Gage (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #16)

Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A fter sleeping like a baby when she got back to the Boudreau ranch, Suzanna rose bright and early to the smell of bacon cooking. Rushing through a quick shower and brushing her teeth, she put her hair up into a bun on the back of her neck, dressed in a faded denim skirt and an emerald green top and headed downstairs, stopping short when she found Gage standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Good morning,” she managed to stutter out, feeling heat rush into her cheeks, remembering how she’d fantasized about him the day before. Her dreams during the night had been filled with him, too. Passionate, not safe for work-type dreams, where she’d been a willing participant. More than willing, actually, she’d been aggressive and enjoyed every single second of the dream and wished it could be reality.

“Morning, Suzanna. Hope you slept well.”

“I did. Last night was fun. I’ve never done a Girls Night Out before.”

“Glad you’re making new friends. Ms. Patti loves those women, which makes them okay in my book.”

And I bet you’ve thoroughly and completely run background checks on each and every one of them, vetting them to make sure they pass muster to be part of your precious Boudreau family.

“I had a message from Elizabeth Blackthorn when I woke up this morning. Apparently Donald told her that we stopped by. She wants me to call her, and if I’m in town she wants to do lunch or dinner.”

“I hadn’t planned on driving back to Dallas after what happened yesterday. The rental place is supposed to deliver a new car this morning. If you want to meet with her, we can head that way.”

“Lemme talk with her. She might simply want to touch base since she wasn’t home when we stopped by. Maybe Donald made a big deal about our visit.”

“Or maybe she wants to pump you for information to pass along to her husband. She might be an innocent of her husband’s machinations, but she may also be involved up to her eyeballs.”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “Elizabeth isn’t involved with Dawkins, Inc. in any way. She’s told me many times that she insists Donald leave work at the office, and once he’s home he’s not allowed to talk about business. I can’t see her involved in any way in Steven’s death.”

“Make the call. See what she says. And see if you can find out what her husband told her about our visit. Whether he seems upset or angry. Somebody put the tracker on our vehicle yesterday. It wasn’t there before that, because I checked. I’m thorough and I know how to do my job well. Bas also checked yesterday morning, before we left. I bet if I asked Ranger, he’d tell me he checked the car too.”

“Have I told you how much I appreciate you’re helping me? I know you’re only doing it because Brandon asked you to, but it means a lot that you believed me when I said I didn’t kill Steven.”

“Breakfast, everybody. Come and get it.” Ms. Patti’s voice floated in from the kitchen, causing Gage to smile. It was obvious he adored the woman. Not that she blamed him, Ms. Patti was pretty amazing.

Walking beside him into the kitchen, they found Douglas already seated, and Nica placing a platter of pancakes onto the middle of the table, joining the bacon Suzanna had smelled earlier. There were also scrambled eggs and hash browns, real maple syrup, and a bowl of berries. Her stomach was already growling and she hadn’t even realized she was hungry.

Ms. Patti took off the apron covering her business suit, and walked up, giving Suzanna a hug and Gage a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You’re not staying?” Gage grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips. “You did all the work, you should enjoy the spoils.”

“Nope, I have to head to the office this morning. I’ve got a sick realtor and two meetings with new clients. Before you know it, Shiloh Springs is going to be as big as Austin.”

“Can I saw I hope not? This town is pretty perfect the way it is, and I don’t want to see too much change.”

“I agree,” Suzanna added. “Shiloh Springs seems to be a wonderful place, at least what I’ve seen of it so far. I can see why you’d choose to live here.”

“I’ve lived here since Douglas and I got married. His family lived here before that, so there have been Boudreaus around here for a long time.”

“Oh, I thought the Boudreaus were originally from New Orleans.”

Ms. Patti smiled. “No, Hank, Douglas, and Gator—Etienne is his given name—were all raised here. Before he shipped out to Vietnam, Gator moved to New Orleans. He always had an affinity with the water and loved the bayous. Hank moved out to West Texas, worked in the oilfields before getting his own property. Douglas stayed here and took over running the family’s ranch.”

