“It’s the perfect job,” she said. “And what have you been up to today?”
“Go ahead and get cleaned up. I’ll fill you in on the way to class.”
Mindful of the time, Kelly hurried through her shower and washed her hair. She didn’t want to be late, and she was eager to tell the other couples in the Lamaze class about Daisy’s baby and show them the photos on her cell phone. After a quick blow-dry and a dab of makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes, she slipped into a long-sleeved turquoise T-shirt and black yoga pants.
She bounded into the living room. “I’m ready.”
“You’re dressed for a workout. What kind of exercises am I going to be doing with Lauren tonight?”
“Nothing too strenuous.” She had some concerns about Lauren. “When does her husband get back in town?”
“Tomorrow. Why?”
“When I saw her yesterday, she was carrying her baby lower and looked like she might go into labor at any time. I’m glad your brother will be back in time for the birth.”
“He never should have scheduled a trip to the other side of the globe so close to Lauren’s due date. Jared doesn’t get it. He doesn’t yet understand what it means to be a father, how much his life is going to change.”
“He’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“No doubt. Then he can dedicate himself to being the best father of all time.”
She heard the bitterness in his voice. “You and Jared are kind of competitive.”
“Ever since we were kids.” He led her into the kitchen and pointed to a rotisserie chicken and a container of slaw on the counter. “You’ve got fifteen minutes to eat.”
“A fine dining experience.”
She climbed onto a stool at the counter and dug in. A few bites of protein would pump up her energy. When he placed a glass of water beside her, she chugged half of it.
“How were the bodyguards?” he asked.
“So discreet that they were almost invisible. I noticed their car at the curb, and that was the only hint that they were there. If they were patrolling around the house, they were totally silent. Are they former military?”
“I’m not sure. O’Shea makes the arrangements when we need security.” He rested his elbows on the counter and leaned toward her. “I missed you today.”
She was glad to hear it. “Tell me how you missed me.”
“I was spending a lot of time in offices, listening to endless lectures from Marian and Rod about spreadsheets and balances and business. After a while, their yakking turns into a meaningless drone. It would have been nice to look over and see you sitting there, nodding politely and pretending to pay attention.”
“You want to use me as a diversion?” She tore into the chicken breast.
“And a sounding board. Things make more sense when I talk them over with you.”
Again, she was complimented. She really liked the way their relationship was growing. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
“Uncle Samuel’s will.”
* * *
WHEN THEY WERE IN HIS SUV headed to the Spencer Building, Nick launched into an encapsulated version of the terms of the will. Arthur had been wrong about his inheritance. He and his sister weren’t left out; they both received substantial funds and properties that were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the stock in Spencer Enterprises was transferred in such a way that Nick and Jared had 45 percent of the shares and the rest went into a central trust.
“Why would your uncle do that?” she asked.
“Most of the control stays with the family, but we have to take other interests into consideration.” Nick frowned. “I’m guessing that Rod Esterhauser had a lot to do with the arrangement. I think the guy is an ass, but my uncle trusted him and made him executor.”
“What about Julia?”
“Of course she already owns her house, free and clear. And she’ll receive a significant monthly pension for the rest of her life.”
“If she’d married him, she would have gotten everything.”
“Don’t worry about Julia. She’s well taken care of.”
She sensed that there was more he hadn’t told her. “I don’t know much about business. Is Samuel’s will typical?”
“Pretty much, it is. He kept the family holdings intact and granted bequests to the people who were important to him.”
“What’s bothering you?” she asked.
“I was hoping for something more, something that might be a motive for murder. Samuel revised his will two months ago. At that time, he would have had the loan from Radcliff, but his will doesn’t mention it.”
“And you haven’t been able to trace the funds.”
“Not at all. The only indication that Samuel got that money is the documentation from Radcliff.”
In the gray of dusk, the silhouette of the Spencer Building rose before them. The lights on the roof shone like eternal flames, and she thought this structure made a fitting tribute to the imagination and creativity of Samuel Spencer. He had the vision to know this office park would be a success when others couldn’t see past the ends of their noses.
She asked, “Did the will say anything about the gold mine?”
“Ownership of that property and the kilobars of gold are part of a family trust, which Samuel kept intact. But the gold mine is the best clue we have so far. I think we need to go there and poke around.”
“How far away is it? I don’t want to leave any of my clients in the lurch.”
“It’s an hour and a half drive, but I could arrange for a private chopper.”
“I’d love a trip to the mountains.” She kept forgetting that Nick Spencer was a very rich man. He didn’t wear his wealth like a crown, but the cash was there when he wanted it. “The only other time I’ve been on a helicopter was a Flight for Life situation, bringing a pregnant woman with complications to a hospital. It wasn’t a good time.”
“How did it turn out?”
“After the ob-gyn performed an emergency C-section, the mom and baby were fine.”
Outside the Spencer Building, she noticed the reporter who had written the blog. She really ought to thank the guy. His intrusive behavior provided the final nudge that pushed her over the edge and set her free.
