Broken Shadows: Shadows Landing #5

by Kathleen Brooks

  “Is that a good insane or bad?” Trent asked as she heard the seriousness to his voice. Did she say something wrong?

  “Good. These are amazing. You have good taste.”

  Trent let out a breath as he picked her bags back up and headed upstairs. “Good, I’m glad I won’t have to tell Tinsley you hated her artwork.”

  Skye raced up the stairs after him. “Those are your cousin’s?”

  “Yup. She has a gallery on Main Street and her art is starting to get noticed. She has sold some to big clients in Atlanta and then she got back from a showing in Paris a couple of months ago.”

  “I can’t wait to see her gallery.” Skye followed Trent down the hall.

  “My room is at that end. That door is the linen closet. This one is your bathroom, and then your room is on this end.” Trent pushed open the door and set her bags on a queen-sized bed. A Tinsley painting hung over the bed that was covered in a brown and cream comforter. There were side tables next to the bed, a chest on the opposite wall, and a rocking chair by the large windows overlooking the backyard. “Is it okay? I don’t have guests very often.”

  “It’s wonderful, Trent. I absolutely love your home.” Skye leaned up and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek.

  “I’m glad. Get settled and I’ll be downstairs.”

  Trent left and closed the door behind him. Skye walked to the window and crossed her arms over her chest. She was safe. For the first time she wasn’t looking at the news, she wasn’t holding strategy meetings, and she didn’t have to dodge the paparazzi. She felt freer than she had in years.

  Skye unpacked her things, texted Karri and found out she loved it at Tinsley’s house, and cleaned up in the bathroom before going downstairs. She didn’t see Trent in the living room so she moved to the back of the house. The kitchen was cute. The dining room had been converted into an office, but it was what was off the kitchen that had her smiling. There sat Trent in a sunroom. The large windows were slid open, revealing screens to keep the bugs out.

  “Hey, how is everything?” he asked when he saw her.

  “Great. This room is so comfortable.” There was a large television on one wall, a couch and two recliners with a coffee table in front of them. The couch was the perfect spot for a nap with the breeze coming in.

  “I’m glad you like it. As much as I like having you here, what’s your game plan? Are you really going to hide out here until the stalker gets caught?”

  Trent patted the seat next to him and she sat down with a sigh. “I’m not really sure. I honestly just needed to catch my breath and find some way to take control of my life. I feel as if the Hollywood spotlight has stripped me of myself. I have no control over anything. Look what Lenny did to you. Speaking of which,” Skye took a deep breath and looked into Trent’s green eyes. “Tell me he didn’t ruin any chance we have to be together.”

  Trent was silent for a moment and then he reached for her. “I was an idiot. I shouldn’t have signed the NDA. I should have gone right back upstairs and talked to you. Forgive me for being a stubborn jerk.”

  “Of course I forgive you. I knew there was something special between us. You have to believe me when I said that night was the first time something like that had ever happened. Call it fate, love at first sight, chemistry . . . whatever it was, it was there. I don’t want to give up on it unless you didn’t feel it.”

  “I felt it, Skye. I still do. If it didn’t mean anything to me, I’d have told you to screw off. But it meant so much to me I couldn’t tell you to stop texting, even though it hurt so much thinking what we had shared meant nothing to you.”

  Trent leaned across the arm of his chair. Skye held her breath and hoped she was right that Trent was about to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers and tingles shot through her body before he placed his lips fully on hers and kissed her deeply. It felt like coming home. It felt right. It felt as if fireworks were exploding. It was like they were the only two people in the world. At least until the front door opened and Tinsley called out, “We’re here!”

  8

  Trent groaned as his cousin walked into his house without knocking. He pulled back enough to look into Skye’s eyes. Her eyes mirrored the desire and relief he felt. He should have listened to everyone and cleared the air much sooner. Then they could have had all this time together.

  One kiss changed everything. Forgiveness. Understanding. Hope. It was all conveyed in that kiss. Skye smiled at him and cupped his cheek with her hand. “Now we have this settled, promise me to always talk to me first, okay?”

