Family Skeletons Read Free Page B

sunshine.”
    The precise delivery undid her. She fought the laugh
but it got away from her.
    Though he didn’t smile back, he seemed to relax a
bit. “Sunny sounds like it might be a nickname.”
    She nodded. As her mood eased, her stance did as well.
She propped her elbows on the table, clasped her hands and rested her chin atop
her knuckles. Openly, she studied him. “Yes, it is. But something tells me that
you don’t go by John, Johnny, or Jack.”
    “Jonathan is preferred, thank you.”
    Yep. He wasn’t difficult to get a handle on. “Well,
Jonathan, is that enough proof?”
    “Yes, you’re not trespassing. You’re here with
Laurel’s permission...”
    She’d felt her face go blank, and he must’ve seen
it.
    “Aren’t you?” he asked, eyes narrowing.
    She considered him for a moment, and then sat back.
Wearily she lifted her shoulders. “It was more her mother’s idea,” she said
dryly.
    “And what exactly is it that you’re doing here?” His
gaze drifted to the hall, then back. “The downstairs rooms are empty of
everything but furniture. Are you preparing the house for sale?”
    “Uh-huh. You’d agreed to sell it.”
    “I didn’t realize it would be this fast.”
    “It’s not on the market yet,” she clarified. “When
I’m through clearing out the personal stuff, painters and contractors have to
be hired.”
    “Why you?”
    “Why me what?”
    “In what capacity are you here? As a friend of the
family?”
    “Oh.” She pursed her lips. “Well, actually—”
    “You seem too young to be the real estate agent.”
    “In fact, I am an agent,” she informed him coolly.
“And a successful one. You’d be amazed at how grown up I can look when I put my
mind to it.”
    “Excuse me.” At her rebuff, his stuffy side made
another appearance. “I stand corrected.”
    She waved it off. “But I won’t be handling the sale.
I work out of San Francisco and don’t know the area here well enough to feel
comfortable with it. Mavis Fairly lives here in Chester Beach and works out of
Castleton City. She’s a family friend and will handle negotiations.”
    She got up, refilled her cup, then sat down again.
“Now I need to know what you’re doing here. Do you by chance want to hang on to
this place after all?”
    “You look apprehensive. Evidently you don’t want me
to reconsider.”
    And that thoughtful look of his probably meant that
he was reconsidering. Oh, great. One complication after another. She stood and
pushed her chair under the table. “Call...Laurel, when you make up your mind.
And consider the coffee maker a gift. I’ll get my suitcase and be gone.”
    “You don’t have to go, Sunny. You’re welcome to
stay.”
    “This place isn’t big enough for both of us,” she
mumbled as she emptied her cup into the sink. She stopped on her way out of the
kitchen, turned back, and tilted her head as if to look down her nose at him.
When annoyed, her habit was to annoy right back. “And I can’t help but wonder
in what capacity you’re inviting me to stay, Mr. Corday?”
    He stared at her for a long moment, as if mulling
over her meaning. Then his eyes closed briefly, showing her he’d caught on.
Appearing impatient as well as irritated, he shook his head at the well-worn
oilcloth that covered the table. “Are you always this prickly?”
    Sunny regretted making the implication. Her peppery
side had gotten her in trouble more than once.
    “You’re not my type,” he went on, voice so
dismissive his insult topped hers. He managed to give the impression of looking
down his nose at her without even looking at her. Then that cool green gaze
rose and caught hers. “And I haven’t changed my mind about selling. Your
commission is safe. I live in Bakersfield.” He paused, then added, as if
explaining to a child, “No ocean. I wanted to see this place before it was
sold. Perhaps I should have contacted Laurel, but I was given a key at the end
of probate so I just came ahead. And