“Don’t tell me what to do,” Jocelyn said as she glared at him.

Placing her hands on her hips she added, “And I’d appreciate it if you would keep from underfoot.”

“Underfoot?” Bas growled. In the blink of an eye, he’d crossed the room and backed her against the far wall in the cramped office. “You wouldn’t know underfoot if it bit you, Jocelyn. This is underfoot,” he said heatedly, pressing his body intimately to hers.

“Don’t push me,” he warned huskily. “Especially not for all the wrong reasons.”

Jocelyn frowned, refusing to back down. “With you there couldn’t be any right reasons. And if you didn’t understand, then let me make it crystal clear. You’re not the boss of me.”

His eyes met hers and he gazed into their angry depths. He was experienced enough to see beyond the anger and to notice something else, something she was trying like hell to fight—deep longing, need and heated desire….

BRENDA JACKSON

is a die-“heart” romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because she’s always believed in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always have happy endings. A USA TODAY bestselling author of over forty romance titles, Brenda divides her time between family, writing and working in management at a major insurance company.

In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-four years live in Jacksonville, Florida and have two sons. You may write Brenda at P.O Box 28267, Jacksonville, FL 32226, e-mail her at WriterBJackson@aol.com, or visit her Web site at www.brendajackson.net.

Night Heat
Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Gerald Jackson, Sr., the man who

showed me what true love was all about.

To all my readers who continue to enjoy my love stories.

To my Heavenly Father who gave me the gift to write.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning was the first day.

Genesis 1:5 KJV

Dear Reader,

When I first penned my Madaris series I knew those books would be connected by family ties and friendships. The same held true with the Westmorelands and now with the Steeles. Whenever you pick up one of my novels I want to introduce you to new friends, as well as give you the chance to visit with old favorites.

You met Sebastian Steele in Solid Soul, and from the time he made an appearance in Chance and Kylie’s story, I knew he would be the hero of the second book in the FORGED OF STEELE series. I also knew that it would take an extraordinary woman—like Jocelyn Mason—to show a workaholic like Bas that all work and no play results in plenty of lonely nights. What Bas needed was a lesson in how to have fun and Jocelyn was quick to oblige.

Join Bas and Jocelyn as they bring on the night heat and discover how much fun falling in love can be!

Enjoy,

Brenda Jackson

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Prologue

“What do you mean I need to take time off work for medical reasons?” Sebastian Steele asked, squirming uncomfortably under Dr. Joe Nelson’s intense gaze. It was that time of year again—the company physical. An event he detested.

Last year Dr. Nelson—who to Sebastian’s way of thinking should be staring retirement real close in the face—had told Sebastian that his blood pressure was too high and as a result he needed to adopt a healthier lifestyle, a lifestyle that included improving his eating habits, taking the medication he’d been prescribed, becoming more physically active and eliminating stress by reducing his hours at work.

Sebastian had done none of those things.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t taken the doctor seriously; it was just that he hadn’t had the time to make the changes the man had requested. Sebastian, better known as Bas, was single and used to grabbing something to eat on the run. Asking him to give up fried chicken was simply un-American. As far as taking the medication the doctor had prescribed, well, he would take the damn things if he could remember to have the prescription filled.

Then there was this thing about becoming physically active. He guessed having sex on a regular basis didn’t count. And even if it did, that would be a moot point now, since he’d broken his engagement to Cassandra Tisdale eight months ago and hadn’t had another bed partner since.

Last but not least was this nonsense about eliminating stress by cutting his work hours. Now that was really asking a lot. He lived to work and he worked to live. The term workaholic could definitely be used to describe him. The Steele Corporation was more than just a company to Sebastian; it was a lifeline. He thoroughly enjoyed his job in the family business as troubleshooter and problem solver.

“You heard me correctly, Bas. I recommend that you take a three-month medical leave of absence.”

Sebastian shook his head. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m as serious as a heart attack, which is what you’re going to have if you don’t make immediate changes.”

The muscle in Sebastian’s jaw twitched and his teeth began clenching. “Aren’t you getting a little carried away about this? I’m thirty-five, not seventy-five.”

“And at the rate you’re going you won’t make it to forty-five,” Dr. Nelson said flatly.

Sebastian stood on his feet, no longer able to sit for this conversation. “Fine, I’ll take a week off.”

“One week isn’t good enough. You need at least three months away from here.” Dr. Nelson leaned back in his chair and continued his speech. “I know you don’t want to accept what I’m telling you, and of course you’re free to get a second opinion, but my recommendation will stand. And I will take it to the board if I have to. If you don’t make some major and immediate changes to your lifestyle then you’re a stroke or a heart attack just waiting to happen. I’m going to make sure you get to live to the ripe old age of seventy, like me,” Dr. Nelson ended, chuckling.

Bas rolled his eyes heavenward. “What if I take two weeks off?” he asked, deciding to try and work a deal.

“You need at least three months.”

“What about a month, Doc? I promise to give KFC a break and lay off the fried chicken, and I promise—”

“Three months, Bas. You actually need at least six but I’m willing to settle for three. At the end of that time you’ll thank me.”

Bas snorted before walking out the door. He seriously doubted it.

“Your brothers are here to see you, Mr. Steele.”

Bas frowned, wondering what they wanted. Just as he’d known they would, they had bought into Dr. Nelson’s recommendation as though it had been the gospel according to St. John. He was thankful his brothers had given him a week to tie up loose ends around the office instead of the two days Dr. Nelson had suggested.

He stood, crossing his arms over his chest, when the three walked in. There was Chance, who at thirty-seven was the oldest Steele brother and CEO of the corporation. Then came Morgan who was thirty-three and the head of the Research and Development Department. Donovan, at thirty, was in charge of Product Administration. Of the three, Chance was the only one married.

“I take it that you’re still not excited about taking time off?” Chance said, dipping his hands in his pockets and leaning against the closed door. “But even I knew you were becoming a workaholic, Bas. You need a life.”

Bas glared. “When did you become an expert in my needs?”

“Calm down, Bas,” Morgan said, sensing a heated argument brewing between his two older brothers. “Chance is right and you know it. You’ve been spending too much time here. Time away from this place is what you need.”

“And I’m backing them up,” Donovan said, crossing his arms over his own chest. “Hell, I wish someone would give me three months away from here. I’d haul ass in a second and not look back. Just think of the things you can do in three months, all the women you can—”

“I’m sure he has more productive things planned,” Chance interrupted Donovan. Bas figured his eldest brother knew just where Donovan was about to go. But Chance’s other assumption was dead wrong. Bas didn’t have anything planned. Before he could voice that thought, there was a knock at the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Steele, but this just arrived by way of a courier and it looks important,” his secretary said.

Bas took the envelope she handed to him and frowned, noting the return address. An attorney in Newton Grove, Tennessee. Seeing the name of the city suddenly brought back memories of a summer he would never forget, and of the man who had turned the life of a troubled young man completely around.

He ripped into the letter and began reading. “Damn.”

“Bas, what is it? What’s wrong?”

Bas glanced up and met his brothers’ worried, yet curious expressions. “Jim Mason has died.”

Although his brothers had never met Jim, they recalled the name. They also knew what impact Jim Mason had had on Bas. While he was growing up, Bas’s reputation for getting into trouble was legendary and he dropped out of college, deciding to go off and see the world. Sebastian had met Jim when he’d been around twenty-one. In fact, the older man had gotten Bas out of a tight jam when Bas had stopped at a tavern in some small Georgia town for a cold beer and ended up getting into a fight with a few roughnecks. Jim, who’d been passing through the same town after taking his two daughters to their aunt in Florida for the summer, had stopped the fight and had also saved Bas from going to jail after the owner of the tavern accused him of having started the brawl.

Jim had offered to pay for any damages and then advised Bas he could pay him back by working for his construction company over the summer. Having been raised to settle all his debts, Bas had agreed and had ended up in the small town of Newton Grove.

That summer Jim had taught Bas more than how to handle a hammer and nails. He’d taught him about self-respect, discipline and responsibility. Bas had returned home to Charlotte at the end of the summer a different person, ready to go back to college and work with his brothers alongside their father and uncle at the Steele Corporation.

“How did he die?”

“Who’s the letter from?”

“What else does it say?”

Bas sighed. His brothers’ questions were coming to him all at once. “Jim died of pancreatic cancer. The letter is from his attorney and it says that Jim left me part of his company.”

“The construction company?”

