the water instead of on a battleship or carrier. Spending months at a time on the bottom of the ocean tested my sanity and resolve.”
Celia exhaled a breath. If Gavin and Nicholas were both ex-military, then she knew they would go on for hours. “Why don’t the two of you go and hang out on the back porch? Nicky, I’ll bring you your coffee. By the way, are you in a rush to get back home?”
Nicholas angled his head. “What’s up, Cee Cee?”
A soft smile touched her mouth. “I’d like you to judge a food competition.”
The former Naval officer-turned-horse-breeder’s gaze shifted from his sister to the man she’d hired to protect her. “What am I judging?”
Gavin inclined his head in deference to Celia. “Tell him, Cee Cee.”
Celia glared at Gavin. Her brothers knew she detested the annoying nickname. She explained the details of the competition, with pork as the main ingredient. “You will have the responsibility of judging which dish you like best.”
“I can tell you now that I’m partial to roast and pulled pork, so I’m not going to be much of a judge.” Nicholas sniffed the air. “I can tell you now that whatever is cooking smells incredible.”
Gavin flashed a Cheshire-cat grin. “That’s my pulled pork.”
“You’re all right, Brother Faulkner,” Nicholas crooned.
“Why, thank you, Brother Thomas,” Gavin said, winking at Celia. “Do you need help in the kitchen, Celia?”
She glared at him. “No, brother. ” Turning on her heels, she retreated to the kitchen while her brother and bodyguard walked in the direction of the enclosed back porch.
She’d lived in the house a year before deciding to enclose the porch so she’d be able to utilize the space year-round. A contractor had installed pocket doors and built-in bookcases along one wall. There was also a retractable awning which shielded the porch from the intense summer when converted to a loggia for outdoor dining.
Celia looked forward to beginning and ending her days on the porch with stunning vistas of mountains, verdant valleys and waterfalls as a panoramic backdrop. Although she’d hiked a few trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she could never convince Yale to join her. He’d said his fair coloring was a deterrent to prolonged outdoor activity. She intended to ask former Army Ranger Gavin Faulkner to go hiking, fishing and white-water rafting with her, and if he refused, then Celia would never let him live it down.
Picking up the remote, Gavin turned on the large, flat-screen television mounted on a far wall, tuned to ESPN and raised the volume. It was his turn to put Nicholas Cole-Thomas on the defensive when he asked, “Did you stop by just to visit your sister, or is she in real danger?”
Nicholas took a sip from a mug filled with warm milk, coffee and sugar, peering at Gavin Faulkner over the rim. “Someone broke into her home despite it being wired. By the time the police got there they were gone. Footage from surveillance video showed a landscaping truck in the driveway. When the police enhanced the image they discovered the plate was stolen and the company doesn’t exist.”
“Does she live in a gated community?” Gavin asked.
Nicholas took another sip of the coffee-infused sweetened beverage. He’d come to western North Carolina to try to convince his sister to return to Virginia with him until it was time for her to testify. He was prepared for a volatile confrontation, and had been given a direct order from his father not to leave North Carolina without her.
When the police contacted Timothy Cole-Thomas to inform him that his daughter’s house had been burglarized, it was the only time in his life that Nicholas heard his father spew expletives he hadn’t known existed. Once Timothy regained his composure, he ordered his son to go and bring his daughter back or he’d have her abducted and forcibly returned to Florida.
“No,” Nicholas replied. “But there is a private
Celia exhaled a breath. If Gavin and Nicholas were both ex-military, then she knew they would go on for hours. “Why don’t the two of you go and hang out on the back porch? Nicky, I’ll bring you your coffee. By the way, are you in a rush to get back home?”
Nicholas angled his head. “What’s up, Cee Cee?”
A soft smile touched her mouth. “I’d like you to judge a food competition.”
The former Naval officer-turned-horse-breeder’s gaze shifted from his sister to the man she’d hired to protect her. “What am I judging?”
Gavin inclined his head in deference to Celia. “Tell him, Cee Cee.”
Celia glared at Gavin. Her brothers knew she detested the annoying nickname. She explained the details of the competition, with pork as the main ingredient. “You will have the responsibility of judging which dish you like best.”
“I can tell you now that I’m partial to roast and pulled pork, so I’m not going to be much of a judge.” Nicholas sniffed the air. “I can tell you now that whatever is cooking smells incredible.”
Gavin flashed a Cheshire-cat grin. “That’s my pulled pork.”
“You’re all right, Brother Faulkner,” Nicholas crooned.
“Why, thank you, Brother Thomas,” Gavin said, winking at Celia. “Do you need help in the kitchen, Celia?”
She glared at him. “No, brother. ” Turning on her heels, she retreated to the kitchen while her brother and bodyguard walked in the direction of the enclosed back porch.
She’d lived in the house a year before deciding to enclose the porch so she’d be able to utilize the space year-round. A contractor had installed pocket doors and built-in bookcases along one wall. There was also a retractable awning which shielded the porch from the intense summer when converted to a loggia for outdoor dining.
Celia looked forward to beginning and ending her days on the porch with stunning vistas of mountains, verdant valleys and waterfalls as a panoramic backdrop. Although she’d hiked a few trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she could never convince Yale to join her. He’d said his fair coloring was a deterrent to prolonged outdoor activity. She intended to ask former Army Ranger Gavin Faulkner to go hiking, fishing and white-water rafting with her, and if he refused, then Celia would never let him live it down.
Picking up the remote, Gavin turned on the large, flat-screen television mounted on a far wall, tuned to ESPN and raised the volume. It was his turn to put Nicholas Cole-Thomas on the defensive when he asked, “Did you stop by just to visit your sister, or is she in real danger?”
Nicholas took a sip from a mug filled with warm milk, coffee and sugar, peering at Gavin Faulkner over the rim. “Someone broke into her home despite it being wired. By the time the police got there they were gone. Footage from surveillance video showed a landscaping truck in the driveway. When the police enhanced the image they discovered the plate was stolen and the company doesn’t exist.”
“Does she live in a gated community?” Gavin asked.
Nicholas took another sip of the coffee-infused sweetened beverage. He’d come to western North Carolina to try to convince his sister to return to Virginia with him until it was time for her to testify. He was prepared for a volatile confrontation, and had been given a direct order from his father not to leave North Carolina without her.
When the police contacted Timothy Cole-Thomas to inform him that his daughter’s house had been burglarized, it was the only time in his life that Nicholas heard his father spew expletives he hadn’t known existed. Once Timothy regained his composure, he ordered his son to go and bring his daughter back or he’d have her abducted and forcibly returned to Florida.
“No,” Nicholas replied. “But there is a private
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