Mo focused on Cal, then on the rest of the room. Everyone was staring at him. Everyone except Eliza was frowning.
Eliza giggled. “Uncle Mo! Daddy had to call you five times!”
He cleared his throat. “Sorry, doodlebug. I was lost in my thoughts.” He sent a quick wink at Eliza before he focused on Cal. “What did I miss?”
Cal gave him a look that said, “You and I are going to talk later.” But what came out of his mouth was, “Are you ready to head over to Beep’s office?”
“Meredith and I will stay here and clean up,” Landry offered. “Eliza too. Y’all go on and do what you need to do.” She gave Eliza a bright smile. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s clean Aunt Bronwyn’s kitchen before we go home.”
Bronwyn immediately protested, but Meredith and Landry put up a united front.
As their discussion continued, Mo caught Cal’s eye, and he stepped closer to him. “She doesn’t want Eliza over there. Neither do I. If Meredith goes, Eliza will want to go. Gray and Donovan will meet us over there. That’s going to be too many people in the office.” He dropped his voice to a bare whisper. “Also, I think Landry and Meredith want to talk about Bronwyn.”
“They need to back off.” Mo was tired of people messing with his life. And Bronwyn was probably tired of it too.
“They can’t. And they won’t.”
“They could.”
“They aren’t wired that way. They show their love by fixing things.”
“Some things don’t need to be fixed.”
Bronwyn stalked toward them, shaking her head in clear frustration. “Let’s go before Landry goes into labor while doing my dishes. Wouldn’t that be awesome.”
Ten
Twenty Years Earlier
Bronwyn checked her watch.
Mo was late.
She scanned the trail that led into the forest, then turned back to the book she was pretending to read. She was on The Haven property, but since Mo had shown her how to get to her house from Catherine’s Falls, they’d figured out a way for Mo to sneak onto her family property, then skirt the side and into The Haven grounds.
It was a security failure, to be sure. But she wasn’t about to say anything. And it wasn’t like anyone from the public could access the path from Quinn land. Quinn land was almost as protected as Pierce land.
Except, apparently, at the border.
“Excuse me, miss.”
Bronwyn dropped her book as the voice pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up into a face that was ... interesting. And one she recognized immediately. Corbin Driscoll.
Her parents had been giddy when he’d first come to The Haven a few years ago. He was a regular now, and while every guest atThe Haven was a VIP, something about this man put everyone on their best behavior.
He knelt and picked up her book. “My apologies, Bronwyn.”
“You know my name?” The question popped out before she could stop it.
He winked. “I make it a point to know all the important people wherever I go.”
“I’m not important.”
He glanced over her shoulder, then leaned closer. “Something tells me you’re important to that young man lingering in the trees.” Another wink, and he walked away without a backward glance.
Bronwyn clutched her book to her chest as he left, and when Mo joined her a minute later, her mind was still reeling.
“Who was that?”
