Brody (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood Book 3)

the space with you for a few days. There’s plenty of room, as long as you don’t mind being in a house with a few of my sons. Pretty sure Ridge will bunk there too, since the Big House is full up. Not sure about Shiloh’s plans yet.”
Beth hid a smirk behind her hand at the Machiavellian manipulation Ms. Patti employed, neatly boxing Camilla into a corner. Camilla’s wild-eyed stare resembled a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi, but there wouldn’t be any wriggling off Ms. Patti’s neatly baited hook. Good, she thought. Camilla needed a good shake-up to her life, and being around so many Boudreau men might be exactly what her friend needed.
“I…um…are you sure they won’t mind my staying? I mean, I’m a stranger. Maybe this isn’t the best idea. I can get a room—”
“Nonsense. It’s settled. You visit with Beth. I’ll go tell Dane he’s got a new roommate. He or one of my other boys will be by in a bit to take your bag to the foreman’s house.” Ms. Patti grinned before adding, “Welcome to Shiloh Springs.”
Beth couldn’t hold back her laugh after Ms. Patti got out of earshot. She laughed until her sides hurt, and she was bent over, trying to catch her breath. Camilla looked shellshocked. Beth knew the feeling, because she’d been treated to Ms. Patti’s take-no-prisoners approach more than once when she’d first visited Tessa.
“What just happened?” Camilla stared through the opening between the kitchen and living area, a bemused expression on her face.
“You met the real Patricia Boudreau. She likes you. Trust me, if she didn’t, you’d be back in your rental, headed toward Austin.” She hooked her arm through Camilla’s. “Now, no more games. Tell me why you’re really here.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The day had dragged on forever, with one thing after the next pulling Brody away from the one place he wanted to be. With Beth. Questioning Greg revealed little more than he’d already known and did nothing toward pointing him toward who might be behind torching the Summers’ barn. The only enlightening moment had been Greg revealing he’d kept up the insurance payments on the family home and property without his parents knowing. That put an interesting twist on the possibility the arson was motivated by money. And he was well aware people did a lot of crazy things out of greed.
He’d met Jeff back at the Summers’ barn, and surveyed the added damage, and helped collect new evidence. Jeff had volunteered to drive it to the lab in Austin on Monday. Might be a good idea, because Brody didn’t want to leave Beth, not while Evan remained free. He’d played a part in catching Evan and his buddy, Trevor, when they’d kidnapped Tessa. Whether it was luck or providence or fate, Brody had been the one to witness the two men strong-arm Tessa into their car. He’d been the one to contact Rafe, and followed them to the elementary school where Evan had taken Tessa. He seriously doubted Evan forgot about Brody’s role in his arrest. And Evan didn’t strike him as a forgive-and-forget kind of guy.
With a sigh, he pulled up in front of the Big House, spotting the white sedan with a rental sticker in the back window. Wonder who’s here?
He’d barely made up halfway up the walk before Beth opened the front door. The rapid beating of his heart when he saw her sped up even faster at the sight of her smile. He barely refrained from sprinting to meet her at the front door. Instead, he maintained his steady gait, capturing her hands in his, and squeezing them.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.”
He loved the flush of pink in her cheeks at the compliment. “Everything go okay today?”
“Other than Evan still being out there somewhere, it’s been pretty quiet. Oh, my friend, Camilla, is here. Just so you know, she’s Evan’s sister.”
He couldn’t quite hide his frown. “What’s she doing here? Did she know about his escape?”
“She’s here because I invited her to visit. She’d planned to come to Texas anyway, because there were some papers she needed her brother to sign, and he’s been stonewalling her. I don’t know what they are, and I really don’t care. But she was going to stay with me. When she offered to stay at a hotel, your mother graciously offered to let her stay here—at the foreman’s house.”
Brody didn’t even try to hold back his laugh. “Bet Dane appreciated that bit of news.”
“I haven’t seen him yet, but Douglas got here a few minutes ago, and he took Camilla over there to drop off her bag and freshen up. They’ll be back in time for dinner. Or as your brother Heath called it, supper. He showed up this morning, and finagled your mother into making chicken fried steak.”
“Now that I believe. Heath has an unhealthy obsession with chicken fried steak for some reason. I swear he’d eat it for every meal if Momma would make it.”
Hoping for a few minutes together before joining the rowdy bunch he could hear inside, he asked, “Feel like taking a walk before dinner?”
“I’d love to.” She kept one hand in his as they stepped off the porch. He liked she felt comfortable enough to hold his hand. Maybe their botched first date attempt hadn’t ruined any chance for them, if he was lucky.
Making a split-second decision, he headed for one place on the ranch he knew she’d never been. It was a special place, one most people outside the family didn’t know existed, and he felt an uncontrollable urge to share it with Beth. See if she felt the undefinable pull toward it—toward him—he felt for her.
He led her around the side of the house, skirting a patio and continued walking until they came upon a small deck in front of a set of French doors. Decorative urns and pots overflowed with green ferns and vividly colored flowers in pots scattered over the concrete surface. Comfortable-looking chairs