C H A P T E R  9

“Do you have a minute?” Ray caught Lauren on her way to relieve Brittany on the front desk so the legal assistant could take her lunch break.

“Brittany’s going on her lunch break.” She bit her tongue. Ray would certainly think anything he had to say to her was more important than her coworker’s lunch. And in the great scheme of things, it probably was.

“Brittany,” he shouted up the hall. “Lauren will be there in a couple minutes. Ray motioned her into his office. “No need to sit. As I told Brittany, this will only take a minute.”

Lauren pasted what she hoped was an interested-looking smile on her face. She hadn’t abandoned all hope of becoming partner or wanting to become partner, despite her uneasy feelings about her bosses.

“I saw that the DNA results came in on the Brewster case.”

She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yes, indicating Mr. Brewster is the father.”

“Good. That should simplify the guardianship review.” He rubbed his hands together.

She couldn’t block the picture in her mind of some weaselly cartoon character doing the same with an evil grin on his face. Ray’s expression was neutral.

“You’ve got the hearing on the docket?”

“Yes, moved up to tomorrow morning. A scheduled case settled out of court. Judge Trexler’s assistant called me earlier today to see if we could be ready.” She’d automatically said “yes,” but hadn’t heard back from Jesse yet.

“Even better. Get that and the planning commission hearing wrapped up.”

Wrapping up the legal part of her relationship with Jesse wasn’t a problem. It was the personal, family loose ends that were whipping in the wind.

“We need your time free to work with Ken on a new development project he’s launching.”

“Ken Kostner?”

“Who else?”

Every muscle in her body locked in joint step. “Here in Indigo Bay?” One by one, her muscles relaxed after her question came out in a normal, casual tone, rather than the way the words had screamed through her head first.

“It’s a new joint venture with another firm in Charleston.”

That didn’t exactly answer her question. Maybe, she should ask why Ray was anxious to close Jesse’s case. No. That would get her the same disdain that her “Ken-who” question had.

“And before I forget. You asked about the Morrison estate receiving notice of the property condemnation meeting. The notice was after the estate had been settled. The city clerk reminded me that the notice was published in the newspaper at the same time, and I checked the dates. We didn’t receive any notice. But your client should have. If he didn’t know, it was no fault of ours or the clerk’s office.”

Ray had investigated her question? To what end? Cover the firm? From what? And whose fault had it been? She was veering dangerously close to the edge of conspiracy again. The reason why flashed in her mind. She didn’t want it to be Jesse’s fault. She wanted him to be the responsible person he said he was and was trying to be now. Her mother’s financial partner. A future business owner with his father if they opened the bike shop Jesse talked about.

“Brewster will have his say at the planning meeting. Either he can meet the time frame the board wants or he can’t, and we can move on to other things.”

But she wasn’t ready for some of the things she had to move on to. “We should be able to negotiate a reasonable completion date. And he and his father are talking about opening another business in Indigo Bay. More business for the firm,” she added to give some purpose to her words other than rooting for Jesse’s success. Which she was.

“Good.” Ray’s voice was flat.

Ray’s lack of any enthusiasm for the prospect of new business, considering the lack there of, except for Ken’s new venture, ticked off Lauren. If she was going to make partner, she had to expand her client base. But at the moment, she was about as enthused about that as Ray seemed to be.

“Keep me updated on the guardianship, and when you can get to work with Ken.”

“Will do, and the situation with the Morrison … Brewster property.”

“Yeah, that too.”

Ray shuffled the papers on his desk into a pile.

“I’ll go relieve Brittany.”

“Let her know that Gerry and I’ll be out for the afternoon.”

She wasn’t aware that Gerry was in to be out. “Sure.” She forced herself to take regular measured steps, rather than bolting from the weirdness that had descended on the firm—or, at least on her place in it.

“Here I am,” she said as she stepped into the reception area.

“Great. I thought Ray was going to make me late for my nail appointment. They were able to squeeze me in.”

Lauren took in the faint flush on her coworker’s face. “Hot date tonight?”

“No. Sort of. My brother’s former college roommate is in town, and my brother invited me to make a foursome with his girlfriend for dinner.” Brittany grabbed her bag and grinned. “I’ve wanted to get to know this guy better forever, but he was engaged. And now he’s not.”

“Shoo,” Lauren said. “Or you’re going to make yourself late.”

Lauren went and got her lunch from the refrigerator in the employee room off reception. She opened the plastic salad container and Spider Solitaire on Brittany’s computer for a mindless diversion from the thoughts ping ponging in her head. Thoughts that all had their roots in Jesse and her feelings for him. The feelings that, no matter how much she tried to deny them, were as strong as they had ever been. Since she was alone in the office, she turned on the game’s sound as if that could drown everything out.

“Hey.”

