Page 22 of For Always
“Hey, Noah,” Jagger said, tapping the guy on the shoulder.
When Noah turned his attention from Brooke to Jagger, Brooke dropped her hand from Noah’s arm. Tyler tried not to frown at her when she looked past Jagger to him. In that moment Tyler knew her type. She was an opportunist. But why had she set her sights on Jagger? Before their parents passed away, Jagger made a good living, but he wasn’t obscenely wealthy. At the reading of the will Clyde informed Tyler that his parents’ estimated worth was somewhere around nine million. This included property, stocks that had been passed down from his grandfather, treasury bills, and investment accounts. Cash-on-hand totaled eight hundred and ninety-five thousand. That was already divided between Tyler and Jagger. At Jagger’s written request—because he was in Paris during that first week after the murders—his portion of the cash had been transferred into two separate accounts.
Brooke couldn’t have known what Jagger would inherit. Not unless she’d already researched the ranch and their parents’ holdings. Which, Tyler realized with a start, he did not doubt was possible.
“Jagger West,” Noah said and extended a hand for Jagger to shake. “It’s been a long time.”
His brother looked more confident now that Brooke had moved to stand beside him, threading her arm through his.
Jagger accepted the hand and kept eye contact with Noah. Their father had taught them to look a man in his eye at all times—whether he be friend or foe.
“Eighteen years ago,” Jagger said, releasing Noah’s hand.
“And Tyler,” Noah added as he looked away from Jagger. “You’re back too.”
“Hey Noah,” Tyler spoke. He did not extend his arm to shake Noah’s hand, and noted that the guy hadn’t either.
“The West boys are back at Westwind,” Noah said. “Bet nobody ever thought that would happen.”
“Oh we won’t be here long, will we Jagger?” Brooke asked. “We’re just wrapping up the sale of the property and then we’ll be heading back to New York.”
Tyler didn’t reply because he didn’t want to discuss the status of the ranch in front of Brooke, or Noah for that matter.
What he really wanted was to talk to Gabriella. But he still had no idea where she’d gone.
Gabriella needed some air.
She probably needed to catch the next flight out of this town and head back to Connecticut, with the mess she feared was going on around her. How had she walked into this confusion? Technically, it wasn’t her fault. She’d been hired to do a job and she’d come here to do it. Simple. Right?
No.
Now she was being low-key threatened by a primped and pampered bitch. And if that wasn’t bad enough, a washed up Barbie look-a-like was giving her the sharpest side-eye Gabriella had ever experienced. It was a wonder she wasn’t cut up and bleeding at this moment, after the way Hannah Palmer had watched her crossing the living room. If there was one thing Gabriella hated it was catty women, with issues they always tried to blame on someone else. Hell, she had enough issues of her own, she didn’t need to inherit or share any with others.
With a sigh she leaned against the edge of the outdoor stove and looked up to the sky. When she was inside, she’d looked through the wall of windows that were steadily becoming her favorite feature in the entire house, and saw that the sun was just going down. Now, she was outside enjoying the sight and trying to clear her mind of what had happened in the first few minutes of her being here, when she was joined by someone else.
“Hi. I’m Naomi Garret, Stephen’s wife. I just wanted to meet you before we sat down to dinner.”
Gabriella smiled and shook the woman’s hand. “Hi Naomi. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh no, it is definitely my pleasure,” she said. “When Stephen told me you were an actual designer, I couldn’t wait to get over here to meet you.”
“Really? Are you interested in design?”
“Yes! I watch HGTV all the time. I was so excited when Stephen and I moved out of that little trailer we were staying in before the wedding. We’d been saving for a while so the trailer was cheaper than having to pay anybody rent. Mr. George let us park it on the grounds, back behind the employee residences. There’s no couples allowed in that building, so once Stephen and I became engaged we had to figure something out.”
“I see,” Gabriella said.
Naomi had a pretty smile and a lovely cinnamon brown complexion.
“I hope you don’t mind but once you get started working on the house, could I stop by just to see how it’s really done?”
“Sure,” Gabriella told her. “I mean, it’s okay with me. I’m not sure if you’ll need to get Tyler or Dessie’s approval as well.”
Naomi chuckled. “Dessie’s the one who suggested I ask you. She knows I’ve been into designing for a while now. And when she told me she was going to hire a professional to help get the ranch together for sale I was so excited. Not that the ranch might fall into someone else’s hands, but because someone trained in design would be here.”
“Well then, if Dessie is encouraging you, you must be good,” Gabriella said. “If and when I get started, I may need some help finding the best spots in town to pick up a few things. I use a lot of online vendors but I’m definitely planning to incorporate some local flavor. This place is already brimming with it, but I’d want to class it up a bit.”
“Definitely,” Naomi squealed. “Thank you so much! And yes, I know exactly what you mean. Ms. Verna had good taste, but it was an older taste. Tyler and Jagger are younger, so I think bringing the house into a more contemporary western setting would be good. But, I mean, you tell me. I know you’re the professional and I’ll do whatever you ask.”
