Jayne Ann Krentz (29 page)

“No.” Rafe thought about it. “Not if he was already paranoid about that possibility. Maybe he planned for the possibility that someone would come around asking questions someday.”

“One thing's for certain.” Mitchell turned toward the open wall safe. “If Steadman has cleared out for good, you can bet he didn't leave those tapes behind for us to find.”

Rafe was brooding again. Hannah tolerated it as long as she could stand it, but by ten o'clock that evening she was starting to climb the walls. She tracked her quarry down in the solarium, where he was sitting in the shadows. He had one hand on Winston's neck, rubbing the dog absently behind the ears.

“I vote we all take Winston for his evening walk on the beach,” Hannah said from the doorway.

At the sound of his name included in the same sentence as the word “walk,” Winston moved smartly out from under Rafe's hand and bounced toward the door.

Rafe's hand paused in midair over the place where Winston's ears had been a second earlier. “It's dark, in case you haven't noticed.”

Hannah lounged in the doorway, arms folded. “There's no fog. The moon is out. All we need is a flashlight.”

“It's late.”

She looked at the back of his head. “Just a little past ten. The first time you and I walked on the beach it was after midnight.”

There was a short, stark silence. Without another word, Rafe levered himself up out of the lounger.

They went out of the big house through the French doors that opened onto the lower veranda. Rafe clicked on the flashlight, but Winston ignored the beam. He bounded ahead, zipping down the steps and heading toward the shadowy beach path with the ease of a creature who relies on a variety of senses to get around.

Rafe and Hannah followed in the dog's wake.

The evening was cool but not cold. The bay was a dark mirror beneath the icy white moon. A swath of silver streaked the surface of the deceptively still water. In the distance the lights of the pier and the streets of the small downtown section of Eclipse Bay glittered. Hannah could see the glow of Chamberlain College and the institute on the hillside.

Everything about the night brought back memories of her first walk on the beach with Rafe. She wondered if he was remembering that same evening and if so, what he thought about it.

When they reached the sand they followed Winston toward the rocky pools uncovered by the low tide.

“This is about Jed Steadman, isn't it?” Hannah asked after a while. “I know it must have been hard for you to discover that he may have been the one who murdered Kaitlin. He was your friend, after all.”

“Jed was just a guy I knew a long time ago,” Rafe said distantly. “Someone I could shoot a game of pool with on a dull night.”

She peered at him. “I thought you two were quite close in the old days.”

“I hardly thought about him in the past eight years, let alone picked up the phone to call him. And he sure as hell never bothered to get in touch with me. We weren't buddies. Just a couple of guys who did some stuff together on long summer weekends because we had one big thing in common.”

“What was the big thing? Kaitlin Sadler?”

“No. The big thing was that neither of us had a father anywhere in the picture.”

Hannah shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweater jacket. “I can see where that would have been a bond of sorts.”

“I envied him a little, if you want to know the truth. I always figured he was the lucky one. He seemed like he knew what he was doing. Had a plan for his future. Knew where he was going. The kind of guy who wouldn't screw up.”

Halfway down the beach, Winston paused to investigate a hunk of driftwood. Rafe aimed the flashlight at him and then let the light slide away toward the foam at the water's edge.

“I was wrong about Jed, you know,” Rafe said after a while.

“What do you mean?”

“He wasn't the lucky one. I was. I had Mitchell after my parents were killed. Gabe and I both had him. I went off track for a while, but at least I knew there was a track, thanks to him.”

Hannah nodded. “I understand.”

“I don't think there was ever anyone there for Jed. His father drank a lot, and one day he just disappeared. His mother remarried two or three times.”

“Hmm,” Hannah said.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Let's not go too far into let's-feel-sorry-for-poor-Jed-who-came-from-a-dysfunctional-family territory. I'm sure it's all true, but I can't believe that he didn't know a few of the rules. The night he murdered Kaitlin Sadler in order to get his hands on those blackmail tapes he broke those rules. I'm sure he was well aware of what he was doing.”

“You know, Hannah, that's one of the things I like about you.” For the first time that evening there was a trace of wry amusement in Rafe's words. “I can always count on you to cut right to the heart of the matter.”

Hannah sighed. “All right, if you're not brooding because of Jed, do you mind telling me why you've been in such a foul mood all evening?”

“I've been thinking.”

“No offense, but I'm not sure it's good for you.”

“I appreciate the positive feedback.”

“Okay, okay. I don't want to argue.”

“But you're so good at it.”

She tightened her hands inside the pockets of her sweater jacket. “Let's start over. Tell me what you've been thinking about this evening.”

He was silent for a couple of heartbeats. She had the impression that he was gathering himself for a big jump.

“I've decided to sign over my half of Dreamscape to you,” he said.

For a few seconds she thought she had misunderstood. She reran his simple statement twice through her brain before she finally decided she had gotten it right the first time.

She came to a sudden halt on the beach and swung around to face him. “You're going to do
what
?”

“You heard me.” He stopped and looked at her.

“Dreamscape is Harte property. It's always been Harte property. I know your aunt had some romantic notions, but the truth is, I don't have any real claim on the place. It's yours. I'm not going to fight you for it.”

Panic seized her. She jerked her hands out of her pockets and grabbed fistfuls of his black pullover. “I thought we had a deal.”

“You didn't seem interested.”

