by Kathy Ivan
Serena leaned forward, inhaling the subtle scent of her mother’s perfume. It was the same one she’d worn when Serena was little, and it evoked memories of happier times when she was young. “What happens now? Where will you go?”
“I’ll have to stick around, be available to the feds for a while. After? I don’t know. I hope you’ll want to see me.” Her words trailed off, more a question than a statement.
“Of course I want to see you. You’re my mom.” Serena put her arms around her mother, hugged her, and sighed when her mother wrapped her arms around Serena, squeezing her back. “You can come to Shiloh Springs. It’s a lovely town, and I know there are some people who’ll want to meet you.”
“More Boudreaus?” her mother quipped.
Serena laughed before replying. “Oh, yeah, more Boudreaus.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EPILOGUE
Brody leaned against the wooden pole of the pergola, and watched the assembled group around him. The weather was beautiful, the sun shining down on the happy couple. The family had invited practically the whole town to celebrate Rafe and Tessa’s engagement. He wasn’t surprised Rafe popped the question. His brother had been head-over-heels over the redheaded schoolteacher from the moment she’d moved to Shiloh Springs. Theirs had been more or less a whirlwind courtship, fraught with danger and intrigue, but true love prevailed in the end. His big brother was getting the happily ever after he deserved.
His mind wandered back to his job, where it seemed to be most of the time anymore. The fire department was down a couple of men, one with a broken right leg and right arm, and another from a concussion. He needed every able-bodied man, because somebody was intentionally starting fires around Shiloh Springs. So far, things had been contained, though after the last one, he suspected arson. No one had been injured in the first blaze, though a few of the buildings had major property damage. If it continued, he’d have to call in an arson investigator from either Austin or Dallas, because so far he hadn’t been able to piece together the few clues he had to point to a suspect. But he wasn’t giving up. He knew he needed to move fast, get a handle on things before somebody ended up hurt—or worse—in the blazes being set.
He shook himself free from thoughts of work and straightened, watching Rafe and Tessa, Rafe’s arm around Tessa’s waist. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on work. This was a party, festivities for the happy couple, with dancing, food and family. The food part was over, and now the party was ramping up. A local band played country music in the background. A few couples filled the center of the wooden deck, swaying to the music. Rafe and Tessa, Dad and Momma, even the Fergusons were out on the dance floor, though they barely moved, simply holding each other in their arms. Off to the side, he watched Antonio tug Serena into his arms, her face alight with laughter.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his brother so happy. He’d taken the long road to get there, and it had been a bumpy trip, but like Rafe and Tessa, they’d made it out to the other side. Antonio was moving back home, which made his dad and momma happier than he’d seen them in a long time.
“Rafe and Tessa, they’re so happy, they practically glow.”
Brody slid his arm around his little sister’s shoulders. Nica had arrived that afternoon, making it home from college. She’d claimed she couldn’t believe her brother was getting engaged, and wanted to see for herself before she’d believe it.
“They are happy. Antonio got word this morning Big Jim Berkley’s appeal won’t happen, and he’s pleading guilty to a laundry list of additional charges, including the murder of Senator Wellsley. Serena is finally safe.”
Nica wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I missed out on everything. Who knew Serena wasn’t even Serena? I’m stuck at school while everybody else gets to have all the fun.”
“Listen, shrimp, I wouldn’t call being in witness protection and then having to be on the run, being hunted by your own family, having fun.”
“Well, not that part, obviously. I meant the falling in love part. Momma said watching Antonio and Serena dance around each other for the last year has been like watching a soap opera. Add in the feds, car crashes, death threats, a long-lost mother reappearing, and it sounds more like a movie of the week, but whatever.”
“It all worked out in the end. I wouldn’t be surprised if Antonio doesn’t pop the question soon. Nothing would make Momma happier. She’d get another new daughter-in-law and keep her working at Boudreau Realty.”
“Wow, you’re such a romantic, Brody. Not. I’m going to head over and grab a piece of cake. Want anything?”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “Nope. I’m good.”
Staring up at him, she whispered, “Yes, you are. Don’t ever forget it. Love ya!”
He watched her practically skip over to the dessert table, where a huge engagement cake provided by Jill Monroe, Tessa’s best friend, sat in the middle. Even he had to admit it was a work of art in cake form. Jill had some serious chops when it came to baking, and it tasted even better than it looked.
A trill of laughter drew his gaze, and his lips quirked up when he spotted Jamie, Beth’s little girl. Beth and Jamie came back for Tessa’s engagement party, having gone home to North Carolina not long ago. The lower half of Jamie’s face was covered with frosting, and Beth chuckled while using a napkin to clean it off her wiggling daughter. Beth’s blonde hair was pulled up, leaving her cheekbones and neckline exposed, and she looked beautiful in a soft lavender one-shoulder dress. She was beautiful. An earth goddess with a heart-stopping smile.
Too bad she was off limits.
Thank you for reading Antonio, Book #2 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series. I hope you enjoyed Antonio and Serena’s story. Want to find out more about Brody Boudreau and the excitement and adventure he’s about to plunge headfirst into? Keep reading for an excerpt from his book, Brody, Book #3 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood. Available at all major e-book and print vendors.
Brody (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series) © Kathy Ivan
After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, any thoughts of actual sleep disappeared. Brody headed to the kitchen, and reached for the coffee pot, pouring a cup. Strong and black, just the way he liked it. Standing in the open back doorway, he stared out at the sweeping panorama of the Boudreau ranch. He loved the old place, felt the connection deep in his soul, and if circumstances were different, he’d probably choose to live here permanently. Work with the horses and the cattle and been happy. But he was compelled, some might even call it obsessed, to work with fire. Saving people, saving buildings, it was a calling he couldn’t ignore.
