Fortune's Family Secrets

by Karen Rose Smith

  Only one way to find out. But when he checked the screen, he saw the caller had a blocked number. In the past he’d worked with confidential informants who had blocked numbers and burner phones. Back then it hadn’t been that unusual. But now...

  Needing a distraction, he decided to answer. “Tremont here.”

  “I understand you’re looking for information on the Robinson family.”

  Nash didn’t recognize the voice. And just who could know he was looking for information? He immediately distrusted whoever was calling. “What makes you think that?”

  “I have connections,” the male voice said. “But if you want the info I have, you have to meet with me.”

  “I suppose you have a meeting place picked out?”

  “No, I don’t. That’s up to you.”

  That took Nash aback. Usually when someone like this anonymous source wanted to meet, they decided where the meeting was held.

  Was he even going to this meeting? He was going nowhere fast enough on his own. Maybe this was the source he needed.

  It was too early to meet at a bar, but Nash didn’t want this meeting to wait. “There’s a restaurant that serves great pancakes and strong coffee. How about meeting me at Dusty’s Diner in an hour.” He rattled off the address.

  “That doesn’t give me much time,” the man said.

  “Why do you need time if you’re just going to give me information?”

  “All right. I’ll meet you in an hour at Dusty’s Diner. I know what you look like.”

  “I’ll be carrying,” Nash said. His service weapon was locked in the glove compartment of his SUV, but maybe this was the time to take it out. After all, he knew many people in Austin had concealed handgun permits.

  “Not necessary,” the man on the other end of the line protested.

  “We’ll see about that. An hour. Don’t be late.” Nash ended the call.

  He didn’t know if he was doing the smart thing or a foolish thing, but he might as well get to Dusty’s early and have eggs and coffee before his informant met him. He might not have the stomach for it afterward.

  An hour later Nash had eaten eggs, toast and drunk two cups of coffee when a man in a suit walked through the door. Nash sat perfectly still in the rear booth. This guy looked out of place in the diner. Could he actually be Nash’s informant? Nash felt the weight of his gun under his jacket. He knew from experience that you could never just go by looks.

  The stranger walked toward him. The thing was, he looked familiar. Nash had checked out so many photos of the Fortunes and the Robinsons that he supposed he could have seen this man’s picture somewhere.

  The man stood at Nash’s table and just stared at him. Then he extended his hand. “I’m Ben Fortune Robinson.”

  That surprised Nash.

  The man didn’t sit. He stood beside the table and said, “My family has connections all over Austin. There’s no way you could inquire too deeply into the Robinsons without us finding out. Why didn’t you just call one of us and meet with the family in person if you have questions? It would have been so much easier and it’s what we’ve wanted all along.”

  “I’m not sure I want it easy,” Nash said. “I didn’t expect anything about this to be easy. The kind of information I’m looking for isn’t the kind the family would want to give me.” He kept a hard edge to his tone so Ben Robinson knew he was serious.

  Ben turned to look out the window and motioned to someone, putting Nash on guard.

  “Calling in reinforcements?” Nash asked.

  “I don’t need reinforcements, but you might.”

  At first Nash felt outnumbered when a man in a charcoal suit came through the diner’s glass door, but he knew he could take both men down if he had to.

  As the other stranger approached, Nash’s glare must have been strong enough and hard enough that both of them understood what Nash was thinking. They both raised their hands at the same time and opened their suit jackets so Nash could see they had no weapons.

  The newcomer extended his hand to Nash. “I’m Keaton Whitfield, one of Gerald Robinson’s illegitimate children,” he said in a slight English accent. “For some reason, this feels like a Grade B movie.”

  Nash relaxed a bit, studying the two men as they sat in the booth across from him.

  The waitress came over, and Ben and Keaton ordered coffee. She brought it and then left again.

  Ben looked Nash in the eye. “We know what you must think about Gerald Robinson leaving your mom high and dry.”

  So they had done their homework, Nash thought. Still he kept silent, letting them fill it.

  “We’re not bad people, no matter what you’ve heard about Gerald,” Keaton added.

  “Does Gerald know I’m in town?” Nash asked.

  Ben shook his head. “No. While you were going about your investigation incognito, you obviously wanted to keep your distance. We didn’t want to blindside you, but we want you to consider something. We are your half brothers.”

  Nash sighed. Of course they’d play that card. “You think that means anything?” he asked.

  Ben frowned. “It could. What exactly do you want to know?”

  “First of all, I want to keep my identity under wraps,” Nash insisted.

  “You don’t want anyone to know you’re a Fortune?” Keaton surmised.

  “I’m not a Fortune,” Nash protested adamantly. “I’m a Tremont.”

  Ben and Keaton exchanged a look. “We understand where you’re coming from,” Keaton said. “We’ve been there.”

  During the next fifteen minutes, Nash tried to determine if Ben and Keaton knew he was investigating Charlotte Robinson. They didn’t seem to. So his secret was safe, though he didn’t know for how long. At any time, these two men could tell Gerald he was in town, not to mention Charlotte. Charlotte was the Robinson he wanted to nail.

