His Proposal, Their Forever. Melissa McClone

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СКАЧАТЬ Oh, boy, that didn’t feel good.

      “You’re hurt. And you look a mess.” Ellis touched her shoulder. He turned to Grady. “You’re right about her foot.”

      Grady nodded. “Told you.”

      “Excuse me.” Justin pushed forward, moving her brothers out of the way, and picked her up. “Bailey’s injured. Whatever you’re here for can wait until I get her inside.”

      “Who are you?” Ellis asked.

      “A Good Samaritan helping your sister,” Justin said. “Out of my way.”

      Ellis grabbed the shopping bag from her hands. “Do you need anything out of the car?”

      She nodded. “The artwork and our lunch.”

      “On it,” Grady said.

      Uh-oh. Her brothers were being too nice and not giving Justin a hard time. Something was up.

      Justin carried her toward the front door. His strong arms cradled her. Her pulse quickened.

      She didn’t like what Justin McMillian intended to do to the inn, but her heart melted a little. No guy had ever stood up to her brothers. Not that Justin had caused a confrontation. But he’d shown concern for her without worrying about the repercussions. That was new. And seeing Ellis and Grady get out of the way was funny. They were as stubborn as she was.

      What Justin did for a living stole a building’s soul. But she was glad he was here. Pain and hunger must be softening her standards. “I appreciate the help.”

      “I figured you needed to get inside. Not answer a lot of questions.”

      Justin handed her the keys.

      She pretended to unlock the door, not wanting another lecture from any man, brother or stranger, about forgetting to lock the front door, then opened it.

      He carried her inside. “Is the couch okay?”

      “Perfect.”

      He set her down. Being horizontal felt good. If only her foot would stop hurting.

      “Put your leg up on the back of the couch.” He eyed one of her paintings on the wall. “Nice artwork. You’re talented.”

      Tingles filled her stomach like a flock of swallows. She wished his words didn’t mean as much as they did. “I love what I do.”

      “You work here.”

      She glanced at the paint-covered drop cloth and easel with an unfinished painting. All she’d wanted to do today was complete the piece, wash clothes and grocery shop. So much for plans. “Yes.”

      Ellis set her yellow bag and lunch on the coffee table. He helped himself to some fries. “I’m Ellis Cole.”

      “Justin McMillian.”

      Ellis kneeled next to her. “How ya doing, sis?”

      “My foot is killing me, but the inn is in one piece.” She smiled, proud she’d saved the structure from demolition, then grabbed more fries. “A good day.”

      “Depends on your perspective,” Justin said.

      Grady set a painting against the wall. “I texted Mom. She’s picking up Grandma. They’ll be right over to take you to the hospital.”

      “Urgent Care will be fine.” Bailey eyed her brothers. “Why aren’t you guys at work?”

      “Tyler called. He wanted me to find you,” Grady said in his no-nonsense police voice. A world away from the wild kid he’d once been.

      “Tyler is my cousin,” she told Justin. “He’s the only lawyer in Haley’s Bay.” She looked at her two brothers. “If this is about me introducing him to one of the girls in my painting class—”

      “It’s not.” Grady’s gaze ping-ponged from her to Justin. “I’m here on official business with news about the inn.”

      Justin rocked back on his heels. His face tightened. “What news?”

      “I’m sorry, Mr. McMillian, but your company is the victim of a fraudulent real estate transaction,” Grady said.

      “Fraudulent?” Justin asked.

      Ellis nodded. “You got conned.”

      Bailey sat up. “What are you talking about?”

      “Floyd Jeffries sold the inn to two buyers on the same day,” Grady said. “One buyer was McMillian Resorts. The other was represented by Tyler.”

      Justin swore. “You’re joking, right?”

      “I wish I was,” Grady said.

      Justin’s face contorted, turned red. He started to speak, then stopped himself.

      She didn’t know what to say to him. But the news made her dizzy. She leaned back against the sofa pillow. “That’s not the kind of person Floyd is. The man drives ten miles an hour below the speed limit. He’s no criminal.”

      “Was,” Ellis said. “He changed after he met that girl on the internet. I heard he canceled all the upcoming events at the inn.”

      Bailey’s body stiffened. “He didn’t cancel my paint night tomorrow.”

      “You ran the art events, not Floyd,” Ellis said.

      “I don’t know him as well as your sister does, but there must be a mistake.” Justin paced the length of the couch. The lines on his forehead deepened, more like canyons than wrinkles. “We have a top-notch team of lawyers. We might have misunderstood the permit process, but they’re professionals. They’d never fall for a scam deal.”

      “Well, I heard Floyd gave the employees three days off with pay. Never told them the inn had been sold or they’d lost their jobs.” Ellis sat on the sofa arm. “That’s why no one was there last night or today.”

      Oh, no. The staff. Bailey had been so worried about the inn itself she hadn’t thought about the employees. Floyd had worked with some of those people since he’d been a kid. None of this made sense. “That doesn’t sound like Floyd. He cares about those who work for him. He bought my senior prom dress when Dad wouldn’t pay for one without sleeves.”

      “I know the guy was good to you.” Ellis’s voice softened, his tone compassionate. “Floyd bought fish from us for all these years, was often our biggest customer, but he’s not the same person. He’s changed.”

      Justin shook his head. “Floyd might not have disclosed everything about the inn, but my sister negotiated a legal deal. She would never have paid cash otherwise.”

      “Tyler’s client was a cash buyer, too. Part of Floyd’s requirements,” Grady said.

      Ellis whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

      “No.” СКАЧАТЬ