“Yes. I have a fourth and his younger daughter has a fourth. His older daughter gets half.”

Bas had never met Jim’s two daughters, Jocelyn and Leah, since they had been in Florida visiting an aunt all that summer, but he knew that the man had loved his girls tremendously and that they had held Jim’s life together after his wife had died.

Bas quickly read a note that was included in the attorney’s letter. Afterwards, he met his brothers’ curious stare and said warily, “Jim wrote me a note.”

“What does he want you to do?” Chance asked.

“He was concerned that his older daughter, Jocelyn, would have a hard time managing the construction company by herself, but would be too proud to ask for help. He wants me to step in for a while and make sure things continue to run smoothly and be there for her if she runs into a bind or anything.”

“That’s a lot to ask of you, isn’t it?” Donovan asked quietly.

Bas shook his head. “Not when I think about what Jim did for me that summer.”

For a long moment the room was quiet and then Morgan said, “Talk about perfect timing. At least now you know what you’ll be doing for the next three months.”

Bas met the gazes of his three brothers. “Yes, it most certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?”

Chapter 1

“And there’s absolutely nothing that can be done to overturn Dad’s request, Jason?”

Jason Kilgore wiped the sweat from his brow. Over the years his office had survived many things. There’d been that fist fight between a couple who’d been married less than five minutes, and that throwing match between two land owners who couldn’t agree on the location of the boundary lines that separated their properties.

But nothing, Jason quickly concluded, would remotely compare if Jocelyn Mason took a mind to show how mad she was. Oh, she was pretty upset; there was no doubt about it. She had already worn a path in his carpet and the toe of her booted foot seemed to give the bottom of his wingback chair an unconscious kick each time she passed it.

“There isn’t anything you can do other than to offer to buy out your sister and Mr. Steele,” he finally said. “Have you spoken to Leah about it?”

“No.”

Jason knew that in itself said it all. Jocelyn and Leah had always been as different as night and day. Jocelyn, at twenty-seven, was the oldest by four years and had always been considered a caregiver, someone who was quick to place everyone else’s needs before her own. She also believed in taking time out and having fun, which was why her name always came up to spearhead different committees around town.

Responsible Jocelyn eventually became the son Jim Mason never had, although he had tried to balance that fact by sending her each summer to visit an aunt in Florida whose job was to train her how to comport herself like a lady. Jason had seen her dressed to the nines in satin and sequins at several social functions in town, and then on occasion, he would run into her in Home Depot wearing jeans and a flannel shirt with a construction work belt around her waist. Jocelyn had managed to play both roles—lady and builder—while working alongside her father in the family business, Mason Construction Company.

Then there was Leah.

Jason readily remembered Leah as being one rebellious teenager. After her mother had died when she’d turned thirteen, Leah had become a handful and had given Jim plenty of sleepless nights. She had hated living in Newton Grove and as soon as she turned eighteen, she couldn’t wait to leave home and abandon what she perceived as a dominating father, an overprotective and bossy older sister, and a boyfriend who evidently had been too country to suit her taste. Her return visits over the years had been short and as infrequent as possible. But she had come for the funeral and it was a surprise to everyone that she hadn’t left town yet.

“Do you know of Leah’s plans? Do you think she’s going to stay?”

Jocelyn shrugged her shoulders. “Who knows? She’s welcome to stay as long as she wants. This is her home, too, although she’s never liked it here. You know that. But Leah is the least of my worries now since I believe I can buy her out. What I want to know is why Dad thought this Sebastian Steele deserved a fourth of the company.”

It was Jason’s turn to shrug. “I told you what your father said to me, Jocelyn. One summer this guy Steele worked for him. They became close, and leaving him a part of the company was a way to let Steele know how much your father thought of him.”

Jocelyn turned with fire in her eyes, placed her hands palm down on Jason’s desk and stared at him. “Why this Steele guy and not Reese? If anyone deserved a part of the company it’s Reese,” she said, speaking up for her father’s foreman.

Jason blew out a breath. Jocelyn had finally gone into a rant, and was definitely in fighting mode now. “He did leave Reese Singleton a substantial amount in his will,” Jason reminded her.

“Yes, but it wasn’t part of the company.”

“Jim had his reasons. He thought a lot of Reese and hoped the money he left him would set him up in his own business.”

Jocelyn knew her father’s reasoning. Although twenty-six-year-old Reese had worked as the foreman for Mason Construction for years, everyone in town knew of Reese’s gift with his hands. It was legendary what he could do with a block of wood, and her father always thought he was wasting his talent building houses instead of making furniture.

“Well, all your questions about Steele will be answered shortly,” Jason said, breaking into Jocelyn’s thoughts. “He’s due to show up any minute.”

Jocelyn sneered. “And I can’t wait for the illustrious Sebastian Steele to arrive.”

Jason loosened his tie a little. He didn’t envy the man one bit.

“Mr. Kilgore is expecting you, Mr. Steele. Just go right on in,” Jason Kilgore’s secretary said in a friendly voice.

Bas returned the older woman’s smile. “Thanks.”

He opened the door and glanced first at the older man sitting behind the desk who stood when he entered. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw that someone else was in the room and his gaze automatically shifted.

It was a woman and she didn’t look too happy. She was definitely a beauty, with a mass of shoulder-length dark-brown curls that framed an oval honey-brown face with chocolate-brown eyes. Then there was the tantalizing fragrance of her perfume that was drifting across the room to him.

“Mr. Steele, I’m glad you made it. Welcome to Newton Grove,” Jason Kilgore was saying.

Bas switched his attention from the woman and back to the man. “Thank you.”

“So you’re Sebastian Steele?”

Bas turned and met the woman’s frown. “Yes, I’m Sebastian Steele,” he answered smoothly. “And who are you?” he asked, although he had an idea. He could see Jim’s likeness in her features, especially in the eyes. They were dark, sharp and assessing.

She crossed the room to stand directly in front of him, in full view, and he thought that she looked even better up close. She tipped her head, angled it back as if to get a real good look at his six-foot-three-inch form. And when she finally got around to answering his question, her voice was as cool as a day on top of the Smoky Mountains, and as unfriendly as a black bear encountering trespassers in his den.

“I’m Jocelyn Mason, and I want to know how you talked my father into leaving you a fourth of Mason Construction.”

Jocelyn felt a tightness in her throat and couldn’t help but stare at the man standing in front of her. No man should look this good, especially when he was someone she didn’t want to like. And that darn sexy cleft in his chin really wasn’t helping matters. Standing tall, he had thick brows that were slanted to perfection over dark-brown eyes that made you feel you were about to take a dive into a sea of scrumptious chocolate.

His cheeks were high with incredible dimples and his jaw was clearly defined in an angular shape. Then there was his hair—black, cut low and neatly trimmed around his head. And his lean masculine body had broad shoulders, the kind you would want to rest your head on.

Even with all those eye-catching qualities, there was just something captivating about him, something that showed signs of more than just a handsome face. His look—even the one studying her intently—had caught her off guard and she didn’t like the way her heart was pounding wildly against her ribs or the immediate attraction she felt toward him.

Jocelyn took a quick reality check to put that attraction out of her mind and brought her thoughts back to the business at hand—Mason Construction Company.

“Well, aren’t you going to answer, Mr. Steele?” she finally asked, her eyes narrowing fractionally. Inwardly she congratulated herself for getting the words past the tightness in her throat without choking on them.

He lifted a brow and said, “Yes, but first I must say that I’m very pleased to meet you, Jocelyn, and please call me Bas.” He extended his hand. The moment she placed hers in his he liked the feel of it. How could a woman who worked in construction have such soft hands?

She pulled her hand away. “Now that we’ve dispensed with formalities, will you answer my question. Why did my father leave you part of Mason Construction?”

He held her gaze. “What if I told you that I had nothing to do with it? Jim’s decision was as much a surprise to me as it was to you and your sister.”

Jocelyn considered his words. Leah hadn’t been surprised. Nor had she been concerned. To Leah’s way of thinking it had made perfect sense since she couldn’t imagine Jocelyn running the male-dominated company alone. And as for Leah’s share of the company, she had no problem with Jocelyn buying her out. She had other plans for her inheritance.

“Now that introductions have been made, can we all take a seat and get down to business?” Jason Kilgore said, halting any further conversation between Jocelyn and Bas. “I’m sure Mr. Steele would like to check into Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast in time to take advantage of whatever she’s fixed for lunch today. You know what a wonderful cook Sadie is, Jocelyn.”

