Everyone returned to their conversations, excluding her again. She didn’t care about remodeling or houses or Abby’s restaurant. Even Josh focused on Kaden and fishing.
Would dinner never end? Please, Mother; I want to come home. Convince Father to let me out of purgatory.
COURTNEY’S FLASHING BLUE eyes haunted Kaden as he headed up the Carleton House stairs to his room. She was a beautiful woman, but she knew it. Her moves were choreographed down to each flip of her hair. Was there anything interesting behind her stunning jewel-like eyes?
Kaden tugged off his shirt and threw it into the closet, then patted his full stomach. He couldn’t remember eating a better meal. No wonder his granddad raved about Abby’s cooking and hospitality. The Fitzgeralds were great. They’d invited him, a stranger, to a family dinner.
The sisters and their partners had all visited his granddad. Every day someone brought him food, flowers or company.
How did Courtney fit in? It was obvious she and Gray were related, but she had that uppity Boston accent he’d heard only when training at Quantico.
He slid open his phone and called Roger, updating him on his conversation with Nathan.
“So Forester hasn’t seen Bole since she left her kid two months ago?” Roger asked. “That’s hard to believe.”
“I believe it. The woman let her daughter come to a gun battle.”
“But two months without seeing her kid.” Roger rattled the ice in his glass, probably bourbon at this time of night.
“We never thought she was a devoted mother.” Kaden pulled a water bottle from the fridge in his suite.
“What if you stayed near the B and B? Heather has to come back sometime. If you’re there, you could grab her.”
“I’m here for my granddad.”
“I thought he was doing well,” Roger said.
“He is, but broken hips are dangerous.”
“I’ve met your grandfather. He doesn’t act like a seventy-five-year-old.”
“He stills needs to heal.” Kaden opened the French doors and stood on the balcony, staring down at the courtyard. The scent of flowers and growing plants filled the humid night. If he could smell the ocean, he’d be home.
“You have plenty of vacation available, but both you and Heather’s kid are staying at the B and B.” Roger exhaled. “Maybe you can do both.”
“What about Margaret?” Kaden asked.
“This is our case. My ex doesn’t need to know you’re there until we make an arrest.”
Kaden took a deep breath. It was their case. He wanted to keep Issy safe. Not by being her bodyguard, but by locking up her mother. “You know I don’t...work well with kids.”
Silence filled the line. “Losing the Malcolm twins wasn’t your fault. It was a kidnapping.”
Kaden closed his eyes, but it didn’t stop the bloody crime scene photos of the little boys from filling his head. If he’d made the money drop sooner, linked the gardener faster, maybe the twins would still be alive. “I don’t want to be responsible for a child’s life.”
“Then think about this assignment as finding the mother. It’s Bole we want.”
Bole. Did his need to get her off the street outweigh his fear that children got hurt under his watch?
“This keeps you on the team,” Roger said.
He gripped the railing. “Is that a threat?”
“I need all the man power I can muster to clear drugs off the street.” Roger didn’t expand on his threat.
Kaden punched the pillar. He was not getting booted from the task force. No way.
“I’ll talk to my grandfather.”
* * *
COURTNEY TOOK ANOTHER SIP, but her prosecco had gone flat. “Mother, you have to get Father to relent.”
“Courtney, he just discovered your car was repaired before you left for Savannah.”
“It’s those stupid gates.” She headed deeper into the garden. “Can’t you suggest he have them moved farther apart?”
“No one else has trouble with the gates.” Her mother’s voice was more stern than normal.
Courtney scuffed her toes along the stone walk. “That doesn’t mean they’re not a problem. But this time I swerved for an animal.”
“Courtney.” There was a scolding tone in her mother’s voice.
“It’s the truth. An animal jumped out and I swerved.”
“Of course.” Her mother sighed. “I think you should stick with your plan and work for your brother. Your father isn’t budging.”
“Tell Daddy I’m sorry about the car. I’ll watch for animals and be more careful turning the corner.” But she wasn’t going to commit to working for her brother. By escaping to Savannah, she was buying herself time. That was it. “I’ll call tomorrow. Please work on Daddy.”
“It’s best if I let the issue rest. Besides, he’s traveling for the next few days.”
“A few days? But I want to come home.” What was she supposed to do in the meantime? “He’s not coming to Savannah, is he?”
“He’s heading to Toronto and then Montreal.”
“Good.” She didn’t want Father and Gray comparing notes. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Think about the direction of your life. Think about what makes you happy,” Mother said, before saying goodbye.
Happy? The direction of her life? Ever since Father had practically ignored her getting on the high-school honor roll, her life had been circular. She’d worked so hard to make straight As. Dear old Dad had dismissed her accomplishments. Even when she’d set out to prove she was as smart as her brother, he’d scoffed at her dean’s list accomplishment and then crowed about Gray’s summa cum laude.
She tugged on her curls. The only praise he’d ever given her had been for her looks. Right after college she’d tried modeling, but the agency had suggested she lose ten pounds. Not going to happen.
She sank onto a bench. Laughter floated from a Fitzgerald House balcony. The fountain splashed. A cricket chirped near Carleton House and something scurried through the bushes.
Shouldn’t these sounds be soothing? Instead, they highlighted how alone she was. Mother wanted her to find direction? She didn’t want to think that deeply. She just wanted to go home.
What made her happy? Coloring with the kids had made her happy. Chatting with Josh at dinner had made her happy. Did that mean she wanted to be a mother?
She shook her head. At twenty-six she was too young to think about having children. And the idea of marriage... She rolled her shoulders, but couldn’t get rid of the itch at the base of her neck.
There wasn’t a man she’d dated longer than a month or two. No one held her attention. Most groveled too much, or were more interested in getting close to her father or Gray. Some only wanted her as arm candy.
She tapped her nail against the bench. But not Kaden Farrell. He’d barely glanced at her all through dinner. That never happened.
Kaden’s dimple had only appeared when he’d talked about fishing and his grandfather.