Page 9 of Dangerous December (Northern Pines Suspense #8)
At the sharp rap on the door of Beth’s office at the back of the bookstore, Elana grabbed for her son and retreated to the corner of the room, dragging him with her.
Their dark eyes widened with fear, even though Beth had told them Dev was on his way.
The door cracked open a few inches.
“Beth? What’s going on here—” Dev pushed the door farther open, caught sight of the cowering woman, and seemed to instantly assess the situation.
He stepped inside, closed the door, and offered her a disarming grin as he eased into one of the chairs. “I’m Vivian’s son, Devlin Sloane. I’m guessing that you must be Elana Mendez?”
The woman managed a single, jerky nod.
“She couldn’t meet with us yesterday, so I called and asked if she could stop here after work.”
Her hands clasped on her desktop, Beth leaned forward to smile warmly at the seven-year-old by the woman’s side.
She prayed that Dev wouldn’t telegraph surprise or pity when he got a closer look at the boy’s twisted leg and the gaunt, slight appearance he and his mother shared. “And this is her handsome young son, Cody.”
If Dev noticed anything unusual, his expression didn’t betray his thoughts. “Nice to meet you both.”
“I’m glad you got my text, Dev. I thought it might be good if the three of us talked, just as we did with the other residents.
So we’re all on the same page.” Beth tilted her head at Cody.
“If all this grown-up talk is boring, I know Janet has a plateful of chocolate-chip cookies you two could share.”
Elana bit her lower lip as she glanced uncertainly between Beth and her son. “I don’t think...well...”
“The store is quiet right now. I can ask Janet to stay with him in the children’s area. It used to be an office, so there’s just one entrance. I’ll ask her to lock the door.”
After a long pause, the young woman nodded and said something to Cody in rapid-fire Spanish. She watched pensively when Janet came and led him away slowly enough to accommodate his pronounced limp.
When they were gone, Elana slipped into an empty chair as far as possible from Dev, where the fluorescent light overhead picked out premature silver strands in the long, dark hair she wore twisted into a tight bun.
“I...worry for him.” She bowed her head over her folded hands. “For both of us.”
When Beth looked up and exchanged glances with Dev, she felt her heart falter at the intensity of resolve that blazed in his eyes before he looked away.
He was clearly ready to do battle with whomever Elana was frightened of...but how could he wage war against the ghosts in her past?
Beth hesitated as she searched for the right words, feeling more out of her league than she’d felt with any of the other residents of Sloane House. Lord, help me say the right things here.
“I understand if you want me to go,” Elana whispered into the moment of silence. She shifted uneasily in her chair, as if she were getting ready to flee. “I know Sloane House is not meant for children. I don’t want trouble for anyone.”
“That’s not what we want. Not at all.” Beth infused her smile with an extra measure of warmth. “We want you and Cody to stay. We just want to know what your goals are, and how we can help.”
The woman’s furtive glance at Dev nearly broke Beth’s heart. Just in these few minutes, it hadn’t taken long to guess at what lay in Elana’s troubled past.
“I...I have a job as a maid at the motel. I am saving money so I can go to school someday.” The expression in her eyes turned bleak. “But...it is taking a very long time.”
The motel on the edge of town had seen far, far better days. The wages they offered were surely nothing above the minimum level.
Beth rested her chin on her upraised palm and tapped a finger against her lips. “I wonder if there would be better jobs, for someone like you who is bilingual. Maybe at one of the resorts outside of town, or the bank?”
Elana sat forward in alarm. “No. No—the motel is fine. The hours are good. I take Cody to school and walk him home. Always.”
Dev nodded. “It’s safer that way.”
“ Sí ...I mean no. ” Flustered, Elana’s gaze darted between them as she reached blindly for the battered purse by her chair and started to rise.
“Wait.” There was no mistaking the command sheathed in his gentle tone. And though he hadn’t moved a muscle toward her, she sank back into her chair. “Is this about an old boyfriend?”
She white-knuckled the handle of her purse.
“A husband?”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. “Roberto was no good. He...hurt Cody.”
And Elana too, Beth guessed with growing anger at the man who had gotten away with victimizing the family he was supposed to love and protect. What kind of animal was he?
A muscle jerked at the side of Dev’s jaw, betraying his similar thoughts. “Does he know where you are? Will he try to find you?”
“He went to prison last spring.”
“Because of what he did to you and Cody?”
