Blaze a Trail (The Flanagan Sisters, #3)

by Claire Boston

  “So what will happen?”

  “I don’t know yet. Carly’s booked flights for that evening, but the gang might not let Manuela and Johanna celebrate alone. I’m guessing because Teresa escaped, they’ll keep a close guard, so we’ll have to plan it carefully.”

  David glanced at her. “Don’t you mean Fernando will be planning it?”

  “Yes, but we’re offering suggestions and can provide finance if it’s needed.” As much as she’d like to go to El Salvador and help Teresa’s family escape, she realized it was far too dangerous, and not necessary. Fernando had the expertise and knew the area.

  They pulled up at a hotel that screamed first class, from its suited valet waiting patiently to take David’s car keys, to the doorman waiting at the entrance. The driveway was framed with huge ornate pillars. Suddenly, Zita remembered why they were here. She was meeting David’s family.

  Nerves stormed her stomach and she laid a hand over her belly to settle them. The valet opened her car door and Zita forced herself to get out. She thanked the man and waited for David to give him the keys.

  David smiled at her and took her hand. “Ready?”

  She nodded, though she didn’t think she was. “You do high tea every month?”

  “Yeah. Mom loves it, and Lorelei comes when she can.”

  As they walked into the restaurant, the maître d’ walked up to them. “Welcome Mr. Randall. Your table is over here.”

  Wow. They knew David by sight.

  The table they were led to already had two occupants. Both had blond hair and blue eyes like David, and both were slim and elegant, dressed in pastel skirt suits. Zita was the odd one out in her bright blue top and white skirt.

  “David, how lovely to see you.” The older woman stood and kissed both of David’s cheeks.

  “Mom, this is my girlfriend, Zita.”

  “It’s a pleasure.”

  Zita smiled as she shook the woman’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Randall.”

  “Call me Fay. Mrs. Randall is my mother-in-law.” She shuddered delicately.

  Zita grinned as her tension evaporated. She liked the woman already.

  “Zita, this is my sister, Lorelei.”

  “I love your top,” Lorelei said. “That color looks fantastic on you.”

  “Thank you.” Zita took a seat.

  The waiter arrived to take their drinks order and when he left, Fay said, “How did you meet my David?”

  “At a symposium.”

  “Zita’s sister is Carolina Flanagan,” David told them. “She was speaking at the event.”

  “Oh, I met Carolina at a fundraiser last year,” Lorelei said.

  Zita was curious about David’s sister. She guessed Lorelei was about the same age as her, but David hadn’t said much about her. “What is it you do, Lorelei?” Zita asked.

  “Do? Well, I’m on a number of boards and I play tennis twice a week.” Her smile seemed fake.

  “Which boards?”

  “There’s one for breast cancer research, another that deals with scholarships for disadvantaged youth, and also one that addresses homeless issues.”

  “That’s fantastic. It must be great to help in that way.”

  “Yes. It keeps me busy.” She laughed as she said it, but there was something in her eyes that made Zita think she wasn’t happy.

  “You do wonderful work for the different charities you support,” Fay said.

  “It’s hardly work.”

  Zita knew that expression. She’d seen it in the mirror. “I’ve been helping my mother with our charity Casa Flanagan for years, but sometimes it feels as if I’m not actually doing anything.”

  “Then you know how I feel.” Lorelei smiled. “It seems like forever since I was at Harvard and actually challenged by anything.”

  Zita acknowledged the twinge of offense and didn’t comment further.

  “You never showed any interest in working before,” David said.

  “You’re going to be CEO. There’s no point if I can’t be the best.”

  Zita glanced at David. Did that mean Lorelei wanted to work at Dionysus? Maybe this was his chance to step down.

  David’s mouth dropped open. “You want to be in charge of Dionysus?”

  “I’d love to be, but we both know that’s not going to happen.”

  “I never realized,” he said. “We should talk.”

  Lorelei frowned. “What about?”

  “You working at Dionysus.”

  “You’re not listening, David. I want to be CEO or nothing.”

  He hesitated and looked at Zita. She nodded to him. “I don’t want to be CEO.”

  Both Fay and Lorelei stared at David as if he’d grown another head. Zita squeezed his hand and he smiled.

  “Since when?” Lorelei asked.

  “I’ve never really wanted it, but I didn’t think I had a choice.”

  Lorelei grinned. “You really mean it?”

  He nodded. “We’ll have to run it by Dad.”

  “That would be amazing. When do I start?”

  “Oh dear,” Fay said. “Warn me before you break the news to your father. I need to make sure I’m there to play peacekeeper.”

  “He’ll come around,” Lorelei said. “As long as there’s a Randall in charge.” She sounded confident.

  David’s shoulders relaxed and Zita grinned. It was the perfect outcome.

  Their drinks were served, and the conversation drifted to other topics.

  When it was time to go, Zita said goodbye to Fay and Lorelei and they walked out of the restaurant.

  “Holy hell,” David said when they got into the car. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

  “How do you feel?” Zita asked.

  “Slightly terrified.” He tapped his palm on the steering wheel.

