Page 23 of Dangerous Secret

That was a question he wasn’t prepared to answer, not the full truth. “Spring break in Fort Lauderdale. We connected, kept in touch and decided to start The Phoenix Three together.”

“Just like that?”

Not even close tojust like that. “It’s a complicated story for another time. I’m curious. Why us, The Phoenix Three?”

“I saw the article in the newspaper after you found and rescued that girl from that pedophile. Her parents said that you refused to give up on finding her. I mentioned the article to my great-aunt, and that I was thinking of hiring you. Ester told me she’d babysat your father. It seemed like a sign.”

He smiled. “It’s hard to think of my father as little enough to need a babysitter. In my eyes, he was larger than life.”

“You speak of him with fondness.”

“He was the best man I know…” He cleared his throat. “Knew.” It was still hard to believe he was gone, a heart attack five months ago while standing on the floor of hisMyrtle Beach dealership. He was gone before the first responders arrived.

“I had dinner with him the night before he…before we lost him.” He still couldn’t saydiedwhen speaking of his dad. “Dad owned luxury car dealerships throughout the Southeast. Although he was disappointed I didn’t come to work for him, he told me that night how proud of me he was.” He would always treasure those words, and he’d forever be thankful that his father hadn’t reacted like Liam’s and disowned him.

“What about your mother, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“She died when I was a baby. Breast cancer. She was too young to worry about getting mammograms. By the time they caught it, it was too late to save her. I don’t remember her, but Dad said she was an amazing mother. I have pictures of her holding me, and she always looks so happy in them.” It was hard to miss someone you couldn’t remember. He did wish he had memories of her.

“It sounds like you were close to your father.”

He smiled. “Very much so. Enough about me. What about your parents?”

“Single mother. Never met my father. He split when she told him she was pregnant. Said he was too young to be responsible for a baby.”

“What an ass. How old was your mom when she had you?”

“Sixteen. She’s amazing, but sometimes a bit much. Finished high school, then got her degree in sociology, and now works for the Welfare Department. Volunteers all her spare time to her cause of the month. I’m a bit of a disappointment in that I’m not a vegetarian, not on a crusade for social justice or whatever. I’m also not into yoga, which might be my worst sin, along with eating meat.”

She rolled her eyes, making him laugh. “She sounds…uh, very busy.”

“You don’t know the half of it. But she loves me in her own way. I decided at an early age, about the time I was sneaking fast-food burgers on the way home from school, that I didn’t want to be like her.”

“Good for you. How does she feel about your ex?”

“She said she has more third-world problems to worry about than the mess I’ve made of my life, that there are people going hungry or being homeless that need her help. She doesn’t understand why I left a good thing, that I wasn’t homeless and hungry, and that Anthony didn’t abandon me when I got pregnant like my father did her.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

“Left you speechless, hmm?”

“I’ve always heard that if you can’t say something nice about someone, then don’t say anything at all. I think I’ll leave it at that.” She’d grown up without a father, and he’d grown up without a mother. Same but different. The real difference was that his staunchest supporter, the most important person in his life, had been his parent. Even more significant, he’d been the most important person in his father’s life. As for her parent, he definitely had opinions he’d keep to himself.

He was curious, though. “What about her grandson? Is she close to Tyler?”

“No. She’s nice enough to him, but she’s not the grandmotherly type.”

She shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but he could see that it did. That she didn’t have the kind of love and support from the one person in the world who should be there for her only made him more determined to reunite her with her son.

The flash of lights shined along the side of the house intothe back as a car pulled into his driveway. “The guys are here. We’ll eat, then get down to business.” He stood and picked up her empty glass and his. “Want to sit here or come inside and talk to me while I finish the final dinner prep?”

“I’ll come inside.”

He was hoping she’d say that.

Chapter 10

Harlow blinked at seeing all the food Grayson took out of his refrigerator. There was a tray piled high with skewered jumbo shrimp and sliced pineapples. There were asparagus spears, red potatoes, a large bowl of Greek salad and a long loaf of French bread.

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