  After about fifteen minutes of Nash asking questions, and Ben and Keaton answering, he realized these two men actually seemed like good guys. Could he deny getting to know his half brothers? Especially if they were on the up-and-up?

  Nash addressed Keaton. “Lucie Fortune Chesterfield Parker connected you with Ben, didn’t she? I saw that somewhere.”

  “She did,” Keaton answered easily. “Lucie’s a doll. We just happened to know each other in England. I designed a house for one of her mother’s friends and Lucie and I ran into each other at a few parties. When Ben asked for an introduction to me, she didn’t hesitate. She’s like that.”

  Nash remembered reading that Ben Fortune Robinson had married a woman named Ella Thomas. He didn’t know much about Keaton Whitfield.

  Ben took a business card from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and passed it over to Nash. “I have the feeling you haven’t asked us the questions you really want to ask. You’re looking for something and we might be able to help you.”

  Keaton passed his card to Nash, too. “You can call either one of us at any time. We do want to help. We are related and the truth is, a detective in the family wouldn’t be a bad thing.” Keaton’s eyes actually had some amusement in them.

  Nash wished he could be amused. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, picking up the cards and inserting them into his jacket pocket.

  Keaton laid some bills on the table. “Call us. If Gerald does happen to find out you’re in town—and that won’t happen through us—we’ll let you know.”

  “I’m only going to be in town another week or so.”

  Ben said, “We’re glad we met you. We hope you’re glad you met us.”

  At that, both men exited the booth and left the restaurant.

  Nash watched them go, not sure what to do next.

  * * *

  Cassie was putting the final touches of decorations on Renata’s cake when Nash returned to the bed-and-breakfast late morning. He
looked agitated, she thought. After a slight nod her way, he went to the coffee urn and poured himself a mug.

  She was studying his face when he looked up at her and shook his head. “I probably don’t need more caffeine in addition to everything else,” he said, putting down the mug.

  Finishing off the cake, she put it into the refrigerator, then she joined Nash.

  “Is something wrong?”

  He looked pensive for a moment before he said, “It’s complicated.” His expression became closed.

  So conversation wasn’t what he wanted right now. She murmured, “Sorry for prying again,” and started walking down the hall to her room. But she didn’t even get halfway there.

  Nash strode after her, caught her arm and stopped her. “Cassie, this doesn’t have anything to do with you and me. It has to do with the Fortunes and the Robinsons.”

  She looked him straight in the eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  After studying her a good long time, he nodded. She motioned toward her bedroom. Why not? It wasn’t as if the bed was going to tempt them any more than it had before.

  After they sat on the love seat together, Nash took off his Stetson and laid it on a nearby table. Then he rubbed his hands down over his face.

  “Nash, what happened?”

  “I got an anonymous call this morning. A man said he had information on the Robinsons for me, or the Fortunes. However you want to look at it. He wouldn’t give me his name and he set up a meeting. I picked the place. I waited at Dusty’s Diner.”

  She knew the spot where breakfasts were cheap.

  “It turns out the man was Ben Fortune Robinson. Then he introduced Keaton Whitfield, too. Both of them are my half brothers.”

  Cassie knew a small gasp escaped her. “How did that go?”

  “Ben said he called anonymously because he didn’t think I’d meet him if I knew who he was. He’s probably right.” Nash related the main parts of their conversation.

  Cassie summed it up. “So you met two of your half brothers but you didn’t tell them why you’re really here.”

  He must have sensed disapproval in her tone because he turned away from her, studied the wall and said tersely, “I don’t owe them or Gerald Robinson anything. If my biological father’s wife is a criminal, she deserves to be arrested and brought to trial. I can’t take a chance in telling either Ben or Keaton the truth. They could reveal it to Gerald or Charlotte. Both could try to wipe away any evidence.”

  Easily seeing his point, Cassie said, “Nash, I’m not judging you.”

  He turned to look at her once more, and she hoped the only thing on her face was the caring she felt for him. He must have seen that because he took her hand and rubbed his thumb against hers. Even that slight touch made Cassie want to be held in his arms again. But as he said, this wasn’t about them.

  She squeezed his hand so he knew she was sympathetic to what he’d said. But then she explained what she was thinking. “I’m just wondering if you realize how many bridges you’ll be burning in pursuing Charlotte. What if you change your mind in a little while and you want to get to know your dad?”

  “I won’t want that,” Nash insisted.

  “If that’s true, then why do you seem so upset?”

  It took Nash long moments to answer. “Maybe because it’s possible that Ben and Keaton are just caught up in this whole thing like I am, only in a different way. Besides that, I’m just angry that I’m going to have to approach this case from a different angle now. It’s quite possible that either Ben or Keaton have a PI on me to keep up with what I’m doing while I’m here.”

  “An investigator on the investigator,” she murmured.

  “I don’t know if they would do that, but they don’t know me any more than I know them.”

  “You liked them, didn’t you?”

