Chapter Eleven

“J ack Stone is Wayne Ferris?” Grace whispered, plopping down on the single bed in shock.

Camry’s announcement brought utter silence to the tiny bedroom. Megan also froze in surprise, torn between wanting to strangle her sister and wanting to hug her for taking the burden off her shoulders—though she probably wouldn’t have been quite so blunt about it.

Camry straightened with a box of baby clothes in her hands. “And he’s claiming he broke Megan’s heart so that she would come running home, because he thought she was in danger.” She shot Megan a frown. “Seems Meg forgot to mention that a man was murdered in camp just before she realized she was pregnant.”

Grace looked from Camry to Megan. “But why was he calling himself Wayne Ferris?”

“It was an alias,” Camry said. “He claims he was working undercover to get close to one of the students; that the kid was a runaway, and his parents had hired Jack to find him.”

“Is this true, Meg?” Grace asked. “A man was murdered on your study? And Wayne—Jack—was trying to protect you?”

“That’s the story he’s telling.”

“Meg’s just angry because Jack came to Pine Creek to win her back before she could go after him herself,” Camry continued, as if Megan hadn’t spoken. “Jack’s here because Meg and the baby are all the family he’s got left. His parents died in a car crash when he was nine, and his great-grandfather raised him. But then he died when Jack was fifteen.”

“Oh my God,” Elizabeth said, hugging a bundle of baby blankets to her chest. “He broke your heart to save your life, Meg. He really does love you.”

“And he’s taken a job here,” Chelsea interjected. “So you can raise your baby in Pine Creek after all.”

“Hell-oo!” Megan said, waving her arms vigorously. “Are you all forgetting that not only did he break my heart, but that he’s all but admitted he’s a liar?”

“He’ll fix your heart,” Grace said, her smile warm and motherly as she stood to take hold of Megan’s shoulders. “And he has to lie for a living, if it helps him find runaway kids. The important thing, Meg, is that he’s here. I told you he would come for you, didn’t I?”

“Damn,” Camry said with a groan, dropping her box on the bed. “I just realized this means the curse is still intact. There goes my love life again.”

Megan stepped out of her mother’s embrace and scowled at her sister. “No, the curse is not intact, because I am not marrying Wayne.”

“Right. You’re marrying Jack.”

“I am not! He lied to me four months ago, and for all we know, he’s lying now.”

Camry looked at Chelsea. “You must know a good private investigator. Let’s get Jack checked out, and if he is lying, then we get Winter to turn him into a toad.”

“And if he’s telling the truth?” Grace asked, directing her question to Megan.

“Do you honestly expect me to simply forget what he did, and how he did it? You have no idea what he said to me that day. He nearly killed me.”

“But he didn’t,” Grace said softly. “And if he really does love you, and only said what he did to protect you, then yes, you have to forgive him.” She smiled sadly. “But if your heart says Jack Stone is not the man you want to spend the rest of your life with, your father and I will respect your decision.”

Grace turned to Camry, giving her a warning glare. “Winter is not turning anyone into anything. The magic’s been messed with enough lately. Let’s just let Providence get used to our new resident wizard for a while, shall we?”

“Speaking of Winter, why isn’t she here tonight?” Camry asked, obviously anxious to change the subject.

“Matt had to fly to his New York office this afternoon, and she went with him.” Grace turned and surveyed the bedroom, shaking her head. “I think we’ve overdone it with the hand-me-downs. This poor baby won’t have anything new to call its own.”

“Chelsea, could you come upstairs with me?” Megan asked, heading into the hallway. “I have a box up there I need to go through. You can carry it down for me.” She stopped in the door and looked back at the others. “The closet has built-ins and the bureau is empty, so you can put everything away as you sort. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

The moment they reached the top of the stairs, Megan looked down to make sure no one had followed, then turned to her twin sister. “I’m going to do as Camry suggested and have Wayne checked out. Your law firm must use private investigators. Can you give me the name of a good one?”

“Are you sure you want to do that, Meg? It’s been my experience that their reports never tell the whole story.”

“You know the saying ‘fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me’? Well, regardless of what Mom says about following my heart, this time around I’m listening to my left brain. I don’t care what it costs, just find me an investigator who can travel all the way to Medicine Lake if he has to. I want more than a report filled with public documents; I want pictures and personal interviews, right down to what Jack Stone’s favorite food was when he was five years old.”

“Holy smokes, you really are angry, aren’t you?”

“I’m so angry I bet I could turn him into a toad without any help from the magic.”

Greylen MacKeage was no saint, nor did he have any desire to become one. He was wise enough, however, to know he shouldn’t be entertaining thoughts of violence when he was getting so close to meeting his Maker. But God help him, he really wanted to beat Jack Stone to a bloody pulp for what the bastard had put his little girl through. Then again, his warrior’s heart made him wonder if he might have behaved just as badly toward Grace thirty-six years ago, when she had been in danger.

“You’re saying ye have no idea why the man was murdered,” Grey reiterated. “Only that you suspect it had something to do with the study being conducted on the tundra. May I ask why ye never bothered to find out?”

“Because it wasn’t any of my business,” Jack told him. “Once Megan was safely out of the way, I focused only on getting the boy back to his parents in one piece. The murder, and whoever did it, is the Canadian police’s problem.”

“Yet you’re thinking now that the problem has followed my daughter home.”

“Yes.” Jack Stone shifted in his chair beside the woodstove, opposite Grey. “I did discover who headed the organization funding the boy’s education. It’s the man Megan is working for now, Mark Collins. And I find that a bit too much of a coincidence.”

Grey suddenly stood up, hiding his smile when Jack flinched. Good. If he couldn’t beat him up, by God, at least he could enjoy watching the bastard squirm. Grey walked to the counter, grabbed the bottle of scotch, and refilled Jack’s empty glass before sitting back down and filling his own. “I’ll tell Megan she has to resign her position immediately.”

Jack took a gulp of the scotch. “That’s not going to make the problem go away. Collins will simply find another way to get to her.”

Grey nodded. “You’re right. If he went to the trouble of fabricating this project and she resigns, he may come at her directly. Any idea why, Chief?”

“Nope,” Jack said, frowning down at his glass. “Until Collins’s name came up at dinner an hour ago, I thought the problem had stayed in Canada.” He looked toward the woodstove, staring at the fire lapping the glass. “I need to think about the connection.”

“I’ll have Megan move back to Gù Brath until this matter is cleared up.”

Jack looked up in alarm. “You can’t mean to tell her.”

Greylen lifted one brow. “Are you not a man who learns from his mistakes?”

“She’ll throw a fit when she finds out it was Collins who planted that kid on her study, to watch over whatever he was doing on the tundra. She might confront him herself.”

Grey leaned back in his chair. “I see you’ve come to know my daughter quite well.” He shook his head. “I can control her. And if not, then I’ll ask her cousin Robbie MacBain to have a talk with her.”