Peter washed his face. Nothing could have prepared him for today. His gut was tied up into so many knots. Today seemed like a dream. If he saw his mother again, he had no idea what he'd do.

"Peter, where are you? Where is she?"

His brother's voice boomed from the main room. Peter's adrenaline rushed in his veins. He'd protect his siblings from his mother if he could, not that he had any idea of how to do that at the moment. He swallowed and left the bathroom.

"John, hold on. I'm coming."

Alice stood with her baby in her arms as John shook beside her. His tough as nails brother reminded him of the boy he had once been.

Alice held his arm as John asked, "What did you do? How is our mother here? Where is she?"

His body stayed tight and rigid. No force on earth would stop his brother. Peter pursed his lips. He would not prevent this, but his blood screamed that his mother had left them. He saw her leave, and he had heard how the door slammed. He pressed his hands on the table in front of him.

"She's in her room. I'm sure she'll be here any moment, but, John, I want to talk to you."

John nodded at his wife and then stepped closer. "How did this happen?"

Through clenched teeth, Peter managed to explain as the door swung open. "I wondered what merchandise our father had hidden away and ordered it to be delivered to my house. Mom was the package."

Victoria and Colt came through the door, but Vicki's hand on her mouth said without words that she had heard him. Peter tilted his head and then his sister screamed, "Mom was kidnapped? Have you called the police?"

"We talked about calling Rafe, but she wanted to rest."

“I can’t believe our father did this too! He’s a monster.”

His gaze narrowed in on Colt. He better protect his sister from this in case their mother turned out to be worse than their father.

Agreed, but they knew that. All Peter could say was, "Victoria, glad you joined us."

She came next to John and the three of them formed a small circle. Peter's gaze landed on Belle as she returned to the room.

“Seriously.” She stayed in the background as Vicki grabbed his arm. "My mind is reeling. Dad kidnapped her or she walked out the door?"

Peter saw himself sitting on the stairwell again as a little boy who wanted his mother. She slammed the door on her way out. "I remember them fighting."

John’s hands were clenched as he said, "Our father always got his way."

Peter glanced at both of them. They were already asleep when she had glided across the foyer and glanced at him. She saw him. He was sure. "He told us she left. I saw her leave."

“What did she say?” John crossed his arms.

Both of his siblings had wide eyes. His own heartbeat grew rapid. "She said she went out for air and that our father kidnapped her."

Vicki's eyes misted as she slammed her hand on the table next to him. "Oh my God."

"I don’t know." His chest tightened. There was no way to stop the jitters that rocked his insides. He stilled his body so no one saw. He glanced at both of them. "You both believe her."

John narrowed his gaze. "Peter, why wouldn't we believe this? You knew our father."

"I agree." Every muscle in his body wanted to hit something or someone. There was no evidence what he saw was a lie. He inhaled and said, "But I heard her slam the door. I saw the look in her eye as she left. I sat on those stairs and watched her. I waited for hours for her to come home."

Belle swayed but kept her distance.

Vicki's face went white, but she shook her head. "Peter, what did she say? I'm sure you asked already?"

“Nothing about seeing me.” He pursed his lips. Neither of them would believe him. There was no way she had been held captive all this time." She said what I told you. She went outside for air and then Dad's men took her from the backyard."

John's hands clenched. "Once again our father deserved to be in jail."

Peter met his stare and didn't blink as he said, "Maybe you're right. This is a disaster."

Vicki stepped in between both of them. "Why? This is no different. Our father stole my baby."

John's hand rested on their sister's shoulder. "Mitch Morgan wanted everything his way. If he didn't get it, then whoever was in his way suffered."

Their mother walked in and stood beside Belle. Belle reached out and comforted her.

Peter blinked. "Here she is. You two talk to her. I need air." He strode toward the door.

John called out, "Where are you going?"

"Outside." Peter kept his sight on the door. His heartbeat was so rapid he couldn't breathe in here. "I pay the men who work for Morgan Enterprises. I should be safe enough."

Vicki shouted, "Could you imagine never seeing anyone you ever loved again? Dad was horrible to our mother."

He rolled his eyes at his mother as she hugged John and Vicki "You two don't remember anything. I do, in living color."

Belle's footsteps echoed behind him on the porch. He turned, and she approached him. "Peter, where are you going?"

"I can't be here."

He stopped and stared at his fingernails as the idea of sailing off on his yacht played in his head.

