Broken Shadows: Shadows Landing #5

by Kathleen Brooks

  Trent had shoved Skye behind him and now she was looking around him. “What do you want? It’s over and I never want to see you two again,” Skye shouted as Karri ran to her side.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” Jim called out to her. “I swear, I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”

  “You’re sorry? Sorry for trying to pimp me out to your buddy Tony? Sorry you forged my name on who knows how many contracts that you told me I had no choice but to fulfill? Sorry you used me solely as a way to make yourself rich? Then you sent goons after my lawyer and publicist? I could kill you right now!” Skye’s voice grew stronger as she stepped out from behind Trent to stand her ground.

  “The notes . . .” Lenny began.

  “Were torturous. How could you do that to me? You were just using fear to control me. Well, no more. Goodbye, Lenny. Goodbye, Jim. The next time you see me, I’ll be getting my award for best actress while you’re sitting at home watching it on TV—if you’re out of jail by then.”

  Skye spun and marched into the building where four large SA Tech security guards stood on each of the door watching the situation unfold. Aiden released Jim and Blythe followed suit. Blythe headed inside but Aiden stayed as the second SUV arrived carrying the legal team along with Morgan and Miles.

  “You’re ruining her life!” Lenny yelled at Trent as Jim got into the car.

  “You already tried to do that,” Trent told him. “I’m letting her live her life the way she wants. Something you weren’t brave or smart enough to do.”

  Trent was about to go inside when Lenny charged forward with his hand cocked back as if he were going to throw a punch. A quick shake of Trent’s head had Aiden holding still. Trent waited for the wild swing to come. When it did, Trent ducked.

  Trent rose up and threw one very strong cross. His fist connected with Lenny’s face and snapped his head back. SA Tech guards and Aiden moved forward.

  “You want us to call the cops?” one of the security guards asked as Miles leapt from the SUV with rage in his eyes.

  “No. Throw him in the back of his car and make sure they leave,” Trent ordered. Jim sat wide-eyed as the large guards shoved a dazed Lenny into the back of the town car and told them they were banned from the property.

  “You asshole,” Miles snarled and Trent was suddenly very confused. “I wanted to do that.”

  Aiden shook his head, but a small smile played on his lips before he and Trent hurried to the SUV to help Henry with the wheelchair for Olivia.

  “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?” Trent asked as he reached into the SUV and slid his arms around her. Moving carefully, he lifted her as if she were made of glass and placed her in the wheelchair.

  “I want to go home now that the trial is over. Ryker said I could catch a ride with y’all.” Olivia grimaced and then reached into her bag and pulled out a pill container.

  “Let’s get you home then,” Trent said, taking over pushing the wheelchair from Henry.

  Trent pushed Olivia to join everyone in the conference room. The assistant had popped some champagne. “What the hell?” The joyous room froze at Granger’s outburst. He pushed forward and glared down at Olivia. “What are you doing here? You overdid it today and you need to be back in the hospital.”

  “Calm down,” Ryker ordered. “She has a live-in nurse waiting for her in Charleston. She wants to go home.”

  “She can speak for herself,” Olivia scolded with a glare at both Granger and Ryker.

  “You’re on top of things,” Henry said, lifting his glass to her in a salute. “Would you like me to be one of them?”

  Olivia snorted, then groaned in pain. Granger cursed and rolled his eyes, Ryker’s lips twitched, and all was right in the world once again.

  The trip back to Shadows Landing didn’t seem as long since the fear of the unknown was gone. Instead, the atmosphere was one of celebration. Karri and Peter were celebrating moving their relationship into one that had them actually dating. They were already making plans to visit Syracuse and Seneca Falls to visit their families as well as arranging for their families to come to Shadows Landing in the future. Karri had already texted Harper and asked her to get a contract ready for their new joint venture.

  Granger had taken over as Skye’s Southern voice coach to help her prepare for her audition with Marie Lockend as they flew home. Ryker sat back and watched. Olivia had taken pain medication and was sound asleep.

  “So, I hear you’re looking at the Cramble property. Are we going to be neighbors?” Ryker asked Trent.

