Page 1 of Impossible Rapids

Chapter

One

Shawn Holister stood with one hand on Mercedes Belle’s casket to stabilize himself and one hand under Franz Belle’s elbow to stabilize her devastated father. They stood beside the casket, greeting Franz and Mercedes’s invited guests.

Blinking in the bright Texas sun, Shawn wished they’d done this ‘reception’ inside. There was an air-conditioned chapel next to the cemetery. At the very least, couldn’t they have found a shade tree? He was sweating in the ninety-degree May afternoon and stupidly wearing his too-expensive, black Brioni suit.

Him. Wearing Brioni. Mercedes would’ve insisted he ‘look his handsome best,’ so he would sweat through it. Nobody from his childhood or teenage years would ever believe Shawn Holister could afford Brioni or was the best friend of a deceased billionaire heiress and the future heir and surrogate son of Franz Belle.

His best friend, Franz’s actual son, Grayson Travier, had always believed in Shawn. Unlike Shawn’s own mother, who had told him multiple times a day what a ‘selfish brat’ he was, Grayson had looked beyond Shawn’s angry veneer and offered him friendship and love. He’d shown him there was happiness and Christian light in the world.

Grayson was a Green Beret, killed before his twenty-fourth birthday. Over eight long years ago. Grayson had been his true brother and given him a mother as well. Mama T had taken him in as one of her own, raised him from the time he was kicked out of his own apartment at eleven and loved him. She adored him. He needed to go see her.

When they were eighteen, Mama T had admitted to Grayson that the famous and wealthy Franz Belle was his birth father. Grayson had connected with the Belles, who welcomed him with open arms. Then Grayson had given Shawn even more family who loved him and saw the best in him when he dragged Shawn into Mercedes and Franz’s life.

Mercedes. He blinked at the sparkly pink casket, distracted from some senator being ‘sorry for his loss.’ Of course the casket would sparkle just like Mercedes had.

His loss. Nobody knew how deeply this loss had cost him or how much it would change his life. He’d lost his first best friend at twenty-four and now his second best friend was gone at thirty-two. Shut up in this metal casket.

Shawn had lost a chunk of his heart when Mercedes died. Franz was holding up exceptionally well, but Shawn knew he was struggling. If the man didn’t implode—or explode—soon, Shawn would be stunned.

He continued to respond to the condolences of the people filing past. Everybody shook Franz’s hand and some even hugged the older gentleman. Most offered a hand and he pulled his from the casket briefly, but nobody tried to hug Shawn. His cold Viking persona had served him well to keep Mercedes safe and to keep people out of his life.

Currently, it was all he could do to hold on to Franz and return to his grip on the casket between handshakes. The connections to Mercedes grounded him and kept him from sinking to his knees in the spongy grass beneath his Stuart Weitzmans.

Why they had to do this receiving line before the graveside service was a mystery to him. But Mercedes had everything planned out, of course, even a list of who should be invited. As a rule, Shawn had never told her no, and he knew Franz had been even more indulgent with his daughter and only remaining family member.

What else do I have to do sitting in this hospital bed but plot and plan? Mercedes had often said.

He almost smiled at that, but of course a man didn’t smile at the graveside service of his best friend and supposed girlfriend and lover.

Happy, impetuous, driven, caring, incredible Mercedes.

If only Jagger and Hays could be here. His closest friends besides Mercedes, Captain Jagger Lemuel and Lieutenant Hays West were on a no-com SEAL assignment. Shawn had begged their CO General Bates to let him speak to them, but the guy had stone-walled him. He could’ve used their support and they could’ve used the closure of being here at Mercedes’s funeral.

His friends had lost too many people they loved. They were each incredible soldiers, loyal friends, and the best men around, but they were hardened from loss and years of fighting, seeing and inflicting death. He said a quick prayer for their safety and for them to feel the Savior’s love.

Feeling eyes on him, he glanced across the cemetery and caught Julie studying him. He gave her a brief smile. She pounded her fists together and then raised one hand in a peace sign, something funny they’d seen on social media. He almost laughed before he caught himself. Julie was one of the few people in this world who could make him laugh.

She winked, and then turned to check that everything was going smoothly—security in place, guests moving along in the line then finding their seats, everybody happy. That was Julie. Mercedes plotted and planned, and Julie took care of everything and everybody. She was Mercedes’s ‘dearest friend and magician.’

Julie was great—smart, hilarious, organized, talented, gorgeous … He pushed that last thought away. What did it matter that her deep-brown eyes were mesmerizing and the perfect complement to her golden hair and tanned skin? Everybody, including Julie, thought he was in love with Mercedes. He’d lived that farce for years, and now it was a second skin to him. He had to keep the charade up for now—for Franz, Mercedes, Grayson, and their family legacy.

But Julie ... She deserved an incredible man in her life. If only it could be him. She rarely said yes to the various men chasing her, and Shawn was secretly relieved by that fact. He would do anything for her. She was in his inner circle, just like Jagger and Hays, but even his three closest friends had no idea what he’d committed to and why. He hoped he and Franz weren’t making a mistake. He would do anything for Franz, and this route seemed to have the best chance of removing the target from Franz’s back and placing it squarely on Shawn. He wasn’t afraid, but the responsibility was heavy—people’s jobs and livelihoods, people’s homes, charitable foundations, a legacy dating back to the fifteen-hundreds, and more.

Pushing those worries away, he let his eyes track Julie as she chatted with Crown Prince Tristan of Augustine and his wife Jennifer. It was thoughtful of those two to fly over for the service. Shawn and Mercedes had spent almost a week in the Augustine castle. It would’ve been relaxing and fun, except the reality show that week featuring Quaid Raven and Anna Marley had gone infinitely wrong.

How would Julie hold up without Mercedes? The two had been thick as church ladies planning the yearly potluck dinner and square dance, but they’d been planning and scheming and matchmaking for Mercedes’s swansong, her reality show obsession. Most of the shows had something go wrong and Mercedes would predictably worry about her ‘darling couple’ being in danger and Julie would get to work and try to fix it all. Shawn supported and protected them both, saw the danger they never noticed and kept underhanded people away from them through his ‘fearsome Viking coldness.’

Most people thought Shawn was a closed-off jerk. He supposed they were right, but he’d also played that role at Grayson and Franz’s request. Mercedes was far too beautiful, impetuous, and giving. If she hadn’t had Shawn by her side to keep people away, especially men with designs on her money or her beauty, who knows what would’ve happened to her and her fortune.

He frowned. It was hard for him to care about the fortune. Mercedes was gone; what did all that money do for anyone? What was he going to do with all that money besides work untold hours to manage all the businesses and properties and charities? He had no idea what it would look like, but he would find out soon.

Franz Belle was grieving deeply, and Shawn would stay loyal to him through thick and thin. He could only pray he was helping and not hurting the man by continuing on this course. Shawn would do what he did best—quietly support, protect, and strengthen. His adult motto was “unselfish,” and he’d dedicated himself first to his country, Grayson and Mama T, then to Jagger, Hays, Franz, Mercedes, and now Julie.

If only he could truly dedicate himself to Julie.

Franz stiffened beside him.

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