by Amy Reece
She managed to focus long enough to get the basics of her lecture in her head—although she doubted she could liven up the boring topic of social change and railroad magnates in the late nineteenth century enough to make college freshmen care in the slightest. I just need to get to the Roaring Twenties, then I can make it more interesting. She taught her afternoon classes and only noticed one student fall completely asleep, so she counted it as a win. She had barely returned to her office when her cell phone rang.
“Nina? It’s Mom. Can you talk for a few minutes?”
She sighed, knowing it was never simply a few minutes with her mother. “Sure, Mom. What’s up?”
“Well, I just got off the phone with the insurance company and I don’t know what they’re trying to tell me.”
“What insurance company? Mom, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Why would her mother think Nina could help with insurance?
“Neal’s life insurance, sweetheart. I was looking through all the paperwork Kira brought over and ran across his life insurance policies.”
“Okay. What’s the problem?”
“Well, I can’t seem to make heads or tails out of what they were telling me and your father isn’t ready to deal with it yet. Could you stop by this evening and take a look at it?”
She rolled her eyes, grateful her mother couldn’t see. “Sure. I’ll stop by after I pick up the girls, okay?”
“Oh, that will be wonderful! Why don’t you and the girls stay for dinner? You could ask Seamus too, if you want.”
“He’s working tonight, but the girls and I will take you up on the offer.” Her mother was a wonderful cook and Nina was happy to skip kitchen duties for the evening. She’d gotten spoiled with Seamus cooking so often. Who would have dreamed he would turn out to be so domestic? He was awesome with the girls as well—better than David had ever been. “I’ve got to go, Mom, but I’ll see you tonight, okay? Yeah, I love you too. Bye.”
She took a deep breath and opened her laptop, prepared to work on a new article for a historical journal she’d pitched an idea to a few months before. She hadn’t done more than glance at her outline before her cellphone rang again. I’m not answering. I need to get some work done! But it might be Seamus, and she would happily take the time to talk to him. Her stomach fluttered ridiculously as she reached for her phone. But instead of Seamus’s handsome face on her screen, Gordy’s number—no image—showed. Nina drew back her hand and waited for it to go to voice mail. I do not want to talk to him right now. Guilt swamped her, but she hated talking on the phone on her best days; this didn’t quite qualify as one of them. Besides, Gordy drove her crazy and she had no idea why. She waited until the voicemail notification appeared on the screen, then listened, hoping the message didn’t require any action on her part.
“Hi, Nina. This is Gordy. I was, uh, I was wondering if we could get together sometime soon? Maybe we could grab dinner or something? I’d really like to talk to you about Neal’s part of the business. I’ve got a lot of decisions to make and, well, I hate to push, but I need to talk to you about buying out Neal’s share of the company. Anyway, if you could give me a call back, that would be great. Thanks.”
Nina rubbed her fingers into her temples, trying to massage away the headache that had begun building when her mother called. Crap. I have to call him back. Better get it over with. She sighed and hit the call back button.
“Hey, Gordy. Sorry I missed your call. I had to step out of my office for a minute.” She winced at the white lie.
“Oh, no problem. So, do you think we could get together sometime soon to talk about the business? Is there any chance you’re free tonight?”
Bless you, Mom, for calling first! “Oh, sorry. I’m going to my parents’ house tonight.” She didn’t want to commit to an entire evening with him, either. “What about this afternoon? Could we meet for coffee somewhere?” She would much rather get this over with, even if it meant falling behind on her article.
He hesitated for a moment. “Um, sure. Why don’t we meet at the Starbucks across from the university? I could be there in about half an hour.”
She readily agreed and hung up, determined to write for twenty minutes until she needed to leave to walk to the coffee shop.
He was already there and waved from a corner table. She ordered a dirty chai latte and went to join him. He wore a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his tie loosened. She’d always thought him rather good-looking, in a nerdy sort of way, but she’d never been remotely attracted to him. He’d asked her out several times during college when they’d met during holidays, but she’d—thankfully—been dating Ben by then and didn’t have to find another excuse. It just goes to show that looks aren’t everything. Something about his personality rubs me the wrong way.
“Nina, hi!” He waved to her and gestured to the brownie he’d obviously bought for her.
She nodded unenthusiastically and waited for her beverage before joining him, grateful for the brief reprieve. She finally sat across from him but shook her head at the brownie and pushed it back toward him, finding it presumptuous to assume she would want a sweet. “So, what is it you need from me, Gordy?” She knew she sounded borderline bitchy but was out of patience with him.
His eyes widened as he gauged her cranky mood and she could practically see him backpedaling. “Oh, I really just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.” He reached his hand to cover hers and patted it awkwardly. “I mean, I do need to talk about the company, but that can wait if you’re not ready to deal with it.”
She could see the impatience bubbling below the surface of his apparent good humor and she wondered what was so important. “It’s fine. I’m sorry. It’s been a frustrating day, that’s all. I know you need to move on with the company; Neal would have wanted it to succeed, so I’ll do whatever I can.” There was no sense in causing unnecessary delays in the business her brother had given so much of his time and attention to build.