"I'm coming with you."

At first he didn't say anything, but soft footsteps followed him. He waited until she placed her hands on his shoulder. Then he turned toward her.

The late afternoon sun started to set. He snorted as he stared at the water. Belle Jordan deserved someone better. He turned toward her, and the setting sun almost made her glow.

He swallowed. "Belle..."

She grabbed his hands and interrupted. She had the face of an angel. "You don't have to say anything. I'm here."

Nothing made sense, and he stared at the door behind her. He couldn't go inside. Instead he led her toward his closest escape.

"Let's go."

At the dock, which wasn't that many steps from where they had been, she hedged, "Are we heading back on your yacht?"

He dropped her hands. "If you want to go back—"

"No, I want to go with you."

She smiled at him, and a sense of calmness filled his heart. He'd like her with him right now. He helped her step onto his yacht.

"Let's go."

"I had no idea on this trip I'd be on a ship this much. I'd have brought a bathing suit."

He shrugged and his shoulders grew less tense as he led her to the control room. "There might be something here for you. Captain, get us out of here."

The captain nodded his head at them. "Aye, sir."

Belle tried to say hello to the captain, but Peter held her hand and led her out. She followed without question, and they headed into the dining area that held a view of his house as the captain began to sail away.

It had been his intention to show Belle the ten thousand square foot corner lot home with the balcony on the second floor that overlooked the bay and his swimming pools. He had imagined how he'd beg her to forgive him as she stood on one of those balconies, like Juliet in the stories. Now he stared at the mansion as they sailed away.

No one inside had come out to stop them. His hand brushed against a wine bottle.

Belle moved the bottle. "Peter, I don't think you should have a drink right now. Let's just go talk and eat."

He studied her hand. It was clean, white, and pure. He reached out and brushed her silky fingers.

He closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. "I never expected any of this. I intended to spend my life alone."

"Bitter isn't a good option." Her fingers laced with his and then reached up to brush his hair. "You have a strong family. You're having a hard time with all this."

Her massage was like magic. His body released all of its tension, and he needed to be still. "Yes."

She continued touching him. "Do you know how lucky you are?"

He shook his head and opened his eyes. Belle Jordan was more gorgeous than anyone he'd ever dated.

"No one would want my life."

She scooted her chair closer to him, and their legs brushed against each other. "Many would. Do you enjoy the blessings in your life at all?"

Somehow in all this mess, he had been blessed to find her. He kept that thought to himself and took her words to mean his past.

"I don't know what to expect in my life anymore."

"See, that's great." She dropped her gaze. "I'm the last person in the world to talk about this, but change happens to all of us. We shouldn't expect anything, but we have to accept."

He reached out and squeezed her knee as he leaned closer to her. "You have friends. You have a life in DC that you fought with Colt to keep. You don't have people looking at you and expecting to see a monster."

She trembled but didn't pull away. "You are not your father."

He didn't move. He had no idea what to say to her. "It feels like I can't escape him, Belle."

She closed her eyes. "Yet, your brother and sister respect you. They love you as their brother. You go out into the world and try to do good. Peter, you're not him."

He massaged her knee. Belle was so honest and heartfelt about everything in her life. She blew him away, and she was too hard on herself.

"I could be. Believe me. The power, the money, the connections, it's all there for me. All I have to do is snap my fingers and I can become exactly like him."

"It's true. You have more than anyone." She gazed at him again and his lips tingled as she continued to say, "But you have your own heart inside you and your soul. It's what kept you from turning into your father who, from all accounts, I'd not like."

Apples were fast becoming his favorite fruit. "He'd not like you."

She nodded. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I would." He smiled. She truly was different.

She sat in her chair and stared at the sun that was about to disappear into the ocean. They had left the bay and also headed into the ocean. With Belle, he had peace now. She sighed as she watched the moment the sun disappeared. She truly was different from everyone.

Then she turned to him and asked, "Peter, did you ever imagine your mother coming home?"

"I don't want to think about that anymore."

Again his lips tingled. He'd like to kiss her again. The taste of apples would overpower him, but neither of them moved.

He rubbed his chin. "The truth is, until this year, I was never in my house and lived like a ghost."

She leaned closer to him. "Where were you?"

He lifted his eyebrows. No one had asked him that question in a way that he felt he should be honest. He had avoided Mitch Morgan. He whiffed her sweet scent.

