Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

Bas got out of the car and shoved his keys into the pocket of his jeans, appreciating Jason Kilgore for making arrangements for him to have a place to stay while in town.

Just being back in Newton Grove was stirring memories of how closely he had worked with Jim that summer, the bond they’d made and the special friendship that had been forged. He took a moment to lean against the fender of his rented car and glanced around, reflecting. In his mind he could actually see Jim loading lumber into his pickup truck while preaching to Bas in that strong, firm, yet caring voice. He’d told him the importance of a man being a man, about handling your responsibilities and taking advantage of every opportunity. The memory tugged at Bas’s heart, and emotions swamped him. They were emotions that Jim had effectively shown him that it was okay to possess.

Bas suddenly blinked when the sound of a car’s horn reclaimed his attention. Sighing deeply he went to the trunk to get out his luggage, thinking of his encounter with Jocelyn Mason. If the woman had her way he would be headed back to Charlotte by now. He could almost feel the daggers she had thrown in his back when he’d walked out of Kilgore’s office.

He sighed again and glanced up toward the sky. “Jim, old friend, I hope you knew what you were doing because I don’t think your daughter likes me very much.”

“Aren’t you that same young man who used to give us trouble?”

Sebastian glanced up from signing his name in Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast’s registration book and met the old woman’s eyes. Something hard and tight settled in the pit of his stomach. It was a reaction he got whenever anyone recalled his less-than-sterling past.

If she had been someone from Charlotte, he would have shamefully admitted to it. But he distinctly remembered being on good behavior that summer while living in Newton Grove. For that reason he stared at her and said, “No, ma’am, you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

Evidently she thought otherwise and her blue eyes sparked as she said, “No, I don’t think so. I might be old—I’m pushing seventy—but I have a fairly good memory about some things. You worked with Jim, as part of his construction business one summer, over thirteen or fourteen years ago.”

Bas’s stomach began feeling unsettled again. She certainly did have a good memory. “Yes, but I didn’t get into any trouble,” he said defensively.

The old woman laughed. “Not any of your own making, trust me. But whenever you worked outside at a construction site on those extremely hot days, you drew an audience every time you took off your shirt.”

She barked out another laugh and continued. “Yeah, I do remember that summer. You had all the young women acting like silly fools whenever they could take a peek at you. And I remember Marcella all but salivating whenever she saw you.”

She studied him for a moment then said, “I understand you’re going to be helping out at Mason’s Construction again.”

He took his Visa card out of his wallet to hand to her. News traveled fast in small towns. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“I’m glad you saw fit to come help Jocelyn for a while now that Jim’s gone. Lord knows she wouldn’t ask for it, even if she needed it,” Sadie went on to say. “And I’m curious as to what Leah’s going to do. I expected her to leave town right after the funeral.”

Bas put his charge card back into his wallet after she returned it to him. “She lives in California, right?”

“So we hear. Leah left here at eighteen. She hated this place, claimed Newton Grove was too small town for her. She wanted to see the world and headed to California.”

After a quick pause she added, “She broke Reese Singleton’s heart when she left. They’d been sweethearts. He’s a good man who didn’t deserve what she did to him. You’ll get to know Reese rather well over the coming months.”

Bas leaned against the counter. “I will?”

“Yes, he’s the foreman at Mason Construction. But he might not be there for too much longer.”

Bas lifted a brow. “Why not?”

“Because he’s better suited as a carpenter than a builder, and I heard that Jim left him a bunch of money to start his own business.”