Santa in a Stetson (7 page)

“Yeah, Dad,” Matt chimed in. “In case I get sick she'll be here to take care of me. Besides, it'll take that long for us to finish the puzzle.”

Putting down his fork before he made mincemeat of the rest of his enchilada, he said, “I'm afraid not, honey. Have you forgotten your uncle Bob and aunt Sherry have invited us to go to Butte for Thanksgiving? Your cousins are looking forward to it.”

“They won't care if Katy comes. Aunt Sherry would really like her and she always has company stay over.”

“Not this time. We have to think of Ms. McFarland, who's on loan from the hospital. No doubt she's in her room right now making plans for her next case. We can't expect to take advantage of her services like that, not after what she's done to help you.”

His daughter's face fell. “I don't think I can eat any more.”

Colt groaned. His daughter could manipulate when she wanted to, but this was going too far. He refused to fall for it. “That's all right. Tomorrow you'll probably be able to move around and work up more of an appetite.”

In the silence that followed, he noticed his son had stopped chirping away. He'd chosen sides and had moved to Allie's corner. Colt continued to finish his meal.
Nip it in the bud.
That motto had served him well in the past.

His gaze flicked to Matt's plate. “Aren't you going to eat your apple pie?”

“Maybe later.”

“Then I'll eat it now so we don't disappoint Noreen.” So saying, he finished it off. While his children eyed him soulfully, he got up and put all the plates on the tray. “I'll be back in a few minutes.”

“Thanks for manning the desk for me, Donna. If my patient is better tomorrow, I'll fly to Salt Lake tomorrow evening and be at work Monday morning to give you a break. I know you want to get ready for Thanksgiving.”

“That would great. If I can get all the shopping done Monday, then I'll cook a little at a time until the big day.”

“How many are you having for dinner?”

“Twenty. Todd's brother and his wife and children are coming. What about you?”

“We're all getting together at Mom and Dad's.” Thanksgiving at the McFarlands' was sacrosanct, not only for her family but for Kathryn. Until she'd been found, Thanksgiving and Christmas had been the most dreaded times of life to get through.

“I bet your family still can't believe you're home with them.”

“Sometimes I can't, either.”

“Not to change the subject, but you did ask. Another AMBER Alert has gone out. This time on a seven-year-old girl in Sandy named Whitney.”

Kathryn's eyes closed tightly. She felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. “When?”

“About two hours ago. She got separated from her mother at a toy store in the South Towne Mall. It was packed with preseason shoppers. The woman's in agony.”

Whitney would be in worse condition if she wasn't dead already. “Did you contact my mom?”

“Yes. She's already on it.”

That was probably why her mother hadn't picked up earlier. “I wish I were there to help.” But Allie had needed help, too. She still did, but not the kind Kathryn could provide.

The teen had serious issues only her father could work on with her once she found the courage to talk to him.

“You're just like your sister before she met Jake. She always wished she could be in ten places at once.”

“She's still like that inside, but being a wife and mother has changed her life.” Donna had started working for Maggie at the Foundation ten years ago and continued to be a good family friend, as well as an invaluable assistant, to Kathryn. “Keep me posted, will you?”

“When I hear anything new, I'll call you. Bye for now.”

Kathryn hung up. If the little girl wasn't found, it could mean days, months, even years of unrelieved suffering. But she needed to set that care aside while she dealt with Allie.

When Kathryn entered the bedroom, the teen was
curled up on her side toward the window. Her shoulders were shaking beneath the covers. “Allie?”

She turned over. Kathryn could tell she was crying and rushed over to her. “Are you feeling worse?”

“No.”

“Then what's wrong?”

“Everything.”

Kathryn sank down on the side of the bed next to her, smoothing Allie's hair off her forehead. “Did you eat dinner?”

“Half of it.” Half was better than nothing. “Katy? What are you doing for Thanksgiving?”

Where had that question come from? “I'm going to be with my family. What about you?”

“We're going to our aunt and uncle's in Butte to be with our cousins.”

“That sounds fun.”

Allie sat up in bed, wiping her eyes. “So you don't have to work?” Another question that had completely ignored Kathryn's comment.

“No.”

“Then you could go with us, right? Dad said you'd be working with another patient so we couldn't ask you.”

