Her Sister's Children by Roxanne Rustand

Author:Roxanne Rustand
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

CLAIRE KISSED the twins good-night, then stepped into the hallway and closed the door partway. All three children had been good about bedtime. The cool night air and toasty campfire had mellowed them into docile strangers who sank willingly into bed. Nightly campfires, come blizzard, sleet or rain, might be something to consider in the future.

Gilbert thumped his tail on the kitchen floor as she entered, clearly happy for her company. “I’ll bet you set those bats on their ears, old boy.” His tail thumped harder. “Mrs. Rogers will be here in a few minutes to baby-sit, and then I’ll take you out for a walk.”

Pouring a cup of lukewarm coffee, she settled down at the kitchen table with the resort account book and uncapped her pen. Gilbert crossed the room and rubbed his fur against her jeans.

The pages blurred before her eyes. Claire yawned, stretching her arms high overhead. Ten o’clock, she noted, glancing at the clock above the stove. Back in New York she’d be starting the paperwork filed neatly in her briefcase. The night was young everywhere else on the planet but here.

She cleared her throat, took a long swallow of coffee and tried again to concentrate. Her thoughts strayed back to the evening. To Logan.

Restless, Claire shoved her pen away. She couldn’t concentrate. It was too early for bed. At the sound of Mrs. Rogers’s sturdy footsteps clomping up the sidewalk, she dashed upstairs to peek in on the sleeping children, then tiptoed back downstairs.

The older woman had settled at the kitchen table with a needlework magazine and big mug of coffee. “Thanks so much for stopping in,” Claire said, shrugging into her mauve down jacket. “I feel better knowing someone is here while I take Gilbert out—even though it’s just for few minutes. I usually take him out while Jason’s still awake.”

“No problem. I’m quite the night owl myself. Take your time.”

Claire grinned and ushered Gilbert outside. “Come on, buddy, let’s go for your last walk.” He froze on the top step, then walked pressed against her leg. “Some guard dog you are!”

Twilight had melted into total darkness, save for one fog-shrouded light above the laundry-shed door and the security light at the far end of the lane, where incoming cars had to take a sharp left or risked an intimate embrace with a stand of pines. She’d nearly missed that turn on her first visit.

All of the cabins were dark—except for the one just past the boathouse. Some sort of dark material covered the windows. A thin slice of light gleamed under the door. Reaching down to keep a steadying hand on Gilbert’s collar, Claire sauntered past. Odd, there already were curtains and vertical blinds on all the windows. Why would the occupants cover the windows with blankets?

A thump came from inside the cabin. The soft screech of a screen door. From the corner of her eye, she saw two forms struggle out the door with a large rectangular object held between them. Her heart rocketed north and lodged at the back of her throat.

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