Page 11 of Snowbound Threat

And Pops had given her father the box for safekeeping.

She was glad for the two men that they trusted each other that much. But how could Pops have never told Caleb that he was getting letters from his parents? What kind of secret made him feel like he couldn’t tell them their parents were alive?

“Tess?” Pops got her attention.

She jogged herself out of her thoughts and had to go into the kitchen to find her cell phone. Of course, the phone settings would tell her where to find her father. They were on the same plan and shared their locations with each other.

She’d just never had to use it to track him before.

The dot loaded with his location. Highway 14, miles from here in the middle of nowhere. What on earth was he doing out there? The dot didn’t move, so he wasn’t driving.

“You have him?” Caleb stood beside her.

She showed him the screen. “I’m sorry this didn’t turn out at all like you thought.”

He still had that dark, Winter Soldier look on his face. Though, he’d tied his wet hair back behind his head. “Pops hasa lot of explaining to do. But the shoebox of letters doesn’t do anything to explain the delivery your father received, the photo and that invoice. Or the break in.”

“You’re really investigating the man in that photo?”

“I was,” Caleb said. “Until he tried to kill me a few weeks ago. Nearly succeeded.”

The burns on his arm. “I’m glad hedidn’tsucceed.”

“Are you going to go there and make sure your father’s okay? Maybe he got in an accident.” Caleb probably wanted to get the rest of the stuff from the safe back home so he could investigate or whatever.

“I need to go there and see for myself if he’s okay.” Tessa grabbed her keys and her purse from the counter, dropping her cell phone in her bag. Maybe she shouldn’t be driving, since she could only repeat back what he’d said.

“I’ll go with you.”

Out front of the house, an engine turned over.

She reached the front door in time to see Pops driving down the lane in his truck.

“Are you serious?” Caleb put his hands on his hips. “I was going to tell him I’m going with you, but he left without me.”

She didn’t get a chance to say anything before he disappeared back toward the study. A few moments later he came back. “He took the shoebox.”

“What about the envelope?”

Caleb shook his head. “Now I’m stuck here.”

“It’s close enough you could walk home.”

“True.” Caleb looked at the white envelope in his hand. “I’ll go with you to make sure your father’s okay. Just in case.”

“Just in case of what?”

He shrugged. “Let’s worry about that when there’s something to worry about.”

Tessa was afraid that even with just the envelope and the shoebox…

There was plenty to worry about.

Chapter Five

Caleb held out his hand. “I’ll drive.”

For a second, he wondered if she would argue. He would press the issue. She was worried about her father, and he was a control freak.