Rafe

by Kathy Ivan

  “Tessa,” her name caught in his throat.

  She continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “I know I haven’t been here long, but under the circumstances, I think he’ll give me a few weeks off, don’t you?”

  A few weeks off?

  “You’re coming back?”

  “Of course. I love Shiloh Springs.” Her eyes widened. “You thought I wasn’t going to come back?”

  He couldn’t answer, emotion clogging his throat. He simply nodded.

  Gentle hands cupped his face, and he stared into the most beautiful sapphire eyes he’d ever seen. Her thumb swept softly against his cheek, and he heard the soft rasp of his five o’clock shadow beneath her gentle touch. “Rafe, I’m not leaving permanently. I want to stay—with you. Things have been crazy since I got here. It feels like I’ve been on a roller coaster from the minute I hit town.” She grinned, her eyes alight with mischief. “Have I mentioned I love roller coasters?”

  “Not that I recall.”

  “Meeting you, getting to know the man behind the badge, opened my eyes to a whole new life. You are a kind, generous, sometimes bossy, but totally lovable man, and I’ve fallen head-over-heels in love with you.”

  “Tessa, sweetheart—”

  “I’m still talking.” She gave him a cheeky grin, and he melted inside. “I didn’t plan on falling in love. All I wanted was a little time away from everything. The grief, the confusion, everything back in North Carolina. Instead, I got threatened with being tossed in jail the minute I arrived in Shiloh Springs. Then your family swept me up in their tidal wave of craziness and love, and I knew I’d finally found the place I belonged. Finding you, loving you, was a bonus I never expected, but I wouldn’t change anything. Not one second, because it led me to the love I’ve searched for my whole life. You, Rafe Boudreau, are my dream come true.”

  “Can I talk now?” He felt like the grin on his face couldn’t get any bigger, and the love welling inside his chest couldn’t be contained any longer.

  “I guess so.” She gave him the cutest wink and settled against his side, her head on his shoulder once again. Which felt right. It felt perfect, like she belonged there. How had he ever lived without her?

  “The first day I met you, I was dumbstruck. Even before I saw your face, there was a connection, like Fate had slapped me upside the head, because I’d never felt anything like it before.”

  “The first time you saw me, you were looking at my butt.”

  “And it is a truly spectacular butt, darlin’.” Her body shook with laughter, and he pulled her closer.

  “Thank you, kind sir.”

  “I admit I was fascinated by the redhead on Old Man Johnson’s front porch, but it was more than that. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I made up excuses to show up at places where I knew you’d be, so I’d have a reason to talk to you. When things started snowballing out of control, and you started getting threats, I nearly lost it. You have no idea how hard it was not bringing you here, locking you away so nobody could hurt you. That’s when I knew I was gone. Round-the-bend, over-the-moon, totally and forever in love with you.

  “Rafe—”

  “You got to talk, now I get to have my say. I think I loved you from the first and it’s only gotten stronger, more intense, until all I want is to be with you every minute of every day. To see you smile. To hear you laugh. To kiss you breathless. I’m not an idiot. I know we’re moving fast, but I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I love you, Tessa Maxwell.”

  “I love you, Rafe Boudreau.”

  Rafe leaned in, brushing his lips against hers, the sweetest kiss he’d ever had, reverent and worshipful. He pulled back, staring into her eyes, and read the love shining within them. He started to delve back in for another taste, but an insistent pounding on the front door broke them apart.

  “Ignore them, maybe they’ll go away.”

  Tessa giggled. “You really think so?”

  The banging continued, growing louder, and Ms. Patti’s voice could be heard through the door. “Rafe Boudreau, I know you’re in there. You open this door right now.”

  Rafe’s head fell forward into his hands. “She’s not going away.”

  “Open the door, son.” Douglas’ voice joined his wife’s.

  “They really won’t leave until we answer.”

  Rafe opened the front door, and braced himself as his momma barreled inside, throwing herself against him and wrapping her arms around him. He almost staggered at her momentum, then caught her up in a bear hug.

