Blame it on Texas: Lightning in a Bottle (Kindle Worlds)
Page 23
Mitch flitted a hand. “Not an issue. Your dad insisted all the bills be sent to him. He said you can reimburse him when you get your insurance settlement, and he’ll accept whatever you get as payment in full. He wants you back up and running as fast as you do.”
Her pride wanted to argue, but the business side of her brain told her to be grateful she had his support to fall back on. The other victims of the blaze probably weren’t as fortunate. “Okay.”
“Okay?” both men said in unison.
She shrugged. “Don’t act so surprised. I can be reasonable.”
“If I thought that, I’d ask for a raise,” Mitch retorted.
“Ha, ha.” She turned to Drew. “I need to see my office.”
He swept a hand toward the stairs. “Wherever you need to go. Just remember, after this, it’s back to my place and into bed with you.”
“I know, I know.” She leaned against him and whispered in his ear, “By the way, I’m wearing your underwear beneath these jeans.”
His jaw dropped, and his eyes rounded. With a giggle, she sashayed up the stairs with him half a breath behind her. At the doorway to her private sanctum, her eyes drank in the familiar with relief. She’d been lucky. Her gaze flicked to Drew nearby. Yes, she’d been lucky in so many ways since arriving in Silverton.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he followed her inside. “I’m sorry my brother was responsible for this. I never would have thought he could be so vile. I always considered him lazy, but harmless. He’s dabbled in petty stuff before, but I never expected him to take that huge a leap, from attempted fraud to arson. Either way, I’m done with him. I should have cut him loose a long time ago.”
She set her hip against the edge of her desk and tipped her haunch up to rest on the top. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because it’s my fault he is the way he is. Wade was the high school football star with a free ride to Ohio State when he blew out his knee.”
Her lips pursed, and doubt rode high in her eyes. “I hardly see how that’s your fault.”
“When I was about twelve years old, I climbed out on the roof of our house to see the lunar eclipse. Wade was supposed to be watching me, but he and his buddies were raiding Dad’s liquor cabinet. One of our neighbors saw me and called the house. Wade blew a gasket. He staggered up to the roof and grabbed me by the back of my shirt to shake some sense into me. I slipped out of his hold. He lost his balance and fell on the ground below.”
“So?”
“So? He fell off the roof while trying to get me down because I wasn’t supposed to be up there. If I hadn’t disobeyed him…” He shook his head.
His shame struck a familiar chord with her, and she glanced at her feet. “You’re not responsible for your brother’s actions any more than I was responsible for Rob’s. I should have realized that. You’re the best, most honest man I know.”
“Considering your circle of friends and family, that’s saying a lot. Something else I want to show you now.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a folded packet of papers. “Here. This is for you.”
“What is it?”
“Read it.”
After unfolding the pages, she scanned the first line and glanced up with confusion. “It’s a deed.”
He rocked on his heels. “Keep reading.”
She complied and looked up again. “It’s the deed to Empire.”
“Read a little further…”
Her brain skipped on what it registered. “This is in my name.”
“Yup,” he replied with a grin. “Free and clear.”
“I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
“I made the former owner an offer he couldn’t refuse,” he said in a bad Marlon Brando impression.
At least…she thought it was supposed to be Marlon Brando. It sounded more like Drew with a bad head cold. She folded her arms over her chest and shot her weight to the hip still seated on the desk’s edge. “What kind of offer?”
“Free legal services for the rest of his life, or mine, whichever ends first.”
“You did that?”
“I did that. And believe me when I say Tiny’s gonna take full advantage of my generosity for the next decade at least.”
“Tiny?” She pointed at the signature line on the deed. “The name here says ‘Parnell Lee.’”
He arched an eyebrow. “You think his mother named him Tiny? Parnell’s his legal name, Belinda.”
She winced at the name her mother stuck on her all those years ago. “Point taken. Tiny from the Sugar Shack owns my property.” She didn’t state it as a question, more as the setup for some great joke where he’d deliver the punchline.
