Ridge (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 4) Read online

  “He left early this morning. Something came up with his job, and he had to get back.” A melancholy look graced her face, and Maggie knew she was thinking about her son, Heath. She assumed Heath must be another Boudreau.

  “I’m worried about him.”

  “I am too, Beth. I find myself hoping every day he’ll call and say he’s moving back. It’s so hard knowing he’s halfway across the country, working a dangerous job. I know I’m a mother hen, but I want all my boys around me close, so I know they’re safe.”

  “It’ll be okay, Momma.” Nica rolled to her knees and hugged her mother. “Heath’s smart and he’s good at what he does. Plus, he’s careful. He’ll be alright.”

  “I know that here,” Ms. Patti pointed to her head. “But, it’s hard to convince myself here.” She pointed to her heart. “I’m a mother. It’s my job to worry.” Shaking her head, she plastered on a smile. “Maggie, tell me about you. How’d you and Ridge meet?”

  Maggie pondered for a second or two, trying to decide whether to give a nice generic version or to tell the truth. The truth won.

  “The first time I met Ridge, I held a gun to his head.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The afternoon barbecue had been a rousing success. Everybody seemed to adore Maggie, especially the ladies of the family. Somehow, they’d bonded, if the shouts of laughter coming from their circle earlier was any indication. When they’d gathered for food, his momma had squeezed his arm, and said she liked Maggie. High praise indeed. But he was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, as they say. The big surprise Nica had hinted about earlier when they’d arrived.

  The food had been eaten, and dessert consumed. When Jill had brought out the cake she’d made, the family had descended on it like a rampaging horde, barely taking time to come up for air. It had been a thing of beauty, or at least it had looked pretty, until his brothers glommed onto it like they’d never seen cake before.

  Now, with soft music playing in the kitchen, the chairs had been pushed back onto the grass, and the area cleared. Rafe and Tessa swayed to the music, and Brody and Beth danced with Jamie held in their arms, her soft giggles the sweetest sound. He loved hearing her laughter, because it hadn’t been all that long ago, she’d been kidnapped by her own father, in his deluded plan to extort money for her return. But she’d been rescued and didn’t seem any worse from having gone through the ordeal. The family still kept a close eye on her, never leaving her alone for a second, even though her father was no longer a threat. He was locked away in solitary at Huntsville, where he couldn’t hurt her or Beth again.

  Maggie sat with his mother, softly talking, which gave him time to watch her without her knowledge. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. More so since she’d revealed what her life had been like with her ex-husband. He couldn’t believe the bravery she’d shown, or the devastating losses she’d suffered. Yet she’d risen above it all to become a strong, resilient woman, one he admired.

  “I like your Maggie.” His father leaned against the pergola’s support, and watched his wife with Maggie, an indulgent smile crossing his lips.

  “I wouldn’t call her my Maggie. We barely know one another.”

  “Doesn’t matter how long you’ve known someone. There’s a…sweetness about her that’s inherent to her personality. She reminds me of your mother.” He stopped for a second, before adding, “Your biological mother.”

  Ridge started at his father’s words. Although he thought about his biological mother all the time, she’d been gone long enough that the aching loss didn’t hurt when he did. She’d fought a long and hard battle, but when she’d known there wasn’t going to be a miracle cure and the pain from the cancer got to the point where she couldn’t deal with it, she’d turned to her best friend, Patricia Boudreau, to raise her sons after she was gone.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it, but you’re right. She does kind of remind me of her.”

  “Course, she’s got a bit of my Patti’s gumption, too. Heard her tell them she pulled a gun on you.” Douglas quirked his head, indicating he wanted to hear a little more about that story.

  Ridge chuckled. “She did. First time we met. I went out to her place to do some consulting work on her security. Unfortunately, she didn’t know I was coming. Figured I was an intruder. She happened to have her shotgun with her, and kindly asked me to get off her land.”

