julian’s cousin Sam since he was the only other McKinnon who wasn’t at the house the other night and Julian had told her he and his girlfriend Summer would be here tonight.

“I’m not going to blow anything up, Ma,” the man said.

“It wouldn’t be the first time if you did.”

The room erupted in laughter. Luke yelled out, “She’s never going to let you live that down, Sam.”

“It wasn’t me. Well, it wasn’t
just
me,” Sam said laughing.

This jovial banter continued for most of the night. Georgie laughed along with the tales of mischief and fun from the boys, and protests from Grace, the only McKinnon born female among them until little Emma had been born to Logan and Poppy a few months ago.

It wasn’t until the evening was winding down and everyone was helping to clean up that questions started coming Georgie’s way.

“So you’re the reason that my brother has been AWOL these last months,” Sam said.