If Jocelyn did know she wasn’t saying, Bas noted as he took his seat next to her in front of Jason Kilgore’s desk. Her mouth was set in a tight line and he could tell she wasn’t happy with his presence. Furious would probably be a better word.

He continued to study her, her cute perky nose and beautifully shaped mouth. He’d always been a sucker for a woman with sensuously curved lips. They were kissable lips, the kind that could easily mold to his.

“I was explaining to Jocelyn before you arrived just what your function will be for the next couple of months, Mr. Steele.” Jason Kilgore yanked Bas out of his reverie.

“And I was telling Jason that I thought Dad got you involved prematurely,” Jocelyn quickly interjected.

“Do you?” Bas asked, noting just how dark her irises were.

“Yes. Dad taught me everything I know growing up and then he sent me to college to get a degree as a structural engineer. It was always meant for me to run the company.”

“And you think I’m standing in the way of you doing that?”

“For a short while, yes, and as I said, it’s all for nothing. When it comes to construction work, I can handle things.”

A dimple appeared in the corner of Bas’s mouth. For some reason he couldn’t imagine her on a construction site, wearing a hard hat and jeans and wielding a hammer and saw while standing anywhere near a steel beam.

“And you find all this amusing, Bas?”

In a way he did, but he’d cut out his tongue before admitting it to her. There was no need to get her any more riled up than she already was. “No, Jocelyn, I don’t.”

“Good, then I hope you’ll hear me out. I think it will save us a lot of time if you do.”

Bas nodded. “All right. I’m interested in whatever you have to say.”

“So, Bas, I hope you can see why you being here, keeping an eye on things, won’t work.”

Bas’s lips curved into a smile. Although she had spent the last twenty minutes stating her case, trying to explain why his services weren’t needed, he didn’t see any such thing.

He glanced over at Jason Kilgore. The man had stopped fighting sleep—or boredom, whichever the case—and was leaning back in his chair and dozing quietly. Unlike Kilgore, Bas had given Jocelyn his full attention. It was hard to do otherwise.

First she had paced in front of him a few times, as if she’d needed to collect her thoughts. He, on the other hand, had needed to rein in his. The sunlight filtering through Kilgore’s window had hit her at an angle that made her dark skin look creamier, her hair shinier and her lips even more tempting.

The woman had legs that seemed endless and the skirt she was wearing was perfect to show them off. Each time she paced the room, her hem would swish around those legs, making him appreciate his twenty-twenty vision. He loved what that skirt was doing for her small waist and curvy hips. And he couldn’t help but notice the gracefulness of her walk. Her strides were a perfect display of good posture in motion and the fluid precision of a body that was faultlessly aligned.

“Bas, are you listening to what I’m saying?”

He heard the frustration in her voice and with a sigh he leaned back in his chair. “Yes, but it changes nothing. Your father asked me to return a favor. I owe Jim big-time and I believe in paying back any debts.”

He knew his words weren’t what she wanted to hear and her expression didn’t hide that fact. “Mr. Steele, you are being difficult.”

He lifted a brow. Since she hadn’t gotten her way, it seemed he was Mr. Steele instead of Bas. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Jocelyn, but your father evidently felt the need for me to be here, otherwise he would not have added that stipulation in his will.”

“And what about your ownership in the company?”

“What about it?”

“I’d like to buy you out.”

That didn’t surprise him. “I’ll let you know my decision at the end of three months.”

“Three months? But you only have to be here for six weeks.”

He flicked a smile. “Your father’s will indicated six weeks as the minimum period of time. If I recall, there was no maximum time given.”

Anger shone in her features. “Surely you’re not going to hang around here for three months?”

“Hey, keep it up, Jocelyn and I’ll think you don’t want me hanging around at all.”

“I don’t.”

He shrugged. At least she was honest. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”

“I see that our talk today didn’t accomplish anything,” she said.

Oh, he wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Just watching her prance around Kilgore’s office had accomplished a lot.

“What about your own company?”

She almost snapped the words at him, reclaiming his attention. Not that she’d ever fully lost it. “What about the Steele Corporation?” he countered.

“Shouldn’t that be your main concern?”

He wished. “I left the company in good hands. My three brothers and my cousin know what they’re doing,” he said, thinking about Chance, Morgan and Donovan, as well as his cousin Vanessa, who handled public relations for the company. His other two cousins, Taylor and Cheyenne, pursued careers outside of the family business, although they served on Steele Corporation’s board of directors.

“Besides,” he decided to add, “it’s time for me to take a vacation anyway.” There was no need to elaborate on the fact that it was a forced one.

“By the time this is over, Mr. Steele, you’re going to wish you had gone to Disney World instead.”

“Possibly, but I’ll take my chances. And what about your sister?” he decided to ask her. From her expression he knew immediately he’d hit a nerve.

She frowned. “What about her?”

“Are you buying her out?”

“Yes. She’s never liked this town and I’m surprised she’s still here. I expected her to return to California right after Dad’s funeral.”

He nodded. “After I get checked in at Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast, I want to go over to the office and look around.”

“I wish you’d consider my offer,” she said.

“I can’t do that.”

Her eyes darkened. “In the end you’re going to wish you had.”

He stood, and when he took a couple of slow steps toward her, she had the good sense to take a couple of steps back. “I intend to carry out your father’s request. That said, I think it will be in our best interest if we got along.”

She glared at him. “I don’t see that happening.”

A tight smile spread across his face. “Maybe I should have told you that I like challenges, Jocelyn.”

Chapter 2

Bas parked his car in front of Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast and glanced around. He certainly hadn’t expected this, all the changes that had taken place in Newton Grove since he’d last been here fourteen years ago.

It was still one of most beautiful, quaint towns he’d ever traveled to, but it no longer had that Mayberry look. He’d passed a Wal-Mart and Home Depot, certainly two things that hadn’t been here before. And the library had been given a face lift. But the drive-in theater appeared to still be intact, as well as the Newton Rail Station that provided a memorable excursion up into the Smoky Mountains.

And from what he saw it was still a favorite place with tourists, which meant the souvenir shops that formed a tight circle in the town square were still thriving. The county fair, which was always held the third weekend in August, was a major event and always brought enough excitement to last the towns-people until the fall festival in the middle of November. He smiled, remembering all the stories Jim had told about both events. Boy, had he enjoyed hearing them.

Bas got out of the car and shoved his keys into the pocket of his jeans, appreciating Jason Kilgore for making arrangements for him to have a place to stay while in town.

Just being back in Newton Grove was stirring memories of how closely he had worked with Jim that summer, the bond they’d made and the special friendship that had been forged. He took a moment to lean against the fender of his rented car and glanced around, reflecting. In his mind he could actually see Jim loading lumber into his pickup truck while preaching to Bas in that strong, firm, yet caring voice. He’d told him the importance of a man being a man, about handling your responsibilities and taking advantage of every opportunity. The memory tugged at Bas’s heart, and emotions swamped him. They were emotions that Jim had effectively shown him that it was okay to possess.

Bas suddenly blinked when the sound of a car’s horn reclaimed his attention. Sighing deeply he went to the trunk to get out his luggage, thinking of his encounter with Jocelyn Mason. If the woman had her way he would be headed back to Charlotte by now. He could almost feel the daggers she had thrown in his back when he’d walked out of Kilgore’s office.

He sighed again and glanced up toward the sky. “Jim, old friend, I hope you knew what you were doing because I don’t think your daughter likes me very much.”

“Aren’t you that same young man who used to give us trouble?”

Sebastian glanced up from signing his name in Sadie’s Bed and Breakfast’s registration book and met the old woman’s eyes. Something hard and tight settled in the pit of his stomach. It was a reaction he got whenever anyone recalled his less-than-sterling past.

If she had been someone from Charlotte, he would have shamefully admitted to it. But he distinctly remembered being on good behavior that summer while living in Newton Grove. For that reason he stared at her and said, “No, ma’am, you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

Evidently she thought otherwise and her blue eyes sparked as she said, “No, I don’t think so. I might be old—I’m pushing seventy—but I have a fairly good memory about some things. You worked with Jim, as part of his construction business one summer, over thirteen or fourteen years ago.”

Bas’s stomach began feeling unsettled again. She certainly did have a good memory. “Yes, but I didn’t get into any trouble,” he said defensively.

The old woman laughed. “Not any of your own making, trust me. But whenever you worked outside at a construction site on those extremely hot days, you drew an audience every time you took off your shirt.”

