Forged of Steele Bundle (Books 1-4) - Brenda Jackson [142]
“I’m sure it was.”
“And he didn’t want to leave her a big chunk in his will like he did for me, to give everyone a reason to speculate why. That’s why he set up a special account for her in this bank in Memphis. She didn’t know he was doing it until right before he died.”
“I see.”
“That’s probably why he wanted you to come in and check out things before Jocelyn got a mind to call in an independent accountant to audit the records.”
Bas leaned back in his chair. “Thanks for sharing that with me. That clears up a lot.”
“Well, Noreen and Jim cared a lot for each other and although their affair wasn’t made public, they made each other happy, and to me that’s all that mattered. For some people happiness is a rare commodity these days.”
Bas said nothing for a moment after hearing the rancor in Reese’s voice. He remembered having to deal with his brother’s Morgan’s bitterness a few months ago when a woman he was interested in refused even to discuss the possibility of them pursuing a relationship.
Bas quickly made a decision about something. He might as well call it a day since he wasn’t thinking about work much anyway. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day, Reese?”
Reese stood. “I’m going over to the gym to work out awhile. I feel like hitting something and I prefer it to be a punching bag than a human being.”
Bas nodded. He knew the feeling. He remembered passing the gym when he arrived in town. It seemed like a pretty new facility. He couldn’t remember the last time he gave his body a good workout. “Mind if I join you?”
Reese smiled. “No, not at all.”
“Good. I’ll run by Sadie’s and get my gear and then meet you there in about thirty minutes.” Bas locked the files in the drawer for the night.
Beating up on a punching bag wasn’t such a bad idea.
Chapter 9
This was the part of construction she loved the best. The finish. Or in this case, the part that was pretty close to being finished, because with Marcella Jones you never knew for sure. But since Bas had explained their pay-if-you-make-any-changes policy, she had kept the changes to a minimum. In fact she had made barely any at all.
Jocelyn glanced around with her hand on her hips. This was indeed a beautiful home and she could imagine how grand it would look furnished. Marcella wasn’t known to skimp when it came to getting what she wanted so there was no doubt in Jocelyn’s mind that this house would be the talk of the town for a while…at least until Marcella saw another design for a home that suited her fancy in one of those magazines of hers. Then there would be house number four.
“It looks nice, doesn’t it?”
Jocelyn turned and smiled at Reese. “Yes, it does, and from the look of things, we’ll finish on time. That marble tile came this morning and Harry and his crew have already put it down. They’ll be back tomorrow to grout it.”
She then studied Reese with concern in her eyes. She hadn’t seen him yesterday and wondered if he was okay. “And how are you, Reese? Leah told me you saw each other yesterday.”
Jocelyn watched as bitterness lined his lips. “Yes, we did. I should have been prepared but I wasn’t,” he said quietly.
“And I don’t think she was prepared, either.”
Reese’s dark eyes flashed. “Then that’s tough for her, isn’t it?” He inhaled deeply and said, “Look, Jocelyn, I’d rather not discuss Leah, but there is something I need to know. If you can’t tell me, then I’ll understand.”
“What?”
Reese hung his head and studied the gleaming wood floor for a second then met Jocelyn’s gaze again. “Is Leah pregnant? Is that the reason she’s not in a hurry to leave here?”
Of all the questions she had expected him to ask that sure wasn’t one. “What gave you an idea like that? She definitely doesn’t look pregnant.”
“No, but yesterday morning I walked up on her staring into the display window of that baby store in town…and she was crying.”
“Oh.” Jocelyn pressed a hand to her chest as if she could feel her sister’s pain. Poor Leah. She hadn’t been crying for what she had, but for what she thought she could never