Page 15 of Nica (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #17)

Her mother’s eyes shimmered, but she didn’t shed a tear.

Instead, she crossed her arms, her lips trembling.

“You eloped. Without me. Without your father. Without your family. Not a single word to any member of this family. Do you have any idea how that makes me—us—feel?” The hurt was palpable in her voice.

“We dreamt of your wedding day, Nica. You and I talked about everything. I imagined it from the moment you were placed in my arms in the hospital. You and I looked through bridal magazines together, oohing and ahhing over wedding dresses. You always talked about me and your dad being there to help you pick the perfect dream dress, even laughed at the thought of your dad sitting through dress shopping and how he’d hate every minute of it, but he’d do it because you were his baby girl.

Your dad was supposed to walk you down the aisle.

Your brothers and all the Lost Boys, standing in the church.

These were all things you, Nica, said you wanted. What changed?”

Nica’s heart ached as her mother’s disappointment wrapped around her like a thick blanket. “I know, Momma,” she whispered. “I never wanted to disappoint you. It wasn’t how I imagined it either. But we…we had to do it this way.”

“Had to?” The hard-edged question from her daddy had her rushing to answer.

“No, no, nothing like that. I’m not pregnant. Some things happened, and then things escalated and got more complicated, and we eloped.”

“Things? What things were big enough that you thought you had to marry without your family?” Douglas’ voice was rough, and Nica could hear his disappointment along with his barely contained anger.

She looked at Gabe, and he nodded. “Dad, Momma, Gabe has some—stuff—that happened in his past, when he lived and worked in San Francisco. Somebody’s been gaslighting him.

Things started out small, simple phone calls in the middle of the night.

Hang-ups without saying anything. But they got increasingly more sinister and have evolved into actual threats.

He’s contacted the police in California as well as checked with Stanford, and they’re looking into the issue, but they keep saying it’s going to take time.

And with there being a possible escalation of the threats against him, we were worried that whoever is doing this might think to use you if they thought it would hurt him.

Please understand, we didn’t want to hurt any of you. We wanted to keep you safe.”

Ms. Patti didn’t respond immediately. She just stared at her daughter, then at Gabe, who was standing at her side. Guilt ate at Nica because she’d been the one who had wanted to keep everything secret, and now he was the one taking most of the blame. It wasn’t right or fair.

“I only have one question,” Douglas stepped closer, his gaze directed straight at Gabe. “Do you love her?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Baby girl, do you love him?”

Nica nodded. “I do, Dad, with all my heart.”

“Good enough.” Douglas looked from Nica to Gabe, before holding out his hand. “You better take good care of her, or we’re going to have a problem.”

“You have my word, sir.”

Finally, Ms. Patti took a step forward and wrapped Nica in a tight hug, her voice cracking as she spoke. “I don’t know what to say. I’m sad, honey. And I honestly don’t understand all the secrecy or the rush, but I trust your judgement. You’re still my baby girl. And I want you to be happy.”

Nica blinked back tears, hugging her mother back, the weight of everything finally starting to lift.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I really am. You should know it was my idea to keep it a secret.

Gabe wanted to tell you from the beginning, but I wanted some time.

Time to figure out how to tell you about how much I love him.

About the escalating threats. There’s been so much going on—graduation, moving back to Shiloh Springs, Gabe spending weeks going back and forth between College Station and here until the hospital there could get a cardiovascular surgeon—everything just snowballed.

Then with all the stuff happening with Gabe, the anonymous phone calls, the relentless threats, it just never seemed to be the right time.

Then when Rafe found out, he kind of forced the issue.

” She shot a glare at her big brother, who was grinning like he’d won the lottery.

Douglas placed a hand on Gabe’s shoulder.

“I expect you’re going to explain to me and my wife all about these phone calls and threats my daughter’s talking about, especially if it’s putting either one of you in danger.

But right now isn’t the time, not with this bombshell you’ve just dropped on the family. ”

“We’ll tell you everything, sir, you have my word.”