Gordy smiled and she thought again how handsome he was. “Thanks, Nina. Yeah, I’m hoping to buy out Neal’s half of the company. Right now, I can’t do much more than pay the bills and sign the payroll checks. I’d like to find out what bank holds the note for his loan and pay it off. Then I’d like to talk to your parents about buying out his share of the business. Do you, uh, know if he had any files or paperwork at his apartment? Did Kira give anything to you? I’ve looked through his office, but his loan information doesn’t seem to be there.”
He doesn’t know I loaned Neal the money. Interesting. So, he doesn’t know I have controlling interest in RiskCom. I wonder why Neal never told him? Was he embarrassed because he had to take a loan from his sister? Probably. Well, I don’t feel like telling Gordy now. “Um, you know, she did give me some of Neal’s stuff, but I haven’t looked through it yet.”
“It’s probably boring financial records. Why don’t I come by and pick it up tomorrow? That way you won’t have to bother going through it.”
Wow. His presumption never stops. Because I’m a history professor he assumes I have no idea how to understand finances? “I minored in business, Gordy.” She’d wanted to make sure she had a backup plan in case history didn’t work out. Intricate accounting spreadsheets might be beyond her immediate grasp, but she knew the basics of how to run a business. “I think I can keep up.”
“Oh, of course. I didn’t mean…well, that is I don’t want you to have to deal with all the company stuff so soon. But great. So, you’ll let me know when you find out about the loan? And perhaps then we can discuss getting your parents to sell Neal’s half of the company.”
She smiled and sipped her chai. “Sure. I’m seeing them tonight and I’ll be sure to mention it.” Her parents had nothing to do with it since she had controlling interest until the loan was paid in full. Neal had died before he could finish paying it off. But Gordy didn’t need to know any of that.
Chapter Thirteen
Nina
“What
do you say, Lily?”
“I’m sorry I don’t like your meatloaf, Gramma.”
Nina’s father snickered at the far end of the table while Nina rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, sweetheart. What do you say when you wish to be excused?”
“Oh.” The little girl sat up straight and assumed an angelic expression. “Please may I be excused, Gramma?”
“Well, of course, dear,” Nina’s mother said, non-plussed at the innocent disdain toward her famous meatloaf. She adored the two girls, but couldn’t seem to remember Lily wouldn’t eat meat, especially an entire slab of it.
“Please may I be excused too?” Iris wasn’t about to be left behind, plus, she’d eaten half her meatloaf, although none of her peas.
While the girls retreated to the living room to play with the special toys their grandparents kept for them, Nina helped her mother clear the table. When they were done, and each adult had a cup of decaf in front of them, Nina asked her mother to explain the reason for the visit.
“Well, sweet Kira brought over Neal’s portable filing cabinet and I got to looking through it to see if he had any credit cards that needed to be paid or anything like that. He did, but that’s not what confused me.”
For the love of all that’s holy, would you get to the point? “So, what did confuse you, Mom?”
“Well now, I found a file folder marked ‘Life Insurance.’ And it seems like Neal had bought himself some life insurance policies.”
“Okay. That seems pretty normal, especially since he was self-employed.”
“So, I called to see how much and who the beneficiary was. And what do you think?”
“I don’t know, Mom.” Patience, Nina. She already knew she was the beneficiary, but it seemed wise to let her mother spin her tale the way she wanted. Neal had asked her to keep the loan a secret, not wanting the plethora of unwanted advice his mother would have felt compelled to give if she knew about it.
“Well, it’s you, Nina. You’re the beneficiary.”
“Okay. That makes sense since I loaned him some money to start up the company. If you’ll give me the information, I’ll call them in the next few days and see about making a claim.” She had little interest in even thinking about her brother’s life insurance policies this soon after his death.
“Of course, but that’s not all. The insurance man said there was another policy, but I couldn’t get a straight answer out of him about it, except that it seems to be Kira who is the beneficiary. But why on earth would Neal buy life insurance for her when they weren’t even married yet? And then the insurance man kept on about death certificates and the like. I don’t know what to think.”
“He bought life insurance for Kira? That’s unusual. Maybe he bought it recently because they were planning to get married soon?”
“Well, I don’t know. Here.” Mrs. Braden stood and crossed to the sideboard, where she retrieved a manila file folder. “This is all the information. Maybe you can get a straight answer from the insurance company. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it and your father doesn’t want to talk about it.”
She flashed her father a look of understanding, then shoved the file in her bag and promised her mother she’d take care of it. She visited for a few more minutes, then used the excuse of needing to get the girls home for a bath to escape.
Iris fell asleep on the way home and wouldn’t wake up enough to walk, so Nina juggled her bag and the rag doll form of her child as she followed Lily through the garage to the utility room door. She hadn’t planned to be out so late and the porch lights weren’t on as she pulled into the garage, making the house darker and creepier than she liked. She had to set Iris down to fish for her keys. She shoved the door open and Lily skipped inside while Nina bent to scoop the sleepy Iris up again. She fumbled for the light switch, wondering if there were some way to set the lights on an automatic timer so she wouldn’t have to come home in the dark. Maybe Seamus would know how to set up something like that. She dropped her purse on the counter by the door and carried Iris through the dark kitchen into the family room, intent on laying her on the couch while she got Lily headed to the bath.
