Lucas (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 5)

by Kathy Ivan

  “I’m looking forward to it. Whatever you’ve chosen will be perfect, I’m sure.”

  “Thanks. I—I better let you go. I’m going to take a hot bath and then grab some shuteye. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

  “Goodnight, Jill. Sweet dreams. Promise you’ll call if you need me for anything.”

  Jill hesitated for a brief second. “I promise.” She crossed her fingers at the half-truth. If there was a problem, she’d called the sheriff’s office, because she wouldn’t let herself get used to having Lucas ride to the rescue. He’d head back to Dallas-Fort Worth soon, and she wasn’t about to risk her heart again. It had already been broken once, and she didn’t think she could handle having it shattered again, because this time she knew she wouldn’t be able to pick up the pieces and start over.

  “Jill?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve double checked the locks and the windows. Go home and get some rest. Good night, Lucas.”

  She disconnected the call, leaned her head against the cushions, and closed her eyes. All she could do was take things one day at a time, until he left Shiloh Springs. Thank goodness, she had the bakery to keep her busy and her mind focused on something besides Lucas.

  Lucas booted up his laptop and opened his e-mail program. There was the usual junk, all the unsolicited nonsense that he had to wade through and delete before he got to the actual important stuff. There was an e-mail from one of his buddies who worked on the West Coast, who needed a reference. No problem, he could handle that in the morning. Another one from his brother, Heath. Immediately, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed, because knowing his brother, he’d still be awake, even with the time difference.

  “Evening, Lucas.” Heath’s grinning face appeared on his phone, and Lucas returned his grin. It was good to see his brother smiling, because he’d seemed weary to his soul the last time he’d seen him.

  “Howdy, bro.” Lucas put the full effect of his Texas drawl into his greeting, drawing out the three syllables into a much longer sentence, and was rewarded by his brother’s chuckle. “What’s up with the cryptic e-mail?”

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “I got that. But did you have to make your e-mail sound like it was life or death? All you had to do was pick up the phone, you know.”

  “I talked with Dad. He told me the lead he and his buddies gave you on Renee came up empty.”

  Lucas leaned back, and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose before opening them to stare at Heath. “Yeah. Wasn’t a total bust, but she’d already moved on by the time I could check it out. I’m trying not to lose hope, but sometimes…”

  “On the plus side, you know she’s still alive and kicking. That’s good news, even if you’re still on the hunt.”

  “If this turns out to be her. We still aren’t one hundred percent sure. Anyway, what’d you want to talk to me about?”

  Heath shrugged, his big shoulders filling the lower half of the phone’s screen. “That’s the thing, I wanted to talk to you about Renee. When Dad told me about the lead he’d gotten, he gave me the name your sister used, but I couldn’t remember it.”

  “Elizabeth. Elizabeth Reynolds. That’s the name she used in Cincinnati.” Lucas swallowed past the lump lodged in his throat when he gave Heath his sister’s name. Not that he gave a fig about what she called herself. All he wanted was to find her, make sure she was safe and happy. Let her know she wasn’t alone in the world, and if she’d have him, he’d be a part of her life.

  “That’s it! I knew it sounded familiar.” Heath grinned, and Lucas felt the corners of his mouth tic upward in response. “One of the newbies and I were working a case together. Nothing big, the kid’s still wet behind the ears, and needed a chaperone, you know what I mean?”

  “Sure. I remember when you were the wet-behind-the-ears-punk.”

  “Stuff it, bro. He transferred to the DC office from Portland, Oregon. Been here about three months. Anyway, we’re sitting in the car, staking out this place where they were moving illegal alcohol shipments, and he starts talking about this girl he’d been dating back home. Get this, her name was Lizzie Reynolds. Cute little redhead with green eyes.”

  Lucas’ heartbeat raced in his chest, beating so fast he thought he might be having a heart attack. What were the odds? Was it possible that Heath’s Lizzie Reynolds was the Elizabeth Reynolds he was looking for? Could it be?

  “Before you say anything, hang on, okay?”

  “Why?” Lucas bit out the word.

