Read Online Bring Him Home by Karina Bliss - Free Book Online

him it was a tactical move, but he answered her seriously.
    “You know that’s my preference.”
    The agent’s nostrils flared. “What idea?”
    “Nate suggested I rent out the property and accept an interim loan from him until the business starts turning a profit.”
    Adam was on his feet before she’d finished the sentence and pulling his cell out of his jacket. “Hey, let’s not write off these buyers just yet,” he suggested with a pained smile. “I’m sure there’s more fat in this. I’ll go call them.”
    Nate waited until the agent left the meeting room. “Maybe this is a sign.” There was a lot on the line here. Her financial future. Lewis’s. She was sinking everything into the project. And if the charter business failed in two, three years? Then what? No assets, except the boat and the bach, which Claire had admitted she’d never sell. Steve had spent years chipping away at the mortgage to make sure his wife had equity in the house to fall back on if anything happened to him. “Rent out the house. Keep an escape route open. It’s what Steve would do.”
    “In case you haven’t noticed, Steve’s not here.”
    “That wasn’t his choice, Claire.”
    “Every time a soldier’s deployed, he implicitly accepts the possibility of death.”
    What was he missing here? Nate swallowed. “Believe me, our entire focus is on completing our mission and coming home alive.”
    “But the choice to risk your life is yours. The people who love you can only choose to wait.”
    She turned her attention to the documents in her lap. Her long hair swung forward, obscuring her profile. “Do you understand how much that passivity costs us?”
    As he stared at her, baffled, Adam bustled into the room. “They’ll go up to five hundred and ninety thousand, final offer. That leaves you only ten short of the asking price.”
    “Minus your commission,” Nate said before Claire could react. “What is that exactly, Adam?”
    “Industry average, Nate.”
    “Three percent on the first three thousand dollars,” Claire read from the document in her lap. “Two percent on amounts above that.”
    “So we’re talking around fifteen thousand,” Nate told her, “which leaves you five hundred and seventy-five thousand. Then you have to deduct the mortgage…” He waited for her to do the math. “My interest on a loan would be at mate’s rates.”
    She saw where he was going with this and obligingly pulled a face.
    Adam glanced between them. “Let me ask my boss if there’s wiggle room on our commission,” he suggested.
    “Thanks,” she said when the door closed behind him. “Every dollar counts.”
    “Which is why you need to be sure about this, Claire.”
    “Hey, what’s the worst that can happen?” she said lightly. “If I spend all my savings and the venture fails I’ll just sell the boat and get a real job.”
    He frowned. “Is that supposed to be reassuring?”
    “It’s only money, Nate. Compared with losing Steve…” She forced a smile. “I need to do something a little scary, something that excites me. I feel like I’ve simply been existing since Steve’s death. And frankly it’s time my son had a better role model. I want Lewis to remember how we used to be before his father died.”
    His misgivings grew, but the door flew open before he could articulate them.
    “Good news,” Adam announced. “We’ll knock four grand off the commission.”
    “That’s great.” Delighted, Clare stood to hug him. “Thank you.”
    Adam ducked his head. “Hey, that’s why we’re here, Claire, to deliver the dream.”
    Shit, thought Nate. Shit. Shit. Shit.
    Claire bent to hug him too, her hair a fragrant fall against his cheek. “Kudos, partner,” she murmured.
    Adam picked up the discarded folder and sat at his desk, his gold-plated pen slashing through the text as he made amendments. He misread Nate’s disquiet.
    “Don’t worry, it’s still legal as long as you initial the changes. So give me