Intrigue Books 1-6

by Delores Fossen, Rachel Lee, Carol Ericson, Tyler Anne Snell, Rita Herron

  She met Declan’s eye. His expression was pinched. He was already getting lost in his own thoughts.

  “I’ll stay here, if that’s okay,” she said to him. Then she said to her brother, “If that’s okay with you.”

  “I wasn’t going to let you leave without telling me what’s going on.”

  “Then this is where I’ll leave you,” Declan decided. He seemed to want to say more but stopped himself.

  “Call me later?”

  He nodded. It was a rigid movement.

  Then he was gone.

  Remi sighed and faced her brother. Then she realized why Jonah was there in the first place. Peeking around his shoulder she saw the covered legs of someone lying down in the bed in the center of the room.

  “Is that Lydia?” she whispered.

  “Yeah, she’s asleep now, though. They just gave her something for the pain. She asked me not to leave her since she doesn’t have anyone else in town.” He smiled a little. Lydia must have left quite the impression on him.

  Jonah motioned her farther inside the room and over to a couch next to the bed. Remi cringed as she saw the bandages over most of Lydia’s face.

  “It looks a lot worse than it is, I think,” he said at her side. “But we can talk in here. I’ve been watching TV and it didn’t bother her.”

  Remi settled into the seat next to him. Like being alone with Declan for the first time since everything had happened at Claire’s, Remi was at a loss of what exactly to say to her brother. She loved him, she knew that, but there was more of a disconnect between them than there ever was one of understanding.

  The Hudsons weren’t the Nashes.

  Tragedy hadn’t tightly fused an already tightly fused family.

  There was no triplet connection that created a unique bond between them.

  There wasn’t a sense of protectiveness that was forged from being in the public eye and at the center of rumors for years.

  There was just a family of people who didn’t understand the others’ choices in life.

  Which was why she became a coward when recounting what had happened at the café. Remi hesitated without an ounce of grace when she got to the reason the man in the suit had shot Sam instead of her.

  She could have lied.

  She could have omitted that part altogether.

  She’d been caught between loving her brother and worrying at his reaction to the news that he’d be an uncle.

  He wasn’t an idiot. He knew something was off.

  “What aren’t you saying, Remi? Tell me.”

  She felt like sighing and then realized how much she’d been doing that lately. Acting defeated or frustrated when, given everything that had happened, she had made it out unscathed. Lucky.

  Plus, she figured she’d have to tell her family at some point. Why not now?

  “The reason the man in the suit shot Sam and not me was because I told him something that changed his mind.” Jonah gave her a questioning look. Remi put her hand on her stomach as she finished. “I told him I was pregnant.”

  Jonah’s eyes widened. They trailed to her stomach and then back up to her gaze.

  “And was that true or were you lying?”

  “It’s true.”

  Suspicion was quick to line his expression.

  “Why didn’t you tell us then?”

  This time Remi did sigh.

  “I wanted the father to be the first to know. I told him yesterday. We were supposed to talk about it today at the café when everything happened.”

  Jonah had never been considered book smart—he’d rather be outside than studying—but he was well versed in common sense. Remi watched as he connected the dots from the little information he had.

  When he spoke his voice rose an octave.

  “Declan Nash is the father.” It wasn’t a question. “When you gave him a ride back to Overlook...” He shook his head. “That’s why he came to the house personally today instead of sending his brother or a deputy. He wanted to talk to you.”

  Remi nodded.

  “No one else knows. Well, no one else knew. I was going to tell you and Josh and Dad after Christmas.”

  “After?” A look akin to hurt passed over his face. It pushed guilt and anger to the surface for Remi.

  “I figured if I told you all right before I left I wouldn’t have to hear everyone complaining that long.” Jonah opened his mouth to, she guessed, protest. She cut him off. “Dad hasn’t liked the Nashes for a long time. He’s disliked Declan, specifically, for longer. Throw in the fact that the three of you love to tell me with every other breath that I’m dishonoring my family by ‘abandoning’ Heartland, I thought that hiding an unexpected, out-of-matrimony pregnancy until I had an escape was a smart, sane move to make. Don’t you think?”

  Jonah again looked like he wanted to object but then stopped himself. He let out a long breath and nodded.

  “We’re not the easiest people to talk with, huh?” He gave her a small smile. Remi snorted.

  “Not unless we’re talking horses.”

  Jonah gave an identical snort. Then his expression softened.

  “And how do you feel about being pregnant with Declan’s kid?”

  Remi was honest.

  “Nervous, terrified and weirdly excited.”

  “So... I’m allowed to be excited, too, right?” he asked.

  “Right.”

  Jonah smiled.

  “You know, I’ve always wanted to be an uncle.”

  Remi couldn’t deny hearing him say that was a relief. It was a feeling that relaxed the part of her that had been tense since finding out she was pregnant.

  However, with one glance at Lydia, bandaged and still in the nearby bed, Remi slid fully back into her worries.

  Why had the man and woman in the suits attacked Sam?

  Why had the other man attacked Rose?

  And when was the next attack going to happen?