  “I got Chuck to show me a picture of his gal pal. I gotta say, bro, she looks a heck of a lot like you. A more girly version, but pretty darn close.”

  “Heath—”

  “Check your text messages. I sent you something.”

  Lucas heard the familiar tone beep, and pulled up the screen. The photo was a little grainy, but the tight squeezing around his heart spoke louder than any words. Renee. There wasn’t a shadow of doubt Lizzie Reynolds was his baby sister, Renee O’Malley.

  “Bro, did you get it?” At Heath’s worried look, Lucas chuckled, though it had a ragged and slightly watery sound.

  “Yeah, I got it. It’s her. Heath, that’s Renee.”

  “Son of a biscuit! I knew it!” Heath’s triumphant yell reverberated through the cell phone. His brother’s colorful turn of phrase made Lucas laugh, because for such a big man, at six foot five, and two hundred and twenty pounds, he refused to curse. Swore he’d learned his lesson the hard way when Ms. Patti washed his mouth out with Lava soap. Instead, he came up with a variety of old-fashioned terms and euphemisms whenever he needed to replace his swear words.

  “Your buddy, Chuck, was it? He got an address for Lizzie?”

  “I wanted to make sure it was her first before he gave me the information. He did mention she seemed like a bit of a loner. Didn’t have a lot of friends, far as he knew. He met her at the gym in their apartment building, and struck up a friendship. So, yeah, he’s got an address. If he won’t give it up, I’ll simply dig it out of his records, coz I can do that.” Heath’s eyes lit with amusement before he sobered. “This is it, bro. If you want or need me to go with you, say the word, and I’ll be right by your side.”

  Warmth built inside Lucas at his brother’s offer and he remembered the conversation he’d had with Dane. His brother was right. Being a Boudreau meant more than sharing blood. They were brothers through choice, and at times like this it made his decision all the sweeter, knowing his family had his back no matter what.

  “Thanks, I can’t tell you what it means to hear you say that. Talk to your newbie, get the address and text it to me. I’ll let you know my plans after I’ve checked some stuff out.”

  “Will do. I’m only a call away. I’ve got a good feeling this time, bro. You’re finally gonna find your sister.”

  “I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but this feels right. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Wait, hold on.” Heath leaned in closer to the screen. “A little birdie told me you’re seeing Jill Monroe again.”

  Lucas’ laughter burst forth. “Tell Nica to mind her own business.”

  Heath’s laughter mingled with his own before he disconnected the call. His mind raced through all the possible scenarios, yet with each one he still felt hope growing. After all these years, was it possible he’d finally find Renee?

  Closing his laptop, he leaned back against the couch cushion and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he’d start looking into this new lead, but for now, he’d think about Jill, and maybe check into whether she had a mysterious stranger following her.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Jill raced home after church long enough to change from her nicer outfit into a pair of paint-splattered jeans and a T-shirt, and pulled her hair into pony tails on each side of her face. Grabbing her bag, she sprinted toward her car, stuttering to a stop when she noted it listing to the left.

  Glancing at the front driver’s tire, she instantly spotted the problem. It was flat. She
squatted down and ran her hand over the black rubber. It felt spongy beneath her fingers. Standing, she wiped her hand on her jean-clad leg, and turned toward the rear of the car, intent of getting out the spare. Only then did she spot the rear tire was flat, too.

  Hands on hips, she stared at the second tire, and pondered her luck. Seemed like today kept going from bad to worse. First thing this morning, the hot water hadn’t worked right, and she’d ended up having to rush through a cold shower in order to be on time for Sunday services. Fine, she could deal with that. Then her car, which had seemed okay all the way to church, or at least as all right as it ever was, started making odd noises on her way home. The old rust bucket, as she called it, made strange wheezing sounds whenever she accelerated over thirty most of the time, and rattled and shimmied at any speed over forty-five, but she hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the tires. Now she stood starting at two flats.

  “Can this day get any worse?”

  “Got a problem, Jill?”