Lauren jerked at Jesse’s voice. She hadn’t heard the door open or close. Guess the sound did drown out something. She licked her tongue across her teeth to make sure she didn’t have a piece of spinach or something stuck in them, and her hands automatically smoothed her hair.

“Hey, yourself. What brings you here?”

“You called.”

“You could have called back.”

“But I couldn’t have seen you then.”

“You could have video called.”

Jesse gave her a slow perusal that sent a tingle up her spine. “I couldn’t have seen you in person.”

Laure fidgeted in her chair. She had to put a stop to this conversation before it incinerated her. “I thought you and your dad were busy working today.”

“I’m never too busy for you.”

Nor am I too busy for you, no matter how I try to be. “What I called about was that there’s an unexpected opening on the court docket tomorrow, and the judge will hear our guardianship petition.”

“Yes!” Jesse shouted, striding over and pulling her to her feet.

He gave her a quick smack on the lips that shouldn’t have set fireworks off in her. But did. His joy was for Shelley, not for her. As it should be.

“Since you’re here, I had a couple things I wanted to go over with you for court.”

He let go of her. “Sure.”

“First, we’re scheduled for ten.”

Jesse’s phone rang. “I’d better see who this is. It could be Emma, Shelley’s new babysitter, or something.”

“Of course.” His daughter was his first priority. But Lauren couldn’t help remembering a time when she had held that place, ahead sometimes even of his racing. A wash of what could only be called guilt flowed over her. She’d professed to love him, yet let her self-promise to never allow a man to control her life as her father had controlled her mother’s push Jesse to second on her priority list, after her college and career ambitions.

Pfft. Lauren glanced sidewise to see if Jesse had heard her. He was busy listening to his phone call. Career didn’t seem so all-important now. As Jesse had said, promised, after their legal business was settled …

He ended the call. “I’ve got to go. Dad’s run into a problem.”

“And he needs you.” She took measure of him, his broad shoulder, muscled forearms, the strength she knew he wielded inside and out.

Didn’t they all?

“All done. Cookie.” Shelley held up her empty dinner plate to Jesse.

He couldn’t contain his goofy grin as Judge Trexler’s words from yesterday morning replayed in his head, “Under parental rights, Jesse Brewster’s guardianship and provisional custody of the minor child, Shelley Cavanaugh is confirmed.”

One down. Although he had to “establish” them in their own household as part of the provisions that would get him permanently out from under the supervision of Child Protective Services. Something about Sonja’s duplex having insufficient bedrooms for three adults and a child. But he had a month to do that, and the engineer’s inspection had found that, unlike the main house, the cottage didn’t have any structural damage. It only needed a deep cleaning, cosmetic repairs, and child proofing to make an acceptable home.

One to go. The planning board meeting tonight. He took the plate from Shelley, and she hopped down from the chair.

“Free.” She held up all of her fingers.

“Two. One for each hand,” he countered.

She grabbed them. “Okay. Cure-us George.”

“The Curious George DVD I picked up today,” Sonja said. “Emma brought one of her little sister’s the other day, and Shelley couldn’t stop talking about it.”

Emma. The babysitter. Guilt tugged at him. He hadn’t seen her since he’d hired her. He and Dad had been leaving for the worksite early, before Sonja, and working as long as they had natural light. He would have worked longer, except the electricity wasn’t on in either structure and he wanted to limit use of the generator to their power tools to save money. Jesse was only home for supper today because of the planning board meeting. He glanced at Shelley gazing up at him expectantly.

“Daddy-Jesse. Cure-us George?”

Before he could answer, his father scooped her up and tickled her belly with his nose.

“Remember, your daddy has his meeting tonight.”

Dad had talked to Shelley about his meeting? He had a lot to learn about this parenting stuff.

“Grandma and I’ll watch your movie with you,” Jesse’s dad said.

“`Kay, Pa.”

“Jesse, go ahead and get ready. We have this covered.”

He did as his dad had said. He did need to clean up more and change out of his work clothes. There’d be more time later, after the renovations were done and their future was secured. He’d be there for Shelley more then, make it up to her. His pulse throbbed in his throat. Like he’d promised himself about Lauren when he’d been at the top of his racing career? Jesse rolled his shoulders. But he and Lauren had another chance now—a chance he’d also put off for the renovations.

Jesse fastened the top button of his shirt, ran his finger around the inside of the collar, and looked at the tie on the bed. He hated anything tight around his neck. Anything except Lauren’s arms. But this evening was about business, not about them. He needed to look like the businessman he wanted to be.

“Jesse,” Sonja called up the stairs. “Lauren is here.”