  “I promise. The same goes for you. No lies or secrets between us. If something is bothering you or you’re scared or have great news—whatever it is, we tell each other.”

  “Deal.” Skye leaned across and kissed him quickly on the lips. “It’s even sealed with a kiss.”

  “Trent! Skye! Are y’all here?” Tinsley called out.

  “Back here, Tins,” Trent answered without taking his eyes from Skye. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  She smiled and he felt it in his heart. “Me too.”

  “There you are!” Tinsley appeared with Karri. Trent saw her eyes go from him to Skye and down to where they were holding hands and then back up to his. “It looks as if y’all have been busy making up while I was getting Karri settled.”

  “Finally!” Karri said with an exaggerated eye roll that made Skye giggle and Trent chuckle. He’d get Karri alone later and apologize for his rudeness. She’d tried to help him and he’d brushed her off. “Come on, Tinsley said she’ll show us around town before we meet with her family at Harper’s bar. It used to belong to a pirate!”

  “To be fair, most of downtown used to belong to one pirate or another,” Trent pointed out.

  “I don’t remember reading about any of that when I studied for my Anne Bonny role,” Skye said as she stood up.

  “You probably didn’t. Shadows Landing was a pirate safe haven and not really known to most people because they didn’t want it known. While we do get some money from tourism, we like our little hideaway,” Tinsley told them as they walked out of the house.

  Trent pulled out his phone and sent a text to Skeeter, the town’s ghost expert. Skeeter knew the history of Shadows Landing by heart, even more so than Stephen Adkins, the local historian.

  “I’ll drive!” Tinsley called out and Skye instantly reached for the car handle.

  “Hey, Karri. Why don’t you ride with me?” Trent asked. Now was the perfect time for that apology.

  Trent had forgotten some of the historical facts about the town’s founding even though he grew up here. He found himself enjoying Skeeter’s tour of downtown Shadows Landing just as much as Skye and Karri were.

  “Reverend Winston!” Skeeter called out as they entered the church. Trent saw the middle-aged clergyman with warm umber skin and his hair in soft coils look up from where he was practicing his sermon.

  “Good afternoon. You’ve brought some new faces with you today. Welcome! I’m Floyd Winston, the pastor here at our beautiful church.”

  “Thank you,” Skye said, smiling as she looked around. “My name is Skye and this is my best friend, Karri. Skeeter has been kind enough to take us on a tour of your town.”

  “Then he brought you to the right place,” Reverend Winston stepped from behind the podium to join them in front of the altar. “I would think that the woman who played Anne Bonny would be particularly interested in the church’s history as Anne donated several of the items herself. It’s such a shame the screenwriters didn’t come here so they’d get their facts right.”

  Karri hid a laugh under a cough. That sentiment had been expressed by just about everyone Trent had introduced her to today.

  Trent slid his hand into Skye’s as she looked around the church and asked, “Anne Bonny really was here?”

  Skeeter and Reverend Winston shared a laugh. “She wasn’t just here. She supplied some of the weapons and signed the decree ceding the church to the town along w
ith Blackbeard, Black Law, Peg Leg Tom, and others. The history of the church is a fascinating one. It was built by the pirates and given to the town with the caveat that they’d be allowed to bring in their booty from the river using secret tunnels under the cemetery and furthermore, that this would always be a sanctuary to all in need, even if they’d broken the law by smuggling.”

  Reverent Winston turned toward the altar and picked up a candlestick. There was matching one on the other side of the altar. He turned the candlestick upside down, grabbed the jeweled base, and pulled. A long narrow dagger slid free from inside. “These were donated by Anne Bonny. She believed women should be able to protect themselves. See, when the pirates sailed off to the high seas, the town consisted almost entirely of women and children. The founding pirates didn’t want them to be defenseless, so the women were armed. The church still holds an armory and the women of Shadows Landing are still taught self-defense here.”

