AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, it looks like you’re all set and ready to go, but how about we eat some breakfast before we start our trip?”
He takes my hand and leads me back towards the kitchen. “Amelia makes the best French toast and has been teaching my mom how to cook,” he whispers.
“Your mom doesn’t know how to cook? What is this world coming to?”
“I know, right? If it wasn’t for our chefs at the palace, I’d probably starve!” A loud guffaw burst from me at that, and all eyes turn in our direction.
“Ready to eat?” Amelia asks.
“Yes!” answers Alex.
“Manners,” Ariella scolds gently.
“Yes, please. Thank you kindly for making such a wonderful meal for us, madam,” Alex says, bowing with a flourish. He sounds more like a formal dignitary than an eight-year-old child. Ariella rolls her eyes at her son’s antics and whispers to him as she passes by.
“Turd.” At least Ariella and Alex have an amazing relationship.
We eat breakfast together and then load up the car, ready to hit the open road. Ethan stops me on the way out. “There’s something you should know about Kiernan and Ariella,” he says, his voice pitched low.
“And what’s that?” I ask, not sure I want to hear his answer.
“Not everything is as it appears to be. You and Ariella need to have a long talk. And before you ask, yes, I have been informed of your history. I don’t make decisions like making you the lead on an assignment as important as this if I don’t think it’s the best thing for everyone involved.”
“Cryptic much?”
He gives me a wry grin. “Trust me on this, Pat. Put all your assumptions away and have a long talk when you two get a moment alone. I’d fill you in on the details myself, but it’s her story to tell, and you owe it to her to listen.” He glances at Alex, and I get the gist.
She ghosted me for nine years and then shows up here married and with a kid. I don’t feel like I owe her anything. But even with all that, I know I’d do everything in my power to give her the world. The least I can do is hear her out.
Chapter six
Ariella
Thank goodness Patrick has a large truck with plenty of room in the back for Alex to put his feet up and sleep while we’re driving. With nearly 2,400 miles between New York and the outskirts of Billings, Montana, it’s paramount that we get some rest. I don’t know how Patrick managed to keep his eyes awake for the long haul, but he did.
We stopped twice, staying in hotels along the I-90 corridor. “Isn’t it risky to stay in hotels where the check-in clerk can identify us if someone comes looking?” I asked.
Patrick pulled out his phone and showed me a hotel application on the home screen. “Nope. The team has booked every hotel they’re staying at for two nights. The first night, they’ll check in at the front desk, talk with the clerk, show their faces, and then leave the next morning without checking out. They share the digital key with me, and then we use it to stay the second night, slipping in and out without being noticed.”
“Can I use the pool at the hotels?” Alex asked. Patrick frowned, and I knew the answer without him having to say a word.
Not wanting Patrick to be the bearer of bad news, I turned around in my seat and told Alex, “I’m sorry, Sweetie, but this time we have to skip it. We have to be like ninjas, moving about without being detected.”
“Hey, Buddy. I know the drive will be long and boring, but you can run around and have fun when we get to the ranch. There’s even an indoor pool you can swim in,” Patrick tells him.
“Awesome sauce!” Alex shouted, pumping his fists in the air.
Surprised that a ranch has a pool, I questioned him about it. “Your parents have an indoor pool? Why?” It seems like such an extravagant expense for a small farm.
“My father is a retired Navy Seal, and his only stipulation for taking over the family farm was that they build a pool. He swims laps every morning, rain or shine. Hence why it’s indoors.”
“At least that explains why you are such a good swimmer. When we swam in the Bahamas, you kept up with me. Considering our family lives on an island, that was quite an accomplishment. For Cothenans, learning to swim before we can walk isn’t only for fun, but also for our safety.”
I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment while I formulated my thoughts. Eventually, I asked, “Why didn’t you follow in your father’s footsteps and join the Navy?”
He laughed. “My father said that the Navy treated him right, but the quality of life in the Air Force was much better. He said, ‘Patrick, if you’re going to be a desk jockey and fiddle with computers all day, it would be better for you to join the ‘Chair Force.’ He was only kidding, but I took his words to heart and joined the Air Force ROTC program in college.’”
He continued to tell me the story of how the FBI had recruited him, and I listened intently as he talked about his life growing up. I didn’t realize until that moment how little I knew of his life before the FBI, and I’m ashamed to admit that most of our conversations had been about me when we were together.