As she’d expected, the other four couples in the Lamaze class loved the photos she’d taken of Daisy and listened avidly as she described the nine-hour labor.
“That’s not an unusual length of time,” Kelly said. “It sounds daunting, but you’re not in constant pain. The hard part comes at the end.”
“That’s when you’ve got to squeeze a watermelon through a straw,” Roxanne said.
“Let’s try to come up with a better image,” Kelly said. “In addition to the physical part of labor, having a baby is one of the most emotional experiences you’ll ever have. Get comfortable. We’re going to do some visualization.”
As she led the class through a positive imagination exercise, Kelly went to her own happy place—Nick’s bedroom. To the class, she said, “Close your eyes and use all your senses. Think beyond what you see. What’s your favorite scent?”
“Clean laundry,” said one woman.
“Fresh pie,” Lauren chimed in.
In Kelly’s imagination, she took a whiff of the toasty smell she associated with Nick. Licking her lips, she tasted his kiss. When she opened her eyes and peeked, she saw him watching her. His blue eyes were compelling. She could hardly wait for the class to be over so she could make her imaginings into reality.
Chapter Seventeen
Thursday, 8:22 p.m.
As soon as they said good-night to the class and closed up the room, Kelly and Nick bolted. Their separate minds had wrapped around a single thought, and they were both ready, so ready, to make love.
In his SUV, she said, “My happy place was you.”
“I’m with you,” he said. “I started with thinking about you in the outdoors with the wind in your hair and flowers all arou
nd you. And then the wind blew harder, and your clothes went flying off.”
“That’s handy.”
“You said to use all your senses, so I added a sound track. I tried for something ethereal, like a flute or a harp. But I’m a country-western boy. So, I heard guitars and the sweet voice of Taylor Swift.”
He paused, and she had to ask, “Then what?”
“I had to shut down my imagination before I got too turned on. I was going to be cradling my pregnant sister-in-law in my arms, and I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.”
She chuckled as he pulled his SUV into the parking lot outside the condo. She didn’t wait for him to come around to her side and open the door. There wasn’t time to be polite, wasn’t time for anything. The kissing started in the elevator as they rode to the third floor. By the time he unlocked his door, he’d already taken off her jacket and had his hands under her shirt.
Inside the condo, he stepped back and held her by the shoulders as he looked into her eyes. “I don’t want to rush.”
“Neither do I.” But adrenaline pumped through her, sending her pulse into high gear.
“Would you like wine?”
“That sounds very civilized.”
“Too civilized,” he said as he led the way down the hall to his bedroom. “I’m going to leave you here while I get the wine.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Surprise me.”
She was so eager to make love that she didn’t need encouragement. Kelly had never really thought of herself as a sexy woman. Making love had always been natural for her and, most of the time, enjoyable. But she didn’t have the confidence to be a sultry femme fatale...not until now.
Kelly had changed. She was a different woman.
In his bedroom, she abandoned all thoughts of self-consciousness and stripped down to her bra and panties. It would have been great if her underwear had been lacy and black, but the simple beige brassiere made it look as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all, and her bikini-cut panties were bright pink. With luck, she wouldn’t be wearing them for long.
She pulled the comforter off his bed and slid between the smooth yellow sheets. As she waited for him, a tiny doubt bubbled up in her mind. Was there a future for this relationship? He lived in Breckenridge, and she was basically homeless. It was entirely possible that they would only have a few days together, maybe a week or a month. Was she okay with that?
When he walked through the bedroom door holding a wine bottle and two glasses and wearing nothing but a pair of black briefs, she decided she was fine with things the way they were. No commitment was necessary. If tonight was all they had, it would be enough.
Not taking her eyes off him, she lay back on the pillow. “I like your outfit, Nick.”
“Same to you.” He sat on the edge of the bed and set down the wine and stemmed glasses on the bedside table. “But I’d like it better if we got this sheet out of the way.”
He yanked the material aside, revealing her whole body and her resplendent pink panties. His gaze was warm as he slowly looked her up and down, and she arched her back, shamelessly posing like a cover girl. “Is this what you imagined?”
“Everything and a bag of chips.”
He slipped his arm under her back and lifted her off the sheets, placing her in his lap. She knew that simple move required some serious muscles, enough to bench press her entire weight. She remembered in Julia’s house when he lifted her off the staircase. His strength was impressive.
On his lap with her arms draped around his shoulders, she kissed him slowly and thoroughly. First, they tasted each other. Next, they tried the wine. A sip of Chardonnay aroused her palate and slithered down her throat. No need to worry about getting drunk, she was already intoxicated by his nearness.
“Tomorrow,” she said, “we’ll go to the mountains.”
“I know a little place we can stay overnight.”
“Camping?” She enjoyed roughing it, cooking over a fire and sleeping under the stars.
“The Hearthstone Motel,” he said, “the place where my uncle stayed when he visited the gold mine.”
No matter how much she wished otherwise, Samuel’s murder was never far from his thoughts. It was a wound that she couldn’t heal for him. All she could do was offer comfort.
