Christmas In Delaney Mountain Read online

  It took three more tries for the SUV’s tired engine to fire.

  Once David disconnected the cables, he felt more like himself. He leaned into her window again. The snow had really started to come down. “That should get you home, but you need a new battery, Kara.”

  “Thanks,” she said in relief. She was already putting the vehicle in gear, ready to dismiss him as usual.

  “Seriously, Kara. It won’t last much longer. Not in this weather. You don’t want to find yourself stranded out here. There are some places so remote that cell service is all but nonexistent.”

  His warning clearly didn’t sit well with her. “I understand, Mr. Delaney. I promise I’ll take care of it. Thank you.”

  He didn’t believe her. “I can call over to Steadman’s Automotive, I have an account there. They can put a new one in today.”

  There was no mistaking the look of pride on her face as she squared her shoulders and faced him head on. He’d never seen her look so strong. So confident. It took him aback.

  “That won’t be necessary. It’s my problem. I’ll handle it my way.”

  2

  It’s my problem. I’ll handle it my way. Kara sighed. If only it would be that easy. A new battery. Another unexpected expense and with Christmas just two weeks away. She was barely hanging on as it was. Thank goodness God had given her the insight to buy little gifts for Maya during the year. But there was one thing her daughter wanted for Christmas that Kara just wasn’t sure she could make happen. She glanced in her rearview mirror.

  Her boss still stood in the middle of the drive in heavily falling snow, watching her drive away. She couldn’t think about him right now.

  Over the past two weeks, it had been one thing after another. First the visit to the doctor when Maya caught a stomach virus that hung on. Then the electricity bill was twice what she’d expected. Now the car needed a new battery. Already she was running in the red financially, there was still another week left before payday, and she had exactly ten dollars in her checking account. Not much left to buy groceries. They’d have to stretch what was in the panty and the fridge as far as it would go.

  Kara had gotten good at stretching food. She’d had plenty of practice since her husband’s death. She knew Amy would be agreeable to waiting another week for her check. Amy had told Kara on more than one occasion that she enjoyed Maya’s company and didn’t need the money. Kara had refused her kind offer. She would not be beholden to anyone, not even the kindly Amy. And if she’d learnt anything since the nightmare began, it was that she had to be careful where she put her trust.

  Still, the older woman had taken to Maya as if she was her own flesh and blood. And Kara’s four-year-old daughter loved her Grammy Amy.

  The SUV sputtered a little in protest as she neared home. Please, Father, just let the battery hold on for another week. She turned onto Porcupine Drive and parked the SUV inside the garage of her two-bedroom home. She’d chosen the neighborhood deliberately because it was off the beaten path. Only she and Amy lived this far up. No one would come this way without reason.

  Kara was afraid to kill the engine, yet at this point, it didn’t matter. She’d deal with whatever tragedy awaited her with the vehicle the next morning. If all else failed, maybe she could borrow Amy’s SUV until she could afford to get a new battery.

  She locked the garage even though she was only going next door to Amy’s more affluent home. The house she and Maya lived in belonged to Amy who rented it out. Kara was very thankful that she did.

  Night came early in Colorado this time of year. It was both frustrating and calming. The darkness helped keep the ugliness of the world at bay.

  Kara rang the doorbell, and then called out, “Amy, it’s me, Kara.” She glanced around, feeling nervous. There was always the possibility he’d have found her and was waiting for the right moment to strike. He’d done it enough times in the past for her to take the threat he posed seriously. But she’d chosen Delaney Mountain because of its remoteness and the winter that locked the residents in and all others out.

  After a dozen or more uneasy seconds ticked by, Amy unfastened the door, smiled, and waved Kara inside. “She’s in the kitchen. We’re having dinner. Come join us,” Amy said.

  More than once, Kara worked late. Because she loved her job and desperately needed it, she never made an issue of it. She’d never told her boss she had to leave to pick up her daughter. She didn’t want anyone knowing about Maya or her personal life. The less people who knew, the better chance she had at remaining hidden.

