Framed for Christmas by Jaycee Bullard

Author:Jaycee Bullard [Bullard, Jaycee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2018-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

TEN

They ran as if someone was chasing them, but no one was, at least as far as he could see. With their heads down, they sprinted through the backyard, out the gate and between the houses toward the woods.

The Dagger Lake reservation comprised more than thirty-two thousand acres of pine forest and rugged farmland that extended beyond the county line. Two blocks north of Magnolia Lane, there was a wooded area with lots of cover. If they could make it there without being seen, the trees would offer shelter from the sheriff’s prying eyes.

Gideon had the stamina to maintain the pace for miles, but Dani was struggling. Her face was ashen, and she was clutching her arms to her side. He shortened his stride as they approached the fence on the edge of the woods. Pushing aside the wire, he let Dani duck under and then followed behind.

“You okay?” He turned to face her. She was leaning against a pine tree, gulping air.

“Fine.”

He must have looked like he didn’t believe her, because she straightened and exhaled sharply.

“Really. I’m good. Let’s keep going.”

“Okay. But maybe we should take it easy for a while.”

For the second time in as many minutes, she shot him a look. He needed to work harder on maintaining his game face. Cool, calm and collected. That was the ticket. But it was difficult to do, knowing that the sheriff was on the prowl and that the thugs had shotguns. And probably high-powered rifles, as well.

“Gideon?” Dani touched his arm. Her voice shook with uncertainty. “Do you think someone is following us?”

“I’m not sure. But if they are, we have the advantage. I know these woods like the back of my hand. Abby and I used to play here when we were little.”

“Abby?” Dani tripped on a tree root and stumbled to the ground.

He offered her a hand up. Holding on to his arm, she brushed a smattering of brown pine needles off her coat. She looked so... He struggled to think of a word to describe the expression on her face. Forlorn? Disappointed? It wasn’t surprising. The entire day had been an ordeal from start to finish. It took a force of will not to reach out and hug her to his chest.

“Yeah. For years, all she did was follow me around.” There was a picture somewhere of two-year-old Abby holding him at the hospital right after he was born. According to family lore, she had set up a sleeping bag next to his crib. And when he was finally old enough to go to school, she had walked him to kindergarten every morning and waited for him outside his classroom door at the end of the day.

“That must have been fun.” Dani’s voice brought him back to reality.

More like annoying, but he wouldn’t complain. He had definitely done well in the big-sister department.

Dani bent to pick up a branch on the path and tossed it into the brush. “Did you come upon anything interesting in your internet search?”

“I found some stuff that might pan out.

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