Her father had told Allie what any parent would have said in response, but in Colt Brenner's case there was much more to it than that. “What he meant was, I'd be busy with my work even if I stopped to have dinner with my family, and he'd be right.”

“You mean you have to be at the hospital on Thanksgiving?”

“No. I do all kinds of jobs.”

“Like what?”

“It's a long story. Where do you keep your brush? While I do your hair, I'll tell you.”

“It's in the bathroom in the top left drawer.”

“I'll be right back.”

Kathryn slid off the bed and went to fetch it. After she came back, she said, “Turn your back toward me.”

“Okay.”

She gathered the glossy skein of hair in her hands and got started.

“That feels good.”

“It's supposed to. Now to answer your question. I help my brother at the halfway house I told you about. Some of the homeless women have children. I do periodic health checks on all of them and work with him and his staff to help the adults find work and housing. Do you remember that brochure I gave you?”

She nodded.

“It talked about the McFarland Foundation. In the plaza where my condo is, there's a whole area on the ground floor where the foundation headquarters are located. My sister used to be in charge of it. Now I am, but of course I have people to help me.

“As soon as we receive word that a child has gone missing, we assist the police by sending out our own rescue people. We do ground and air searches and have resources to help find people who are lost to their families.

“When the hospital phoned me about you, it was because the police had brought you into the E.R. as a Jane Doe. That meant you couldn't be identified yet and could be a possible runaway or kidnap victim who'd either gotten away or had been let go. Every E.R. in
every hospital in Salt Lake Valley knows to call the foundation if a Jane or John Doe is brought in.”

Allie's turned her head. “Does it happen a lot?”

“More than you know.”

“That's awful.”

“I agree. After I was reunited with my family, I watched my sister doing all the things I do now. When I lived at Skwars Farm, I used to dream about becoming a doctor, but knew it was only a dream. But after I was found and was able to go to college, I changed my mind about being a doctor.”

“How come?”

“Because then I wouldn't be able to be as free to do everything for the foundation that has to be done. So I became a nurse, but I'm on my own, so to speak.”

“Is your sister a nurse, too?”

“No. She's an attorney who helps people who are trying to avoid bankruptcy.” She was also a crack pilot.

“Does it make you feel bad you couldn't do the LSAT like she did?”

Kathryn broke into laughter. “Heavens, no. For one thing, I never wanted to be a lawyer. For another, I love what I do. As for my sister, she's superwoman and I adore her.”

“I wish I had a sister.”

“You've got Matt. That's even better. Think of all the cute guys he brings around.”

A little laugh came out of her. “I'm glad you're my nurse.”

“So am I.”

“Your father must make a lot of money to pay for everything.”

“Our family can thank my great-grandfather John McFarland four greats back for that. He was Utah's Copper King. He amassed a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars that he invested.”

“I can't imagine that much money.”

“Neither can I, Allie. He had mansions in London, France, New York and Salt Lake. My father makes sure it gets spent helping other people.”

“Like that program you work for?”

“Exactly.”

“No wonder you love him so much.”

“He and my mother work together. They're awesome,” she said, using the teenage vernacular.

“So's my dad.” Suddenly Allie moved so her back rested against the headboard. She drew up her pajama-clad knees and locked her arms around them. “My mom left after Matt and I were born.”

Ah…

Kathryn put the brush on the table and sank down on the side of the bed again. “How often do you see her?”

Allie stared at her out of pained brown eyes. “We've never met her.”

An unseen hand squeezed Kathryn's heart.
Never?

“Dad met her in Las Vegas when he was a big rodeo champion on the circuit, but they broke up after Matt and I were born. Dad thought she might have gone back to her aunt and uncle's in Salt Lake where she was raised, but he never saw or heard from her again.”

“Allie…” Kathryn reached out and rocked her in her arms.

“At least when your family found you, you knew your mother loved you,” Allie sobbed.

At least I knew that…

“All my friends have moms except me. Dad can't talk about it and Matt won't talk about it.”

“So you decided to find your mother's aunt and uncle and talk to them.” It made too much sense.

“Yes. Dad said they managed the Beehive Motel near the airport. I was going to take a taxi there, but then I got sick and that guy stole my purse with my money. I was hoping you'd stay through Thanksgiving and help me. Maybe phone them and talk to them for me since you do things like that all the time. Even if they don't know where she is, maybe they'll tell you something that would help and we could find my mom together. I just need to ask her why she didn't want me and Matt.”

