Know Me, Keep Me (Full Heart Ranch Series Book 3)

by Barbara Gee

  “They haven’t had a chance to spend a lot of time with Boone yet,” Jolene told her, “but they already love him so much, and are so happy to know their son is alive and thriving. They want a relationship with him, of course, and they want to meet you, too. They know you weren’t involved in the baby swap. They’re grateful that Boone had a happy life, and they want to help you through this hard time. Just this morning Kay asked us to let you know that you’re welcome to come stay on their ranch any time you like, for as long as you like.”

  “I know it’ll be hard for you to go there the first time, Mom,” Boone said before she could protest, “but I hope you’ll eventually do it. I promise you, you’ll leave with a lighter heart. The Desmonds truly don’t blame you for what Dad and the doctors did.”

  “Maybe someday,” Carla said, her voice small.

  “In the meantime, I don’t want you here by yourself.” Boone took one of her hands and held it between both of his. “This whole thing is going to hit the news, probably by tonight or tomorrow. The reporters are going to dig up your address and show up here, hoping for a story. And they’re going to call you and try to trick you into talking to them. I don’t want you to have to go through that.”

  “You can fly back to St. Paul with us,” Jolene suggested.

  Boone nodded. “Or I can fly you to stay with Aunt Carol. Des Moines isn’t much out of our way. I can call my pilot and have him file a flight plan to drop you off there.”

  “But then I’d have to tell her what Aaron did,” Carla said. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “The thing is, Mom, she’s going to find out soon anyway. This is going to be a big story, and it’ll spread way beyond Texas and Chicago. It’s not just our family that’s affected, it’s four other families, too. Two of them had their babies taken, and two have babies that aren’t theirs. And one of the families is very high profile, much more so than me. Once it goes public, Aunt Carol will definitely hear about it.”

  Carla raised a trembling hand and smoothed her hair back. “I need to tell her first then, don’t I? You know my sister. She’d never forgive me if she heard it on the news.”

  “She’ll be there for you, you know that. She’ll be shocked, but she’ll be there.”

  “Yes,” Carla nodded. “We’re sisters, after all. We’re always there for each other.”

  “Do you want to call her now? Or wait a little while?” Boone asked.

  His mother sighed. “I should call now. I think it would be best if I stayed with her. Not that I wouldn’t love to be with you, Boone, but you’re going to have enough to deal with. You don’t need to be worrying about me on top of it all.”

  “I’ll always worry about you, Mom,” he said gently. “That’s what kids do.”

  Fresh tears filled Carla’s eyes and she nodded. “You’re the best son. You’ve brought terrible news, but not as bad as it could have been.”

  Boone raised his brows disbelievingly. “How could it be any worse, Mom?”

  She pressed her lips together, fighting another bout of tears. “When I opened the front door and saw you standing there, I was so delighted because you’d finally brought a girl home with you. Then I realized you’d come to tell me bad news, and in my mind, I immediately thought you were going to tell me you were sick. That something was terribly wrong with you.”

  “Ah man, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize your mind would go there. I should have told you right away that I’m fine.”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay, I understand now. But don’t you see, Boone? You could have told me you were sick, or even dying. And as bad as all this is, that would have been so much worse.”

  Boone smiled at her. “Only a mother could feel that way,” he said gently. “I love you, Mom. I always will.”

  With that, Jolene excused herself so they could be alone. She went to the hall bathroom they had passed earlier, closed the door, and allowed herself to cry her eyes out for a few minutes. Seeing Boone with his mom had sent her into emotional overload, and she needed an outlet.

  Witnessing Carla’s pain had been even worse than Jolene had expected, but she also saw signs of an inner strength in the older woman. Carla Kendall would get through this; it would be rough, but she’d make it, because she had her sister and her son.

  And that son—what an incredible man he was. What she’d seen today convinced Jolene more than ever that Boone Kendall was hands down the best man she knew.

  CHAPTER 38

  After a long, private phone call with her sister, Carla emerged from her bedroom with a packed suitcase. Her eyes were still red and swollen, but she was holding it together.

  “Ready to go?” Boone asked.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Carla said.

  “Just this one bag? We have plenty of room on the plane for more.”

  “This is enough. I’ll be laying low and not leaving the house much, so I don’t need an abundance of clothes.”

  “Did your talk with Carol go okay?” Boone asked hopefully.

  “As good as it could have. She’s as angry at Aaron as I am.” Carla shook her head. “I still can’t believe he’s kept it a secret for this long. He’s not the man I thought he was. I wonder what else he’s kept hidden?”

  Boone picked up her suitcase. “I’m pretty sure the only other thing is the fact that he paid out almost all of your retirement savings to the blackmailer. But don’t concern yourself about that, Mom. Money will never be a worry for you.”

  “Maybe I’ll relocate permanently and find a part-time job to keep me busy. I can’t imagine facing the people around here on a daily basis, knowing they’re talking about us behind our backs. I have a few very dear friends, but the others are merely social acquaintances who love nothing more than a good gossip session. I’d rather be far away when our family becomes the next juicy topic.”

