His Honour, Her Family. Tara Randel

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СКАЧАТЬ wills to do her bidding. Not in an evil-queen kind of way. More like she’d mastered the art of manipulation after raising four boys. He guessed it was a survival tactic. But the Matthews boys loved their mother and would do anything to keep her safe. Even if it meant Deke detouring to Golden to follow a lead they’d uncovered about their mother’s boyfriend.

      At least that’s what he told himself. Escaping from Atlanta had been the primary goal because the truth was much more complicated.

      “Did you find the store yet?”

      “I’ll be passing it any minute.”

      At the intersection, Deke looked both ways before striding to the opposite side of the downtown street. A mix of busy storefronts and specialty boutiques lined each side of the avenue. As casually as possible, he stopped at the front window of a store named Blue Ridge Cottage. Shoppers milled about inside, but he couldn’t see the store owner.

      “It’s just like the intel promised,” Deke conveyed.

      “Do you have a visual on the target?”

      “No.” As two older women exited the store, he nodded and moved on. “Give me time and I’ll see what I can dig up.”

      “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

      Here it comes. “Why would you ask me that?”

      “Because you escaped to the mountains.”

      “And that’s a crime?”

      Dylan’s voice went tight. “That’s what you do, Deke. Withdraw when you should be with people.”

      “I don’t want to discuss this.”

      “You never do. Hiding away instead of confronting your past isn’t good for you. You can’t keep closing yourself off.”

      “Why not? It works for me.” Deke shut his eyes and counted to ten. “Look, I told you I’d find something out about this mystery woman and I will.”

      “And then you’ll deal?”

      “Don’t push me.”

      Deke went silent, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tired of the same refrain. He hated when his brothers pushed him to be social when he was better off with his own company.

      “Listen, Deke. We’re counting on you.”

      “No pressure, huh?”

      “Never, brother. Gotta run.”

      Dylan ended the call and Deke replaced his phone in his back pocket. He walked over to a bench and lowered his lanky frame to the wooden seat.

      Once Dylan had discovered their mother was dating, the brothers had decided to stick their noses in where they didn’t belong. It was only fair play. Their mother would certainly do the same to them. Had done the same at one time or another in their relationships. She’d made it clear she wanted daughters and in order for that to happen, her sons needed to marry. They’d all disappointed her, she’d complained. Hadn’t she set up impromptu meetings with single women or invited the “perfect” woman to dinner if one of his brothers planned to stop by her condo? It was a little trickier since he and Derrick lived in different states. Dylan and Dante had finally met their matches, but was his mother so lonely herself that she’d fallen for a guy no one knew anything about?

      Deke loved his mother. Had felt helpless over the grief she’d tried to hide after their father’s death. He wouldn’t let some guy swoop in and take advantage of her. They also wouldn’t violate any protocols and use their law enforcement jobs to do an extensive background check on the man just because they didn’t trust him. When asked, Deke had gladly stepped in to try to find some easy answers.

      The first break had come when James offered to do some work around their mother’s condo. Curious, Dylan called the company James claimed he worked for. Turned out the place had never heard of him. After a little digging, Dylan suspected James Tate was not who he claimed to be, sending up huge red flags. Dylan laid it out for their mother, but she refused to heed his warning. She trusted James, she’d argued. He would never hurt her. There were things Dylan didn’t know. And with that, she shut down further conversation on the subject.

      More determined than ever to find out who this man really was, their younger brother, Dante, had pulled his new girlfriend into the loop. Eloise called in a favor and unearthed information they could actually use. They’d learned James regularly called a number here in Golden, which they traced to Blue Ridge Cottage. A young woman owned the shop. So who was she, exactly? And why did James call her? Since Deke was already up this way to hike the Appalachian Trail, once he was in range signal, Dylan had called and asked him to conduct the second part of their investigation. He was on leave of absence from his job, giving him the time to follow through on this lead.

      Arriving in Golden, Deke wasn’t sure what kind of job he’d find here. It wasn’t a matter of being picky, but he did want something that would immerse him in the town so when he met the target it would seem natural. To her anyway. Working in a restaurant wasn’t at the top of his list, so when he happened upon the help-wanted sign in the front window of Put Your Feet Up, his gut urged him to go in and inquire about the job.

      Not only would being a guide be the perfect cover, he also enjoyed working outdoors. In many ways, he hoped this job would distract him from the recent events that had changed his life.

      Across the street he could just see into the window of the Put Your Feet Up office. Miss Harper walked past the window, the sun lighting on her chin-length, blunt-cut blond hair. Clearly she’d hired him because she was desperate, not because of his witty repartee. The tourist season was upon them, which worked to his advantage, and since she couldn’t be the guide and run the office at the same time, she was stuck with him. He took another sip of his coffee and savored the rich taste. Yeah, she hadn’t been charmed by him—not that charm was his strong suit, he’d been told more than once—but he had to admit, when she’d mentioned she was a criminal lawyer, it was all he could do not to walk out the door. Probably would have, if this entire mission didn’t focus on his mother.

      A ding sounded from his pocket. He extracted his phone to find a text from his oldest brother, Derrick. Heard you got a job. Fast work.

      What, had Dylan sent out a memo right away?

      Another ding. Let me know if this is too much.

      Deke clenched his jaw. He loved his brothers, but their concern smothered him. He liked being alone. What was the big deal?

      He typed, I can handle it.

      While he waited for a response—because Derrick was not the kind to leave well enough alone—he pulled up his photo gallery. Scrolled through until he found a recent picture of his friend Brittany, with her husband and two young sons.

      His hand trembled as her sunny smile tore at his heart.

      It wasn’t your fault, his inner voice asserted.

      His chest squeezed tight and he could barely breathe.

      A ding jarred his guilty memories. Call me if you need me, Derrick texted.

      Deke didn’t need his brother’s, or anyone else’s, help. He was dealing СКАЧАТЬ