Hidden Fates (Hidden Heroes #4)

Chapter 15

Reese woke the next morning with a smile. There were several text messages from her new friends asking if she was free to meet at Madigan’s on Friday for a girl’s night. Just the idea of hanging out and being herself with these incredible women felt like such a treat. They had accepted her so easily, and even opened up to her about their own paranormal abilities. She was still shell shocked by what they could do, and how brave they were telling her about it after having literally just met her. Reese had spent most of her life trying to hide her ability and not activate it so she didn’t look and feel like a freak in public.

Reese’s phone dinged with another text message pulling her out of her thoughts, but just as she went to answer all her waiting messages, she heard a sound coming from the kitchen, and remembered it was only Sunday. Garrett was home today.

Smiling, she sent off a text message to let the women know she’d love to hang out with them on Friday, then leaped out of bed, took a quick shower and dressed for the day.

“I was thinking we could have a breakfast picnic on the dock today,” Garrett said, closing the refrigerator door as she came into the kitchen.

“Sounds great. What can I do to help?”

“I think I have everything,” he said, stopping to take her in. Her hair was still damp from the shower, and she’d only put on sunscreen and a little lip gloss, but judging by Garrett’s wide grin, he didn’t seem to mind her au natural look. “Come on,” he said, before lowering his head and touching his lips to her mouth. Oh, this was definitely a good morning. Her tongue came out and licked at his top lip, eliciting a low growl in his throat as he deepened the kiss. His arms snaked around her waist, and her hands went to his neck and shoulders. She was pressed up against him, feeling every inch of his much harder, toned body, and suddenly all thoughts of coffee, food, heck, the whole rest of the world, just faded away.

He broke the kiss with a soft smile, keeping his lips a breath away from hers. “You look radiant. How are you feeling today?”

Heady and completely off kilter after that kiss, but Reese simply said, “ready to spend the day with you.”

Garrett’s grin grew wider. “Let’s get out of here before I change my mind about breakfast and decide to keep you inside all day.”

Reese smiled. “You’re such a tease.”

“I’m dead serious, but you’re still healing, and I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“I’m feeling pretty good today, actually.”

Garrett sighed. “Food first. Come on.”

She groaned, not even bothering to hide how much she wanted this man. Even dressed in a simple t-shirt and cargo shorts, this man was lethal in all the best ways. And being around him wasn’t just easy, it felt natural. She didn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, nor did she feel the need to hide who she really was. He never made her feel like she was weird or awkward. If anything, he took her limitation of not making eye contact in stride, like it was no big deal. No one had ever done that for her, and the feeling was rather addictive.

He threw a blanket down at the end of the dock, and helped Reese sit, before coming to sit next to her. She’d enjoyed many mornings out here alone before her kidnapping, but being here with Garrett made it feel all the more special. With her coffee mug in hand, Reese’s senses danced to the sound of birds chirping in the trees and the lapping of water against the dock.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” Garrett said, taking her hand in his. “That night you were taken; I should’ve been here.”

Reese hated that he was still blaming himself. “It wasn’t your fault. Another Texas Ranger needed you, and whoever took me had obviously planned it out. They would’ve waited until you weren’t here. The only thing they couldn’t have counted on was that gadget you gave me. It saved me, Garrett. You saved me.”

Garrett shook his head. “I know siblings don’t always get along, and my sister and I aren’t that close, but I still can’t imagine doing anything to hurt her.”

Reese sighed. “Russell wasn’t always like this. He got mixed up with the wrong crowd in high school, but he wasn’t a bad kid. He just had a lot of energy and he was so smart. He didn’t always apply himself the way my mom and his dad would’ve wanted him to, but I don’t think either one of them would recognize the man he’s become.”

“Were you two close as kids?” Garrett asked.

Reese shrugged. “Not really, but his room was right next door to mine. We shared a wall for almost five years, and while that doesn’t sound like much -”

“It’s long enough,” Garrett assured her.

“Mom always insisted we eat dinner together as a family. He’d tease me about my clothes or something he overheard me say to my friends on the phone. Sometimes he was mean, but I just assumed it was typical older brother stuff, I guess. He used to tell the best jokes. I don’t even know where he’d get them from, but by the end of the meal, we’d all have tears streaming down our faces from laughing so much.”

Garrett gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Loving him doesn’t make you a bad person and caring about him doesn’t take away from who you are.”

Reese's eyes burned with tears, and not just at the sentiment of Garrett’s words, but the harsh truth of just how much she’d been hating herself for loving a brother that so obviously didn’t love her. “This whole time, I had no idea what Russell wanted with me. Now it all makes sense. Poor Molly. I don’t even know who he is anymore. Killing a woman in cold blood. Stalking and kidnapping Orly. Committing me to a psychiatric hospital. I can’t imagine how he could possibly get away with all this.”

“He won’t,” Garrett said. “My friends and I will make sure of that.” Reese nodded, not knowing what to say. Russell deserved whatever punishment the law saw fit to hand out to him, but she hated thinking about him like that, even if she had every right to. Russell had already taken so much from her. She didn’t want to spend another minute thinking about the past or what could’ve been.

It was time to take back her life.