by Barbara Gee
She pressed her cheek against his chest, inhaling his delicious scent. “We can try,” she said hesitantly.
“Try? That doesn’t sound very hopeful.”
She pulled away slightly and looked up at him. “It won’t be easy. You’ll be going back to a world I can’t even begin to imagine. Once you’re back in the thick of things, being pulled in every direction by your coach and your team and your fans, I’m not sure you’ll have the energy—or even the desire—to stay in contact with me.”
He gave her a confident smile. “Then I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you.”
Jolene couldn’t allow herself to get her hopes up. In order to protect her increasingly fragile heart, it was better to keep her expectations low. “We’ll see,” she said warily.
He stroked a hand slowly down over her hair. “I understand why you’re being cautious, Jo, I really do,” he said. “I just want you to promise me that you’ll give it a go. Don’t push me away without even giving me a chance.” He tipped her chin up. “When I call or text, please answer.”
She looked into his eyes for a long moment, seeing nothing but sincerity. It was impossible to resist him and she caved. “Okay, I will. I’ll answer.”
“And I will call,” he promised.
She rubbed her hands up and down his arms. “Only if you want to, Boone,” she said firmly. “If you find you’re not into it, please don’t call out of pity. Or a sense of obligation. You owe me nothing, so please, if you don’t want to call me, don’t.”
He chuckled. “Since I don’t foresee that being a problem, I’ll readily agree. Now let’s get going. The others are probably waiting for us.”
* * *
Soon Boone found himself seated in Tuck’s living room, with four expectant faces before him and sweet Jolene beside him, somehow managing to convey her support even though they were sitting a foot apart.
“Thanks for making time for me,” he began. “This is something I probably should have talked to you all about a while ago. I’ve been putting it off because it’s extremely personal, and real hard for me to talk about.”
“Don’t worry, you can trust us, Boone,” Libby assured him. “If it’s something confidential, I can promise you it won’t leave this room.”
“We’ll help in any way we can,” Tuck added. “Sometimes talking things out is the best approach, even when it’s hard to put it out there.”
Boone knew he could trust them, but he also knew they had no idea how much they themselves would be affected by what he was about to say. He cleared his throat and sat forward, his elbows on his knees. “I confided in Jolene a few days ago. She wanted me to come to you right away, but I wasn’t quite ready to take that step. As it turns out, the decision has now been taken out of my hands.”
“Sometimes that’s how God works,” Maddy said gently.
Boone nodded. “He probably got tired of watching me going in circles.” He looked over at Jolene. “I guess I need to just put it out there, huh?”
She nodded. “Start with the good news, then give the backstory.”
He met Tuck’s gaze, then Libby’s. “I hope you’ll think it’s good news, but regardless, it’s going to come as a shock.”
When he hesitated again, Libby raised her brows and gave him an encouraging smile. “Okay, the suspense is killing me. I know you’re struggling with whatever it is, Boone, but we’re your friends. You can tell us.”
“I know, it’s just—it’s going to change things for all of us.” He glanced at Jolene again, running his knuckles along his jaw before he continued. “About three months ago, I found out that Aaron and Carla Kendall aren’t my birth parents.”
Four sets of eyebrows shot up.
“Oh my goodness,” Libby said, her blue eyes sympathetic. “You’re adopted and you didn’t know until now? Yikes. I can see how that would be rough.”
“Why didn’t they tell you before?” Maddy wondered.
“It’s complicated, and I’ll get to that in a little bit. But before I do, I need to tell you why I came here to the ranch. It wasn’t just to help out with the veterans retreats.” Boone hesitated. “When I found out I wasn’t the biological child of Aaron and Carla, I hired a private investigator to find my birth parents. Once I knew who they were, I knew I had to come to the Full Heart Ranch. I had to come here so I could meet them.” He paused, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Jolene scooted over beside him and rubbed his back encouragingly. He swallowed, then met Tuck’s eyes. “I had to come and meet Virgil and Kay Desmond.”