  “Where’s Tessa? Is she alright?”

  “I’m fine, Ms. Patti,” Tessa smiled as she moved to stand beside Rafe. Completely ignoring him now, Rafe watched his mother pull Tessa into a hug. His dad stood at his side and watched the two women exchange soft words, Ms. Patti holding Tessa like she was her long-lost child.

  “I heard there was a bit of trouble tonight.” Douglas watched his son with compassion and a bit of amusement.

  “You might say that. Brother-in-law thought Tessa had something he wanted.”

  “Ah. Explains a lot. Brody said there was a bit of a tussle, but y’all ended it without too much trouble.”

  “Brody got to have all the fun. He shot one of ’em.”

  Douglas laughed and slapped him on the back. “He might have neglected to mention that little fact.” He gestured toward Tessa. “You gonna let her get away?”

  Rafe couldn’t hide his grin. “Nope. Though you did interrupt me telling her I love her.”

  Douglas studied him before a huge grin split his face. “Congratulations, son. You picked a good one. May you be as happy with Tessa as I am with your momma.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “What happens now?”

  “Evan and Trevor, the two idiots from tonight, are probably going away for a long time. Tessa needs to go head to North Carolina for a bit, explain things to her sister. I’m thinking about going with her, if I can get the sheriff’s department covered.”

  “Don’t worry about it, son. We’ve all got your back. I’ll talk to the mayor.”

  His father marched across the living room and lifted Tessa into a hug, while his mother looked on proudly. Knowing his family approved helped, but he’d have stuck with Tessa no matter what. She was his world now, his everything.

  When she turned in his direction and smiled, he knew everything would be okay. No, better than okay. His life was perfect.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  EPILOGUE

  Antonio Boudreau parked in front of the Big House and cut the engine. The tension he’d carried all the way from Dallas eased as he stared at the place he’d called home for most of his teenage years. A sense of peace pervaded, settling around him like a warm blanket. Home. There wasn’t another place on earth he’d found that made him feel the way returning to the Big House did, like the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle snapping into place.

  He’d gotten a call from his father, and immediately took a few days off and drove straight through. Douglas wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important, so he’d dropped everything and headed to Shiloh Springs. When he’d mentioned Rafe being in trouble and needing help, he hadn’t questioned it, because there was no question needed. Family came first—always.

  “You going to sit here all night, or are you coming in?” Brody stood outside his open car window, grinning. His brother looked lean and fit, not surprising since he worked at Shiloh Springs Fire Station. The demands of the job kept him in shape, and when he wasn’t fighting fires, he worked around the ranch, helping Dane keep things running smooth. All of the Boudreaus pitched in whenever they had the chance.

  “I just got here. I was looking at the place. Every time I pull up the drive, it’s like coming home.”

  “That’s because it is home, jackass.” Brody pulled open the door, and Antonio slid out and stretched, feeling the pull in his muscles after the long drive.

  “Not what I meant, bro. It’s more than the place we grew up. Th
ere’s a sense of rightness here, a feeling of belonging. I miss it.”

  Brody’s expression turned serious. “Then come home. I know nothing would make our folks happier than to have you move back to Shiloh Springs. You aren’t happy in Dallas, and haven’t been for a long time. Don’t try and kid me, it’s not hard to tell you’re different when you’re here. You need to be around your family.”

  “My job’s in Dallas.”

  “The FBI has offices in every major city. Austin isn’t far away. Bet you could commute easy enough, if you wanted to.” Brody leaned his hip against the car door, his arms crossed over his chest. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else, especially the big city. Guess I’m a country boy at heart. I’d miss the ranch and my brothers.”

