“I have an idea.”
“What kind of idea?” Renee gave him a skeptical glance, probably trying to figure out what he had in mind. He’d just told her they needed to talk about all her deep, dark issues. No matter how they approached the subject, it was bound to be tense and bring up things she didn’t want to share easily. Maybe if he could make things a little more comfortable, given them privacy so they wouldn’t be disturbed, it might make things a little easier on them both.
“Wait here. I’m going to grab us both some coffee. Then I want to show you something special.”
A slow blush heated her cheeks, and she looked away, but not before he read the laughter in her eyes, and caught the double entendre his words sparked. Using a knuckle, he tilted her head up. “Someplace special, okay?”
“Um, sure.”
Moving quickly into the kitchen, he got two travel mugs from the cupboard and quickly filled them. He grabbed a couple of cookies and wrapped them in a napkin and slid them into his pocket. Quickly jotting down a note stating where they’d be in case anybody needed them, he headed back out. Within another minute. he was handing her one of the mugs.
“Come on. I think you’re going to like this.” He’d made the spur of the moment decision to show her Momma’s secret garden with its hidden gazebo. It would ensure them privacy to have their long overdue talk, and he really wanted to see her expression when she saw what to most outsiders was considered a private family spot. Unless you were a Boudreau intimate, chances were good you hadn’t found the place that was considered a closely held secret.
He grasped her hand and led her around the side of the Big House. Built out from the side of the house was a porch with a burst of colors from his mother’s green thumb. A small table and chairs graced the space, a comfortable and easy place where he’d spent many a sunny afternoon with his momma, laughing and talking, sipping lemonade or sweet tea. Fond memories he cherished and tucked away for those lonely days when he was stuck far away in his one-bedroom apartment in San Antonio.
Continuing past the porch, a tall stand of pine trees marched straight and tall, clustered together like a mighty forest, keeping the bandits and marauders away. The wooded area had been a wonderful playground for him, Ridge, and Heath when they’d been rambunctious boys. He shot a surreptitious glance at Renee, watched her taking in all the woodland beauty, and he couldn’t help thinking that she was prettier than all the natural wonders surrounding them.
“Be careful where you step. Some of the roots can be a little tricky.” He held her hand as she stepped over one of the windy patches, kicking a couple of the bigger stones scattered along the path.
“Are you sure you know where we’re going? If we got lost, I’m sure I won’t be able to lead us back. I haven’t been dropping any breadcrumbs.”
“Don’t worry, Gretel, I know the way.”
Her cheeky grin lit him up inside. How could her simple smile make him feel like he was ten feet tall? It didn’t make sense, but he’d worry about it later. Right now, he wanted her to see Momma’s garden.
“It’s not much farther. Trust me?”
“Absolutely.” Her response was instantaneous, surprising him.
He heard her gasp as they rounded a large pine, and the hidden gazebo came into view. Surrounded by the tall pine trees, the dainty structure should have felt out of place. Instead, it felt like it had always been there from the beginning of time. The simplicity of the building complimented the natural beauty surrounding it.
Roses trailed along the posts, climbing ever upward toward the roofline, and the heady scent was intoxicating. The white painted structure stood as a testament to his mother’s hard work, because something this beautiful hadn’t been accomplished overnight. Shiloh remembered his mother spending hours and hours here, digging and planting, making things fit her vision. Rafe had helped her whenever he could, because he’d found an affinity and love for digging in the soil by her side. All the boys pitched in from one time or another, sometimes because they’d wanted to help. Other times, it had been their chance to have some one-on-one time with their mother.
Renee handed him her travel mug and walked all the way around the gazebo, her gaze filled with wonder. Her soft fingers stroked the columns, covered with roses, their heady fragrance mixed with the scent of pine. Stooping down, her fingertips traced across the top of the lilies and tall ornamental grasses planted around the base of the gazebo, and she lifted her face toward the sunlight. A shaft of light highlighted her within its glow, and Shiloh’s heartbeat stuttered. She was perfect. Ethereal grace and beauty, and he was struck with the notion he didn’t want to lose her.