His announcement was met with shocked silence. Boone wanted to say more, but he couldn’t tell how the others felt about what he’d already said, and he didn’t want to risk saying the wrong thing.
Jolene came to his rescue. “Boone is the baby Kay and Virgil thought they lost. His father, Aaron Kendall, confessed to Boone that he paid to have his own still-born baby switched with a healthy one. It was an elaborate scheme conceived by their OB doctor, who talked Aaron into paying him a lot of money to get him a healthy baby. And Carla Kendall still knows nothing about it.”
Tuck’s dark brows were drawn together. “So the healthy baby they stole was you, Boone?” he asked.
“Oh my gosh,” Libby said thickly, before Boone could answer. “Yes, it was you, I can see it. You actually look a little like Virgil, through the eyes especially. And you got your big build from him, too.” She shook her head incredulously. “This is unreal. I’ve talked to Kay so many times about what it was like to lose their baby, and now here you are, their son, alive and grown up. I can’t even believe this.”
“I’m sorry to dump it on you with no warning,” Boone told her.
“Don’t be sorry,” Ryan said. “I’m sure our shock is nothing compared to how you felt when you found out what your dad had done.”
Tuck stood and walked over to Boone, holding out his hand. Boone stood and took it, then Tuck pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back. “Welcome to the family. Libby and I aren’t blood relation to the Desmonds, but they’re the closest thing we’ve had to parents in a dozen years, and we’re the closest thing they’ve had to kids, up until now. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re my brother, and I hope you’ll be spending a lot more time here at the ranch with us.”
Libby squealed excitedly, bouncing up for her own hug. “I have another brother! I’m so excited Boone, but, oh my word, I can’t even imagine how Virgil and Kay are going to react. On the one hand they’ll be so overjoyed to know you’re alive and well, but wow, how are they going to handle finding out what happened? That you were taken from them all those years ago, leaving them to mourn the death of a baby who wasn’t even theirs?”
“But don’t you agree they need to be told?” Jolene asked. “Boone is afraid the anger and bitterness will outweigh the joy, but I don’t think so.”
“They’re going to have a lot of emotions to work through,” Tuck agreed, “but in the end, they’ll have their son. That’ll trump everything else, I’m sure, even the anger.”
Ryan and Maddy both stepped up to give Boone a hug, too, then they all sat down again and listened as Boone started at the beginning and told them everything, ending with the trouble Doug currently found himself in, and the PI’s belief that someone was after him in an attempt to stop him from getting information back to whoever had hired him.
“I didn’t find out about Doug fleeing to Dallas until this evening just before dinner,” Boone said as he finished the tale. “That’s what prompted me to talk to you guys tonight. I know I need to go to the authorities, but I could use some advice on how best to go about it, so I don’t compromise Doug any further.”
Tuck folded his arms, his eyes narrowing as he slid smoothly into work mode. “It would really help if we could get the file Doug said he’s working on,” he said. “If he’s figured out who the doctor was and has some proof, Ryan and I can make some calls and get things started.”
Ryan nodded. “There will have to be some coordin
ation between Texas and Chicago, since that’s where your father is.” He gave Boone a sympathetic glance. “You do know this probably won’t end real well for your dad?”
“Yeah.” Boone said. “That’s what stopped me from moving on this sooner. I wasn’t sure I could turn him in, mostly because I honestly don’t know whether my mom can survive finding out I’m not really her son, and having dad arrested. To say she’ll be devastated is a massive understatement.”
Maddy spoke up. “Your poor mother. She’s going to feel so betrayed. I hate that, especially because she’s totally innocent. But if she knows you’re going to stick by her, maybe she’ll pull through better than you think.”
“It might take some time, but I agree, you’re the key,” Libby said. “You need to be there for her, and make sure she knows she’s not to blame.”