  “Something smells wonderful.” She followed the older woman’s slower steps into the kitchen.

  Maya sat in her booster seat spooning meatloaf into her mouth. The second she spotted her mother, she dropped the spoon and jumped from her chair, bounding into Kara’s arms. “Mommy!”

  Her daughter’s sweet smile always managed to push away her uncertainties. It didn’t matter how tight money was or what fears crowded in, when Maya smiled at her, everything in the world was right. “Hi, baby girl.” She enveloped Maya in her arms and squeezed tight, planting kisses against her temple. “How was your day? Did you and Grammy Amy have fun?”

  Maya nodded and giggled.

  “Come sit down and eat, you two. Maya, you can tell your mother all about it just as easily on a full tummy.” Amy winked at Kara, who carried her daughter back to the table.

  Kara hesitated. She hated inconveniencing the older woman. “You don’t have to do this, Amy. You’ve done enough. Thank you for keeping Maya for the extra time, but I can whip up something at home.”

  Amy waved a dismissive hand. “Nonsense. I love cooking, but it’s not much fun preparing a meal for one. Besides, I always make too much. Come sit down.”

  Kara smiled and gave in. This had become Amy’s answer every time she tried to protest. “This smells too good to let it get cold. Thank you, Amy.” Kara dug into the meatloaf. “Mmm…wonderful.”

  Maya glanced up from the mound of mash potatoes piled on her spoon. “Mommy can we go see the kittens this weekend?”

  The kittens were Maya’s favorite subject. It had been over a month since they’d gone to Denver to visit the mall and yet her daughter was still talking about the kittens she’d fallen in love with. Maya desperately wanted a kitten for Christmas.

  Kara didn’t know how to tell her daughter no, but with her working long hours, taking care of a kitten would be hard. Feeding it would be even harder. Father, I don’t want to disappoint my baby again.

  “Soon, baby. Maybe before Christmas.” With a forced smile, Kara silently prayed she hadn’t just lied to her daughter, and they would still be here to visit the mall. Because she couldn’t dispel the fear in the back of her mind.

  “Yippee!” Content with her mother’s answer, Maya went back to shoving food into her mouth.

  Kara pushed aside her fears for the future and glanced across the table to find Amy watching her closely. So many times, Amy had studied her with knitted brows, and yet never once had the woman asked about the questions troubling her. Kara just hoped she’d never have to explain her problems or bring them to Amy’s door.

  After dinner, Amy brought out dessert. Maya happily accepted a piece of Amy’s homemade buttermilk pie and took it into the living room where she sat in front of Amy’s antique wood stove and watched the fire as it danced.

  “I’m doing the dishes and I won’t take no for an answer,” Kara insisted.

  After a minute, Amy gave in, nodded, and added another log to the fire. The older woman kept a fire going almost every minute of the day. She’d told Kara the only time she ever let the stove rest was a couple of weeks in the summer. Amy suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis. Her hands were so bent and gnarled from the disease that at times it was impossible for her to hold her knitting needles.

  Kara’s heart went out to her. It amazed her how Amy still managed to prepare those delicious meals and the pies.

  “All done,” Kara said once she’d fin
ished the dishes and joined Amy and Maya in the cozy great room. Kara sat on the sofa, and, as had become their routine, Maya climbed into her lap. This was one of Kara’s favorite times of the day. It was so relaxing to snuggle with Maya and talk with Amy.

  “Now I understand why Amy’s Diner is still so popular. You taught the current owners everything they know.”

  Amy chuckled and nodded. “My husband Al and I ran that restaurant for going on thirty years, until he passed. After that, well, I didn’t have the heart to do it anymore. Back then, Delaney was a whole lot bigger. A lot more people lived here. Nowadays, well, most of the young people leave the minute they graduate. Jobs are hard to come by. If you don’t hunt or fish or ranch, there’s not much else here.”

