Page 14 of The Aura Answer
Nick prowled the library like a sophisticated British antique appraiser on a TV show. His masculine presence itched places she didn’t want scratched anymore. Even Dante, the Italian count, came off as a rugged adventurer next to Nick’s tailored tweed and sexy saunter. A bit under six feet, broad shoulders, narrow hips... he was just the right size, and she longed to add the description to her character on the page.
Dante positioned her cheap shelves on the now empty wall. “I’m supposed to be teaching the twins. I’ll help you load and unload, but I’m not good at picking furniture.”
“I can’t trade off family heirlooms unless I have family with me. Come along, Cinderella, let’s go shelf shopping.” Nick held out his hand.
Tongue-tied at being abruptly yanked into this, she needed to tell him no. But the possibility of bookshelves and books in the bookless library... For Aster and Loretta, she really should do it. Children ought to be surrounded by books, and she shouldn’t be selfish.
Still, she wasn’t about to touch him. She stood and swept past. “I should probably bring Aster with me. Pris has entertained her long enough.”
“She can stay with me and the twins,” Dante offered. “Your clever daughter knows her numbers and the twins are eager to imitate her.”
Dante was just learning how to deal with his motherless children. She shouldn’t discourage his attempts. But riding with Nick in that truck alone...
“Dante, help me haul this out,” the Brit said cheerfully, running his hands over the oak hall tree. “Grace, do you have a good blanket to wrap around it?”
Before she could find an excuse, Evie sent another text to her alone.mavis says bertie’s brother is managing the barn. see if he knows any of bert’s friends.
do I get a reward?Gracie texted back, adding a middle finger salute.
Six
Being new in town,Jax didn’t have a long list of clients. But he’d once been an experienced corporate fraud lawyer with a large firm in Savannah. His city reputation and a lot of footwork had garnered him several clients interested in suing former Mayor Block for contract fraud. The cases were small and pretty tame, but every client potentially brought him closer to a wider market.
He now had the unpleasant task of informing his few clients that with Block’s death, their cases had become a lot more complicated and indefinitely delayed. Worse, the sheriff would soon be questioning them. Any one of them could have decided to shoot Block in anger, because it had become increasingly obvious that the mayor’s assets were stretched thin, and any proceeds from the cases would be small.
He fully expected every one of his clients to drop their suits.
He’d have to go into estate planning and divorce settlements at this rate. Small towns simply weren’t a hotbed of corporate fraud, even if Afterthought was within easy driving distance of two cities.
The official business line rang in his outer office. His seriously under-employed receptionist answered, then buzzed Jax. “Tobias Block would like to speak with you.”
Jax pondered that for all of half a second, then told her to put the call through. As far as he was aware, he’d never met the former mayor’s son. Evie had said Tobias was an ecologist. He’d once led an idiosyncratic protest to save frogs at Evie’s family pond. And Jax now owned one of his Harleys after Toby’s father sold them all. He doubted this was about amphibians or motorcycles.
After they exchanged greetings, Tobias launched into his request. “My father’s lawyers are billing the estate for services rendered. In my limited experience, their bills are higher than if Dad had simply paid back what he owed to all these people. I have no idea of the breadth of his assets and liabilities but assume I’ll have to sell off everything. And I need someone besides these sharks to help me.”
Swell. So he wasn’t a shark anymore. Jax rubbed his forehead and spoke cautiously. “You are aware that several of my clients were suing your father? There is a conflict of interest in my working with you.”
“Send them to someone else. I want to play fairly, but everyone in the state probably has a conflict of interest, right down to the judge who shouldn’t have lowered his bail and let him out to get killed. If Evie trusts you, I figure I can trust you to do what’s right. If you had some reason to murder him, let me know now.”
Jax almost chuckled. Evie had said Toby was a bit of a space cadet, but he wasn’t dumb by any means. “I didn’t know your father, and my clients have only small claims against his estate. I think we can safely assume I haven’t been in Afterthought long enough to want to murder him, and once Evie’s family established their property rights, they lost all interest in him. Ifyou want to come in, I’ll send you a list of records you’ll need to bring.”
“Thank you. You can tell the sheriff I’m handing everything over to you, and once you see it, you’ll know my so-called inheritance is no reason for me to kill my own father.” He sounded disgusted.
“I doubt Troy believes you did, but you’re the most obvious suspect, and he has to cover all bases should he bring anyone to trial later. But I’ll talk to him.” Jax gave his new client a few places to start looking, then passed the call to his secretary to set up an appointment.
He texted Evie.What are chances Tobias can afford my services?
He didn’t receive an answer until a little while later, when Evie appeared at his door with the pack of dogs she walked. All well trained by her cousin Iddy, they happily sat where told, tongues lolling.
She hung the leashes on the doorknob and kissed him before perching on his desk like a colorfully feathered bird. Her down vest was a bright blue, and she wore it over another bright red Christmas sweater, this one with blue trees that blinked. The spoon engagement ring he’d given her sparkled as if she’d polished it.
She’d insisted she didn’t want a diamond—one more reason he loved her madly. His former girlfriends had been all about what he could give them.
Probably because she saw too much of the spiritual world, Evie had a very loose connection with reality. She was all about what she could give to others. Scary, actually, trying to adjust to a mind that thought in terms of karma.
“Toby and his father were polar opposites. He will pay you out of his salary or sweep floors if he must. Just don’t bill him too much because he works for a non-profit. I’m not sure howhe’ll pay a reward, unless he uncovers his daddy’s secret bank account.” She picked up the list Jax was making on a legal pad. “Deeds and investments, he might not handle so well. Ask for his father’s computers and passwords. Arthur kept everything in cyberspace. I can’t call him Blockhead anymore, can I?”
“Rude, since Arthur is now only half a blockhead and dead. Call him Artie. He’ll not know—unless you’ve met his ghost already?” Jax wasn’t thrilled with that idea, but he couldn’t stop her doing what she did best, so he sat back and admired the colorful elf on his desk, teasing him with her swinging legs—clad in leggings printed in rainbows.
