stepped in front of the women. “We need to search the vehicles before anyone gets in.”
“Daniel and I will handle that,” Thad said. “Patrick, could you take Mother and Shelby into the hospital and have the staff give them a once-over?”
Kate shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“As am I,” Shelby assured him.
Thad shrugged. “Hardheaded women.”
Kate’s lips quirked and Shelby couldn’t help but think the men were tough and hardheaded like their mother. Not an entirely bad thing in this case.
A few minutes later, Shelby was in the backseat of an SUV with Daniel riding shotgun, her grandfather at her side and Trey Winston at the wheel. Kate rode in Thad’s SUV with Sam driving and Debra sitting beside her in the backseat. They’d decided to leave the second limo behind in case it was similarly rigged to explode.
Once they were away from the hospital, Shelby noticed Daniel didn’t sit all the way back in his seat.
She leaned forward. “You should have had your back seen to.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine until I get to the Winston Estate.”
“You can barely sit in this vehicle.” Shelby tapped Trey on his shoulder. “Take us back to the hospital. This man needs medical attention.”
Trey shot her a glance in the rearview mirror. “Thad’s fiancée is on her way. She’s a nurse and can remove the shrapnel and clean the wounds.”
Not completely satisfied with Trey’s response, Shelby sat back in her seat, chewing on her bottom lip.
Her grandfather patted her knee. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about your grandmother.”
Shelby covered her grandfather’s hand. “It’s okay. I guess I understand why you didn’t. A woman willing to give up her baby isn’t worth knowing.”
“My mother didn’t give up her baby knowingly,” Trey said, his jaw set in a hard line, his fingers tight on the wheel.
“I didn’t know she was lied to. All I knew was I had a baby to raise by myself. What did I know about raising a kid?”
Shelby’s fingers squeezed around her grandfather’s. “Apparently you knew enough to raise my mother and me.”
“Not enough to keep Carrie safe.”
“You did the best you could. You couldn’t have known she would die in a car wreck.”
Patrick lifted Shelby’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. How can I forget when you look just like her?” He smiled, then his lips turned down at the corners. “When I thought I’d lost you as well, I had to get help.”
“I’m glad you did.” Memories of being abducted washed over her, and she relived the terror of being so helpless. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home on time that night.”
“You think I could be mad about that?” Her grandfather laughed, choking on a sob. “You couldn’t have known someone would target you.”
“Yeah, but if I had left when there were more people out, I might not have been captured and imprisoned in that horrible basement.”
“Well, it’s all over now. We have to count our blessings and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
And that was where Daniel came into the picture. If he was to be her bodyguard, he’d be around all the time.
Shelby’s insides quivered, her core heated and her palms grew clammy. “I don’t like living in someone else’s house. I’d rather go home to my own home, with my own bed to sleep in and the people I know and love around me.”
Patrick nodded. “I’d like nothing better. But it’s clear someone wants to get to Kate through her family. And like it or not, you’re part of Kate’s family.”
At that moment, they pulled up to a gate. Trey pressed a remote-control button on the sun visor and the gate opened. They wound along a driveway and through parklike manicured lawns and gardens, and finally stopped in front of a huge white-painted brick mansion with black shutters and red accents.
Shelby gulped, her pulse quickening, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. “For the record, I don’t like it. I don’t know the woman, other than that she’s the former vice president. I don’t like putting my life on hold because someone doesn’t like her. I’ve already missed enough time at school. I have no idea how I’m going to catch up. And holy smokes, who lives in a house this big?”
“You will.” Daniel climbed out of the SUV and opened Shelby’s door for her, his face grim, his jaw hard. “Perhaps you need to understand a few things.” He held out his hand, pulled her out of the vehicle and stood her in front of him.
“Don’t get all he-man on me,” she said, pushing his hands away before the feel of him made her do something truly foolish. “You’re just the bodyguard.”
“I might only be the hired help, but Kate Winston was a good vice president and she’s an even better person. She didn’t have to come to your rescue, but she did. And she doesn’t have to provide you protection. But she will.” He gripped her arms and glared down at her. “I suggest you be grateful you’re alive, thank Kate for making that happen and stop whining about school.”
Shelby opened her mouth to tell the man she wasn’t whining, but he stood so close she could feel the heat from his body and the intensity in his gaze. All the words she could have shouted back at him died on her lips and she shut her mouth with a snap. It wasn’t in her nature to be so angry. And, damn it, Daniel was right.
She should quit worrying about school. Free from her kidnappers, no longer confined to the darkness, she had a lot to be thankful for. And she had yet to thank this man for saving her from the burning house.
Her grandfather chuckled as he rounded the vehicle. “Shelby has a mind of her own, but I do believe she’s met her match.” He glanced up at the house in front of him, his smile fading. “Kate sure has done well for herself,” he stated.
Shelby stepped back from Daniel, her voice caught in her throat as a surge of emotion welled up in her. She was lucky to be here, and she should accept a night’s protection from the woman who’d been someone special to her grandfather forty years ago.
Slipping her arm through her grandfather’s, she leaned into him. “In case I haven’t told you yet, I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”
He pressed her arm to his side. “Never.”
Shelby stared up at the house and shook her head. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Shelby glanced at her grandfather.
For a man who didn’t know a stranger and always had a smile on his face, he looked pretty grim. “I could never have given her all this.”
A thread of anger shot up her back, stiffening her spine. “You’d have given her everything she needed.”
His
