The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

bad.” She knew she was, but hey, she was an editor—a fired one, but still an editor.

“Yes, you are, and Aunt Sophia is just as picky. It’s annoying as hell.”

“She’s the artist, right?”

“She’s married to Pete Parrino, my uncles’ best friend, and JL’s former partner at the NYPD.”

“I’ve met them both. JC took me to an art exhibit featuring paintings of the Battle of New Orleans. The paintings of the battle scenes, Andrew Jackson, and Jean Lafitte were so realistic you could imagine the artist painting while watching the battle.”

“She was, along with her husband, and my uncle Rick and his wife, Penny. It was hell on all of them, and Rick and Penny still have PTSD, but it’s manageable.”

“That sucks. Did the accident give you PTSD?”

“No, I already suffered from it. I was kidnapped by a Mexican cartel when I was seventeen.”

She gasped. “Damn. Were you hurt?”

“No, just scared the piss out of me. The whole family got involved. It was a mess. I’ll tell you about it another time.”

“The MacKlenna Clan could produce a TV series or movies based on all the family adventures and become a best-selling franchise.”

“Except that Elliott has locked up the brooches and all the secrets in a vault that has more security than the gold at the Fed Building in New York City. The family is flying under the radar, not on top of it.”

“Yeah, well, I guess you’re right. A movie would blow the clan’s cover. But a book or movie script could explain some details that are hard to understand.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the brooch gods. That’s who I believe summoned you to the clearing just in time to kill the bear.”

“Oh, them.” Sarcasm saturated his comment. “I’m not sure they exist, and if they do, they have no sense of humor. My family might agree with you, though. They wouldn’t agree with me and haven’t for a while.”

“Is that what you want, for people to always agree with you?”

“No, not always. Just when it comes to my health. I can make my own decisions, but they treat me like I’m still a kid.”

“You should discuss it with your family instead of ignoring them. When you talk to people who have opposite viewpoints, it forces you to grow and define your own.”

“That sounds like a line in a self-help book.”

“No, I paraphrased a quote from a famous liberal jurist who was best friends with a conservative one.”

“I don’t need to grow or define my views. I’ve been making my own decisions since I went to California to finish high school. And I don’t appreciate my family jumping in now and trying to run my life. It’s not going to work, and it’ll only widen the breach between us.”

“They’re your family, Austin, and you’re lucky to have them. But look at it this way. Playing basketball has given you a skill, like a plumber, nurse, teacher, coach. But to be a true professional, you have to do something outside yourself, something that makes life better for people less fortunate.”

He mumbled, “I do.”

“What?”

“I don’t publicize it, and if this gets out, I’ll know who blabbed.”

“A secret?” She cheered up at that, remembering how her dad always told her what he planned to give her mother on their wedding anniversary. “I love secrets, and I never blab. What is it?”

He didn’t say anything for a frustrating minute or two or five, and she resisted the urge to nudge him as a reminder that she was still there. Besides, he was stroking her arms, so he knew she hadn’t gone anywhere. And as good as his hands felt, she wasn’t likely to get up and run away.

Finally, his hands stilled, and he broke the silence. “Do you remember when I was talking about Tavis’s horse, and I mentioned that Elliott buys former racehorses and transitions them into second careers? Well, when I find one that’s gentle enough for my foundation, I purchase the horse. Then with the help of Special Olympics and therapeutic riding centers, I match the horse with a challenged young adult and teach him or her to ride at an indoor arena I bought in Denver. You wouldn’t believe what it does for their self-esteem.

“I’ve also retrained twice as many Thoroughbreds since I got hurt. I couldn’t have gotten through this past year without these remarkable young men and women. They see me struggling just like them, and they believe if I can do it, they can, too. I guess you could say we inspire each other.”

“Wow! I didn’t expect that.” Her opinion of him did an instant three-sixty, or rather a one-eighty. He’d already made it halfway by killing the bear. “You should tell your family.”

“Not a chance. They’d butt in. Elliott would want to give me his professional opinion of the horses I buy, and Kevin would want to give me financial advice. I don’t want any of it. I’m keeping it completely separate from the family’s businesses.”

“You should tell your family, so they won’t worry so much.”

He started stroking her arms again. “How do you know they do?”

“Remy told me.”

“He has a big mouth. But here’s the thing. If I told the family, the press would find out and make a big deal of it. The young riders don’t need the press interfering in their lives. It’s hard enough for them without reporters asking them about me.”

“Maybe they’d leave you alone. The press, I mean.”

“Not likely. Sports announcers and commentators are always talking about my comeback. I want to punch them all out. I might never be the caliber of player I was, even if I have more surgeries. It just might not be in the cards. This trip has forced me to come face-to-face with that realization.

“The guys here at the roundup don’t know I was a superstar and wouldn’t care if they did. They just know I’m different, but I can do the work just like them. I lost count of the number of cowboys I