“How about we get us all some coffee and you ladies go and set yourselves on the sofa to talk,” Nick suddenly offered as he came up the stairs with Axel in tow.Both men brushed past Jenna, and Axel held the door open for them.
He said nothing but his quiet steadiness wrapped around her like a shield, even as dread coiled in her stomach.
“Please, come in.How can I help you?”Jenna asked the lawyer as they entered the kitchen.
“Oh, I am famished for some coffee.I’ll let you know why I’m here just as soon as I get some caffeine into me.”
The woman was trying to be cheerful, but Jenna sensed it was fake.Her smile was too bright, and it set Jenna’s nerves on edge.
Sally started with small talk, admiring Jenna’s kitchen and expressing condolences for Tim’s death, mentioning that Sam had spoken of Tim during their last meeting.
Okay, so she knew Sam.She was probably looking for Sam.
Jenna tried to relax as Sally kept the conversation going about she’d heard that Jenna trained horses for organizations that helped the disabled and mentally ill.
She noted Nick and Axel quietly preparing the coffee and cutting several slices of the cake Nick had baked.
To her surprise, Axel turned around and strolled toward her.He was neither smiling nor frowning as she tried to read his expression.But he was being poker faced.The neutrality in his expression terrified her more than any frown.Axel only went blank when bracing for impact.
Okay, she would follow their lead.Whatever was going on, she sensed she wasn’t going to like it.
“Come on ladies, have a seat.We’ll serve in just a couple of minutes,” Axel said as he took Jenna by her hand and led her to the sofa.
Okay, now she knew something was wrong.Very wrong.
Why would Axel hold her hand?But his hand felt so strong and she just wanted him to hold onto her forever, but after a gentle squeeze, he let go of her and she sat down.She perched on the edge of the cushion.She swore every muscle in her body was taut as she awaited the blow she felt coming.
She watched silently as Axel returned to helping Nick.They were still quiet.Too quiet.
Gosh, why was everyone so damned sullen.
Okay, don’t panic.Just breathe.She was reading too much into whatever was going on.
Cyn was as much a perfectionist as Jenna.That’s why she’d been hired.That’s why Jenna had put her in charge during her leave of absence from Cowboys Online.
Despite Cyn being young, she knew people.She came from a family of judges, cops, and politicians.There was no way she could screw up Axel and Nick coming here.
Could she?
The scent of coffee drifted through the air and Jenna was thankful her morning sickness didn’t kick in.
Sally just kept on chattering.This time about her own two dogs; a German Sheppard and a Dachshund.The words washed over her like static.
Jenna couldn’t focus, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop imagining worst-case scenarios.She realized too that this woman enjoyed talking and she wasn’t even waiting for a reaction or a comment from Jenna to what she was saying.
Moments later, Nick placed a couple of steaming mugs of black coffee on the coffee table in front of them, followed by a small canister of sugar and the creamer.The rich scent of the coffee curled around her, warm and familiar, mingling with the almost overwhelming scent of perfume from the lawyer.
Jenna ignored her coffee as Sally poured some cream and sugar into her mug and slowly sipped.Immediately her face brightened to a new level.
“Oh, this is wonderful.Just what I needed after the long drive in.”
Jenna almost laughed.She found it amusing by the exaggeration, knowing the drive was only an hour from town.
As Sally continued to drink her coffee and nibble on the slice of cake, giving compliments about how good it tasted, she asked Jenna how she managed here in the winter.
“We have a snowblower attachment for the tractor.We only have to keep it cleared to the fork at the top of the hill.That’s where the school bus turns around as the township plow comes to there.”
Oh gosh.How was she going to handle this winter?Tim had loved riding the tractor and snowplowing snow.He’d been like a kid.Why did she think he hadn’t done anything around here?It had to be her grief.It was clouding her judgement.
