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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

B ecca stood on the pier and watched the distant boat draw closer. Behind her, the rest of the family waited also. She felt she would have real allies once her siblings were here.

“I have all kinds of new cousins,” Molly said. “Why is your sister named Wynne? I never heard that name before.”

“It’s an old southern name,” Becca told her. “She was named for my mother’s sister. You’ll like her. She loves kids. I imagine she’ll have half a dozen of them when she gets married.”

The specks on the boat deck came into view, and she saw Wynne and Jake wave. A lump grew in her throat, and she waved back frantically. The sound of the engine grew closer then Jake tossed a rope toward the dock, and Max caught it. He tied it to the dock post and pulled the boat in tight to the pier.

“Becca!” Wynne leaped from the deck and engulfed her in a stranglehold.

Hugging her sister’s tiny frame gave Becca a burst of intense joy. “I’ve missed you so much!” She held Wynne at arm’s length. “You’re tanned.”

Wynne looked fabulous. Her silky black hair hung over one shoulder in a French braid, and her amber-brown eyes shone with enthusiasm and confidence. Wynne had never heard the word “can’t” and her take-charge attitude didn’t fit her five-foot-three slender frame. She looked slight and insignificant, but Becca knew her sister’s sheer force of personality carried her to success in whatever she did.

“Hey, it’s my turn.” Jake grabbed Becca and lifted her in a bear hug. “How’s my baby sister?”

Though Becca stood nearly eye level with Jake, he outweighed her by eighty pounds. Muscular and stocky, he would have fit in with their lumberjack ancestors. His black hair fell over one dark eye in a rakish way that made him look younger than his thirty years. His massive hands spanned her waist, but Becca had seen those same hands brush dirt tenderly away from delicate fossils.

“Hey, what’s that on your neck?” Wynne asked peering up at Becca.

Becca covered her neck with her hand. “Nothing.”

“Let me see.” Jake pulled her hand away. “Who choked you?” He turned and glared at the assembled group waiting to be introduced on the pier.

“Take it easy.” Showing no fear of her brother, Max stepped forward and put out his hand. “Welcome to Eagle Island. I’m Max Duncan.”

Jake hesitated then shook hands. “What’s going on here?”

“Someone tried to kill Becca last week,” Max said. “She’s fine, but I’m glad you’re here. We need to guard her.”

Wynne gasped and turned to Becca. “You’re leaving here. Now.”

“I’m fine. The sheriff is on top of it.” Trust Wynne to notice every little thing.

Jake’s keen eyes scanned the group and lingered on his grandmother.

Gram came forward, holding out her hand. “Hello, Jake. Come give your grandmother a hug.”

His face softened, and he bent and embraced her. “Hi, Foxy Lady.”

“Ah, Jake, you are still the same impertinent boy,” Gram said with evident satisfaction. “No one has called me that since you were here last.”

“Why does he call her that?” Shayna wanted to know. She stepped forward and gave Jake a sultry smile.

“Charles used to call me that, and Jake thought it great fun to tease.” Gram hugged Jake again before releasing him and reaching for Wynne. “Wynne, darling, you are still so tiny. You never did grow.”

“Good things come in small packages,” Wynne said as she embraced Gram. “Oh good, you still wear the lilac scent. I used to dream about that when I was missing you.”

Tears filled Gram’s eyes. “You missed me?”

Wynne nodded. “I used to cry and beg my parents to let me come visit.” She bit her lip, and her eyes grew luminous with tears.

Becca had forgotten how attached Wynne had been to Gram. She remembered the tantrums the first summer they didn’t come. Wynne had screamed that mom hated her. It had taken three summers for her to quit nagging about it.

Watching them now, she noticed how much Wynne looked like Gram. They had the same small build, though Gram was portly with age now.

Becca wondered if there were any pictures of Gram when she was a girl. She’d have to look in the attic.

Gram was wiping at her eyes, and so was Wynne. “You’re here now,” Gram said. “And you’ll be welcome here any time, always. You all know that.”

Wynne whirled in a flurry of motion. “I’m back on Eagle Island!” she screamed.

Jake shook his head. “You see what I put up with, Gram? Between a career student and Wynne in a manic state, I’m lucky to remember my own name.”

