Hidden Agenda (31 page)
She turned back around to look at him.
“When you leave here, there will be a box on your car. Take it. Please. It's a gift from me.”
She found the box outside the prison on the hood of her car, while the morning's gray skies loomed above them. She looked around at the lot filled with other vehicles, but no people. She set her bag down, then carefully slid the contents out of the package.
“What is it?” Michael asked.
“My mother's music box.” Olivia's breath caught as she opened the lid, letting the music from her childhood spill into the cold morning air like a salve across her fractured heart. “I'd always wondered what happened to this.”
For a moment, she was a child again, dancing with her mother and brother in the middle of the living room while the music box played in the background. She pulled out the picture that had been pressed into the lid and held it up to show Michael.
“She was beautiful,” Michael said. “Just like her daughter.”
“My father thought so. He took her to Switzerland one winter. She'd never traveled overseas, and he once told me that
watching her reaction made it seem like he was seeing it all again for the first time.”
Olivia ran her fingers across the inlaid wood, then closed the lid before sliding it back into the box.
“A lot has happened over the past few days,” he said.
“Some days I still feel as if I can't catch my breath.” She looked up at him. “In some ways, I feel as if I've lost everything. My father's going to prison, Felipe's vanished, Ivan's moving away . . . But then I remember what I've been given.”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, a feeling of gratefulness and hope beginning to nudge out the hurt and loss.
“Speaking of what we've been given, I think the initial shock of having her son show up on her doorstep is beginning to wear off, because I just got a text from my mother. She's planning a huge family meal for all of us tonight.” He grasped her hands and pulled them against his chest. “I thought I might invite someone to join me.”
“Really.” She smiled up at him. “Who did you have in mind?”
“There's this woman I met. She's intriguing, fun, and beautiful.”
“Should I be jealous?”
He laughed. “Say you'll come.”
“Your family won't mind?”
“My mother actually insisted that both you and Ivan come.”
“I'd love to come.”
“Good, because while you've already received quite a crash course on the Hunt family these past few days, you still haven't met my mother.”
She leaned into him. “Stop trying to scare me away, because I already like her. Your sisters . . . your father . . . They remind me that there are still good people in the world who are actually making a difference.”
The family she'd never had.
“They like you. And even more important than thatâbecause while I love my family, some decisions are personalâI like you, Olivia Hamilton. I like you a lot.”
Anticipation of what lay ahead for them and their relationship fluttered inside her. He was the kind of man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and while she didn't know if that was where things would end, she was ready to find out.
“There is one other thing. I've been praying about a slight change in my career direction.”
“Like what? I can't exactly imagine you at a desk job.”
“Even after all that's happened, I'm not exactly ready to give up life as a cop altogether.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I've been asked to head up a special task force with drug enforcement, but I won't be working undercover anymore.”
“With your skills I'm not surprised at all. Sounds as if you're perfect for the job.”
“As excited as I am about the possibilities, there is one other thing on my mind right now.”
“And what would that be?” she asked.
“You and me.”
She felt his arm slide around her waist as he pulled her against him. The wind blew against her face, but all she could see at the moment was the one man who'd managed to capture her heart.
“Do you always fall for the women you rescue?”
“If I recall, you're the one who rescued me.”
“I did, didn't I?” She laughed. “Which turns out to be very fortunate for you, because after all that has happened the past few days, I'm ready to go back to
reporting
the news instead of
being
the news.”
He leaned down and kissed her in the middle of the parking lot until everything else around her was completely forgotten.
At seven o'clock, Olivia sat down beside Michael at the lavishly decorated Hunt dining room table, with its gold-trimmed place settings, red roses and white tallow berry centerpiece, and flickering candles. She bowed her head while Thomas Hunt prayed over the food and the family, asking for safety and health for those gathered at the table, making her realize that while lies had been exposed and so much had been taken, much more had been given in exchange.
Michael squeezed her hand at the amen as everyone began passing his mother's roast turkey, giblet gravy, and cornbread dressing. She paused in the middle of the laughter and talk filling the room, absorbing the feeling of family she'd always craved. Already, she'd somehow been pulled into helping plan Avery and Jackson's wedding, amidst rumors of another impending engagement between Emily and Mason. They'd asked for her suggestions and input like she'd always been one of the family.
Claire Hunt, elegantly dressed in a red, sparkly holiday dress, tapped her fork against her glass.
Thomas Hunt set down the bowl of green beans he'd been about to pass around the table. “I think my wife has something to say.”
The room fell quiet as everyone's attention shifted to Michael's mother. “Before y'all get too engrossed in the meal, you might have noticed that tonight's meal isn't our typical New Year's Eve fare. But nothing about tonight is typical.”
Michael reached down and grasped Olivia's hand as his mother continued.
“I never once dreamed over the past months of loss that my son would once again be sitting here at the table with us. Or that he'd bring with him a stunning young woman and her brotherâtwo people that I will forever be grateful to for saving his life.”
A couple of amens filled the room.
Michael cleared his throat. “May I say something as well?”
“Just so it's not too long.” Avery shot him a grin. “My dinner's liable to be cold by the time you finish talking.”
“Very funny, sis.” Michael laughed. “I just want to say, as I look around this table, I realize that the past few months have been full of both victories and defeats, love and heart-wrenching loss. I've missed being a part of that more than you will ever know. But as I sit here tonight with my family, listening to the talk of New Year's resolutions, Avery and Jackson's upcoming wedding, and Ivan's acceptance into MIT, I'm struck with the profound truth that God is good. He never promised us that life would be easy, but He has promised to walk with us. Which is what He's done. Which is why I can't begin to thank Him enough for a second chance at life, for getting my family back”âMichael pulled Olivia's hand against his chestâ“and for the woman sitting here beside me.”
Cheers and hoots went up around the table, but all Olivia saw was the man sitting beside her who leaned over and brushed his lips across hers, reminding her that this wasn't a fleeting moment, but the beginning of a relationship they both would ensure lasted. Because while the truth had brought pain, that pain had also brought with it so much more. Michael, his family, their new relationship were all based on truth, a truth setting her free.
I
absolutely enjoyed every moment of writing this series and getting to know the Hunt family. But as with every book or series, it's never a one-man job. I'm so thankful to those who have helped me along this writing journey. For this book in particular, to Andrea, Ellen, and Barb for your amazing editing skills. To Beth, Lynne, and Kellie for your support and inspiration. And for my wonderful family, who has always stood with me and encouraged me each step of the way. I am blessed.
Lisa Harris
is a bestselling author, a Christy Award finalist for
Blood Ransom
, Christy Award winner for
Dangerous Passage
, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 from
Romantic Times
. She has sold over thirty novels and novella collections. Along with her husband, she and her three children have spent over ten years living as missionaries in Africa where she homeschools, leads a women's group, and runs a nonprofit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry. The ECHO Project works in southern Africa promoting Education, Compassion, Health, and Opportunity and is a way for her to “
speak up for
those who cannot speak for themselves . . . the poor and helpless
, and see that they get justice
” (Proverbs 31:8â9).
When she's not working, she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa, visit her website at
www.lisaharriswrites.com
or her blog at
http://myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com
. For more information about The ECHO Project, please visit
www.theECHOproject.org
.
S
OUTHERN
C
RIMES
Dangerous Passage
Fatal Exchange
Hidden Agenda