He tied the tie and grabbed his sports jacket from the closet, folding it over his arm. It had to be 90 degrees outside. Maybe he didn’t need to wear a jacket. He’d ask Lauren. He bounded down the stairs to see Lauren all suited up. But her black suit had short sleeves. His gaze dropped. And it looked like she had one of those light almost nothing sleeveless shirts underneath. He swallowed. Her straight skirt molded her curves, ending at her knees. Business. Keep your mind on business.

“Hey,” Jesse said as he pulled on the jacket. Lauren had him on the edge of an inferno. What would another few degrees matter?

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yep.” But not necessarily for what she was asking. He picked up the leather case with a copy of the project plans that Sonja had lent him. The engineer would have a copy, too, but he figured if he was masquerading as a businessman, he might as well go all out.

“Looking good,” she said when they stepped out onto the front porch.

Jesse preened. So, he wasn’t the only one doing some checking out.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you this dressed up since …” Lauren stopped mid-step and cleared her throat. “Since the last team Christmas party we went to.” She strode ahead to her car.

Was she thinking of the promise he’d given her that night, too? He opened the passenger side door and slid in, shifting in the seat as she drove toward the city hall in silence. “Mind if I put the radio on?” he asked a few blocks into the drive.

“Go ahead.” The silence broken, she continued. “Have you changed your mind and contacted the police about what happened at the mansion the other day as I’d advised you to?”

“No.”

Her question irritated him, which it shouldn’t. She was only acting as his attorney, keeping their relationship professional. But he didn’t want to pack on more legal entanglements. He wanted their professional relationship to be wrapped up, end tonight with the planning board meeting, so they could pursue their personal relationship.

“As I told you, it was nothing—a can of gas. Probably, some kid’s four-wheeler or bike ran out nearby. It was an easy refill, what with Dad leaving the can out next to the portable generator where it could be seen from the gate while he grabbed lunch on the boardwalk. I’m not proud of it, but I’ll admit it’s something I might have done as a teen.”

What he wasn’t going to admit was that the gas can had reappeared today while he and Dad were at lunch. Full. Dad had thought it was the person returning the gas, but something had made Jesse check it before they used it. The gas had been cut with water and something gritty—a mixture that could have killed the generator and cost them both money and time.

“All right. I won’t press it.” Lauren took a sharp right. “To change topics, tonight should be straight forward. Cara will present her engineering report and your plans, and we’ll negotiate a rehabilitation agreement with the board.”

“Yeah, I understand that.” He didn’t know why Lauren was telling him what they’d already discussed, except it was a neutral topic. Jesse studied her profile out of the corner of his eye. Her facial muscles were relaxed. His chest tightened. Maybe she was reassuring him. “And I want to hold fast to the six to eight months’ time frame for completion.”

“Right, I can’t see that being a problem.” Lauren pulled into a parking place in front of the city hall.

He looked around at the other empty parking spaces. “Doesn’t look like a large crowd.”

“Shouldn’t be. We’re the only ones on the agenda, and I can’t see anyone opposing what you and Mom are doing. The Morrison mansion is a historical landmark around here. In fact, the city clerk told me she was pleased to hear you were going to fix it up, rather than tear it down and build.”

“Sounds like someone good to have on our side.” He opened the car door. “Let’s go in and get this over with, so I can get down to work rebuilding.”

A home and what we once had.

“Hi, Lauren.” She and Jesse ran into Dallas Harper and one of the other planning board members, a crony of her bosses and Ken Kostner, in the city hall lobby on their way to the meeting room.

“Hi, Dallas. I want to thank you for the help and advice you’ve given Mom about the positives and pitfalls of running rental properties in Indigo Bay. It’s really helped with her B&B project planning.”

“No problem. It’s not like her short-term rentals will cut into my cottage occupation.” He laughed. “Besides, there are plenty of tourists for both of us, and then some.”

Jesse nudged her with his elbow. “Where are my manners? Dallas Harper, this is Jesse Brewster, an old friend. Dallas owns and rents out those cute cottages along Seaside Boulevard. And this is…”

“Bill Crowley.” The other man’s hand shot out ahead of Dallas’s to shake Jesse’s hand.

Were all of Ray and Gerry’s friends and clients obnoxious, or was she becoming more sensitive to it as her dissatisfaction with her job increased?

“I’m going to head in so we can get started,” Dallas said.

“We all should,” Lauren said.

Bill stood where he was, half blocking her and Jesse’s way to the meeting room. “I’m surprised you’re representing Brewster.”

Lauren didn’t have to be touching Jesse to feel his rigid stance.

“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me, but Lauren …”

“Nothing about you, although you did have quite a reputation for a while in the racing circuits. No, I was talking about Lauren’s conflict of interest.”

Her conflict of interest?

“Acer and Acer is one of Indigo Bay’s consulting legal advisors.”

Jesse glanced at her, and a shadow passed over his face.

He couldn’t think she’d do anything other than represent him with everything she had, could he?

