by SUE FINEMAN
“Mary will show you around while I bring in your bags,” said Edwin.
The house had obviously been professionally decorated. Dark hardwood and marble floors gleamed, and the furniture and artwork looked like something out of a home magazine. Every little detail was absolutely perfect. Too perfect. Baylee didn’t know a lot about art, but the paintings looked like priceless originals.
An inviting sunroom off the kitchen and family room was filled with cushioned wicker and potted plants. “Oh, this is pretty.”
“Miss Patterson loved her sun porch,” said Mary. “She spent much of her time in here.”
“Is her bedroom upstairs?”
“No, her suite is on the main floor. Her sitting room opens to the sun porch. The guest suites and theater are upstairs. Will you be staying long?”
Apparently no one had told the staff that Baylee would inherit the house, and Baylee wasn’t sure how much to say, so she said simply, “I don’t have any specific plans right now, except to stay through the funeral.”
After walking through a book-lined library and several other rooms, Mary took Chance and Baylee upstairs to a suite overlooking the pool. “Mr. Wheeler’s daughter used to stay here when she visited.”
“What about Mr. Wheeler’s sons?”
Mary shook her head. “Hard feelings there.”
Interesting. The attorney said it was Cody Wheeler’s daughter who had the hard feelings. Someone was mistaken. Or someone was lying.
“So sad,” said Mary. “Miss Patterson didn’t have any children of her own.”
“Yes, she did,” Baylee said. “She had me.” No sense hiding it, since everyone would know soon.
All the color left Mary’s face, and Baylee regretted saying anything.
Edwin came in with Baylee’s bags and put them on luggage racks in the dressing room. Chance had tossed his on the bed. “Would you like help unpacking?” Edwin asked.
“No, thank you.” She didn’t want these people pawing through her cheap clothes. “Edwin, where did Bay shop? I didn’t bring many clothes with me, and I’ll need something to wear to the funeral.”
“Neiman Marcus or Saks, sometimes Nordstrom’s, and there were a few little boutiques she liked. I’ll be happy to drive you there, perhaps tomorrow?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Edwin followed Mary downstairs, leaving Chance and Baylee alone.
Baylee usually looked for sales or shopped at the discount stores. She glanced over at Chance. He didn’t have a suit with him, which meant he no longer owned any suits. Most of his things were in his house when it blew up. “I wonder if Neiman Marcus sells capes.”
“That store is a little rich for a family man, Baylee.”
“Chance, if you want to come back for the funeral, I’ll buy you a new suit. You don’t have to come if you don’t want. It’s just that—”
“Why don’t we shop in the morning and I’ll drive up to see the kids tomorrow afternoon? I’ll come back Thursday and stay through the funeral.”
She nodded. “Okay.” He knew she needed him now, and she knew on some level he needed her, and not only for sex. They’d both lost someone, and they both had heavy responsibilities. Chance had to make a new home for his family, and Baylee had to get a handle on Bay’s estate. Over the next few weeks, she’d have to decide what to sell and what to keep. She’d have personal possessions and papers to sort through, an airplane to sell, and taxes to pay.
But she wouldn’t have Chance.
<>
While Baylee settled in, Chance walked through the house again, inspecting the furnishings and artwork more closely. Some of the books in the library looked like antiques and others appeared to be well-loved favorites. Someone obviously liked to read.
The backyard pool looked inviting. A man tended the plants around the pool. Did he work here full-time like the others, or did he come in on a regular basis to take care of the grounds? There must be at least two or three acres of lush landscaping here, with winding paths, vine-covered pergolas, mature trees, flowering bushes, and a lawn to rival any golf course. Chance couldn’t see the neighboring homes from here, although he could see the corner of one red-tiled roof from the bedroom window upstairs.
He wandered into the kitchen, where Mary whispered hurriedly into the phone. She saw him and immediately hung up. “Sorry to bother you,” he said. “I’m just looking around.”
“Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Gregory?”
“No… Yes, there is. Did Miss Patterson have a gym?”
“It’s in the basement.” Mary rushed past him and pointed to the basement steps, which were well hidden in the corner of the family room.
He nodded his thanks and walked downstairs wondering what Mary’s phone call was all about. Surely she wasn’t gossiping about him and Baylee. Bay wouldn’t have someone like that on her staff, would she?
After he checked out the exercise equipment, the sauna, and the game room, he walked upstairs to the bedroom. Baylee stood outside on the balcony, looking down at the pool.
“There’s a nice gym in the basement. It doesn’t look like it’s been used in awhile.”
He stretched out on the big canopied bed. “This thing is big enough for an orgy.”
She sat beside him. “I’m glad Anne is taking care of the funeral arrangements. I wouldn’t know the first thing about planning a funeral. She said it would be a private service, and she intends to invite Cody Wheeler’s kids.”
“Well, that should be interesting.”
“She asked me if there was anyone I wanted to invite, but I don’t know anyone in Houston, and I wouldn’t ask my friends to come here for a funeral for someone they didn’t know.” She looked down and spoke softly. “I didn’t even know her. Not really.”
Chance reached up and rubbed her back. “I’ll be here, Baylee. You don’t have to go through it alone.”
She sighed. “Thank God this is happening here and not in Tacoma. If Jack Blackburn knew, he’d probably show up at the funeral.”
“I don’t think he knows we’re gone.”
He hoped he was right. The last thing they needed now was for a killer to show up.
<>
While Chance made phone calls, Baylee walked downstairs to see about dinner. She wasn’t sure what Mary and Edwin did. The house was huge, and she doubted Mary cleaned it herself. Did she cook? Shop? Supervise the cleaning staff? What did Edwin do?
She found Mary in the kitchen, making salad for dinner. “Anything I can do to help?”
“No, ma’am. I have it under control. Dinner will be served at seven.” Mary turned away, dismissing Baylee without saying the words.
Baffled by Mary’s odd behavior, Baylee went exploring. The estate would undoubtedly have to go through probate, but when the dust settled, this house would belong to her. Did she want to live here? It was a beautiful home, but she’d go crazy in a place this big. It would take a crew of people to maintain it, and she didn’t want people in her home all the time, especially Mary. There was something about the woman that made her uncomfortable. Edwin didn’t bother her, but Mary did.
In Bay’s suite, she found a sitting room, bedroom, and a huge marble bathroom with a spa tub in the middle. It also had a glass block shower, twin vanities, a dressing table, and a separate room with a toilet and bidet. The two walk-in closets combined were bigger than her entire apartment. They had built-in consoles with drawers in the center. Bay’s clothes and shoes were organized by color and style in one closet. The other one held men’s suits and shirts, boots, hats, leather and suede jackets, belts, and ties. Everything a well-dressed man would need.
“Baylee,” Chance called. “Where are you?”
“In here.” She walked out to meet him.
He glanced around. “Will you look at this place? The house I grew up in would fit in this suite. The whole house.”
“Check out the closets. See if there’s anything in there you can wear.”
Chan
ce kicked off his loafers and pulled on a pair of black boots still packed in the box. They not only fit, they made him an inch or so taller. He examined the box. “No price. I wonder what these sell for.”
“Today, they’re free.” She plucked a black hat with a silver band off the shelf and handed it to him.
He settled it on his head. “Perfect.” He took it off. “Looks new.”
“New and at least five years old. I can’t believe she kept all his things, as if he’s going to come back and need them.”
Chance shrugged. “She loved him.”
“Yes, she did.”
The picture over Bay’s desk was a little crooked. When Baylee tried to straighten it, it swung out from the wall, revealing a safe in the wall behind it. “I wish I knew the combination.”
He twisted the dial. “Try your birthday.”