  Antonio stood silently at Brody’s side, watching the sun begin to lower toward the horizon. Growing up, he’d loved watching the sunset from the loft in the barn; it was one of his fondest memories of living on the Boudreau ranch. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d sat in the hayloft with his dad, watching the sky dissolve into a myriad of colors, neither saying a word, simply being together.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Brody straightened. “Good. Now let’s get inside. Rafe and Tessa are leaving in the morning for North Carolina, and Momma’s been cooking all afternoon, putting together a send-off dinner.”

  “That’s why I’m here. Dad called, said there’d been some trouble.” Antonio studied his brother’s face, trying to gauge how serious the problem with Tessa’s family was, and what he could do to ease things for her and his big brother. He didn’t know Tessa well, having only met her the one time he’d been home for the family barbecue, but from what his dad told him, Rafe was head over heels for the pretty schoolteacher, and Antonio would do whatever needed doing if it made his big brother happy.

  “Things got a bit shaky there for a bit, but everything’s fine. At least for now. There’ll be a trial for Tessa’s brother-in-law and her former boyfriend slash stalker, unless they take the easy way out and make a deal. Plead to lesser charges, but there’s definitely going to be prison time for both. Tessa wants to tell her sister in person, says it’s going to devastate her to know what he’s done. She doesn’t have a clue what that slimy lowlife’s been doing to her sister. I think she’s going to try and talk her sis into coming back to Shiloh Springs with her, at least for a while.”

  “Might be good for her sister to be around Tessa, and Momma will be in hog heaven having another woman around to spoil.” Antonio nodded toward the house, and they started walking. The sound of voices echoed through the open front door. Rafe’s laughter held a ring of happiness Antonio hadn’t heard in a long time. His lips curved up at the sound, and he remembered something else, another memory from growing up at the Big House. There had been rough times, especially with each new kid that came through. But there had been so much laughter and happiness within its walls, it outweighed all the bad stuff.

  A thrill of anticipation coursed through Antonio the closer each step brought him to the door. Something big waited right over the horizon, so close, but he couldn’t tell what was coming. He wasn’t psychic or clairvoyant, but he trusted his instincts, and they blared loud and clear—change was in the air—and his life wasn’t ever going to be the same again.

  Thank you for reading Rafe, Book #1 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series. I hope you enjoyed Rafe and Tessa’s story. Want to find out more about Antonio Boudreau and the excitement and adventure he’s about to plunge head-first into? Keep reading for an excerpt from his book, Antonio, Book #2 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood. Available at all major e-book and print vendors.

  Antonio (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series) © Kathy Ivan.

  “Glad to have you here, Boudreau.” Special Agent in Charge Derrick Williamson leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped across his stomach. Antonio studied the man, took in the freshly pressed shirt, suit pants. The top button of Williamson’s shirt was undone and his tie loosened, giving off a casual vibe, but Antonio didn’t buy it, not for a second.

  At first glance, Williamson portrayed the easygoing, overworked FBI agent to a tee, but Antonio never went with what was obvious to the naked eye. He’d long ago learned taking things at face value often led to big mistakes, a lesson he’d vowed never to repeat. Williamson appeared fit, his sandy-brown hair cut short in a businessman style. He looked like he worked out regularly, and didn’t have the paunch across his middle most pencil pushers seemed to gain working in an office.

  An off-white cowboy hat lay on the credenza behind Williamson, as though it had been taken off and tossed onto the surface cluttered with papers and files. Now that he could believe. Most everybody in Texas wouldn’t be caught dead without their hat.

  “Happy to be here. What can you tell me about the case?” He eased onto the chair opposite the desk, and propped his foot on the opposite knee, resting his own cowboy hat there. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full down here.”

  Williamson sighed. “You’ve got no idea, Boudreau. Two agents out with gunshot wounds. One on maternity leave. One ruptured appendix. And two more who relocated to different cities. Leaving us in a mighty big hole we’re still trying to dig our way out of. Which is why I’m glad you’re here, even if it’s temporary.”

  Looking closer, Antonio noted the dark circles under Williamson’s eyes, the slightly grayish pallor to his skin. The man was obviously running on fumes, never a good idea when dealing with high profile cases or even the small stuff. A tired agent missed things.

