Shiloh glanced around the hotel room, slapping the lid of his open suitcase closed and tossing it into the closet. Maid service hadn’t been through yet, so the bed was unmade, but otherwise things didn’t look too bad. And why in the world was he fussing over a hotel room anyway? He knew why; he wanted to make a good impression on Renee. They’d gotten off to a rocky start already, and he wanted her to like him. How pathetic was that?
At the knock on the door, he ran a hand through his hair and checked his breath. Shaking his head, he muttered a curse under his breath and pulled the door open. Renee and Tina stood on the other side. Renee’s expression contained a mixture of skepticism and hope, and he fought the urge to pull her into his arms and assure her everything would be alright. Reuniting her with Lucas was a no brainer. Fixing her other problem—whoever she was running from—that might take a bit more effort.
“Come in, make yourselves at home.”
“Thanks.” Tina sauntered through the open doorway like she owned the place, and he knew her eyes didn’t miss a trick. Renee took a step forward, watching her friend, and if he hadn’t been watching both women closely, he’d have missed the subtle nod Tina gave. Guess he’d passed whatever test they’d concocted.
“Why don’t you ladies take the chairs by the table? Can I get you anything? Room service? It’s on me, since we didn’t get to finish lunch.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather get this over with.” Renee’s voice was barely above a whisper, and he didn’t miss the underlying anxiety in her voice. Not that he could fault her being overwhelmed. He’d hit her with a lot of information without a lot of warning. Kind of a one-two punch.
“Where would you like me to start?”
Renee met his stare, never flinching or looking away. “Tell me about Lucas.”
Shiloh smiled, thinking about his brother. “He’s awesome. I know he was in foster care for a little while before he came to live with the Boudreaus. Actually, he was there before me and Ridge. Did I mention I have a twin brother?”
Tina’s chuckle filled the room. “I can’t image two of you. The girls in Texas must go gaga when you both walk into a room.”
“Not so much anymore. Ridge met a lovely woman named Maggie. They’re engaged and planning a wedding.”
“Off the market, huh? Too bad.” She gave him a flirtatious wink, but there wasn’t really any spark between them, and he knew it was an automatic reflex with her. Kind of like Heath. He’d flirted like crazy with every woman he met. Until he found Camilla.
“I know Lucas got labeled as a troublemaker in foster care. Gave them fits when he first got shuffled into the system. Douglas, he’s our dad, has a reputation of taking in some of the harder cases. He’s got a couple of contacts in the Texas Child Protective Services, and when they get somebody who’s a ‘special case’, they’ll call him.”
“What do they consider a special case?” It was the first time Renee had spoken since he’d begun talking about Lucas. Shiloh watched her fingers tug at the bottom of her shirt, pulling at a loose thread, toying with it like a lifeline. It had already unraveled a couple of inches, and he wondered if she’d pull the whole thread loose before they finished.
“Douglas and Ms. Patti have made a home for boys, usually preteens or early teenagers, who’ve been through troublesome pasts. Drug addicted parents. Abusive parents. In my case, I had a father who was murdered because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My mother and Ms. Patti were friends for many years. When she was diagnosed with cancer, and knew she was dying, she implored them to take Ridge and I into their home and their family.”
“Didn’t you have anybody else, family who would have taken you in?”
Thinking about the Calloways, his biological grandparents, he fought to keep the grimace off his face. As far as he was concerned, they might carry the same DNA, but he’d never call them family.
“Let’s simply say living with the Boudreaus was a miracle for me and Ridge.”
“Sounds like there’s a lot more to your story than the abbreviated version you’re sharing.” For once, Tina didn’t have the teasing, flirty tone in her voice. He simply nodded. His history wasn’t something he was ashamed of, but it also wasn’t something to be tossed around in casual conversation. Most of the locals in Shiloh Springs knew it; shoot, they’d lived through it with them. While there wasn’t an out-and-out feud between the Boudreaus and Calloways, they weren’t all warm and fuzzy, either.