“Momma, I swear I never meant to hurt you or Dad. I love you both so much. Please understand, I want to have a marriage just like yours. I hate that it’s started out with me keeping secrets, but I promise, there won’t be any more.”

Ms. Patti pulled Nica into a hug. “I’m holding you to that promise. You’re not too big for me to pull over my knee.”

“You two better make it up to us with some grandkids someday, or we’re gonna have words,” Douglas winked and squeezed Gabe’s shoulder, letting him know without words he understood.

Gabe chuckled softly, clearly relieved by the warmth of the gesture. “We’ll try our best, sir.”

“Dad!” Nica’s squeal of embarrassment had the whole family laughing.

Ms. Patti pulled away, still shaking her head, but there was a flicker of a smile on her face now. “Well, I guess I’ll have to get used to this new version of things. And you two better let me throw you a big wedding reception. It may be a little late, but we can make it work.”

Nica smiled, the ache in her chest easing just a bit. “Deal.”

The tension in the air started to loosen, and for the first time in months, Nica felt like she could breathe again.

The secret was out. Her family might have been disappointed, but they’d survived, and the explosion hadn’t been as bad as Nica feared.

And maybe, just maybe, they’d find a way to celebrate what she and Gabe had—even if it hadn’t been the way they all expected.

The only thing that worried her was the silence from her brothers.

Nobody said a word the whole time she’d been talking to her father. It wasn’t a good sign.

As Douglas flipped the last of the ribs onto the platter, he grinned, his voice booming. “Alright, enough of this. Let’s eat! We’ve got food to devour, and no one’s going anywhere until these ribs are gone, because I don’t do leftovers.”

Laughter echoed across the patio, and for the first time that day, Nica finally felt like everything was going to be alright.

He sat in the darkened hotel room, the glow of three computer screens casting harsh shadows across his face.

The central monitor displayed a GPS tracker—a pulsing red dot moving along the main street of Shiloh Springs.

Dr. Gabriel Summers, heading home from his dinner with the Boudreau family.

How mundane. How predictable. How undeserving of such simple comforts.

Taking a sip of cold coffee, he pulled up the photos his hired man had sent earlier. Nica Boudreau-Summers at the grocery store, her face lined with worry as she checked her phone. Another showed the good doctor himself, glancing over his shoulder in the clinic parking lot.

Perfect. Let him look. Make him wonder.

“You should be afraid, Gabe,” he whispered to the empty room. “You should be terrified.”

He scrolled through the digital copies of everything he’d sent to Nica.

The medical records had been particularly difficult to obtain, but worth every penny and the risks he’d taken to get them.

Melissa’s file had contained detailed notes of her deteriorating condition, the multiple attacks of gallstones, until surgery had been the option of choice.

Though the procedure had been scheduled to be performed by another physician, it was Summers who’d ultimately been the one in the operating room, the man holding the scalpel, who’d nicked an artery and caused the massive blood loss resulting in a heart attack.

It was Summer’s signature at the bottom of the death certificate.

Dr. Gabriel Summers, attending physician at time of death.

Those clinical words made his hands shake with rage. He clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms. Gabe hadn’t been attending . He’d been negligent . He’d been reckless . He’d been playing God with a young mother of two who’d trusted him with her life.

Melissa had been his world—his fiancée, his future, the woman who’d brought light into his life after years of darkness.

They were supposed to be married the month after she died.

Instead, he’d stood at her graveside, looking down at a stone marker, making silent promises as her children clung to him, not understanding why Mommy wasn’t coming home.

Melissa had believed them when she’d been told the surgery was routine, with minimal risks.

Something that was performed every day. Even though a cholecystectomy wasn’t something the great Dr. Summers performed often, it was something he was fully qualified to do.

When Dr. Richardson, the physician who’d been Melissa’s surgeon called in sick, she hadn’t complained about having Summers’ swap in.

They’d practically celebrated when Dr. Summers took her case, believing she’d be up and around, taking care of her kids in no time.

Instead, he’d stood in shocked disbelief in the waiting room only to be told the woman who was his whole world was gone. What a cruel joke.