  Jill spun round, a hand across her racing heart, and stared at Douglas Boudreau. She blew out a shaky breath, thankful he’d shown up, even if she hadn’t been expecting him. Too bad he’d scared a couple of years off her life.

  “Sorry, you startled me. And, yes, I’ve got a bit of a problem.” She pointed toward the car. “Two flats. Guess it isn’t my day.”

  “Let me take a look. Maybe you ran over something in the road and didn’t notice at the time. Happens that way sometimes.”

  “Thanks, Douglas.” She watched him squat down beside the car, and feel around the wheel, exactly as she’d done moments earlier. He moved with ease for such a large man, and gave a final check of the rear tire before standing.

  “I can’t see anything which might’ve caused them to go flat from looking at them. I’ll give Frank a call. I’m sure he can get you fixed up pretty quick.”

  “That’s okay,” she protested, “I’ll call Dante. He’s working with Frank now. I’m pretty sure he can change the tires, get me a couple of retreads until—”

  Douglas’s large hand on her shoulder stopped the rest of her words, and he squeezed gently. “You’ve got enough on your plate, let me handle it. Ms. Patti sent me by to help you with some food. She mentioned you were bringing refreshments for the boys.”

  Jill slapped her palm against her forehead. “The food! I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I completely spaced out about the stuff I was bringing. It’s still in the apartment.”

  “Good thing I showed up then.”

  “I swear I can’t seem to remember anything recently. Between the forgetfulness and my overactive imagination, I’m probably going to end up talking to myself.”

  “Tell you what,” Douglas’ smile was like a beam of sunshine straight to her soul, filled with a warmth and compassion, a balm to her frazzled nerves, “let’s get the food and anything else you need loaded into my trunk, and you can call Dante on the way. Sound like a plan?”

  “You, sir, are a lifesaver.”

  Douglas walked her back to her apartment and within a few minutes, they’d loaded up the boxes Jill packed earlier, along with the cooler filled with drinks. She must’ve really been distracted to have forgotten something she’d worked on all morning before church. Shaking her head at her own folly, she climbed into the passenger seat, and gave a final glance toward her car. It looked forlorn and a little pathetic, listing to the side with the two flat tires. It kind of reminded her what her life had been like up until recently.

  Before she knew it, they’d arrived at the bakery. Douglas pulled around the block and drove down the alley behind the storefronts, and parked at the back door. Jill sat a little straighter in the seat and looked around. She’d been in and out of the back door multiple times, but she’d never really paid much attention. Seeing it now, she grinned. If she drove to work, she’d have her own parking here in the back, and wouldn’t take valuable real estate away from paying customers who wanted to park in front. Plus, it was only a few feet from the back door to the parking space. It gave her a feeling of safety and relieved the secret fear that had taken hold of her the night before. No more worrying about strangers following her.

  “I talked with Liam. He’s going to install a couple of lights back here, the kind that’ll come on at dusk and turn off at dawn.”

  “Thank you. Tell him to send me the bill, and I’ll…” Her words trailed off at Douglas’ scowl. Wow, that wasn’t an expression she’d seen on his face before, and honestly? She didn’t want to see it again, especially directed at her.

  “We don’t charge family.”

  There it was. The royal Boudreau decree. She’d been accepted as part of the Boudreau clan, something she’d never imagined in her wildest dreams, and the warm glow deep in the pit of her stomach spread upward until her whole body felt encased in happiness.

  “Thank you, Douglas.”

  His single nod told her more than mere words how he felt, and she waited quietly, still a little stunned at his pronouncement, while he strolled around the car and opened her door. Clicking his key fob, the trunk slid open, and he walked over to the bakery’s back door and gave a couple of hard raps. Only a few seconds passed before it swung inward and Chance stuck his head through the opening.

  “Dad?”

  “Come help me with these boxes. Jill, you go ahead inside, we’ve got this covered.”

  Knowing she’d been dismissed, she smiled at Chance and walked inside, marveling again at how much they’d accomplished the day before. The overhead lighting fixtures illuminated every inch of the kitchen, which was spotless. The floors shone beneath the glow, clean as a whistle. They wouldn’t stay that way for long, not with all the work still to be done, but for the moment, everything seemed perfect.