“I never got a chance to respond.” She stood on tiptoe and leaned closer. “Arizona Snow arrived with her logbook in the middle of our business discussion, if you will recall. Then came our big deductions concerning Kaitlin Sadler's death.”

“Hannah—”

“That was followed by you and your grandfather deciding to engage in a bit of breaking and entering. The next thing we know, Jed Steadman has left town and you're brooding. All in all, it's been a somewhat hectic day. I haven't had a chance to get back to you on your business offer.”

“I've known for a long time now that my claim on Dreamscape was the only thing I could use to hold you. I don't want to use it.”

“Excuse me if I got this wrong, but I was under the impression that you saw me and Dreamscape as a sort of package deal.”

“I can build my restaurant somewhere else.”

“Your dream of a restaurant is your passion. Dreamscape is the best possible location for it, and you know it. You can't give it up.”

“Got news for you, Hannah. The restaurant is important, but it's not my greatest passion.”

“Rafe—”

“I don't want you and the restaurant in a business deal.”

“You're the one who made the offer.”

“I was getting desperate.”

Hope soared within her. Grimly she tamped it down, forcing herself to keep things in perspective. “But now you've changed your mind? You don't want me anymore?”

He closed his free hand around one of her fists. “I want you, Hannah, but it's no good unless you want me. Tonight I realized that taking Dreamscape out of the equation is the only way to find out how you really feel about me.”

She couldn't keep the lid on the tide of hope any longer. It surged through her. “You want to know how I feel? I'll tell you how I feel. I love you, Rafe Madison. I want to stay here in Eclipse Bay with you. I want to open a five-star inn and restaurant at Dreamscape with you. I want to have babies and a future with you.”

For an instant he did not move. Then he abruptly wrapped one arm around her and pulled her hard against his chest. “Are you sure?”

She snuggled against him. The heat and strength of his body enfolded her. He was her future.

“I'm sure.”

“I love you,” he said into her hair. “You're my passion, not the restaurant. You know that, don't you?”

“I do now.” Relief and joy washed through her. Once a Madison was committed to his passion, nothing else was allowed to get in the way.

“What about your new list?” he asked quietly. “Do I qualify?”

She smiled against his throat. “There was only one item on it. I wanted to marry someone I could love with all my heart. Someone who loved me the same way in return.”

“No problem. I meet all the qualifications.” He tightened his hold on her. “We'll make it work. You and me. Dreamscape. The future. We'll make it all work. I swear it.”

“With your dreams and my brains, how can we miss?”

He raised her chin on the edge of his hand. “That night on the beach I told myself I could never have you, but I knew even then that I would never be able to forget you.”

“I told myself the same thing about you.”

He smiled against her lips. “You and your damned list were always there, somewhere in the back of my mind. You want to know the truth? Part of me wanted you to be happy. But another part hoped like hell that you would never find a man who met all those specifications for a husband.”

“You and your big career objective to stay out of jail were always in the back of my mind. The thought of so much potential going to waste was extremely annoying.”

“Sounds like we've been a constant source of irritation for each other all these years.”

“I can't think of a better basis for a marriage.”

He grinned. “Neither can I.”

The beam of the flashlight splashed across the sand when his mouth came down on hers. Hannah reveled in the kiss. A singing happiness exploded inside her.

Winston's sharp, harsh bark broke the spell.

Rafe reluctantly raised his head. “I don't think your dog approves of us making out on the beach.”

“He'll just have to get used to it.”

Winston left the piece of driftwood he had been worrying and dashed toward them. He barked again, louder and more urgently this time. Not a request for attention or an invitation to romp.

A surge of alarm shot through Hannah. “I think something's wrong.”

Winston did not stop when he reached the place where Hannah and Rafe stood. He sped on down the beach toward the path that led back to Dreamscape. He was barking furiously now.

“What the hell?” Rafe swung around to follow the dog with the flashlight beam. “Oh, shit.”

He broke into a run.

Hannah looked toward the mansion. Shock seized her. The background rumble of the restless bay behind her blotted out any sound that might have drifted down the cliffs from Dreamscape. But she did not need to hear the crackle and hiss of the fire. She could see the flames leaping into the night quite clearly.

Should have taken the cell phone with me, Rafe thought as he raced toward the house. But the possibility that the fire could still be handled with the garden hose was too tempting to allow for a detour into the house to call 911.

He leaped the steps and ran the length of the veranda. Winston was a short distance ahead of him. The dog was in full charge mode. He was no longer sounding the alarm with short, warning barks. The porch lights glinted on bared teeth and flattened ears.

He had been right about Winston the first time he saw him, Rafe thought. Definitely not a froufrou pooch.

“I'll call the fire department,” Hannah shouted.

“Right.” He did not look back as he rounded the corner of the veranda.

Winston's growl was the only warning he got before he glimpsed the figure silhouetted by the flames. The man was attempting to flee, but the dog had closed his jaws around a pant leg.

Rafe saw Winston's victim raise the gasoline can in his hands and prepare to smash it down hard on the Schnauzer's skull.

“Goddamn dog,” Jed yelled.

Rafe slammed into him. The can sailed out onto the grass, away from the flames. Jed went down hard on the wooden boards. He opened dazed, angry eyes. Hatred and rage flared hotter than the crackling fire.

Winston tried to get a better grip on Jed's leg.

“Let go, Winston.”

The dog released the trouser cuff and looked at Rafe.

“You sonofabitch,” Jed roared. “I had it all planned. Waited all this time. But you had to come back and ruin everything.”