She barked out another laugh and continued. “Yeah, I do remember that summer. You had all the young women acting like silly fools whenever they could take a peek at you. And I remember Marcella all but salivating whenever she saw you.”

She studied him for a moment then said, “I understand you’re going to be helping out at Mason’s Construction again.”

He took his Visa card out of his wallet to hand to her. News traveled fast in small towns. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“I’m glad you saw fit to come help Jocelyn for a while now that Jim’s gone. Lord knows she wouldn’t ask for it, even if she needed it,” Sadie went on to say. “And I’m curious as to what Leah’s going to do. I expected her to leave town right after the funeral.”

Bas put his charge card back into his wallet after she returned it to him. “She lives in California, right?”

“So we hear. Leah left here at eighteen. She hated this place, claimed Newton Grove was too small town for her. She wanted to see the world and headed to California.”

After a quick pause she added, “She broke Reese Singleton’s heart when she left. They’d been sweethearts. He’s a good man who didn’t deserve what she did to him. You’ll get to know Reese rather well over the coming months.”

Bas leaned against the counter. “I will?”

“Yes, he’s the foreman at Mason Construction. But he might not be there for too much longer.”

Bas lifted a brow. “Why not?”

“Because he’s better suited as a carpenter than a builder, and I heard that Jim left him a bunch of money to start his own business.”

Bas turned to follow Sadie up the stairs to his room. Once he got settled he would check out what was happening over at Mason Construction.

The nail was taking a beating as Jocelyn hammered it relentlessly into the wood. A part of her wished it was Sebastian Steele’s head.

If there was one thing she didn’t need it was aggravation, and the man had gotten next to her like nobody’s business. The nerve of him, thinking he could just waltz in and take over. Mason Construction was now hers and she would run things the way she saw fit, regardless of what he had to say.

It wasn’t as though she didn’t know what she was doing. Heck, she’d been reading blueprints practically since she could walk. Growing up, she’d spent hours at every job site with her father, learning each aspect of a builder’s trade, from the ordering of the supplies to the overseeing of each structural design. While many construction workers had their specialties, Jocelyn was truly a jack-of-all-trades. She handled a paintbrush just as expertly as any artist; she could fit a pipe together as well as any master plumber, and she worked with brick, stone, concrete block and structural tile with the skill of an accomplished mason. For years she had worked alongside her dad and his crew as a fill-in, doing whatever task was needed and learning just about everything she could, before school, after school, weekends, whenever. She practically lived at Mason Construction except for those summer months when Jim Mason would ship her and Leah off to Aunt Susan in Florida.

Their mother’s sister was as refined and proper as the words could get, and had been determined to pass those characteristics on to her nieces no matter how much they’d balked at the idea. After a while, Jocelyn and Leah discovered it was easier to just go with the flow and accept all the lacy, frilly dresses, the tea parties and the countless hours of walking with a book on their heads to perfect that graceful walk.

Now that she was a grown woman, Jocelyn appreciated her aunt’s teachings and guidance to a degree she’d never thought would be possible as a young girl. She was glad she’d had the chance to express her gratitude to Aunt Susan before she died a few years ago. Jocelyn thought about the deaths of the three people who’d meant a lot to her—her mother when she’d turned sixteen; her Aunt Susan around six years ago and now her dad.

“If you keep beating that nail to death you’ll whack it all the way through and bust up that board. Who ruffled your feathers today?”

Expelling a deep breath and clutching the hammer more tightly in her hand, Jocelyn decided Reese was right. There was no reason to take out her anger and frustration on a piece of wood.

She glanced up at him and knew he was waiting for an answer. It hadn’t taken much for the men who worked for her to tell she was in a relatively foul mood, which is the reason they had been avoiding her. Reese had been at lunch when she’d arrived. Evidently the guys hadn’t wasted any time giving him fair warning. Too bad all those deeply ingrained proper manners and stiff rules Aunt Susan had taught her weren’t working for her today, especially the one about a lady not letting a man get on her last nerve, at least not to the point of showing it. A lady kept her cool and handled a man with charm and diplomatic grace.

Today, thanks to Sebastian Steele, all she could say to that notion was hogwash!

After leaving Jason’s office she had gone home long enough to change into her work clothes, then joined the men at this particular jobsite. The only reason she hadn’t been here at the crack of dawn like they had was because the mayor had requested her presence at a meeting in his office at eight. He liked being kept abreast of the plans for the city’s Founder’s Day Celebration next month, and since she was this year’s chairperson, she had brought him up to date over bagels and coffee. And then there had been that ten o’clock meeting in Jason’s office, the one she wished she could delete from her mind.

Jocelyn put the hammer down, deciding at the moment it was rather dangerous in her hand. “If you must know, Sebastian Steele is the person who ruffled my feathers. He has to be the most infuriating man I’ve ever met.”

Reese smirked at her. “In other words, he wouldn’t let you have your way with anything.”

Jocelyn picked up the hammer again and hit it a couple of times in the palm of her hand. “You like your face, Reese?”

He grinned. “Yeah, I like my face, considering it’s the only one I got.”

And Jocelyn knew all the local girls thought it was a rather good-looking face, making him the most sought-after bachelor in town. But he was also the most elusive. She’d known Reese for six years, ever since his family had moved to Tennessee from Alabama when Reese was nineteen. The first time he’d seen her and Leah together out at the county fair, he had decided the then seventeen-year-old Leah, who was about to become a senior in high school, would one day be his wife. He was convinced he could erase the thought from Leah’s mind of ever moving away from Newton Grove.

He’d been wrong and had gotten a broken heart to prove it.

“Well, if you like it so much, then knock it off. I’m not in a teasing mood.”

“So I gather. Hey, this Steele guy can’t be all bad since Jim thought enough of him to leave him part of the company.”

Jocelyn frowned, narrowed her eyes, preferring not to be reminded of that. “Just because Dad liked him doesn’t mean that I have to like him, too.”

“No, but still I’d think you’d respect your father’s wishes and try to make things work.”

Jocelyn started hitting the hammer in the palm of her hand again. “You’re really making me mad. Don’t you have something to do?”

Reese grinned. “Yeah, but I thought I’d come over here to make sure you’ll be more help than a hindrance today. You know how I feel about going behind you and—”

Oh, that did it! He had really pushed her the wrong way, and just from the smile on his face she knew he was enjoying every single minute of getting her riled. She shot him a dark look. “Okay, just wait until you have to follow Steele’s orders and see how much you like it.”

Reese leaned against a window casement. “I don’t mind following orders as long as they’re solid and sound. And like I said Jim evidently trusted this man’s judgment or he wouldn’t be here.”

“And it doesn’t bother you that Dad didn’t leave you a part of the company?”

The smile on Reese’s face suddenly disappeared and he said in a quiet tone. “The only thing I ever wanted from your father was his baby girl. But that’s history. Some days I wish I had never laid eyes on Leah.”

Jocelyn nodded, understanding his feelings completely. Because of the four-year gap in their ages and the differences in their personalities, she and Leah hadn’t been particularly close while growing up and she could never understand how her sister could walk away from a man who loved her as much as Reese had.

She waited, knowing Reese had more to say. For years he had kept his battered feelings locked inside, refusing to talk to anyone, even her father, about Leah and the hurt she’d caused him. But they’d known and accepted that the main reason Reese had joined the army within months of Leah’s departure was to get away for a while. And he’d stayed away for two years.

“And why is she still hanging around? When is she returning to California?” he asked, with deep bitterness in his voice.

Jocelyn asked herself those same questions every morning when she awoke to find her sister still there. It wouldn’t surprise her if Leah left during the night without saying goodbye. That was how she’d done it the first time. Her father had been devastated, Reese heartbroken and Jocelyn left wondering if she could have done something, anything, to improve their relationship while growing up, if she should have been less overprotective and smothering as Leah had claimed.

“I don’t know why she’s still here, Reese. A part of me would like to think she’s finally decided to come home to stay, but I won’t get my hopes up wishing for that one.”

“And I’m hoping for just the opposite. I wish she would leave and go back to wherever the hell she’s been for the past five years.”

Jocelyn felt Reese’s pain and a part of her knew that even after all these years, he hadn’t gotten over what Leah had done to him.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Jocelyn swirled around and her gaze collided with Sebastian Steele. She was surprised to see him, but should have known he would show up sooner or later. Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, your very presence is interrupting everything.”