“She’ll put it on herself, though,” Boone said. “She’ll think she should have somehow known and made things right. But we’ll deal with that when the time comes. I know I need to move forward, regardless.”
“What kind of time frame are you thinking?” Tuck asked.
Boone lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Ideally I’d like to wait until after the Wild are done for the season. I already feel bad that my injury compromised our play-off run, and with all the publicity this thing is going to get, it’ll just be one more distraction for them to deal with. I’d like to avoid that, but with Doug needing help, I realize that might not be possible.”
“I’d suggest you contact Doug again,” Ryan said. “Tell him you want him to check in every half hour, by text if nothing else, just to make sure he’s okay and still working on getting the file ready for you.”
Tuck nodded. “Better yet, offer him the option of being picked up so he can be protected. I can contact the FBI field office closest to him and have them bring him in, without making it public. If we can get him to safety and then take him out of Texas, we might be able to buy the time you need for your team.”
Boone considered that. “I’d definitely like to get him to a safe place, but removing Doug might not slow them down much. Doug doesn’t think they’ve linked him to me yet, but he doesn’t think it will take long for that to happen. I don’t want to bring any trouble here to the ranch if they find out I’m the one who hired him.”
“It’ll take them a little while to track you here, since it hasn’t been made public, right?” Libby asked.
“Not all that long if they have the assets for that kind of search—and Doug thinks the blackmailer has contracted with some pretty good hackers. I’m guessing they’ve been on his payroll a long time, watching for signs that anyone is on to him. Once they know I’m the one who hired Doug, they could track my flight and rental car and narrow down my whereabouts pretty quickly.”
“We’ll ramp up security here for a while,” Ryan said. “We have a pretty impressive intrusion control system. It’s hidden and not public knowledge, but we have cameras that cover the entire perimeter of the Retreat Center land, and also the whole area surrounding the ranch house, Tuck’s place, and the stable acreage.”
“As well as laser trips at some of the more vulnerable intrusion sites,” Tuck added.
Boone frowned. “Is security at the center that big of a concern?”
Tuck chuckled. “Not normally, but Ryan and I have careers that could attract unwanted attention. We don’t want to take any chances, so we didn’t spare any expense when it came to the security system.”
“Plus, military personnel are supposedly targets for terror cells,” Maddy said. “That could include veterans, and we take that seriously, considering our proximity to known terror cells in Minneapolis.”
“Wow,” Boone said. “I never thought about that side of things.”
“We also use small drones,” Ryan said. “We like to do daily fly-overs, but we can easily move that up to several per day.”
Tuck leaned forward in his seat. “What it boils down to, Boone, is that we don’t have a problem with you staying here on the ranch until you take things public. I feel confident our security system can handle a desperate blackmailer foolish enough to try to get in.”
“It sounds like it,” Boone agreed. “But what about my parents? If the bad guys can’t get to me, the logical next step would be to go after my mom and dad to try to draw me out.”
“If you turn things over to the FBI, we can put a protection detail on them,” Ryan said. “This thing crosses state lines, so I don’t see any issues with the FBI taking it on.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Tuck confirmed. “My only concern is trying to keep a lid on it for another few weeks. If we actually have any run-ins with the bad guys, delaying the publicity might not be possible.”
Boone shoved a hand through his hair and sighed. “I understand that. I guess the first thing I need to do is contact Doug and see what he wants to do.” He stood and took his phone from his pocket. “If you’ll excuse me for a few minutes, I’ll go give him a call. Hopefully he has his burner phone turned on.”
When Boone left the room, Jolene looked at the concerned faces of her friends, and the tears she’d been holding at bay trickled down her cheeks. Maddy quickly brought her a handful of tissues.
“It’ll be okay, Jolene. We’ll take care of him.”
Jolene nodded. “I know. It’s just been so hard to keep everything in. He’s been suffering so much the past three months, but he didn’t want to risk talking to anyone until he knew what he was going to do. I practically forced him to confide in me, because I could tell he was really stressed and it was affecting him physically. The biggest thing is he’s so worried about his mom. He would have made everything public a lot sooner if it wasn’t for her.”
