Her Secret Sons Read online

Zach sank into a chair and Duke did the same, though he was surprised his knees would bend. He felt more like falling over, poleaxed. “We always looked to her to be the responsible one,” Zach said.

  “Because she was,” Duke said. “Obviously. She’s managed to do more with her life than I’ve done with mine.”

  Zach nodded. “I was still sowing oats while she was finishing up med school. I don’t know how she did it with kids.”

  “Well, clearly Aunt Jerry was a very helpful conspirator. That must be why Pepper lived up north all those years—to be close to Aunt Jerry.”

  “It still couldn’t have been easy.” Zach looked at his brother. “I wish she’d felt that she could have come to us when she was in trouble.”

  Duke shrugged. “I doubt Pepper ever thought she was in trouble. I think she just took care of her business, as she always has.” He glanced at Pansy and Helen and the rest of the gang. “I hope everyone will take in our new family members with open arms.”

  Pansy gasped. “Why, Duke Forrester, how could you suggest that we’d do anything but?”

  He put up a mollifying hand. “I didn’t mean that quite the way it sounded. I should have said, ‘Thank you for accepting our new family members with open arms.’”

  Helen sniffed. “I think Pepper Forrester has more grit in her than most women I’ve met in my life, and men, too.” She glanced at Hiram and Bug. “There’s a difference between grit and being gritty.”

  They nodded at the friendly teasing.

  “We’re gonna have to teach those young boys a thing or two about life,” Bug said.

  “Like how to lead a parade?” Pansy asked, since he was Tulips’s unofficial parade master.

  “No,” Hiram said, “how to be responsible.”

  “You live in a jail,” Helen pointed out, returning to Hiram’s odd propensity to reside in the one and only jail cell in Tulips. “Though you do keep your cell quite tidy.”

  “Yes, but I have a room at Liberty’s when I feel like it,” Hiram said proudly, “and I’m willing to offer it up when you all figure out how you’re going to get him home.”

  “Him who?” Bug asked. “All of us are here tonight, except Holt, who had an unexpected hair emergency at the salon.” He looked at Bug. “I hope your wife quits trying to color her own hair soon. This is the third time she’s gone green.”

  “Him—the father of Pepper’s boys,” Hiram said, as if no one else had the sense to think clearly.

  Duke sat up straight in his chair. “Father?” he repeated, his brain in a stunned fog. “There is no father.”

  They all stared at him, and for a moment, Duke wondered if his shocked brain had calcified in his head. What was so obvious to them that was not obvious to him? “What?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”

  “She didn’t adopt those boys, Duke,” Zach said.

  “I know that, damn it!” The whole situation was making Duke grumpy. “Liberty, I think I need some tea or something, please.”

  She hopped up to get it, setting a tiny floral teacup in front of him. How the hell was he supposed to loosen up with that little bit of sustentation? Asking for a shot of whiskey in it would likely get him in big trouble with the ladies, so he bit his tongue and tried to unscramble his thoughts.

  Liberty patted his shoulder, smiling down at him sympathetically.

  “What?” he said. “What the hell am I not getting?”

  “That Pepper had a love interest, and the odds of him not knowing about his boys are probably about as good as none of us knowing. Especially since most of us thought we were pretty close to Pepper, didn’t we?” she asked, gently kneading Duke’s shoulder.

  “Well, hell, yeah.” He looked at Zach. “So tell me.”

  “Jeez, Duke,” his brother said, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere but four feet away from him. “Of course you know who the father of those kids is. You’re just not thinking.”

  He didn’t want to think. As far as he knew, Pepper had never had a boyfriend…. Light flashed behind his eyes as he thought back to the summer she was seventeen, with a terribly immature crush on—“No,” he said. “They can’t be his. It has to be someone she met at college.”

  They all stared at him, and Duke’s scalp began to crawl. “You’re not saying those boys are Luke McGarrett’s, are you?” he asked, horrified. “Why, they were never serious about each other! I don’t think they had more than one or two dates before he left town, and I don’t know if I’d even call those dates!”

  Zach shrugged. “The boys are the right age.”