Bas and Ranger ambled down the stairs and into the kitchen, stopping long enough on their way to give Ms. Patti a quick kiss on the cheek, and mumble their good mornings. They quickly made their way to the table and found their seats, digging into the bounty provided.

“Want me to drive you to the office, darlin’?” Douglas stood and walked into the entryway, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist.

“That’s okay, you stay here. I think Liam’s planning to drop by. He mentioned he wanted to go over a couple of things with you. Something about blueprints and an unexpected addition. I’ll be fine.”

“You drive careful, woman. Call me if you need anything.” Douglas leaned down and kissed his wife, the love and passion evident in his kiss. Suzanna felt her cheeks heat up when the kiss went on. This was no simple peck, it was a man showing his woman that she was loved and cherished and desired. And wasn’t it wonderful to see how much love the couple shared after all their years together.

When he finally released her, Ms. Patti looked flustered and mussed for the first time since Suzanna had met her. She always had every hair in place, and not a single wrinkle in her clothes. Yet when her husband embraced her, she didn’t seem to care about anything but him and his love.

She found herself envious, imaging having somebody adore her as much as Douglas obviously adored Ms. Patti. What they shared was rare. She could only imagine finding that with one man, a single soul would call to her, their spirits resonating together. To have somebody to share her life with, her body with, would be the most amazing thing in the whole world. Unrepentantly, her eyes sought out Gage, and found him watching the couple too, an almost yearning desire on his face.

“I’ve gotta go or I’m going to be late.” Smoothing down her clothing, and patting her blonde hair, she gave a tender smile to Douglas before picking up her briefcase and walking out the front door. Douglas blew out a long breath, looked at Gage and then Suzanna, before turning and heading back into the kitchen.

“Wow,” she whispered, before smiling at Gage. “That was something else.”

“Indeed. Nobody else in the world like those two.” Gage lightly placed his hand in the small of her back, guiding her to the kitchen and pulled out her chair. He then slid onto the one beside her.

Before she took a single bite, her phone rang.

“Sorry.” Looking down at the caller ID, she noted it was from Elizabeth Blackthorn. “I need to take this.”

Leaving the table, she ventured out onto the front porch, sliding to accept the call.

“Hi, Elizabeth. I saw your message and was going to call you this morning.”

“Suzanna, I’m glad I caught you. Donald said you came by yesterday with two men. He said one of them was a bodyguard. I don’t understand, why do you need a bodyguard? Has something happened?”

“Several things have happened, really, but I have a bodyguard because somebody tried to kidnap me.”

“What?” Elizabeth’s screech had her pulling the phone away from her ear. “You were almost kidnapped. When did this happen?”

“A few days ago. I was in New Orleans—”

“New Orleans? What in the world were you doing in New Orleans?”

Strange question, she thought, considering they were talking about her being almost snatched right out of her hotel room. But then again Elizabeth didn’t know any of that.

“I went to New Orleans to meet someone. That’s not important. I was in my hotel room, getting ready to head out for some breakfast. When I opened the door, somebody barreled their way inside and threatened me. Demanded money. Of course, I didn’t have any cash on me. I was lucky. My…friend…happened to stop by, bringing me breakfast and was able to catch the man before he hurt me. Elizabeth, it was awful. He tried to shoot me.”

Suzanna heard the loud gasp on the line. “Shoot you? Oh, good grief, you might have been killed. I guess that explains the bodyguard. But there were two men with you, that’s what Donald told me. Who was the other man?”

“Gage Newsome. He works for the government, but he’s helping me in an unofficial way. He’s going to help prove that I didn’t kill Steven.”

“Of course you didn’t kill Steven. I can’t believe the police haven’t caught the person who did murder your husband. Anybody who knows you could tell them you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Right now, if Suzanna could get her hands on the person who viciously murdered Steven in cold blood, she’d be happy to unleash her berserker side. Sometimes she wondered if they’d ever catch the real killer.

