Undercover With The Heiress

“I don’t know what that is, but can you take me fishing?” Josh asked Kaden.

“As much fun as that sounds, I’m here to take care of my grandfather.”

“What happened to Nigel?” Courtney could almost pull up an image of a dapper older man with thick white hair.

Kaden’s smile slipped away. “He broke his hip.”

“Oh.” That didn’t sound good. “Is he okay?”

“He came through surgery well.” Kaden shook his head. “Now he needs physical therapy and time to heal.”

She nodded, not really understanding what healing from a broken hip entailed. “How is he handling being hospitalized?”

“He’s not in the hospital anymore. He’s in a rehabilitation center.”

“Oh.” She was so out of her depth.

“I like Nigel.” Josh bounced a little in his chair. “He let me help paint the walls.”

“Yeah. He’s a good guy.” Kaden’s face softened.

“I know Nigel told us you live in Atlanta, but what do you do there?” Gray asked.

Kaden blinked. “I followed his example.”

“Construction?” Gray waved his hand around the table. “We’ll have to talk.”

“So how long are you staying?” Dolley called down the table.

Courtney waited for Kaden to answer.

“Courtney?” Dolley asked.

“Oh, me?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure. A couple of weeks?”

“You’re not sure? Oh, right. You don’t have a job to go back to,” Dolley said snippily.

“No, I don’t. I miss my brother. I saw him a lot more when he lived in Boston.” Courtney hoped she sounded convincing. “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammad...”

The three Fitzgerald sisters’ reddish-blond eyebrows went up at the same time. Dolley said under her breath, “Well, bless your heart.”

“We’re glad you’re here,” Abby choked out, glancing at Dolley.

“Thank you.” She knew what Dolley meant. The bitch. They didn’t want her here. Well, news flash, she didn’t want to be here, either.

Everyone returned to their conversations, excluding her again. She didn’t care about remodeling or houses or Abby’s restaurant. Even Josh focused on Kaden and fishing.

Would dinner never end? Please, Mother; I want to come home. Convince Father to let me out of purgatory.

CHAPTER THREE (#u589f4f2c-b5b8-5dd6-be1b-c9ca16f6068d)

COURTNEY’S FLASHING BLUE eyes haunted Kaden as he headed up the Carleton House stairs to his room. She was a beautiful woman, but she knew it. Her moves were choreographed down to each flip of her hair. Was there anything interesting behind her stunning jewel-like eyes?

Kaden tugged off his shirt and threw it into the closet, then patted his full stomach. He couldn’t remember eating a better meal. No wonder his granddad raved about Abby’s cooking and hospitality. The Fitzgeralds were great. They’d invited him, a stranger, to a family dinner.

The sisters and their partners had all visited his granddad. Every day someone brought him food, flowers or company.

How did Courtney fit in? It was obvious she and Gray were related, but she had that uppity Boston accent he’d heard only when training at Quantico.

He slid open his phone and called Roger, updating him on his conversation with Nathan.

“So Forester hasn’t seen Bole since she left her kid two months ago?” Roger asked. “That’s hard to believe.”

“I believe it. The woman let her daughter come to a gun battle.”

“But two months without seeing her kid.” Roger rattled the ice in his glass, probably bourbon at this time of night.

“We never thought she was a devoted mother.” Kaden pulled a water bottle from the fridge in his suite.

“What if you stayed near the B and B? Heather has to come back sometime. If you’re there, you could grab her.”

“I’m here for my granddad.”

“I thought he was doing well,” Roger said.

“He is, but broken hips are dangerous.”

“I’ve met your grandfather. He doesn’t act like a seventy-five-year-old.”

“He stills needs to heal.” Kaden opened the French doors and stood on the balcony, staring down at the courtyard. The scent of flowers and growing plants filled the humid night. If he could smell the ocean, he’d be home.

“You have plenty of vacation available, but both you and Heather’s kid are staying at the B and B.” Roger exhaled. “Maybe you can do both.”

“What about Margaret?” Kaden asked.

“This is our case. My ex doesn’t need to know you’re there until we make an arrest.”

Kaden took a deep breath. It was their case. He wanted to keep Issy safe. Not by being her bodyguard, but by locking up her mother. “You know I don’t...work well with kids.”

Silence filled the line. “Losing the Malcolm twins wasn’t your fault. It was a kidnapping.”

Kaden closed his eyes, but it didn’t stop the bloody crime scene photos of the little boys from filling his head. If he’d made the money drop sooner, linked the gardener faster, maybe the twins would still be alive. “I don’t want to be responsible for a child’s life.”

“Then think about this assignment as finding the mother. It’s Bole we want.”

Bole. Did his need to get her off the street outweigh his fear that children got hurt under his watch?

“This keeps you on the team,” Roger said.