Free Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed by Rachel Bo Page B

and just as empty. Jenny hesitated only a moment more before folding that page and sticking it in her pocket. She pulled a jacket from her closet, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out to buy a map.

    * * * * *
When she reached the address on the contract, she discovered it was a real estate broker’s office. She’d driven eight hours the day before, spent a sleepless night in a dingy motel, and driven ten hours more that day. She was cold, tired, and hungry. It was eight o’clock on Christmas Eve, and there wasn’t a hotel in sight.
    The only place open was a small diner on the main street. She slid into a booth and ordered coffee, then sat there, head in her hands, tears streaming down her face.
    “What’s wrong, honey?” Her waitress asked when she brought the coffee out. “You’re not lost, are you?”
    Jenny wiped away the tears and shook her head. “No. I was ... I was trying to find Devlin and Damien Blake.” She dug in her pocket and pulled out the crumpled page from the contract. “I have an address for them, but it turned out to be a real estate office.”
    Her waitress -- Jenny glanced at the nametag pinned to her chest -- Tara, nodded.
    “Yep. That’s ’cause they live so far out. No proper address. All their mail goes to Glen. They pick it up once a week.” She fiddled with her pen for a minute, staring. “You’re not from around here.”
    Obviously, Jenny thought, but she just said, “No.”

    64 Rachel Bo
    “We got some nice fresh snow for Christmas.”
    Jenny remained silent, wrapping her hands around the coffee cup for warmth.
    “That jacket doesn’t look too warm,” Tara observed.
    “It’s not.” The girl evidently wanted to strike up a friendship, but Jenny really just wanted to be left alone to wallow in her misery.
    “I don’t suppose you want to know how to get there ...” Tara mused.
    Jenny looked up in surprise. “You’d tell me?”
    Tara shrugged. “I don’t think some slip of a girl is going to be able to cause them any harm.” The way she spoke, Jenny almost thought she might know what they were. “I’ll tell you. You won’t even be able to get in, unless they let you.”
    That sounded ominous, but Jenny decided to worry about it later. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
    Tara smiled. “You just let me know how it all works out, okay?” She winked and pulled a page off her notepad. “It’s a bit of a drive. Takes about two hours, but at night, with you not knowing the roads, it might take a while longer.”
    Jenny nodded. Tara bent down over the table, drawing out a map and explaining to Jenny where to go. Jenny finished the rest of her coffee, more for the warmth than for anything else, then got back in her car and headed out again.
    At eleven o’clock, her car labored up a winding gravel road somewhere in the Absaioka Range. At least, that’s what Tara had called it. Jenny’s headlights hit something grey ahead, and she stopped, stepping out to look.
    A seven-foot-high fence marched across the road. It was made of some kind of flexible metal mesh, drawn taut between steel posts set at five-foot intervals. Tara had loaned her a flashlight, and she turned it on now, finding that the fence threaded between the trees and meandered off into the distance. Jenny studied the gate. Three heavy chains secured it -- one each at the top and bottom, one in the middle. There was no intercom of any kind, or any

    Rated: X-mas: Twice Blessed
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    cameras that she could see. So they wouldn’t know she was here, because they weren’t expecting her.
    She studied the fence again. Another post ran across the top of each section, between the uprights. Sighing, she got back into the car and pulled up as close to the fence as she could. She killed the engine, clambered up onto the hood, and reached for that top bar, praying fervently that the fence wasn’t electrified.
    Her fingers didn’t fry, so she pulled herself up, scrabbling with her foot until she got her leg