Finishing his coffee, he spotted his father walking toward the barn, his stride purposeful, his ever-present cowboy hat pulled low over his brow. The sight evoked a memory from early days, when he’d first come to live at the Big House. While Douglas owned and ran a large and extremely successful construction company, he was as much a part of the working ranch as the dirt beneath his boots. He’d lost count of the times he’d seen the man working alongside the ranch hands, setting posts and mending fences, doing his fair share to keep their homestead running.
Douglas Boudreau held a special place in Brody’s heart, had from the day he’d met him. Bigger than life, tall and strong, to a small eight-year-old boy the mountain of a man engendered an imposing and intimidating sight, yet he’d learned quickly Douglas Boudreau was one of the gentlest men Brody ever met. With a heart as big as Texas, Douglas and Ms. Patti welcomed him into their home and into their hearts, with an ease he found remarkable to this day. He couldn’t put into words the special place in his heart these two remarkable people held, helping him bridge the painful gap of heartbreak and loss at a tender age. Some days he could feel Ms. Patti’s loving arms wrapped around him while he’d mourned, sharing his grief, his young mind unable to accept the devastating loss and changes, the yawning despair threatening to swallow him whole.
Shaking his head, he rinsed his cup, put it in the dishwasher, and headed out to the barn. Maybe a little strenuous exercise might help clear his head, make sense of the jumbled thoughts rolling around inside his brain.
While he’d tried in vain to sleep, all he’d thought about, fantasized about, was Beth Stewart. Beautiful, headstrong, and independent, she’d moved halfway across the country to make a clean break with painful memories and a messy divorce. She was making a new life for her and her daughter in a new town under strained and stressful circumstances. Though she’d been welcomed as part of the Boudreau family, he didn’t feel anything close to familial about the feisty woman who kept him fantasizing about a future which could never be.
When Brody walked into the barn, Douglas sat atop a wooden stool hold a bridle, studying it with the same intensity he did everything else. The worn leather looked tiny within his father’s big, work-roughened hands. His dad looked up when Brody walked in, his face a study of lines and angles, tanned from working outdoors his entire life. Years in the military as an Army Ranger trained and disciplined him into a strong man, one with a compassionate heart and an easy smile. Hands toughened and scarred from construction work, as well as daily life on the ranch, their touch could yield a gentleness belied by his size, or a swat to a backside when deserved.
“Morning, son. Heard you had a tough night.”
“That it was, Dad. Blaze at the Summers’ Place. A bad one. Thankfully, we caught it in time before it spread too far.”
“It’s a shame, place lying abandoned like that. It’s a good piece of property. Any idea what caused it?”
Brody hesitated, not wanting to make any unfounded assumptions, but his father knew the lay of the land when it came to things happening in and around Shiloh Springs. He’d spent most of his adult life here after leaving the military, and was well respected by everyone in their small community. He also had a good head on his shoulders when it came to people. Soft spoken and not given to saying much, when he did offer his opinion, people listened. Douglas sometimes reminded him of a throwback to a different time, when a man’s word meant something. His father was a fair man, one who he trusted implicitly, and knew whatever he told Douglas would be kept between them.
“I don’t have any proof yet, but I think the fire was deliberately set.”
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BOOKS BY KATHY IVAN
www.kathyivan.com/books.html
TEXAS BOUDREAU BROTHERHOOD
Rafe
Antonio
Brody
NEW ORLEANS CONNECTION SERIES
Desperate Choices
Connor’s Gamble
Relentless Pursuit
Ultimate Betrayal
Keeping Secrets
Sex, Lies and Apple Pies
Deadly Justice
Wicked Obsession
Hidden Agenda
Spies Like Us
Fatal Intentions
New Orleans Connection Series Box Set: Books 1-3
New Orleans Connection Series Box Set: Books 4-7
CAJUN CONNECTION SERIES
Saving Sarah
Saving Savannah
Saving Stephanie
Guarding Gabi
LOVIN’ LAS VEGAS SERIES
It Happened In Vegas
Crazy Vegas Love
Marriage, Vegas Style
A Virgin In Vegas
Vegas, Baby!
Yours For The Holidays
Match Made In Vegas
One Night In Vegas
Last Chance In Vegas
Lovin’ Las Vegas (box set books 1-3)
OTHER BOOKS BY KATHY IVAN
Second Chances (Destiny’s Desire Book #1)
Losing Cassie (Destiny’s Desire Book #2)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA TODAY Bestselling author Kathy Ivan spent most of her life with her nose between the pages of a book. It didn’t matter if the book was a paranormal romance, romantic suspense, action and adventure thrillers, sweet & spicy, or a sexy novella. Kathy turned her obsession with reading into the next logical step, writing.
Her books transport you to the sultry splendor of the French Quarter in New Orleans in her award-winning romantic suspense, or to Las Vegas in her contemporary romantic comedies. Kathy’s new romantic suspense series features, Texas Boudreau Brotherhood, features alpha heroes in small town Texas. Gotta love those cowboys!
Kathy tells stories people can’t get enough of; reuniting old loves, betrayal of trust, finding kidnapped children, psychics and sometimes even a ghost or two. But one thing they all have in common – love and a happily ever after).
More about Kathy and her books can be found at
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