“Oh hush, Jake, you’re as tickled to be here as the rest of us.” Wynne glanced at the rest of the group. “Okay, introduce everyone.”

“You don’t remember your cousin Tate?” Tate slung an arm around Wynne’s shoulders. “I tossed you out of the barn into the hay mow one summer, remember?”

“And you nearly drowned me the summer you tried to teach me how to swim,” Wynne said.

“I’d forgotten about that,” Tate admitted. “And this lovely woman is my wife Shayna.”

“You poor girl,” Wynne said. Her gaze lingered on Nick. “And who’s this gorgeous man?”

Nick’s smile widened, but Shayna looked like she’d like to claw Wynne’s eyes out.

“This is my brother Nick,” Max said. “And this is my daughter Molly.” He pulled Molly forward.

Wynne smiled and knelt in front of Molly. “I bet you know all the best places on the island already, don’t you?”

“You’re sure pretty,” Molly said.

“I agree,” Nick said. He was staring at Wynne like she was the most luscious hot fudge sundae ever made.

Becca was thankful she hadn’t been taken in by his smooth ways. Her gaze sought and found Max. He was looking at her not Wynne, and the smile on his face made her cheeks grow warm.

“Let’s all move inside,” Gram said. “Moxie will have tea and coffee ready for you.”

“And Daddy and me made chocolate chip cookies yesterday,” Molly said, slipping her hand into Wynne’s. “Becca helped too, but I did most of it.”

“I’m sure they’re delicious too,” Wynne said.

Becca lagged behind as the rest trouped inside. Max turned and came back to where she lingered.

“I can see why you were eager for them to get here. You’ve got allies. Or I should say we have allies. I feel better knowing there are two more people we know we can trust to look out for you.”

“I feel like a huge boulder has been rolled off my shoulders,” Becca admitted.

They spent the next few days exploring and getting caught up on news. On Saturday, they all piled in cars and headed out to Windigo Park, a bird preserve that still boasted some of the last native birch and sycamore stands in North America. Loggers from the mainland had been pouring in for the last few days to take part in the festivities.

Red and yellow banners flew from atop tall pines to mark the parking areas. Becca craned her neck to look around.

“What kind of contests are you entering?” she asked Max.

“Log Rolling, Axe Throw, Two-Man Crosscut,” he said. “And I might try my hand at the Pole-Climbing.” He nodded toward two giant pine poles that seemed to go up high enough to touch the sky.

“Oh,” she breathed. “It looks dangerous.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve done this for years.” He parked and jumped out, hurrying around to the trunk where he pulled out a satchel with his gear.

People were hurrying everywhere. Becca saw Wynne go off with Nick while Jake ushered Gram toward the refreshment tent. The aroma of barbequed beef wafted through the air, and women carried homemade desserts and casseroles toward the tables outside the tent.

Becca grabbed the corn casserole she’d made from the back seat and followed Max.

“Stay close,” he instructed. “I’m not so sure you should have come to this today. Accidents can happen too easily at things like this. I should ask Jake to make sure he stays close by you while I’m competing.”

“Are you kidding?” Becca nodded toward her brother. “He’s signing up to compete.”

Jake was signing the contestant form. Max grinned. “He’s strong enough to be a contender. Has he ever done anything like this before?”

“No, but that’s never stopped him.” She looked around for Shayna and Tate but they had disappeared into the crowd. She saw her friend Saija and waved.

Saija hurried to join them and smiled down at Molly. “Hey, sweetie, I was hoping you were going to be here. The rest of the kids are in the Junior Lumberjack area. You want me to show you where to go?”

“Yeah!” Molly scampered off with Saija.

“I’m going with them,” Becca told Max. He nodded, and she hurried after them. “Saija, wait!”

Saija stopped and pointed out the Junior Lumberjack group to Molly who ran to join the rest of the children.

Becca grabbed Saija’s arm and leaned in to whisper to her. “I want to talk to Greg.”

“Why?”

“He’s a fisherman. I just wondered if he could have seen something the day my parents died.” She stared in Saija’s face. “Don’t tell Max though. He’ll try to stop me. He thinks Greg would do anything to make me suspicious of him.”

