"How long were you standing outside?" Jake asked.
"Not long."
"It's a good thing I came along when I did, considering you didn't have a spare."
"We don't have to talk, you know," she said curtly.
"Oh, I know. You're not one to hide your feelings, Hannah Banana," he said with a teasing reference to her childhood nickname.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him an annoyed look. "Don't call me that. Or I'll have to refer to you as Jake the Snake."
"Who called me Jake the Snake?" he asked, as he drove down the road. "Wait, let me guess, it was you."
"Actually, I think Keira came up with it, but I thought it was more than appropriate after what you did." She blew out a breath, feeling like she became seventeen again every time she saw Jake. She needed to start acting like the adult she was. "Who's your employee, the one you're concerned about?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.
"Trevor Pelham. Do you know him?"
"I know the Pelhams own the cabin at the far end of the bay, but I don't know Trevor personally. He's a lot younger than me."
"Trevor has had a rough time the last year. His mom died of cancer, and the girl he's been living with broke up with him two weeks ago. He thought he was going to marry her. Now he's facing a Christmas alone, and he's been on a week-long bender. He missed a couple of days of work, and I'm worried about him. He said he was going to come up here to dry out. I decided to check on him."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I knew about his mom, of course. She was a nice lady." She paused. "It's nice of you to be concerned."
"I can be nice," he said dryly. "In fact, you used to think I was very nice."
"You were also a lot of other things."
"So were you."
She couldn't really argue with that, and she was relieved when he headed across the short bridge that crossed the river and led into Wicker Bay. They were only a half mile from the cabin now, and she was already eager to be out of his truck. She wasn't going to think about the long trip back to town that would soon be coming. Maybe if she could get a signal in the cabin, she'd just call for roadside assistance.
As he rounded the last curve, she could see the four cabins, spaced about a hundred yards apart, each surrounded by an isolating thicket of trees that provided a great deal of privacy. The other two cabins had changed hands many times over the years, and she had no idea who owned them now, only that they were also used for vacation rentals.
Her cabin was to the far right, and every window was blazing with light. There was no car in front, but it was probably parked in the garage. Jake had barely come to a stop when she jumped out of the truck. She thought he'd continue down the lane, but instead he parked and followed her up to the porch.
"Why don't you check on your friend?" she asked, as she rang the bell.
"How much experience do you have fixing water heaters?"
"I know how to relight the one in this cabin."
"And if it's not the light…"
"You think you'll know what to do?"
"Maybe."
Since the most important thing was getting the water heater fixed fast, she let him stay. She pushed the doorbell again and then knocked. She frowned when there was no answer. But she could hear noise inside the cabin. It sounded like the television was on.
She knocked again, then reached for the doorknob. To her surprise, it turned. She opened the door. "Hello?"
She stepped into the living room and stopped abruptly at the sight of a little boy sitting on the floor. He had blond hair and green eyes and appeared to be about four years old. He was holding two small stuffed puppies and watching a cartoon on the TV.
She gave him a friendly smile. "Hi there. Where's your mom or your dad?"
He stared back at her but didn't answer, his gaze traveling to Jake.
Jake immediately squatted down, and she did the same, seeing the fear on the kid's face.
"Hey, bud," Jake said. "I'm Jake. This is Hannah. What's your name?"
"Brett."
"Nice to meet you, Brett," Jake continued. "Where's your mom?"
"She left."
Uneasiness shot down Hannah's spine. "Who's watching you, Brett?"
"She said someone was coming to watch me. Is that you?" He held out one of his puppies. "Frisco is scared."
Her heart melted and she immediately wrapped her arms around both Brett and his puppy. "There's no reason to be scared," she assured him.
"I'm going to look around," Jake said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
As he headed toward the bedroom, she sat down on the floor next to Brett. "Tell me about Frisco," she said as her gaze ran down his body. He looked healthy, and his jeans and sweater were clean. His hair was combed, and he smelled like soap and shampoo. She looked around the rest of the living room. It was neat and tidy. There was no indication anything had happened here, but she had a bad feeling churning in her gut. Something was wrong. This little boy was alone. Why?
"Mommy said Frisco will protect me," Brett told her.
"Did your mom say where she was going?"
"No."
"What about your dad?"
"I'm hungry."
"Well, let me see what's here to eat." She got to her feet and moved into the adjacent kitchen. There was a bowl of cereal on the table as well as a glass of milk and another glass of orange juice. They were untouched.
Brett ran into the kitchen. "Did you make me cereal?" he asked.
"It was