  * * *

  THE ONLY REASON Declan went back to the hospital that night was because he knew Remi was there.

  He’d spent the last several hours putting out fires their suited attackers had created. There was no keeping their brazen attacks against Rose and Sam under wraps as they’d somewhat been able to do with Cooper Mann’s attack on Lydia.

  And even that news hadn’t been out of the spotlight for long. Declan had gone to the press conference set up for what had happened with Lydia as planned and then had to add a vague recount of that morning’s chase and attacks. The news editor Claire had warned him about, Kellyn, stood on the front lines with a recorder in her hand and hungry excitement in her eyes.

  For once, Declan couldn’t blame her or any of the others in attendance.

  If Declan hadn’t been used to chaos, he would have been overwhelmed.

  The note in the wall.

  An attempted kidnapping.

  The reappearance of a man in a suit.

  Three culprits getting away.

  Remi Hudson pregnant with his child.

  Declan didn’t count the last point as a bad one, though he couldn’t deny it was heavier than the rest.

  Almost as heavy as the exhaustion weighing him down as he made his way to the hospital from the department. He’d called Remi when there was nothing more he could do for the night. When she said she’d brought dinner for her brother and Lydia, Declan had changed course without a second thought.

  And when she came out to the lobby to meet him, Declan did something else without a second thought.

  He relaxed. If only a little.

  “You okay?” he said in greeting. She didn’t look tired, but she did look annoyed.

  “Well, I thought I was hungry, and then I smelled the chicken I brought Jonah and it made me gag,” she said in one hurried breath. “And now
all I can think about is Pop-Tarts.” Her eyes swept over him. Her pink lips turned into a line of concern. “But I shouldn’t complain. How are you?”

  Declan opened his mouth, fully intending to lie, and then found that the idea didn’t sit well with him. Not to Remi.

  So he didn’t.

  “I’m dog-tired.” It was a simple answer and a simple truth. “I haven’t gotten much sleep lately.”

  The corner of Remi’s lips turned up into a grin. She reached her hand out, palm facing upward. Declan felt his eyebrow rise in question.

  “Then you’re in luck. It sounds like you need a trusted friend and confidante to take the lead for a little bit. Give me your keys and I’ll drive Fiona and you back to the ranch. All the while I can regale you with some of my most harrowing accounting stories, guaranteed to help you fall into a deep, relaxing sleep.” When Declan didn’t immediately agree, Remi pressed on. There was an edge to her voice. “You might not be the same boy I remember on some fronts, but your stubbornness seems to be intact. Then again, so is mine. You look exhausted and need some sleep. I’m fine and know how to get you home. Let me.”

  “What about your car?” he tried.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “I trust it’ll be just fine in the parking lot, but I’ll let Jonah know so he can check on it when he leaves. Okay?”

  Declan relented. He dug out his keys and dropped them onto her palm.

  “Good sheriff,” she said with a smile. “Now, let’s go home.”

  She took his elbow and turned him toward the door. Through the weight of exhaustion, the best Declan could tell, Remi didn’t realize what she’d said.

  Her gaze remained ahead, and there was no blush in her cheeks, no hesitation in her steps.

  An off-the-cuff comment that didn’t mean anything past a friend taking another home.

  Yet those three words had packed quite the blow.

  Let’s go home.

  It was right then that Declan realized something.

  Something big. Something life changing.

  But something he wasn’t going to think about just yet.

  Not when the men in the suits were out there.

  Chapter Ten

  Declan Nash lived in a simple house furnished with simple things. Remi walked into the entry and slowly turned in a circle to take in the open floor plan. The living room was to the left, the kitchen was straight ahead, and an open archway to the right showed a small office. The door off the living room must have led to the bedroom. Declan moved to it while waving her toward the kitchen.

  She’d spent most of the car ride to the Nash Family Ranch complaining about being hungry, complaining about not being able to drink more than a cup of coffee and then complaining about how cold it was getting.

  Remi didn’t know if it was pregnancy hormones making her grumpy or if she was looking for safe topics to talk about. Nothing that brought their future with a child into account. Nothing about the uptick in Overlook’s bad-guy population. Nothing about any notes in the wall.

  Just the two of them going down a dark road, her complaining about nothing in particular and him nodding along.

  It was nice in a way.

  Comfortable.

  But now they weren’t on the road.

  Remi accepted his hospitality by raiding his pantry with a squeal.

  “You okay?” Declan called out from the open bedroom door.

  “You have Pop-Tarts,” she yelled back, mouth already watering.

  Declan didn’t respond, and Remi settled at the small four-chair dining table set up between the kitchen and the living room couch. She was already through half of her pastry when Declan reemerged.

  It was a struggle to keep her jaw from hitting the tabletop.

  Remi had seen Declan naked. That was how she came to be sitting at his table, scarfing down Pop-Tarts and knowing in less than ten minutes she’d have to go pee. Again. She knew that the boy she’d grown up around had developed a firm chest and stomach and all the lines that muscles had carved in between. He even had the V that some actors and models sported in the movies and magazines. The one that led the eyes from the stomach and right down into the imagination.

