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He seemed to make a decision and sat up. “Shane’s kind of a loner lately. I’m surprised to see him bring someone here with him, let alone a woman.”
“He doesn’t have a choice.”
Kain cracked his knuckles. “And now the story gets interesting.”
“Just you wait.”
Kain stood and gestured down the stairs. “This sounds like a whiskey story.”
She smiled. “Probably a bottle of whiskey.”
“My kind of story.”
Kendall went down the stairs, again marveling at the breadth and scope of Kain’s house. She wouldn’t want to be the one who had to keep all the glass spot and fingerprint free.
“To the left,” he said from behind her.
Even with his huge presence, she didn’t feel uncomfortable with him. There was an innate friendliness and openness about Kain. So at odds with the Shane she was beginning to know. He went to a sideboard and opened a crystal decanter, splashing two glasses half-full. She’d been kidding about drinking the bottle, but she took the glass when he offered it.
The living room was much different from the front room. The furnishings here were wide and comfortable, and a huge picture of a perfect tidal wave hidden by tropical vegetation hung above a glass and crystal rock fireplace. She walked to the flames, grateful for the heat they gave off.
How the hell was she supposed to tell him? It was probably better to just get it out. She sat down on the oversize leather love seat. “I’m Lawrence Justice’s daughter.”
Kain sat beside her. He didn’t even try to hide his shock. “His what?”
“Yeah.” She took a sip, and the bracing fire of good liquor faded to a pleasant burn. Kain was an active audience as she explained the shortened version of her story. He asked questions about her place and her mother. He was a calming influence that she hadn’t expected. Nothing had been what she expected since she’d gotten to Monterey.
On her second refill she told him about the will.
“I knew Larry had some secrets.”
She sat next to him on the edge of the cushion. She was so tired that if she sat back and settled in, she was pretty sure she’d go right to sleep. “You did?”
“Larry liked to be everything to everyone, especially Shane.”
Everything to everyone, except for her.
His green eyes gentled. “I’m sorry, Kendall. That was thoughtless to say.”
“It’s okay. I don’t understand the man you knew, but I remember flashes of a strong and charming Lawrence Justice. But for me, he was simply a man who turned his back on me and my mom.”
“The man I knew was so worried about being the best man for Shane and his employees. And when he came to me, I couldn’t turn him away. Even when he asked me not to tell Shane. He had far too many people counting on him.”
Kendall worried the knot of her bracelet. She could still see the shattered shock on Shane’s face. In her head she knew Shane had lost more than she had, but hers was a distant empathy. He was a stranger to her. Their afternoon together had only added more confusion to the mix of emotions. “Shane’s had a few too many punches today, I’m afraid.”
“Far too many,” Shane said from the doorway.
“How long have you been there, brother?”
His face was shuttered up tight. Nothing was there to soften the harsh planes of his jaw. Even his soft mouth had hardened. “Long enough.” Shane looked down at her. “Cozy.”
She flushed. She had no reason to feel guilty, but her gut churned thanks to lack of food, alcohol, and a rising fury. She stood. Who the hell was Shane to keep poking at her? She was just as angry and just as lost about this whole thing as he was. He took her glass from her and knocked back the last mouthful and took it for a refill.
With his back to them, he splashed another healthy dose of whiskey into the tumbler and gulped it down. He braced his hands on the bar. “Jonas won’t tell me what’s going on.” He refilled and turned around. “Did you really think I wasn’t going to ask questions? That I was going to just walk away without a word?”
Kain got up and walked to him. “I told your old man this wasn’t the way to go.”
“You could have told me, Kain.”
