Prologue
Beau Sturgess checked his shoulder wound and decided he’d give it one more day to heal before heading out to find his missing mother.Emma Rollins had pulled a disappearing act before, and other than her last known address, he had no idea where to begin searching for her.Yesterday, he’d been prepared to run off half-cocked.Now that he’d had time to think, it became obvious he needed a moment to deal with his shoulder, a plan, and preferably a vague idea of where to start the search.
Speaking of his mother, he decided to check his cell to see if she’d replied to one of his many texts on the off chance this situation was being blown out of proportion.
He fished the device out of his pocket and checked the screen.Nope.
Cassie, his half-brother’s fiancée, walked into the kitchen.The side of her mouth twitched when she smiled at him.“Morning,” she said.
Was she nervous about something?
“Good morning.”Beau appreciated that Cassie hadn’t treated him like an outsider from the get-go, like most of the others had.Did she know what it was like to be an outsider?An outcast?“What has you up so early?”
“Hudson and I are heading to Oklahoma.”His eyebrows must’ve shot up because she added, “I had a child and was forced to give him up for adoption.But I’ve never stopped missing him or wanting to find him.”The smile, the twitch, was back.“Now is my chance to meet him.”
Beau couldn’t help but smile back at the face that practically beamed.Now, he understood the nerves since she was meeting her kid.
“How old is he?”
“Fifteen years and a few months,” she said, her gaze shifting to the large bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table.“Wow, who do those belong to?”
He’d checked the name on the sealed card earlier.“You, apparently.”
“Me?”She genuinely seemed taken aback.
“Now, I want to know who they’re from.”He poured a cup of coffee and handed it over.“Black okay?”
“Good coffee doesn’t need anything else in it, right?”The question was rhetorical.She thanked him and took the offering before walking over to the table.She pulled the card and then opened it.A wide smile spread across her lips.“Do you remember the person who helped Nikki escape?”
Their sister-in-law had been abducted in an attempt to use her as bait to draw Cassie out.
“Someone named Enzo, she said,” he offered.
“That’s right.”She tapped the card on the table.“He sent these flowers to tell me that he would never have given up my secrets to Jarek, and that he’s proud of me for getting out.Said he found a way out, too, and took it.Then, he wished me luck and told me goodbye.”
“Good for him,” Beau said.
“Sometimes, the good guys really do win,” she said with an even bigger smile.“I never would’ve believed those words if you’d said them to me a few days ago.But now, here we are, living in our own version of a fairy tale on a beautiful ranch.The child I was pressured into giving up years ago wants to meet me.And the one deserving and decent person from my past is getting a second chance.”She shrugged before taking a sip of coffee.“I guess miracles really are possible.”
He hoped that was true.He might need one to locate his mother.“If you have any luck to spare, I could sure use some.”
“Your mother?”Kind green eyes stared at him with empathy.
Beau wasn’t used to it, but he liked the idea of having Cassie as a sister-in-law.It never hurt to have someone in your corner.Plus, Hudson was a good person.He deserved to find happiness with someone like her.
Beau’s cell buzzed.He fished it out of his pocket and checked the screen.
The text read:thr will b blood.
His jaw must’ve dropped because Cassie immediately asked, “Everything okay?”
He lifted his gaze, still in a state of disbelief.
“I know where she is.”
1
Ivy Calder tucked AirPods in her ears, checked her shoelaces to confirm they were tight enough, and then took off toward the west, away from the rising sun.A morning run would clear her head and, with any luck, give her answers.Her father was known to take off every once in a while and disappear.He’d turn up a couple of days, maybe a week later, looking like the cat dragged him in.Sometimes, he was still drunk and dehydrated.Other times, he’d casually walked through the front door like he’d gone out for a gallon of milk.