  Helen sighed. “And, unfortunately, they are the spitting image of Luke.”

  Pain crashed into Duke’s chest. “I’ll kill him!”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Helen said sternly. She stood up, glancing around the room. “Overreaction is exactly why Pepper never felt that she could come to us. Any of us. Think about the secrets we’ve kept over the years. Think about that damn box you guard so jealously in your cell, Hiram, which has every piece of information about this town in it. Everyone has something they’ve kept to themselves…. Only Pepper did it for a long time and with no one to advise her. Not from this community, anyway. She was just a girl when she left but now she’s a woman. A mother. Don’t dare think to harm someone she never felt needed harming.”

  Duke began to pace. “How could he not know? The weasel probably did know, and that’s why he’s never returned to Tulips.”

  “No.” Bug shook his head. “Luke’s old man says his boy is just lucky, which I found a strange comment from a man who didn’t get along with his only child. But I don’t think McGarrett meant it as a compliment. He said there was no luck in Tulips for Luke, so he hit the rodeo like many other hotheaded young men around here. He cowboyed, and won. Then he decided he needed more danger and worked as a rodeo clown. He was lucky, and saved the son of a retired U.S. general from a severe goring. The grateful general hired Luke to vacation with him on his party barge—McGarrett said it was a yacht, but to his mind, it was likely just a floating party—for the summer, though Luke’s main focus is protecting the general’s family. Being lucky, Luke invested the money he earned in the stock market and made a fortune. He then parlayed the money into commercial real estate investments, which were touched by gold. He’s so fortunate that even the general’s daughters now travel with him, considering him the best man they’ve ever known besides their father. Three months has turned into a year of work as a bodyguard, and old man McGarrett says the only reason he knows any of this is because of his connections in the military, some old chums of his who keep up with him.” Bug scratched his head. “Of course, none of this was said with a fatherly gleam of pride in McGarrett’s eyes. I got the distinct impression he equates ‘lucky’ with ‘ne’er-do-well.’”

  “Oh, my,” Pansy said, “I do think Pepper did the right thing, after all. I’m not sure Luke would have been the steadying influence on those boys that she and her aunt Jerry clearly were.”

  Helen nodded. “A man is not always the solution.”

  Duke’s brows furrowed. “Let’s not take sides against a guy we haven’t seen in years. He was just a boy when he left. I was a hotheaded kid once, too, and I’ve turned out well, given time.”

  Liberty smiled. “Parenting skills are a tricky business, Duke, is all Pansy and Helen are saying. Children have been known to be raised by a mother, or grandparents, or aunts, and turn out fine.”

  Duke looked at his wife. “I’ll just be happy that the boys are where they belong now.”

  “And yet,” Zach said, “it might not hurt Luke McGarrett to learn just how lucky he really has been.”

  Every head turned to stare at him.

  “I suppose you’re suggesting we tell his father he has grandchildren?” Pansy asked worriedly.

  Silence reigned for a moment as the thought sank in.

  “McGarrett is getting up in years,” Hiram said reluctantly, “though he’s no friend of mine.”

 
“He’s not been a friend to many folks,” Bug added, “and I say it’s not our place to make that decision. It’s Pepper’s.”

  Helen shifted in her chair. “Luke’s never coming back.”

  “Oh, he will,” Hiram said.

  “Maybe for his father’s funeral,” Bug suggested.

  “Oh, boy,” Duke muttered. “That’s not a good thought.”

  Zach shook his head. “Listen, we could do something radical here.”

  They all frowned at him. “Last time you did something radical—” Pansy began, but Helen waved at her best friend to be quiet.

  “Like what?” Helen demanded, her black eyeglasses perched on the end of her nose.

  Jessie whispered in her husband’s ear, and Zach nodded. Helen noted the two of them had been doing a lot of whispering, which was a sure sign of a conspiracy or a brainstorm, and right now, either would be better than what they had. “Tell us,” she prompted with impatience.