  “If my judgment wasn’t clouded by how personally involved I am in this, I’d say they both seemed like upright guys. Everything about their backgrounds points in that direction, too. Another time in another place, we might even have been friends.”

  “It’s all right if you feel something toward your half brothers...even toward your father. Can’t you realize that?”

  He blew out a long breath. “The only thing I’m realizing right now, is how much I’m beginning to care for you.”

  At that admission, Cassie wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. But that hug soon became much more as Nash bent his head and kissed her. Whereas they’d been talking about the Robinsons and the Fortunes and Nash had declared his upset had nothing to do with him and Cassie, the silent conversation between them suddenly changed. No longer was this about the Fortunes and the Robinsons. The kiss was about her and Nash—and only her and Nash.

  His lips were hot and she returned their fire. His tongue was rough and she returned his need. Somehow he released passion she never knew she possessed. Somehow he was making her dream beyond the present. He cupped her face while he kissed her and every moment of that was sensual, too.

  He broke away to insinuate his fingers underneath the hem of her top. “I dreamed of doing this again,” he said.

  Of doing this again, she repeated in her mind. What was this? Did that mean he was falling for her the same way she was falling for him? Did it mean they were about to give more than their bodies to each other, but their trust, too? Could she really do that?

  Fortunately, his actions made her forget everything else. He was lifting her top up and over her head, and she cooperated because she’d dreamed of making love to him again. That was how she thought of it.

  It wasn’t long before she was naked before him. The odd thing was, she didn’t feel self-conscious. She felt proud that he was looking at her as if she were one of those cinnamon rolls he liked so much. His eyes devoured her and her anticipation grew. For some reason, she realized she had to be his equal. She couldn’t just stand by and be a passive participant. Not in this.

  Reaching out, she took hold of his belt buckle and unfastened it. A look of surprise crossed his face.

  He asked, “Do you want help?”

  “I’ve got it,” she said confidently.

  “Yes, you do,” he agreed, and she felt as if he’d just told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  All was quiet in the house. She didn’t even hear the creak of a floorboard or the tinkling of water from a spigot.

  “I want to tell you something,” she said, as she unzipped his fly.

  “Something important?” he asked, his voice obviously strained.

  “I don’t know if it’s important to you, but it is important to me. I’ve never had an orgasm before last night.”

  His eyes came open. Gruffly he took her hands in his and said, “That’s it. I’m taking off the rest of my clothes.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t mind doing it for you.”

  “If you do it for me, we’re not going to have a reason to get into that bed.”

  A few minutes later, he was naked, too, and they were both in bed, tight against each other. He pushed her hair away from her face and let his fingers linger in it. “You know, last night was the first I’ve been in a single bed since I was a kid.”

  “How does it feel?” she asked, reaching for his chest, running her fingers lightly over his nipple.

  He groaned. “Right now I feel like I’ve landed in my idea of heaven.”

  He kissed the soft spot behind her ear, kissed the pulse point at her throat and slowly made his way to her breasts. He raised his head to see her reaction and smiled. “Your cheeks are pink.”

  “That’s because I’m hot all over.”

  He bent his head again and murmured, “The nice thing about a single bed is that it keeps you close.”

  He was making her crazy with need. She wanted to do the same to him. Reaching bet
ween them, she stroked his thigh. “How close do you want to get?”

  “This close,” he said, rubbing against her so she knew exactly how much he wanted her.

  They kissed as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. Maybe because they knew they had a time limit, maybe because the clock was ticking until the day he left for Biloxi. As she touched him more intimately, he kissed her harder. Suddenly Nash pulled her on top of him. She straddled his legs and looked down at him gazing up at her.

  He said, “We’ll have a little more freedom this way.”

  Freedom was a funny word. She felt free to be sensual with Nash, sexual in a way she hadn’t been with anyone else ever before. Yet she didn’t feel the freedom to tell him the truth about her life.

  She stopped thinking about it when he said, “You set the pace. I want to make sure you have your second orgasm, and maybe even a third.”

  She was past ready to find satisfaction, and she imagined he was, too. Slowly she raised herself up and then took him in. He gripped her buttocks and groaned with pleasure. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. Soon each moment was all about giving and receiving, sharing and loving. She welcomed him deeper and the expression on his face told her he was experiencing what she was.

  As they were both caught in a tornado that swirled them toward satisfaction, Cassie didn’t want this moment to end. She trembled as each new sensation electrified her. She felt his hands, which were holding her waist, grip her tighter. The buildup of pleasurable tension suddenly unwound in glorious sensations that skittered through her nerve endings, making her weak. Then to her surprise Nash moved inside of her again and then again, and her second orgasm made her gasp. She collapsed on top of him and he wrapped his arms around her. His heart was beating fast against hers.

  When she could finally breathe almost normally again, she told him, “That was incredible.”

  “I told you there’d be a number two,” he said with a grin.

  She’d never felt closer to another human being, and she didn’t know how to tell him that.

  After more time just holding each other, Nash reminded her, “We didn’t have that conversation we were going to have.”