Page 56 of Jameson’s Salvation

“She wants to see her daughter,” Jameson cut her off. “She’s stronger than you think. And we’re all here for her to catch her if she starts to backslide. But you keeping her away is gonna make it worse. McKenna can come down, too.”

“I don’t want to meet McKenna like this.”

“Too late. She’s been in and out just like Nixon and Holden. All three of them were worried about you and wouldn’t leave the hospital until you woke up. Weston pitched a conniption when Nix told him to stay in DC.”

At first Jameson was pissed when his friend had called frantic for an update on Kennedy. And when Weston had threatened to come home to see her, jealousy had reared its head. But then he remembered Weston cared for Kennedy as a friend. But more than that, Weston was worried for Jameson.

“I’m glad they were there for you even if I wished they didn’t see me passed out in a hospital bed. I hope I wasn’t drooling while I was asleep. And if I was, you better have wiped it away so they didn’t see.”

Jameson smiled for the first time since he’d found Kennedy. He liked—no, loved—that she wasn’t the slightest bit embarrassed around him.

“There was no drool, babe. You looked beautiful, like you were sleeping.”

And she had. Jameson hadn’t stopped staring at her the whole time she’d been passed out. He’d studied her every feature. He’d memorized the contours of her face. But the one part he’d wanted to see, her pretty green eyes with flecks of gold, eluded him.

But now they were staring back at him and he needed to hold on to that.

She was alive.

* * *

Kennedy was wiped out. Her mother had been furious she’d been kept in the dark about what Reggie Coleman was doing.

Jameson had been right; Lola Lane was stronger than he’d even thought. And he imagined if the woman had all of her faculties, she would’ve been up pacing the room before she stomped out to pay Reggie a visit. As it was, all she could do was ball her right hand into a fist and shake it as she declared she was going to kill the man.

Lola had also added some much-needed insight. Peyton Marshall was rumored to be Reggie Coleman’s son. A child created from a well-known affair. Both Reggie Coleman and Deloris Marshall were married to other people but had carried on for years. It was also a well-known fact that Clifford Marshall senior was impotent. He couldn’t even get it up, something that had happened as a result of a pelvic fracture that damaged the nerves. An accident that occurred on a job site when Clifford had worked for Reggie Coleman.

That explained why Peyton Marshall owned a third of Chester River Holdings when by all accounts he was an idiot. Whether Coleman had willingly included him out of parental obligation or Peyton had blackmailed him was still unknown.

Kennedy’s mother also admitted that Reggie Coleman had approached her in the last month. She hadn’t mentioned it to Kennedy because she didn’t want to worry her. Reggie hadn’t come out and made any threats, just a comment in passing about how hard Kennedy worked and it was a shame a beautiful girl like her didn’t have time to give Lola grandchildren. His parting shot was to tell Lola that if Kennedy ever wanted to sell her land he’d be more than pleased to take it off her hands.

The woman also had a keen mind and had easily drawn her own conclusions about Kennedy’s business suffering. She’d also directly asked if her air conditioning unit had been tampered with.

Lola was no dummy, she was sharp, just like her daughter.

Before Janice had come back into the room to take her home, Lola’s chin had jutted out and Jameson bit back a smile when the woman demanded for him to take care of her daughter. It wasn’t until Jameson had promised her Kennedy wouldn’t be alone again until Reggie was stopped did she finally leave.

Now Kennedy was looking at him with so much sadness she didn’t try and stop the tear from rolling down her cheek.

“I hate that my mom is so worried.”

“I know. But it’s better that she knows. And she had a lot of information for us.”

Kennedy nodded, not looking convinced.

“And Janice has agreed to move in with her, so she won’t be alone. An added layer of protection.”

“Miss Janice is older than my mom. What’s she gonna do? Beat an intruder with a cane?”

Jameson smiled at the vision of the little old woman beating a man with Lola’s cane.

“I have no doubt she would. But Holden’s staying there, too.” Which was huge, considering how much Holden valued his privacy and with good reason. “Tomorrow, him and Nix will install an alarm system and Weston will be home. He’ll take over sleeping on your mom’s couch.”

“Maybe she should move in with me.”

“Maybe you should close your eyes and get some rest.”

“Will you lie next to me?”