Heart in the Field by Jillian Dagg Page B

It’s his life.”
                “I’m talking about his life, Mom.
You two deserve to have a good life in the next few years, and I can help out
with that. There’s a hell of a lot of money tied up in real estate here. This
place is too much for both of you to cope with now. I’m not saying you have to
make a decision right away, but I’m here to stay over the next few months and I
want you to give some consideration to what I’ve said about moving to somewhere
easier to handle. In the meantime, I’ll look into hiring someone to come in and
clean and help with the meals.”
                Stephen pounded the arm of the chair
with his fist. “I don’t want anyone in here fiddling around with my personal
things. I only eat your mother’s meals.”
                Nick got up and walked to the
window. The sun shone hard and bright onto the road and glinted off the
windshields of the cars parked at the curb. A truck backed up to a grocery
store across the road. He could hear the beep of the alarm even inside these
solid brick walls. He’d spent little of his childhood here, but he remembered
it enough that the place depressed him. He’d never been allowed to bring
friends here, or make a mess with his toys. Not that he’d had many toys. His parents
had given him books, which he always read voraciously. All the solitude and all
the books were likely why he’d found himself writing by the time he was a
teenager. He knew if he’d had more inner peace with his home situation he might
have become a writer instead of careening around the world in search of
adventure.
                Maria rose to put the kettle on.
Nick settled back in the armchair opposite his father to partake in the tea
ceremony. He left about half an hour later, feeling he hadn’t accomplished anything.
But at least he’d planted the idea.
    •
                Seth’s apartment was in a converted
warehouse area. Serena parked her car and hurried into the brick building. The
stairs and the wooden hallway between the loft apartments felt like a fire
trap. But she knew that inside the vast spaces were either artists’ studios or luxury living quarters and the fire regulations had been taken care
of.
                She’d only been to her brother’s
apartment once since he’d moved in about a year ago. She knew all her reasons
why. As well as Seth being extremely like her father, she didn’t really like
the area, and she was also somewhat in awe of her brother, even if he was
younger. He was a bit like Nick Fraser. A cool, handsome man, who didn’t have
to make a move to set women’s hearts fluttering madly in their breasts . My lean, mean brother, she’d called him once, when
he was sixteen and she felt he might have broken a girl’s heart. All he’d done
was smile, shrug, and say, “Whatever.”
                Seth answered the door, his six-foot
frame covered in black jeans and a black T-shirt with his band’s name, Lite on the front in silver letters. His wavy brown hair
was long and he’d grown sideburns. He looked so much like her father that
Serena didn’t say a word for a moment as he raised an eyebrow over his
silver-gray eyes.
                “Well, Sis.” He spoke in his rather
sarcastic eloquent tones that were similar to Nick Fraser’s. “I got your
message, so I’m not surprised you’re here.”
                “Can I come in?”
                “Sure.” He opened the door and she
walked in.
                He’d done quite a bit to his living
quarters since her last visit. The wood floors were polished. The furniture was
sparse but expensive, each piece chosen individually and not because it matched
anything else. One good thing her father had done for his family, he’d left them
well enough off not to have to worry about finances.
    She put her
purse down on a red and white striped sofa.
                Seth