His shoulders sagged.

Or, maybe he could, given the distance she’d created between them.

“If you mean the pro bono I do for the public defender’s office in traffic court and minor criminal cases, there’s no conflict.”

“I didn’t mean your pro bono work,” Bill checked his watch. “We’d better get in for the meeting.” He turned on his heel and strode away.

“What was that about?” Jesse asked.

“I seriously don’t know.”

Jesse’s eyes narrowed a fraction, a small change that anyone who didn’t know him well would miss.

“But I’m going to find out.” Her words were as much for her as for Jesse. She’d hoped speaking her intentions would heal the cut of his doubts. But her wounds were still raw.

Lauren breathed a sigh of relief at the smiles and nods Jesse received from the board members when he followed the engineer’s presentation with his project overview and financial details. From the way he straightened and the bounce in his step as he returned to the seat next to her, she was sure he’d read the board’s reaction the same way.

“Thank you, Mr. Brewster,” the board chair said. “We have no problem with your six-to-eight months completion date.”

Jesse fairly vibrated next to her.

“However.”

The vibrations stopped.

“The city’s engineering firm has an interim requirement.”

Lauren tensed, earning her a questioning look from Jesse. “Later,” she whispered. The city’s engineering firm was the same one Ken Kostner used for projects in this part of the state, and if she remembered correctly, the firm’s owner was friendly with Bill. Talk about conflict of interest.

“The board wants to see the structural repairs needed on the main house done within six weeks.”

Lauren watched Jesse’s Adams apple bob as he swallowed. “I see.” He ran his palms down his thighs under the table.

“Tell them about Shelley, the cottage,” she urged.

“That’s personal. I won’t use her as a pawn to get what I want.”

She couldn’t see how explaining his situation would be using his daughter as a pawn. But she knew when Jesse dug his feet in, there was no moving him. That determination might be enough to meet the board’s time frame.

“Do you have something more to add?” the chair asked.

“A question,” Jesse said. “What’s the rationale for the additional stipulation?”

“We’re headed into peak tourist season. We want to be proactive against any accident the failing structure could cause if someone were to be on the property.”

“Trespassing,” Lauren said.

“Unfortunately, yes. And the city could have some liability because of the rehabilitation agreement. The engineering firm recommended only four weeks, but the board thought that was unreasonable.”

Jesse nodded, his expression blank.

“What if Jesse keeps the front gate locked at all times?” Lauren shook off Jesse’s frown. She was acting in his best interests.

“It’s okay. We can do it with additional hired help.” He squeezed her hand under the table, sending a red-hot flash up her arm that she was sure showed on her face.” A glance at the board, showed all of them, except Bill, focused on Jesse.

“I’ll sign the agreement,” he said.

“The board secretary has a copy for you.”

The woman Lauren had talked with on the phone when she was researching the condemnation notice walked over with a folder.

“Read it, and have your counsel read it.” The chair nodded at Lauren. “You can return a notarized copy to the city clerk. Let me know if you want any substantive changes. The board will have to review them before it signs the agreement.”

Lauren nodded as she shot her hand out to take the agreement, afraid Jesse would just sign it to get it over with. “If everything is agreeable, we should have your signed copy back first thing tomorrow morning.”

Their business done, Lauren and Jesse left the city hall.

“Thanks,” he said, holding the door open for her.

“For what?”

“Taking charge. I might have just signed the agreement to get it done and over with.”

Lauren stepped outside, warmed by the summer night air and Jesse’s appreciation. “That’s what you’re paying me for.”

Jesse let the door slam shut behind him.

Lauren’s mood grayed. She’d meant her words as a tease.

“Back to your office to read the agreement?” he asked, all business, as she pressed the key fob to unlock her car.

“No, let’s go to Caroline’s. My treat.” She smiled at him as she settled behind the steering wheel.

A quizzical look accompanied his return smile. “Sure.” Had he picked up on her reluctance to conduct their legal business at the office? The odds were neither of the guys would be there, but she didn’t know for sure. Sometimes, she felt Jesse knew her better than she did herself. Lauren pressed the gas harder than necessary to pull out of the parking space, earning her another questioning glance from Jesse.

“Did I tell you about my new project at work, once we review the agreement and my business with you is finished?” she asked to reroute any thoughts Jesse might have about going to Caroline’s instead of her office before he asked questions.

“Nope, and our legal business isn’t quite done. Shelley’s last name still needs to be changed to Brewster.”

“That’s just a matter of filing, which I’ve already done. There’s no reason your petition won’t go through quickly.”

“Sounds like you’re anxious to get rid of me.” His voice dropped to a deep murmur. “Not so fast. We have that other business.”

Lauren’s heart slammed against her chest once with the impact of his words and again with fear of them.

Yes, yes they did.