Page 221 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

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 saywehave 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 spentthe 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?”

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