“No. You own your property. Tiny owned it until about a week ago. Now, no matter what happens, where you go, or what you do, the land stays with you until you decide to sell it or turn it over to someone else. And for the record, the deed also stipulates that at no time from now into perpetuity can the property ever be held by a Garwood again.”
“Perpetuity?”
He puffed up his chest. “It’s a perfectly valid word.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced at the paper again, but still had trouble accepting this tremendous gift. “I don’t understand. Why did you do this?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“Yeah, I think you better.”
He dropped to a knee, and she gasped. “I’m a small-town lawyer. I don’t have much, but what I have is yours, if you’re willing. The thing is, there are dozens of reasons for you to call it quits, to leave Silverton, leave Texas, and never come back. Hell, after what you’ve been through, I couldn’t blame you if you high-tailed it out of here tonight. I’m asking you to stay. Give me a chance to show you how good things could be. Give us a chance to be good together.”
Her weak and damaged heart pumped furiously in her chest. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? More importantly, how the hell could she answer him if he was? Feigning indifference, she planted her hands on the back of her desk and tilted herself into a casual slouch. “Pretty speech.”
He rose and brushed off his jeans with the back of a hand. “Thanks. I’ve been practicing for days.”
Spontaneous laughter broke the tension inside her. “Do you do that often before a big case, Counselor?”
“Only when everything I love rides on the outcome. Will you stay?”
She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.”
“Oh.” So much disappointment echoed in that simple word!
“I mean…” She drew invisible curlicues in her desktop with her index finger. “With ownership of this land, I could sell everything tomorrow and come out whole—or darn close to it.”
“You could.”
“One thing stops me, though.” She dug in her pocket for the keyring she’d taken with her the night of the fire and dangled the shiny new key in front of him. “I made a copy of my house key for this guy I’ve been seeing because I realized I’m crazy in love with him and I want to wake up with him every single day. I’d hate to see my purchase go to waste.”
Reaching out, he closed his fingers around hers, and the cool metal pulsed against her palm. “Understandable. This must have cost you a lot.”
“It did. It cost me my pride, all my fears, and a hard-earned five dollars.”
He whistled in mock awe. “That’s a huge investment. I hope he’s worth it.”
“I’m pretty sure he is.” She pushed off the desk and sashayed toward him, stopping when they shared the same breath of air. “So…we’re good?”
“We’re better than good. We’re together.”
Other Books by Gina Ardito
The Bonds of Matri-money
A Little Slice of Heaven
A Run for the Money
Nobody’s Darling (Book I of the Nobody Series)
Nobody’s Business (Book II of the Nobody Series)
Nobody’s Perfect (Book III of the Nobody Series)
> Eternally Yours (Book I of the Afterlife Series)
In Your Dreams (Book II of the Afterlife Series)
Waiting in the Wings (Book III of the Afterlife Series)
Chasing Adonis
Duping Cupid (A Winter Novella)
Charming for Mother’s Day (A Calendar Girls Series Novella)
Duet in September (Book I of the Calendar Girls Series)
Reunion in October (Book II of the Calendar Girls Series)
Homecoming in November (Book III of the Calendar Girls Series)
A Love to Keep Me Warm
About the Author
Gina Ardito is the award-winning author of more than twenty romances in contemporary, historical, and paranormal sub-genres. She’s a hybrid author, currently published by Montlake Romance (a publishing arm of Amazon), The Wild Rose Press, and independently. In 2012, she was named A Woman of Outstanding Leadership in Publishing by the IWLA (International Women’s Leadership Association). That same year, she launched her freelance editing business, Excellence in Editing, and now has a stable of award-winning clients, as well.
She’s hosted workshops around the world for writing conferences, author organization chapter meetings, and library events. To her everlasting shame, despite all her accomplishments, she’ll never be more famous than her dog, who starred in commercials for 2015’s Puppy Bowl.