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  The heartache and humiliation of their breakup, done in front of a large audience at their engagement party, still fueled his anger. After his mother had left him with Gramps and gone on her merry way, he’d been wary of forming any deep relationship. First losing his father in a fishing accident and then his mom because she didn’t want to be a mother anymore, had left its mark. Rachel’s friendship had helped him through those hard times because she had gone through something similar with her own mom. Then when he’d fallen in love with Celeste, it felt so right. But the whole time, she’d been making a play for Brad Howard, the son of the richest man in town, using Jake to make Brad jealous.

  Jake climbed into his grandfather’s SUV and headed home. He was glad to have gotten that inevitable meeting over with. The earth didn’t shake and swallow him because he’d seen her today. He was a different man than the one who had naively fallen for Celeste eight years ago.

  In the dark of a winter day, Jake turned down the long drive that led to a cluster of several homes, one being his grandfather’s on a few acres. He shouldn’t have stayed in town so long. Although dinner at Linda’s wasn’t for a few hours, he wanted to spend time with Gramps and help him as much as he could around his place. Gramps, at seventy-three, moved slower and wasn’t as energetic as he once was.

  When Jake entered his childhood home, Mitch, his black and brown German shepherd, greeted him at the door, his tail wagging. He hadn’t been sure how his dog would do, flying in a small plane, but he had been great. He would miss working every day with Mitch when he returned to the Anchorage Police Department. Mitch had been retired early because he’d lost one of his legs in the accident at the bomb site they had been searching.

  “Did you miss me?” Jake rubbed him behind his ears.

  Mitch barked.

  The noise brought Gramps into the entry hall. “Every sound sent Mitch to the window to see if you were coming home.”

  “I stayed a little longer than I planned. I’m surprised at how much Port Aurora has grown, changed.”

  “Yes, it’s been a harbor of busyness for the past year. Lots of construction in the summer. The roads still okay?”

  “Yes. Five or six hours from now they might not be.”

  “If the storm blows through quickly, they’ll have the roads plowed by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “All the way out here?” They didn’t when he lived here as a child, but Port Aurora’s population had been only twenty-eight hundred in the winter. With its growth came more needs for the residents.

  “Yep, that’s called progress. They don’t plow the long drive, but I’ll get out there and do that tomorrow morning.”

  “I can.”

  “No, you’re on vacation.”

  “I’ve been on vacation for months, and frankly I can’t wait to get back to work.”

  Gramps turned and ambled toward the great room where he spent a lot of his time. “Then let’s pray your doctor says you’re ready to go back to work at the first of January. Did you see any old friends?”

  “Rachel and Sean.” Since Celeste wasn’t a friend, he left her name out. Whenever she was mentioned, Gramps always got angry.

  “How’s Rachel?”

  “Fine.” Jake sat on the couch while his grandfather took his place in his special lounger. “We really didn’t talk long. Aunt Betty was upset about something, and Rachel was focused on that.”

  “Really? Betty is one lady that goes with the flow. She doesn’t let much of anything get to her. I should learn something from her.”

  The landline rang, and Jake reached toward the end table and snatched up the receiver. “Hello.”

  “Jake, I’m so glad you’re home.” The relief in Rachel’s voice came through loud and clear.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I stopped by Aunt Betty’s house on the way home, and no one answered the door, but her car is here. I just looked into the living room window and someone has tossed her place. It’s a mess.”

  “Call the police, stay outside and I’ll be right there.”

  “I’m already inside. My cell doesn’t work this far from town. The first thing I did was call you.”

  “Make the call to the police and then get out. Okay?”

  “Yes.” The urgency in Jake’s voice heightened her concern for her aunt.

  Copyright © 2015 by Margaret Daley

  ISBN-13: 9781460389294

  Deadly Christmas Secrets

  Copyright © 2015 by Shirlee McCoy

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