  “I think we might be. Now that the case is settled and Skye is ready to move forward with her life, I’m going to set up a time to go see the property with her. It’s fast, though,” Trent admitted.

  Ryker shrugged. “No faster than anyone else in the family. Great Aunt Marcy keeps threatening me that we fall hard and fast.”

  “Our sweet, very old aunt is threatening to Mr. Mysterious Millionaire?” Trent teased.

  “Billionaire. And she’s scary devious. I was thinking of hiring her for my next business negotiation. She comes in all sweet as apple pie and then you realize the apple pie is drugged and she’s the only one with the antidote. You end up doing whatever she tells you to and then you thank her for it.” Ryker gave a little shiver and Trent tried not to laugh.

  “Why don’t you tell us about all this business stuff you’re in? Do you think we’d care that you’re a billionaire or that you’re friends with Sebastian Abel and who knows who else?” Trent asked after a moment.

  “I wouldn’t say friends. I don’t have many of those. I have business acquaintances. I also don’t talk about my work because I don’t want people to know.” Ryker rested his ankle on the opposite knee and leaned back on the cargo plane’s old seat.

  “We’re not people, Ryker. We’re family and friends. Granger knows better than anyone what you went through. Not counting our cousins in Kentucky—” Trent was about to say more but Ryker went cold.

  “I am not talking about it. See, this is why I don’t say anything. Everyone wants to go back to high school. I’ve moved on. You also need to.”

  Okay, Trent had tried to be caring, but this tough exterior needed a sledgehammer. “Screw you, Ryker. Yes, you went through what you did, but who was by your side every single day?”

  Ryker snorted with faux amusement. “Not my parents.”

  “That’s right. Our parents couldn’t leave for Florida soon enough, but not Wade and me. We didn’t leave. Tinsley and Ridge didn’t leave. Gavin and Harper didn’t leave. Granger didn’t leave. Gator, Turtle, Skeeter, hell, no one from Shadows Landing left you. We were with you every single day, so cut the bullshit. Who are you and what have you become?” Trent was speaking through a clenched jaw so he could keep his voice down. This was between him and Ryker.

  “It’s funny. You don’t even see it,” Trent continued to say. “You were the sweetest, most caring guy until that night. The thing is, you still are. You did all of this for Skye and for me because I care for her. I know you helped the others out too. You help out anyone who needs it. Yet, you keep yourself distant from us. We love you and we want you back. All of you. And if that means no more connections and no more super-expensive speedboats or crashing in your guesthouse, fine. I think I can speak for the others when we say we want you back more than the stuff you bring with you. Let us be happy for you. Let us celebrate your accomplishments, Ryker. Trust us to love you no matter what.”

  Ryker didn’t speak and Trent hadn’t realized how badly he’d needed to say all of that. Trent reached over and clasped Ryker’s shoulder as he stood up. “I love you, cuz. Don’t ever doubt it. I have a feeling I’ll be needing a best man in the future.”

  Trent sidestepped his way out of the row and crossed the aisle to where Granger was rolling his eyes and Skye was laughing so hard her face had turned red.

  “I’m sorry, you’re one of my best friends, but your girlfriend can’t do a Southern
accent to save her life.” Granger tried to give Skye a disapproving glare but it only made her laugh harder.

  “I. Will. Get. It.” She managed to gasp between giggles. “Bless my heart!”

  Granger’s head snapped to look at her. “That wasn’t half bad. What did we do differently between you laughing nonstop and my teaching?”

  “Not your teaching, your colorful disapproval,” Skye said in her best Southern accent.

  “Well, you had one shining moment of glory and then it was gone,” Granger grumbled.

  Trent chuckled and knelt on the seat in front of Skye and looked over the back at them. “We could get her drunk. Every woman I know gets a strong Southern accent when they’ve been drinking, no matter where they’re from,” Trent said to Granger.

  Granger shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Although, to be fair, you’re only around Southern women when they get drunk.”

  “True, but it could be an experiment.”

  “Then let’s get her drunk as a skunk,” Granger agreed.