“I think I know where he is, but I’m not sure Greg can help you.” Saija led Becca through the forest toward the sound of chainsaws. They found Greg standing at the edge of the clearing where the contestants were preparing for the one-man log cutting contest.

He saw them, and his eyes widened. “You’re off your leash?” he asked with a sneer.

“No leash.” She gave him a friendly smile hoping to diffuse the anger she sensed still bubbling under the surface. “I was looking for you.”

“For me? Loverboy is apt to be mad.”

“I wanted to ask you if you’ve heard anything in the village about my parents’ accident. Any rumors of what could have happened and why. Or if maybe you saw something out on the water that day.”

“Would you believe me if I told you?”

“I’d listen.” She gazed into his face with as much candor as she could muster.

He shrugged. “I’ve heard Robert Jeffries might have had something to do with it.”

“Robert Jeffries! Mrs. Jeffries son?” She’d expected him to rail against Max and that she’d have to weed through his accusations to find anything helpful. To have him toss such a choice tidbit out without a fight made her fumble for what to say.

“Yeah. He thought he was going to get a cut of the estate when the old lady passed on. When your dad arrived, he told your grandmother that she’d done enough for the Jeffries family without giving them more Baxter money. Your grandmother called a lawyer and was going to cut Robert out of the will.”

“How do you know all this?”

“My sister’s friend worked for the attorney.”

“But why would he kill them if he was already out of the will?”

“Revenge, I guess.” Greg shrugged.

“He showed up one day shortly after I arrived. He acted like he owned the house.” Becca hadn’t liked what she saw of him. “Why would Gram put him in the will in the first place? And how would he know who I was? Someone tried to kill me the day I arrived.”

“Maybe he recognized you.”

“Not likely when it took my own grandmother a little while.” Still unconvinced, she chewed on her lip. Robert’s guilt sounded too easy.

“Rumor has it that he might be your dad’s by-blow. Maybe he was trying to eliminate all the heirs, one by one.”

Becca gasped. “You’re lying,” she whispered.

He grinned. ”I just wanted to see if you were listening. I was just kidding.”

“Some joke.”

“Sorry.” He didn’t look penitent. “It shouldn’t affect you since you wouldn’t be related to him. I presume you’ve heard the truth of your own parentage.”

“It’s not the truth!” He seemed to be enjoying rattling her too much, and she wanted to slap him. Her parents weren’t the people she thought they were. All her life they’d preached to her about living her life in a transparent way so people could see Christ through her. To find out they had all these secrets in their past was nearly enough to rattle her own faith.

He just shrugged. “I know it for a fact, Becca.”

She froze. She’d asked God to show her the truth, but now she wasn’t sure she wanted to face it. Maybe he was lying again. “How could you know the truth?”

“I overheard your mom talking to Will,” he said simply. “I was ten years old and playing in the folly. She told him she was going to have his baby but that he could never tell Mason.”

Becca’s throat closed, and she couldn’t utter a word. A cry fought to be heard, but all that finally emerged was a squeak. “No.”

“Sorry, but it’s the truth.” He shrugged.

She thought she saw actual sympathy in his face. And there was no mistaking the honesty shining in his eyes. He was telling the truth. Her legs felt weak, and she sat on a stump. “I see.”

“Sorry to have to tell you this, but you deserve to know the truth.”

Becca couldn’t take it all in. She wouldn’t think about this now. “And Robert?” she asked.

“You mean why your grandmother put him in the will?” He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask your grandmother.”

“I will.” Should she tell her grandmother the truth? Becca knew the rest of the family would see it as her trying to ensure her position. Gram deserved to know the truth though.

Greg turned toward the clearing as a man with a bullhorn announced the beginning of the game. “I have to go.” He walked away with a cocky strut.

Becca sighed and passed a hand over her face. “What am I going to do?” she whispered to Saija.

“You can’t believe everything he says,” Saija said. “He likes to stir up trouble.”

“I think he was telling the truth.” Becca took a deep breath. “I can’t think about this now. Let’s focus on my parents’ murder. I wonder if Robert is here?”

“He’s here. I saw him at the refreshment tent.”

“I need to talk to Jake about this. Or Max. I’m not sure I should talk to him alone if he killed my parents.”

“I’ll come with you,” Saija offered.

“Okay, great. Let’s go find him.”