And with nothing else to say, she walked off.

No woman, Bas quickly decided as he watched Jocelyn cross the floor into what would be a master bedroom, should look that good in a pair of jeans. He scrubbed one hand across his jaw, pondering that phenomenon, as he continued to stare at her. He had found her utterly attractive earlier that day in a skirt and blouse, but seeing her dressed in work wear was having a more potent effect on him.

Well-worn jeans clung to her body like another layer of skin, but then gave a little with each step she took, providing a comfortable fit. Then there was her T-shirt, the one that boldly advertised Mason Construction across her chest, that made him appreciate, as he always did, a woman with a nice set of breasts.

The work boots and the bandana she wore around her head did nothing to detract from her femininity, and he had to concede that no matter what kind of clothes Jocelyn Mason wore, she was one of the sexiest-looking women he’d ever seen.

“I gather you’re Sebastian Steele.”

The man’s words pulled Bas’s attention back into focus and he shot him a curious glance. He had seen Jocelyn talking to him when he’d arrived, and the conversation had seemed pretty tense. Did the two of them have something going on more personal than business? “Yes, I’m Sebastian Steele.”

The man studied him a moment and then said, “And I’m Reese Singleton, Mason Construction’s foreman.”

Bas remembered the name and everything Sadie had scooped him on earlier that day. This was the man who had gotten his heart broken by the other Mason female. He offered his hand. “Nice meeting you.”

“The same here. I heard a lot about you from Jim.”

“All good I hope,” Bas said, returning his gaze to Jocelyn. He could tell from her body language that she was mad, from the way she was slapping the paintbrush against that wall as if she was brandishing a sword instead.

“She’ll be fine. Jocelyn has a tendency not to stay mad for long.”

Bas switched his gaze off Jocelyn and back to the man standing beside him—someone whose presence he had momentarily forgotten. Reese was grinning, his dark eyes flashing amusement behind the lenses of his safety glasses. “Is that right?” Bas asked, not liking the fact that Reese thought he knew Jocelyn so well.

“Yes, that’s right,” Reese said, hooking a thumb beneath his tool belt and leaning back against a solid wall. “I’ve known Jocelyn for almost six years now and her bark is worse than her bite. She’s upset that her dad left you in charge of things for a while, and also that you got part of a company she felt was rightfully hers. But like I said, she’ll get over it.”

He studied the younger man and suddenly felt something he usually didn’t experience with men other than his brothers—trust. For some reason, though, Bas knew that Reese Singleton was a man who could be trusted.

“I hope she gets over it because I have a job to do, one Jim left for me, and whether I want it or not, I plan to see it through. I owe him that much and more.”

“Me, too,” Reese said, following Bas’s gaze as it moved to Jocelyn once more. “My family moved to the area when I was nineteen. I worked for Jim in the day and took college classes at the university at night. He replaced the father I lost at sixteen. He was my voice of reason when I didn’t have one, my mentor and a good friend. At one point he stopped me from making a grave mistake, one that could have cost me my life.”

Bas nodded. It sounded as if at one point he and Reese had been tortured by similar inner demons and in both situations it had been Jim who had helped to take them out of the dark and lead them into the light.

“How about if I introduce you to everyone?” Reese said, breaking into Bas’s thoughts. “The sooner you know what’s going on, the better. Right now everything’s running smoothly but we can’t expect things to stay that way since this is Marcella Jones’s house we’re presently working on and she’s known to change her mind a lot. This is the third house we’ve built for her and her husband, and with this place she decided almost at the last minute that she wanted to add a huge lanai off her living room and bedroom. If nothing else changes, we’ll be wrapping up things here in about three weeks.”

“Thanks and yes, I’d like to meet everyone.”

Bas glanced around as they made their way over to a group of men who were working on the cooking island that was part of the summer kitchen. Marcella Jones wasn’t just getting a glass-enclosed lanai; she was getting a huge area that would be well suited for any and all her entertainment needs. He had to admit he liked the layout of the house and had admired each and every detail while passing through earlier.

The open-beam cathedral ceilings and the floor-to-ceiling windows would make the home light and airy, and provide a full mountain view no matter where you looked. In his mind he could see the finished product decorated with the finest of furnishings and beautiful art work.

Bas glanced over at Jocelyn and caught her staring at him. In that quick instance, something passed between them, and he felt it all the way to his gut. He frowned and told himself silently that the last thing he needed was to get interested in any woman, especially Jim’s oldest daughter, no matter how tempting she was.

He had a job to do and he needed to get his mind on doing it and not on doing Jocelyn Mason.

Jocelyn swallowed back the knot that threatened to block her throat. Why did Sebastian Steele have to look so damn good? And those jeans he had on weren’t helping matters one bit.

She gritted her teeth, wondering why she found him so attractive, then quickly decided his good looks and well-built body definitely had something to do with it. She jumped when she felt the mobile phone in her back pocket vibrate. Putting aside the paintbrush, she pulled the phone out. A quick check of the caller ID indicated it was Leah.

For the past five days, ever since the funeral, her sister had mostly spent her time going through their father’s belongings and packing things up to give away. At first they had started doing the task together and then the memories had gotten too much for Jocelyn and she’d asked Leah to finish without her. Her sister had agreed. That was the one thing Jocelyn noticed about Leah since she’d been back. She was a lot more agreeable and less argumentative these days. There was a time when the two of them would disagree about almost anything, including the weather.

“Yes, Leah?”

“Just wanted you to know I cooked dinner and I thought it would be nice if we invited a guest.”

Jocelyn moved her shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. She definitely didn’t have a problem with Leah preparing dinner since her sister was a pretty good cook, but she did have a problem with the suggestion of a guest. She couldn’t help wondering if Leah was finally going to come out of hiding and face Reese by inviting him to dinner. She had done a pretty good job of avoiding him the few times she’d returned home over the past five years.

“And just who will this dinner guest be?” she asked, curious as to how many languages Reese would say the words hell no in when he got the invitation from Leah.

“Jason called for you a short while ago and happened to mention that Mr. Steele arrived in town today.”

“And what of it?” Jocelyn asked, leaning back against a wall she hadn’t started painting yet.

“I think it would be a good idea to invite him to dinner. After all, he was Dad’s friend.”

“But that doesn’t make him ours,” she snapped, looking down at the hammer she had placed at her feet. She then glanced across the room at Bas. It was a tempting thought but she quickly decided that nothing and no one was worth going to jail.

“But I want to meet him. Aren’t you curious?”

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. “I’ve met him and prefer not spending unnecessary time in his company.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Earlier today at Jason’s office.”

“Well, what do you think of him?”

Jocelyn glanced back across the room. Bas was staring at her and it annoyed her that she felt a quick tightening in her stomach. She wished she could blame it on something like indigestion but knew she couldn’t. “There’s no way I could sum up what I think of him in twenty-five words or less.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

Jocelyn couldn’t help but smile. Now this was the Leah she was used to, someone always ready for a fight, and not the mousy person Jocelyn had picked up from the airport a couple of days before the funeral.

“Well, then,” Jocelyn decided to say, “how about infuriating, maddening, annoying, irritating, exasperating, galling—”

“Okay, okay, I get the picture, at least yours. I’d rather take my own snapshot and form my own opinion.”

“Fine, then count me out.”

“Aren’t you being a little immature?”

That did it. Taking a slow, steadying breath, Jocelyn walked around the wall into a bathroom whose fixtures had yet to arrive. What she had to say to her sister needed to be said in private.

Closing the door behind her, she braced herself against the area where the pedestal sink would be and said rather heatedly, “How can you of all people fix your mouth to call anyone immature, Leah? I’m not the one who acted like a spoiled, immature brat by up and leaving home without as much as a goodbye, leaving her family worried for over a week before we finally heard from her.”

Jocelyn knew now was not the time and place to unload feelings she’d held inside for years, but she’d done it and there was no way she could take back her words. Nor did she want to.

There was silence on the other end, and then Leah said in a somewhat quiet and unsteady voice, “There was a reason I left the way I did, Jocelyn, and maybe it’s time I tell you why. At least that’s what I’ve been told I should do.”

Jocelyn felt an uncomfortable feeling in the center of her stomach. “Told by whom?”

“Look, I’ll tell you everything when I’m able to talk about it, okay? Now getting back to Sebastian Steele, be forewarned. I do intend to invite him to dinner before I leave, Jocelyn.”

