Page 7 of Raging Fires

Morton’s secretary popped up and whisked him down the hall to a conference room. Jake stepped inside to find an unknown man and three women gazing at him with varying degrees of disapproval on their faces. His mom and Gran he expected. But what the hell was Kelli doing here?

Chapter Five

Kelli had no idea why Gran was so adamant that Kelli take her to the lawyer’s office this morning. Jake’s mom was right there. And it wasn’t like Kelli didn’t have anything to do. But it was Gran, and of course she gave in and did what Gran wanted, as Kelli had known she would from the beginning of the conversation.

She was prepared for a boring hour listening to some lawyer drone on about legal provisions and probate. What she wasn’t prepared for was having to sit for an extra thirty minutes waiting on Jake. Story of her life.

Mr. Morton, the lawyer, wasn’t much for conversation. After several platitudes and expressions of condolences and questions to Jennifer, Jake’s mother, about her new life in Florida, Morton began to falter and finally sputtered out. He got up and went out to ask his secretary if Jake had arrived. Like she wouldn’t have told Morton. He did it another time or two, and Kelli was pretty sure the secretary was getting sick and tired of him.

Jennifer and Gran got involved in a long discussion about some woman Gran was sure had been one of Jennifer’s friends and Jennifer was sure had been a dire enemy. That was entertaining at first, but since it kept circling around and around on the same path, Kelli finally tuned it out and got out her cell phone. Had Jake ever been on time for one of their dates? They’d had to put the wedding on hold for ten minutes because he got stuck in traffic. (And, of course, he never made any allowance for the possibility of that sort of thing happening.) He’d missed the team plane in New England once—and got stuck there for another day because the airport shut down for a snowstorm, which served him right. And then there was—

The secretary opened the door and Jake rushed in, looking sweaty and disheveled and almost criminally sexy. Kelli scowled. He scowled back at her. “I’m late,” he announced as if everyone wasn’t already aware of that fact. “Sorry. I guess you guys are already done?”

“No, dear.” Jennifer smiled at him as if he were the most darling thing ever.

Gran laughed. “No such luck, Jakey. We were waiting on you.”

“Yes, Jakey,” Kelli said in a sugary voice, opening her eyes wide. “We all love to wait on you.”

He rolled his eyes and sat down at the far end of the conference table. The lawyer cleared his throat, and finally the meeting began. He said a lot of legalese, then stuff about leaving the house and personal property to Gran, as well as his cash, and this thing to Gran and that one to his brother and the bar The Blue Shack to his grandson and his wife, Jake and Kelli Riley… wait. What?

Jake sat up straight and Kelli raised her hand in a stop sign. “What did you say?”

“Mr. Kent bequeathed the bar to you and your husband, Ms. Riley.”

“I’m not—” Kelli began.

But the guy plowed on, “As well as the residential property on the same lot, to be held—”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jake said, and the lawyer paused for him, naturally.

“Yes, Mr. Riley?”

“We’re not married. She’s not my wife.” He pointed at Kelli, adding a couple of extra jabs for emphasis.

“We know who you’re talking about, Captain Obvious,” Kelli told him.

“Yes, well, that does present a bit of a problem.” The lawyer frowned. “It is specifically for you two as ‘husband and wife.’ If you aren’t married. . .”

“It’s not a problem,” Gran declared. “Jake and Kelli can just get married again.”

Kelli couldn’t speak. She felt as if all the wind had just been knocked out of her.

Jake didn’t have that problem. He sprang up out of his seat like someone had just poked him with a cattle prod and shouted, “Are you out of your mind?” Then he swung toward Kelli, his eyes narrowing, “Are you behind this?”

The power of speech returned to Kelli in an instant. “Yes, Jake. That’s right.” She stood up to face him, putting her hands on the conference table and leaning forward. “That’s exactly what happened. I decided to make your grandfather change his will so that I would once again be forced to endure the ninth circle of hell, being married to you.”

Jake made a sound like a car stripping its gears. “I know,” he said through gritted teeth. “You aren’t that certifiable.” He swung to glare at his grandmother. “It was you, wasn’t it? You came up with this crazy scheme, right?”

“Jake, that’s no way to talk to Mother,” Jennifer said sternly.

“I’m sorry, Gran,” Jake snapped. “I wouldn’t have said something like that… if you hadn’t come up with this insane idea!” He flung his arms out wide. “This is nuts. Surely you have to see that. Kelli and I can’t stand each other.”

“He’s right,” Kelli agreed, ignoring the little pang of hurt his words caused. “We couldn’t own anything together, much less a business. We’d never agree on anything.”

“Oh, well, you’d run the business, of course.” Gran waved away that objection. “Jake’s going to be playing.”

“That sounds about right. He’d play, and I’d work,” Kelli commented sourly. “This is ridiculous. The bar ought to go to Gran.”