“This is amazing. Warm and inviting, like stepping from the darkness into the light. So much work and love went into this.”
“This is Momma’s special garden. Her hideaway when raising a houseful of hellions became too much. She’s worked on this and added to it over the years. Dad and us boys ran electric wiring from the house out here, so she has power to run lights in the evenings.” He reached inside the opening and flipped the switch, turning on the tiny white fairy lights rimming the inside of the gazebo’s roof. More twinkling lights were wrapped around tree trunks, adding to the magical scene.
“Come here.” He kept his voice low, not wanting to break the spell the garden created. When Renee glanced at him, he crooked his finger, and motioned toward the entrance to the gazebo. Joining him at the opening, he heard her gasp and knew she’d spotted the gazebo’s hidden secret.
“Is that a wishing well?”
“That’s what I’ve always called it. Technically, it’s simply a well, built so Momma wouldn’t have to drag water from the house. It’s too far to run hoses, not without a lot of trouble. She loves this better anyway.
“I can’t blame her. It’s like I’ve stepped back in time to some medieval fantasy. I should be wearing a long, flowing gossamer gown, and you,” she pressed her fingertip against his chest, “should be wearing a suit of armor. You are my white knight, after all, helping me escape from the dreaded dragon.”
She took a step further inside the gazebo, and spun around in a circle, arms lifted in the air, her laughter spilling through him. Loathe to spoil the moment, he eased onto the white-painted bench and watched her, enjoying her carefree attitude and the sense of freedom her movements displayed. Somehow, he doubted she had many unguarded moments lately, and he wanted her to know she was safe and protected with him at her side.
“Thank you for sharing this place with me.”
The smile accompanying her words had the breath catching in his chest. Even though he knew he needed to guard his heart, he had the feeling it was a lost cause. Too late, because he was falling hard for the beautiful redhead.
“You are most welcome, my lady.”
She took the few steps separating them, and eased down beside him on the wooden bench, and brushed her shoulder against his. It took every ounce of strength he had not to turn and pull her into his arms and whisk her away, someplace where he could protect her from anyone and everyone who’d wish her harm. But he didn’t.
“I guess it’s time.”
He gave a simple nod.
“I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start wherever it’s comfortable for you. You’ve told me a little about how you grew up, moving from home to home. What changed?”
“Everything.”
Renee glanced down at her hands, her fingers twisted together in her lap. Why was this so hard? Telling the truth shouldn’t cause her stomach to clench and her muscles to tighten to the point of agony. But telling the truth to Shiloh meant revealing all her deep, dark secrets. Exposing the ugly underbelly she’d been dragged into, had willingly participated in, without any smoke and mirrors. The raw truth sometimes wasn’t pretty, and hers definitely showed the worse for wear.
“You know a bit about my early years. A few of the families I stayed with were nice enough. Most of the time, they were in it to help kids. The added bonus of the checks coming in every month didn’t hurt, either. The homes where it wasn’t so nice—I don’t want to talk about, it brings back too many memories. Suffice it to say, I survived.”
“The sad part of all this is it should never have happened. You should have been here, living a good life, with a family who loved you. For that, my heart aches for the little girl you were.”
“It wasn’t all bad. I wasn’t beaten or hurt. School helped. I loved going to classes, learning new things. Books, especially, were my lifeline. My escape from a not-so-shiny existence into lands of wonder and excitement. I borrowed books from the school libraries; practically every day I had my nose in a book.” She stopped when she noted Shiloh silently laughing behind his hand. “What?”
“Remind me to introduce you to Camilla. I think you two are going to become fast friends.”
“Camilla?”
He nodded. “Camilla Stewart. She’s Heath’s fiancée, and she’s a writer. I think Nica said she writes something called romantic suspense, whatever that is.”
