Wild Stallion. Delores Fossen

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СКАЧАТЬ spruce. She had a wad of lights in her hands, but her attention was everywhere but on the task she’d been hired to do. Unlike the others who had accompanied her.

      On the split screen, Jackson could see there was a crew on the grounds, decorating the trees and shrubs of his country estate. Another woman was in the great room arranging greenery and crystal angels around the massive stone fireplace. Another pair was on the porch dealing with the door and white marble columns.

      So who was this woman on the ladder?

      And was she doing surveillance for a robbery, or God knows what else?

      He looked through the names of the work crew that his groundskeeper had provided. Her name was either Marita Hernandez or Ann Reeves. Since she wasn’t Hispanic, he was betting she was the latter.

      Jackson grabbed the phone from his desk and called Evan Young, his business manager. It was three days before Christmas, and Malone Investments was closed for a two-week holiday break, but as Jackson expected, Evan was in his office because he gave new meaning to the word workaholic.

      Jackson had once given Evan a run for his money in the hours-at-work department, but since his son, Caden, had come into his life, Jackson had cut way back, not just on the hours, but on his commitment to the job. These days no one could accuse him of being married to his company.

      “Evan,” Jackson greeted, and even though he was eager to get down to business, he paused and waited for Evan, just in case the man wanted to mention the significance of this particular date.

      “No need to call and check up on me,” Evan stated. His voice was void of any emotion. “I’m doing fine.”

      Jackson doubted that was anywhere near the truth. It was the six-month anniversary of Sybil Barnwell’s death. She was Evan’s fiancée. Evan might be cold-blooded in business, but Jackson knew that the couple had been in love, and even though Evan had refused to take much time off, he’d been devastated by Sybil’s death.

      And Jackson suspected that, deep down, Evan blamed him for what had happened. Hell, Jackson blamed himself.

      “I have a possible problem,” Jackson explained. Best to get right onto the business at hand, rather than dive back into those memories of Sybil’s death. “Tap into the security feed here at the estate and zoom in on the Christmas tree decorator in the foyer. That’s camera eight. Have security run the facial recognition program. I want to know who she really is.”

      “You think she’s connected to the threatening letter left for you this morning?” Evan asked.

      “Could be.” And that’s what he intended to find out.

      Jackson ended the call, got up from his desk and headed to the foyer. It was nearly two p.m., which meant Caden would be up from his nap in a half hour or so. Waking time was Jackson’s favorite part of the day, and he wanted this possible situation with the decorator resolved by then.

      He went through the maze of corridors and smiled when he thought of Caden again. In another two years or so, his little boy would no doubt be riding a kiddy tricycle around the mansion on these now pristine hardwood floors. He’d be laughing, making noise, and Jackson couldn’t wait.

      There’d been a dark cloud over this place for too long.

      Jackson kept his footsteps light, and paused at the top of the stairs so he could look down at the decorator and observe her in the flesh. She had finally made it to the point where she was actually stringing lights, but her gaze was still firing all around.

      She wore jeans and a gray turtleneck sweater. Both nondescript. She definitely wouldn’t stand out in those clothes. He could say the same for her short, light-brown hair and her lack of makeup.

      “Looking for something?” he asked, his voice echoing through the foyer.

      She gasped, obviously startled, and nearly fell off the ladder. Jackson started down the stairs in case he had to pick her up off the floor, but she managed to keep her balance, even though she dropped the lights. Some of the bulbs shattered when they smacked against the glossy marble, and bits of colored glass scattered everywhere.

      “I’m, uh, decorating, of course,” she said, sparing him a glance. She got off the ladder and onto her hands and knees to gather up the glass bits. “You scared me. I thought you’d be at work.”

      “I’m working at home today,” he volunteered. In fact, he’d been in a business meeting with a client when the decorating crew arrived. It was the reason he was still wearing a suit.

      Jackson walked across the foyer toward her, and glanced up at the security camera tucked in the corner behind a sconce. Evan was no doubt watching them, and probably trying to get a good shot of the woman’s face so he could process it through the facial recognition program.

      “Leave the glass,” Jackson instructed, so she would stand. It’d give Evan a better angle of her face. “The housekeeper will take care of it.”

      But the woman shook her head and stayed down, and she didn’t look at him when she spoke. “My boss would fire me if I didn’t clean up after myself. Besides, we wouldn’t want to have the floor messy when you bring your baby boy in to see the tree for the first time.”

      Everything inside Jackson went still.

      Maybe it was the latest threatening letter, or maybe this was just his paternal instincts yelling out for him to keep Caden safe. Either way, he wanted to know who the hell this woman was.

      “Who said I’d be bringing down my son to see the tree?” he challenged.

      Her hand froze over a bit of broken glass, and Jackson saw her fingers trembling. That was his cue to reach down, catch onto her arm and haul her to her feet. Her expression froze, caught somewhere between shock and fear.

      “I asked you a question,” he reminded her.

      He put his fingers beneath her chin and lifted it to force eye contact. Finally, here was something that wasn’t nondescript. Her eyes were a cool ocean blue. Definitely memorable.

      And disturbing.

      Jackson didn’t exactly step back, but he didn’t approve of the way she or her eyes made him feel. There was that hit of attraction, something he didn’t intend to feel when it came to her or any other woman he distrusted.

      She tried to shrug. “It’s in all the newspapers that you’re in the final stages of adopting a baby.”

      “I am.” And he left it at that.

      “He’s four months old, I heard. The right age for really noticing the lights and decorations. Since this is his first Christmas, I just figured you’d bring him down to see the tree as soon as we were done.”

      That was the plan. But it wouldn’t happen with this woman around.

      She stepped out of his grip, turned away from him and discarded the bits of glass into a trash bag hung alongside a box of ornaments. “I hope this doesn’t sound too personal, but what made you choose adoption?”

      Oh, this conversation seemed well beyond personal. “Let’s just say I recently had a life-altering experience, and it put things in perspective.”

      “Yes,” СКАЧАТЬ