  Zita squeezed his thigh. “I’m sure you’ll be great at whatever you decide to do.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I’m excited about the challenge.”

  They drove in silence for a while before David cleared his throat. “Are you free next weekend?”

  “I’m not sure . . .”

  “Can you ask your mom? Check if she can spare you for the whole weekend?”

  Zita frowned. “Why?”

  “I thought we could go away. It’s Valentine’s Day after all.”

  She’d never paid much attention to Valentine’s Day, but the idea of getting away for a couple of days was extremely enticing. “Where to?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  She raised an eyebrow at his grin. “All right. Give me a second.” She dialed her mother’s number. “Mama is there anything important going on next weekend?”

  “No, niñita. Why?”

  “David’s invited me away for the weekend.”

  “Go. Have fun.”

  Zita grinned, her heart light. “All right. Thanks, Mama.” She hung up. “I can go.”

  “Great. I’ll organize everything. Make sure you’re packed and ready to go by midday on Friday.”

  Excitement swirled in her stomach. She was going to spend a whole weekend with David. “What will I need to pack?”

  “Umm.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “A nice, dressy outfit, and then something casual.”

  “How nice? Where are we going?” He had to be more specific.

  “Something like you wore to Carly’s engagement party will be fine.”

  That was a bit fancy. What did he have planned? She glanced at his face. “You’re not going to tell me anything else are you?”

  “No.”

  Zita smiled. The idea of a surprise weekend away was thrilling. Her heart lifted and her spirits rose.

  She couldn’t wait.

  ***

  Zita was at the dining room table sorting through the documentation for Teresa when her cell phone dinged, indicating she had a message. She grabbed her phone and checked the social media message. The sender’s name jumped out at her.

  Se
an Flanagan.

  She gasped and touched the screen to open the message. No, she couldn’t read it here in case someone walked in. Hurrying to her bedroom, she then shut the door and sat on her bed. She shut her eyes to control the nervous excitement. It might just be a polite message to say they weren’t related and she’d made a mistake.

  There was only one way to find out.

  She opened her eyes and read the message. Her mouth dropped open. Her head spun and she clutched the bedspread. Breathing quickly, she read the message a second time to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood.

  The words were clear.

  I think I’m your half-brother.

  She shook her head, denying it, but his resemblance to her father was why she’d contacted him in the first place.

  What should she do?

  Reading through it again, she registered the details — his mother hadn’t known she was pregnant when Brendan had left Ireland, and no one knew where he’d gone.

  Zita’s heart went out to him. She’d been upset about not remembering her father, but to not even know where he was, if he was alive or dead, would have been awful. And she’d mentioned he’d died in her message to him.

  She needed to talk to him, to find out more before she mentioned him to her mother or sisters. How would Carmen feel about her husband having an illegitimate child in Ireland?

  Zita typed out a reply. We should talk. What’s your number?

  She hit send.

  She got to her feet as a response arrived with his contact details. Should she call him now? It all felt a little rushed, but she put herself in his shoes. If he knew nothing about his father, he’d be eager to learn more.

  Checking the time, Zita realized she had another hour before Carmen would be home. She video-called him.

  As his face appeared on the screen, her heart hurt. It was like the home movie come to life. “Hi,” she said. “This is kind of surreal.”

  He blinked a few times. “It is. When I got your message I couldn’t believe it was true. It took me a while to work up the courage to contact you.”

  “I’m glad you did. So how old are you, Sean?”

  “I’m thirty.”

  Zita did the calculations. It was quite possible he was only a few months older than Carly. Their parents had met a few days after Brendan had arrived in El Salvador. They’d married a week later, and Carly was conceived not long after. Zita sighed. “This is so weird. What do you know about your father?”

  Sean reached for something and held it up in front of the camera. “This is a photo of my father, taken right before he left Ireland.”

  It was definitely him. Her father.

  “I didn’t know much about him growing up. I had his name, and there had been rumors he’d been a terrorist.”

  Zita gasped. “What?” No. Not her father.

  “It wasn’t true,” he assured her. “He was accused of helping the IRA in the eighties. There was some kind of conspiracy charge and he fled the country. It wasn’t until a year later they found the real culprit, but by then no one knew where he’d gone.”

  She let out a deep breath. He was innocent. Had Carmen known why he’d left Ireland? “So Papa didn’t know about you?”

  Sean shook his head. “He was accused before my mother was even aware she was pregnant.”

  That made it easier to understand. She would have hated to find out her father had abandoned his son. “Did she ever search for him?” If she’d loved him she would have been heartbroken.

  “No. They’d only just met and with the rumors flying around, she didn’t want to.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I tried to find out more about him when I was a teenager, but he hadn’t even told his friends where he was going. I had no idea how to find him.”

  “Does Papa have any family left in Ireland?”

  “A great uncle and great aunt, a couple of second cousins. No one close.” He hesitated. “Can you tell me about him?”

  Zita nodded. “Brendan married my mother within a week of meeting her. It was love at first sight, and they had three daughters. I’m the youngest.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but when I was three, Papa was murdered.”

  Sean’s eyes widened.