  Douglas started laughing, and it grew until he was bent over and nearly out of breath. When he finally straightened, Ridge watched him rub a teardrop from the corner of his eye. “Remind me to tell you about the time Ms. Patti pulled a gun on me. No, not now, we ain’t got time.” He nodded toward the doorway, where Chance and Dane stood. “Got a couple of announcements to make. We’ll talk later.”

  Walking to the center of the patio, Douglas motion for Ms. Patti, who joined him. “We’ve got a couple of announcements to make today, which is why we’re here. First, Brody and Beth, y’all want to go first?”

  Ridge had a pretty good idea of what was coming, and felt a well of happiness for his brother.

  “Pretty sure this isn’t going to be a surprise to anybody, but Beth said yes. So, we’re getting married!”

  “Congratulations!” Rafe slapped Brody on the back, grinning from ear to ear. “Not that I’m surprised, you all but proposed to her already.”

  “I know, but there’s more. We’ve set a date.”

  Shouts and squeals of excitement overrode most of the rest of what he was saying. Ridge grinned too, because he’d seen how much Brody loved Beth, and knew he would move heaven and earth for her if he could. It hadn’t been all that long ago his brother had been moody and moping around because he was afraid to go after the woman he loved, and look at him now. A fiancée and a ready-made family rolled into one.

  “When?” Nica’s voice drowned out everyone else’s. “You said you set a date, so when is the Big Day?”

  Brody looked at Beth and smiled. “Christmas Eve.”

  “But that’s not enough time. Weddings take months and months to plan, to get everything right. You need—”

  “Nica, I have everything I could ever need or want right here.” Brody squeezed Beth’s hand, and hoisted Jamie higher on his shoulder. “We don’t want anything fancy. A small ceremony with our family and a few friends, and we’ll be happy.”

  “It sounds perfect,” Beth smiled sweetly.

  Ridge half-listened as the rest of the family gave the couple their well wishes and talked wedding plans, and he noticed Maggie had moved a little farther away from the crowd, shoulders stiff. She’d turned away and stared into the distance, and he knew hearing talk of weddings and happily ever afters probably upset her, especially after she’d revealed the disaster her own marriage devolved into.

  He started toward her, but felt a hand on his arm, and looked down to see his momma standing at his side. “Why don’t you take her to the gazebo, Ridge? This is all a bit overwhelming, especially since she doesn’t know us all that well yet. Give her a bit of a respite. Your daddy’s announcement can wait. I’ll fill you in later, promise.”

  “Thanks, Momma.” Bending down, Ridge brushed a kiss against her cheek, and walked over to Maggie.

  “Want to take a walk with me? There’s something I’d like to show you.”

  Her eyes widened a bit and she nibbled her bottom lip before nodding. “Sure.”

  Without a word, he took her hand in his, giving it a little squeeze, and then held it tight as he led her across the grass behind the house and around the side, past the master suite patio, flanked by glass doors. Over the past few years, this side porch became his mother’s morning retreat. It was a comfortable, charming vignette, showcasing a set of chairs and a glass table. The intimate space provided privacy and an innate sense of romance and solitude. This master suite was his mother’s sanctuary away from screaming kids and cantankerous teens. Now it was her oasis of calm from the real estate business, and a getaway from the day-to-day life on a wor
king ranch.

  Maggie studied everything as they passed. He heard her intake of breath at the decorative urns and pots overflowing with deep green ferns and flowers, their strikingly vivid colors evidence of somebody’s green thumb. Not his, though. He had what he always called the black thumbs of death. Couldn’t keep a plant alive, no matter how hard he tried. Continuing around the corner, he walked farther along the grassy surface until he came to a bank of trees.

  Finally, he stopped when they reached their destination. A white-roofed gazebo sat in the center of a clearing, surrounded by a stand of tall trees. White lattice around the bottom, a circular roof perched on top of the structure, and the sides were open. The base of the gazebo was surrounded by tall ornamental grasses swaying gently in the soft breeze. Pink and white roses climbed along the structure, edging close to the roof, and wrapping around the columns. The sweet scent of the flowers wafted in the air, perfuming the area around them.