“Leave? When are you leaving?” That uncomfortable feeling about being deserted by those she cared about was becoming unnerving. She lifted a hand to her chest, feeling a tug at her heart at the thought that she was losing her sister again, so soon after losing her father.

“I don’t know, but I won’t leave without telling you. I promise.”

Before she could say anything, Jocelyn heard the gentle click in her ear. She took a deep breath. Her palms suddenly felt sweaty and she rubbed them against her jeans after returning the mobile phone to her back pocket. She had a feeling something was going on with Leah. But what?

She swung around when she heard the bathroom door swing open and her gaze collided with that of Sebastian Steele. She narrowed her eyes, madder than hell. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders as he leaned in the doorway. “I figured you couldn’t be doing anything too private in here without any fixtures.”

He was right, of course, but still. “Any closed door is an indication that a knock is warranted before entering,” she retorted.

He shook his head. “Save your rules for another time. We need to talk.”

“We have nothing to discuss.”

She made a move to walk past him when he said, “Reese just let Manuel go on my recommendation.”

She stopped and swung around to him, nearly all in his face. “What?” she almost shouted at the top of her lungs, not caring her that her high-pitched voice didn’t at all sound professional. “Manuel’s the best and most dependable worker I have.”

“Sorry, but you’re going to have to find someone to replace him.”

Jocelyn suddenly saw red, blood-red, and she fought the urge to go find her hammer and start knocking a few heads. First Bas’s and then Reese’s. She couldn’t believe Reese had meekly followed Bas’s orders without first consulting her. “How dare you think you can come in here and—”

“He’s an illegal immigrant.”

Jocelyn’s mouth snapped shut and her gaze widened as if she’d been slapped by Bas’s words. Impossible was the first word that came into her mind. Manuel had worked for her father for almost a year. There was no way Jim Mason would have broken the law by hiring an illegal immigrant. “I don’t believe you. We have his citizenship papers on file at the office.”

Bas then said easily, “Any papers you have are bogus. When I asked to see his green card, which is the same thing an inspector would have done had he shown up here, he got nervous and confessed the truth.”

Jocelyn couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if Duran Law had shown up. He was still plenty pissed about her continued refusal to go out with him. It seemed each time she’d turned him down his pride had gotten crushed. He would just love to hit her with a stiff fine and make her life miserable.

“And how did you know? I’m sure Manuel wasn’t wearing a painted sign on his forehead,” she all but snapped. A part of her was grateful Bas had saved her from possible misery under Duran’s hands, but another part of her resented that he had discovered something she hadn’t.

“I picked up on his nervousness when Reese introduced us. Trust me, in my line of work at the Steele Corporation, I’m faced with this fairly often enough. I wished there was a way around it but the law is the law.”

She glared at him. “I know the law, Bas, and I don’t have to trust you. But still, I appreciate you finding out about Manuel before I was faced with repercussions that I don’t want or need. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I was merely doing one of the things Jim brought me here to do.”

And that was what bothered Jocelyn the most, knowing her father actually had brought him here and hadn’t bothered to tell her. Jim Mason had been talking and in his right mind up to forty-eight hours before he’d died. Her father of all people knew that she didn’t like surprises and should have told her about Bas.

“Fine,” she said and began walking, annoyed when he automatically fell in place beside her. “That’s a point for you. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with my crew.”

“They aren’t here.”

She stopped and stared at him as though he’d lost his mind. She quickly rounded the wall and looked around. “Where are they? It’s only three o’clock. There’s another hour of work time left.”

Bas leaned back against an unpainted wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “I gave them the rest of the day off.”

Jocelyn’s mouth dropped. She wondered why it hadn’t just fallen to the floor with his statement. “What do you mean you gave them the rest of the day off?”

“You would have done the same thing. Manuel has worked with these guys for almost a year. They’re like family. All of them were shocked that he’s in this country illegally, but they still felt bad that he won’t be working with them any longer. They like him.”

Jocelyn inhaled deeply. Bas was right. Now that she thought about it, she would have done the exact same thing. “What’s going to happen to Manuel? He has a family. A wife and child.”

“Yes, and he also admitted to receiving public assistance benefits, public education for his son, public housing and other taxpayer-funded benefits over the past year without being detected.”

Jocelyn glared. “You make him sound like a criminal,” she snapped.

“Just stating the facts, ma’am. And something else you need to remember is that illegal immigration in this country is a crime that extends to anyone giving them a job.”

“I know that, and I’m sure Dad didn’t know he was an illegal. Like I said, Manuel’s papers looked legit.”

“I’m sure Jim didn’t know. As for what will happen to Manuel, I have a feeling he’ll be moving his family again. I agreed not to turn him in to the authorities.”

Despite herself, she appreciated him for that. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

For a long moment neither said anything else, but Jocelyn felt it just as clearly as if it was something tangible that she could reach out and touch. It was there, that same damn attraction she had felt from the first moment when her gaze had collided with his in Jason’s office. It was the same attraction that was there each time she’d stopped pacing on Jason’s carpeted floor and found him staring at her with those intense dark eyes of his.

And it was there now as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his head cocked to the side as if taking in the full view of her. A little more than a few feet separated them and whether she wanted to or not, she could feel his heat, and even at the distance she stood she could actually feel the warmth of his breath on her lips, coaxing her own to draw in his heat, mingle in his taste.

She inhaled deeply, thinking she must be losing her mind. She didn’t want to be attracted to the man who owned a fourth of her company. The man who would be a pain in the butt for the next few months.

A man who had her stomach sizzling and intense heat gathering between her legs.

Drawing in another deep breath, she took a step back, started to move past him and stopped when he reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her closer, bringing her toe to toe, body to body.

“And another thing,” he said huskily, before reaching out and lifting his hand to the knot in the scarf on her head. “I understand that on occasion you’ll wear a hard hat or a scarf like this when there might be a lot of dust in the air. But just so you’ll know, I really like seeing your head uncovered.” And with that, he expertly took off her scarf, which made her curly locks tumble to her shoulders. And, as if he was satisfied with what he’d done, he then handed the scarf to her.

She balled it in her hand, crushed it while wishing it was his neck. Tilting her head, she glared at him. “I don’t care what you like.”

“Then maybe you should,” he said, leaning in close, bringing his lips within a breathless inch. He smiled. “You have some temper and whenever I see you mad it makes me want to taste your anger.”

Taste her anger? What he said didn’t make sense because she didn’t have a temper…at least not normally. Typically, it took a lot to make her mad. But she had to admit that for some reason he seemed to bring out the worst in her. When she opened her mouth to state that fact, he inched even closer and was within a heartbeat of closing his mouth over hers when the sound of a car door slamming had them quickly moving apart.

Jocelyn was grateful for the timely interruption before anything could happen. Something they would both regret.

“That’s probably Marcella coming to check on today’s work…as well as to make more changes. Goodbye, Bas,” she said, moving swiftly past him and walking as fast as her legs could carry her.

Chapter 3

An entire week later, Jocelyn was still thinking about how close her and Bas’s lips had come to touching. It would only have been a kiss, she’d tried telling herself over and over again. No big deal, she’d locked lips with other men before, although she could count on one hand the times she had done so.

Still, it annoyed her to no end that even after a week she could feel every muscle of Bas’s body that had been pressed against hers. Then there had been his mouth, close, hot, ready. She could only imagine the taste of it. Her heart beat wildly in her chest at the mere thought. If Marcella hadn’t shown up when she had, there was no doubt in Jocelyn’s mind that they would have kissed.

Bas’s face had been close to hers, breathing in her scent the same way she’d been breathing in his. Never had any man gotten absorbed in her senses so quickly the way Sebastian Steele had. And then it seemed that once Marcella arrived he had vanished into thin air, leaving the job site by way of the back entrance, making her wonder if the entire thing had been real.

She had tried to avoid him, knowing he was spending time at the office going through files and records. She had no idea what he was looking for, but as long as he stayed out of her way that was fine. Twice she had seen him when she had stopped by the office to sign some papers. He had been so wrapped up in what he’d been reading that he’d barely acknowledged her presence, and she’d barely acknowledged his.

“That pork chop is already dead, Jocelyn. There’s no need to keep stabbing it to death.”

Jocelyn snatched up her head and met Leah’s gaze. Jocelyn had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had completely forgotten her sister was sitting across from her. They hadn’t exchanged a lot of conversation during dinner and eventually their dialogue had drifted to a dead end.