  “Unresolved situations are never good,” Zach said, “and while I am not one to advocate being involved in other folks’ business, it seems that there are suddenly a lot of people in this town who could benefit from seeing Luke McGarrett in the flesh. As I say, he’s luckier than he knows, so it’s not like we’d be interfering in his affairs in a bad way.”

  Duke looked at his brother. “You’re saying because his father’s old, and because Luke has two young sons he doesn’t know about, that we should get him home somehow?”

  “Couldn’t hurt,” Zach said, and Jessie nodded.

  “Could hurt,” Hiram said, “when Pepper kicks your tail for butting in.”

  “There is that,” Helen agreed. “Plus she’d say we were playing matchmaker or something, and that would be awful for her to believe of us, because clearly Luke McGarrett is not the man for a responsible woman like Pepper. Lucky, indeed.” She gave a righteous sniff.

  Bug sat up straight. “That’s exactly the way his father says ‘lucky’ when he’s talking about Luke.”

  “How the hell would we find him on a floating party barge in the middle of the big blue sea?” Duke demanded. “Even if we did all vote that this scheme was a good idea?”

  “His father sends the odd message through the general’s office,” Bug said helpfully, “though he never gets a reply.”

  “What a jacka—” Duke halted abruptly, censoring himself for the sake of the ladies and children present. Although he was sure it didn’t matter what he said, because they all had the same low-down opinion of Luke at this moment. “We’d do better to send a P.I. after him so it could be done discreetly, instead of using a military office, anyway.”

  “There’s trackers over in Union Junction,” Zach said.

  “Yes. They came into my bridal salon one day to help out the bride of the young cowboy who used to assist Valentine in transporting cakes,” Liberty said. “Blaine was his name, and his older brother’s name was either Hawk or Jellyfish—I can’t remember which.” She nodded. “At any rate, Valentine would know how to get hold of them. I don’t think they actually work out of Union Junction.”

  Duke stood and grabbed his wife’s hand. “We’ll think about all this,” he said. “I’m too much in shock to make a proper decision. I’m taking my bride home, because we have a baby who’s getting restless,” he said, staring down into the stroller where his son, Michael Zachariah, was just starting to wake from his nap. “Nobody do anything until we have a chance to think this through.”

  Helen kissed him on the cheek and hugged Liberty, as Pansy did. “The Forresters sure do know how to grow a town all by themselves,” she said, her voice slightly teasing. “Remember when you insisted we had to grow the town organically?”

  Zach slapped his brother on the back. “Sometimes you get what you wish for.”

  Everyone laughed at Duke, since he’d been against bachelor balls, parades, rodeos and every other idea the Tulips Salon gang had come up with to lure settlers to the area. He’d insisted they should grow the town the old-fashioned way.

  Duke put on his hat. “Well, at least I’m an uncle again. I’m pretty excited to get to know my nephews. I have a lot of catching up to do.”

  The Forresters all departed, leaving the four town elders to grin at each other.

  “That was a great surprise Pepper lobbed into our laps,” Helen said.

  Pansy giggled. “I love that girl. She’s so dang independent!”

  Helen nodded with satisfaction. “You just wait until big brother charges in to rescue his sister from evil Luke McGarrett’s neglect of his duties. I have a feeling things will be settled around here mighty fast.”

  The four of them sipped tea and smiled, until Helen sat straight in her chair.

  “Of course, we’re all assuming Luke would come home and that Pepper would forgive us for meddling,” she said, and everyone groaned.

  “It’s too late now.” Pansy shook her head. “Pepper’s big brother is a man of action, as you all know, too well. He’ll drag Luke back here if he has to, once his brain starts functioning again. Whatever he thinks might be best for his nephews is exactly what those boys are going to get!”

  Chapter Three

  Luke McGarrett sat in a deck chair on the general’s yacht, anchored off an isle in Greece. The scenery, as always, was good, and he was, as usual, feeling lucky.

  Except for the nagging sensation that something wasn’t quite right. The general and his daughters had gone into town—or the small fishing village that passed for a town—leaving Luke to his own devices. They’d acted a bit secretive, claiming they wanted to go by themselves, insisting they didn’t need a bodyguard.

