Kaleidoscope Eyes (45 page)

Dan lifted the drawings and stared at them.

It couldn’t be.

“What are you so interested in?” He jumped and turned to find Shelby standing beside him, also looking down at the drawings.

Dan held them out for her to see. “Drawings from Amberly Heller. Of the man who took her. Her so-called angel.”

Bewilderment shimmered in his wife’s eyes. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing? I mean, I realize it’s just a child’s drawing, but that could be—”

He stopped her, glancing toward the living room where Jayce sat with Kyla. “I know. In fact, I’ve known for a little while. Or suspected. But there was never any proof.”

“And you think he was the one writing those awful notes to Annie?”

Yes. The pieces all fit. Whether Dan wanted them to or not. “I’m sure of it.”

“Oh, Dan. Annie will be heartbroken.” Her tone reflected the same misery churning inside him. “What are you going to do?”

“Pray for wisdom. Not say anything to Annie until I’ve got proof.” He slid the drawings back into the envelope. “And then nail the jerk.”

A half hour later, Annie stood on the doorstep of the Elhanin home, her fingers shaking as she rang the bell.

She tossed a glance over her shoulder. Kodi sat in the Jeep, her nose pressed against the window. Annie was willing to bet the dog’s tail was wagging up a storm.

The door opened, and a lovely woman stood there with a welcoming smile. “Annie. I’m so delighted you’re here.”

Annie let the woman usher her inside, following her to the spacious living room. “You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Elhanin.”

“Joyce, please. I can’t tell you how happy I was when you called.”

Annie lowered herself onto the soft, plushy cushions of the couch. “Joyce.” She could see Jed in his mother. They shared the same eyes, the same smile …

“You’re as beautiful as Jed said you were.”

Heat swept into Annie’s cheeks, and she laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

Joyce waved her hand. “Fiddle. I’m too old to be beautiful.” Mischief sparkled in her eyes. “I’ll settle for
elegant
or
striking.”

“If you ask me,
beautiful
is right on the money.”

They both turned as a tall, broad-shouldered man entered the room. Joyce held her hand out to him. “Amos, come meet Annie.”

His brows lifted. “Annie Justice. We saw the show. The episode Jed did on you and your amazing dog.”

“Kodi. She’s out in my car.”

“Well, you should bring her in.”

Joyce swatted at him. “They’re not here to see us, silly man.”

“Ah.” He sat on the arm of the couch. “She’s looking for Jed.”

“I am.” Annie took Joyce’s hands in hers. “Please, can you tell me where he is? Andy thought he was here.”

“No, but I believe I know where he is.” Joyce stood and went to pull a photo album from a nearby shelf. “Jed talked with me after the search, before he left for LA.” She sat next to Annie again. “He told me what happened. About the little girl. About you.” She folded her hands on the photo album in her lap. “I’ve never seen him look that way when he talked about a woman. Not ever.” An easy smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I knew when my son fell, he’d fall hard.”

Annie wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. So she settled for biting her lip. “He’s not the only one.”

Joyce lifted a hand to cup Annie’s cheek. “I know, child. I can see it on your face.”

“And a glorious sight it is.”

Annie couldn’t help but smile at Amos’s enthusiasm.

“Here—” Joyce slid the now open photo album from her lap to Annie’s—“this is where he is. I’d bet my couch on it.”

“Oooh—” Amos put his arm around Joyce—“and she really likes that couch.”

Annie giggled as she looked down at the pictures. A child-Jed grinned out at her, holding up a huge fish on a stringer. Beside him was a man that, for a second, Annie thought was Jed as an adult. But that was impossible.

“That’s his father with him.” Joyce leaned back against Amos. “Jed adored his father. When he left us, my son was devastated. Not even our divorce convinced Jed his father wasn’t ever coming back.”

“Or our marriage, for that matter.”

Annie tried to discern bitterness in Amos’s comment, but there simply was none. Only acceptance. And a depth of love.

Joyce reached for her husband’s hand, laying it against her cheek. “Amos is such a good man. All he ever wanted to do was
be a father to Jed. But Jed’s anger was so deep that he couldn’t accept love. Not from Amos. Not even from God.” She smiled. “Until he met you.” She let go of Amos’s hand and leaned forward, enfolding Annie in a tender hug. “You opened my son’s heart again, Annie. I can never thank you enough.”

Joyce sat back, then, seeing Annie’s face, lifted the Kleenex box from the coffee table and handed it to her.

Annie managed a choked laugh as she wiped the tears from her face. When she’d gotten herself under control again, she faced Joyce and Amos. “Please, where is Jed?”

Joyce tapped the photo of Jed and his father. “We own this cabin, right on Lake of the Woods. It’s quite rustic. No electricity or running water. Those two used to go there several times a year. Jed told me, before he left for LA, that if you didn’t call him after the show, he was going away for a while. To a place he used to love. Someplace quiet. To think and pray I don’t know for certain, but I believe that’s where he is.”

She rose and went to a desk. She pulled out the top drawer, removed a key, then handed it to Annie. “This is for the front door. If he’s not at the cabin, I’m sure he’s somewhere nearby. Sitting by the lake, most likely.” A pert smile tipped her lips. “I believe your Kodi will find him with no trouble at all.”

Annie threw her arms around the woman. “Thank you!”

She touched Annie’s cheek. “Oh no, thank you. You’re giving me something I’ve always wanted.”

“Really? What’s that?”

Those eyes twinkled again. “A godly woman who will love my boy as much as I do.”

N
OVEMBER
24—A B
LOODSTONE
D
AY
(G
REEN AND
R
OSE
)
5:00 p.m.

