Hidden Summit

soft brown hair, makeup-free face, large blue eyes. And when she saw him, she started to cry. Her mouth twisted, her nose reddened, and her eyes grew very wet.
    He kissed her forehead. “Don’t,” he said in a hoarse whisper. And then he fell to his knees and pulled the boys into his arms. “I missed you!” he told them, nuzzling their necks.
    “You’re itchy,” Andy complained.
    “Why do you have this?” Mitch asked, touching his goatee.
    “I want to be cool,” Conner said, fighting emotion. “Look at you. You grew. Which one of you is bigger?”
    Andy giggled. “We’re identical. We’re the same.”
    “I don’t know,” he said, frowning at them. “I think Mitch is getting taller.”
    “Naw, but I’m smarter,” Mitch said.
    “Are not!”
    “Am so!”
    “Can we fight at home, please?” Katie asked, emotion tugging at her voice.
    Conner stood and enfolded her in his arms, hugging her close. “It’s so good to see you, to know you’re okay. Let’s get these monsters home.”
    She nodded, tears in her eyes. “Let’s get Uncle…” She stopped and looked around, clearly giving a second thought to saying his name out loud in a public place. “Let’s get the bags and go home before you two turn into pumpkins.”
    “I never done that, but she says it all the time,” Andy said to Conner.
    “You better look out. You just might one of these days. Honey, take one of them to get a cart. I’ll take the other one to get the bags.”
    “You have a lot?” she asked.
    He looked down at her. “Everything. I have everything. I’ll explain later.”
    Her eyes got round for a moment, but then she was all about business, taking Andy with her to get a cart while Conner grabbed Mitch and went to the carousel, praying his duffels made it, and he wouldn’t have to deal with lost baggage.
    Once they had three large duffels and a carry-on, they made their way to the car. Conner insisted on driving; Katie seemed emotional and tired. She gave him some directions to get them started, and they were hardly underway five minutes when both boys passed out in the backseat.
    “Everything?” Katie asked softly. “You brought everything?”
    “I’m going straight to Sacramento from here. They want to prep me for the trial, which should be starting soon. There was no point in paying rent on a cabin just to store my jeans and boots.”
    “But you’re going back, aren’t you? You love it there!”
    “I hope to, but one day at a time....”
    “What about your girlfriend? Couldn’t she hang on to it for you?”
    “I’m sure she would’ve been happy to, but I didn’t want to load that on her. She’s a little stressed about this whole thing as it is.”
    “Aren’t we all! I’m still a little nervous about you doing this, coming here. We weren’t supposed to see each other until this was over. More to the point, we weren’t supposed to be seen together, the four of us. A big guy with a short woman and five-year-old twin boys—we stand out.”
    “Look, I know Mathis must have a lot of connections, but I find it hard to believe any of them have traced us to Burlington, Vermont. Thinking about it, I agree it’s smart to get us out of Sacramento—that’s a hot potato. And they did demonstrate they’d burn down a building to make a point. But I doubt they have a huge interstate network of thugs and investigators trailing us both.” He reached across the console and squeezed her hand. “Why do that when they can wait in Sacramento for me to show up for the trial? That’s where I could be a sitting duck.”
    “I’m so scared, Danny.”
    He squeezed again. “Don’t be. This will be over before you know it. And, this might be hard for a while, but I’m keeping the name Conner now. We’re going to change. You don’t have to, but I am.”
    “Why?” she asked, surprised.
    “Well, all my new ID is in that name and while I don’t plan to hide forever, I think it makes sense to leave Danson Conner behind....” He looked over at her. “And…that’s what Leslie calls me. I’m keeping it. It’s convenient and it’s who she knows.”
    “Wow. I think you’re in love again.”
    He shook his head. “Not again. In love for the first time.”
    Anyone would have had to be blind to miss Leslie’s melancholy, and she knew it. Conner had only been gone twenty-four hours, but she’d pulled into herself the minute he’d driven away from her house. Paul was good enough to ask if she was all