  She’d run her fingers along one of those very same lines, marveling that she had found herself in the situation where that touch was wanted.

  After that Remi hadn’t had to imagine where those lines led.

  So when her lust for the sheriff went from a passive five out of ten to a red-hot, volcanic two thousand in the span of him walking through the doorway to dropping down onto the couch cushion, Remi had to double-check the scene.

  Declan wasn’t naked, first of all.

  In fact, he’d merely swapped out his button-down and pants for a plain tee and sleep pants.

  But, boy oh boy, was he wearing them.

  The shirt hugged his muscled frame while the pants hung lower and a bit baggier than his jeans. It was such a casual outfit, and yet somehow sexier.

  It was a glimpse into Declan behind the scenes.

  A place where he could just be.

  It spoke of vulnerability and it spoke right to Remi’s hormones, apparently.

  “I couldn’t remember if I had them or not,” Declan said from his spot on the couch. He leaned back, put his feet up on the coffee table and met her eyes with a smile. If she looked like an idiot, he didn’t say it. Even when she scrambled to look normal while finishing her bite of Pop-Tart. “I babysat Riley’s nephew the other week and that boy was all about some frosted strawberry. I didn’t really think about it until we were in the car.”

  Remi held up the uneaten portion in a salute.

  “Well, I thank you for it.”

  Declan seemed satisfied that she was satisfied and leaned his head back, put his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

  “I’m sorry I’m so tired,” he said after a yawn. “Sometimes I forget that I need to recharge, even though I tell Caleb and my deputies to do it all the time.” His eyes opened again, but there was a lag to the movement. He didn’t move his head as two grass-green eyes found hers.

  Remi put her food down. She felt a tug at her heartstrings. Declan Nash might not be a great talker, but when he did speak he managed to put a whole lot into what he said. Simple statements, yet with so much depth they were nearly overwhelming for Remi to hear, especially when she thought of the always-smiling and mischievous boy she’d once kissed on a dare beneath the moon and stars when she was nothing more than a quiet girl.

  The time after they’d parted ways had been kind to him in some respects, but Remi believed it had also run him down in others.

  And then he said as much to her utter surprise.

  “My dad always used to say that even though there’s never enough time to do everything you want to do, there’s always time to do at least one thing. Just make that one thing count.” He let out a small breath and domed his fingers over his lap. Remi realized she was hanging on his every word. “I didn’t think I had a one thing for years until I met Bobby Teague.”

  The name rang a bell.

  “The mayor when we were teens?”

  Declan shook his head.

  “His son,” he replied. “Not the nicest man, not the most patient, either. I didn’t like him, just like his dad hadn’t liked mine back in the day. They were men who wanted attention and became annoyed when they actually got it. A son who became an even grumpier version of his father. And then a pain in my backside. Then one day Bobby Teague came into the department with nothing but fear in him. His sister had gone on a date and hadn’t returned to her house.” Declan sat up a little. The frown of remembering settled into his lips as he took a moment. “It hadn’t been twenty-four hours yet so we couldn’t count it as a missing person but, well, after what happened to the triplets, the rules for missing persons in Wildman C
ounty are a bit different. I wasn’t waiting around hoping that his sister was fine and was just lost in a new love bubble. And Bobby refused to be sidelined. So, he rode with me as we went all over town looking for her.”

  Remi saw the subtle shift in the man, though she couldn’t place the emotion behind it.

  “It took us a bit to track down where her date lived, but when we did everything changed between me and Bobby. His digs at me and my family, his sarcasm and ego getting into every word he said, it just all went away the moment we got to the end of that driveway. One second we were two people who didn’t much like each other. Nothing in common. No love lost at all between us. And in the next, we were two people who wanted nothing more than for Lori Teague to be okay and would do anything to see that happen.”

  His words were tired and the rest of what he wanted to say seemed to stall out. Remi hated to prod the man, but she wanted to know what had happened.

  “Was she there? At the date’s house?”

  “She was and she was fine, too,” he said with a small smile. “Her phone had died so she hadn’t gotten any of the calls and then she lost track of time...doing what happens with some dates, if you catch my drift.”

  “I do.”

  “It was a good call. One that could have turned out much worse. Weirdly enough, that was when I realized what it was that I wanted to be my one thing.” Remi leaned in as Declan’s expression hardened, resolute. “Making sure people like Bobby Teague didn’t have to spend their lives worrying. Instead, they could sigh in relief or, ideally, never have the need.” Declan shrugged. “So I threw everything I had into my career, to Overlook, to the county. I woke up worrying about everyone and went to bed wondering how I could make their lives better.”

  A vulnerability that Remi hadn’t been prepared for took over the sheriff. Not only did it pull at her heartstrings, it made something else within her stir.

  “When you told me you were pregnant, I didn’t act the way I should have. Running off to work, losing track of time and not calling, and then pulling you back into trouble... I should have said, and done, more. It’s just... Well, I think I’ve been so focused on what everyone else wants and needs for so long that, along the way, I forgot to wonder what it is I want.”