Kathleen Brooks - Secrets Collide

“Nope, sorry,” Cy said easily.

“Dang,” Miss Lily said under her breath. “Why don’t you introduce us to your friend?”

“As many of you have met her already, I’ll keep it short. This is Gemma Perry. The same people behind Pierce and Tammy’s attempted murder and the dog-fighting ring murdered her sister. We need to keep her safe until we can capture them.” Cy paused as he saw the people nod their heads and whisper to each other. "Unfortunately, they’re after me, too, because of my time in the CIA.”

“So, is she a witness you’re trying to protect?” Trey asked from his seat next to his friends.

“Yes, exactly like that,” Cy nodded. Gemma looked around in confusion as the café groaned and Trey pumped his fist into the air. “So, Miss Lily, do you have room for us at the bed-and-breakfast?”

“How many rooms?”

“One” Cy said at the same time Gemma said, “Two.”

Gemma jumped back as the broom was raised and smashed onto Cy’s head. “You rascal. There is no hanky-panky going on at my place. Now, if you promise to behave yourself, I’ll show you to your rooms.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cy sounded humbled, but Gemma worried that the spark in his eye said he took it more as a challenge. She flushed with excitement or fear; she couldn’t tell which one she was more worried about.

Cy thanked Miss Lily as he put his bags down in his room across the hall from Gemma’s. A large sitting room stood between her door and his, but Cy wasn’t concerned. It couldn’t be that hard getting past Miss Lily. After all, Kenna and Will are now married and so are Dani and Mo. The ladies both stayed at Miss Lily’s bed-and-breakfast when they first arrived.

Cy started to unpack when his phone rang. “Hey, Miles. What’s up?”

“Come on out to my farm. The brothers are getting together for a ride around the property and we thought you’d want to see yours. Also, it’ll give us a chance to talk without Ma listening.”

“Sounds good. See you in twenty.” Cy hung up and dug out his cowboy boots from the bottom of his bag. His worn brown cowboy hat was in the back of his truck. Amazing how giving him those two things and a horse made him truly feel back at home.

Cy slipped on his boots and headed across the sitting room to knock on Gemma’s door. He waited as he heard her stumble in her room and curse under her breath.

The door was wrenched open and Gemma stood in nothing but a towel, her hair hanging in waves around her shoulders and her green eyes flashing with annoyance. “Yes?”

Cy was momentarily stunned by the sight of the swell of her breasts and shapely legs under the fluffy white towel. “Brothers.”

“What?”

Cy cleared his throat and tried again. “My brothers are getting ready to ride the property lines. They want to show me what they’ve done to my farm. I’m going to head out there. There’s going to be a deputy outside if you need anything. His name is Noodle. Are you okay with me heading out for a bit?”

Gemma took a deep breath and smiled. “Thanks for letting me know. I have a date with that amazing claw-footed tub and then I thought I'd open Gia’s box she left with the notebooks. Have a good time.”

“Here.” Cy handed a piece of paper to her and was rewarded when the towel slipped a little. “It’s my number. Call me if you need anything at all. I’ll be back by dinner.”

Cy leaned forward in the saddle and rubbed his horse’s sweaty neck as he looked at the massive fields. All of this was his and he was proud of it. His brothers raced to a stop next to him and stared him down.

“Do you always have to race?” Marshall asked. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve run a horse that fast?”

“Sorry, old man. I’ll make sure we go at a nice canter on the way home for you. Married with a kid on the way and look what happens to you. And you all wonder why I’m still single,” Cy teased.

“Ha-ha. You’ll see. Don’t knock it until you try it. I held out longer than any of you and now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long,” Miles told them as he gazed out over the rolling fields dotted with cattle.

“If you got married sooner, you would've ended up with a Belle,” Cade said with a mock shudder. “It’s just a good thing Morgan came back to town to save you from the summer picnics and charity galas.”

“True. And now I’m going to be a father. I still have trouble believing it,” Miles said in a wistful way that left Cy feeling slightly jealous.

“I guess I’m the last one standing. You all will have kids and I’ll be the strange bachelor uncle wanting their dads to come play poker,” Cy laughed as he teased his brothers.

“Yeah, right. You just moved into the number-one marriage spot on the list. I'm sure Marianne will have a write-up in the paper this week. You’ll be off the market in no time,” Pierce predicted.