She shook her head sadly. “Armed robbery, and he wounded a deputy. He got thirty years. I pray he never escapes.”
Yet she still seemed frightened of her own shadow.
Dev turned his chair to face Elana, leaned forward, and gently took her shaking hands in his. “Whatever happened to you in the past will not happen again. Understand? Roberto is gone. You are with friends, Elana.”
She’d stiffened and dropped her gaze when he drew close, but now she shot a brief, wary glance at him.
“You didn’t deserve whatever he did to you,” Dev continued gently.
“A man who abuses his family deserves prison for that alone. Forever, as far as I’m concerned.
But you don’t need to live in fear—not anymore.
Now you can make a good life for you and your son.
He can grow up to be a fine man, with a good future. ”
Beth watched them, surprised at Dev’s sensitivity and relieved when Elana’s tense shoulders began to relax. “He’s right, Elana. We want to help you achieve that, in every way we can.”
But when Dev released her hands and stood, Elana instinctively flinched, as if none of his words had even registered.
And Beth knew that reclaiming this poor woman’s courage was going to be a long, long road.
Replacing a leaky faucet at Sloane House shouldn’t have required much talent or time.
Fixing it with two older gents offering both running commentary and plentiful advice, plus one stern woman watching him with a hawk-eyed glare lest he run off with the dish soap, added a whole new dimension to the project.
But it was the wide-eyed boy hiding in the shadows who held Dev’s full attention.
Cody’s expression was still wary. Yet despite that brief encounter at the bookstore yesterday, when his mother had freaked out at Dev’s arrival, there was curiosity and even a hint of longing in those dark eyes—as if he wanted to draw closer but didn’t dare.
Since coming back to Agate Creek, Dev had fended off most of the friendly overtures that had come his way, more comfortable in self-imposed isolation than at the prospect of blending into the fabric of a community he couldn’t wait to leave. What would be the point, after all?
Protecting the vulnerable, fighting for justice, and putting his life on the line were pretty much the limits of his skill set, but there was something about Cody that he couldn’t ignore.
“Hey, kid,” he called over his shoulder as he knelt in front of the open cabinet under the kitchen sink. “You look plenty strong. I could use some help. Got a minute?”
From the corner of his eye, he saw Cody waver, then shoot a hesitant glance at Carl. When Carl nodded to him, he edged forward, still keeping a careful distance.
With the wrench in his hand, Dev gestured toward the old toolbox he’d found out in the garage. “Can you hand me a wrench the next size up from this one? Here—take this one over to compare.”
The boy limped forward and gingerly sorted through the toolbox, withdrew a wrench, and offered it with both hands.
“Perfect—first try. Thanks, buddy.” Dev finished installing the sprayer hose, rocked back on his heels. and stood. “Let’s see if this works. Want to give it a try?”
Cody leaned across the sink and grabbed for the sprayer nozzle.
Carl chuckled. “Careful!”
Too late. When Cody’s hand tightened around it, a spray of water shot from the nozzle and caught Dev square in the midsection. The boy jumped back as if he’d touched an electric wire, his face a mask of shock and fear.
The kitchen was chilly, and the water was ice-cold. But his automatic exclamation of surprise caught in Dev’s throat at the expression on Cody’s face—as if he expected to be backhanded, or worse.
There was a moment of utter stillness, with Frank, Carl, and Reva’s attention riveted on Dev.
He laughed, breaking the tension. “I wasn’t planning on a shower quite yet, but that’s okay. What do you think, Cody—want to help me pick up the old parts? Maybe you can help carry them outside. I’ll bet you know where the toolbox belongs, too.”
Cody stood frozen for a heartbeat, then he rushed to pick up the old washers and faucet parts, and went out the side door leading into the garage. Dev lifted the toolbox and started after him.
Frank and Carl both nodded in approval and patted Dev’s shoulder as they stepped back to let him pass by.
“You’ll do,” Carl said under his breath. “You’ll do just fine.”
Even Reva wore the faintest trace of a smile.
“Just like your daddy,” she murmured. “He was a good man.”
Carl’s gentle touch and words of praise had felt almost like...a benediction. But Reva’s words burned at the edges of Dev’s heart.
The old fear was still there, an ember that had never faded. Just to make sure it never had a chance to grow, he had long since made a decision.
His marriage had failed. He wouldn’t risk another.
And he definitely wouldn’t ever have children, because the thought of turning into a man like his critical and demanding father made his blood run cold.