“Maybe I’ll share that story another time. Right now, let’s get back to Lucas. Douglas got a call from one of his contacts, saying they had a young boy who could use his help. Lucas was younger than the boys he and Ms. Patti usually brought into their home, and from the way Douglas tells it, he debated long and hard before agreeing to meet the kid. Said it took him less than five minutes after that to sign the paperwork and bring him home.”
As he told his brother’s story, his gaze stayed locked on Renee, studying her expressions. Though she tried to hide it, she listened with rapt attention, soaking up every word about her older brother. It would be obvious to anybody with half a brain cell that she’d never forgotten Lucas. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach, thinking about all the years they’d lost because of some incompetent boob in CPS splitting up the siblings.
“Lucas had a rough couple of weeks in the beginning. Momma said it broke her heart watching him alternate between moping around like a lost soul and getting into knockdown, drag outs with Antonio and Liam.”
“More brothers?” This question from Tina, and he nodded, shooting her a grin.
“There are quite a few of us. Let’s see there’s Rafe, Antonio, Brody, Liam, Lucas, Dane, Ridge, Heath, Chance, Joshua, me, and of course Nica. She’s the baby of the family. There were some others, ones who ended up aging out of the system and leaving for greener pastures, and a few who didn’t—adjust—to living at the Big House.”
“That’s a big family. Are all of you…”
“Adopted? Yes and no. Not everybody could be adopted, for varying reasons. The ones who could and wanted to be got adopted. Those who couldn’t be adopted legally changed their name to Boudreau as soon as they turned eighteen. Everybody except Lucas. He’s still an O’Malley.”
“Why?” Ah, finally, Renee spoke. He knew she’d been paying attention to every word.
“Lucas wanted to make sure if you ever came looking for him, you’d be able to find him. He kept the O’Malley name, though everybody in Shiloh Springs considers him part of the Boudreau clan. He’s my brother as much as any of the Boudreaus. That’s the thing, even though none of us share the same blood, the same DNA, we’re family. It doesn’t matter to any one of us what he calls himself, he’s our brother.”
He watched a single tear slid down her cheek, followed by another and then another. The breath caught in his chest at the sight, and he reached for the box of tissue on the dresser, handing it to Renee. Pulling a couple free, she wiped at her eyes, blotting away the wetness.
“Renee, I didn’t—”
“It’s okay. I’m happy he had a good life. When I got a little older, and fully understood what happened to us, that’s all I wanted—for Lucas to be happy.”
“He is. He’s in love with a good woman, and he’s moving back to Shiloh Springs. Trust me, that fact alone has made Momma ecstatic. I think she wants all her young’uns in one place.” He reached forward and gently clasped one of Renee’s hands in his. “Would you like to talk to Lucas?”
Renee’s eyes widened, staring at him with a mixture of wonder and, if he wasn’t mistaken, fear. Which didn’t make any sense, because Lucas would never, ever do anything to hurt his sister.
“I can’t.” Her words were barely above a whisper, and Shiloh glanced over at Tina, who shrugged. Guess she didn’t understand any more than he did.
“Renee? Is it okay to call you that or do you want me to call you Elizabeth? I’ve always known you by Renee, but if you’d rather…”
She gave him a watery smile. “Renee. I haven’t been called that in a long time. For a while I was Sarah. Then Emily. The last couple of years I’ve been Elizabeth. I’d like you to call me Renee.”
At her almost timid smile, it felt like a fist squeezing in the center of his chest, and his heartbeat pounded loud enough he could heart it. “Renee. I know you’ve been moving around a lot, changing your name. I don’t know the reason, but whatever it is, let me help you.”
“You can’t.”
“Believe me, there’s nothing too bad we can’t fix it. You’ve got a big family, even though you don’t know us well yet. We’ll help you, find a way to keep you safe. I’ll do anything to make sure nobody ever hurts you again.”