“Momma, what happened?” Lily stood frozen amidst the shambles of the family room. Furniture was overturned, papers and books were spread across the floor, interspersed with broken glass and stuffing from the couch cushions.
Nina wrenched her head around, taking in the damage and the shattered glass door that led to the backyard. Her adrenaline kicked into overdrive as fear raced through her body. “Lily! Come here!”
Her daughter came, alerted by the panic in her mother’s voice. “Momma? Why are you yelling? I’m scared.” She attached herself to Nina’s leg like a barnacle.
“I know, sweetie. We need to go back out to the car. Now.” She reached for Lily’s hand and disentangled her enough so she could walk. She shifted Iris’s dead weight higher on her shoulder and steered Lily back to the garage door. “Get in the car.” She swiftly opened the back door of the SUV and shooed Lily in, then placed Iris in her car seat. Shit. My phone. She’d left it in her bag on the counter by the garage door. The last thing she wanted to do was go back inside where a burglary had clearly occurred. What if they were still there? What if they were in the back of the house and decided to come out when they heard Nina returning. What if they had guns? But she needed her phone to call the police, so she raced back into the house and grabbed her bag with trembling hands. She barely remembered to hit the garage door opener button before she backed out and tore down the street. The girls—both awake now—cried softly in the backseat, terrified at their mother’s odd behavior. What do I do? Who do I call? Police, of course. She pulled to the curb at the end of the street and pressed 9-1-1 with cold, shaking hands. Once assured they were on their way, she dialed Seamus, knowing good and well he couldn’t race home to be with her, but needing to hear his voice.
“Hey, this is Seamus. I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m obviously insanely busy doing important stuff. But leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
Disappointment swamped her. “Seamus, it’s Nina. I’m so sorry to bother you and I realize you’re probably out on a call, but I…God, Seamus. I came home tonight, and someone broke into my house. I’m freaking out. I’m fine—we’re all fine. The police are on the way. I…I just need to hear your voice.” She sniffed and took a deep breath. “Okay. It’s okay. Just…please call me when you get this message.” She hung up and stared at the phone in her hands for a moment before scrolling through her contacts and hitting the button.
“This is Hart.”
Yes. A real person I know, at least a little. “Chris, it’s Nina. I’m sorry to bother you at home, but I’ve had a break-in at my house. We’re fine and I called the police. I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called.”
“Where are you? Are you still in the house?”
Nina shook her head, then realized Chris couldn’t see her. “No. We’re in the car down the street from the house. I’m waiting for the police.”
“Okay. Stay there. Are the girls with you?”
“Yes.” She sniffed again as tears streaked down her face. “They’re in the backseat. They’re scared, though. We all are.”
“I know, hon. Listen. I’ll be there in a few minutes, okay? Just hang on. Don’t go back to the house. Wait for me and the police. Promise?”
“Yeah. Promise.” She hung up and fished in the console for a tissue. Pull yourself together, Nina. You’re scaring the girls. She mopped her face, then crawled into the back to sit between the car seats, thankful, for once, she was petite. “Iris, Lily, I know you’re scared, but everything is going to be all right. Someone broke into our house, but the police are on the way. I also called my friend Chris, who’s a detective; she’s Seamus’s sister-in-law. She’s going to come and help us figure this all out, okay?”
They quieted into sniffles and Nina figured it was the best she could hope for at the moment. She held their little
hands as they waited for the police.
Chris arrived first, pulling her car to the curb in front of Nina’s. Chris got out of the passenger side and Nina saw Hugh was with her. She extricated herself from between the car seats and met them at the front of her SUV.
Chris took one look at Nina and pulled her into her arms. “It’s okay. You did the right thing. The police are nearly here, and we’ll go take a look and make sure the house is empty.” She rubbed her back as Nina clung tightly.
A patrol unit pulled up and Chris gently disengaged, sending Hugh a unspoken request. “Nina, I need you to wait here with Hugh until I come back, Okay?”
“Hey, Nina, why don’t you introduce me to your daughters? I came along to help keep them distracted while you deal with the break-in.” Hugh placed his hand on her shoulder and steered her toward the SUV while Chris strode away to join the patrol unit.
Nina looked up into Hugh’s face and smiled gratefully. She’d met Seamus’s oldest brother a few times, of course, over the years, but he was almost ten years older than Seamus, so they’d interacted very little. “Sure. Thanks.” She opened the back door and peered in. The girls had stopped crying, but both had traces of tears streaking down their brown cheeks. “Girls, this is Hugh. He’s Seamus’s brother and Janey’s uncle. This is Lily, and this is Iris.” She pointed to each in turn.
“Where’s Seamus?” Lily addressed the question to Hugh.