  Amy had told her once that Delaney Mountain had a population of more than twenty thousand. Today, it was hard to scare up a couple thousand.

  Kara had no idea when she drifted off to sleep.

  Amy tugged at her arm and whispered in her ear. “You want to stay here tonight?”

  Kara glanced around the room, disoriented. Maya lay next to her sound asleep. She rousted herself, rubbed the sleep from her eyes enough to focus on her watch. It was almost midnight. “I’m sorry. I had no idea it was so late. Thank you, Amy, but I need to get Maya and myself home. I have a busy day tomorrow.”

  “You need some help carrying her to your place?” Amy asked, concerned.

  “No, I’ll get her.” She buttoned her jacket and grabbed Maya’s from the hook before carefully lifting the sleeping child her arms. Maya mumbled something, and then wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.

  Amy held the door open for them.

  Kara leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for everything. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  That troubled expression had returned to Amy’s eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you and unlock the door?”

  Kara did. The thought of walking into a dark, empty house was paralyzing. But she wouldn’t bring her troubles to Amy’s door. “No, we’ll be fine. You get some sleep. I’m sorry for keeping you up so late.”

  Amy waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, pooh. I rarely go to bed before two or three. I enjoyed the company.”

  Kara smiled again. “Goodnight. See you in the morning.”

  “OK, but I’ll just keep the outside light on until I’m sure you’re inside.”

  Just knowing someone was close by was reassuring. She carefully picked her way across the yard between Amy’s house and her own tiny cottage. The light from Amy’s front porch didn’t reach much beyond the shrubs separating the two houses. Kara tried to control the panic that was always close by. There’d been no sign of him. Perhaps this time, in such a remote location, the plan had worked. Please, Lord.

  She fished the key from her jacket pocket and slipped it into the lock, trying to keep from waking the sleeping child in her arms. The door swung open and Kara resisted the urge to turn on the living room light. Instead, she flipped the lamp near the entrance and rebolted all three locks as quickly as possible. She gently laid Maya on the sofa then heard what her pounding heartbeat hadn’t allowed her to hear before. The beeping of the answering machine.

  Kara froze. She had a burner cell phone for emergencies and no one knew the number. With the exception of Amy, her home phone was unlisted. She drew in a couple of staccato breaths, and then punched the red play button.

  “Kara, its David…Mr. Delaney. I wanted to make sure you made it home without a problem. Give me a call.”

  Kara released the breath she’d been holding, faced with a new dilemma. She didn’t want to have to call him back, but if she didn’t would he just keep calling. Or show up at her door, because of his caring nature.

  The call had come in over two hours earlier. She took Maya up to her room, dressed her for bed, and then went through her nightly ritual of checking the locks on each window. Once she was certain the house was secure, she picked up the phone. There was no answer. Maybe David had given up and gone to bed.

  If only she could do the same, but she was too keyed up. She made hot chocolate and returned to the living room. Picking up her Bible, Kara began her belated nightly study. She’d just started reading John 14:1, one of her favorite passages, but her attention wasn’t on the words.

  Every noise outside the house distracted her, the whoosh of snow sliding off the roof, the whistle of the wind, the crack of a branch. On edge, she contemplated her options. Much was riding on the success of this move and it had worked so far. Yet, she still couldn’t let down her guard.

  Outside, the wind whipped around the corners of the house and carried the sound of a car’s engine coming close. The car stopped right outside her house.

  Kara jumped to her feet. It was well after midnight. No one should be about at this hour. Panic coursed through her body, her instincts frozen in a flight or fight response as old as time. Call Amy? The police? Before she could move, someone rang the bell.

  She ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife from the drawer, and then moved to the door. All that stood between her and the potential intruder was the wooden illusion of safety, shutting out the night.

  I am with you always.

  Adrenaline rushed through her veins, but her heart steadied.