  Voices from the front drew her, and she pushed open the door between the kitchen and the front area, and spotted Ms. Patti, Antonio, Serena, and Nica spreading canvas tarps on the floors. Tessa was taping the edging around the windowsills, and Rafe teased her about how she was doing it wrong. Her hand flew to her mouth to hold back her laugh when Tessa threw the roll of tape at him.

  “If you think you can do a better job, do it yourself, hotshot.”

  He caught the tape one-handed, and grabbed Tessa around the waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss, before taking over where she’d left off.

  “Jill, good, you’re here. I think we’ve got everything pretty much ready to go. All you need is to point out where you want what colors, and let’s put these lazy people to work.” Ms. Patti gave her a wink, amusement coloring her gaze.

  “Right, gotcha.” She pointed to the can of light cream-colored paint. “This color is going on all of the walls except that one.” Indicating the one wall between the bakery’s front and the kitchen, she picked up a can of the peach-colored paint. “This color is going on the dividing wall, as a backdrop accent color behind the shop’s sign.”

  “Oh, I like that color.” Nica picked up the can and examined the splotch painted on the lid. “It’ll go great with the sage green color. Where are you using it?”

  “The green is for the beadboard wainscoting and the baseboards. Also for the trim around the windows.”

  “Nice color choices,” Ms. Patti added with a smile. “Not that I’d expect anything else. I’ve always said you have a lovely sense of style and color.”

  You did? I never knew that.

  “I’m not sure what I expected. Whenever I think about a bakery, I’m always thinking trendy, bright colors, primary colors like red, and blue, and yellow.” Serena picked up a roller and an empty paint tray and gave Jill a smile. “I like this better. Sometimes all the overabundance of color makes it a little too, I don’t know, frenetic? Doesn’t make me want to linger because it’s too overwhelming to the senses.”

  Reaching around Jill, she grabbed the can of peach paint from Nica. “Gimme. I’m going to start on the back wall there.”

  “Hey, wait! I was going to work on that one.”


  Serena grinned at Nica. “You snooze, you lose, sister!” At the disappointed expression on Nica’s face, she relented. “Grab a paintbrush. You can cut in the edges while I roll, how’s that?”

  “Deal.”

  Douglas and Chance came through the kitchen entrance, arms loaded down with boxes, and Chance also carried the cooler. Ms. Patti immediately took charge, directing the men on where everything should be placed. She winked again at Jill, then began assigning jobs, delegating like a Marine Corps drill sergeant who’d brook no backtalk. Not that she got any. Everybody knew when Ms. Patti was in the room, she was in charge. Well, everyone but Douglas. There wasn’t a single doubt he was the family’s patriarch, who ruled with a firm yet loving hand. He was simply smart enough to step aside and let Ms. Patti do her thing, while he smiled indulgently. The love shining in his eyes spoke more eloquently than any words, and Jill envied their shared affection and devotion.

  Within minutes, everybody knew what their job was and dug in with an exuberance that defied description. Paint started going up on the walls, while Tessa carried a bucket of hot soapy water outside, and began scrubbing the big window out front.

  “Where do you need me, Ms. Patti?”

  “We’ll be in the back, dear. I want to go over our list, make sure we’ve covered all the bases, and everything you need has been ordered.”

  “Hang on a sec, darlin’.” Douglas walked over to stand beside his wife, his large stature nearly dwarfing her. “Jill had a bit of an issue before we got here.” He looked at her, brow quirked, as if silently asking if she wanted him to say anything.

  “Thanks for reminding me. I better call Dante and have him pick up my car.”

  “Car trouble? Douglas, why didn’t you call Frank?”

  “Jill wanted to call her brother to handle it. He’s working at Frank’s garage now, and I didn’t want to overstep.”

  Ms. Patti’s hand on her arm startled Jill for a second. “Is there anything we can do? Shiloh’s car’s up at the Big House if you need a loaner for a bit. He’s back in San Antonio, I’m sure he won’t mind you borrowing it.”