  “You have plenty of time to decide what comes next,” Boone assured her. “You can go back and forth between my place and Carol’s for as long as you like. But we’d better get going now, so it’s not too late when we get to Des Moines.”

  “Carol said she and Richard will be waiting. I just need to let her know when we’re ready to take off here, and how long the flight will be.”

  “We’ll find that out that from the pilots.” Boone opened the front door and let the women go out ahead of him. After loading the suitcase in the trunk of the rental, they headed back the way they had come two hours earlier.

  * * *

  Four hours later, Carla walked into her sister’s arms at the Des Moines airport. Jolene couldn’t help but smile, because she could see right away that coming to stay with Carol was the best thing for Boone’s devastated mother. Carol hugged her younger sister, shed a few tears, then turned to Boone, her hands on her hips as she told him he could never get out of being her nephew, blood related or not, and if he ever tried she’d track him down and set him straight.

  He lifted his tiny aunt in the air with his hug, assuring her that nothing had changed on that front, and she’d be his favorite aunt forever. She giggled and gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek before he released her to shake hands with Richard. He introduced Jolene and they all chatted for a bit, but they soon had to get back on the plane to make sure Boone got home in time to rest up before tomorrow’s game.

  “We’ll be watching,” Richard assured him. “Thanks for that cable TV subscription. We wouldn’t be able to see any of your games without it.”

  “You’re welcome.” Boone grinned at Jolene. “I have to buy my fans,” he joked.

  “He’s a generous nephew, but we’d be fans without the cable or anything else he buys for us,” Carol told Jolene. “He’s a special man, but I’m sure you already know that.”

  “I definitely do,” Jolene assured her. “I count my blessings every day, and he’s at the top of the list.”

  Boone’s eyes were warm as he smiled down at her. “She’s pretty special herself, Aunt Carol.” He turned to Carla and the
y hugged for a long time.

  “Call me whenever you need to talk, Mom. And if you want to come to St. Paul for a while, you just say the word.”

  “I will, Boone. Thanks for taking care of me. It’s all still sinking in and I’m going to need time. Maybe a lot of it. But as long as I still have you, I think I’ll get there.”

  “You’ll always have me. We’ll talk soon.”

  * * *

  Back on the plane, Boone fell into one of the comfortable, padded leather seats and groaned, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. Jolene sank down beside him, putting a hand on his leg.

  “You okay?” she asked softly.

  He dropped his arms. “I am. I’m okay, and I’m so relieved. I know we have a long road ahead, but thank God this part is over.”

  “She’s a strong woman, Boone.”

  “Yeah, stronger than I gave her credit for. It’ll be interesting to see where she comes out once she’s had time to work through everything. I’m glad she agreed to go to Carol’s. I hadn’t given it any thought before today, but when I realized she shouldn’t be alone, Aunt Carol was the first person I thought of. I think being there is absolutely the best thing for her.”

  “I agree.” Jolene picked up his hand pressed it to her cheek. “You should probably call your dad. I imagine he’s going pretty crazy wondering how Carla took it.”

  “Mm. Part of me wants to let him stew for a while longer, but you’re probably right. I should call and let him know he can go back home if he wants. And I need to make sure he doesn’t try to contact Mom.”

  “We have a little bit before take-off. I’ll go sit in the back while you call him. Give you some privacy.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  Jolene stood up. “I don’t mind. I’ll come back up when we start moving.”

  When she returned to the seat beside him ten minutes later, he was just hanging up and the plane was taxiing out to the runway.

  “You good?” she asked.

  “Yeah. He’s upset that Mom left, but I told him he should have anticipated that.”

  “Think he’ll honor her wish not to contact her?”

  “He’d better. He brought this on himself, and he has no right to expect anything from her. I reminded him of that, and he seemed to calm down. I also gave him my agent’s number, so he can call him to come bail him out once he’s arrested.”

  Jolene fastened her seatbelt and laid her head on his shoulder. “I like your mom.”

  He put two fingers under her chin and lifted her face to his, lowering his lips to brush against hers. “I like you, Jo.”

  She shivered. “I’m glad.”

  His eyes were warm. “You’re my bright spot through all this, you know. Makes me almost thankful for my concussion, because without it I wouldn’t have had a chance to get to know you.”

  She grinned. “But you’d probably have a play-off spot locked up.”

  He pretended to think about it. “I still choose you, babe. Just don’t tell my team.”

  She laughed but his mouth smothered it, and as the plane rose into the sky, they celebrated the end of the much dreaded day with a kiss that went on until the pilot’s voice came over the intercom, announcing they’d reached cruising altitude and could take off their seatbelts and move around. Jolene unfastened her belt and Boone promptly lifted her into his lap. She snuggled against him, secure within the strong arms she’d come to know and depend on. He reclined his seat, cradling her against his chest, and they both fell asleep until it was time to buckle up again for the landing.

  Boone took her hand when she was back in her own seat, lacing their fingers together. “How long can you stay with me?” he asked.

  “I should leave day after tomorrow. Wednesday. That’ll give me a few days to prepare for the new group arriving next Monday. I’ve gotten a lot done remotely, but I need some face to face sessions with my team to really feel like we’re ready.”