"Anywhere Morgan Enterprises needed me, and I ensured I was always needed somewhere."

A sigh came out of her lips. "So you stopped running this year."

“My father died. His funeral was the best day of my life, though Victoria returning might have been your worst.” He reached behind her and took the wine bottle back from where she had placed it.

“I was fine.” She crossed her arms fast. “I’m happy your family reunited.”

His eyebrows arched. "I'm pouring us wine so we can sit here and wait for the moon."

She dropped her hands back to her side. "And you're changing the topic."

He uncorked the bottle. "No, here, with you, my heart isn't racing anymore."

He handed her a glass and then poured some for her. "Thank you."

He fixed his own drink and then clinked his glass with hers. "I should be thanking you."

She sipped her drink, but her gaze stayed on him. "You were running from your life. I was going to say I avoided my life too. I knew after I left the Marines I was supposed to do something with my life. Dad and my stepmom loved Colt and told me to marry him. So I broke down and thought they must be right. But I couldn't pack my bags. I knew that life on his farm wasn't the life I wanted."

He sipped his glass. Calmness now radiated out of him. "What do you want?"

She shrugged. "I wish I knew. That has always been my issue. I can make up a long list of things I don't want to do, but what I want to do is a different question. Living on a farm never sat right in my gut."

Belle scared herself from living. Something held her still. He sipped his drink and pressed his case. "Forget work. If there was one thing you've always wanted but never done, what is it?"

She shook her head. "Are you seeking to fulfill my wish and avoid your mother?"

A smile broke out on his face. She read that right. "Possibly, but answer the question."

"So many things are racing in my mind." She massaged one of her temples as if she could stop her thoughts. "Unlike yours, my mother cannot come back from the dead."

"True." He sipped his drink. "So pick something possible."

She then followed suit and sipped hers. Then she leaned closer to him, and he could smell her again. "I can't. Three keep circling, and no, you cannot fulfill these today. One is that I've always wanted to go to Paris with a man I love. I don't know what it is, maybe all those movies I've seen with the Eiffel Tower, but I want to go there with whoever my future husband will be.”

“We can…”

“Let me finish. Two is that I do want to get married, but I want to do it because I feel the need to shout 'yes' in my heart and not because it's expected of me. Finally, three is that I want to travel by donkey up a mountain."

He blinked. "A donkey?"

She gulped her glass. "I didn't want to be cheesy and say I want a family. I feel like I'm asking for the moon and stars while wishing and dreaming never get you much."

His entire face grew hot, and he stared out at the moon that grew higher in the sky. "I'm not the guy for you then."

"Don't worry about it. I told you it was all nonsense." She covered her lips and shook her head as she stared at him. "The second I said marriage or family, did your heart race?"

His collar grew tight, but he leaned closer to her. "Yeah, I guess it did."

"Then I'll stick to the donkey answer." She sat straight in her seat. "Donkey's aren't scary."

"Slightly smelly though." He licked his lips. "Belle, you're someone who makes me feel good about myself. I like the man I am with you."

"But?" She sat straighter.

He licked his lips. She truly was beautiful. "Why is there a but?"

She gripped her seat. "There is always a ‘but.’"

“But…” He gulped his drink. Then he reached out and took her glass. "I never wanted a wife or to get married. I wanted what my father instilled in me to die out. No one else should have to question every action."

"What's inside you that's so bad?"

His face had a slight tick. "That I can think like him, act like him, be like him. I could become so controlling that I lose touch and seal my fate as he did."

"That is impossible."

She made no sense. He swallowed. "How?"

"You're too sweet to be so evil. You see the options and don't choose his path."

He reached for her knee and leaned closer. "It's a constant struggle. I know how to get what I want, no matter the cost."

She wrapped her arms around him, and he kissed her. The apples mixed with the sweet wine made her the most succulent woman on the planet. He tugged her closer. He had to have her. She set him on fire.

She sighed as he stopped. Then she rested her head against his. "Wow, that was some kiss."

She made him feel alive. The sparks in his soul demanded he have her again. He stayed still. "Do you want me to take you home?"

“Let’s not sail for days right now. I was looking forward to your party on New Years.” She pressed her chest into his, and the sensation grew butterflies in his stomach. "Right now, I want to enjoy what happens next."

He wrapped his arms around her, kissed her nose and then led her to the door. "My bedroom is this way."

"Perfect."

She was right. Right now she was perfect and just what he needed.