Good heavens. Kathryn slowly let go of her. From here on out, she had to be careful what she said to this fragile girl.

“The thing is,” Allie added, “I don't want Dad to know.”

“
What
don't you want me to know?” Colt's deep voice said.

Kathryn felt his commanding presence before she saw him walk around the other side of the bed. Allie flashed her a silent message of pleading not to give her away.

“About the present I'm getting you for your birthday next week.”

Allie's explanation sounded convincing enough,
but Kathryn knew her father didn't believe it for an instant.

“My lips are sealed,” Kathryn said to Colt with a playful smile.

“That makes two against one,” he teased back without challenging Allie, but his light tone didn't reach his eyes. “I guess I'm going to have to settle for being surprised.”

The tension emanating from him made it impossible to stay in the room. “If you two will excuse me, I'm going downstairs to work on that puzzle.” Father and daughter needed to be alone. She eyed Allie. “I'll be up in an hour to take your vitals before you go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

 

C
OLT HATED SECRETS
. He was glad Katy had chosen to leave the room because he had a few things to say to his daughter in private. After sitting down on the bed next to her, he grasped the hand closest to him. “Your hair looks pretty.”

“She brushed it for me.”

“Ms. McFarland appears to be an excellent nurse who no doubt will be in high demand for the coming holiday.”

“You're wrong about that, Dad.”

It looked as if they were going to talk about their guest whether he wanted to or not. “In what way?”

“She doesn't have another patient to take care of on Thanksgiving.”

“In other words, she's willing to make herself at home here and at your aunt's, even though she thinks you'll be well enough to be up and around by tomorrow?”

His daughter studied him with a speculative expression. “You don't trust her, do you?” She removed her hand.

Her question jolted him. “We both owe her a debt of gratitude. Why can't you let it go at that?”

Allie didn't look away. “You act like she's taking advantage of us or something.”

He breathed in deeply. “Let's put it this way. Even if the patient advocacy program provides this service, she's done something unprecedented by bringing you home. It's possible that now she's had a good look around, Ms. McFarland is a shrewd enough woman to play on your emotions hoping to extend her stay and see where it all leads.”

Her eyes never left his. “I knew that was why you didn't like her, but Katy's not looking for a rich husband,” she assured him.

He eyed her with incredulity. “Why would you say something like that?”

“I happened to overhear Michelle's mom on the phone to one of her friends. She said that with your looks and money, you would always be a woman magnet and that's probably why you haven't remarried yet.”

Somehow when Colt wasn't watching, Allie had become an adult. His precocious fifteen-year-old daughter had thrown the gloves away. He didn't know her like this. “Allie—”

“I'll prove that you're wrong about Katy.”

To his surprise she slid out the other side of the bed and walked to her closet. He saw her pull something out of her parka pocket. She scuttled back under the covers
and handed him a brochure, of all things. “Here, Dad. Read this.”

Colt had no idea what he thought he was going to see when he looked down at it. The picture staring back at him resembled the woman downstairs. He read the words beneath it.

Kathryn McFarland, lost for twenty-six years, has been FOUND!

McFarland… Suddenly it all came rushing back to him. The famous Utah kidnapping case involving the Copper King's family, whose wealth rivaled that of the Vanderbilts and the Carnegies.

He jumped to his feet.

Four years earlier there'd been breaking news on every television and radio station in America about the baby daughter stolen from four-time U.S. Senator Reed McFarland and his wife. After twenty-six years, she'd been found and was now back with her family.

Some newscasters had said the case was bigger, yet gruesomely similar to the Lindbergh kidnapping back in 1932 when the baby was stolen out of their home, but the McFarlands' story had a happy ending. Katy was
that
Kathryn?

He stared at the picture again.

“That's the photo the FBI first released to the press. It was taken while she was still living at Skwars Farm.”

Colt thought she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Four years had wrought changes. She had a longer hairstyle now and a polish lacking in the photograph, but the facial features and beautiful bone structure couldn't be denied. When he tore his eyes from her picture, he read the information from front to back.

“That brochure only tells you about the foundation, Dad. Besides running it, you ought to hear all the other things she and her family do to help people.”