  “Fascinating,” Karri said, completely engrossed in the story.

  Trent felt as if he were hearing this all for the first time, based on Skye’s excitement. She and Karri asked questions as Reverend Winston and Skeeter showed them around the church and told them more stories.

  Trent’s cousin Harper was already texting him that everyone was at the bar by the time they finished the tour of the church.

  “Thank you for the tour and the fascinating history. I’d forgotten some of it,” Trent said as he shook hands with Reverend Winston.

  “Goodness, I’m going to be late for dinner. I look forward to seeing you again on Sunday.”

  Trent didn’t let go of Skye’s hand as they walked out of the church. Luckily it was just a short walk across the street to Harper’s bar. They were almost at the door when a government SUV pulled up.

  “Skye,” Trent said to stop her from walking into the bar. “Agent Castle just arrived.”

  The door to the SUV opened and Agent Peter Castle slid out, his suit wrinkled. Not wrinkled as if it had been balled up and thrown in a corner somewhere, but wrinkled from a long day’s work in it.

  “I was right,” Karri whispered to Skye who nodded in agreement.

  “Right about what?” Trent asked.

  “That he’s hot.” Karri fluffed her hair and moistened her lips as she watched the agent cross the street.

  Trent looked at him to see what Karri was talking about. Castle was a couple of years older than Trent. He matched Trent’s height of a little over six feet and had dark brown hair cut in that typical agent cut. He was clearly in shape. His face was clean-shaven. With the dark sunglasses that matched the dark suit, Trent could understand why Karri was suddenly standing up straighter and looking at him as if he were sex on a stick.

  Trent looked at Skye. Instead of preening for Castle, she appeared nervous. Trent gently squeezed her hand. “It’s okay. He’s a good guy. We all know him and trust him.”

  Skye nodded but leaned closer to him. Trent dropped her hand and moved his hand to her waist. She leaned all the way against him and Trent felt her body tremble slightly with nerves.

  “Hey, Trent. Sorry if I’m late.”

  “No problem. Peter Castle, this is Skye Jessamine and her best friend, Karri Hill.”

  Skye held out her hand and shook Peter’s, but Trent noticed that Peter’s eyes had already turned to look at Karri before he even turned to shake her hand too. “It’s nice to meet you both. I was talking to Agent Shaw on my way over here and he’s busy trying to track down any kind of surveillance near your house to see if he can find the man who attacked you.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate all he’s doing to find out who’s behind this.” Skye took a deep breath and turned to look up at Trent. “Am I right in that your family and everyone in the bar will want to know what Agent Castle has to say?”

  “Heck yeah,” Skeeter snorted as Trent chuckled.

  Tinsley bristled. “That’s not true,” she paused, looked at the bar, and cringed. “Okay, so it might be true.”

  Trent glanced behind him and saw half his family in the window watching them.

  “It’s up to you,” Agent Castle told her and Trent was grateful the agent would do what Skye wanted instead of what his family wanted.

  “It’s okay. You and Agent Castle can go to my house and talk if you’d rather make it private.” Trent gave her that option and then left it up to her to decide.

  “No, I think I’d rather have everyone hear. They all know why I’m here. This way we can be on the same page.”

  Trent pulled the old, thick wooden door of the bar and held it open for the group. He heard the welcome shouts from the patrons, but there was no rush for pictures or even a disruption to whatever debate was going on.

  Two tables were filled with his family, and they greeted Skye and Karri as they made room for everyone. Trent headed to the bar and asked Georgina to put Skeeter’s next two drinks on his tab. Skeeter had refused to charge them for the tour so Trent thought this was a good way to repay him.

  “In that case,” Skeeter said with a smile as he moved into his regular stool next to Gator and Turtle, “I’ll take some of the good stuff.”

  Trent turned back and saw that Karri was seated next to Castle while Skye was next to her and saving a seat for him. When he sat down, Skye and Karri were telling his family about their tour around town.

