Then there was the danger stalking him. Gracie had enough on her plate now with Brewster. Nick didn’t feel he could bring more uncertainty and chaos into her life. Somebody wanted him dead. If he got involved with Gracie, it would put a target on her back. Was that fair to her?
What he felt for her was new. Intense. It hadn’t progressed past the infancy state, and if he was smart he’d smother it before it had a chance to become something more. The feelings were there, things he’d never felt for another woman. He knew if he gave it half a chance, it could become something amazing. And he wanted that more than almost anything. To have the kind of epic love story he’d imagined when he was a kid, during the nights when he’d wake up in a cold sweat screaming. He’d rocked with his knees pulled up to his chest, huddled against the wall with the ragged, filthy blanket he’d stolen from the dog bed, and pictured the life he wanted.
A big white house with a front porch with a huge swing on the end. One of those kinds that looked like a big bed hanging from ropes, a soft mattress on top. Babies crawling across the porch, laughing and playing. Boys running around in the yard, their shouts filled with happiness and the kind of joy that came with youth and innocence. Little girls with long ponytails, coloring books, and dolls. Children who would never know what it was like to feel unloved or unwanted. Who didn’t have to wonder where their next meal was coming from, whether they’d go to bed hungry, or have to fight or steal to survive.
There’d be land, open and green and lush as far as the eye could see. A couple of black Labrador retrievers barking as they followed the boys across the front lawn. An orange tabby strutting around like it owned the place.
And always in the background, there was a woman. He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she was his. His heart. His soul. Someone who accepted him for who he was and didn’t see the horrible things he’d been forced to do, acts so despicable just thinking about them made him want to murder the people who’d done this to him. Butshemade everything right again. Made him feel ten feet tall and invincible.
He shook his head, bringing his thoughts back to the present and out of the pipe dream from his youth. After he’d been rescued from the hellhole he’d been tossed into after he’d been sold, he’d thought his life was over. Before long, he’d wished it was. Couldn’t count the number of times he’d wanted to end it. End the horrors he’d suffered, praying that the next day would never come.
He thanked God every day for Grant Calvin. He’d been the first face he’d seen when the compound he’d been held in was raided, the last of several because they moved the boys around frequently. Calvin had undone the manacle chaining him to the bedframe and handed him the key. Given him that symbol of hope, and he’d clutched it in his unwashed hand like it was a lifeline to paradise. He still had that key and wore it on a chain around his neck.
Pulling into the drive at the Boudreau ranch, he noted Ms. Patti’s white Escalade wasn’t parked in front of the house, but Douglas’ truck was. Might be a good thing, since he wanted to talk with Douglas and this might give him a chance to speak with him alone.
Stepping from the car, he started for the front of the house when he heard noise coming from the area of the barn. Looking over, he spotted Douglas standing outside the corral, watching Dane and another man he didn’t recognize working with a couple of horses. Crossing the space, he stood next to Douglas as Dane and the other man worked in tandem with one of the two horses. They worked seamlessly together, and it was obvious they’d done this many times before.
“New stock,” Douglas said, watching Dane ease a halter over the horse’s head. It was attached to a lead line. Dane whispered soft words to the animal, which snorted and pawed the ground several times while Dane gentled him to his touch.
“Beautiful animals.”
“They are. Bit feisty, but they’ll settle down once they’ve acclimated.” Douglas stepped back from the railing and faced him. “What brings you by?”
“Wondered if you might have a minute to talk? Got a couple of things I wanted to run past you.”
“No problem. Let’s head back to the house. Patricia left some fresh sweet tea before she left. Had to run into town. Some business with a house. I swear the woman never slows down.”
“Sounds like somebody else I know.”
Douglas let out a barking laugh. “Not anymore. Ever since I was in the hospital, the doctors said I had to learn to delegate or they’d make sure I was forced into retirement. Liam runs the construction company now for the most part, but I still keep him on his toes.”
“I can imagine. I have trouble seeing you ever really retiring. The man I remember was always up before the sun, taking care of ranch work before he headed to the construction site to put in a full day.”
Douglas opened the back door to the kitchen and led Nick inside. “Those days are past me now. I’ll always have a hand in some of the business’ operations, but the day-to-day stuff I leave up to Liam. He’s got a good crew and I trust them to carry Boudreau Construction into the next generation.”
Douglas handed Nick the glass he’d filled with ice and sweet tea, and pointed to the table. “Want anything else? Patricia left a pan of brownies cooling. She won’t mind if I share.”
“No, but thanks.” Nick pulled out his phone. “I want to show you something, get your opinion.”
“Of course.”
Nick pulled up the security footage of the B&B’s parking area, queued up the video, and handed the phone to Douglas. Watched a quizzical expression spread across his face, then he watched the video again, and finally a third time before handing the phone back.
“Somebody slash your tires?”
Nick nodded. “At the B&B. The owner has security cameras all around the place and caught this footage. Opinions?”
“My first thought was to wonder if this is connected with the shooting.”
“Mine too.”
Douglas scratched his chin before reaching for his tea and taking a long swallow. “My second thought is wondering what you did to that woman to tick her off enough to slash your tires.”
“So you think it’s a woman too?”
“Yeah. The way she moves, the physical build. It’s subtle. It’s possible that it could be a man, but my first instinct is it’s a woman. Got another question though.”
“What’s that?”