The women wandered through the crowd but found no sign of Robert Jeffries. Becca paused to watch Max take on Jake and some other men in the Pole Climbing Contest. She cheered when Max won. Jake came in fourth which wasn’t bad for someone who had never competed before. The excitement of the contest kept the sick feeling in her stomach at bay.

She wasn’t her father’s daughter. The thought kept pounding through her brain in a litany that nearly drove her mad. She had a feeling this revelation would change things in ways she couldn’t imagine.

Becca snagged a bottle of water from an iced tub near the refreshment tent then left Saija talking to another woman. A path led from the clearing toward a clear stream that ran toward Lake Superior. Becca followed the path to a small cabin.

The sounds of laughter and shouting seemed distant here with the birds chirping above her head and the sound of the gurgling brook.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

Becca jerked around and faced Robert Jeffries. “Who told you that?”

“Greg Chambers.” He strolled into the clearing. An axe dangled from his hand.

“Have you been competing?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. The Axe-Throwing Contest won’t be for another half an hour. Long enough for me to practice.” He raised his arm and threw the axe toward her where its head plowed into the log she was sitting on.

She yelped and sprang to her feet when log chips flew into her face. The blood drained from her head and she felt faint. “You could have killed me,” she whispered. She stared at the axe.

He laughed. “If I had wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead,” he sneered. He advanced further into the clearing and propped his leg on the log. “What do you want with me?”

She might as well blurt it out. Maybe the shock would make him reveal something. “I want to know if you killed my parents.”

His eyes widened then he grinned. “Like I’d tell you if I did. But no, it wasn’t me. You should ask lover boy.”

“Max? He had nothing to do with it.”

“Yeah, that’s what he’d like you to believe. How much will you pay me if I get the goods on him?”

“What goods?”

“I bet I could get proof that he sabotaged the boat just like he did his wife’s. Honey, you don’t have good judgment in men. You’d better watch your back if you marry him.”

Becca felt the stirrings of panic. What was she doing in this deserted clearing with Robert Jeffries? She must be nuts. She sidled toward the path that led back to people. “I’d better get going.”

Robert grabbed her arm. “No, you don’t. Not until we come to an agreement. Fifty thousand dollars and you’ll have the proof you need to hang Max Duncan.”

Max stepped from behind a tree. “I was looking for you, Becca.”

Becca’s heart sank at the coldness in his voice. “Max, I—I was asking Robert some questions.”

“So I heard.” His face was like granite as he looked at her.

She couldn’t bear the disappointment she glimpsed in his eyes. “It’s not like it sounded. I wasn’t fishing for information about you.”

“That’s not what I heard.” He grabbed her elbow and ushered her toward the path.

“You’re history now, Duncan.” Robert’s voice brayed after them. “You’d better be looking for a new home.”

“Max--.”

“Later.” His clipped voice cut her off.

“I heard he might--.”

“I thought you trusted me, Becca. Was it just a ruse to get past my defenses? All this time you thought I killed your parents, is that it? And you still think I tried to kill you the other night, I suppose.” He sounded suddenly weary.

“No, Max, that’s not it! Would you listen to me?” Becca grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “You are so pig-headed.” She grabbed his head and kissed him. “There. Does that convince you? I love you, okay? You stupid, impossible man. I love you. I heard Robert sabotaged the boat, not you. I was asking him about that.”

Max shook his head as though dazed. He kissed her before she could say anything more. “Say it again,” he murmured.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips. “I knew you didn’t have anything to do with it. Robert just offered to give me proof for fifty thousand dollars. I knew he was just blowing smoke.”

Max clutched her so close she couldn’t breathe. “Okay, I believe you,” he said.

She burrowed against his chest. “Now that we have that settled, don’t you have something to say to me?”

He grinned. “I might. But you’re going to have to wait. I’ve got to go cut down a tree.”

“Oh, you’re impossible!” She scurried along beside him as he walked toward the group of men milling around waiting for the contest to start.

Becca felt so happy she could burst as she watched Max throw himself into the contest. She was grinning like an idiot, she knew.

She felt the back of her neck prickle and turned to see Robert staring intently at her. His narrowed eyes and tight mouth made her shudder. He gave her a small salute then melted into the crowd.