Lone Star Burn: Taken by Surprise (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Free Page B

road since seven that morning, stopping only for lunch and bathroom breaks. She’d been driving for eight hours already and wondered if she’d ever get where she was going. The GPS told her she only had another six miles, but with nothing but ranchland and empty spaces stretching on either side of the two-lane highway, she wondered if it was mistaken. She hadn’t seen a lot of people but she’d seen more than her share of cattle, with a few horses here and there. She now saw what people meant about the wide-open spaces. She wondered if there was even a town on this road and if she’d get there before it got dark.
    And then, just as she tapped the GPS to make sure it was working, some houses came into view. Not too close together, but a change from what she’d been seeing. At the moment she saw a sign with Fort Mavis on it and an arrow to the right, the mechanical GPS voice told her, “Turn right and drive one mile.”
    She realized with a start that she had spent most of her life in large cities—Houston, and New York when she was away at culinary school. This was her first exposure to small-town America. She had no idea what to expect and felt a catch of excitement in her throat as she got her first sight of the town. The streets were wide, with a nice mixture of historical and renovated buildings. The storefronts all had tall doors, freshly painted in white and black, and large glass windows fronting the street displaying merchandise. The town looked busy, with people shopping or, in some cases, just stopping to chat. She took a moment to absorb it all as she pulled up to the curb.
    “We’re upstairs over the custom boot shop,” Marshall Wohl had told her.
    And there it was.
    Jessie climbed out and stretched, happy at last to be out of the SUV. Then she pulled in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It might be her imagination, but the air smelled cleaner here. Maybe it would clear her head.
    I will look at this as a new opportunity. How bad can it be? At least if I own a house and a business I won’t be out of work or out on the street.
    The door between the boot shop and the store next to it matched those of the businesses up and down the street. The legend Marsten & Wohl, Attorneys at Law, was painted in gold script. Jessie turned the knob and pulled the door open to find a flight of stairs leading up from the small foyer.
    Well, Jessie girl, here goes.
    At the top of the stairs, she stepped into a wide reception area, where a pleasant-looking woman sat behind a desk. She rose at Jessie’s approach and held out her hand.
    “You must be Miss Coford. We’ve been expecting you. Nice to meet you.” She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button. “Mr. Wohl, the young lady is here.”
    An inner door opened, and a tall man with a lined face and gray hair, his mouth stretched in a wide smile, came out to greet her. Jessie took in his outfit—button-up shirt with a string tie, slacks, and what she was sure were very expensive boots.
    It really is a movie set. Oh lord. I didn’t think towns like this really existed.
    “Miss Coford.” He shook her hand. “Marshall Wohl. I am so pleased to meet you. Delfina spoke very highly of you.”
    “She did?” And exactly how did she know anything about me at all?
    “Yes, she did. Well, come on.” He ushered her into his office. “Let’s get the paperwork taken care of so you can see your property.
    Her property. Up until now, her property had been her furniture, her clothes, and her car. Wow!
    Marshall Wohl opened a file and spread the papers out on his desk, explaining each one to her. The will. The deeds. The tax receipts. Spreadsheets that were the profit and loss statements for the diner. Profit and loss? She hadn’t figured there’d be anything that sophisticated, although she knew you needed them to run a business. By the time he finished, her head was spinning.
    “I can tell this is quite a shock to you,” the lawyer said.
    Jessie gave a