Sara in Montana - A Christmas Wish (11 page)

Sara nodded and smiled at her in gratitude. When Trent had suggested the movie, she had been excited at the opportunity to spend some more time in his company, but after entering the house, her remaining energy had drained away and she was barely able to keep standing upright at the moment. Another dose of cough syrup and she would sleep like a baby. “Thank you both so much. Trent, I think maybe you’re right. I would love to help you decorate the cookies tomorrow, but for now, I think I will head to bed. I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open.”

Trent placed his hand on the small of her back and directed her out of the kitchen, “Jane, I’m going to help Sara and then I’m going to turn in as well. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. Oh, by the way, Bill Mercer called while you were out. He wants to see you first thing in the morning. He said something about having spoken with Dr. Baker and Sara having the answer to his wife’s pain?”

Trent nodded, knowing Jane was fishing for additional details, but Sara needed to get to bed. “I’ll give him a call in the morning. Sara has some experience with pain management and offered to help Miriam however she could. I’ll fill you in on all the details in the morning after breakfast. Goodnight.”

****

“If you have everything you think you need, I’ll leave you to get ready for bed then. Jane put some pajamas in the top drawer of the dresser for you to use, and there should be plenty of bathroom items under the sink. Use whatever you want and don’t forget to take your cough syrup.”

“Yes, Sir.” Sara was going to throw in a salute, but the comical expression on Trent’s face when she had referred to him as Sir had her giggling instead.

“Am I being just a little controlling, is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Not at all. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I was just messing with you.” Sara reached out and placed her hand on his arm as she finished her statement.

Trent’s eyes sparkled and he ran the back of his fingers down one cheek. “I’m glad things are working out for you. Tomorrow will probably bring about some more questions that need answered, but you and your sister are safe and that’s enough for now.”

Sara nodded and leaned into his touch just the slightest bit. She looked up and caught his eyes. She really wanted him to kiss her goodnight, but was hesitant to ask. She didn’t want to seem too forward and run the risk of turning him off.

Trent could see the need in her eyes, as it echoed his own. Leaning forward, he used his fingertips to lift her chin up as he lowered his head. Brushing his lips across hers gently, he inhaled her unique scent and then backed away. “You should probably get ready for bed while I’m still willing to let you do it by yourself.”

Sara took a step back and he let his fingers drop. Shaking her head, she told him, “I don’t understand what’s happening here. I’ve never felt this close to someone this quick.”

Trent nodded, “Me either. I’m usually pretty reserved when it comes to women, but I feel like I’ve known you all my life. I can’t explain it either.”

Sara cocked her head to the side as she studied him, “Maybe it’s not something we need to understand.”

Trent nodded and agreed, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s all part of the Christmas magic and we should just let it play out and see what happens.”

“Maybe.”

They looked at each other for several more minutes before Trent backed away and silently closed the bedroom door. Sara stood in front of the closed door for several more moments and said a silent prayer that whatever was happening between her and Trent was for real and not just a result of the circumstances she currently found herself in. She didn’t want to see either her or Trent get hurt.

Chapter 13

Sara slept well and only had to get up once during the night to take some more of the cough syrup. The antibiotics, combined with some much needed sleep, had done wonders for her infection and she awoke fever-free and feeling much better.

Entering the kitchen, she saw Jane sitting at the bar nursing a cup of coffee and Trent sitting at the dining room table in conversation with someone on his cell phone.

Seeing her enter the kitchen, Jane got up to get Sara a cup of coffee only to be waved back down. Sara whispered to her as she got close enough, “I can’t stand coffee. If you have some teabags, I would really appreciate a nice cup of hot tea though.”

Jane smiled and directed her to the right cupboard. While Sara placed water in the cup and then put it in the microwave to heat up, she caught snippets of Trent’s conversation.

“Bill, I can’t promise anything.”

“Yes, well Dr. Baker seemed to think it might be worth a try. Nothing else seems to be working all that well.”

“What time is doc coming over this morning?”

Trent looked up and smiled at Sara while he listened in to the other half of the conversation. “10 o’clock sounds fine. I’ll bring her over then.”

“Okay. Bill, you and I need to have a talk before the council meeting this evening while I’m there.”

“Yes, I’m willing to hear you out, but I want the same promise from you as well.”

“Alright, we’ll see you later on this morning then.”

“Bye.” Trent hung up the phone and turned to find both women watching him. “That was Bill Mercer. He spoke with Dr. Baker last night and wanted to know why I was keeping you all to myself.” Trent gave a sideways grin and rolled his eyes.

Jane chuckled and said, “Did doc happen to mention why Sara was here?”

Trent shook his head. “I didn’t think so.” Turning to Sara, Jane asked, “Did you sleep well?”

“I did. I feel so much better than yesterday.”

“Good. How about some breakfast then?  I was waiting for Trent to get off the phone and then I was going to cook up some pancakes. Does that sound good?”

“It does. What can I do to help?”

Trent stood up, helped himself to another cup of coffee, and then spoke to Sara, “Why don’t you let Jane handle the pancakes and you can sit here with me and help answer some of the questions Samuel emailed me last night. The more information we can get to them out in California, the more prepared they are going to be when the time comes.”