“Okay.” It opened on the first try. She pulled out a big bank bag and handed it to Chance. He opened it and flipped through more money than she’d ever seen in one place before. He didn’t count it.
Baylee pulled out a box of unopened letters addressed to her. She stared at them. “Bay wrote to me?” Someone had written Return to Sender on the front of the letters. “I can’t believe she wrote to me.”
Chance took them from her. “What else is in there?”
Baylee pulled out several boxes of jewelry and set them on the desk. Opening one after another, she said, “Oh my God. Will you look at this?” The jewelry was elegant and tasteful, and some pieces were downright stunning. She’d pick out a piece or two to keep for herself and sell the rest. She didn’t wear expensive jewelry, and the taxes on her inheritance would take it all and then some.
Baylee put everything back in the safe. She’d read the letters after Chance left. It hurt to know that her mother wrote to her and her grandparents wouldn’t let her read the letters. Everything about her childhood hurt, but Bay must have been hurting, too. Baylee grew up thinking her mother didn’t love her, and Bay thought Baylee didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
Mary set the formal dining room table, with one place setting at one end of the long table and the other place at the other end. Baylee sighed and motioned to Edwin. “Tell Mary we’ll eat on the sun porch.”
Edwin’s mustache twitched and his eyes sparkled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Anyone with eyes can see we’re not formal people.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Chance, and she punched his arm. He was laughing at her.
He threw her over his shoulder and carried her out to the sun porch, where Edwin was setting a small glass table for dinner.
“Did Bay eat out here?”
“All the time,” said Edwin. “She only used the formal dining room for dinner parties.”
“How long have you worked here?” Chance asked him.
“Thirty years in September. I worked for Mr. Wheeler before Miss Patterson came. He was a fine man, and she was a wonderful woman. A bit on the private side, but that was understandable under the circumstances.”
Baylee sat at the table. “You mean because they weren’t married?”
“And because his daughter made it clear to everyone who would listen that she hated her father’s mistress. But I’ve never seen two people more devoted to each other. They truly loved one another.”
After they finished their salad, Mary pushed in a cart with the rest of their dinner. Chicken breasts in a cheesy sauce served over rice. Tender carrots and green beans added color to the plate. It tasted great, but Baylee didn’t have much of an appetite. Watching her mother die, hearing about her inheritance, and seeing this house had overwhelmed her. She’d gotten through it all with Chance by her side, but he’d leave tomorrow.
He’d return for the funeral, then he’d be gone forever. And she’d be alone again.
She’d never minded being alone before. Baylee had always been a self-sufficient person. She’d learned to take care of herself when she was a little girl, and she thought she’d been handling her life pretty well, until Detective McBride told her she was on Jack Blackburn’s kill list.
Aside from the incident with the cougar, the more distance she and Chance put between themselves and Tacoma, the safer she felt. If she stayed here in Houston, would Jack Blackburn give up on her? No, probably not, but she couldn’t worry about him right now. She had other things to think about. Would Anne expect her to speak at the funeral? Surely a close friend would give the eulogy, not the daughter who barely knew her.
“Thinking about your mother?” Chance asked.
Baylee nodded. “And about you leaving.” They’d only been together for a short time, yet it felt like forever. It should be forever.
But Chance didn’t want her forever.
<>
After dinner, Chance and Baylee walked around the property and admired the magnificent landscaping. Scents of roses and gardenias perfumed the air. There wasn’t a weed or a dead flower in sight, as if a fairy had waved a magic wand and banished them from this magical place.
Joe, the gardener, sat on the stairs on the side of the four-car garage. “Good evening.”
Baylee told him, “We’re just admiring the landscaping. Do you work here full-time?”
“I go up to the lake house once or twice a week, but I’m here most of the time.”
“Miss Patterson was lucky to have you,” said Chance.
“She sure was,” said Baylee.
She looked over at Chance. “What would you think of a swim before bed?”
“Excellent idea.”
