Raging Fires by Candace Camp

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.”

“Kelli’s right,” Jake said. There was a first. He looked at Morton. “The wife gets everything, right?”

“Well, usually, it’s true that—”

“Look.” Gran stood up, too, taking charge. “It wasn’t my idea; it was David’s. But he was right. David left me plenty to live on. It’d go to you eventually, anyway. This is just a few years earlier.”

“You’re just trying to force us to get back together.”

“So what? You two gave up too easily.” She pointed at Jake. “You should have paid attention to what she was telling you.” She swung toward Kelli. “And you should have stayed there and fought for your marriage.”

“There wasn’t anything to fight for,” Kelli said. She told herself it was anger that was making her sound like she was going to cry.

“Hold on, everyone.” The lawyer rose, trying to regain control of the room. “Why don’t we all sit down and reason this out? This isn’t the end of the world.”

“Easy for you to say,” Jake grumped, but he sat down, and the others followed. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and looking at Mr. Morton in challenge. “Okay. Go ahead.”

“Mr. Kent set up a testamentary trust, which ends in one year if you and Mrs. Riley—”

“My name is not Riley,” Kelli snapped. “It’s Andrews.” She realized that she had unconsciously adopted the same pose as Jake, and she hastily dropped her arms.

“Yes, of course. Ms…um, Kelli,” Mr. Morton said in a patient voice. “The point is that the trust vests in one year if you’re married and in residence. It’s just one year, not forever.”

“It’ll just seem like forever,” Jake put in.

Kelli shot him a glare. The attorney sat back, looking weary.

“For Pete’s sake, stop acting like a three-year-old, Jake,” Gran told him, and Kelli smothered a laugh. 

Jake sighed ostentatiously. He relaxed his posture and turned to the lawyer, spreading his arms out on the table, talking man to man. “Okay. Look. I’ll just give up my rights or ownership or whatever and let Kelli have it. She loves the place.” His gaze went to her, then quickly away. “If Gran doesn’t want it, then Kelli should have it.”

Kelli swallowed. It shouldn’t warm her that Jake was willing to give up his share to her. She knew that it wasn’t easy for him. He loved the Blue, too, and more than that, it was like giving up a claim to Pops himself. Maybe Jake did hate her now, but maybe deep down inside he was still the boy she’d loved, too.

Unfortunately, Morton the Spoiler said, “I’m afraid that there’s a problem with that. There’s no allowance in the trust for either of you transferring ownership to the other. If you don’t meet the terms of the trust, then it will go to St. Catherine’s.”

“The church? The church is going to own a bar?” Jennifer’s eyebrows shot up. Kelli had the feeling that Jake’s mom hadn’t known about any of this either. “What is a church going to do with a bar?”

“Well, uh, I imagine they’ll sell it.” A heavy silence followed that declaration.

“The Blue will be gone?” Kelli asked finally. She’d known that might happen, but she hadn’t really thought Gran would sell it. She’d certainly never dreamed that Pops would give it away to somebody else. Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away and cleared her throat. “Mr. Morton, what happens exactly when this trust thing ends? You said it only lasted a year, and we had to be married until then.”

“Yes, and occupying the residence. Once the trust ends, however, you and Mr. Riley will be free to do whatever you want with it. Sell it, continue to operate it, give up your share, whatever you wanted.”

“So... maybe after a year we could do something like splitting the profits or if Jake didn’t want it, maybe I could get a loan and buy his half?”

“Absolutely.” The lawyer looked ecstatic that someone was beginning to see things his way. He was probably desperate to get them all out of his office.

“Geez, Kell, are you actually considering this?” Jake asked.

“Well, he said we didn’t have to stay married after the year is up,” Kelli said defensively.

“That’s correct,” Morton inserted quickly.

“We got a divorce once; I guess we could do it again,” Kelli reasoned.

“It’s not getting divorced again that’s the problem. It’s getting married again.”

“It wouldn’t be the same as before,” Kelli told him. The idea was lodged in her brain now, and the more she considered it, the more she wanted it. “We wouldn’t be... you know.” She gestured vaguely between them.

Jake snorted. “You can count on that.”

“It was your grandfather’s last wish,” Gran said.

“Gran… come on…  you’re going with the guilt thing now?” Jake sighed and pushed back his chair. He got up and walked to the window to stare out for a few moments. He turned back and looked intently at Kelli. “You really willing to do this?”

Kelli nodded. “I am.”

“Hell.” Jake sighed. “Let’s do it.”