Page 22 of PenPal Hero

Bonnie’s eyes widened. “Really? You like water?” Most people didn’t.

“Yep. I used to drink from a hose when I was a kid.”

Their waitress chuckled. “Spoken like a true country boy.” She was still chuckling when she walked away.

Bonnie returned her attention to Holt and asked her most burning question. “Are you breaking the rules, or are you allowed to tell me what you just told me?” She ignored his smirk. “Not the part about drinking from a hose. The part about your job.”

“I got permission, worry wart,” he affirmed, “after swearing to them you’d keep my confidence. If you don’t, I can be fined for violating my employment contract. Even worse, you’d be putting innocent lives at risk.”

“I already said I wouldn’t.” She met his gaze squarely so he could read her expression for himself.

“That’s what I told them.” He glanced at her crossbody purse. “I trust you, Bonnie. Thank you for trusting me in return. Not just with my job, but also with the letter from the couple claiming to be your birth parents.”

Claiming to be. It didn’t sound like he believed it was true.

“Okay.” She gently pulled her hands away from his. “I’ll wait and see what the folks at K&G Security can find out about them, if anything…before I do anything else.” She shivered at the thought of calling Mr. and Mrs. Williamson. “It sort of creeps me out that the Williamsons tracked me all the way to my suite upstairs.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Especially since someone’s been watching you.”

“It sounds like they’ve been watching both of us.” The fact that he was being watched worried her even more than the fact that she was being watched. She had a family keeping an eye on her at all hours of the day and night. He didn’t.

“Maybe.” He continued typing a message on his cell phone. “Then again, what’s happening to me might have no connection to what’s happening to you.”

She found little comfort in that possibility. The waitress approached their table again to drop off their glasses of water. She lingered to take their orders.

Bonnie’s appetite was long gone. “Want to split a meal?” She caught Holt’s eyes beseechingly.

“Sure.” He reached for her hand again. “What sounds good to you?”

“Anything,” she murmured. “You decide.” Please.

He ordered a twelve-ounce sirloin steak, a baked potato, and a side salad. “Mind bringing us an extra plate?” he inquired, quirking a smile at Shayley.

“I can do better than that,” the waitress promised. “I’ll have the chef divide everything in half and bring your meal on two plates.”

“Perfect.” Holt nodded his thanks to her, and she took off again.

“I’m not hungry,” Bonnie admitted in a low voice.

“Figured that.” Holt laced their fingers together on the tabletop. “Regardless, you need to eat. You need to keep your strength up for what’s coming.”

She made a face at him. “What’s coming is a confrontation with my parents.” Her gaze grew glassy. “The people who raised me and gave me a home for the past eighteen years. If what’s in the letter is true, why would they keep something like this from me?”

“I don’t know.” His voice was infused with empathy. “No doubt they had their reasons.”

“I can’t think of any good reasons to keep an adoption secret for this long.” She glanced away from him, blinking rapidly. “I’m twenty-one, Holt. When were they going to tell me?”

“That’s a good question.” He squeezed her fingers. “How about you ask them?”

“I will.” The words slid out of her. “Right after dinner. No phone call in advance to warn them we’re on our way. I want to catch them off guard.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

CHAPTER 5: A BROTHER’S REQUEST

Holt pocketed his phone without showing Bonnie what he’d texted to his team when he forwarded them his snapshots of the letter.

Can you verify the adoption? Bonnie plans to confront her parents tonight.

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