Page 31 of Deadly Past

“I bought it from an old man. He told me he had no family left and was going to live on the mainland with his high school friend.” Declan shrugged. “Guess he didn’t have anyone to pass these on to.”

“That’s so sad.” She dropped her attention to the box of ornaments. “Well, we can’t let that happen to them. They must have a home. A family to belong to.” She stopped suddenly. Was she talking more about herself than the ornaments?

“The old guy would like that. We still keep in touch. Tell you what—once we get the tree decorated, I’ll take some pictures and send them to him.”

She smiled at his consideration. “I love it.”

He seemed pleased with her reaction. “Well, then let’s start.”

Finding the perfect place for each ornament was the most fun Wynona had experienced in a long time. Simone came out to investigate. Wynona and Declan had to keep the cat from claiming several of the ornaments as her toys.

Once the final ornament was in place and the lights strung, Wynona realized there was no star. “What do we put on top?”

Declan frowned. “I know I’ve seen a star somewhere before. Maybe we missed it in the attic.” They both returned upstairs. “I’ll take this side, and you search over there.”

Wynona started opening boxes without any luck. Reaching the part of the attic that had a window outside, she peered out at the beautiful winter wonderland below then froze. “Oh no.” The fear in her voice must have captured Declan’s attention because he hurried over.

“What’s wrong?”

She pointed outside. Standing in the shadows of the woods, someone was watching the house.

“Stay here,” Declan told her and raced toward the stairs.

Wynona didn’t listen. She followed him downstairs. He snatched his weapon from the table and strode to the backdoor.

Wynona grabbed her jacket.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Declan demanded.

“I’m coming with you.” Wynona held the handgun tight. She could see he didn’t like the idea, but this was her fight. “I’m not hiding from this any longer.”

He slowly nodded. “Stay behind me.” With a searching look, Declan opened the door and stepped outside. Wynona followed close to the edge of the house. Declan peered past the house before ducking back. “I don’t see him.”

“That’s impossible. He was just over there.”

Declan stepped from their coverage and started for the location where the man had been. Wynona pulled in a breath and followed.

“There are footprints.” Declan pointed to the ground. “One set, from all appearances.”

Wynona followed the tracks with her eyes. They led straight for the group of trees where she’d seen the man standing. Both she and Declan eased toward the spot. The footprints headed back through the woods toward the shoreline.

“Let’s keep going,” Declan whispered. Staying in the lead, he followed the footprints to the shore.

“Someone’s leaving,” Wynona exclaimed as a boat motored away from the island spewing a spray of water in its wake.

“I can’t believe this just happened. Can’t see any of the boat’s identification numbers.”

Wynona strained against the afternoon sun. “I can’t either.”

Declan glanced around the space, his brows furrowed. “Let’s go back to the cabin,” he murmured. He touched her elbow and guided her ahead of him while keeping a careful eye on their surroundings. Once they were inside the cabin, he closed the door and slid the lock home. “Did you get a good look at this guy? As soon as I reached the window, he had his back turned and was running away.”

“Not really. He was in the shadows.”

His expression gentled. “We don’t know if it was the man following you.” Declan brought out his phone. “I’m going to check with the Petersons. Maybe it was one of the boys.” He hit the contact number and put the phone on speaker.

“Hi, Declan.” Becky’s cheerful voice came through clear. “We’re looking forward to seeing you both tonight.”

Declan quickly explained about the man watching the house. “Was one of your boys close to my place?”

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