Broken Shadows Read online

  Broken Shadows

  Shadows Landing #5

  Kathleen Brooks

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  An original work of Kathleen Brooks. Broken Shadows copyright @ 2020 by Kathleen Brooks.

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  Kathleen Brooks® is a registered Trademark of Laurens Publishing, LLC

  Created with Vellum

  Bluegrass Series

  Bluegrass State of Mind

  Risky Shot

  Dead Heat

  * * *

  Bluegrass Brothers

  Bluegrass Undercover

  Rising Storm

  Secret Santa: A Bluegrass Series Novella

  Acquiring Trouble

  Relentless Pursuit

  Secrets Collide

  Final Vow

  * * *

  Bluegrass Singles

  All Hung Up

  Bluegrass Dawn

  The Perfect Gift

  The Keeneston Roses

  * * *

  Forever Bluegrass Series

  Forever Entangled

  Forever Hidden

  Forever Betrayed

  Forever Driven

  Forever Secret

  Forever Surprised

  Forever Concealed

  Forever Devoted

  Forever Hunted

  Forever Guarded

  Forever Notorious

  Forever Ventured

  Forever Freed

  Forever Saved

  Forever Bold (coming Jan/Feb 2021)

  * * *

  Shadows Landing Series

  Saving Shadows

  Sunken Shadows

  Lasting Shadows

  Fierce Shadows

  Broken Shadows

  Framed Shadows (coming Apr/May 2021)

  * * *

  Women of Power Series

  Chosen for Power

  Built for Power

  Fashioned for Power

  Destined for Power

  * * *

  Web of Lies Series

  Whispered Lies

  Rogue Lies

  Shattered Lies

  * * *

  Moonshine Hollow Series

  Moonshine & Murder

  Moonshine & Malice

  Moonshine & Mayhem

  Moonshine & Mischief

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  Also by Kathleen Brooks

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Months ago in California . . .

  * * *

  Trent Faulkner drove his rented pickup truck up to the large iron gate and stopped. A security guard stepped from a booth made to look like a miniature Spanish-style house similar to the gargantuan mansions behind the gates. He wasn’t in Shadows Landing anymore, that was for sure. Trent looked in his rearview mirror and saw the large box truck come to a stop behind him.

  “Good afternoon,” the middle-aged security guard said as he stopped by Trent’s open window. He had a tablet in one hand and rested his other hand on what looked to be a can of mace.

  “Good afternoon,” Trent greeted him with the Southern manners born and bred into him from generations of Southern mommas. “I’m Trent Faulkner, and the truck behind me and I are due at Miss Jessamine’s house for a three o’clock appointment.”

  “Company name?” the man said as he scrolled through the tablet.

  “TAF Designs.”

  Trent looked around at the tall gates and fences. It felt caged-in here, right down to the gated entrance and guard on duty. Give him wide-open lawns and views of the river or ocean any time. But, being from the small town of Shadows Landing, South Carolina, just outside Charleston had made him biased. He loved his hometown and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

  “Ah, there you are. Miss Jessamine’s house is down the fifth road on your right. It’s in the back on the left.”

  “Thank you. Have a good day,” Trent told the guard. He put his truck in gear as the gate slowly rolled open.

  Skye Jessamine, Trent thought as he followed the directions to her house. He still couldn’t believe the top-grossing Hollywood actress had commissioned him to build a dining room set. Trent had seen a couple of her movies, but he was more of a book guy than a movie guy. It didn’t mean he didn’t know who she was, though. It would be hard not to. Skye Jessamine’s face was on the cover of practically every magazine on the newsstand. Then when you did turn on the television or go to the movies, you were sure to see her on the screen.

  Trent turned into the mansion’s driveway and stopped at yet another gate. He pressed the call button and a woman answered it. “Yes?”

  “This is Trent Faulkner. I’m here to install the dining room furniture.”

  “Oh, yes. I’ll open the gate and meet you out front.”

  The gate opened and Trent and the box truck drove slowly down the long driveway and into the circular drive by the front door. Front door didn’t quite describe the twelve-foot double doors that looked to be from hand-carved mahogany with large brass handles.

  One of the doors opened before Trent even had the truck in park. While he might not be up to date on pop culture, he knew the woman waving at him wasn’t Skye Jessamine. In pictures, Skye had shining brunette hair and blue eyes that were so bright they looked turquoise. This woman’s hair was a glossy dark brown on the verge of being black and her eyes were a soft and welcoming walnut color.

