Father and Child Reunion Part 2

Father and Child Reunion Part 2
Christine Flynn

36 Hours SerialAs a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….Father and Child Reunion Part 2Eve expected a quick trip home to Grand Springs. But the night of the storm changed her carefully planned world. Her mother, Olivia, has been murdered, and Eve's sorting through her loss and confusion–and facing the feelings for Rio she ran away from years earlier.Rio thinks he's getting closer to finding Olivia's killer. But he's getting closer to Eve, too–and the little girl who looks so much like Rio himself. Solving the murder will make his career–but could destroy any hopes he has of making a life with Eve and Molly….The story concludes in Father and Child Reunion Part 3.

36 Hours Serial

As a devastating summer storm hits Grand Springs, Colorado, the next thirty-six hours will change the town and its residents forever….

Father and Child Reunion Part 2

Eve expected a quick trip home to Grand Springs. But the night of the storm changed her carefully planned world. Her mother, Olivia, has been murdered, and Eve’s sorting through her loss and confusion—and facing the feelings for Rio she ran away from years earlier.

Rio thinks he’s getting closer to finding Olivia’s killer. But he’s getting closer to Eve, too—and the little girl who looks so much like Rio himself. Solving the murder will make his career—but could destroy any hopes he has of making a life with Eve and Molly….

The story concludes in Father and Child Reunion Part 3.

Dear Reader,

In the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, a devastating summer storm sets off a string of events that changes the lives of the residents forever….

Welcome to Mills & Boon exciting new digital serial, 36 Hours! In this thirty-six part serial share the stories of the residents of Grand Springs, Colorado, in the wake of a deadly storm.

With the power knocked out and mudslides washing over the roads, the town is plunged into darkness and the residents are forced to face their biggest fears—and find love against all odds.

Each week features a new story written by a variety of bestselling authors like Susan Mallery and Sharon Sala. The stories are published in three segments, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the first segment of every three-part book is free, so you can get caught up in the mystery and drama of Grand Springs. And you can get to know a new set of characters every week. You can read just one, but as the lives and stories of each intertwine in surprising ways, you’ll want to read them all!

Join Mills & Boon E every week as we bring you excitement, mystery, fun and romance in 36 Hours!

Happy reading!

About the Author

Christine Flynn is a regular voice in Mills & Boon Cherish and has written nearly forty books for the line.

Father and Child Reunion Part 2

Christine Flynn

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

The weather forecasters didn’t predict the intensity of the storm which hit Grand Springs, Colorado, that Friday night. It was as if the massive thunderstorm was the accumulation of all that was going wrong: Hal’s bride-to-be, Randi, took off just before the ceremony, Jessica Hanson hit her head and started having visions, including seeing the mayor murdered, and Eve Stuart had come home, hoping to avoid her past. But as Eve was learning, there was no escape. Rio quickly found out that he had a daughter. Six years ago Eve ran away from everything but her feelings. Today those feelings are just as strong—but are they still one-sided?

Contents

Chapter Four (#u50b8637e-c033-5b3c-b05a-466f99343b8d)

Chapter Five (#uf6639345-938d-561f-ae7f-6258ba01f681)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

(#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Four

It had taken some doing, and more than another week, but Eve Stuart finally coerced her brother into looking over the inventory she’d prepared of their mother’s earthly possessions. The message she’d left on Hal’s voicemail had finally done the trick. She’d made it clear that it wasn’t his help she was after. Or his approval. She didn’t need either. She wanted him to review what she’d prepared only because she didn’t want to leave him out of anything. But if he wasn’t interested in what was going on with the estate, she’d have the attorney file the inventory as it was. Tomorrow. Before the first of August.

She’d left the message that morning. Hal himself had arrived a few minutes ago, just as she and her daughter, Molly, were finishing the lasagna her neighbor, Millicent, had brought over. He’d promptly declined her offer of a drink or something to eat and, with little more than a perfunctory “Where is it?” proceeded to pace the dining room while he studied the long yellow pad she’d handed him.

Eve couldn’t see him from where she stood at the sink, surrounded by copper pots and the wildflower-patterned plates visible through the glass doors of the cabinets. But every minute or so she could hear the sharp crackle of a page being quickly turned. The sound was as agitated as Hal himself.

Had she thought it would do any good, she’d have gone in there with him. She knew he hadn’t been inside the house since the funeral, so his being here had to be difficult for him. There were so many memories a person had to sort through when faced with a loss, and being eight years older than she, he had eight more years of memories to deal with than she did. But he didn’t seem to want whatever support she could have offered. He just wanted to get the job done so he could leave.

She turned the water off at the sink and reached for the towel. As she did, she became aware of voices drifting through the foyer from the front porch. The low tones were definitely male. The higher ones were Molly’s giggle.

The male voice didn’t belong to Hal, either.

Since Molly and her teddy bear were outside playing with her dolls, Eve had left the front door open. The little girl liked the big railed porch with its wicker chairs and potted geraniums better than the backyard because, out front, she could watch the big kids play.

Eve could hear the boys now, the three preteens from two doors down. The new dentist’s sons, Millicent had told her. They were playing soccer on the sidewalk. Even with them out there, Eve still didn’t want her daughter talking to strange men.

She was past the narrow entry table in the foyer when some of the urgency left her stride. Rio Redtree sat on the top step next to Molly. A black shirt covered his broad back and one back pocket of his faded jeans was worn white around his wallet. She couldn’t see much of his face, though. Molly was on her knees beside him, grinding dirt into her pink overalls as she scooted as close as she could get to see what he held in his hands. With her dark little head bent toward his, one of her beribboned pigtails had draped across his shoulder. There wasn’t a shade’s worth of difference in the color of their hair.

Eve started to open the screen, only to be stopped by what she could hear Rio saying.

“It does look like a spiderweb,” he quietly said, sounding as if he were confirming an observation. “It’s supposed to. Have you ever seen a bug caught in one?”

The smaller head bobbed vigorously.

“Do you know why they can’t get out?”

Molly’s head went just as vigorously the other way.

“It’s because a real web is sticky. The more the bug struggles, the more it gets caught. That’s why the bad dreams can’t get out of a dream catcher, either. When you go to sleep, the good dreams know the way through the hole right here in the center. Then they slide down the feather so they can come back to you and you can dream them again. But the bad dreams don’t know the way out. They get caught in the web, and when the sun rises the next morning, they disappear.”

The two heads became two profiles as Rio and Molly looked at each other.

“Really?”

“It worked for me,” he said, looking as honest as a Boy Scout. “I had one when I was little, and I sure don’t remember having dreams about monsters under my bed.” He nodded toward the hoop of twig and crystal-clear filament Molly held in her hands. “Maybe it’ll work for you, too. I’ll hang that above your bed if you want.”

As Molly skeptically studied the talisman, Eve realized that Rio must have heard Molly mention the monster the other night on her way upstairs. That was the only reason she could think of why he had brought the child such a gift.

In light of everything he’d learned that night, the fact that he’d remembered something so seemingly insignificant was definitely telling. So was the concern he’d shown by wanting to alleviate the fears of a child. His child.

Rio was still sitting on the step, but he’d noticed her standing in the doorway. He lifted his chin to acknowledge her, then returned his attention to the child.