by Jill Sanders
They drove in silence for another hour. She tried to focus on where they were going, but her eyes kept closing.
“Well, we’re here,” he said, as he pulled into a dark parking lot.
She looked around and laughed. “This isn’t Fairplay.” She looked harder. “Where are we?” She’d been so tired that she’d dozed off and hadn’t seen where they were going.
“Austin.” She watched him grab her bag and get out of the car.
“Austin!” She grabbed her water and chips. “That’s nowhere near Fairplay.”
He nodded. “I know.” He started walking away from the car.
“But what are we doing here?” She followed him.
“Grabbing a bus.” He glanced over his shoulder at her.
“A bus?” She stopped walking. “I’m not taking a bus.”
He turned to her and gave her one of his sexy smiles. “Listen, princess, I know it’s far beneath you, but at this point, we have little choice.”
She stood there. “What about a rental?”
He shook his head. “Low on funds.” He turned and started walking. “I have enough for two bus tickets.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “Unless you want to thumb it?”
She glared as she caught up with him. “We can’t just leave my car there.” She glanced back at her Honda. She only had a year left on her payments and then it was all hers.
“Your dad is seeing to it.” He kept walking and she had to practically jog to keep up with him. She didn’t like that he wasn’t giving her all of the information, but she trusted her father. If he had made plans with Ryan, then she just had to follow along. She wished she could hear it directly from her father, but she doubted Ryan was going to give up the cell phone anytime soon.
They walked in silence for almost half an hour. By the time they walked into the bus station, she was completely exhausted and her feet hurt. She was at least thankful she’d put on her tennis shoes.
She stood by Ryan as he bought the tickets and paid with the last of his cash. She didn’t mention that there was a couple hundred in the bag he was carrying; she thought she’d keep that information to herself, at least for a while.
He walked over and sat on one of the benches by the door, crossed his ankles, and leaned back. The bus didn’t leave for over an hour, so she sat next to him on the uncomfortable bench.
“Are you going to share?” He looked over at her.
She looked back at him, perplexed.
He nodded to the bag of chips she held next to her. “Sure.” She handed him the entire bag as she looked around the bus station.
He sat next to her and ate half of what was left in the bag. When she complained, he handed her the bag and drank the rest of his Coke.
“So, tell me about this case.” She took a drink of her water and finished off the last of the chips.
He looked over at her. “Why?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Since I’m now involved in all this.” She motioned towards the almost empty bus station.
He nodded. “Sounds fair. I started working it a little under three years ago, when I had to be pulled from my first case.” He paused.
“Was that when you were shot?” she asked.
He glanced at her, looking surprised, and then nodded. “It took a while to recover, but once I was back on my feet and cleared for action, I took over as lead trying to bring Hijo del Diablo down. Rick had already been on the case for a while.” He frowned and she could tell he was thinking about his colleague. Then he shook his head and continued. “Hijo del Diablo—that’s what we call him, anyway—is one of the biggest Mexican drug lords hiding in the US. He’s eluded the department for over ten years.” He shook his head.
“How long have you been working with the department?”
“Almost seven years.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
“When you left home?” She was shocked. He’d left home and immediately gone into the force.
He glanced over at her and nodded. “I started training first, then”—he shrugged—“I was put on my first case.” He smiled. “I was young enough to take a few jobs undercover at some schools.”
She frowned at him. “Why did you leave home without a word?” she asked, but he was interrupted when boarding for their bus was announced. He followed her closely as she got on their bus. She took the seat by the window and he sat next to her, stowing her bug-out bag under their seat.
Once the bus was on its way, she leaned her head back and looked at him. It really was too bad he wasn’t her type.
Her father had always wanted her to marry in the force. Her family had law enforcement in it for as far back as anyone could remember. Her father had even worked the beat before he’d been injured and had retired. Then he’d started his own PI business, and she’d joined him a few years later.
She glanced at Ryan again. His head was leaning back against his seat and his eyes were closed. He really was handsome, if a little rough around the edges.
She’d dated a few men, but none of them had lasted long, especially after she had started to work with her dad. Something about a woman that carried more guns than most police officers scared away most of them. She thought about the gun in the bag below Ryan’s feet.
Even in high school, it had been hard to date. Most men had viewed her as untouchable. She didn’t know what she did to warrant that label, but it had always annoyed her. The fact that Ryan called her princess just added to it all.
She rested her head back and let the weariness overcome her. When she woke several hours later, she almost screamed when she saw Ryan looking at her. Gone were the full scruffy beard and his long hair. His hair was cut very short. He’d shaved and changed shirts and jeans. She didn’t know how he’d done it. Even his shoes were different. She wouldn’t have known it was him except for those green eyes looking down and almost laughing at her.
“How…?” She looked around. She couldn’t have been asleep for that long. Could she? “How did you get those clothes?”
He smiled and shook his head. “You have your secrets, I have mine.” Then he stood up and grabbed her bag from under his seat. “Time to go.”
She looked out the window and saw that the sun was rising over a very large wheat field.