  Agent Castle cleared his throat and focused the attention to Skye. “I’ve talked to Agent Shaw in L.A. Your people are pissed off big time that you brought in the FBI. They’re spinning these leaks to get you some movie role. They’re also pretending they know where you are. So, do they know?”

  Skye reached under the table and laced her hand with Trent’s. He rested their clasped hands on his thigh as she shook her head. “No. I haven’t even looked at my phone. It’s turned off, actually. Agent Shaw put some encryption device on it, but I was too worried to even turn it on.”

  “One sec.” Agent Castle pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. A second later he was nodding his head. “You’re safe to turn it on. No one can see if you’ve read an email or received a text. There’s no way the phone can be hacked. It’s this new program developed by some wonder kid.”

  Trent felt Skye’s knee began to bounce nervously. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Skye reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She powered it up and the text messages were like a strobe light as they flooded her phone. Each one made Skye’s stomach knot a little tighter.

  “Geez,” Savannah said with a little laugh. “I now don’t feel bad about how much I text.”

  It helped to lighten the mood as Karri turned on her phone and began to stare at the tsunami of emails coming into her account and her own text messages. “My mom has been trying to get in touch with me. I’d better call her and let her know we’re okay. Is that safe to do, Agent Castle?”

  “Yes. You can use your phone as you normally do without worry of it being traced.”

  “Thank you,” Karri said with a little smile that Skye recognized as Karri’s flirtatious smile. Interesting.

  “I’d better go with you. You know your mom will have twenty questions for us,” Skye pushed back from the table and instantly missed the warmth of Trent’s touch.

  “Stay close. I’m going to talk to Sheriff Fox about security for you.”

  “Security?” Skye asked, stopping. “I’ll meet you outside, Karri.”

  “I want someone with you at all times.” Agent Castle didn’t look as if he’d budge on that and Skye didn’t know how she felt about it. In L.A., yes, she wanted that. But here she wanted to be normal. It had been the most perfectly normal day and she’d loved every second.

  “I’ll be with her,” Trent told Agent Castle with a no-argument tone.

  Agent Castle looked between them and then to Sheriff Fox who shrugged. “Trent’s capable. But,” Sheriff Fox paused to get their attention, “any time Trent is busy or unable to be with Miss Jessamine, eit
her Deputy King or I are to be called and will stay with her until Trent’s able to take over.”

  Skye moved to talk but Sheriff Fox slowly shook his head to stop her. “Further, either Deputy King or I will be stopping by numerous times a day to check in.”

  “I’d go farther than that and ask that Miss Jessamine attach GPS sensors to her purse and phone that will allow me, Agent Shaw, and Sheriff Fox know where you are at all times.”

  Skye sucked in an angry breath. No narrowed-eyed look from the men was going to keep her quiet now. “Now wait a minute. That’s a little much. You know where I will be and who I am with at all times. Do you really need to track me? And isn’t that what Agent Shaw took off my phone? Won’t that just allow someone bad to find me?”

  “May I offer a solution that may ease your mind?”

  Skye looked over as a man leaned forward from the corner. He was wearing a suit even her agent couldn’t afford. His face was sexy in the hard cut of his jaw, but his eyes were just as hard and that made him appear to be a man who wasn’t to be messed with.

  “Who are you and why should I listen to you?” Skye demanded. She was surprised when his full lips tilted up into a hint of a smile.

  “So, you do have some backbone.”

  “Ryker,” Trent snapped and the man shrugged as if the reprimand meant nothing to him. “This is my cousin Ryker Faulkner.”

  “And, again, why should I listen to you?” Skye asked again, not impressed with his alpha act. She’d been around sleazy, manipulative casting directors and producers. She managed them and she’d manage this man too.

  “Because one of my companies is a specialty tech company that works hard to not be known by the general public,” he said easily as he laced his fingers together and looked over at her as if she should know what that means.

  Skye raised an eyebrow as if saying, yeah, so? and was pleased to see the faint smile return to Ryker’s lips.