Free Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination by Colleen Coble

saw a van pull away. The signage read “Mount Sinai.”
    “Hello? Hello?” he said into the phone. But there was only silence.

7
    S AMSON LAY SPRAWLED ON THE RUG. GRACIE, HER BACK arched, prowled around on top of him, pausing occasionally to knead him. He opened one eye to see what she was doing, then flopped his head back down and went back to sleep.
    “Leave him alone.” Elena scooped up the kitten and sat down on the sofa with her. Terri sat on the floor, building a house with LEGOs. It was almost five. Bree and Kade would be home anytime.
    She heard the front door open, then Bree’s voice called her name. “I’m in here,” Elena said. Bree’s face was white and strained when she entered the living room, and a worried frown replaced her customary smile. “You look upset. What’s wrong?”
    “My dad wasn’t well today. He didn’t know who I was.” Bree settled on the sofa beside Elena.
    Her father had escaped the nursing home just last week, Elena knew. She wished she could confide to Bree that she didn’t even remember if her father was alive or dead, but she didn’t dare. Not only would it be insensitive; it would also tip off Bree that Elena remembered less than she pretended to. If she kept up the facade long enough, maybe she could slip into this new life and the old would be gone forever. Rock Harbor had cast a healing net over her, and she didn’t want to slip from under it.
    Her past was bound to catch up to her though.
    “I’m sorry,” Elena said finally. “It has to be hard.”
    “It’s not going to get any better.” Bree dug into a bowl of pistachios on the coffee table and offered some to Elena, who shook her head and made a face. “Um, your clothes don’t match.”
    “They don’t?” Elena glanced down. “I guess I was thinking about something else when I got dressed.”
    “Any new memories today?”
    Elena’s smile faded. “No.”
    It was a familiar question. For a while the dance memories had come fast, but they led to no real insight. Bree wanted to contact some dance studios, but Elena didn’t want to run the risk that her attacker might be connected to her profession. Every discreet path they’d followed had led nowhere.
    “Let’s make some more calls tonight,” Bree said.
    Elena nodded. The women had been methodically calling every Cox in the Detroit area and asking if they knew Elena. So far, out of fifty-two calls, no one had heard of her.
    Through the glass, they watched Kade park his truck. The passenger door flew open. Davy tumbled out. Moments later the sound of his small feet thundered across the entry floor, followed by the heavy tread of Kade’s boots.
    Davy burst into the living room. “Hey, Mom, I got to help Dad feed the peregrine falcons. One falcon ate three mice!”
    “Ew,” his mother said. “You’re a ghoul.”
    “Birds have to eat too,” Kade said, dropping a kiss on her red curls when he reached her. “What’s for dinner?”
    “Whatever you want to cook tonight. I’m beat.”
    “I’ll cook,” Elena said quickly. “I picked up stuff for spaghetti.” She put Gracie on the floor, and the kitten immediately went back to pester Samson.
    “I knew we kept you around for a good reason.” Kade sat on the sofa on the other side of his wife. “Nice house, Terri.”
    The toddler frowned and knocked over the house. “Daddy help.” She looked at her mother. “Where Daddy?”
    Elena struggled for some excuse, but nothing came to mind. “Oh, look, Terri. Samson is cuddling Gracie.” The kitten nestled between Samson’s front paws. They were both asleep.
    The distraction worked. Terri crawled over to the dog and laid her head on his flank. “Terri sleep.”
    Elena knew the questions weren’t going to stop. And she had no answers. Every time she thought about the man who had fathered Terri, she ran up against a blank wall and stark terror.
    Kade yawned. “I found a place to relocate the mute swans,” he told the women.
    “That’s