Sara nodded and took her tea over to the table and sat down. “I don’t know if I have any more information, but I’ll tell them whatever they want to know.”

“Good. I printed the questions off so you can look through them and just write down the answers to those you know. Don’t worry about not being able to answer all of them. Samuel has some people going through the financials of David’s company right now as well.”

At the mention of David, Sara asked, “Did Samuel happen to say where David is right now? I know I shouldn’t care, but I can’t help but be concerned that maybe he didn’t know what he was getting involved in.”

Trent had received new information on David Patterson and had been hoping that he wouldn’t have to share that information with Sara. At least not yet. Taking a deep breath, he reached over and took Sara’s hands in his, “Sara, the FBI team went back after they removed your sister and niece from the house and made contact with the men who were watching her house. Neither one of them was Trevor Ward, but they were identified as working for him. They were taken in to custody and their car impounded. When the forensics people started going over the trunk, they found David Patterson’s dead body in the trunk. He’d been shot.”

Sara had started to shiver as she realized where Trent’s statement was going. Somehow, she had already known that David Patterson was no longer a threat to her or her family. Trying to find some sense of regret, but being unsuccessful, she asked, “Did the men they arrested know who shot him?”

Trent nodded, “They were only too willing to start talking when threatened with a murder charge. It seems that David and Trevor had words regarding you. David lost.”

Sara looked down at where Trent still held her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze before pulling them away. Taking a slow breath, she looked up and said, “I know I should feel badly that David was killed, but all I feel is a sense of relief that there is one less person out there who wants to hurt me or my family. Does that make me a bad person?”

Trent reached for her hands again as he said, “I would say it makes you normal. This man threatened your life and that of your sister and niece. It’s normal to feel relief that the threat no longer exists. If it helps at all, the forensics crew took dentals and fingerprints and David Patterson wasn’t even his name. The real David Patterson was listed as missing in action by the US military almost twenty years ago. Somehow, the man pretending to be David was able to access his identification and bring him back from the presumed dead.”

“I don’t know if that helps or not. So some man I don’t even know was killed, but this is the same man I worked for and married, or rather was married to…”

“Not anymore. His fake identity makes the marriage void, even without the annulment paperwork you filled out. It will be as if the marriage never took place.” Trent gave her hands another squeeze and then let go as Jane approached the table with two plates, piled high with pancakes.

“Sara, honey, I think you should be thankful that things worked out the way they did. Who knows what might have happened to you once your guys were out at sea. You might not have ever seen your sister or land again.”

Sara nodded. She had similar thoughts yesterday, and now finding out that she had been working for and involved with an imposter, she was grateful for whatever fate had kept her from being intimate with the man she had known as David Patterson.

Shaking off those thoughts, she thanked Jane for the pancakes and dug in. “Oh…these are wonderful. Jane, you are a culinary genius.”

Trent had taken a bite of his own breakfast and echoed her praise, “Jane, these really are wonderful. Don’t tell my mom, but I think they’re even better than hers.” Jane blushed as she retrieved her own plate and had a seat. 

After breakfast, Sara answered as many of the questions as she could and then Trent scanned the sheets and sent them over to Samuel. Sara was anxious to speak with her sister again, and Samuel sent an email to Trent letting him know that he would make sure her sister contacted Sara before dinner this evening.  Having found the dead man in the trunk, the feds had gone in and taken over David’s company and were currently searching for any clues or evidence that would help them be able to arrest Trevor Ward. So far, they were having trouble getting into the computer files, but with the passwords Sara had been able to provide them, they should be making progress now.

Sara was happy to know that she had been able to help the investigation along, and pleased to find out that her sister and niece were currently enjoying a trip to Disneyland under the watchful eye of two FBI agents. She hoped her sister remembered to take some pictures. Daniella was at the age where everything was new and exciting. She needed to express herself verbally which never failed to amuse the adults within hearing distance.

Trent had excused himself right after breakfast to take care of some sheriff duties in town, but had promised to return for her around 9:30 am so that they could meet with the Mercer’s at 10:00. Sara and Jane had finished decorating the cookies, and then made plans to visit the Christmas Bazaar the next morning. Bill Mercer had pushed for all of the normal Christmas activities to be canceled this year, but he had no influence on the church ladies who sponsored the bazaar and it had been planned as usual. Sara had never been to a bazaar before and was excited to see all of the handmade items and crafts Jane had told her would be present.

Chapter 14

Trent arrived back home at 9:30 exactly. “Sara, are you ready to go?”

Hearing him call for her, she grabbed her borrowed coat from the back room and joined him in the front of the house. “I’m here.”

Helping her into the coat, Trent reminded himself that he needed to take her shopping for some clothes that actually fit her. While about the same height as Jane, she was almost twenty pounds lighter and the clothing Jane had loaned her hung on her frame like sacks. Trent wanted to see her in clothing that fit correctly so he could admire her figure. He already knew it was perfect from holding her on his lap last night and hugging her close on several occasions. She also needed a pair of winter boots that fit her feet correctly.