Brandon rose from the sofa to stare him in the face. “It is when she’s your employee, bro. You know how dangerous that is. The company belongs to all of us. That woman could ruin you and cause us endless grief.”
His jaw went even harder. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Kenzie is a suspect in a homicide,” Chase said.
“She didn’t kill her no-good ex-husband,” Reese replied.
“How can you be sure?” Chase asked.
Reese’s temper inched up. “Because I know her. I’ve worked with her five days a week for the last six months.”
“What about the gun the cops found a few blocks away?” Bran asked. “It belongs to her, right?”
“Ford said it was registered to her. We haven’t had time to talk about it.”
“Well, you damned well better make time,” Chase said.
Bran’s gaze, a lighter shade of blue than Reese’s, pinned him where he stood. “You ever consider she might be playing you, bro? She could have set you up so she could off her ex old man and you’d take the bait, give her the alibi she needed. Could have been a lot more was going on between them than what you know.”
Reese shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Kenzie isn’t a murderer.”
“You’ve only known her six months,” Chase said. “How long have the two of you been sleeping together?”
Reese forced himself not to glance away. “We’ve only spent one night together.” And it had been Kenzie’s idea. He clamped down on the thought, refusing to let his brother’s suspicions get to him.
Chase drilled him with a glare. “Why her, for godsake? You’ve got half the women in Dallas falling at your feet. You won’t give any of them a second glance. Why take the chance with this one?”
Reese’s control snapped. “Because she’s special, dammit! Because I want her and she wants me!”
His brothers fell silent, their glances going back and forth as if each knew what the other was thinking. Reese wished like hell they’d tell him what it was.
“Okay, then,” Chase said. “Now that we’ve got things settled, let’s sit down and figure this out.”
Reese’s throat constricted. They might argue, as kids even punched it out. But he could always count on his brothers when he needed them. “Fine.”
For the next half hour, they discussed the murder and how to proceed. No one mentioned his relationship with Kenzie again. Reese was grateful for that. He had no real idea where he stood with her and no notion how she had become so important to him.
“I’ll give Ford another call,” Chase said. “Get him to keep me updated as much as possible on the investigation.”
“I’ll start digging,” Bran offered. “Look into Lee Haines’s background, see what turns up.”
“See what you can find out about Arthur Haines, too,” Reese suggested. “According to Kenzie, he’s always played a big role in his son’s life.”
“Arthur Haines...” Bran repeated. “He’s Black Sand Oil and Gas, right?”
“That’s right.”
“How did the daughter-in-law of our biggest competitor end up working for you?”
“Ex-daughter-in-law,” Reese corrected. “When I hired her, she was a single mother raising a son. Her résumé was outstanding, and I was more interested in finding a competent executive assistant than digging into her past.”
“I’ll check it out,” Bran said, but Reese could see the suspicion that had crept back into his younger brother’s eyes.
Finally, the meeting came to a close and the men rose from their deep leather seats.
“You need to stay away from her,” Chase said. “At least until this is over.”
Reese just shook his head. “Not happening. Kenzie needs me right now and I’m going to be there for her.”
Bran’s features darkened. “Once the press finds out she’s your employee and the two of you are involved in a sexual relationship, it’s going to make things a whole lot worse.”
“Would you stay away from Jessie if she needed you?” Reese looked at Chase. “Or Harper?”
His brothers exchanged more glances. “Fine,” Chase said. “We’ll work it out.”
Holding back a sigh of relief, Reese headed for the door, anxious to be away from his family. He loved them, but they had a way of making him feel like the delinquent kid he’d been when he had moved in with them in high school.
He preferred the control he felt in the business world.
Which reminded him to phone Derek Stiles as soon as he got back to the office. He’d already called Nathan Temple, one of the best criminal attorneys in Dallas, and convinced him to represent Kenzie. Reese had spent a year in juvenile detention. He knew from experience how law enforcement worked. Where Kenzie was concerned, he wasn’t taking any chances.
In the meantime, he had a company to run. He was still involved in a major acquisition that had done nothing but go sideways from the start.
He needed answers. For himself, his company, and for Kenzie.
It was time to go to work.
SIXTEEN
Kenzie parked her Subaru compact SUV in front of the school auditorium and turned off the engine. She had phoned the nurse’s office and told them there was a family emergency. Not the details, just enough to get them to release him early.
She spotted Griff crossing the newly mown grass and could have sworn he’d grown an inch taller since that morning. He cracked the car door and slid into the passenger seat, raked a hand through his thick, reddish-brown hair, making it stand on end.
“What’s going on, Mom?” He was wearing his favorite pair of ripped jeans, a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, and a pair of red high-tops. She wanted to reach over and hug him.
“We need to talk but not in the car.” She started the engine and drove two blocks to a quiet little park sprinkled with shady live oaks. The clouds had rolled off toward the east and though it was still breezy, patches of sunlight peeked through the overcast that remained.
She reached for Griff’s hand as they walked toward a small pond where mallard pairs swam and occasionally waddled up on shore. She led him to one of the benches facing the water and both of them sat down.
“You’re scaring me, Mom.”
She reached down and brushed back a lock of Griff’s hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know how to say this. It’s not something I ever thought I’d have to do.”