Page 18 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
He spun around on the chair to look at the photo and froze when he saw the man to Doctor Jerk's left. His heart jolted with shock and disbelief as he stared at the professor. Liam squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. He expanded the photo and stared into the eyes of a ghost.
CHAPTER 6
Barb
Barb tightened her coat around herself as she left the warmth of the Lodge, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on her. Barb felt guilty about leaving Heather alone with Charlotte for longer than expected, but Emily had drawn Barb into the intrigue of finding out what the Shields family was up to.
Starting with figuring out why it was so important for them to be here. Emily began their investigation by looking into the guest records of the past ten years. They had found that Liam had been to Mistletoe Lodge quite a few times over the past ten years. The most recent time before today was eleven months ago.
Liam had checked into the lodge and booked the chalet the Shields were staying in for four nights. He checked out the day before Zac was supposed to come back to Africa, which was the day Liam mentioned Zac had the accident and lost his memory.
Barb shuddered from the cold and the thought of how awful it must be to wake up with no memory of the present and think it was ten years ago.Didn’the see the dates? Or maybe he’d lost ten years and just assumed the present was the past! Barb gave her head a shake, getting her brain tangled by trying to figure it out—how confusing it must be for Zac.
Her heart squeezed with compassion for Zac and felt heavy for whichever of the Shields brothers it really was that had lost his memory—it wasn’t anything to take lightly. Barb also felt for his family and even Courtney Waller—she must be just as confused, or maybe she was thrilled at getting Zac back. The thought zapped through her with a flame of jealousy in case it really was Zac who had been hurt—he was still Barb’s legal husband, the father of her daughter, and the new father to her son.
Thinking of Oscar brought a whole new turmoil of emotion to Barb’s already frayed system. How was she going to explain this all to her son? How do you tell a ten-year-old that the man he came to think of as his father didn’t know him? Because if Zac was stuck in the past, then Oscar wouldn’t have been born. Another thought hit Barb like a tidal wave—ten years ago, Zac had met Barb as Trevor’s fiance as they’d been partners in the FBI.
Barb was beginning to understand why Liam’s first thought when seeing Barb was to try and make her leave—Zac could get overwhelmed with information seeing Barb with a son… and… Her eyes widened—did the Shields family even know about Charlotte? Did Zac get any of her messages regarding his daughter?
The night had fully descended, and the cold, crisp air was a sharp contrast to the heated conversation she had just left. Barb’s boots crunched softly on the freshly shoveled path as she made her way toward Bungalow One. The resort grounds were eerily quiet, with only the gentle hum of the lights guiding her way.
The bungalows she could see peeking from behind the large barn in front of her had a soft glow around them,the lights barely piercing the darkness beyond, where the forest and orchard loomed like silent sentinels. Above, the stars glittered in the clear night sky, millions of them, like tiny pinpricks of light in the vast expanse of black.
Barb's mind was spinning, thoughts colliding and tumbling over each other. Liam—no, Zac—what had brought him here the week of the accident? Why had he lied about his identity? Emily believed Zac was protecting his brother, which Barb had to admit would be true because Zac told Barb that he and his brother would do anything for their family.
As she approached the barn that sat between the main lodge and the bungalows, Barb was hardly watching where she was going as she let her human autopilot guide her way. As she rounded the barn, lost in her thoughts, a hand shot out from the shadows, gripping her arm tightly and yanking her into the darkened interior.
Barb gasped, panic surging through her as a strong hand clamped over her mouth, silencing her scream. Her heart raced, beating frantically against her ribcage as she struggled, the cold fear gripping her body.
“Don’t panic,” a deep voice whispered urgently in her ear. “I’m not here to harm you. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Zac Shields. I work with Trevor at the FBI. He introduced us a few weeks ago.”
Barb froze, her breath catching in her throat. Zac? She stopped struggling, her wide eyes searching the darkness.
“If I let you go, please don’t run or scream. I need to talk to you because you and Trevor are in danger.”
Barb nodded, and Zac slowly removed his hand from her mouth, allowing her to turn and face him.
In the dim light filtering through the cracks in the barn walls, Barb could just make out his face—tense, urgent, and unmistakably familiar. While he had the same eyes, the same hair, and the same face, she knew he wasn’t Zac. But Barb also saw that he really thought he was—Liam wasnotlying about that, nor the fact Zac thought it was ten years ago and Trevor was still alive!
“Zac?” she whispered, still reeling from the shock of seeinghim like this.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” Zac said, his voice low and filled with a desperation that sent a chill down her spine. “But I had to talk to you, and I couldn’t risk anyone else hearing us.” He gave her a tight smile. “I saw you from the chalet earlier going into the bungalow near it.” He glanced around them nervously. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Her brow creased as she looked at him with concern. “I’m here visiting my good friend for Christmas and New Year,” she explained.
“I hope Trevor’s not coming back here to join you?” Zac scraped his hand through his hair and started to pace. “How did he contact you?” His eyes searched hers. “Trevor wasn’t supposed to tellanyonehe was still alive.” He put his hands on her arms, his voice filled with urgency. “He can’t be seen alive, Barb. Was it Trevor that sent word for you to meet him here?”
Alarm surged through Barb as she stared at Zac in confusion, trying to figure out if what he was saying was the truth or if Zac’s mind was playing tricks on him.Where does hethink Trevor is?
“Zac, where is Trevor?” Barb asked, deciding to go with where he led the conversation.
His head shot up, and his eyes widened as he stared at Barb. “I can’t tell you that, Barb.”
“Is Trevor still alive?” Barb knew she shouldn’t be pushing Zac. Liam hadn’t lied about his state of mind, and because of the way Zac was talking about Trevor, Barb was starting to doubt her resolve that Liam and Zac had done a twin swap. “Zac, I need to know.”
Zac watched her intently in the dim light of the barn for a few seconds. “I’m sorry, Barb, I’ve already told you too much.” He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Darn it.” He swore beneath his breath. “I can’t remember…” He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I can’t remember.” He looked at her almost pleadingly. “I’m sorry, Barb.” He shook his head. “I’m not well. I got shot and lost my memory. It comes back to me in dribs and drabs.” He started rubbing his temples, and even in the dim light, Barb could see pain flash in them and knew he was giving himself a headache trying to conjure his memories. “When I saw you, the memory of having to get Trevor to safety came back to me, along withthe crushing realization that you’re in danger and could potentially expose him, especially if you were here to find the disk.”
The pounding of Barb’s heart intensified at Zac’s words, and her eyes widened.Are they here looking for something Trevor hid ten years ago?Her brows creased some more as she tried to remember Trevor mentioning Mistletoe Lodge to her.