  “So you’ll come to my game tomorrow?”

  “Of course.”

  “We need a win.”

  “I know. St. Louis is still a point ahead of you. A win would be huge, then you’d only need to win one of the final three.”

  He chuckled. “I should have known you’d have the play-off chart memorized.”

  “You keep underestimating me,” she complained, her frown not very fierce. “I’ve proven over and over that I’m your number one fan, and yet still you doubt.”

  “I’ll work on that. And I’ll do my best to get you that win.”

  * * *

  The next night the crowd was pumped up and noisy again, full of anticipation and hoping to overtake the Blues in their effort to get a wild card spot for the post-season. Jolene had just taken her seat in the stands, the same one she’d had before, when Linc Holt joined her, a huge grin on his face. He told her Boone had called him that morning to let him know he had a ticket waiting for him. Jolene was glad to have a friend to cheer with, and she suspected Boone had known that having Linc there would make her happy.

  The first puck was dropped and together they cheered on the Wild. It was a hard fought game. The other team was gunning for Boone, and he was taken hard into the boards time and time again. He gave as good as he got, though, and his teammates were more than happy to retaliate on his behalf. The penalty box was kept busy, but thankfully there were no serious injuries.

  The score was tied at three with forty-five seconds left when Boone served up a beautiful pass to Jax, who put it in the back of the net for the game winner. The crowd went absolutely wild, and it took forever to get out of the arena. Linc accompanied Jolene all the way to locker room door, then left while she waited for Boone.

  She was still on an adrenaline high when he came out and asked if she’d want to go to a sports bar to celebrate the win with some of his teammates and their wives and girlfriends. Happy for a chance to see that part of his life, Jolene readily agreed.

  Once there, she finally got to meet Jax’s wife, Sarah. Although a bit on the quiet side at first, Sarah soon opened up, sharing several hilarious stories about her husband’s and Boone’s escapades over the last couple years. Her descriptions were dramatic and funny, and Jolene laughed until her cheeks hurt. The two women continued to talk easily while their men mingled with the team, and although Jolene was never averse to alone time with Boone, she was actually disappointed when it came time to leave the restaurant.

  Since they had both vehicles there, Boone followed her home. They were almost back to the house when a group text came in from Tuck, informing them that Boone’s name had finally hit the media in relation to the case. Jolene was relieved that it had taken longer than expected. Since she was flying out fairly early tomorrow morning, she probably wouldn’t have to face the dreaded paparazzi. She wished Boone could be spared as well, but he was a pro and she knew he could deal with it.

  When she pulled into the garage and shut off the car, she bowed her head and said a quick prayer for the other families involved, especially those who were innocent and had only recently become aware of how their lives had been manipulated. It wasn’t going to be easy seeing their personal tragedy posted all over the internet.

  ***

  Boone turned off his car and sat there for a moment, contemplating Tuck’s text. By tomorrow morning the paparazzi and reporters would be making a nuisance of themselves, which could make it tricky getting Jolene to the airport. He’d worry about that later, though. He only had one more evening with her this trip, and he didn’t want to ruin it by brooding over the stories that would be splashed all over tomorrow’s headlines.

  He got out of the car and went to the trunk for his bag, joining Jolene where she waited at the kitchen door. She wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him with sparkling dark eyes.

  “Great game, Boonzy. I wanted to congratulate you earlier, but I didn’t want to make a scene at the restaurant.”

  He looked down at her, one brow raised. “What kind of scene did
you have in mind?”

  She chuckled and pressed her lips against his neck, just above the collar of his dress shirt. “I just want to kiss you. It’s been hours, after all.”

  Would you wanna kiss me if we’d lost the game?” he asked teasingly.

  “I can’t imagine any circumstance where I wouldn’t want to kiss you.” She smiled up at him. “But I did like that win. And you’re so gorgeous in that suit. And I’m going to miss you real bad.”

  He claimed her mouth then, kissing her hard and deep, needing to show her how much he wanted her, needed her. Not breaking the kiss, he lifted her up off the ground and walked her through the kitchen to the living room. He lowered her onto one of the sofas and followed her down, his big body dwarfing hers. She seemed tiny and fragile, but he knew better. She was the strongest woman he knew, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and he savored the feel of her, a closeness he couldn’t get enough of.

  She threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed his head up. “Boone,” she whispered, her eyes glazed and her lips swollen from his kisses.

  “You’re so beautiful, Jo,” he breathed, lowering his head to kiss her again.

  She smiled against his mouth and pushed him away again. “Boone,” she said a little more forcefully. “Your phone is vibrating.”

  So it was. It was in his pants pocket, caught between their thighs, but he hadn’t noticed until she brought it to his attention.

  He groaned and took one more short kiss before rolling off to sit on the edge of the couch. The vibrating stopped.

  “You’re too late,” Jolene said with a smile. “It was buzzing for quite a while before I said something. I thought you’d notice.”

  He cocked a brow. “I was preoccupied. Obviously I wasn’t doing something right, since you noticed the darn thing.”

  She laughed and sat up. “Oh, no worries there. You were doing everything right.” She gave him a sideways look. “I suspect you know that already.”