<>
The sun had set when Chance and Baylee walked out to the pool. Joe had turned on the underwater lights and they glowed in the growing dusk. A waterfall on one end re-circulated the water. It was not only pretty to look at, the sound of the gently running water and the scent of the flowers added to the sensuous feeling.
They walked down the steps into the shallow end of the pool and swam to the other end. Chance ducked under the waterfall and came up under it into a sheltered area behind the main flow of water. The ledge was wide enough for two people to lie on, and the water flowing over the ledge was about six inches deep. Looking at Baylee cavorting in the pool in a blue bikini that matched her eyes, he wanted to bring her back here and make love to her.
He swam out under the waterfall. “You won’t believe this. Come see.”
She swam under the waterfall with him and came up behind it. “Oh, it’s like a secret room. No lights. Very private. Nice.”
He lifted her to the ledge and then pushed himself up beside her. Seconds later, he had her top off. She lay back on the ledge and let the water wash over her body while she pulled the rest of her suit off. He tucked it up in the corner of the rocks, where it wouldn’t wash away, and then put his own suit up there with hers.
“Do you think Bay and Cody did this?”
“What do you think?”
“I think they loved each other, and sex is a part of loving.”
He licked one peaked nipple and then suckled it while his hand threaded through the triangle of curls below her belly. He devoured her lips while his fingers worked their magic. She was incredibly responsive and loving, and the sensuous sound of the waterfall covered the sounds of their lovemaking.
After he brought her to the edge with his fingers, he slid inside her and loved her thoroughly. Tears ran from her eyes, mixing with the pool’s warm water, and he knew she wasn’t crying for her mother. She cried because this would end soon. He’d go back to his family, and she’d… He wasn’t sure what she wanted to do now that she’d inherited Bay’s estate, but he hadn’t asked her to be a part of his life for good reason. He’d screwed up his marriage, and he’d probably screw up if he married again. He cared too much for Baylee to mess up her life.
Surely Baylee would understand.
Wouldn’t she?
As they lay in each other’s arms in the aftermath, Chance heard a woman walking past the pool and talking on the phone. “I can put
you in Miss Patterson’s suite, Miss Wheeler,” she said.
Baylee stiffened and whispered, “No.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sure they’ll leave after the funeral, when they realize the house is yours.”
Chance sat up and then stood on the ledge and pulled on his trunks. He handed Baylee her suit and helped her fasten the top. Then they slid into the water behind the waterfall and came up in the main part of the pool. He looked around, but Mary was gone.
“Olivia Wheeler not only expects to inherit the house, she intends to live here,” said Baylee.
“Someone is going to be very surprised.”
“Two someones. One is not going to inherit the house and the other will be looking for another job.”
Neither woman would be happy when they learned Bay had given her estate to her daughter instead of to Cody’s daughter. “Don’t say anything about your inheritance, Baylee.”
“No, I won’t.”
He’d see if Greg could help with security on Friday. He had a feeling they’d need it. Greg’s deputies could keep an eye on Mom and the kids for a few hours, although they had no indication that Jack Blackburn had left Tacoma. The guy was probably sitting on an icepack, wondering what Emma the Witch would do to him next.
Chapter Seven
Anne came by after breakfast Wednesday morning. Baylee and Chance sat on the sun porch with her and talked about the funeral arrangements.
“The soloist is out of town this week, and I don’t know what to do about the eulogy,” Anne said. “The hospital chaplain will speak, of course, and the pastor of the church, but I was hoping for more.”
Baylee asked, “What about the charities she supported?”
“They’re all mentioned in the program.”
Chance held up a finger. “Hold on a minute.” He disappeared into the other room.
Baylee glanced around for Mary and didn’t see her, so she quietly told Anne what they’d overheard last night. “Apparently Olivia Wheeler expects to live in the house after the funeral, and she intends to stay in Bay’s suite when she arrives this afternoon.”