Forged in Stone - Alyssa Rose Ivy Page 0,9

the meeting as an opportunity to secure a leave. You need it.”

“I need it now? I thought you believed I was crazy to return to Charleston?”

“Do not use it to go to Charleston. I would go spend some time with the Zales if I were you.” He winked.

“Yes, you do have a thing for those sparkly women.” The beautiful women of Zale were known for their sparkling appearance and nearly flawless figures.

He laughed. “They are enjoyable to look at. You cannot deny that.”

“I am not denying it, but their games are not quite so enjoyable.”

“Fair enough. Go see Charlotte. I will see to your horse.” He took the reins of my horse and led her toward the stable.

“Why are you in such a rush for me to speak with her? What is in it for you?” Henry rarely cared this much about anything.

“Nothing really.” He continued walking.

“Stop.”

Henry turned around.

“What are you holding back?”

“Charlotte offered to put me in charge of overseeing the new southern settlements.”

“I see. Some friend you are. You are won over by the mere mention of power?”

“It is not that, but it will give me a chance to see my brothers more. They have all moved away from Bellgard, and I miss them.”

“Yeah, well.” There was no reason to argue. I never minded a visit with Charlotte, and Henry had always been close to his four brothers. He had a very different upbringing from me. He had a family that cared whether he lived or died.

“Did I leave you speechless?” He grinned.

“Nope. Just dumbfounded.” I turned and walked away.

5

AINSLEY

Jerks. I was surrounded by jerks. Jerks and backstabbing friends. I could maybe handle the jerks if I had a friend to complain to, but I didn’t. Not at all. Maybe I needed a pet. I wondered if the homeowners would mind if I got one of those tiny hypoallergenic dogs. Of course I’d have to have the money to get one of those dogs first.

I woke up late the next morning after a night of almost no sleep. I’d tried to get some rest after James left, but I couldn’t. I’d ended up looking through more of Charlotte’s old stuff. It was weird knowing the name of the girl who’d lived in the room before me, and it made me wonder where she’d gone. I sent an email to the neighbor, Debbie. I wondered if she knew anything about James. I considered calling her, but it was too early to do that yet.

I rushed around getting dressed, realizing I needed to add coffee to my grocery list. Hopefully I’d stay awake long enough to get some at work.

I hopped in my cold car, eyeing the garage I didn’t get to use. I was told that the owner was using it for storage. Normally I would have walked, but I didn’t have time. I headed right for Meeting Street and found a parking spot. I was only two minutes late. Hopefully no one would notice.

“Ainsley!” Brenda the office manager yelled as soon as I walked in. “Are you trying to give me an excuse to fire you?”

I straightened up. “No, not at all.”

“Then why are you late?”

I thought over all the possible excuses I could give. “Just running late. I apologize. I’ll make up the time on my lunch break. I’ll make sure I get everything filed before I leave today.”

Her reply came in the form of a stern gaze. Her looks were more intense than a thousand words.

Once I settled into my desk, I dared to check my cell phone. I’d missed a bunch of calls from Grace the night before, but I still wasn’t up to listening to them. I also had a missed call from an unknown number. I sincerely hoped it wasn’t Brad, and a little part of me hoped it was someone else. Someone I’d kicked out of the house hours before. There was no way he could have gotten my phone number, was there?

* * *

“HEY, are you okay?” Rachel, the only female attorney in the office, stopped by my cubicle.

“Yeah, sorry. Do you need anything?” Rachel was always nice to me, but she never stopped by to chitchat.

“No, I saw you when you passed my office. You looked out of it.”

“Oh. It was a long night.”

“Want to talk about it over lunch?” Rachel usually went out for lunch by herself. I assumed she was meeting a boyfriend or something. I knew from studying her resume when I first applied for the job