“The absolute best,” Paradise said.
“I haven’t given you my present yet.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a satin pouch.
She opened the drawstring and drew out a silver locket, clearly vintage, with filigree on the outside. “Oh, I love it. Are there pictures inside?” She opened it and discovered a picture of Blake and her together on one side. On the other was one of Levi and Isaac with her. Tears stung her eyes. “I have a family now, Blake. I’m not alone. This is the first birthday celebration since my parents died.”
His smile disappeared. “You didn’t have a party at all during this whole time?”
“No one even knew. It’s been a wonderful night.” Her gaze went back to the locket. “Where’d you get this? It’s so unique.”
“It belonged to my great-grandma. Grandpa gave it to her when she turned thirty. I could have gotten something new, but I wanted to show you what an integral part of our family you are.”
She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. All her loneliness and heartache of the past fifteen years vanished as she put all she felt into that kiss. His arms tightened around her, and she spiraled into a vortex of passion and love.
Something whipped past her ear, and Blake tore his mouth away to push her to the ground and cover her with himself. “Keep your head down!”
She could feel his heart pounding against her, and she didn’t move. She hadn’t heard a gunshot. What had so narrowly missed her head?
Squealing tires followed the roar of an engine tearing off, and Blake cautiously got up. He lifted her to her feet. “Go inside until I’m sure they’re gone.”
She turned and saw an arrow on the ground. A paper fluttered at the end of it. “Blake.”
He turned and saw it, then stooped to peer at the paper without touching it. She knelt beside him to read the wordsYour last birthday if you don’t leave.
A jolt of fear shivered down her back until she got it under control. Adams was an archer. Was he out there amping up his fear tactics? “No one will scare me away.”
“I wish you’d stay with us until this is resolved.”
“I’m not going to run. They want me gone for a reason—and I’m going to find out what that is.”
Chapter 23
What a day. Paradise’s morning had been packed full of pets, including a sick iguana. She’d had to research notes from a distant college class about the creatures to treat it. Her neck ached, and a faint headache pulsed at her forehead. Her belly signaled she’d skipped lunch, which was probably the source of the pain in her head.
She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the chicken salad she’d picked up at the grocery store last night. She wanted nothing more than to fill her tummy and veg out with the newest Denise Hunter novel. Blake was watching the boys so Jenna could attend a fundraising event with Frank, who’d pulled it together in a week. Paradise had offered to babysit so Blake could go, too, but he’d insisted his mom’s pretty face would win over the donors better than he could, and he wanted a boys’ night out to play mini golf in Gulf Shores with the kids.
She made a chicken salad sandwich, threw some carrots onto her plate, and called it a healthy meal. The kittens curled up beside her while she ate, and the stress of the day melted away as she opened her book.
She’d just finished her meal and was on the second chapter of her novel when her doorbell rang. It was probably a surprise visit by the boys, and she went to the door with a smile forming. Her breath caught when she spotted Mary Steerforth standing on the small deck at the top of the steps outside her entry. She was crying, and the scars on her face were florid from whatever had caused her distress.
Paradise threw open the door and took Mary’s hand. “Mary, what’s wrong?”
The older woman swiped at the moisture on her face and stumbled across the threshold. “I need to sit down a minute. I’m so sorry to bother you, Paradise, but Blake and Jenna weren’t home. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”
Paradise led her to the kitchen table and poured two glasses of sweet tea. She handed one to Mary, then pulled out a chair and sat beside her. The woman was still distraught and kept choking back sobs.
Mary took a sip and shuddered. “I still can’t believe it.”
Paradise took her hand. “Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll do whatever I can.” Maybe she should call Blake, but she hated to interrupt his fun evening with the boys. They thrived on the time they got to spend with their big brother.
Mary clutched Paradise’s hand in a painful grip. “It’s Dean. I—I think he killed Allen.”
Paradise set down her glass of tea. Blake had suspected that Allen Steerforth’s death hadn’t been an accident. “Did Dean admit he ran Allen off the road? Or did you discover something about drugs?”
Mary downed a gulp of her tea. She took a deep breath and her tears slowed. “Allen and I went through a hard spell after the tiger attack. It was mostly my fault. I pushed him away because Ifelt ugly. I couldn’t believe he could love me in spite of my scars and told him to move out. He was angry but he went. He moved in with Dean for a while.”
Paradise’s fingers crept to the ridge of scars on her shoulder. A traumatic injury could mess with anyone. “How long were you separated?”
“A year. Too long really. I knew I’d made a mistake three months in, but my stupid pride wouldn’t let me go crawling back to him. In that time he changed his will and left everything to Dean. Or so Dean says. Dean said he saw a signed copy. No will was found when Allen died though.”
