The fog engulfed Honor, catching her off guard. An instant later, she woke up in her hotel room. It was morning and the air still cold from her spirit visitors. She was aroused from watching Darcy and Rory’s rendezvous and was happy to find Josh lying beside her, still naked from the night before. She rolled on top of him and began kissing the side of his neck, while moving her hips in a slow circle.
Without opening his eyes, Josh wrapped his arms around her. His voice still husky with sleep, he mumbled, “If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up… and if it isn’t, I want to wake up this way every morning.”
Honor didn’t respond with words; she used unbridled passion.
***
Later, as they sat in bed munching their way through a room-service pastry basket, Honor told Josh everything she had witnessed the night before. “Do you remember what Margaret said about how a spirit can sometimes connect with a person when they have something in common? Well, I think Darcy might identify with me because we both had unhappy marriages and then discovered love with a better man.”
“A better man? I like the sound of that.” Josh winked, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Seriously, I think you need to be patient, like Margaret said. Now, come on and get up! We need to grab a shower and get ourselves over to your mom’s house. You know, we’d already be over there, if you hadn’t taken advantage of me in my sleep,” he teased.
Honor giggled. “Poor guy. Like you tried so hard to fight me off.”
Josh laughed. “I wasn’t complaining…just stating facts, that’s all.”
They were working hard, cleaning out her mother’s storage room, when Honor’s cell phone rang. It was her company’s attorney, Leon Goldstein, returning her call from the day before.
“Leon, our conversations are confidential, right?”
“Of course,” he assured her.
“Okay, I need your advice. I heard a nasty rumor about William and some shady financial records at Soft Fix. Is that something I ought to investigate on my own, or should I involve the authorities immediately? Also, I’m considering ending my partnership with William by dividing the company in half.”
Leon cleared his throat and spoke slowly. “Honor, you need to understand that I am corporate counsel for Soft Fix. I’m also William’s personal attorney - not yours. That being said, I don’t believe you have the legal authority to force a division of company assets. You should hire your own attorney to explain the company’s structure to you and clarify your obligations to the firm, as outlined in your non-compete agreement.”
Honor was baffled. “I don’t understand, Leon.”
“When you and William were first establishing your company, I recommended you each hire legal counsel, but you declined, opting to waive that right,” he reminded her.
“What has that got to do with this situation?”
“Honor, my advice is to hire an attorney to review your contractual documents, and then have him contact me.” Leon ended the call.
Anxious, Honor tried to remember back to when she first launched her fledgling company with William. They possessed distinctly different skills, so William said it would be best if she had total control over technical operations and software design. She would hire who she wanted, negotiate salaries, develop policies and procedures - everything. He said he would use his skills to manage the rest of the business—the office management, marketing and financial operations—using the same ground rules of independent control. It had seemed very reasonable to her.
Honor quickly brought Josh up to speed. “There was a lot of paperwork involved in setting up a corporation. I vaguely remember William saying he didn’t think it was necessary to pay two lawyers to do the same work. He suggested I waive my right to independent counsel and let his attorney, Leon, handle everything. William called the waiver a formality, and because I hate reviewing financial paperwork, I signed it and never looked back.” She shook her head. “Stupid, stupid mistake. All this time, I believed Soft Fix was a fifty-fifty partnership, but I actually have no idea how William structured the business.”
“Try not to worry. I’ll bet my brother James knows some good contract lawyers who can get this straightened out. We can talk to him when we pick up Cody this afternoon.”
They got back to work on the cluttered storage room, but Honor couldn’t keep her mind off her escalating problems. Needing a few minutes to herself, she wandered into her mother’s bedroom and sat down on the floor of the closet, hugging her bended knees.
“Mom, it looks like I might have made a big mistake going into business with William. I can’t believe I was so gullible.”
Honor dropped her head against her knees and squeezed her eyes shut to hold back angry tears. For an instant, she felt the sensation of her hair being smoothed back from her face, the way her mother had comforted her when she was a child. Then it was gone. Before she had time to contemplate the experience, Josh appeared in the doorway.