  Williamson tossed a folder across his desk. “This one’s been a pain in my backside for months. How familiar are you with James “Big Jim” Berkley?”

  Antonio’s brow rose at the mention of the name. Big Jim Berkley’s case had been on the FBI list for years, until he’d finally been arrested, tried, and convicted two years earlier. Headline on the nightly news on every news station for months, the scandal of infighting within his family, plus the nature of his crimes provided fodder for the press, and the viewing public ate it up, spreading it across television stations until you couldn’t change the channel without somebody talking about the bombings.

  “I remember when he was arrested. Wasn’t he caught in San Antonio? Liked to bomb synagogues, mosques, any place where minorities and people with different ideologies congregated.”

  Williamson leaned back in his chair, and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s him alright. The man is charismatic and has a following still active to this day. Most members of his family are part of his whacked out cult. Has a bunch of rabid believers who hang on every word the idiot spouts.”

  Cocking his head, Antonio opened the file, and stared at the picture of James Berkley. The man was big, at least six three, maybe six four, two-hundred and fifty pounds, and it looked like it was all muscle. Salt and pepper hair. He couldn’t tell from the black-and-white picture what color his eyes were, but they were cold. Empty.

  “Why is the FBI looking at Berkley again? Isn’t he in federal prison serving multiple life sentences?” Antonio’s eyes scanned the front page of the file, and he straightened when he noted the words “appeal granted”. “This can’t be right. He’s getting an appeal? There was a ton of evidence against him. No way does this guy walk.”

  “His attorneys found some loophole, and he’s trying to scurry through it like the filthy little weasel he is. At least the courts are keeping him in prison for now, until the appeal’s been heard. But we’ve got another problem.” Williamson’s tone filled with disgust. “Berkley’s niece was the backbone of the government’s case. She provided a good chunk of the evidence used to convict Berkley. Her testimony nailed his coffin good and tight. Before the trial, she was guarded day and night. Afterwards, she went into witness protection.”

  Antonio quickly put two and two together, and tossed the file on the chair next to him. “Lemme guess. Berkley put a hit out on the niece to shut her up. If she can’t testify, the feds case dr
ies up, right?”

  “Pretty much. Berkley’s had people searching for Sharon since before the first trial. The government kept a tight lid on her throughout and whisked her away the minute she’d finished testifying, even before the verdict came down. But somehow her location was leaked and Berkley’s hired goons found her in Las Vegas.”

  Antonio felt a clenching sensation in his gut. “She’s dead?”

  Williamson shook his head. “Don’t know. Her next-door neighbor ended up dead and Sharon Berkley disappeared. Vanished without a trace. Witness protection searched for months, examined every trail, every whisper of a lead, but either Berkley had her taken out—which is possible, and he’s kept his mouth shut about it—or she’s good enough to stay under the radar. My gut tells me Berkley’s still looking for her, because I doubt he’d be able to shut up about it if he’d had her eliminated. He’s too vain and thinks he’s smarter than everybody involved in his case. No, we going under the assumption she’s alive and hiding.”

  Antonio drummed his fingertips against his knee, his mind sorting through the information Williamson shared. It made sense Sharon Berkley could still be alive. But it was hard to stay completely off the grid in this day and age of electronic surveillance, computers, and facial recognition software. If she was out there, they’d find her. He only hoped it was before Big Jim Berkley did.

  “What specifics can you tell me about Sharon Berkley? Last known whereabouts, any information from WITSEC? Or am I overstepping? I figure since you’re telling me about Berkley’s case, you want me to help locate her?”

  LINKS TO PURCHASE:

  www.kathyivan.com/books.html

  NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

  Don’t want to miss out on any new books, contests, and free stuff? Sign up to get my newsletter. I promise not to spam you, and only send out notifications/e-mails whenever there’s a new release or contest/giveaway. Click the link and join today!