  “Drunk as a skunk,” Skye tried to drawl but really only emphasizing the K sound. Oh boy. This was going to take a while.

  “Stop thinking about it,” Ryker’s deep voice broke into their conversation. “When you try hard is when it sounds horrible. You have to find the natural music to your voice. The way it ebbs and flows and rounds out. You drop the harshness and then let it run free.”

  Trent wanted to lean over and hug his cousin, but Ryker wasn’t ready for that. However, it appeared that he was ready to take a step forward.

  Skye nodded and tried again. “Ebb and flow. Rounded edges to the words. Okay.” Skye began to hum a little and then looked up at Ryker, who was now standing in the aisle. “Druunk as a skuunk,” she said, taking off the harsh K sound and letting the U roll through her mouth.

  Ryker gave her a slight nod of approval and Granger stood up and pretended to bow to Ryker. Skye laughed and soon they were all feeding Skye lines from the movie script to practice. By the time they landed, Trent had felt a change in more than just his and Skye’s relationship, but in his and Ryker’s as well. It was time to enjoy the present and look forward to the future.

  26

  Skye didn’t look around the house or land as she and Trent toured Mrs. Cramble’s property. Instead, she watched Trent the entire time. She wanted to gauge his reaction to see what he really thought about it. They’d been home for two days and Skye had let Morgan handle the PR storm that the trial spawned while she got settled in Shadows Landing.

  Agent Shaw had told her while they couldn’t close the threatening letters case yet, they were confident that after Jim’s and Lenny’s upcoming interview with the FBI, they would be able to. Jim and Lenny had both escaped to their houses in the Hamptons to hide from the fallout. Of course, Skye owned the house Lenny was hiding in. She’d just never used it. It had been purchased as an investment and, as she was finding out, Lenny used it as his personal estate. Tomorrow morning he’d get a rude awakening courtesy of the private security teams Aiden Creed had arranged for her. They were going to all her properties and removing anyone and anything not belonging to Skye.

  Most of Jim’s female clients had left the agency. While they were signing with a new female agent on the scene, Skye was holding off for now. She had the Marie Lockend audition coming up and she was lobbying hard for a part in Gemma Davies’s newest film adaptation. Olivia was recuperating and still giving them hell from home. She’d insisted at looking over any contract Skye got between now and the time Skye got a new agent.

  But now all of Skye’s focus was on Trent and what he thought of the Cramble house.

  “This is fantastic. I haven’t been back here since I was a teenager and we’d sneak through yards to get home.”

  Skye felt the excitement bubbling up inside her. “So, it’ll work for what you need?”

  “It’ll more than work. I can open the back of the old detached garage and have a view of the river while I work. There’s even enough room to build a state-of-the-art warehouse to store the finished pieces and my wood.”

  Skye lost her battle to the bubbles and did a happy dance. “Great! I’m going to put down the deposit. Mrs. Cramble said she doesn’t have to sell right now, but this way at least I know it’s ours while still giving us time to get settled in Shadows Landing.”

  “We will put down the deposit and then we are going to make love all night,” Trent said, dipping his voice low so it rumbled through her. Trent reached for her and she happily went into his arms. She loved this man so much that every time he touched her, the rest of the world fell away and it was just the two of them.

  “That sounds divine, but it’ll have to be later tonight.”

  Trent stopped with the sexy eyes and blinked. “What do you mean, later?”

  “I have knitting club tonight!”

  Trent chuckled as he looked at her in his arms. “You’re very excited about knitting club.”

  “Mitzy is going to help me make something for you. Do you know Mitzy’s daughter-in-law, AKA Karen the She-Devil, told Mitzy that she’s worried that Mitzy can’t care for herself? Karen wants to move Mitzy into a retirement home that Mitzy would have to pay for so that She-Devil can move into Mitzy’s home!”

  Trent shook his head. “She’s a piece of work. We all tried to warn Mitzy’s son. What is Mitzy going to do?”