“I’m not going to feel too sorry for you when all the single women of Keeneston descend upon you either. Not when you’re getting text messages from naked supermodels and America’s Sweetheart. I still can’t believe you were in that movie with her,” Cade said as he took off his cowboy hat and wiped his brow.

“Yeah, I guess I can’t complain about that,” Cy said with a grin.

“Yep, but payback’s a bitch and her name is Kandi,” Marshall laughed as he slapped Cy on the shoulder.

“Kandi? She’s married with like a couple of kids, right?”

“It’s never stopped her before,” Cade warned.

“What about Gemma?” Miles asked. “She was a little distant, but after what she’s gone through in the past twenty-four hours, I can’t really blame her for that. And boy, she’s a knockout. Curves in all the right places for me.”

Cy narrowed his eyes at Miles.

“That she is. And the women all liked her. Tammy thinks she’s really nice and has ordered me to have her over to our apartment for dinner,” Pierce told him.

“Yep. Katelyn, too.”

“And Annie.”

“Morgan sent me armed with an invitation for Gemma. You know, you all could've stayed with us. We have plenty of room.”

“I know. But y’all have wives and babies on the way. I don’t know how much danger I’m going to be in, but I thought I'd be safer in town where someone looking for me would have to get through the Rose sisters, John Wolfe, the PTA, the Belles, and every farmer in the area before finding us,” Cy explained.

“Well, you know we’re all here if you need us. We have a certain skill set that could come in handy. Well, except Pierce there. All he can do is invent robots,” Marshall joked.

“Ha-ha. My robot can kick your ass,” Pierce shot back.

“We’re just teasing. We couldn’t be prouder of you, and you too, Cy. What you’ve done is very dangerous and I’m sure has saved many lives,” Marshall said seriously.

Cy just nodded his head in response. He had saved lives. He’d stopped the bombing of an airplane bound for L.A. He’d broken up the sale of chemical weapons. He’d helped the Swiss secure their banking system to avoid increased hacking activity. Cy had never felt as if he had saved people, though. He was just doing his job. Miles, Marshall, and Cade had been the real heroes and he was just trying to make them proud.

“I’m proud of you, too, bro. Now, what do you think of your land?” Pierce asked.

“It’s great. Thanks for buying it for me, Pierce. You picked a great area,” Cy said sincerely. Pierce had called him and told him this farm was for sale years ago. Marshall’s farm sat on one side and Cade’s on the other. It was filled with a mixture of rolling hills, woods, and a small creek.

“I think I want to build the house right over there.” Cy pointed to a clearing close to the boundary line with Cade’s property. “I can continue running the cattle in this pasture and maybe plant some crops in the fifty acres on the east side of the property.”

“Well, welcome home, brother. It’s great to have you back. We’ve missed you,” Cade said as he reached over to shake Cy’s hand.

*     *     *

Gemma pushed the swing with her big toe as she sat with one leg resting on the large porch swing. The bath had been restorative and she had gotten out with a renewed sense of justice. She slipped on a wispy white skirt and a green peasant top before heading downstairs with the notebooks and the box her sister had made.

Not wanting to feel closed in, Gemma had decided the large porch overlooking the street was the perfect place to see what secrets her sister held. With a quick wave to the sheriff’s cruiser keeping watch, Gemma looked around the porch for a place to work. The swing had called to her and with a deep breath, she set the box on her lap and opened the lid.

It was filled with pictures—some taken with a telescopic lens, others with a phone or a concealed camera, and a few seemed to be from the police department or other government offices. Gemma flipped through each one as her frustration grew. She didn’t know a single person in these pictures.

She fought off a feeling of despair as she dug deeper into the box. Her fingers paused as they came to an old, worn photograph. Gemma stood smiling at the camera with her left front tooth missing. She had a side ponytail sticking out the left side of her head while Gia smiled with a missing right front tooth and a side ponytail on the right side of her head. On the back, Gia had written the word Twins and decorated it with hearts. Her feeling of despair fled as she looked under the picture and found a stack of notes they wrote to each other in their twin language.

“That’s it,” Gemma said to herself as she hurriedly looked through the pile for the one note she knew had to be in there. She remembered writing it and what it said. From there she could start remembering their translation.