After they finished a glass of wine, he stretched her out on the bed. Instead of lying beside her, he went to the end of the mattress.
“The first time I saw you,” he said, “I noticed your crazy-colored toenails—pink, yellow and purple.”
“It’s a game I was playing with Princess Butterfly.”
“This is what I wanted to do to those toes.”
He picked up her foot, caressed each toe and massaged the arch. His touch set off a chain reaction in her nervous system, elevating her sensitivity. He reached up her calves and then went higher. Excitement rippled across the surface of her skin in waves that grew stronger and stronger.
Gasping, she said, “If this is the start to the massage you promised, keep going.”
His calloused hands climbed her torso. When he finally touched her breasts, the anticipation was too much for her to stand. She pulled him down on top of her. She needed him, needed to feel him inside her, and couldn’t wait another moment.
He matched her passion and encouraged her to go even higher. In a barely controlled frenzy, they made love.
Later that night, she paid him back, using massage techniques she’d read about when looking into Tantric Yoga. “I always wanted to take a class in this,” she said, “but it’s a couples’ thing.”
“Sign us up.”
She’d never been this daring in the bedroom, gazing into his eyes and touching him intimately. The release of sexual energy was amazing. She’d heard about nine thrusts to ecstasy, and Nick delivered.
Friday, 10:04 a.m.
THE NEXT MORNING, NICK took his time getting out of bed, which meant he made love to Kelly again. Though he couldn’t forget the questions, sadness and even the danger that plagued him, he felt good. Being with her made this one of the best days in his life, better than the Christmas when he got a puppy and better than his sixteenth birthday when he lost his virginity.
While she was in the shower, he lay back on the bed and savored the sweetness. His day was bound to get worse.
Kelly poked her head out of the bathroom door. “When do we go to the mountains?”
“First we’ve got to stop by Jared’s house. He got home this morning at eight o’clock.”
He wasn’t looking forward to facing off with his brother. They should have been united by grief, but they had different opinions about Samuel. Jared didn’t appreciate their uncle’s creativity when it meant a lack of concern about the bottom line, and he blamed their uncle for putting the company in the red.
Over the years, Nick’s relationship with his brother had become more about finance and less about family. Jared couldn’t forget, not for a minute, that he was the chief executive officer. He was going to be seriously ticked off about the Radcliff loan and Nick’s determination to pay it off. Marian and Rod had already made their position clear, and he expected Jared to follow the corporate line.
An hour later, Nick drove his SUV into the cul-de-sac where he grew up. Unlike the scene a couple of nights ago, there were no cars parked in Jared’s circular driveway.
“It seems too quiet,” Kelly said. “Where did everybody go?”
He noticed several cars parked along the curb and down the street. Standing at the front door was a plainclothes security guard.
“Traffic control,” he said. “Security is keeping the driveway open and the media held back. It’s not a bad idea.”
Still, he drove his SUV into the driveway, stopped and threw the gear into Park. Before the guard could order him to move on, he was out of the driver’s seat and coming around to Kelly’s side to open her door.
“Sir,” the guard said, “I have to ask you to move your vehicle.”
<
br /> “I’m only going to be here for a couple of minutes,” Nick said. “It’s okay.”
“I have my orders, sir. If you give me your keys, I’ll move the vehicle for you.”
“You don’t have to valet for me. It’s really okay.”
As far as Nick was concerned, this rule didn’t apply to him. Though this was Jared’s house now, Nick had lived here for nearly fifteen years. Nobody had the right to tell him where he could and couldn’t park.
He opened the door for Kelly and helped her out of the car while the security guard talked into a tiny microphone attached to an earpiece. Nick almost hoped for a physical confrontation with this hard-bodied guy. It would ease his tension to punch something.
The front door opened, and Jared stepped outside. The most obvious physical difference between them was size. Nick stood about six inches taller. When they were growing up, he’d passed Jared in height just after his ninth birthday. His brother had never forgiven him.
Jared said, “I really wish you’d move your SUV.”
“Are you going to make me?” Nick was fully aware that he was being as immature as a nine-year-old, and he didn’t care.
“Fine.” After a long-suffering sigh, Jared spoke to the guard. “It’s all right for him to park here.”
Immediately, Nick felt guilty. Jared looked tired. His eyes were bloodshot, and his usually healthy complexion looked wan and pale. Either the trip from Singapore had been rough or he was actually feeling something about the death of their uncle.
Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Nick assumed the latter. He held open his arms and gave his brother a hug. “How are you holding up?”
“I can’t believe Samuel is gone.”
They’d gone through the death of their father together when Nick was twenty-six. Losing him to a sudden heart attack had been hard; there were so many things Nick wished he’d taken the time to tell his dad. He hadn’t made that mistake with Samuel. He and his uncle had built a lot of memories.
He introduced his brother to Kelly, and they went inside. The atmosphere was more subdued than yesterday. Lauren sat in the living room beside a cousin Nick barely remembered. Julia was in the kitchen with two other women. He wondered if she’d spoken to her son.
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