Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,84

they'd missed?

She'd gone through the suitcase and Brett's backpack a dozen times.

Was there anything at the cabin she'd overlooked? Adam had gone through the house and said they'd found nothing of interest. Could there have been something there only she would recognize, like the unicorn necklace?

Jumping to her feet, she knew where she needed to go. It was a thirty-minute drive to the cabin. But she had nothing else to do this afternoon, and she'd be back before the storm hit.

As she went to grab her coat, her mom came down the stairs.

"Brett fell asleep before I finished the story," her mom said.

"That's good. Are you going to stick around for a while?"

"I'd like to." Her mom gave her a quizzical look. "Unless, you'd rather have Tyler to yourself?"

"No. Actually, I was going to run out for an hour, and I'm not sure Tyler will be able to stay awake to keep an eye out for Brett. He got up early this morning."

"I'll be here. Where are you going?"

"I just have a last-minute Christmas errand to run," she said vaguely.

"Well, don't be too long. The weather is supposed to turn."

"I'll be back before that." She grabbed her coat and gave her mom a smile. "Thanks for helping out so much."

Her mother smiled back. "Thanks for letting me." She paused. "It's almost Christmas, and I have a good feeling about this year. I think Kelly will come home and for the first time in a very long time, we'll be a family again."

"I hope so."

Chapter Twenty-One

Hannah tried to hang on to her hopeful feeling, but as she neared the cabin, her stomach churned, and anxious thoughts ran through her head. The temperature had dropped another ten degrees, and the snow was coming down at a steady rate, blanketing the trees and road in powdery white. She didn't know if it was the incoming storm or the fact that it was Christmas Eve, but the highway around the lake was nearly empty, and when she turned off onto the narrow road leading down to the lake and the four cabins at Wicker Bay, there wasn't a car in sight.

When she arrived at the cabins, there were no vehicles parked in front of any of the buildings. She pulled into the short driveway and turned off the engine. Then she made her way up to the porch. She unlocked the door and walked inside. It was very cold in the living room, which wasn't unusual since the property manager turned off the heat in between rentals.

Everything looked the same as when she'd left it. She saw a few drawers pulled out in the kitchen and some pillows knocked off the couch, but that was probably from when the police had gone through the place.

She walked over to the sofa and picked up two pillows and put them back. That's when she heard a noise.

Her heart began to pound. She walked down the hall. The bedroom door was closed, but there was light coming from beneath the door.

Someone was in the bedroom.

Her breath came short and fast.

Should she leave? Go back and get her purse and then call 911 from the car?

She was still debating when a scream rang through the air filled with pain and fear and a tone of familiarity.

She opened the bedroom door. A woman was sprawled on her side across the bed, her blonde hair falling over her face as she writhed in pain, her hand pressing against her abdomen. She'd taken off her jeans and panties, a long black sweater falling to her hips. And that's when Hannah saw the blood on her thighs. The woman turned her head.

Kelly!

Shock ran through her, even though she'd known it was Kelly from the second she'd opened the door. But meeting her sister's gaze??t was familiar and different at the same time.

Kelly was older now, but it wasn't her age that bothered Hannah the most; it was the bruises on her face and the muscles in her face contorted with pain.

"Hannah," Kelly gasped. "Thank God! The baby is coming. I'm bleeding. I don't know what to do. It's too early."

She put every question out of her head and immediately went into nurse mode. "It's going to be okay," she said, moving to the bed.

"I'm scared."

"I'm sure you are."

"You must hate me."

"Right now, I just want to help you. I'm a nurse, Kelly."

"I know. I've been following you online."

That comment shocked her, but she needed to focus on the immediate crisis. "Let's see