to say there wasn’t a perfectly wonderful couple waiting to give Isabelle a loving, supportive home?
A tall, somber, dark-haired man approached the relatively quiet corner where Nathan had sought refuge and where his mother had found him. “Just wanted to let you know I’m out of here,” the newcomer said to Lenore. “Congratulations on your award, Mom.”
Though her younger son had arrived barely twenty minutes earlier, Lenore didn’t protest the brevity of his appearance. Nathan knew Lenore was pleased that Gideon had shown up at all. She smiled at her younger son. “Thank you for coming, Gideon. I know this isn’t your sort of thing.”
Gideon’s firm mouth twisted in a wry half smile. “You got that right. But I knew you would be hurt if I didn’t make an appearance at this wingding in your honor.”
Though she couldn’t resist preening a bit, Lenore reminded him that there had been four other honorees that evening. Gideon shrugged off the others as unimportant.
“Hold on a minute, bro. I’ll walk you out,” Nathan said on an impulse.
His brother lifted an eyebrow. “I’m sure I can find my truck.”
“Yeah, but I want to talk to you about something.” Nathan moved aside as two of his mother’s friends approached her. “See you later, Mom.”
“Don’t leave without letting me know,” she admonished before turning to her friends.
Suspecting that she would try again to find out what had been on his mind all evening, Nathan nodded and vowed to take his leave of her when there were others around to prevent any personal conversation. Walking toward the exit, he spotted Caitlin working the crowd on the other side of the country club ballroom. He couldn’t help smiling at her earnest and eager expression. She certainly wasn’t missing the opportunity to promote the law firm.
It wasn’t the first time he’d thought that she should have gone into politics. She must have shaken the hand of everyone in attendance this evening; if there had been any babies in the room she would probably have kissed them.
Caitlin was most definitely destined for professional success. Whether she would find what she craved here in Honesty with him as her partner—well, that remained to be seen.
He and Gideon had just reached the door when their sister, Deborah, caught up with them. “You aren’t both leaving, are you?” she protested, blocking their way. “I have to stay until Mom’s ready to leave, since I drove her here.”
Deborah didn’t live in Honesty, but she had come to attend the reception for her mother. Like Gideon, she’d known it was important to Lenore for all her children to show their support for her tonight. Deborah was staying at her mother’s house for the weekend and would return to her apartment in Tampa Sunday evening.
“I’m not leaving yet,” Nathan assured her. “Just walking Gideon out. Actually, why don’t you come, too? There’s something I need to discuss with both of you—in private.”
“A private discussion in the parking lot?” Gideon inquired.
Nathan shrugged. “It’s one of the rare times we’re all together these days. And this concerns a decision I have to make by tomorrow morning, so this is as good a time as any.”
“Does this decision affect us?” Deborah, always the suspicious one, wanted to know.
“In a way, yes.”
“Then I want to hear about it. You know how I feel about anyone making decisions on my behalf.”
Nathan felt his mouth twist. “Trust me, I know exactly how you feel about that.”
She turned and led the way through the exit door to the covered portico for rainy-weather drop-offs. A uniformed police officer stood outside the door. Nathan recognized Dylan Smith even before Deborah stiffened at his side.
“Well, if it isn’t the Clan McCloud.” Dylan touched his hat in what would probably look like a friendly gesture to anyone who didn’t know the history behind his greeting.
“Your uncle the police chief put you on security detail tonight?” Gideon inquired blandly, sweeping the officer with a cool glance.
Dylan was actually a year younger than thirty-year-old Gideon, but he didn’t look it. Experience had toughened his features and hardened his expression until there was nothing boyish left about him. Nathan doubted there were many who would be willing to pit their strength against this six-foot-one cop.
Yet Dylan spoke pleasantly enough when he responded to Gideon’s barely veiled gibe. “That’s right. My job is to keep all the riffraff away from the society crowd here tonight.”
“Well, keep up the good work. Maybe you’ll get promoted to traffic detail.” Gideon made no effort to hide the fact that he hadn’t forgotten several ugly confrontations between them in the past. One of those encounters had left Gideon with a black eye and a severely bruised ego.
To Dylan’s credit, the sudden tightening of his jaw was the only evidence that Gideon’s cutting words had angered him. Turning his back on Gideon, he spoke to Deborah, instead. “’Evening, Ms. McCloud. You’re looking extremely well tonight. Very sophisticated and successful.”
There was nothing polished about Deborah’s response. “Bite me, Dylan.”
Before the other man could reply to that suggestion, Nathan said quickly, “That’s enough, you guys. Isn’t it finally time to put the past behind us and let bygones be bygones?”
Three smoldering glares turned his way. “No,” they all said in unison.
He sighed, conceding that he had done all he could to settle that old conflict. “Whatever. Gideon, where’s your truck?”
Without answering, Gideon turned and headed toward the western side of the parking lot. Deborah followed him, though Nathan saw her throw one quick glance over her shoulder toward Dylan. Since Dylan was watching her walk away, Nathan saw their eyes lock—a moment of shared memories, perhaps? Deborah was the one who broke the connection, jerking her head around and hurrying after Gideon.
Nodding cordially to the officer who had once been a thorn in his own side, Nathan followed his siblings, bracing himself for the discussion to come.
Gideon had parked beneath a security lamp, his black-and-chrome pickup gleaming in the yellowish light. It was fully dark now. Though the early October days were still warm, they were growing shorter as winter crept closer. Several of the houses grouped around the golf course were already decorated with orange lights for Halloween.
“What’s so important that you had to talk to us tonight?” Gideon demanded, leaning back against his pickup with his arms crossed over his chest.
Unlike Nathan and Deborah, who had inherited their father’s blond hair and blue eyes, Gideon was dark-haired and green-eyed like their mother. And yet in some ways—a trick of facial expression, perhaps—Gideon looked very much like their father, though Nathan knew his brother would not appreciate the comparison.
Nathan drew a deep breath, faced his younger siblings squarely and told them about the call he had received that afternoon.
“Surely
