Then one day, out of the blue, their attorney called them with the happy news—there was a two-week-old baby boy available for adoption. They’d dropped everything, right in the middle of calving season—one of the most critical times on a ranch—and flown to Miami to pick up their new son.
Life with them on the ranch had always been beyond happy and fulfilling for Boone, so he never gave much thought to his biological mother or father. As he got older, curiosity compelled him to learn more about them.
Worried about hurting his parents, he’d been hesitant to move forward. But in their typical, self-assured, no-nonsense way, they’d actually encouraged him and supported his decision wholeheartedly.
His folks seemed to understand his weird need to know more.
So, with their blessing, he’d hired a buddy of his from his old unit who’d become a private detective to see what he could find out.
He discovered Boone’s birth mother’s name was Claire Johnson. She’d dropped her married name after the divorce and had been living in Miami via Atlantic City and Vegas. According to people who knew her, she was a beautiful, immature,selfish dream-chaser who bounced from casino lounge to casino lounge, as often as she jumped from man to man.
One woman she’d worked with said that Boone was the unexpected and unwanted by-product of a one-night stand with some bouncer from one of the places she’d worked at back then. That was only two years after she’d abandoned her husband and little girl.
Claire died of cancer a few years after Boone was born, and the sperm donor, whose name was irrelevant by that point, was killed in some sort of fight.
For a lot of kids who’d been given up for adoption, finding out their lineage was less than stellar might be a bitter pill to swallow. Not for him. Clay and Evelyn Langston were an honorable, hardworking couple who treated him like he was their blood. They taught him the importance of hard work, dedication to something bigger than oneself, and that a man’s word was his bond.
The bonus in the whole thing was finding out he had an incredible older sister.
He’d shared what he learned about Claire with Calliope and, though she tried to hide it, he could tell it affected her. But in her usual way, she quickly shook it off and assured Boone she had a great life growing up in the swamps of southwest Florida, being loved to pieces by her dad and granddad.
Lucas later told him that she talked tough, like it was no big deal that Claire took off. The truth was, his sister had always wondered, way back in those dark parts of our minds that tend to mess with us, whethershewas the reason her mother abandoned them. Finding out Claire’s departure had nothing to dowith Calliope and everything to do with the woman being a selfish, immature party girl had lightened the emotional load his sister had been secretly carrying all those years.
“Boone, this is my granddad, Jacob Daniels.” Calliope smiled proudly up at the older man.
“It’s nice to meet you, son.” Jacob extended a gnarled hand.
“Thank you, sir.” Boone clasped his hand and was impressed by the strength of his grip. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” His skin was roughened by hard work, something Boone could appreciate.
“And this handsome devil is my dad, Gabriel Daniels.” His sister patted her dad’s forearm.
“Mr. Daniels.” Boone nodded and reached out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
“Please, call me Gabriel.” Her dad shook his hand and released it to drape his lean arm over his daughter’s shoulder. “Calliope’s talked so much about you, I feel like we’ve already met.”
“I feel the same way about you and Jacob.” Boone smiled.
“Hey, what did you expect?” Calliope said. “It’s not every day a person finds out they have a brother, especially one as badass as Boone.”
“Thatwasquite the surprise.” Gabriel chuckled.
“Yeah, you shoulda seen her face when she told us who was on the phone.” Jacob let loose a raspy laugh.
No matter how many of his sources Boone’s PI tapped into, he hadn’t been able to find a number or address for Calliope. Now, knowing what she did for a living and how protective OSIwas of their people, he understood why. Fortunately, his buddy was able to get the landline number for the Daniels’ place.
After about a week of stewing on whether to reach out to them or not, Boone finally manned up and made the call. His plan had been to leave his contact information and let Calliope decide if and when she wanted to reach out to him. He never expected her to actually be there visiting when he called.
He’d heard her voice and something about it had put him at ease, so he’d cut straight to the chase. He told her he was her brother and that he’d like to meet her, but only if she was interested. Once the initial shock wore off and her boss ran a background check on him, she’d happily agreed to meet him. The only stipulation was that Lucas had to be there.
Boone totally understood that demand. Trust wasn’t easily given by people in their business, especially when it came to someone they loved.
Not only had he gained a sister, but he’d gained a group of friends and an incredibly meaningful job that allowed him to utilize the skills he’d honed during his military career. A job that put him in the same sphere as the brilliant, tentative young woman with her arm still looped through his. A woman who made his guts burn with the need for her.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I’lladmit,Ihaven’twatched very much of it, but from what little I have seen, there are certain elements that are pretty accurate.” Boone was sharing his thoughts on how the showYellowstoneportrayed ranch life versus reality. “Most of the work they do with cows and horses on the show is pretty accurate. Like rotational grazing, that sort of thing.”
“Rotational grazing?” Luna was absolutely fascinated by the inside look into a way of life so vastly different from her own. She loved the passion in his voice whenever he spoke about the life he had growing up.