“Is this Fairplay?”
He looked out the window and shook his head no.
She looked back at him. “Then why are we getting off here?” She stood up and followed him towards the front of the bus. He didn’t answer her, instead asked the driver to pull over and let them off there. In the middle of nowhere. From what she could tell, there wasn’t even a gas station nearby.
When they stood on the road, watching the bus disappear into the sunrise, she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at him.
“Now will you tell me why we got off the bus in the middle of nowhere?”
He smiled. “Because that”—he nodded towards the land—“is the beginning of my cousins’ land.”
He tried not to let his excitement show. But Saddleback Ranch was one of the only places he and Reece had ever been truly happy. Throwing her bag over his shoulder, he started walking across the field. He knew his way around the ranch and they were about an hour’s walk away from the main house. Just across this field and over a few hills, the big white house would come into sight. He glanced down at his watch and smiled. “We’ll be in time for breakfast.”
“You mean we are walking the whole way into town?”
He laughed. “No, Saddleback is a few miles out of town.”
“Oh.” She jogged to catch up with him.
“How did you change?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Secret.”
She frowned. “I know what’s in that bag, and those clothes are not in there.”
“Nope, all that’s in here are girl clothes, a 9MM, and three hundred in cash.” He glanced at her as her frown grew.
“Then how?” She pulled on his sleeve until he stopped.
“If I tell you, will you walk faster? I’m starving and I know that my cousin will gladly make me some homemade waffles and eggs.”
He heard her stomach growl and smiled. Then she looked up at him and nodded. “Agreed.”
“Fine. I found someone on the bus fitting my size and paid him for a change of clothes, razor, and a pair of very dull clippers.” He turned and started walking again.
“Why didn’t I think of that?” she said, following him as she shook her head. “I must be more tired than I thought.”
He chuckled. “Now…” He turned towards her. “Tell me how you found me.”
He watched her blush, then start walking again. “Oh, no, you don’t. I answered your question, you have to answer mine.”
She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “I ran into you.”
He nodded. “And?”
“Literally.” She watched him frown.
He looked at her, not getting it. “I don’t understand.”
“I’d been all over Houston. To the hospitals, nightclubs, everywhere. No one knew anything about you. I had no leads. Then, I was coming out of a gas station and there you were.” She turned and started walking again.
“Wait.” He pulled on her arm again, chuckling. “You saw me on the street and knew who I was?” She nodded. “How?”
She laughed. “Well, for starters I had a picture of you from when you were in the hospital.”
“And?”
“I’ve met your brother.” She shrugged her shoulders and blushed a little. “You are identical twins. I didn’t need much more than seeing you on the street to know who you were.” She started walking again.
After a moment of silence, he caught up with her. “How is Reece?”
“This is the first time you’ve asked me about him.”
It was his turn to blush. “We’ve been busy.”
When she just looked at him, he shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I feel bad for how things turned out.”
“You left him.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.
“It wasn’t as if I had much of a choice. Not at first.”
“What...?” she asked.
He shook his head. “One secret a day, princess.” He started walking again. His stomach was leading him across the hills; he could almost smell the waffles.
“He’s getting married,” she said behind him.
He looked over his shoulder and nodded. “I’d heard.”
“What?” She caught up with him. “How did you hear?”
He smiled. “I have my ways.”
Chapter Four
Ryan didn’t know what to expect when he walked up onto the front porch of the big white house. When he knocked, he noticed that his hand shook, and he cursed under his breath. This was his family. His cousins had always been there with open arms for him and his brother. He didn’t know why there was a thread of doubt running through his mind.
He could feel Nikki standing behind him and for a moment wished they were somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Then the door swung open, and he saw his cousin’s matching green eyes light up. The screen door was yanked open and Lauren was in his arms hugging him tighter than ever before.
“Ryan.” She kept saying his name over and over again. He felt her body shaking as she cried.
“Lauren, is everything okay?” He heard a male voice and looked up to see a man standing in the doorway, a little girl with dark curly hair and green eyes in his arms.
“Chase, it’s Ryan,” Lauren said against his chest. Ryan nodded to Chase. He’d heard that she’d married, but hadn’t heard the details. Actually, all three of his cousins were now married and were mothers.
“Hello.” Chase nodded to him. “Well, why don’t you stop crying on him and let him in.” Chase smiled. “Besides, he has a lady friend with him, and she looks tired and hungry.”
“Yes.” Lauren stepped back and then looked up at him and balled her fist and slugged him in the shoulder. “That’s for not calling.” She used the same fist to wipe away the tears that were leaking down her face. “Now, come inside. I was just about to make waffles.” She smiled and reached over and held out her hand for Nikki. “I’m Lauren, his cousin.”
“Nikki Dawson.”
“It’s nice to meet you. This is my husband, Chase, our daughter, Abbi, and somewhere around here...” Just then a little boy of around four came running in to the room, butt naked.
“Ma, I can’t find my underwear.”