  “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. El Salvador was getting more dangerous and we were in the process of immigrating to the United States, but the approval didn’t come through in time to save Papa. We moved as soon as it did. We all live in Houston now.”

  Sean’s shoulders slumped.

  “I’m so sorry,” Zita said, but the words felt useless. Her brother hadn’t known his father and now he never would. “He’s buried in El Salvador.”

  “I’ll never actually meet him.”

  Tears welled in Zita’s eyes. “I barely remember him, but we have photographs and home movies . . . I can show you.”

  “Could I see a photo now?” He hesitated. “You know, just to make sure we’re talking about the same person?”

  “Of course.” Zita should have thought of that. She was a stranger contacting him out of the blue. She reached over and grabbed a family photo from her bedside table. “Can you see this?” She held it up.

  “Yeah. So which one is you?”

  “I’m the baby. The others are Bridget and Carly.” She pointed them out. “They’re going to freak out when I tell them about you.”

  He smiled. “I’m pretty amazed myself. I could have three sisters.”

  “And I could have a brother.” Zita blinked away tears.

  Sean hesitated. “Do you think we should confirm it? Like do DNA testing or something? I don’t know how hard that is.”

  He was right. She had to be sensible, confirm they were related before they went any further. “That’s a good idea. I’ll make some calls this afternoon.”

  After exchanging email addresses they hung up.

  Zita sat there for a moment, not quite able to believe it.

  She had a brother.

  ***

  By Friday, Zita had found a company who could test their DNA and interpret the results. She’d arranged for them both to be sent kits, but had only confided in David about Sean. She didn’t want to tell her family until she had proof. She pushed thoughts of Sean out of her head as she waited for David to pick her up for their weekend away.

  Despite cajoling and pleading, Zita hadn’t been able to convince David to tell her where they were going. She didn’t know if she was packing the right clothes, so she’d ended up over-packing. She had enough clothes to last two weeks.

  “David’s here,” Carmen called.

  Zita grabbed her suitcase and lugged it downstairs. At David’s raised eyebrows, she said, “I wasn’t sure what to bring.”

  He grinned and kissed her, and she stopped worrying.

  “You take care of my baby,” Carmen said to him.

  “I will,” David promised and handed her a piece of paper. “Details of where we’ll be in case you need to contact us.”

  Zita reached for the paper in her mother’s hand, but Carmen held it behind her back. “No. Don’t ruin the surprise.”

  David took her hand. “Come on. We need to go.” He lifted her suitcase, grunting a little at the weight.

  “I’ll see you Sunday, Mama.”

  Carmen was reading the note from David, eyes wide. She looked up and smiled. “Have fun, niñita.”

  Zita was desperate to find out where they were going, but David was already tugging her toward the car.

  He put her case in the trunk and they got in. “Your dad’s not upset about you taking half a day off work?”

  “I’ve got time owing.”

  They drove around the city until they came to an airfield. When David turned in, Zita glanced at him. “We’re not flying somewhere.” They couldn’t possibly. It would be far too expensive.

  “Aren’t we?” There was a smirk on his lips.

  “David. You can’t be serious. I can’t afford to fly somewhere for t
he weekend.” Dismay filled her. They hadn’t discussed costs, but she’d already decided she would pay her share.

  “I can.”

  “Don’t be silly. I can’t let you pay for me.”

  “Of course you can. It’s my pleasure to take you away.” He pulled into a hangar and parked. Inside was a plane, with Dionysus Oil and Gas written on the side.

  “You’re using the company plane?” She was sure there’d be some rules in place about this. She didn’t want David getting into trouble. “Won’t your dad flip out?”

  “Executives get the use of the jet once a year, as long as it’s not needed by the company.”

  Some of her concern subsided as she got out of the car and looked up at the sleek, white plane. A little shiver of excitement went through her. They could be going anywhere.

  At the foot of the stairs to the jet, a flight attendant came to greet them. “Mr. Randall, nice to see you again.”

  “Hi Lewis. This is Zita Flanagan.”

  “Ms. Flanagan, a pleasure.”

  When they climbed the stairs, a woman appeared in the doorway. “We’re ready to leave when you are, Mr. Randall.”

  “Great. Zita, this is Captain Johnson. She’s our pilot for the flight.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Zita followed the pilot inside the plane. She’d told herself she wasn’t going to stare, but she couldn’t help it. There were a dozen plush leather seats, each with a table to work on, and the carpet under her feet was soft. It screamed luxury and comfort.

  “Where would you like to sit?” David asked her.

  She shook her head, still not quite believing it. “Anywhere.”

  He pointed to two seats in the middle. “How about here? Would you like the window seat?”

  “Yes, please.” She sunk into the leather and buckled the seatbelt. Lewis was securing the door and Captain Johnson had gone into the cockpit to prepare for takeoff. “David, this is unbelievable. I thought we were going to some cabin for the weekend.”

  He ran his hand down her arm. “I wanted to spoil you.”

  Zita’s heart swelled. No one had ever wanted to spoil her before. Was it any wonder she’d fallen in love with him? “So are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”