Bound by a Secret


 
 
 
 “What happened with their mother?”
 Greyson didn’t want to lie to Savannah, but he couldn’t tell her the truth, either.
 For the first time in three years, he had someone he trusted with his girls, but he had to focus on their new lives. “She died unexpectedly three years ago.” Violently shot down in front of him. “In an accident.”
 “I’m so sorry. I know my mother had a hard time when she lost my father. You’re very brave.”
 He needed to change the subject. “What about you? Any great love in your life?”
 “I thought there was, but it turned out I’m just a really bad judge of character. It was all lies and games. It’s a horrible feeling, being used by people you thought loved you.”
 She stared out the window, as if searching for something precious she had lost.
 Did she think he was using her? Was he being selfish? He could never give her more than friendship.
 
 
 A seventh-generation Texan, Jolene Navarro fills her life with family, faith and life’s beautiful messiness. She knows that as much as the world changes, people stay the same: vow-keepers and heartbreakers. Jolene married a vow-keeper who shows her holding hands never gets old. When not writing, Jolene teaches art to teens and hangs out with her own four almost-grown kids. Find Jolene on Facebook or her blog, jolenenavarrowriter.com.
 Books by Jolene Navarro
 Love Inspired
 Lone Star Heritage
 Bound by a Secret
 Cowboys of Diamondback Ranch
 The Texan’s Secret Daughter
 The Texan’s Surprise Return
 The Texan’s Promise
 The Texan’s Unexpected Holiday
 The Texan’s Truth
 Her Holiday Secret
 Claiming Her Texas Family
 Lone Star Legacy
 Texas Daddy
 The Texan’s Twins
 Lone Star Christmas
 Visit the Author Profile page at LoveInspired.com for more titles.
 
 
 BOUND BY A SECRET
 Jolene Navarro
 
 
 
 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
 —Galatians 6:7–9
 
 
 This book is dedicated to all thefour-legged family members who have given us unconditional love throughout the years.Sam took me from kinder to my senior year.Jazz, my cocker spaniel, loved me throughall my college years and into marriageand motherhood. Our rescue dog, Besty,helped raise my kids. There have been more,and they all have a special place in my heart. Finn and Bliss were borrowed from Teri Wilson.
 
 
 Contents
 Chapter One
 Chapter Two
 Chapter Three
 Chapter Four
 Chapter Five
 Chapter Six
 Chapter Seven
 Chapter Eight
 Chapter Nine
 Chapter Ten
 Chapter Eleven
 Chapter Twelve
 Chapter Thirteen
 Epilogue
 Dear Reader
 Excerpt from Together for the Twins by Laurel Blount
 
 
 Chapter One
 Greyson McKinsey rolled his neck and stared at the Texas sky above him. The perfect cerulean blue stretched on forever, with only a few spots of white to break it up. A swirl of dust danced across the road leading to his new house. It was late January, but it felt more like July.
 January was a hard month to get through. Soon the calendar would reach the anniversary of the day he’d met Jessica. Nothing he did would stop it. Being sentimental, she’d wanted to get married on the anniversary of the day they’d met. And they had. They would have been celebrating eleven years together, but now the date marked the day she was murdered.
 Being busy was good. Anything to avoid the fact that he had failed her.
 In town this morning, the talk was all about the weather. Weather was always a safe topic. He heard that it was drier than the heart of a haystack. Not to be outdone, another cowboy complained about it being windier than a fifty-pound bag of whistling lips. A dry snort escaped past his frustration. That one didn’t even make sense.
 He enjoyed the bygone Texas sayings he heard from the ancient cowboys playing dominoes at the local feed store. It was a different lifestyle from the ones he had lived in San Francisco or Charlotte. Shaking his head, he lowered his gaze and studied the wide horizon that was the new home the US Marshals Service helped him find since the end of his wife’s murder trial.
 The man who had murdered his wife was behind bars. All Jessica had been guilty of was protecting his children from his violence. But that man believed she had done him wrong, and vengeance was his way of life. Ultimately his wife had won in the courts and his children were removed from the man’s home, but she had paid the highest price. To protect his girls, they were moved into the witness protection program until it was safe. The US Marshal, Diego, had told him it could be anywhere from a few years to decades. Possibly the rest of their lives.
 He’d never thought he’d live in Texas, especially in such a rural area. But the small coastal town where families had stories that spanned generations had started to feel like home. He wanted to belong here, but after losing his wife and going into hiding, he didn’t know if he’d ever truly feel at peace again. They’d had to move twice so far, and he was tired. Would they be able to stay here, or would he have to uproot the girls again?
 Turning to his twins, he frowned. They didn’t understand why they had a new last name, why they had to move again. They weren’t adjusting to their new environment as easily as he was. The first four years of their life had been perfect. Now, for their protection, he had to give them false memories mixed in with bits of truth. He refused to completely wipe their mother