“It might help if the police were looking for the real killer instead of thinking I murdered my own husband. If Detective Jansen had his way, I’d already be behind bars awaiting trial. Better yet, he’d expect a confession. Elizabeth, the evidence against me, it’s piling up and there are no other suspects. I’m afraid they are going to blame me.”

“That will never happen. There isn’t a jury anywhere that would convict you. Everybody knows you were devoted to Steven, and he adored you. To think for even a minute that you’d do some so…so heinous, it’s preposterous.” She waited for a moment before adding, “You know, Donald said you were asking about Sandoval Enterprises. Wasn’t that the company Donald and Steven were planning on doing business with? Moving microchips or something. You know I can never remember the stuff they talk about for work.”

For some reason Elizabeth’s laugh sounded exaggerated and phony, almost forced. Shaking her head, she let it slide. Maybe she was under a lot of stress. After all, her husband had taken on shouldering all the responsibility for Dawkins, Inc., since Steven’s death. That had to be a massive amount of strain on their relationship.

“Yes, Sandoval Enterprises was going to do security courier work for Dawkins, Inc. There was a problem, though, and the contract had to be canceled.”

“Well, you know I don’t pay much attention to everything at the company, that’s Donald’s bailiwick. I much prefer spending my day dealing with the foundation’s charity work.”

She remembered Elizabeth worked for a charitable organization centered in New York City with a branch office in Dallas. One that helped pregnant teens and unwed mothers get medical care and housing. They would also help with connecting the teens with a reputable adoption agency if they decided not to keep their babies.

“I bet you’re busy with their big gala event. That’s happening soon, isn’t it?”

“Less than three weeks ago. Everything is crazy busy, but it’s an organized chaos.” She paused for a moment and Suzanna could hear paper rustling, and guessed Elizabeth was flipping through the pages of her day planner. Old school, she refused to give up writing things down instead of keeping them on her phone or tablet. Steven had loved to tease her about pulling her into the twenty-first century, since her husband worked in the tech industry.

“Suzanna, I know you were just in Dallas yesterday, but I wondered if you planned to be back here any time soon? I’d really like to sit down and talk with you about a few things, if you can make the time.”

“Oh, I’m not sure. I hadn’t thought to be back there unless the police needed to talk with me.”

“Where are you? I know you mentioned New Orleans. Have you gone back there?”

“Actually, I’m still in Texas. A little town called Shiloh Springs. It’s a lovely place, beautiful countryside, and the people are so wonderfully friendly. I’m staying with a family who owns one of the larger ranches here. It’s a family that Gage knows…”

“Gage? One of the men you mentioned who was with you yesterday when you visited Donald?”

“Yes. Elizabeth, if you need me, you know I’m there for you.”

She heard what sounded like a muffled sob, before Elizabeth came back on the line. “I think Donald is going to ask me for a divorce. I can’t be one hundred percent positive, but I think he’s cheating on me—with his assistant.”

Suzanna pictured Donald’s assistant, Cheryl, having seen her the day prior. She remembered a tall woman with olive complexion and dark hair, impeccably dressed. Her brow wrinkled as she tried to remember if she’d seen any kind of connection or attraction between the two, but couldn’t remember anything that triggered in her head. In fact, Cheryl had been almost invisible for most of the meeting, hovering in the background. And she couldn’t imagine Donald having an affair. He didn’t seem the type, but then again she didn’t have a lot of experience with cheating husbands. Steven had been loyal and faithful, to his memory of Mary and to her.

“I can’t believe it. Are you sure?”

She heard sniffling. “I can’t be sure of anything anymore. But he’s changed. Always working late or taking long lunches whenever I try to reach him. He’s distant and he’s taken to staying up all night in the library instead of coming to our bed. What else can I think?”

“Have you tried talking to him about it? Maybe there’s a logical explanation.”

“I can’t. How do I ask my husband if he’s having an affair? You know me, Suzanna, I’m not good with confrontations. That’s why I was hoping you’d be back in Dallas. I need somebody to talk to, to see if I’m making too much of this. Building things out of proportion when it might be nothing.”