Jed sat at the edge of the lake, booted feet propped against a fallen log as he held his fishing pole steady. He tugged the line just often enough to keep the lure hopping, its dance pure tantalization to the fish he could see swimming below it.

This was the life, man. Peace. Quiet. The sun warm enough to be comfortable, the water clear enough that he could watch the two or three good-sized trout about to take the lure. Yeah, he’d have to be crazy to not be content out here.

Fine. Crazy it was.

Heaving a sigh, Jed started reeling in his line, not even caring when one of the fish finally made up its mind and broke the surface, snapping at the rapidly retreating lure.

“Too late, buddy. Just like me.”

He pulled the lure from the water, snagged it and hooked it on one of the guides, then tightened the line to keep the hook secure. He leaned the rod against a tree and crouched next to his tackle box, putting everything away.

Might as well pack it in and head back to the cabin. No point staying out here when all he wanted to do was find the nearest phone and call Annie, beg her to see him.

Lord,
I’m doing what You said. I’m waiting. On You.
He snapped the tackle box shut.
Any chance You could speed things up a smidge
?

A light sound caught his attention, and he tilted his head, listening. What was that … ?

Realization hit him smack between the eyes.

A bell.

That was a bell ringing!

He stood just in time to spot a black blur as it broke out of the woods and jumped at him, hitting him square in the chest, sending him flying. He landed in the dirt with a grunt, hands grabbing at the dog perched on top of him, trying to lick him to death.

“Kodi, off!”

The dog scrambled off of him, and Jed pushed to his feet, heart pounding, and drank in the sight of the woman standing there.

“Annie.”

Her name was no sooner past his lips than she was in his arms. He framed her beautiful face with trembling hands, staring down at her. “Are you really here?”

Her laughter lifted his heart, sending it soaring. “I’m really here.”

Jed slid his hands down, linking them behind her, locking her close as he looked at the woods around them. “But … how?”

Annie’s mouth curved. Did she have any idea what a captivating picture she made when she smiled like that? “Haven’t you heard? Kodi and I are the Wonder Team. We can find anyone we want to find. And believe me, Mr. Curry—” her voice grew husky—“we wanted to find you.”

“Then, you forgive me.”

She took his hand and placed it against her cheek. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I forgave you weeks ago. I was just too stubborn to admit it. But these last weeks without you—” She plucked at the buttons on his shirt.

“Yes?”

She flattened her palm on his chest, over his heart, and lifted her glistening eyes to his. “I don’t want to live without you, Jed. Not ever again.”

She was here. Really here. Looking up at him with eyes that glowed with such warmth, such love, it stole his breath. “Ah, lady—” he let a slow smile work its way across his lips—“‘you bereft me of all words, Only my blood speaks to you in my veins, And there is such confusion in my powers.’”

Annie pressed a kiss into his palm. “‘Then come kiss me, sweet.’”

He bent his head and did as she asked.

And then, just to be sure, he did it again.

FORTY-SEVEN        

N
OVEMBER
25—A C
ORNFLOWER
D
AY
(G
REEN AND
B
LUE)

The colors were more glorious than she’d ever imagined.

Annie told herself over and over, as she blended textures and types of glass, that the effect would be all she hoped. But she’d never really let herself believe it would work.

Until now.

She walked from one end to the other, her footfalls muted in the soft carpet of the sanctuary, awash in wonder. That God had used her hands to create this …

Annie touched the tips of her fingers to the window, half expecting the images within to come to life.

“It’s stunning.”

She didn’t turn. She didn’t need to. She knew that voice as well as her own. And the awe in Jed’s hushed tone sent chills through her.

His strong hands slipped around her waist from behind. “Just like the artist.”

She laid her arms along Jed’s as they circled her. “It really worked, didn’t it?”

“Like a dream.”

Annie turned in his arms. “A dream I owe to you.”

“I think the idea came from Someone else. He just used me to deliver it.”

She studied the window again. “I know exactly what you mean.”

A loud clap broke the blessed stillness of the sanctuary, and they moved apart. Annie cast a scolding scowl at the men approaching them. “Killie, was that necessary?”

Ryan lifted his shoulders. “I told him it wasn’t really appropriate in this setting.”

“Just wanted to get your attention.” Killian’s words rang with his excitement. “The seraphic Serafina should be here any minute to view your masterpiece—”

“And so I am.”

Annie never ceased to be amazed at the strength in the little woman’s voice. Annie stood there, tapping the back of a pew as she watched her client make her way to where they stood.

This was the hardest part of being an artist. That suspended moment between the satisfaction of a project completed and the reaction of the recipient.

Jed’s hand eased over hers, stilling it. He leaned close, his lips next to her ear. “She’ll love it.”

She touched her forehead to his. “How do you do that?”

“What?”

“Know me so well after such a short time together?”

He caressed her cheek. “You’ve been a part of me my whole
life, Annie. The fact that it took us this long to find each other doesn’t change that.”

Serafina finally stood beside them, then reached up to adjust her glasses on her nose. Those gentle eyes rested on Annie, then drifted to Jed. “Is this your beau, dear?”

Warmth surged into Annie’s face, and Jed put his hand out. “Jed Curry, at your service, ma’am.”

“A nice strong handshake, but gentle too.” Serafina beamed her approval at Annie. “I believe he’s what they call a keeper, dear. And if the lovely pink in your cheeks is any indication, you think so as well.”

Serafina rested one elegant hand on the back of the pew. “So, the day has finally arrived. Come, Annie. Show me Cletus’s window.”