Cavender’s legal posturing little more than a bogus extortion attempt, but he’d also been systematically stealing from the family for more than two years. Wade was now serving a too-short jail sentence for embezzlement. Andrew had thought he’d put his own complicated entanglement with the Bell family behind him—until his twin had stumbled upon a brochure for the Bell Resort and Marina in Andrew’s office and had impulsively decided to take a vacation there.
Trying to focus on the conversation, Andrew pushed thoughts of Hannah to the back of his mind. Yet he knew those images would lurk there in the darkness, ready to taunt him again as soon as he let down his guard—just as thoughts of her had been doing for almost a year now. “Have you told Mom and Dad yet that you’re staying there?”
“Just talked to Mom. Needless to say, she and Dad can’t wait to meet Shelby. Shelby and I are planning a quick trip to Dallas soon to meet the folks and pick up some more of my things.”
The Bell Resort was located on Lake Livingston, almost a four-hour drive south of Dallas. Aaron had planned to stay only a week or so, needing a chance to recharge and contemplate after leaving a job in which he’d been unhappy and unfulfilled. He couldn’t have predicted then that he would find a new love, a new home and a new career there.
“How does Shelby’s family feel about your moving in with her after knowing her only a week?”
“They’re—” Aaron paused as if searching for a word, then finished with “—adjusting.”
Aaron had saved Shelby’s life the day before when she’d been attacked and kidnapped by a criminal who’d been using the resort as a base for his stolen-goods fencing operation. Shelby had stumbled onto the scheme and had a knife pressed to her throat as a result. Fortunately Aaron rescued her unharmed, which made him the newest Bell family hero. Still, it had to be unnerving for her parents and grandparents to see how quickly she and Aaron, who was little more than a stranger to them, had become lovers.
As for Andrew himself, well, when it came to the Bell women, he was in no position to judge.
“I’d better go,” Aaron said. “Bryan’s waiting for me to help him repair an outdoor light fixture. A couple of punk kids broke it by throwing rocks at it.”
Aaron already sounded like an indignant resort property manager, Andrew noted. Had he not just been stunned by his brother’s unwitting announcement, he might have found it rather amusing. As it was, he sat for a long time after disconnecting the call, staring blindly at his work-cluttered desk and wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.
Chapter One
Hannah Bell figured she had a few days at the most to decide whether to run or stand her ground. She’d never considered herself a coward, but she was leaning toward running. She’d be leaving behind her loving, close-knit family, a marketing job she’d trained for all her life and her cozy manufactured home in the family owned Texas lake resort where she’d grown up. She would miss this tidy little two-bedroom trailer, the first place she’d ever lived that was hers alone.
Sitting in her neutral-toned living room, she sighed heavily, one hand on her swollen tummy as she silently conceded she wouldn’t be going anywhere. As inviting as it sounded to disappear before the inevitable confrontation with Andrew Walker, she would stay and face the consequences of her own unprecedented behavior on one reckless winter night. It wouldn’t do any good to run anyway. Andrew was a P.I. He’d find her if he wanted to.
Would he want to?
Four rapid knocks sounded on her front door—her sister Maggie’s characteristic signal. “It’s unlocked,” she called out, too tired to rise.
Maggie entered carrying a plastic cup with a straw. It was almost five, so she was probably finished with her work for the day. Maggie had chosen the job of housekeeping supervisor, hiring and overseeing the cleaning staff for the sixteen-unit motel and eight cabins available for rent in the resort. Having majored in business and Spanish in college, Maggie performed her job efficiently and cheerfully. She kept her employees on task and held them to high standards of cleanliness and customer service, yet they still liked her and would gladly do anything she asked. Hannah had always been impressed with her sister’s easy people skills. Even though she worked closely with the public herself in her role as marketing and scheduling supervisor for the resort, along with manning the front desk for check-ins, she was more naturally reserved and had to put a little more effort into her interactions.
“I brought you a strawberry smoothie,” Maggie said. “I figured you could use an energy boost.”
Hannah accepted the cup gratefully. “Thanks, sis.”
“You’re welcome. So, big news about Shelby and Aaron Walker, huh?”
Swallowing a gulp of the cold, fruity beverage, Hannah nodded, giving herself a moment to choose her words before answering. “I was shocked to hear Shelby’s gotten involved with Aaron Walker. But, then, I didn’t even know Andrew’s brother was here.”
Having been out of the state for a couple of weeks visiting their mother’s relatives in Shreveport, Hannah had missed the recent excitement here at Bell Resort and Marina, a business her family had owned for three generations. Her impetuous and imaginative cousin Shelby had suspected that a man renting one of the vacation cabins was involved in something illegal and had found herself in danger when she’d been proven right. Hannah shuddered to think of the knife that had been held to Shelby’s throat only the day before. Maggie had told her all about the nightmarish scene and about Aaron’s daring rescue of their cousin. Shelby sported an ugly bruise on one cheek from the ordeal.
Hannah would bet it would be a while before the family recovered from that shock, especially right on the heels of Shelby’s older brother Steven’s accident. He’d broken his leg and suffered a concussion when he’d overturned a mowing tractor while working around the campgrounds. Two near-tragedies in less than a week had been hard on their grandparents, not to mention Steven and Shelby’s parents. The family needed a few days of peace and comfortable routines.
Hannah was going to do her best to keep from upsetting them for a while. She had shocked them enough when she’d announced her pregnancy a couple months ago when it had started to become obvious. Now six months along, she still refused to name the father. She had let them believe her condition was the result of an impulsive and completely uncharacteristic one-night stand, which was true, with someone they didn’t know, which was not exactly accurate. She had made it quite clear that she wanted this child, that while her pregnancy might have been an accident, she would never label it a mistake. And bless their hearts, her family had rallied around her. She had no doubt they would welcome the newest member of their family with love and joy.
Sitting in a chair with the bottled water she’d brought for herself, Maggie brushed back her sun-streaked brown hair and studied Hannah with long-lashed hazel eyes. Hannah’s hair was a darker brown than her sister’s and her eyes were emerald-green. They would never be mistaken for twins, but she knew there were family resemblances between them, from their mother’s coloring to their father’s cheekbones.
“So, how are you feeling?” Maggie asked. “You looked pretty shaky when you arrived this morning.”
“That was probably too long a drive to make without more breaks,” Hannah admitted. “I thought leaving Grammy’s house at dawn to avoid the heat of the day was a good idea, but maybe I should have slept in a little longer.”
“You’re going to have to take better care of yourself,”