“Seriously? That would be awesome.” Internally, Renee did a little jig, thrilled she’d get to meet a real live author in person.
“They’re fixing to move back to Shiloh Springs in a few weeks. Heath works for the ATF in D.C. He’s transferring to the Austin office. Camilla said she can work just about anywhere that has an internet connection and Wi-Fi. Momma’s already lined up a rental place for them, for when they come and visit on the weekends.”
“I love that your family is close. You don’t know how rare that is. I’ve known people with family members who pretty much can’t stand each other. Always bickering and arguing. Being around the Boudreaus is like a breath of fresh air.”
“We have our moments. We’re only human. Fortunately, Momma and Dad have a way of keeping us grounded and focused on the things that are important. Like family.”
“Back on topic. I taught myself how to use the school’s computer, and searched every database I could, trying to find Lucas. That’s when I was told he’d died.”
“See, I don’t get that.” She understood Shiloh’s puzzlement, because she’d asked herself the same question over and over. “There should’ve been a pretty clear path to Lucas. Course, he wasn’t in the spotlight at that age, so not in the media. But there would still be records. Birth certificate, something. If he’d died, there would have been something in the newspaper, an obituary or announcement. You didn’t find anything?”
“There is a birth certificate. Even an intake form from when he was first taken into Child Protective Services.” She paused a second before adding. “There was no mention of me in his report, nor any other family.”
“That’s what we found. Looking for you, it was like an empty void. Any record of your existence was erased. Renee O’Malley had no registered birth certificate. We checked the pediatrician’s office records where Lucas went, and they didn’t have anything. I’ve got a good computer expert who works for my PI firm. He couldn’t find a trace, either. Destiny, a brilliant hacker who works for Ridge, conducted extensive searches of the dark web and couldn’t find anything related to Renee O’Malley. I’ve talked to neighbors of your parents from the time you were little. The few we were able to trace remembered Lucas, but didn’t remember the O’Malley’s having a baby girl.”
“How is that possible?”
Shiloh scratched the back of his head, and gave her a chagrined look. “It’s perplexing. Maybe once we know your whole story, we can figure out who wanted you to disappear.”
Renee gave him a tentative smile. “I guess I really can’t stall any longer.”
“Best to get it over with. Like ripping off a bandage. Painful at first, but it goes away quickly.”
She gave him an open-eyed stare. “You rip off the bandage? Just like that?” The way her shoulders shook, he knew she was biting back laughter, easing the tension of the moment.
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Only macho, he-man types. Ladies peel back the edges and work it off gently.” She laughed at his deliberately offended expression, and he grinned. Renee was turning out to have a wicked sense of humor, and he found himself drawn to her in ways it was difficult to explain. Sure, there was a physical attraction. She was a beautiful woman. But it was more than a simple chemical reaction of boy meets girl. He liked her intellect, her wit. Though reluctant, she hadn’t backed down when it would have been easier to simply run away again. Heck, if he was honest, he simply liked—her.
“We really do need to talk about who’s after you, Renee. Whatever it is, all of us will help. There’s nothing to be afraid of, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you might not be able to keep, Shiloh. Darius and Eileen have the money and the clout to do anything they want, without repercussions. They have powerful friends in high places.”
“As do the Boudreaus. Talk to me, sweetheart.” Shiloh took her hands in his, noting they felt like ice, though it wasn’t cold outside. “No more hiding. No more running. We’ll confront the bad guys together. You’re not alone anymore. You’ve got a whole family you can count on.”
“I thought I had a family before. Darius and Eileen were my family. Turns out I was nothing to them but a means to an end, a pawn.”
“Tell me. You have to talk to someone. It’s eating you alive, a little at a time. Brace yourself, and yank it off like the bandage. When you’re done, you’ll feel better.”
Renee stared into his eyes for the longest time, and he wondered if she’d back out, decide not to let them—him—help. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she nodded.
“You’re right. It’s time for it to end. I’ll tell you everything.”