Time of Possession (Seattle Lumberjacks #5) Read Free Page A

droned on and on about the
country club’s newest applicants for membership, Seattle’s premier
golf courses, and God knew what else. Those two could put a
hummingbird to sleep.
    Meanwhile, Richard’s mother, Eunice, flitted
around table to table in the upscale country club restaurant
chatting up her friends.
    But like a dutiful fiancé, Estie pasted an
interested smile on her face and pretended to give a shit, but she
didn’t, not about that crap. She loved football, family, and
animals. She loved making her brother money and making up for the
financial crash she hadn’t anticipated that almost ruined him a few
years ago when the market dived along with his portfolio.
    She secretly called that time in her life
the Shadow Period , not as dark as when her father died
suddenly, but still in the shadows. That was when doubt had started
to creep in. She should’ve seen the financial crash coming,
should’ve protected Tyler like any good financial advisor would
have. Through it all, Tyler still placed his trust in her, and
she’d vowed she’d never again betray that trust.
    So when longtime friend Richard suggested a
partnership in a boutique firm, she’d jumped at the chance. Two
heads were better than one. Richard had an eye for risky
investments that paid off, which perfectly complemented her
superior organizational skills and attention to detail. Her
ramped-up caution kept a client’s financial investments safe from
Richard’s somewhat reckless risk-taking. Between the two of them,
Tyler’s investment portfolio climbed through the roof, and they’d
become so popular they found themselves turning away clients.
    The teammate she’d met yesterday wasn’t one
of their clients. She almost wished he was. Brett Gunnels intrigued
her on several levels, from the obvious care he took of his
feathered friend to the sadness lurking behind the smile. His
sorrow reached out to her, made her want to rescue him, just like
she’d rescued countless animals over the years.
    Only Brett wasn’t a homeless animal, he was
a fine-tuned athlete in his prime, and whatever dark places lived
in his head, she’d be smart to keep her distance. Dark places were
messy and couldn’t be controlled. Estie was all about neat,
orderly, and controlled. She’d been to those dark places a time or
two in her thirty years and didn’t plan on buying a ticket to go
back, round-trip or not. Richard didn’t have any dark places. He
was shallow and controllable, and she liked it that way. Or so
she’d convinced herself.
    Estie’s stomach growled so loudly a
blue-haired lady turned in her chair to stare at her. Estie smiled
in apology and stared at her seafood lunch, the food perfectly
presented and almost too pretty to eat, but not appealing. She
missed the down-home meals she’d had in her childhood on a small
cattle ranch in North Central Washington. Estie was a woman who
loved her beef. Not to mention, she could rope and ride with the
best of them, just like her brother and sister—a little known fact
they’d just as soon she kept to herself.
    She signaled the waitress for more coffee
before she fell asleep. She lifted her gaze to her fiancé, but
Richard didn’t even notice; he and his father were so busy
discussing whether or not a high-tech billionaire with humble roots
was a viable candidate for membership in the country club.
    Lord, was she the only person ever annoyed
by their snobbish attitude?
    Estie’s mind drifted to pale blue eyes, the
same color as summer Seattle sky. Brett Gunnels had a nice smile,
even though it seemed somewhat rusty from disuse. Aware of his
military background and time spent in the Middle East, she wondered
if he’d seen too much of what the world had to offer and didn’t
necessarily believe in the good in it anymore.
    Brett wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous like Estie’s
brother, Tyler. He didn’t wear his alpha trappings like a Superman
costume for all to see. Instead, his quiet demeanor gave off a
sense of