Read Online Trouble Me: A Rosewood Novel by Laura Moore - Free Book Online
Authors: Laura Moore
Ads: Link
Cottage because you want to get rid of me. At the very least make me learn how to cook.”
Margot gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. “You, Jade, are suffering from paranoid delusions. Travis, please tell her how many tears I wept at the prospect of giving up 24/7 entertainment for Georgie and Will.”
“Oceans. Margot was practically in mourning,” Travis said.
“You’ve got Owen and Travis to thank for your new digs. They thought you might like to have a place whereyou could enjoy some privacy when you wanted it, rather than having your bedroom door busted down by the likes of Neddy or Will.”
A graphic image of what she’d been up to last night flashed in Jade’s mind. The last thing she wanted was for a G-rated audience to walk in on that kind of show. Although neither one-night stands nor sexual encounters of any kind were on her agenda, she did intend to line up a private investigator to find out who her mother’s lover had been. That particular activity had to remain just as private, hidden not only from the little nippers scampering in and out of her quarters but from her sisters as well. They wouldn’t understand her need to dig up old painful memories, and she wasn’t sure she could explain it to them convincingly. So, yeah, it would be good to research investigators here at the cottage, where awkward interruptions could be kept to a minimum.
Jordan’s voice brought Jade back to the immediate conversation. “Naturally I’m all for you learning how to boil water, Jade, but I’m hoping you’ll also be coming to Hawk Hill for dinner several times a week. You could come tonight. I baked brownies.” Her smile was accompanied by a mischievous wink as Margot gave a cry of outrage.
“That is so sneaky and underhanded of you, Jordan!”
Unfazed, Jordan merely shrugged. “Jade’s a free agent; she’s going to go where the deal is sweeter.”
“
Sweet
being the operative word,” Margot huffed. “Well, I’ll just have to ask Ellie to make her fried chicken for tomorrow night, won’t I?”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed at Margot’s upping of the ante.
“Wow. Ellie’s fried chicken. I’ve forgotten what that tastes like. I think I dream of it sometimes though,” Travis said, his mouth lifting in a crooked smile.
“So now do you see how hard it was to get your sisters to agree to renovating the cottage?” Owen asked.
Jade grinned. “Yeah. So, to be clear: What are you two expecting in return for this shameless and blatant bribery?”
“Babysitting,” Margot and Jordan pronounced in unison.
“For these monsters?” She summoned her darkest scowl at the kids, who’d decided to hold a one-legged race across the empty living space. Neddy and Will had joined in, tottering and crawling energetically across the drop cloth and, when that grew old, rolling about and laughing like the goofballs they were. As for the others, it was looking as if Georgie might win the race over her older cousins. While Georgie had Travis’s dramatic dark looks, she took after Margot in a big way: She liked to win. “You guys drive a hard bargain.”
“Think of it in terms of doing a good deed for bros-in-law who rock, kid,” Owen suggested.
Jade pretended to consider. “Okay, if you put it that way. I guess I can give up a couple of nights now and again.”
From the four matching grins, one would think she’d just handed her sisters and their husbands the moon.
Ned cleared his throat. “Now that we’ve got that question settled, how about Miss Jade grabbing her breeches from her bag so we can get a spot of work done before the day is over?”
“An excellent idea, especially since I want to do Jordan’s brownies justice. Who do you have lined up for me to ride?” She had a moment of nostalgia for her beloved gelding, Aspen, the first horse she’d trained, the first horse she’d had to sell.
It had taken saying goodbye to Aspen to understand why Margot broke down whenever it came time to load a
Margot gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. “You, Jade, are suffering from paranoid delusions. Travis, please tell her how many tears I wept at the prospect of giving up 24/7 entertainment for Georgie and Will.”
“Oceans. Margot was practically in mourning,” Travis said.
“You’ve got Owen and Travis to thank for your new digs. They thought you might like to have a place whereyou could enjoy some privacy when you wanted it, rather than having your bedroom door busted down by the likes of Neddy or Will.”
A graphic image of what she’d been up to last night flashed in Jade’s mind. The last thing she wanted was for a G-rated audience to walk in on that kind of show. Although neither one-night stands nor sexual encounters of any kind were on her agenda, she did intend to line up a private investigator to find out who her mother’s lover had been. That particular activity had to remain just as private, hidden not only from the little nippers scampering in and out of her quarters but from her sisters as well. They wouldn’t understand her need to dig up old painful memories, and she wasn’t sure she could explain it to them convincingly. So, yeah, it would be good to research investigators here at the cottage, where awkward interruptions could be kept to a minimum.
Jordan’s voice brought Jade back to the immediate conversation. “Naturally I’m all for you learning how to boil water, Jade, but I’m hoping you’ll also be coming to Hawk Hill for dinner several times a week. You could come tonight. I baked brownies.” Her smile was accompanied by a mischievous wink as Margot gave a cry of outrage.
“That is so sneaky and underhanded of you, Jordan!”
Unfazed, Jordan merely shrugged. “Jade’s a free agent; she’s going to go where the deal is sweeter.”
“
Sweet
being the operative word,” Margot huffed. “Well, I’ll just have to ask Ellie to make her fried chicken for tomorrow night, won’t I?”
Jordan’s eyes narrowed at Margot’s upping of the ante.
“Wow. Ellie’s fried chicken. I’ve forgotten what that tastes like. I think I dream of it sometimes though,” Travis said, his mouth lifting in a crooked smile.
“So now do you see how hard it was to get your sisters to agree to renovating the cottage?” Owen asked.
Jade grinned. “Yeah. So, to be clear: What are you two expecting in return for this shameless and blatant bribery?”
“Babysitting,” Margot and Jordan pronounced in unison.
“For these monsters?” She summoned her darkest scowl at the kids, who’d decided to hold a one-legged race across the empty living space. Neddy and Will had joined in, tottering and crawling energetically across the drop cloth and, when that grew old, rolling about and laughing like the goofballs they were. As for the others, it was looking as if Georgie might win the race over her older cousins. While Georgie had Travis’s dramatic dark looks, she took after Margot in a big way: She liked to win. “You guys drive a hard bargain.”
“Think of it in terms of doing a good deed for bros-in-law who rock, kid,” Owen suggested.
Jade pretended to consider. “Okay, if you put it that way. I guess I can give up a couple of nights now and again.”
From the four matching grins, one would think she’d just handed her sisters and their husbands the moon.
Ned cleared his throat. “Now that we’ve got that question settled, how about Miss Jade grabbing her breeches from her bag so we can get a spot of work done before the day is over?”
“An excellent idea, especially since I want to do Jordan’s brownies justice. Who do you have lined up for me to ride?” She had a moment of nostalgia for her beloved gelding, Aspen, the first horse she’d trained, the first horse she’d had to sell.
It had taken saying goodbye to Aspen to understand why Margot broke down whenever it came time to load a
Similar Books