  At the center of the enchanted structure stood the highlight of the magical scene—a well. The smooth stone and wooden structure should have looked incongruous in such a fantasy setting, but it didn’t. Inside the well, a rope was attached to a wooden arm and handle, a bucket swinging from the end of rope. His mother called it her wishing well. As a young boy, he’d tossed coin after coin into its depths, wishing for the impossible.

  A white-painted bench sat partially hidden within the walls of the gazebo. Tiny white lights ringed the bases of the trees, as well as along the inside of the roofline. Ridge flicked a switch inside the entrance, and smiled as the lights turned on, a soft golden glow within the magical structure. His father had added them a few years back during the holidays, and they decided to leave them up year-round.

  “This is amazing. I never expected anything some…I’m not sure what to call it.”

  “This is my momma’s secret garden. She worked on it for a long time. Rafe helped her some, because he’s got a green thumb, just like her.”

  “You didn’t help?” A mischievous smiled kicked up the corner of Maggie’s lip with the question, her gray eyes twinkling in the glow of the fairy lights.

  “I’m kind of forbidden to touch anything green. I’m good at a lot of things. Growing plants ain’t one of them.” He shrugged at the sound of her laughter. “I didn’t inherit the gardening gene. My brother, Shiloh, didn’t either. Dane tends more toward the vegetable garden than flowers, but he can make any vegetable grow. Nica’s good with flowers. They seem to naturally bloom whenever she touches them.”

  “I’ve never been much for gardening either, to tell the truth. They’re beautiful to look at, especially when they are planted and maintained by somebody who truly loves what they do. I much prefer the end result to all the hard work.” Maggie spun in a circle slowly, her arms out from her sides. “Although if I had something like this, I might change my mind. It’s peaceful.”

  “Yeah, it is. And, you should be honored. It’s not everybody who gets invited to visit Momma’s garden. It’s a family thing, special, so most folks don’t know about it.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened at his words, before she crossed her arms over her chest, and drew in a deep breath. “I’ll have to remember to thank your mother. This place, this moment out of time, is exactly what I needed today.”

  “You seemed to get along with Momma and the ladies. Heard you laughing quite a bit.”

  Maggie chuckled. “That’s because I told them how we met.”

  “That you pulled a shotgun on me when I hadn’t done anything to deserve it?”

  “Yep. I think it was more the fact I surprised you than the gun itself. I take it you don’t get caught unawares often?”

  He hesitated for second. “I’m usually aware of who and what is going on around me. It’s rare for somebody to get the drop on me. But you did, Miss Maggie. I never expected you.”

  That was the plain truth. He’d never expected to find somebody like Maggie, a woman who made him think about things he hadn’t anticipated. Things like settling down in one place, and not moving from job to job whenever he got the call. Leaving the DEA and focusing on building his security business. Building a relationship with one woman—her.

  “It was pure luck. A few minutes and I’d have missed you, never would have known you’d been there.” Color swept into her cheeks, and he couldn’t help smiling at the flush of color. It made her eyes sparkle.

  “I’d have been back. We were meant to meet, Miss Maggie. This way it was more…memorable.”

  Walking to the bench, he sat and patted the seat beside him. “Let’s talk.”

  Her brow furrowed, giving her the cutest little lines above her nose, and he reached out and ran his fingertip lightly across them, feeling the softness of her skin.

  “We are talking.”

  “You told me a lot about yourself this morning.” When she closed her eyes drew in a deep breath, he quickly continued. “I think it’s only fair I tell you my story. How I came to live with Douglas and Ms. Patti.”

  “You don’t have to, Ridge.”

  Cupping her face between his hands, he smoothed his thumbs over her cheeks slowly, a gentle caress, and marveled at how silky soft her skin felt to his touch. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. If you’d like to hear it.”

  At her nod, he reluctantly slid his hands away from her face, before he did something foolish. Like sliding his hands into her hair, angling her face just right, and kissing her until she was breathless.

