Read Online Believe in Me: A Rosewood Novel by Laura Moore - Free Book Online Page A

feat, if what you say is true,” he pointed out.
    “Margot, the middle daughter, is a model,” she said as if that explained everything. “She’s got that look which appeals to some.” Her moue of distaste indicated she wasn’t among them. “One of my dear friends, Edward Crandall, was the lawyer for the estate. He did his best to advise the girls to sell the property, but Margot refused. She was determined to ‘save’ her home.” Her fingers formed littlequotation marks. “Such an amusing notion, really, considering that RJ and Nicole had banished her from Rosewood.”
    “Banished?” Surely Nonie was exaggerating. “Sounds rather draconian.”
    “No, just very much like RJ. Of course, he was egged on by Nicole, who positively loathed Margot. They refused any contact with her for years. Seeing her flounce about in fashion magazines only fueled their anger. But RJ would have disinherited Margot entirely if he could have foreseen that she’d come home and marry Rosewood’s
barn manager
. Now, I’m not hypocritical. I’m not going to pretend I either miss or mourn Nicole at all, but how I would have loved to see her maintain her queen-of-the-realm attitude after Margot tied the knot with Travis Maher. Not only is he a glorified stable hand, he’s also the son of Warburg’s most notorious drunk!” Smiling, she reached for the bowl of cheese sticks that the maid had silently brought in and offered it to Owen. “Have one, darling, they’re just yummy.”
    He shook his head, not even bothering with a “No, thanks.”
    She gave a little pout, selected one for herself, took a bite, and sank back against the sofa cushions. “What were we talking about? Oh, yes, Margot’s marrying Travis. Scandalous. Well, she’s always been headstrong. To think she ended up being Jade’s guardian—that’s the younger half-sister. Edward Crandall made a terrible mistake there. As lawyer for the estate, he should have appointed somebody else. Anybody would have been a better pick to act as a decent role model for a teenager than a fashion model! I can’t say it’s any surprise that Jade’s turned into a troublemaker. Last year she was nearly arrested by the police for underage drinking. It’d be one thing if Jade was just out to self-destruct, but she’s the kind who brings others down along with her. Because of her, three perfectly innocent girls were suspended from the high school. One of them was my niece, Blair.”
    Ahh, Owen thought. Was this the motive behind Nonie’s hostility? “What happened?” he asked.
    “It was some silliness on the Internet. Total nonsense, nothing more than an adolescent prank. But the principal took Jade’s side. No doubt he was dazzled by Margot’s celebrity status when she went in and pleaded for her sister. So Jade got off scot-free while the other girls were suspended. As I said, she’s a real troublemaker. Jordan’s making a terrible mistake letting Jade around her children—” She paused to pop the last of her cheese stick into her mouth. “But that’s the problem with Jordan. Too trusting by half.”
    At the mention of Jordan, Owen, who’d been doing his best to tune Nonie out, focused. “She didn’t strike me as the overly trusting type.”
    “Terribly gullible, the poor thing. It took her until she was halfway through her pregnancy with her third child to realize that her husband, Richard Stevens, was carrying on a very steamy affair with a junior associate in his office. A friend of a friend who works in Richard’s firm told me all about it. Truly torrid stuff.”
    Owen was still digesting the first bit of information. Jordan Radcliffe was the mother of three? Impossible. Three kids? he repeated silently. Jesus H. Christ. Owen had sensed she was complicated, but obviously he hadn’t guessed the half of it. It wasn’t enough for a woman like Jordan Radcliffe to have “emotional commitment required” written all over her, the sign should be accompanied by