“Why wouldn’t he tell me about this?” he finally asked. His form had been a rigid mass, all muscle and nerves. But as he slid the laptop away from him, rested his elbow on his knee, Trenton let out a sigh.
“If hewashiding, like you say, why not tell me once I got older? It doesn’t make any sense that he’d keep it from me.”
Andie considered that. “The report said they thought he was linked to the people who killed him. That he had a criminal past, in fact, that involved that particular drug ring. If they killed his only surviving family, he’d probably feel responsible for that, don’t you think?” Andie had been thinking out loud as she went, but it made sense.
Trenton nodded. “Yes, that could be right. Maybe he figured I’d be angry or something. Or that I’d blame him.” He glanced back at the coffee table where his phone rested and snatched it off the table. “There’s one way to find out.” He scrolled his thumb across the screen, tapped a few keys, then swiped and tapped once more.
“Who are you calling?” Andie asked as he lifted it to his ear.
“Milt’s lawyer. He gave me the clue. We summed it up as best we could. Least he can do is fill in the blanks.”
To her surprise, the man picked up on the first ring. Also surprising was his willingness to answer Trenton’s lingering questions after reading the articles. Trenton put the device on speaker so she could hear, too, as the man completed the picture of what took place.
Milton had left the deadly gang he’d once been a part of, something very few dared even attempt. Convinced he could remain hidden from them, he set off to clean up his act and start a new life. He hadn’t told anyone about his only surviving family—a younger brother who lived in Missouri—except his closest friend who was also part of the crime ring and hoping to escape.
Worried the friend might retaliate by seeking him out, Milton traveled from Las Vegas to Missouri quickly and carefully. Switching from buses to taxis, leaving everything behind. But tragically, he arrived on the heels of the killers. Killers who likely hadn’t known there was a sleeping baby in the other room.
The lawyer had urged Milt to tell Trenton, but he refused, saying he planned to take the secret to his grave.
Andie stayed by Trenton’s side as the details unfolded, massaging his hand one moment, kissing his palm the next, and assuring him with her gentle touch that none of this changed who he was. And that, as disturbing as the truth of his past was, he could work through it and eventually, leave his past where it belonged.
* * *
A deep gasp tore from Trenton’s throat as he awoke from sleep, images of his terrifying nightmare clinging to his conscious mind. He rubbed his face, wishing he could erase them.Just a dream, he assured himself.
But the pounding ache in his heart, the case of sweat coating his skin, reminded Trenton that his nightmare was a replay of his past. The events from his sleep—the brutal murder of his parents—weren’tjust a dream at all. They were a cruel reality. One Milton had kept from him.
A soft stir of movement drew Trenton’s attention to where Andie lay on the floor beside him. The fire had long ago died out, but the two had stayed in place—him curled around her form while she fisted the quilt he’d pulled off the couch.
A quick glance at his phone said it was just after three in the morning. Hopefully no one was paying attention to when Trenton brought Andie back to her cabin; this wouldn’t look too good. Not that they’d planned it. And not that they’d done anything to merit any gossip. He glanced down at her, his eyes adjusting to the pale moonlight, and had the sudden urge to curl up to her once more. He wasn’t tired by any means, just…anxious to be in the comfort of her arms again. To hear her voice, feel her touch, take in her assurance that everything was going to be all right.
But even amidst the recollection of her soothing ways, images from his nightmare seeped back in. Bright red and filled with terror.No,he pled, clenching his eyes shut against them.Please, God, send something to make them stop.
At once he was on his feet and heading toward the front door. The fresh air would help wake him up. He was halfway out the door when he stopped short, spun back around, and hurried to cover Andie with a second blanket. In the process, the backs of his fingers grazed the warm curve of her shoulder. The simple touch made him crave her comfort all the more.
Trenton straightened up and let his gaze linger over her pretty profile. A dark fringe of lashes, the cute slope of her nose, and cheeks that felt like some sort of heavenly silk. A simple thought came to mind. Or maybe it was an answer.She could help the nightmares stop.
Trenton considered that as he made his way outside and lifted his eyes to the skies. His parents were, in fact, dead. And now the man who’d raised him was too. A man who never even had kids of his own. A man who lived his whole life thinking Trenton would hate him if he knew the truth.
That knowledge was a dagger of its own. One that sunk deeper than all the others. Trenton was never given the chance to tell Milt that he loved him just the same. That everyone made mistakes. Heck, he’d abandoned the life he knew, changed everything clear down to his name to give Trenton a chance.
Tears pricked his eyes as he considered the man’s secret pain. The guilt he must have carried all those years. “You should have told me,” he mumbled before lifting his gaze once more. “I don’tblameyou for what happened.”
He fought the quiver of his chin as the tears won out, praying the man could hear his words somehow. “I don’t even blame you for not telling me,” he added. “Though I wish you would have. You did your best, and I’m grateful for it.”
“Trenton?”The frantic tone in Andie’s voice sent a shock through him. “Trenton?” she came again as he hurried across the porch.
“Right here, babe,” he rasped as he yanked open the screen door.
“Oh, you scared me,” she hissed, hurrying across the room toward the entryway where she threw herself into his arms. “I was worried something happened to you.”
Trenton propped the screen door with his foot as he tightened his arms around her. “Like what?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“Like…the people from that drug ring came back and found you somehow.”
He sucked in a breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her as she curled into his chest. After a deep sigh, Trenton cradled Andie’s face in his hands, encouraging her to look up at him. “That’s never going to happen. Milton made sure of it.”
Andie nodded. “You’re right. He did.”