“Hurting his mom is inevitable now,” Tuck said. “But once she realizes Boone isn’t going to desert her, she’ll hopefully find the strength to get through it.”
Libby nodded. “The question is whether she’ll want to have anything to do with Aaron after she finds out how he betrayed her.”
“Even Boone doesn’t know the answer to that question,” Jolene said. “Aaron had a one track mind, and it made him oblivious to all the others who got hurt. All he cared about was getting a baby for Carla. Whether she can forgive him is anyone’s guess.”
“I feel bad for her, but Aaron deserves whatever punishment he gets,” Libby said emphatically. “Love doesn’t excuse what he did. None of us want our loved ones to suffer, but we don’t resort to extreme measures like that. Stealing a baby is unconscionable.”
“And Boone knows that,” Jolene assured her. “But he still sees Aaron as his dad, and although he’s furious and not speaking to him at the moment, he can’t just turn off those feelings. He’s also worried because there are most likely other families who will be affected. It’s a big burden to be the one who shakes it all loose. He doesn’t want that responsibility.”
Boone returned and they all looked at him expectantly.
“Doug answered the phone. He said he’s in a hotel room, and he feels safe there. He wants a few more hours to get me the file, then he’ll gladly take whatever assistance you can offer to get him out. He’ll check in every thirty minutes, then when he’s finished he’ll let me know where he can be picked up.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tuck said, standing up. “I’ll make some calls so the agents down there will be ready. I’ll also get some protection for your parents.”
“You’re sure you don’t want me to leave the ranch?” Boone asked. “I have a few places I could hide out. I don’t want to take any chances with so many people here.”
“If I thought you being here would put anyone in danger, I’d be the first to ask you to leave,” Tuck said. “But I don’t think we’re there yet. We’ll take extra precautions, but at this point I’d be surprised if the bad guys have a long enough reach to pose a threat up here. They might have been able to buy some local law enforcement help down there, but once they’re out of their home area, they’re going t
o have more limited capabilities. Getting someone past us is going to be tough.”
“I hope that’s the case,” Boone said.
“We’ll take it a day at a time,” Ryan said reasonably. “If we see any signs of a problem, we’ll deal with it.”
“All right. And if the story breaks, I’ll head back to St. Paul and do my best to be accessible. If the reporters can get to me there, hopefully they won’t show up here, and also won’t bother the guys on the team so much.”
“We’ll have to let it play out and see,” Tuck said. “For now, you might as well shack up here for the night. I want to know as soon as you get the file and Doug gives you his location, so I can get him to a safe place.”
Boone nodded. “I have no idea what all’s going to be in that file, but it’s yours as soon as it comes in.”
“Not much we can do in the meantime,” Ryan said. “I think I’ll head over to the house and grab a few hours of sleep. I’ll be back as soon as you let me know the file is in.”
“Let me show you to a bedroom, Boone,” Maddy offered. “I know you probably won’t be able to sleep, but you can at least lie down and rest a little bit.” She turned to Jolene. “How about you, Jo? You want to stay over too?”
Not wanting to be an imposition, she shook her head, but Boone walked up to her and held out a hand, pulling her up from her chair.
“Wait it out with me?” he asked softly. “I could use the company.”
Knowing he wouldn’t ask unless he really needed her there, Jolene looked at Maddy. “I’ll just sit with him in his room. No need to get another bed ready.”
“All right. You two want anything to eat or drink first?”
“A glass of water would be great,” Boone said.
A few minutes later they were alone in a lovely, quiet bedroom, lit only by a lamp in the corner.
Boone stared at her, shaking his head slowly. “What a day,” he said, his voice husky, his eyes beyond weary. He sank onto the edge of the bed, scrubbing his face with his hands. “So the decision is finally made. Who knows where it’ll go from here.”
