“What?”
“That’s right. As his mother, you’re his guardian. Lee also named you Griffin’s custodian, which means you’ll be managing his money until he reaches his majority at age eighteen.”
A three-million-dollar life insurance policy—and I’m in charge of the money. Her hand tightened on the phone. “No, Martin, I can’t do it. You have to appoint someone else.”
“It’s too late for that, Kenzie. You need to think about what’s best for Griff. You’re a smart businesswoman. You’ll make good choices for your son. No matter what happened between you and Lee, he trusted you. He knew you’d take care of Griff.”
Kenzie fell silent, her mind spinning with the ramifications of what this would mean.
“I’d like you to come down to my office as soon as possible,” Martin said. “We can go over the details and I’ll explain things.”
She didn’t answer.
“Kenzie?”
“Yes, all right. I’ll come down to your office.”
“Call my secretary in the morning and set up a time. I’ll see you at the funeral. Good night.”
The line went dead. She turned to see her grandmother watching her. “More trouble?” Gran asked.
“Lee had a life insurance policy, Gran. Three million dollars.” Her chest tightened. “Griff’s the beneficiary, and I’m in charge of the money.” She swallowed and turned away. “I have to go. I need to see Reese.”
Her grandmother dried her hands on the dish towel she was holding. “I’ll put Griff to bed. You do whatever you need to, honey.”
Kenzie grabbed her purse off the breakfast bar, paused long enough to kiss Gran’s cheek, and headed for the garage. A few minutes later, she pulled her Subaru into a visitors’ parking space in front of Reese’s condominium building. She had never been there. In today’s business world, it was too risky for an employer to entertain a female employee in his home.
Too late to worry about that now.
A uniformed guard in the lobby, thick silver hair, slightly overweight, rose from his seat behind the counter. “May I help you?”
“I need to see Reese Garrett. Can you let him know Kenzie Haines is here?”
“Of course, Ms. Haines.” The guard made the call and gave Reese her name. “You can go right on up,” he said. “His elevator is the one on the right. He’ll enter the code.”
She hurried in that direction. As she stepped inside and the doors closed, it occurred to her that Reese might have a woman in his apartment, something she had failed to consider. Surely he wouldn’t allow her to come up if he had someone there.
On the other hand, they hadn’t established any rules. Kenzie had no interest in seeing anyone else, but what about Reese?
She prayed he was alone as the private car swept up to the top floor of the high-rise building. The moment the doors opened and she stepped into the entry, Reese pulled her into his arms.
“Reese...” Her eyes closed in relief. She was shaking, she realized, as she slid her arms around his neck. With a sigh, she pressed herself against him and just hung on.
“It’s all right, baby. I’m right here. Whatever’s going on, it’s going to be okay.”
She felt his hand running up and down her back, reassuring her. Just being with him settled her nerves. She held on a little longer, then let go.
“I should have called first,” she said. “But I...I wasn’t thinking. I just... I had to see you.”
He led her farther into the apartment and eased her down onto the sofa in the living room, an elegant space with lots of glass and polished dark wood floors, a sleekly modern, high-ceilinged interior done in white and silver with cool aqua accents.
It was as beautiful and remote as Reese was on the outside, giving no hint of the warm, caring man he was on the inside. She was sure someone else had done the design with little input from Reese.
“Tell me what’s happened,” he said, looking down at her from his superior height. He was wearing faded jeans and a soft white cotton T-shirt that hugged his powerful chest. She had never seen him dressed in such casual clothes, but he looked good. So incredibly good.
Kenzie swallowed. “I got a call after supper. It was Lee’s attorney, Martin Bales. According to Bales, Lee had a life insurance policy. Three million dollars, Reese. And Griff is the beneficiary.” Nerves slid through her. “Worse than that, Lee named me custodian. That means I have control of the funds until Griff turns eighteen. Oh, God.” She pressed her fingers over her trembling lips. “The police are going to be sure I killed Lee to get the money. Reese, I’m so scared.”
He sat down beside her, eased her down beside him and into his arms. “It’s okay, baby. The money Griff inherited has nothing to do with you. Every man wants to insure his son’s future. Even Lee Haines.”
She should have anticipated Lee doing something like this. He was always talking about his son being his legacy. And because he had been just thirty-five, Lee’s death benefit policy wouldn’t have been that expensive.
“Maybe there’s a way to prove I didn’t know anything about it,” she said.
“Maybe. You have the best criminal attorney in Dallas working for you, along with my brothers, both top-notch detectives. We’ll figure it out.”
Some of her tension eased. She could feel the heat of his body beside her, incredibly solid and strong. The muscles in his biceps flexed and desire slipped through her. It was completely unexpected and totally out of place. She pressed her knees together, but it only made it worse.
“I know I shouldn’t have come,” she said. “But I wanted you to hear it from me. I needed you to know the truth, and...”
“And what?” His beautiful blue eyes searched her face.
“And I just needed to see you.”
His gaze didn’t waver and Kenzie couldn’t look away. He must have read the desire she was trying so hard to hide because his pupils flared. Her heart skittered an instant before he tipped her chin up and settled his mouth over hers.
Hunger hit her full force. Kenzie clutched his shoulders and Reese deepened the kiss, turning it hot, wet, and intense, completely swamping her senses. It went on and on until her skin felt flushed, her body damp and throbbing. She could feel Reese’s arousal, hard against her thigh.
“I needed to see you, too,” he said pressing soft kisses to the corners of her mouth. “Being with you again like this is all I’ve thought about since we were together. Holding you. Kissing you. Being inside you.”
“Reese...”