  Skye smiled and felt a smidge naughty. “I took care of it. Mitzy said her son and Satan’s bride are coming this weekend. That’s when they’ll be surprised to find Mitzy has live-in help in the form of a butler who happens to also be a retired registered nurse. I hired him and told Mitzy her insurance covers it. Don’t tell her I’m paying for it. But now I need to get to knitting club.”

  Skye rose up on her toes and kissed his lips. The kiss was supposed to be a quick goodbye kiss, but kissing Trent never went quickly. He elevated kissing to an art form and who was she to interrupt an artist?

  “I still can’t believe Ryker is opening his gates for knitting club,” Trent told her as he took her hand in his and walked out to the car. They’d moved back into Trent’s house yesterday, but one didn’t mess with the knitting club schedule so Skye pleaded with Ryker to let them hold it in the guesthouse. He’d been surprisingly quick to say yes.

  “I think he likes me. And I like him. There’s a lot going on underneath, but like Granger, there’s goodness in him too.”

  “They’re both good guys. Actually, since you all are knitting, Ryker invited a bunch of us to the main house for some drinks.”

  Trent opened the car door for her and she got in. Skye loved watching Trent walk around to his door. It was a moment where she could just ogle him and smile to herself that she got to be the one with him.

  “That sounds like fun,” she told him when he got into the car.

  The drive next door from Mrs. Cramble’s to Ryker’s guesthouse was quick. Edie was already waiting by the guesthouse with Ryker, both holding large baskets as Skye got out to greet them. “You’re early!”

  “I know. It was my week to bring the food and drinks. Ryker’s helping me carry it all inside,” Edie told her.

  “I still don’t know why you bother,” Ryker said, pushing the door open. “They’ll all bring something even if they’re not supposed to.”

  Edie shrugged as Skye and Trent each picked up a plate from Edie’s car. “I know, but I like giving them a little something to take home. This way everyone goes home with a full plate of food for the next day.”

  Ryker grunted but carried the large basket into the living room. As Skye and Edie worked on setting out the food and drinks, Ryker and Trent moved the furniture. At the first sign of headlights approaching in the dusky night, Ryker and Trent made their escape to the main house.

  “They’re good guys,” Edie said with a shake of her head as they watched the men literally ducking behind a large topiary to hide from arriving knitting club members.

  “What about you and Ryker?” Skye
gave a little wiggle of her eyebrows at her new friend.

  “I’m not ready. Besides, he’s like a brother. I haven’t been able to think of any man in that special way since I lost my Shane. I don’t know if I ever will,” Edie admitted and Skye wanted to hug her and do whatever she could to take that pain away. Sometimes it was karma, sometimes it was meeting the right man again, and sometimes it was just learning to love yourself and know you were a badass who could tackle the world head-on without anyone at your side but with love in your heart.

  “I understand. My grandmother was a war widow. She never remarried either. Just do you and do it with love, light, and laughter.”

  Edie turned to Skye as she took a deep, refreshing breath. “Thank you. I like the sound of that.”

  “You know, I’ve never been here before,” Miss Mitzy said as she came in carrying a plate of brownies and a bag full of yarn.

  Skye hugged her and the rest of the women as they joined everyone in the living room.

  “It’s so strange to have knitting club without Dare,” Miss Winnie said as she pulled out her erotic knitting. “I got used to seeing those boobies. Maybe I need to make myself a boobie scarf.”

  “You’d need extra yarn since they’d be at your knees,” Miss Ruby teased.

  Miss Winnie responded by making an obscene gesture with the penis potholder. Edie and Skye shared a shocked look and Miss Winnie clucked at them. “You young’uns know so little. You’re always so surprised when we don’t act like polite old ladies.”

  Miss Ruby nodded, having chosen to ignore the knitted penis gesture. “Darn tootin’, Win. I’m sure we’ve all done things that y’all could never imagine.”

  “And I’d love to hear every single story,” Skye told them, settling in as she worked with Mitzy on her surprise for Trent.

  The next twenty minutes flew by as they all talked and laughed. Skye was happy.

  “Sorry I’m late!” Karri rushed inside and pulled out her knitting. “I was meeting with Suze Bell to discuss the sale of the building next to Harper’s bar.”