Lauren laughed and swooped up the little boy. “This is our son, Ricky.”
“Hey, Reece,” Ricky said, then frowned and looked at Ryan again. “You’re not Reece.”
“Nope. I’m his brother.”
Ricky smiled. “I got twin cousins, Conner and Cooper. They look a lot more alike though.” He smiled.
“I’ll swap you,” Chase said, handing Abbi over to Lauren. “We’ll just go find our underwear and be right down.”
Lauren laughed and handed over the naked boy. “Come on in.”
They followed her back to the kitchen, and he noticed that the place had been remodeled since the last time he’d been there. The kitchen had new cupboards and new flooring. He’d noticed as they had walked up that the whole place had new siding, paint, and windows.
“The place looks great,” he said, sitting in a chair Lauren motioned to. She was putting the little girl into a high chair but smiled and nodded.
“Yes, Chase has been working on updating everything. We have even remodeled all of the ranch houses.” She stopped and looked over at him. “Where are you staying?”
He shrugged his shoulders and waited.
“I’ll get you the keys to one of the ranch houses.” She smiled. “Nikki, you’re welcome to...”
“She stays with me,” Ryan broke in. Just the command in his voice told them there was nothing more to discuss.
Lauren nodded. “That’s fine.” She smiled and looked at Nikki. “Now, how many waffles do you want?”
“Can I help?” Nikki said from her chair.
“Of course not.” Lauren smiled at her. “But if you want to make sure Abbi eats all her Cheerios, that would be helpful.”
She nodded and scooted her chair closer to the little girl who was happily banging her hands on the high chair and eating what she could.
“Does your brother know you’re here?” Lauren said, turning around with a spatula in her hands.
He shook his head. “We just got off the bus and walked here less than an hour ago.”
She gasped and set her spatula down. “I’ll just...”
“Already done,” Chase said, walking in with a fully clothed Ricky in his arms. “Reece and Missy are on their way.”
Ryan felt like jumping up and making a run for it. He looked to Lauren for help.
“Maybe you should take the kids somewhere?” At first Chase looked like he didn’t understand, but then knowledge showed on his face.
He looked down at Ricky. “What do you say to you and your sister helping me feed the animals?”
Ricky shouted and nodded his head. “Yippee.” Chase set Ricky down and took Abbi out of the highchair.
“Thanks,” he said to Lauren when Chase and the kids were gone. “I know I have it coming. I just didn’t want the kids to...”
Lauren walked over to him, shaking her head. “Ryan, I’m sure your brother will be happy to see you again.”
Still, it didn’t take away the fear and anxiety that ran through him, waiting.
He’d just eaten his second waffle when they heard the car drive up.
Ryan stood. “I’ll get it. Stay.” He looked down at Nikki with a frown, hoping she’d listen. He knew there was no stopping Lauren from following him outside, but he hoped.
When he stepped out onto the porch, he saw his brother standing by a truck with a pretty blonde in a sundress and boots. They were hugging, but when they heard the screen door shut behind him, they looked up.
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Reece was across the space quickly, and Ryan met him at the bottom of the stairs. Ryan clenched and prepared for the blow that he knew was coming. But instead of a fist to the face or gut, he was engulfed in a hug that almost broke a few of his bruised ribs.
Ryan blinked a few times and then hugged his brother back. And for the first time in years, he felt forgiven and loved.
Nikki watched from behind the screen door, standing behind Lauren. She heard Lauren sniffle into her apron and open the door.
“If you two are done, breakfast is getting cold. Come on, Missy, you can help me make up some more eggs.”
The men pulled apart and smiled at one another with matching smiles. Melissa walked up and stood next to Reece. “It’s good to have you back.” She hugged Ryan, who nodded and hugged her.
When Lauren walked by her, she said, “How come she can help out, but not me?”
Lauren laughed. “Missy is family. You’re a guest. But if you want, you can get some more place settings.” She took her arm and walked her back to the kitchen.
By the time she had set out two more sets of dishes, they heard another car drive up. “That will be Alex or Haley.” She dried her hands and started walking towards the door.
Nikki sat back as the large kitchen filled up with people. She’d met Melissa and Reece before, when she’d interviewed them in Houston about Ryan. She was quickly introduced to everyone else as they arrived. She met Lauren’s sisters, Alex and Haley, and their husbands, Grant and Wes. Alex and Grant’s daughter, Laura, was there too, and she could tell that there was a little brother or sister on the way as well. Haley and Wes had twin boys, Conner and Cooper, who were a smaller match of Ryan and Reece yet still managed to look like their father. Wes showed up in his police uniform, but then had to go back out on a call shortly after arriving.
After everyone was done eating the huge breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon, they sat around and talked for a while. She noticed how Ryan avoided the story of how they had come to be in Fairplay. Or how they had met. He kept dodging any questions; she tried her best to do the same. For now, she didn’t want anyone to know that they might be hunted down or that they were even hiding out. For the most part, everyone avoided asking Ryan where he’d been for the last seven years. At least for now.