“What type of work did you do?” Jessica asked.
“I was a banker,” he said. “I managed a private hedge fund, and I was more married to my work than I was to...” His voice trailed off. “To anything else in my life.”
She waited for him to continue but he didn’t, leaving her wondering exactly what he was referring to.
“Are you expecting anyone?” he asked.
Jessica glanced toward the driveway, saw an unfamiliar black vehicle approaching the house. Great.
“I have a feeling that’s the lawyer,” she said, fighting the urge to get back on a horse and flee in the opposite direction. “Which means I have to face up to reality instead of hiding away for the next few days.” She hadn’t expected him to turn up on her doorstep quite so promptly—a day to settle in would have been nice.
“Anything I can do?” The concern in Nathan’s voice was matched by his gaze, his bright blue eyes telling her that he genuinely cared.
“How about you come over for a drink tonight.” The words left her mouth before she’d even had a moment to think.
The worry lines turned into smile wrinkles when he looked at her this time. “Why don’t I grab something for us to eat and bring it over? You can’t have much in the pantry, and I doubt you’ll have time to get groceries. Lawyers take forever to go over wills.”
Jessica braved a smile. It wasn’t the will she was worried about—she knew her granddad had left her everything—it was the debts she’d inherited that the lawyer would be wanting her to deal with. Debts he’d been more than eager to contact her about even when she’d been in hospital.
But she did kind of want to see Nathan again. “Dinner sounds great.” Her stomach was rumbling just at the thought of food, even though she’d hardly been interested in eating since her accident, and then since Jock had died.
Nathan touched her shoulder, tentatively, his touch light, as if he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do or not. “Don’t let him push you around, and if you need a sounding board, I’m right here.”
“Thanks,” she said, fighting the urge to shrug his hand away and at the same time wishing he’d never take it off her.
“Your granddad and I talked about everything, so if you need someone, it’s not an empty offer.” He smiled at her. “You can trust me.”
Jessica wanted to know more, wanted to know why and how he’d become so close to her only family member in the months before he’d died, but now wasn’t the time. Tonight she’d try to find out everything she needed to know.
“See you around six?” she asked.
Nathan nodded and withdrew his hand, shoving it in his pocket instead and leaving her wishing he was still touching her, that the heat from his palm was still resting on her shoulder. He might be a stranger, but the physical contact had been oddly comforting.
“See you then,” he called out.
Jessica walked briskly toward the house, eyes trained on the man now standing at her front door, waiting. She didn’t know why, but she had a strange feeling about the lawyer she’d only ever spoken to on the phone. It was an uneasy notion, a niggle of worry in her mind that she couldn’t shake, and she needed to forget all about her curiosity about Nathan and focus on her granddad’s state of affairs.
The farm meant everything to her, and if it came to it she wasn’t going to give up the property without one hell of a fight. It was her last tie to her family—to her mom and now her granddad—and that made it the most important thing in her life.
* * *
“So you’re telling me that my only option is to sell this place?”
Jessica stared at the lawyer, listening to what he was saying but finding it almost impossible to process. She was trying hard not to cry, refusing to admit that there was no other option, but from what he was saying it was almost impossible not to admit defeat. Her entire body was numb.
“Your granddad didn’t make the wisest decisions over the past year, Ms. Falls. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
His tone was grave, but he hardly met her gaze, wouldn’t hold eye contact for more than a moment and she didn’t like him at all now. She also didn’t believe that Jock would have left her in such a bad financial position, that the man she’d spent her entire life looking up to could have lost so much in such a short time. It just wasn’t right, especially given how cautious and successful he’d been in the past.
“And you’re certain there hasn’t been, I don’t know, some sort of mistake? That there isn’t other property or money?” She stood, fidgeting too much to stay seated. “There must be something, or at least some sort of explanation.”
Jessica turned to look out the window, looking at the land that she was going to be forced to part with. She had nothing—no job, no future doing what she’d trained for her entire life, and now no inheritance. Every horse, every blade of grass, everything about the farm meant more to her than she could ever explain to anyone. Except for her granddad. He’d turn in his grave if he knew she was being forced to sell, which was why nothing about this situation seemed right to her.
“Ms. Falls?”
She was about to turn, to focus her attention back on the lawyer, when a movement caught her eye. Nathan. Her mysterious guest was crossing the yard, heading for her back door rather than the main front one, and he was carrying two large brown paper bags. She smiled for the first time since she’d stepped inside. If anyone could help her understand what had happened in the weeks and months before her granddad had passed, it was Nathan. She knew they’d been close, and from what she’d learned today, they’d spent a lot of time together.
“I need a few days to process all this,” Jessica said as she turned, squaring her shoulders and staring the lawyer straight in the eyes. She could have been imagining it, but she was certain he looked uncomfortable.
“My advice would be to list the property for sale immediately and consider how to mitigate your losses.”
She gave a curt nod and planted her hands on the desk, the coolness of the oak beneath her palms helping to calm her, taking strength from the piece of furniture she’d so often seen her grandfather sit behind.
“Once again, I appreciate your advice, but I’ll be taking a few days to consider my options.”
The more she could find out from Nathan, the better. But that wasn’t the only reason she wanted to see him. There was something about the man that intrigued her, something unassuming about the stranger who’d befriended her granddad that made her want to know more. He was hiding something behind his quiet smile, she just knew it, and she wanted to know what it was.
“I’ll see myself out,” she heard the lawyer mutter, clearly frustrated with her. He’d probably expected her to admit defeat and sign anything he waved in front of her.
Jessica squared her shoulders, even though her back ached from simply standing so straight after she’d been on her feet all day. Men like this lawyer might think she was weak, that she’d been through so much recently that she’d lost her strength, but mentally she was more determined than ever. To get back in the saddle—which she’d already done—to compete again one day, and most of all to make her grandfather proud and continue his legacy. So she wasn’t going to let this lawyer, or any other man, walk all over her. She’d made her mind up years ago that she was in charge of her own destiny, and she needed to hold on to that belief no matter what life threw her way.
“How