“Tell you what, Elizabeth, let me see if I can be in town tomorrow. Maybe we can have a lunch meeting, and if what you suspect is true, I’ll be there if you want to talk to Donald. How’s that?”

“Suzanna, you are a true friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Let me make a few arrangements here. I’ll have to bring one of my bodyguards, but they’re very good at their jobs and you won’t even know they’re there.”

After a second’s pause, Elizabeth said, “That’s fine. I still can’t wrap my head around somebody trying to kidnap you. This world is getting to be a crazy place. You don’t know who you can trust, or who’s out to get you, do you?”

“True. Okay, I’ve gotta run. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much it means, knowing that you’re there for me.”

Finishing the call, she headed back to the kitchen. “Sorry for the interruption. That was Elizabeth Blackthorn. Donald told her about our visit yesterday. She wanted to know if we could meet. I told her I could be back in Dallas tomorrow and could meet her for lunch.”

“You know that’s not a good idea. Especially after we know somebody put a tracker on the car and then tried to run us off the interstate.”

“Which is precisely why I’m going to do it. We know they’ll be looking for us, but we can be ready. Use me as bait, draw whoever it is out. We need to find out who killed Steven. I’m tired of being hounded by the police, by the reporters and paparazzi. I want my life back.”

“Might work,” Ranger muttered softly, grabbing another biscuit off the plate.

“I don’t like it. Suzanna’s already at the top of the cops suspect list. Going to see Donald Blackthorn yesterday was simply poking the bear to see if we got a rise out of him. What’s to say the killer simply sits outside the restaurant and when she leaves, takes her out with a kill shot? The investigation stops, because the main suspect is dead. Dawkins’ will finishes probate uncontested, and the whole thing blows over, because I doubt anybody would catch Suzanna’s shooter. Case over—but she’s still dead.” Gage stood and walked over to stare out the kitchen window.

Suzanna watched him closely, but couldn’t read the emotions crossing his face. His body was stiff, like he was trying to hold everything inside. Standing, she walked over and took his hand.

“Come on, let’s take a walk. I think we should talk.”

Without a word, he followed her through the house and outside. Stopping on the porch, she looked out across the verdant green law lush and spreading out toward the front of the property. Not knowing which way to go, but deciding they needed some privacy, and still holding his hand, she headed toward the Boudreau’s barn.

“Why are we going to the barn?”

“A couple of reasons. First off, we need to talk. Secondly, I wanted to meet Otto. I heard many tales about the fearsome beast from Jamie, and promised her I’d tell him hello.”

“Otto? You mean the donkey? You do know he bites.” Gage’s voice was filled with humor, which was exactly why she’d mentioned the donkey. She’d wanted to lift his spirits, because she’d been the one to suggest going to Dallas again tomorrow. Not that she was changing her mind; she was going, she simply wanted him to understand why.

“He’s not going to bite me.”

They walked side by side toward the barn, the open fenced off paddock empty at the moment. She suddenly realized she was still holding his hand. When she tried to let go, he squeezed it gently, keeping it wrapped in his, and she acquiesced, letting him hold it.

“I love this place.” Gage’s words seemed to come out of nowhere as he rested his forearms against the wood of the paddock, his eyes scanning the dusty enclosure. “The ranch, the town, there’s really nothing unique or special about them, yet to a kid who’d lost everything it was like being granted access to magic.”

“I heard you lived here a long time ago.”

“I did. For far too short a time, but it made an indelible memory. I’ve never forgotten how Douglas would let me work with the horses, or help Ms. Patti in her vegetable garden. We were all assigned chores, and I was a lousy, rotten brat. You wouldn’t believe the trouble I’d cause, simply because I could.”

She smiled. “I bet you were a handful.”

“You how they say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Story of my life.”

“Tell me.” Though she said the words impulsively, she meant it. She desperately wanted to know everything about Gage. Find out what made him the man he was, what made him tick.

“It’s not a pretty story.” The gruff edge in his voice made her want to know even more.

“It’s part of who you are, and if you’re willing to talk, I’m willing to listen. And I think being here, back where you’ve got good memories, might be the best place to tell me.”

“It started with murder.”