Chapter Seventeen
Brady
The morning light in Elise’s apartment was soft, filtered through thin blinds that didn’t quite close all the way. I woke slowly, the silence of the room a stark contrast to the loud, chaotic joy of the Tahoe Steeles.
Elise was still asleep beside me, curled on her side, her hair a tangle across the pillow. She looked younger like this, less like the guarded fortress I’d first met in the garage and more like the woman who had laughed until she couldn’t breathe on the jet ski.
For a long moment I just watched the gentle rise and fall of her shoulder beneath the blanket. I prided myself on staying open to possibilities, but I hadn’t expected to meet someone I could so quickly become attached to.
The idea of pulling her back into my arms and kissing her awake was tempting, but I wanted to honor the peace we’d found in simply holding each other through the night. I decided to give her more time to sleep and surprise her with a morning coffee and bagels.
I pulled the throw blanket a little higher over her shoulders, tucking it in just enough to keep the morning chill away. The faint scent of her shampoo still lingered on the pillow, and the memory of her relaxing against my chest, trusting me enough to fall asleep there, settled warm in my chest.
I slipped out quietly and drove downtown. The morning air was cool as I walked from the parking lot, but my thoughts refused to stay light.
I was happy. Ridiculously happy.
I sat down on a park bench for a minute, letting the quiet settle around me.
The grass stretched out in front of me, still damp with dew, and a few early birds called from the trees.
Something was weighing on me and, unlike my family, I didn’t suppress my feelings because I’d witnessed how badly that worked out for them.
I faced my feelings. Let myself sit with them.
Took the time to name them, study them, and sort them into ones that were valid and based on what was currently happening versus less helpful feelings that were callbacks to when I was much younger and felt like a helpless participant in my family’s drama.
So I sat there, elbows on my knees, clearing my thoughts of clutter with the hope that what would fill that space would be whatever was tugging at me.
Am I losing focus on why I’m here?
The question came as clear as if someone else had asked it to me. In a way, someone had. Evan was worried that I wasn’t taking the search for Thomas Steele seriously enough.
Granted, I’d been looking for him for weeks. When I’d taken on the task, I’d been sure I’d have answers by now. A lead. A meeting. Something.
Instead, I’d found Elise.
The mere thought of her made me smile despite myself. Then I scrubbed a hand over my face because the truth was, I wasn’t much closer to Thomas Steele than the day I’d arrived.
Bella would’ve had a strategy. Evan would’ve amassed a network of people to track him down. Even Mr. Torres would have reminded me that lack of persistence is the number one reason why most people think they aren’t good at fixing things. They give up before what is hard becomes easy.
I wasn’t giving up, but . . .
I’d helped a burro cross a road. Played cards with senior citizens. Went rock hunting. Got adopted by the wrong Steele family. And somehow fell for a woman who made me forget what day it was.
The crazy thing was, I didn’t regret any of it. Not even a little.
My siblings’ opinion was important, but part of my goal was to prove to them that my way was as good as theirs. Sure, I could hire someone to do the legwork for me, but I thought about all the people I’d met and knew there was no way I would ever consider getting to know them to be wrong.
Every good thing that had happened since I arrived had started with a conversation. A relationship. A connection.
I didn’t have solid proof that my approach was working. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t.
I leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sky. Bella had chosen happiness. She’d eloped and we all understood why. Evan had chosen Nora. Not because it was an easy path forward, but because she mattered more than a thirty-year feud, more than what anyone thought of their engagement.
Which was as it should be. Hell, we’d all survived decades of the feud, we could go without the answers a little longer.
I did intend to find Thomas Steele, but that wasn’t my only priority now. All of it was important: finding Thomas, helping Evan and Nora have the wedding they deserved, and taking the time to get to know Elise.
And just like that, I actually had a plan. It was a bit more deliberate than my usual hope and try, but things were getting complicated, and I wanted to make sure I got it all right.
A woman appeared out of nowhere and sat on the other end of the bench. She was slightly older than I was, with a shock of vibrant red hair and a calm, observant energy that made me think of a cat watching a bird. She didn’t ask if the seat was taken. She simply claimed it.
“You look like a man who’s trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing.”
I blinked, surprised by the directness. People in Basin Ridge didn’t hold back. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only if you’re paying attention,” she said, tilting her head slightly. “How’s it going, Brady?”
I didn’t ask how she knew my name. One thing I knew about small towns was that talk traveled faster than raspberry vines. And honestly, it felt good to talk to someone who wasn’t part of the Steele-shaped knot in my chest.
“Well,” I said, leaning back, “some things are going really well. Amazing, actually.” The memory of Elise asking me to stay warmed me even now.
“But?”
“I’m not as good at something as I’d hoped I’d be, and I’m not sure yet what to do about it.”
Her gaze remained steady. “Feel free to tell me about it. I’ve got time.”
I summarized my reason for being in Basin Ridge, how I was searching for an old friend of my father who seemed to have vanished and how my usual “show up, connect, see what happens” approach had led to a lot of great detours but not much progress on the main goal.
She listened without interrupting, that calm energy never wavering. When I mentioned meeting Elise and how quickly she’d become someone I looked forward to, a small smile tugged at her mouth.
“How horrible,” she deadpanned.
I laughed. “Right? There are worse problems to have.”
“You’re not giving up the search, though.”
“No. But I wish I was making more progress.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “My family would’ve hired a private investigator by now. Quick. Efficient.”
She nodded. “And that doesn’t feel right to you.”
“Out-of-context information doesn’t heal old wounds. We’re past needing the full story. We just want to move forward. I keep thinking if I stay open, pay attention to what’s right in front of me, the pieces will connect.”
She tapped one finger against her chin, considering. “Have you looked for the last clear digital footprints he left? Before everything went quiet?”
I sat up a little straighter. “The last place I know was . . . college. Thirty years ago.”
She smiled, something knowing flickering in her eyes. “Start there. Old yearbooks, campus records, anything from back then. Voids like the one you’re seeing online don’t happen by accident. Someone put in real work to scrub that footprint.”
She listed a couple of obscure sites and archives that might still hold unindexed scraps. Nothing flashy, just solid, practical direction.
For the first time in days, I had something concrete. A place to actually dig that didn’t feel like random hoping.
I should’ve felt relieved. Instead, my mind drifted back to Elise still asleep in her apartment, the way she’d relaxed against me during the night, trusting enough to let her guard down.
The timing wasn’t ideal, but life rarely was.
Maybe the search and Elise weren’t competing paths.
Maybe they were two parts of the same journey, and I just couldn’t see the connection yet.
I stood and brushed off my jeans. “You’re really good at this.”
“At what?”
“The internet detective thing.” I grinned, pointing at her lightly. “Have you ever thought about going into cybersecurity? Because honestly, you should. You’ve got the brain for it.”
Amusement sparkled in her eyes. “You know what?” she said as she stood, brushing off her pants. “I might do that someday.”
I laughed, the sound easy in the morning air. “Well, if you do, you’ll crush it.”
She gave me a small nod, then walked away with that same calm, self-assured stride.
I watched her go for a moment before turning toward the coffee shop. One thing at a time. Breakfast first. Then the mystery and whatever came next with Elise.