  “Our mother was born and raised in Shiloh Springs. Went to school here, kindergarten all the way through high school. She was friends with Ms. Patti all through high school and after. Anyway, in her senior year, she met a guy. Fell in love. They dated all through her senior year, and they were going to get married after graduation. Apparently, they had it all planned out, at least that’s what she told us when we were kids. Shiloh and I don’t have a lot of those details, because we were young and she didn’t like to talk about it much.”

  “It sounds like she was the typical teenage girl. We all tend to fall in love in high school. Most of the time it fades away into nothing, or there’s major heartbreak that makes everything seem like the end of the world. It’s almost a rite of passage, part of high school life.” Maggie gave his hand a gentle squeeze to mitigate the harshness of her words.

  “Well, her and our dad thought they had life all planned out. They’d get married. He would join the service, because that would provide a place for them. They’d be able to get by on his pay, and Mom would find a part-time job to do while he was working. The weeks before graduation were some of the happiest of her life. That’s what she told us. Too bad life never goes the way you plan, right?”

  Ridge wanted to spring to his feet and pace inside the gazebo, needing to move, do something, to crush down the well of emotions churning in his gut. He’d loved his biological mother so much, even now it was hard talking about her. Though years had passed, it was still hard remembering how she’d suffered through the pain, always with a smile on her face. It wasn’t fair. She’d been good. Kind. Loving. Yet she’d been taken from him and Shiloh before they’d even had a chance to love her.

  “Three weeks before graduation, Mom found out she was pregnant. It definitely wasn’t planned, and threw a monkey wrench into their small wedding with their friends. Ms. Patti was going to be the maid of honor and my dad’s best friend was going to be the best man. Instead, they decided to elope. The way Mom told it, they planned to drive to Louisiana and get married, spend the weekend in New Orleans for their honeymoon, and then be back at school on Monday.”

  “Something happened to change those plans?” Maggie’s voice was soft, with an underlying sympathetic tone, as if she’d already guessed what he was about to say.

  “Yeah, an idiot with a gun happened.”

  He heard her swiftly indrawn gasp at the ugly vehemence in his tone, and he scrubbed a hand over his face.

  “Oh, Ridge—”

  “No, I shouldn’t have b
lurted it out like that. I still get angry, even though it was a long time ago.” Staring over her shoulder and taking in the beauty surrounding him, he drew in a deep breath. “They drove to Houston, which took about three hours, and stopped at a drive-thru place to get something to eat, before finishing the drive to Louisiana. Decided to sit in their car and talk while they ate. If they’d only gone inside…”

  “We’d always make different choices if we knew what the future held, Ridge. You don’t know what might have happened if they’d gone inside. Things might have ended differently, or they might have been much worse.” His lids lowered when he felt her hand cup his cheek, her touch like a panacea to his soul. It was the first time she’d reached out to him voluntarily, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat at how it made him feel. What it made him feel.

  “You’re right. I don’t normally talk about this, except with Shiloh. And Ms. Patti, because—well, she’s my momma.”

  “You’re very lucky to have had two wonderful women to be your mothers. That is a gift.”

  “I know, and I thank God every day that Shiloh and I have Douglas and Ms. Patti. They stepped up without question, and took me and Shiloh into their home when Mom died.” There, he’d said the words. He’d hinted around, avoiding saying the actual facts, though Maggie knew. He’d have to be blind not to have read the sympathy and understanding in her gaze. But he knew she understood, having lost her parents, too.

  “A guy tapped on the car window, asking for money. Nobody’s sure exactly what happened next, but there were shots, and one of the bullets struck my father in the neck. He died at the scene. Mom got hit in the shoulder, and they rushed her to the hospital. In all the confusion of paramedics and cops, she ended up being transported to the hospital without knowing what happened to my dad. They didn’t tell her until the next morning he’d died. When they asked her about next of kin, that’s when she found out. Quinn, that was my dad’s name, lived with an elderly aunt because his folks ran off when he was a kid. When Mom called her parents to tell them what happened and ask for help, they refused.”