At the sight of her teary eyes, he dropped down beside her without a word and wrapped his muscular arms tightly around her.
“I was so stupid to trust William,” she began, haltingly.
“Shhhhh… stop saying that. You’re not stupid. He may have taken advantage of your trust, but everything is going to work out just fine. You’ll see.”
Honor wasn’t convinced, but she began to relax in the safety of his arms.
They decided to call it a day and go pick up Cody. And since first impressions tend to be lasting, they agreed not to tell Josh’s family about their recent experiences with the spirit world.
When they arrived at James and Lisa’s house, Cody came running out to greet them. He jumped from the porch into Josh’s open arms and immediately began recounting every detail of his visit, without seeming to take a breath.
Lisa, who was standing in the open door, laughed. “That child sure is a talker!”
“Yes he is!” Josh agreed. “Lisa, this is my girlfriend, Honor.”
Cody interrupted. “Honor is my girlfriend too, Daddy.”
Josh laughed. “No way, Cody… you find your own girl.” He stepped over to Honor and kissed her cheek.
Cody stretched his little arms toward Honor, signaling for her to take him, which she did. He laid his head on her shoulder and with his pouty lower lip stuck out, repeated, “She’s my Honor, Daddy!”
Josh chuckled at his son. “Okay, Pal, you win. We’ll share her.”
Cody’s smile instantly returned to his face. Lisa laughed again, extending her hand to shake Honor’s. “Nice to meet you, Honor. It looks like you get two for the price of one!”
Honor thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Even though Josh and James teased each other about everything under the sun, it was obvious theirs’ was a loving family. Honor was fascinated by stories of growing up with the rest of the Js and learning that all of them now earned a living in the construction industry.
“It’s nice to know the Js can provide one-stop shopping for all my home repairs,” she commented.
“You bet. Hey, James, wait till you see her house. It’s an amazing 1900 Queen Anne Victorian. The floors need to be refinished and it needs paint inside and out, but mostly it’s in great shape. The hand-carved cornices on the crown molding and the inlaid staircase are top-shelf.”
“Josh is assessing how much work needs to be done before I put Mom’s house on the market. You’re welcome to stop by anytime.”
“Yeah, James, that’s a good idea,” Josh said. “I’m toying with the idea of buying it as an investment property and sure would appreciate a second opinion.”
James didn’t hesitate to volunteer his help. “Let’s get started at eight o’clock tomorrow morning. We should be able to knock out the repairs in no time.”
A sudden wave of melancholy washed over Honor, as she realized she was running out of reasons to stay in Florida. Her thoughts turned to Chicago, reminding her of the problems that loomed ahead there. “I could also use your help finding a good attorney.”
James raised his eyebrows, curious.
Honor briefly recapped her suspicions about William and her unsettling conversation with Leon Goldstein.
James gave a low whistle, a trait he had in common with Josh. Recognizing the family quirk, Honor giggled, despite the circumstances.
Lisa understood Honor’s reaction. “The whistle -- I know. Wait until you meet the other Js. They have so many similarities, it’s almost creepy sometimes.”
Josh pretended to be offended. “What’s so weird about eleven men all looking and acting exactly the same way? You guys are just jealous.” Lisa and Honor laughed and the conversation resumed on a much lighter note.
When the evening was drawing to a close, Cody wobbled into the dining room and crawled up into Honor’s lap. Worn out from his busy day, he snuggled against her and she instinctively began rocking him and stroking his hair back from his face. Cody closed his eyes and relaxed into sleep. Honor kissed the top of his little head, enjoying the maternal instincts the young boy elicited from her. When she glanced up, everyone was watching her.
Lisa explained in hushed tones. “Cody never lets anyone but Josh hold him when he’s tired, hurt or upset.”
Honor glanced at Josh, who was nodding his head in agreement.
“Yeah, this is definitely a first,” he agreed.