Renee tugged her hand loose and stood, putting several feet between them, the gulf like a giant canyon, and he felt bereft without her hand in his. Like an almost invisible connection with her, one which went deeper than simple friendship or familial feelings.
“Nobody can promise me that. I’m glad we talked, and you told me about Lucas. It helps knowing he’s healthy and happy. But I can’t be part of your world. I mean his world. It’s too late.”
“Elizabeth, I mean Renee, please don’t do this. Girlfriend, I know you. You’re about to hit the road again, aren’t you? Don’t deny it, because you know you can’t lie to me. Please, listen to Shiloh.” Tina waved a hand in his direction, though she didn’t even glance at him. “Look at him. Really, take a good, long, hard look. I don’t trust easy. Heck, I rarely trust anybody, but there’s something about Shiloh that makes me believe he’s telling us the truth. Let him in. Trust him. If he says he and his brothers can help, I say let them. I worry about you. You’re always looking over your shoulder. Always scared. I hate it. Please, please, let him—us—help.”
Shiloh watched a myriad of emotions race across Renee’s face, could almost hear the internal dialogue running through her head. Maybe he’d approached this whole thing wrong, but he’d been so anxious to find her, see her face-to-face. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—let her slip through is fingers now. If he lost her…
“You don’t understand, I can’t drag either of you into my mess. I will not put your lives in danger, and they will be if I stick around.”
Before Shiloh could open his mouth, a cell phone rang. Wasn’t his. Tina pulled hers out of her pocket and mouthed the word “sorry” before answering. He only half-listened, most of his focus on Renee. The instincts he trusted when working a case were blaring like an alarm bell. The minute she left this meeting, she’d run. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. How could he stop her?
Tina disconnected the call, and he noted how pale she’d become. Whatever the caller said, it wasn’t good news. He hoped it wasn’t serious because he couldn’t afford to let his attention be split. Right now, he needed every ounce of concentration focused on Renee.
Tina turned to face Renee and took a deep breath. “That was Gertie. She said somebody just came by the coffee shop looking for you. Said he was pretty pushy when she told him she didn’t know anybody named Elizabeth Reynolds. Claimed he had an aura about him she didn’t trust.”
“No, no, no. I waited too long. I—I have to go.” Renee turned to Shiloh and grabbed both of his hands. “Tell Lucas I’m glad he had a good life, and I want him to be happy. But he’s got to stop searching for me.”
“Renee, come with me. You need to get out of Portland. I’ll take you to Texas. You can stay at the Big House, at least until you’ve got time to make better plans than running in panic. Being unprepared leads to mistakes and gives the upper hand to whoever’s after you. I promise you’ll be safe in Shiloh Springs.” He squeezed her hands a little tighter when she tried to pull free. “Trust me.”
“I…Shiloh…”
Tina interrupted Renee before she could object again. “Go with him. If you’re going to leave anyway, take him up on his offer. It’ll give you time to get a new ID, pick a place where nobody will find you. Shiloh Springs sounds like a good place to start over.”
“Oh, Tina. I’m so sorry I’ve pulled you into the middle of my mess.”
“Make it up to me by letting Shiloh help you. Between him, his brothers, and you, figure out a way for you to be safe.” Tina pulled Renee into a hug, and Shiloh knew their bond wouldn’t break despite putting distance between them. He had the feeling he’d be seeing a lot more of Tina, probably sooner rather than later.
“Renee?” Drawing her attention back to him, he waited for her answer.
She closed her eyes and drew in a shuddering breath, before opening them. “Okay. What do we do?”
“Leave it to me, sweetheart. Say your goodbyes while I make a couple of calls.”
Turning his back to her, he breathed a sigh of relief. It had been close, but he hadn’t been about to let her run again, not without him. This was better, though. Getting Renee to Shiloh Springs solved a lot of things, including reuniting her with Lucas.
Pulling out his cell phone, he texted the one person he knew could move mountains—his momma.