LITMIR.BIZ

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hair was wet and pulled back in a high ponytail. Did she not know that style was so nineties? Her green eyes glowed. “Courtney?”

      Oh. Oh. She swallowed. Gray and Abby had been...oh.

      Courtney hurried over and gave her sister-in-law air kisses. “Hi, Abby.”

      Gray crossed his arms. “She’s here for a surprise visit.”

      “That’s wonderful.” Abby gave her a hug. “It’s been months since you were in Savannah. Let me get our guest room ready.”

      Abby headed down the main floor hallway.

      Courtney tipped her head at her brother. “At least your wife is more welcoming than my own brother.”

      “What do you want?” Gray asked.

      “To visit.” She wouldn’t let terror fill her voice.

      “Why?” He stared like he could peer into her brain and dig out her reason.

      “Boston got...boring.” She wasn’t discussing her problems. Gray would be sanctimonious about her issues with Father. Holding out her keys, she asked, “Could you get my luggage?”

      His blue gaze locked on hers.

      She knew better than to look away. Instead, she smiled.

      Gray snapped up the keys and headed to the door.

      Okay, maybe her relationship with her brother hadn’t been exactly cordial since he’d broken up with Gwen. And maybe her bringing Gwen to Savannah and trying to get them back together hadn’t been well thought-out. But he was her brother.

      Gray had gotten her into this mess. She shook back her hair and headed to the great room, sliding into a comfy leather chair. She would hide in Savannah until Father reinstated her cash flow.

      Her call with Mother last night hadn’t given her any new hope. Courtney spun her gold bracelet around her wrist. She liked the way it made her hand look so petite.

      How much could she sell it for?

      “Little help here?” Gray called from the doorway.

      She waited for Abby to come out of the guest bedroom. Nothing.

      “Courtney, grab your bags,” he grumbled.

      She pushed off the sofa. “You need a Marcus.”

      “No, we don’t. Get used to it. And there’s no maids to make beds or clean the house.” He shoved her makeup case into her hands. “You have luggage for a month. What’s going on?”

      “I—I didn’t know what kind of weather to expect.”

      “It’s summer in Savannah.” Gray drew together his black eyebrows. “Hot and hotter.”

      “You’ll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.” She felt her own ridges forming on her forehead. Shoot.

      While Gray went back to her car, she grabbed a suitcase and tugged it to the bedroom.

      Abby smoothed out a pale yellow comforter. Better Abby than her. The Fitzgerald family had been making beds and running their B and B most of their lives.

      “This is nice.” Gray and Abby’s home had that old carriage-house feel with aged wood floors and beams, but the guestroom was light and bright. Unlike in the bed-and-breakfast, antiques wouldn’t surround her here. “It doesn’t feel two hundred years old.”

      Abby fluffed the green and pink throw pillows. “As much as I love Fitzgerald House, I wanted something different in my home.”

      “Thank you for letting me stay.” Courtney needed Abby on her side if she was going to hide out in Savannah. “I probably should have called, but it sounded like fun to surprise Gray.”

      “Well, you’re here now.” Abby straightened. “We’ll eat dinner in the main house around seven. You can tidy up or rest until then. I have to prep for the wine tasting.”

      Gray pulled two more suitcases into the bedroom. Abby’s eyes flared open and she stared at Courtney for a long moment. With a shake of her head, Abby brushed a kiss on Gray’s cheek. “I’ll see you at Fitzgerald House.”

      “Thank you, big brother.” God, she needed Gray and Abby to stop looking at her like she had two heads. “I’d better call Mother. The drive down here was fun, but you know how she worries.” She kept her voice super cheery. “Any message you want to pass on to Mother or Father?”

      “Just say hello.” Gray followed his wife out the door.

      Excellent. Maybe Gray wouldn’t talk to the parental units for a couple of days. She needed time for this problem to blow over.

      Mother answered.

      “I’m in Savannah.” Courtney settled back against the pillows on the bed. “Gray and Abby say hello.”

      “I’m so relieved. That was a long drive by yourself.”

      “It was...fun.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been alone for three days. If she’d had full access to money, it might have been even better. Unfortunately, each time she used her credit card she’d worried she’d run out of credit. Who could live that way? Mother had tucked cash in her purse, but Courtney might need that later. “Have you softened Daddy up?”

      “I’m trying, honey. But he’s intractable.” Her mother sighed. “Maybe by taking a job with Gray, it’ll show your father that you’re changing.”

      “Sure. Right.” Her chest ached. Was she losing her mother’s support? “Please keep working on him.”

      “I will, dear.”

      They talked for a few minutes, but Courtney’s brain wasn’t functioning. Mother had to succeed. She didn’t want to stay in Savannah. She wanted to go home.

      * * *

      KADEN PARKED BEHIND the B and B. Two carriage houses existed on the combined property. One was under construction, while the other looked like a home.

      He found Forester’s number in his call log and texted him. I’m in the Fitzgerald House parking lot, where should we meet?

      The reply came back: Coming down.

      Kaden leaned against a shed near the parking lot, giving him a view of the entire courtyard. It stretched a full block from Fitzgerald to Carleton House. When the sisters had added the second mansion to the B and B, Granddad had been mighty proud.

      After Nigel had turned sixty, he’d sold his construction business. Then he’d gotten bored with retirement. Now he worked as handyman and sometimes chauffeur for the sisters. Maybe after he recovered, he should actually retire.

      A door on the second floor of the nearest carriage house banged open and a small boy dashed out.

      The kid ran down the stairs, his shoelaces flapping. He could take a header and crack his skull open.

      Kaden’s heart rate picked up and he hurried to the steps. Could he catch the kid if he fell?

      “Josh!” a deep voice called from the top of the steps. “Slow down.”

      “Miss Abby’s saving a treat for me,” the kid yelled.

      “You won’t be eating anything if we end up at the ER.” A man came down the steps with a little girl on his shoulders.

      When the boy was safely on the stone walkway, Kaden released the breath he’d been holding.

      The man hadn’t noticed him yet. But the girl stared holes in him. She had fluffy blond hair. Heather’s kid? She looked younger than he thought a four-year-old should be, but what did he know?

      When the man and child reached the bottom of the steps, Kaden stepped closer. “Forester?”

      “Agent Farrell?”

      Kaden

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