Leah was nervous, Jocelyn could tell. If she had been stabbing at her pork chop for the past few minutes, then Leah had been guilty of nervously nipping at her lips, an old habit when she knew she was about to get into trouble. Evidently Leah had something on her mind, something serious. Jocelyn wondered if her sister was ready to explain why she’d left home so abruptly. The explanation was five years too late, but then, better late than never.

She decided to go ahead and get the conversation started. “Last week you said you wanted to tell me something when you felt you could talk about it. Can you talk about it now?” Jocelyn asked, after taking a bite of her pork chop and savoring the taste. Evidently Leah had kept up her cooking skills during the five years she’d been away.

Whenever she’d come home—which had only been twice in five years—she’d only stayed for a couple days, as if passing through, and she never talked about why she had left Newton Grove or what she was doing in California. The only thing she would say was that she was fine and making it; she refused any money they offered her.

“Yes, I can talk about it now, but first tell me about Sebastian Steele. You haven’t mentioned him at all this week.”

Leah’s request caught Jocelyn off guard and she had to fight not to choke on the piece of pork she was chewing. She quickly picked up a glass of water to wash it down. She had to be careful, very careful, not to give anything away, like the fact she found him so damn attractive and that they had almost kissed.

“I haven’t had any reason to talk about him. He spends his days over at the office and I spend my time over at the job site. I haven’t seen him much and that’s the way I like it,” she said.

At the lifting of Leah’s brow it occurred to Jocelyn she really hadn’t answered her sister’s question. “All right, what is it that you want to know?”

“Well, when you talked about him he didn’t seem like a nice person, which makes me wonder about his relationship with Dad. Why would Dad strike up a friendship with such a man as Sebastian Steele?”

Jocelyn could understand Leah’s concern. She also knew it wasn’t fair for her to portray Bas as a totally awful person. His handling of the Manuel situation had proven him quite the contrary, and had certainly earned him Reese’s and the men’s respect. He could have easily called the authorities and had Manuel arrested but he hadn’t, and according to what she’d heard after talking to Reese later, Bas had even gone so far as to suggest that Mason Construction advance Manuel a full month’s salary in recognition of his hard work and dependability.

Although it would be a lot of effort on her part, considering her dislike of Bas, she needed to convince Leah that even though she didn’t know the full story, Bas was probably just the type of person her father would hook up with.

She leaned back in her chair and smiled. “I might have gone a little overboard in my description of him earlier,” she finally said. “I was upset about the situation Dad placed me in with Mr. Steele and I immediately formed my own opinions of him. In the first few hours of our meeting I refused to consider that I might like him.”

“And do you like him?” Leah asked, taking a sip of her tea and watching her sister closely.

Jocelyn reached for another dinner roll. “To say I like him would be stretching it a bit since I don’t really know the man,” she said honestly. “Let’s just say I can tolerate him.”

“How long does he have to hang around and supervise?”

“Dad’s will indicated a minimum of at least six weeks. But Bas mentioned he would be around for at least three months.”

“Bas?”

Jocelyn glanced up and saw the curious light shining in Leah’s eyes and decided to put it out. She didn’t want her sister getting any ideas about her relationship with Sebastian Steele. “Yes, Bas is what he prefers to be called. It’s short for Sebastian.”

“Oh, I see.” After a few moments Leah added, “I’m glad you’ll be able to work with him, Jocelyn. And like I told you, I don’t want my share of the business, so the sooner you can buy me out the better. I have plans for what I’m going to do with my money.”

Although Jocelyn knew she didn’t have any right asking, she couldn’t help herself. “And what do you plan to do with it?”

To her surprise, Leah smiled and Jocelyn could see excitement shining in her dark-brown eyes. “I plan to open my own restaurant. For the past five years, I’ve been working as a cook while taking classes at a culinary school in San Diego to perfect the basics.”

Jocelyn opened her mouth in astonishment. Leah had been working as a cook all this time? She didn’t want to admit some of the things she’d wondered about what her sister was doing to stay alive. It had always been Leah’s dream to hit California by storm and become a model. Jocelyn had heard just how unscrupulous some modeling agencies could be and had hoped and prayed that Leah hadn’t gotten mixed up with one of them.

“What happened with your dream to become a model?” Everyone knew it had been Leah’s aspiration. Everyone except for Reese. Oh, sure he’d known it, but he had counted on his love for her and her love for him changing her mind.

Jocelyn watched as Leah began nervously nipping at her lips again. “I’d changed my mind about that before I even left here.”

Jocelyn frowned. Now she was confused. “Then why did you leave the way you did? If you wanted to become a cook you could have moved somewhere close by. There are a lot of good restaurants in Memphis and I’m sure Reese would have understood. Hell, considering how much he loved you, he probably would have moved there with you. The two of you could have made things work, Leah.”

Jocelyn studied her sister, saw the tears that suddenly sprang into her eyes and knew she’d hit a sensitive nerve. “Yes, and believe it or not I had decided on doing just that and was going to suggest it to Reese, but…”

When Leah’s voice drifted off and the tears began pouring more freely, more abundantly, Jocelyn immediately got up and went to her sister, leaned down and hugged her. “But what, Leah?” she inquired softly. “If you had planned to hang around, why did you leave the way you did and without telling anyone you were leaving? Especially Reese?”

Leah shook her head, trying to regain her composure before she could speak. “Something happened, Jocelyn, and I couldn’t tell anyone. Especially not Dad or Reese. Not even you.”

Jocelyn heard the trembling in her sister’s voice and the strong conviction, as well. Whatever had happened was something Leah actually thought she could not have shared with anyone. She pulled back and met her sister’s intense, tear-filled eyes. “What happened, Leah?”

Leah hung her head for a moment, then when she lifted her gaze, Jocelyn saw in it tortured memories, recollections Leah didn’t want to relive but was being forced to. Jocelyn felt a warning chill slowly work its way up her spine and thought that nothing could have been bad enough to make her sister flee into the night the way she’d done.

Jocelyn’s hold on her sister tightened and she hoped she was giving Leah the strength to get out whatever it was she needed to say. When she felt Leah respond by holding tightly to her hand, she knew that she was. For the first time Leah was accepting all the smothering, the babying, the overprotectiveness she had refused from her for so many years.

“What happened, Leah?” Jocelyn inquired again, in an even softer tone of voice than before. “What happened to make you leave when you did?”

Leah opened her mouth to speak. Then paused. She slowly opened it again as she met her sister’s intense stare. “I was raped, Jocelyn. Neil Grunthall raped me.”

If Jocelyn had been standing upright instead of leaning over with her arms around Leah, she would have fallen to her knees. If not the words her sister had just spoken, then the pain and suffering she saw lining Leah’s face would have definitely knocked her there. For a moment she began trembling, or was it Leah? No, she was certain it was her and she was trembling in anger.

“Neil raped you?” As she heard herself saying the words, she was stunned that the no-good drifter their father had hired on that spring had gone so far.

“Yes,” Leah answered softly, “and please sit down. It’s time I tell you about that time.”

Jocelyn moved around the table, still clutching Leah’s hand in hers, not wanting to lose the connection, the closeness, the need to exchange strength. When Jocelyn returned to her seat, she braced herself against the chair, needing support. “All right, tell me everything.”

Leah lowered her head and whispered, “I doubt if I can, but I will tell you what you need to know, okay?”

At Jocelyn’s nod of understanding, Leah began talking. “You know Reese and Neil never got along. Everyone wondered why Dad even hired Neil because he was nothing but a drifter and he was always causing trouble. Well, Dad finally fired him but I didn’t know it. Late that same afternoon I went to the construction site looking for Reese. I wanted to tell him that I had decided to accept his marriage proposal and would go to a cooking school around here and wouldn’t be moving to California after all.”

A tear fell down Leah’s cheek, joining the others. “I arrived at the job site, thinking the work crew was supposed to be there, working on Alyssa Calhoun’s home. Instead I found Neil there, gathering up his stuff. I didn’t know Dad had fired him just a few hours earlier. Neil claimed Reese was downstairs in the basement, finishing up something and stupid me, I went looking for him.”

Jocelyn felt her sister’s palms getting sweaty, but she held them tighter, refusing to let them escape her grasp. “And when he got me alone in the basement, he raped me and dared me to tell Dad or Reese. He said if I did he would deny it and convince Reese I went along with it.”

“Reese would never have believed him, Leah, you know that.”