  This was unusual, as he was normally treated as part of the family. Maybe that’s what had his senses on edge. The general had insisted that he stay behind and watch the boat, when always before he’d insisted Luke watch his girls.

  His neck prickled, a telltale warning that he was being watched. He knew it. That lucky feeling of warning had dug him out of investments just before they sank, and human relationships just before they got dramatic. Now it was sending shivers along his nerves. Rising, he scanned the horizon. Nothing at sea and nothing unusual from the dock into the quiet village, where fisherman worked their trade and women shopped and chatted.

  A man suddenly leaped over the side of the yacht with a fluid flash of tanned skin. “Peace, brother,” he said, and Luke wondered where this American had come from. Luke reached for his gun, but the big man said, “No,” just as another figure appeared by his side to take it.

  “Sorry,” the wiry accomplice said. “We don’t do guns. They’re dangerous.”

  Luke thought he was perhaps looking danger in the face. The accomplice had long dark hair pulled tight into a ponytail and deep, serious eyes. These two wanted something, but if they wanted him dead, it would have happened without him having a chance to take a second breath. Damn, I’m slipping. “What’s up, fellows?”

  “I’m Hawk,” the wiry stranger said, “and this is my buddy, Jellyfish. We know some of your people in Union Junction and Tulips, and we’ve had to come a long way to meet you, my friend.”

  Luke raised his brows. “Friend?”

  Hawk nodded. “In the loosest manner of speaking. Friend of a friend, perhaps.”

  Jellyfish nodded solemnly. “Of course, we’re not sure yet if you’re really our friend.”

  Luke sighed. “Okay. I’ll bite. What do I have to do to be your friend?”

  Hawk seated himself while Jellyfish kept a lookout. Hawk ran admiring fingers over the yacht rail as he glanced speculatively at Luke. “You need to make a trip to Tulips part of your itinerary.”

  “My father sent you?”

  Hawk shook his head. “No. He doesn’t know we’re here. But it’s time to return to your birthplace.”

  “No,” Luke said, frowning. “Not a chance in hell.”

  Jellyfish dropped a hand to his shoulder, setting off alarms inside Luke. “It would be better if you did, friend.”


  Jeez. “Look. Not that it’s any of your damn business, but my dad and me…we never got along. The old man pretty much thought I was a failure no matter what. Why he’s crying over me now is a mystery.”

  “You should respect your elders,” Jellyfish said, and Hawk nodded.

  “Not to mention that running away doesn’t solve anything.” Hawk eyed Luke pointedly. “But we weren’t sent by your father.”

  “Speaking of that, how in the hell did you find me?” Luke demanded.

  “Wasn’t hard,” Hawk said, and Jellyfish laughed.

  “Ex-military connections,” he explained. “Sometimes it shaves a few weeks off a mission for us.”

  Bingo. No wonder the general had scrammed with his precious trio. “Just great.” Luke shook his head. “So, do I even have employment anymore? Or did you tell the general what a bad guy I was just so I’d go home?”

  Hawk grinned, leaning back against the rail. “Actually, you’re getting a paid leave of absence. At least until you make up your mind.”

  Luke frowned, annoyed that his luck had finally run out. He also wasn’t thrilled with the breezy way in which his life was being decided for him. “And the general and his daughters?”

  Jellyfish smiled. “We’ve agreed to take over here until a replacement for you can be found. The general said it shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Luke stood. “Just great. A year of my life and I’m not that hard to replace.”

  Hawk shrugged. “Depends upon whose opinion you’re interested in, I would imagine. Someone might think you’re worth a hell of a lot. Then again, maybe not. Guess only you know that.”

  Jellyfish nodded. “The answer lies within.”

  Luke gave each man a sharp look. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Jellyfish shook his head. “Would you like an escort to Tulips?”

  “You mean a guard?” Luke snorted. “I think I can manage it. Thanks, pals.”

  They grinned, setting themselves up on the deck. “You can borrow our little bicycle there,” Hawk offered. “You just ride up into town and a fishing boat can take you back to the big island to catch a plane. You can be home by this weekend. The sun is heavenly here, isn’t it, buddy?”