A Beauty Uncovered (Secrets of Eden 2)

The Wet Hen was the center for a lot of activity in their home town. If you wanted to have a beer with the mayor and the sheriff, that was the place to go. It was also the place to start trouble quickly because everyone in town would know about it as certainly as they were sitting there.

“Skippy called, but by the time I got down to the bar, she was gone. I hung around and chatted with a few folks for a while. It didn’t take much to find out what happened before she left.”

“Did she learn anything?”

“No,” Wade said. “It’s been a long time and most people have forgotten Tommy Wilder even existed. Those that remembered told her what she already knew—he ran away from his foster home and was never seen in Cornwall again.”

Brody nodded. Maybe that would be enough to convince her that Cornwall was a dead end and send her packing. “Is she still in town?”

“Yes. And apparently she went to the farm first to talk to Mom and Dad.”

“What?” Brody nearly shouted into the phone. This was way too close for comfort.

“I didn’t find out until later. Mom mentioned it when I went by this morning. Nothing came of it, but Mom is a little upset to know that Tommy has been missing since the night he vanished. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven herself for ‘failing’ that one.”

Even knowing that she’d raised three millionaire CEOs, a U.S. congressman and a world-acclaimed artist, Molly would focus on the one that got away. “Not even Mom could have saved Tommy. I hate that she upset Mom like that. Where is Deborah staying?”

“She’s staying at the Cornwall Inn. I gave Carol a call at the desk, and she said Deborah hadn’t checked out yet. She had a reservation through tomorrow. For now, I think things are okay. I don’t know who she could possibly talk to that might cause us trouble.”

“Her presence in town causes us trouble, Wade. It starts to raise questions. People forgot about Tommy, but knowing he hasn’t been seen since then will make people wonder what happened. The sheriff is new. If Deborah pressures him enough, it might make him curious. Hell, Mom might even encourage the sheriff out of some misguided feeling of disappointing Tommy. He might start looking at the old case file and start his own search for him. The farm was the last place he was ever seen. Tell me that won’t bring questions into our lap.”

“Then we tell him the same story we’ve always told. Why would we know what happened to him after he ran off?”

“He’s dead, Wade. We killed him. Eventually people are going to wonder why he completely disappeared off the face of the earth.”

A soft gasp over Brody’s shoulder set ice running through his veins. He turned to find Sam standing in the doorway to the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. Her eyes were wide with surprise and fear, her lips parted to speak but silenced by shock.

“I’ve gotta go, Wade. Call me if you hear anything.” He hit the button, ending the call before his brother could respond. Brody dropped the phone to the bed and slowly got up to face her.

Sam watched him warily as he moved, her whole body tense.

He didn’t go any closer. She looked like she would spook too easily, and there was nowhere for her to run. She could scream bloody murder on the beach and no one would hear her, but he didn’t want her to be afraid of him. Brody hated to see that expression in her eyes. She’d always looked at him with interest and openness, even early on. Now the fortress walls had slammed down. It made his chest ache with disappointment. He couldn’t let her slip away over this.

“Sam, I know that sounded bad, but it isn’t what you think.”

“You didn’t kill someone?” Her voice was icy cold.

“No. I didn’t kill anyone,” he said, and that was true. Heath had been the one to actually kill Tommy, although that was splitting hairs. “Please relax. I’m not some serial killer about to slaughter you in the basement because you’ve uncovered my horrible secret. I’ve got enough problems right now without you, of all people, turning on me.”

Sam took a deep breath, relaxing slightly but not making a move toward him. “So tell me what’s going on, then.”

“I can’t talk about it.” Brody wished he could. He would love to have someone he could confess his darkest secrets to, but the brothers had a rule—protect the family above all else. He sat back down on the bed, defeat hunching his shoulders. “I wish I could.”

Sam watched him for a moment before crossing the room and sitting beside him. She wasn’t shoulder to shoulder with him like usual, but it was an improvement. “Yes, you can. I know of five million reasons why you can tell me anything you want and know that I would never tell another living soul.”