  Trent smiled at her and stepped from the truck. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Trent Faulkner.”

  The woman smiled widely up at him. She was taller than Trent’s female cousins. He’d put her at five feet nine inches and from what he could see of her exposed arms in the flowy tank top she wore and her legs on display in colorful shorts, she was definitely an athlete.

  “I’m Karri Hill. I’m Skye’s friend. May I have everyone’s cell phones, please?” Trent shook her hand as his mind worked.

  “You’re the assistant who emailed me,” he said as he remembered the message that got this project rolling.

  He handed over his phone as Karri rolled her eyes but kept the smile on her face. “Assistant and chef. However, I’m her friend first and foremost. We saw your furniture in that architectural magazine and both fell in love with your style. Skye’s finishing up a call and will be here to help us install the piece. Do you want to see where it’ll go?”

  “That will help, thank you.” Trent had always felt that his furniture was both art and meant for
everyday life. It could be shown in exceptional light to look its best, but it was also meant to be part of the household. It wasn’t just a showpiece. The various pieces were where you ate dinner every day, slept every night, or relaxed on when you needed a moment to yourself.

  “Right this way. We’ve been talking about this day since we ordered it six months ago.”

  Trent motioned for his movers to follow him into the mansion. The four men kept quiet behind him as they walked into the large marble-floored entrance with a modern light fixture hanging down from the three-story high entrance hall. Skye’s house didn’t quite feel like a home. It was more of a showpiece. At least this entrance was.

  “Skye loves architecture and design. She helped create every room in the house.”

  “She’d get along great with my cousin Ridge. He’s an architect and builder. In fact, the way she uses original historic pieces mixed with modern touches is very much his style.”

  Karri nodded. “Oh yes. After she looked you up, she found several references to Ridge and just loves his work.”

  Trent was surprised at that. Skye had taken the time to look into him and his family just because she liked some of his work? That was more hands-on than he thought she’d be.

  “I reached out to you first, but after you agreed to build the set, Skye researched everything. I might have sent the email, but ideas were all hers.”

  They turned down a hall that was lined on one side with nothing but old Spanish-styled glass doors that were all propped open to let in the warm California breeze. “This is the private wing of the house. The first room we come to is the dining room. It’ll be the only room in the private wing to be photographed next week for Skye’s article in the same architectural magazine that you were featured in,” Karri explained.

  “Private wing?” Trent asked as the hallway ended and the private wing began to sprawl outward.

  Karri stopped at the arched opening to a large and mostly empty room. However, the far wall was the only decoration needed. It was a view of the Los Angeles cityscape off in the distance. The floor-to-ceiling glass doors could be opened to let in the breeze or to make a party flow effortlessly between indoors and outdoors.

  “Yes. Skye has the main wing decorated for parties, media interviews, and at-home shoots for magazines. However, she doesn’t live there. She lives here in the private wing. It’s just the two of us here. And I’m in the pool house, so it’s not like she needs the space,” Karri laughed as if it was a big joke. “Sorry, if you knew where we met you’d get it. Anyway, this is the private wing and where she actually lives.”

  Trent stepped into the room and looked around. By all accounts the room appeared to be self-contained and only open to the hallway. The right wall was filled with a glassed-in wine rack that went from the floor to the top of the eighteen-foot ceiling. To the left was where he’d put the large credenza he’d built.

  “Where does this door go?” he asked about the door built to look like part of the wall to the left.

  “To the kitchens.”

  “Multiple kitchens?” Trent asked, not really expecting an answer but more just wondering why.

  “Yes, one is personal and one is for catering.”

  “Of course,” Trent said. Anyone who had a public and private wing would have both public and private kitchens.

  Trent walked into the center of the room and made a slow circle of the space. He took in the glass doors, the direction they faced, the walls, the electrical outlets, the lighting, and even the floor patterns.

  “Is there going to be a rug?”

  “Yes.” The voice he heard wasn’t Karri’s. It was smooth and sexy and with that one word Trent knew when he looked up he’d find Skye Jessamine.

  Trent thought he’d be prepared to meet a celebrity. After all, he knew many rich and powerful people. His cousin Ryker didn’t talk about it but probably had more money than even the A-List actress could ever dream of. When he raised his eyes, though, he wasn’t ready for the woman in pink athletic shorts and a white tank top. Her famous luxurious hair was in the same kind of sloppy bun his female cousins favored. There wasn’t a bit of makeup on her and she was barefoot. She was breathtakingly beautiful in her natural look.