“Yes, but nothing could erase the shame I felt after being taken like an animal on that floor. I felt humiliated, disgraced and dishonored. Reese had been the only man ever to touch me and I felt dirty and unworthy of him.”

“So instead of telling anyone what happened, you left town,” Jocelyn said, knowing that was exactly what her sister had done.

“Yes. If Reese had found out the truth, he would have killed Neil, if Dad didn’t get to him first. And I couldn’t let that happen. Neither could I stand the thought of going to the police, pressing charges and facing the humiliation of Neil claiming it wasn’t rape. You remembered what happened to Connie Miller when she claimed that one of the Banks boys raped her. She became the town’s spectacle and eventually she and her family left disgraced.”

Yes, Jocelyn remembered. Everyone had known that Ronnie Banks had done it, but the Bankses had had enough money to make Ronnie the victim instead of Connie.

“But it didn’t necessarily have to turn out that way for you, Leah,” Jocelyn said, though she clearly understood why her sister would have thought otherwise. Although Neil had been a drifter with no family ties to the area, it still would have been his word against hers. And with him being the troublemaker that he’d been, and with his intense dislike of Reese, he would have loved to make it seem that Leah had practically begged for it.

It was through sheer will that Jocelyn didn’t curse the ground the man was buried under. “If he weren’t already dead I would find him and kill him.”

Leah’s trembling hands went still at the same moment she sucked in a deep breath. “Neil Grunthall is dead?” she asked in a shocked voice.

Jocelyn lifted a brow. “Yes, didn’t you know? But then there was no way that you would have since you left town that same night. He left town drunk and drove to that tavern on the outskirts of town and got even drunker. It’s my understanding that he was speeding, hit a tree and was killed instantly.”

Leah hung her head and said softly, “I never knew that. The few times I came home I could never fix my lips to say his name to ever ask about him. It took me years just trying to deal with being a rape victim before admitting I needed help. I finally went to a victim assistance program and I discovered what I felt wasn’t unusual. A rape victim feels ashamed, weak and wounded, and unless they get help they will continue to feel that way. The program I got into has helped me to come to terms with what Neil did, but I have some ways to go before fully recovering. Even to this day I haven’t been able to let another man touch me intimately.”

“Oh, Leah,” Jocelyn said, tightening her hand around Leah’s. “You shouldn’t have gone through that alone. Even if you didn’t want to confide in Reese and Dad, then what about me? You could have come to me.”

Leah shook her head. “No, I couldn’t have, Jocelyn. You were the one who always did the right thing. You would have gone straight to Dad and told him what happened and I couldn’t risk you doing that. Neil was crazy and there was no way I was going to tell Dad or Reese what he’d done.”

For a long moment neither of them said anything, and then Jocelyn quietly asked the question she needed to know. “Are you going to tell Reese?”

Leah met her sister’s intense stare and shook her head. “No. I still can’t stand the thought of Reese ever finding out what happened, Jocelyn, and I don’t want his pity. This is something I have to overcome in my own way and time. Like I told you earlier, I can’t stand the thought of a man touching me that way. I can barely tolerate the times I have to visit the doctor for my physicals. Besides, I hurt Reese in a way he would never forgive me for.”

“Yes, but if knew the truth about why you left, then he—”

“No, Jocelyn, I won’t tell him. It doesn’t matter now because I can’t ever be that way with a man again even if he did understand. So it doesn’t matter. I won’t tell him and I want you to promise me that you won’t ever tell him, either.”

Jocelyn turned her head and gazed out the window. She knew how much Leah leaving without a word had hurt Reese, so much, in fact, that he had left town for a couple of years to get over it. Once he had served time in the army he had returned, and barely ever mentioned Leah’s name. Jocelyn had been nervous as to what his reaction would be upon seeing Leah again at their father’s funeral. She had watched him, had studied his expression the exact moment Leah had walked into the church. Jocelyn had seen the pain and the hurt that was still there, that five years hadn’t fully erased.

“Jocelyn, you have to promise me.”

Jocelyn turned and met her sister’s pleading gaze. Then she remembered the reason Leah hadn’t come to her the night she’d been raped was that she’d known that no matter what, Jocelyn would have done the right thing and told her father anyway. There was no way she would have let Neil get away with hurting her sister.

And although she didn’t agree with what Leah was asking her to do, it was her sister’s decision to make, and she would do as she asked. “I promise. I won’t tell Reese, but I’m hoping that one day you will.”

There weren’t too many places to go in Newton Grove when you wanted to get away for a spell, but Jocelyn was determined to find one.

When she came to a traffic light she stopped and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips, recalling what Leah had shared with her at dinner. Each time she thought of her sister being powerless under the hands of Neil Grunthall, she literally felt sick to her stomach. And to think Leah had endured alone the humiliation of being raped.

She sighed, feeling tears sting her eyes. Now everything made sense and she felt angry with herself for not having known something hadn’t been right. Before she’d disappeared, Leah had stopped talking about leaving Newton Grove. In fact her relationship with Reese had grown that much more serious. But Leah hadn’t shared with Jocelyn her decision to marry Reese. If she had, then Jocelyn would have known for certain that something was wrong when she just up and left town.

After dinner she and Leah had tidied up the kitchen together, then, as if she’d needed to be alone, Leah had taken a shower and gone to bed early. Jocelyn had needed to go somewhere and take out her anger and frustration on someone, anyone, and for the past hour had been riding around town trying to cool down.

It was times like this that she missed her dad something awful. He would have known just what to say to Leah. Then there was the issue of Leah not telling Reese. Jocelyn thought Leah was making a big mistake by not doing so.

Not having any particular place to go, but knowing she wasn’t ready to return home yet, she turned the corner toward the office where Mason Construction was located.

Jocelyn’s hands tightened on the steering wheel when she pulled into the yard and slipped into the space right next to a car already there. She recognized the dark-blue sedan and immediately the anger she had tried cooling for the past hour rushed back in full force. What was Sebastian Steele doing at the Mason Construction office at nine o’clock at night?

Barely waiting for her car to come to a complete stop, she quickly unsnapped her seatbelt and then yanked open the car door. There couldn’t be that many files that he had to go over to be practically spending the night here. Angrily, she grabbed her purse before slamming the car door shut. Just what was he looking for in those files anyway?

When she reached the top step, she could see through the glass door his profile as he sat at the conference table, and without even thinking of surprising him, she snatched open the door and then slammed it shut.

He turned from the papers he’d been reading and looked at her. And at that moment she wished he hadn’t. There was just something about those dark eyes whenever they lit on her that prompted an overpowering sensation to slide all the way up her spine. Of course she was imagining things but for a moment she thought she felt the floor move. Still, to retain her balance, in case she hadn’t imagined it at all, she tightened her fingers on the strap of her purse and placed pressure on the soles of her feet when he stood up.

He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. She hated admitting it, but he looked good in black. It did something to the darkness of his eyes and the tone of his complexion. Just looking at him was such a mind-boggling experience that for a moment she forgot what she was upset about. Until a half smile curved his lips.

Then she quickly remembered.

“What are you doing here, Bas?”

Instead of answering her, he said, “I’m curious about something, Jocelyn.”

At the moment she didn’t give a flip what he was curious about and was hoping her expression told him so. Evidently not, since he then added, “Are you always in such a pleasant mood?”

She gave him a stony look, one that could probably solidify cement in an instant. “You’re going to see just how pleasant I can be if you don’t answer my question. What are you doing here? This office closes at five o’clock.”

His smile widened. “My work hours aren’t dictated by a clock. And as to what I’m doing, I’m still working.”

She glanced at the papers spread out on the table and the stack of files on one of the chairs. She then looked back at him. “Why?”

He lifted a brow. “Why what?”

“Why are you here working this time of night? And not only that, why do you feel the need to? You just got here a week ago.”

“Let’s just say I’m an eager beaver. I believe in getting the job done.”

Angrily, she shook her head and said, “But there isn’t a job here to do. You can go through whatever you want, but you’ll find everything is in order. Like I’ve said, there is no reason for you to be here.”

“And my response to that is still the same,” he said, taking his seat back at the table. “Evidently your father thought otherwise.”

That statement, as usual, triggered Jocelyn’s anger to the boiling point. She crossed the room and slapped her hands, palms down, on the table and leaned in toward him. Their lips were within inches of touching.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. “Be careful about getting too close, Jocelyn. I’m liable to bite.” And then in an even lower voice, he added, “I’m also known to lick, nibble, taste, sample. Should I go on?”

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