  The porch light wasn’t on. The night was pitch black. She would not answer the door without knowing who was on the other side. Kara retrieved her cell phone and dialed 911 but didn’t click the send button. She would do that if a threat presented itself. If the intruder tried to take her phone…she could throw the open phone under the coat rack, so the dispatcher could hear what was going on, but the person outside wouldn’t know. Her open line of communication settled, she approached the door, trepidation in every step.

  Another knock sounded before the familiar voice of her boss shattered her already strung tight nerves.

  “Kara, it’s me, David…Mr. Delaney.”

  She almost dropped the phone in relief. It took a couple of steadying gulps of air for her pulse rate to slow to normal. She shoved the knife under the sofa cushion, managed to release all three locks, and then opened the door with trembling fingers. “Mr. Delaney? What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded thready and weak, even to her. What must he be thinking?

  “I was worried about you. Didn’t you get my message?”

  For the life of her, Kara couldn’t find the blank expression she so desperately practiced when people got too close. It took everything within her not to break right down and cry. “Yes. I just got in. I tried to call but there was no answer…I-I’m fine, Mr. Delaney. There was no need to come over.” Her voice wobbled and she grasped for control.

  His expression made it clear that he saw right through her bravado. “I see. Well, since I am here, do you mind if I come in for a second?”

  How rude she must appear. She stepped aside. “Oh, yes, of course, I’m sorry. Please come inside. You…you…just startled me. It’s so late…and…” Kara forcibly stopped herself from babbling, closed the door, and resisted the urge to relock all the locks.

  David was watching her. He glanced around the cramped living area. He was dressed in faded jeans and a black, long-sleeved crew neck sweater that hugged his muscular frame and accentuated his wide chest and flat stomach. The sweater’s dark color was a sharp contrast to his blond hair.

  “I-I’m sorry you had to come all this way, but as you can see, I made it home OK. I was just at my neighbor’s house.” For reasons she couldn’t explain she didn’t tell him about Maya.

  He nodded at her answer, his tone flat. “Have you tried to start the vehicle again since you’ve been home?”

  “No, I haven’t, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Well, since I’m here, why don’t I check it out?”

  She stared at him, and then realized he was waiting for her to say something. “There’s no need…it’s so late…and dark out there.” Even to her it sounded weak.

  David blew out a breath.
“Kara, it will only take a minute. I stopped by the repair shop on my way home and got a new battery. Let me help you out.”

  Thoughts tumbled through her mind, too much in turmoil to sort them out. “OK,” she finally said, unable to give any coherence to all but the immediate problem. She picked up her keys and handed them to him.

  “Stay here where it’s warm. I’ll only be a minute.” He took the keys and limped to the door, pushing tight to close it as he went out.

  With his absence, Kara could breathe again. What had possessed him to come out here? His unexpected presence was disconcerting and she had to shut off the thoughts her mind was desperately trying to entertain, thoughts of a normal life, with a normal family for Maya, with someone to love them both…

  The chug, chug, chug of the SUV as the last bit of life in the battery drained away stopped suddenly. A few minutes later, the engine turned on again, it’s normal sound running smooth.

  David returned with her keys. “Battery was definitely gone. It should be fine now. Mind if I wash up?” He seemed to dominate her small living space.

  She pointed wordlessly toward the downstairs bathroom.

  He emerged a few minutes later.

  “Thank you, Mr. Delaney. For stopping by, for replacing the battery, for everything. How much do I owe you for the battery?” Kara barely managed to speak in a normal voice.

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “No, I insist. It was awfully nice of you and definitely out of your way so…”

  He took a step closer and whatever else she might have considered slipped silently into the shrinking space between them.

  “Kara, don’t worry about it. I’m just happy I could help.” He smiled.

  Her heart did a crazy little double flip that was totally unwanted. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

  He didn’t seem to notice as he walked to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to lock up.” With that, he closed the door and left her alone.