  Karri moved to stand next to her and was just an inch or so taller than the actress. However, they had the same build. Both appeared to be athletes with curves that could kill and kind smiles.

  “Trent Faulkner, I presume. I’m Skye,” she said, holding out a hand that was bare of jewelry.

  “Trent. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Trent was worried he’d break her hand when his covered hers. Her skin was like silk, but her grip would make Harper smile with appreciation. His cousin was a fan of women capable of kicking ass.

  “I cannot thank you enough for coming to install the pieces yourself. I am such a huge fan of your work. I have two rugs laid out in the living room and I just can’t decide which one to put in here. Can I see the pieces and then can we decide? I’d like to have your opinion.”

  Trent smiled at her as he relaxed. Honest praise for his work was hotter than any skimpy outfit. He hadn’t expected America’s Sweetheart to even be here, never mind wanting to participate.

  “Sure. Gentlemen, can you open the back of the truck?”

  Karri hurried out with them as Skye fell into step with him. “What did you think of the lights I selected? I can change them if you think they’re not a good fit. I was going for subtle since I want the furniture to be the center of attention.”

  “I think they’re perfect. Miss Hill was telling me you’re going to use it in a photo shoot next week.”

  Skye nodded. She looked up to him with such joy that Trent instantly felt comfortable. He’d expected aloofness and elitism, but Skye wasn’t any of that. “I have a dining room in the other wing. But if I have a chance to show off a custom made TAF Design, then I’m doing it. You are an artist with wood.”

  They walked out the front door as Karri clapped her hand to her chest. “Oh, Skye. You’re going to freak.”

  Skye gave up all pretense of calm and ran barefoot down to the driveway to look into the back of the truck. “Oh my gosh. It’s better than I imagined. Trent, you’re a genius. Karri, look!”

  Trent held his breath as one of the movers brought out one of the pieces and set it down. He didn’t tell her about this design and was nervous that it might have been too personal.

  “How did you know?” Karri asked even as her hand still covered her mouth with surprise.

  “I did my research, too. I couldn’t find much information on it, but I kept finding references to how much the Onondaga Nation meant to you. I read that you regularly go back there to speak with the kids on the reservation. I took a chance that it was special to you.”

  “I grew up on the reservation. I’m part of the Wolf Clan,” Karri told him with tears in her eyes. “Skye and I met freshman year at Syracuse University. And since Skye’s family is from Iowa, she spent a lot of time at my home and has done a lot to help our reservation. She was made an honorary member of our clan a couple of years ago.”

  Trent looked down at the carved pattern on the piece of wood. It was the pattern from the Hiawatha Belt.

  “The two squares at each end and then the two rectangles on the inside symbolize each of the five nations—the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, and Mohawk—with the Tree of Peace in the center representing the Onondaga. Then the line that connects them all represents that each nation is connected in peace,” Karri told him as her fingers traced the carving.

  “This is beautiful, Trent.” Skye had her arm wrapped around Karri as they both wiped tears from their eyes.

  Skye turned and suddenly she was in his arms. Her arms were around his waist and her head on his chest as she hugged him tightly. “I can’t tell you how much this means to us.” Skye let go of him and then turned to Karri. “Your parents are so going to cry when they come to visit next month. Now, let’s take a look at the rugs and then we c
an start moving things inside.”

  * * *

  The private wing was nothing like the public wing. The living room was still large, but it was soft and welcoming. Skye had turned this wing into a real home. There were pictures everywhere and not a single one had another celebrity in them.

  “Who’s this?” Trent asked as he looked at a large picture of a little girl sitting on a huge tractor in the middle of a cornfield. She had freckles across the bridge of her nose and her hair was in braided pigtails.

  Skye looked up from where she was deciding which rug to put in the dining room to see which picture he was referring to. The movers were with Karri in the dining room waiting to be called in. “Oh, that’s me. My parents live in Grundy County, Iowa. I grew up on a small farm.”

  “You’re a small-town girl?” Trent asked, feeling bad when his disbelief was clear for all to hear.

  Skye smiled and nodded. “My high school class had eighty-three kids in it.”

  “Ugh,” Trent groaned. “You beat me. Ours had eighty-nine.”

  “City slicker,” Skye teased, and they both laughed. Trent was man enough to admit he’d been completely wrong about Skye. Well, he was right about her being drop-dead gorgeous, but the small-town girl manners had his heart and his libido in overdrive.