From Riches to Redemption Read online

  “To be honest, there’s a part of me that wants the answers and a part of me that just can’t deal with any more drama in my life. I know my father—er, our father, your father?” She stumbled over what titles she should use with Jade.

  “You can just call him your father,” Jade said with an understanding smile. “It’s easier that way.”

  Morgan smiled back, noting just how much Jade looked like her mother when she did that. Her pale blond hair and dark eyes were Steele through and through. She didn’t have the confidence or the designer wardrobe, but it didn’t matter. She was one of them. The rest of those things would come in time.

  Morgan tried to suppress a pang of jealousy as she looked over Jade’s striking features. Her father had spoiled her mercilessly, but there were a few things in life that Morgan couldn’t have. River was obviously one. Looking like her mother was the other. She knew now that she took after Jade’s mother, Carolyn, who was an attractive and curvaceous woman, with bright eyes and flowing dark hair. There was nothing wrong with that; it just wasn’t the willowy and pale look Morgan had always longed for from a young age.

  It made her wonder if she’d be more content with herself, kinder even, if she hadn’t grown up in the shadow of the elegant and gorgeous Patricia Steele. Another question that would never be answered.

  “Okay, I know my father is throwing money at your fiancé to get to the truth and that’s fine by me. I would like to know eventually. But I’m leaving all that investigation stuff to the two of you. My summers are wild and all of this couldn’t have come up at a worse time for me. As it is, I’m struggling to find the time to see your parents and Dean. I’m sure they think I’m avoiding them, but really, I’m not. Life just never seems to cooperate.”

  Jade nodded. “I understand. And so do they. I haven’t spent much time with them, either, between work and helping Harley with the investigation. I think I have a bit more invested in this whole thing since the kidnapping made it more personal.”

  “Of course. You were certainly baptized into the Steele family in a dramatic way. My eldest brother, Tom, was kidnapped, too, when he was a baby. Being a Steele comes with its share of benefits and complications. Do you and Harley think your abduction is related to the switch?”

  “I don’t know how it couldn’t be. I’ve never been a target of crime in my life before I went public about my DNA results. We’ve just got to get the last pieces in place and hopefully it will all make sense. I’m looking forward to it being settled. I want to know the truth, I want the bad guys behind bars and then I just want to move on with our lives the way they are now. I want to get to know you and my new family. Plan my wedding. You know, focus on normal stuff for a change.”

  “Normal is just a state of mind. But I understand. We’ve had a lot of big changes this year and not a lot of time to work through them. Getting to know your parents. And you...” Morgan hesitated. “I don’t know what to call you. We’re not related in any way, but we share families through an odd twist of fate. It seems like we should be sisters.”

  “I think that’s what we should be. The truth is too complicated to explain to anyone else, and honestly, I’ve always wanted a sister. Dean is a great brother, but it’s just not the same.”

  “Yes!” Morgan said with enthusiasm. “Growing up in this house as the youngest with three older brothers?” She groaned aloud. “When I was little, I was desperate for someone to play with that wouldn’t rip my Barbie’s head off and launch it on a catapult to take out a lineup of enemy toy soldiers.”

  Jade laughed and picked up her glass of wine, finally seeming to be at ease. “I guess it’s decided then. We’re officially kin.”

  Morgan raised her own glass and they brought them together with a satisfying clink.

  “Sisters,” they said in unison.

  * * *

  Damn. Morgan was looking frustratingly fine today.

  It was a surprise, considering that River hadn’t been entirely sure Morgan was going to show up. Partially because he hadn’t actually spoken to her about this little rendezvous. He’d left her a voice mail when he knew she wouldn’t be available to answer. Like a damn coward. They may have called a truce, but he still didn’t want to talk to her in person—for an entirely different reason presently.

  Now, instead of getting irritated, he’d get all twisted up inside at the sound of her voice. His blood would start rushing in his ears and his thoughts would stray to their honeymoon night. He had been too busy this morning to lose his focus just to talk to her.

  It was bad enough how much time he’d already lost to blatant fantasizing where Morgan was concerned. Watching her saunter toward him now in a tight pencil skirt, clingy knit top and stilettos was a memory that was likely going to headline in tonight’s thoughts. It made him wonder if she’d intentionally dressed this way to meet him. Just to make him crazy. With the sunset behind her, her outfit highlighted every womanly curve she had like the silhouette of a ’50s pinup girl heading his way.

  And for that, he was very grateful. Even if it made him awkwardly tense for a few minutes while he got his libido in check. He hadn’t really considered this complication when he bid to work with Steele on the project. Now, he realized that being around Morgan all summer would be an extended exercise in self-restraint for him. He’d never been one to deny himself what he wanted, but this was definitely a case where indulging would be a bad idea.

  It was a bad idea, right?

  “Good evening, Mr. Atkinson.”

  River looked at her with a furrowed brow of irritation. They’d talked about this already, but she seemed to take pleasure in riling him up. Indulging was definitely a bad idea. He got the feeling Morgan would push all his buttons, good and bad.

  “Good evening, River,” she corrected with a wry smile that barely curled the dark plum of her lips. It was a beautiful color that matched the flowers in her skirt and popped against her pale skin.

  He wanted to kiss every bit of it off her despite knowing better. “Good evening, Morgan. Thanks for meeting me on such short notice. I thought you would like to see this.”

  River turned and gestured to the grassy overgrown property just beyond him. It was in an area near downtown Charleston that was gentrifying and property values were slowly going up. He’d gotten a tip on this land before it was even officially listed for sale.

  “This lot is three quarters of an acre. Perfect to split into three quarter-acre lots. That’s actually pretty spacious this close to downtown. There will be a big enough backyard for each family to run and play. Maybe put up a swing set or a little pool. A patio. A grill. Everything they would need.”

  “What’s the price?”

  River turned back to her with a grin. She was going to love this part. In their business discussions, he’d learned quickly that Morgan wanted to help, but she had an ironclad budget to keep to. He supposed that you had to if you were going to help as many people as you could. “It’s ten thousand less than the property you showed me in West Ashley when we met the other day.”

  Morgan’s dark eyebrows went up in surprise. “Really?” She turned and glanced around the property to see what was wrong with it. He’d done the same thing when he heard the asking price initially.

  “There’s nothing to concern you. I’ve done a full survey already. The owner inherited the property. He’s more interested in selling quickly as a single lot than he is in taking the time to divide it up and find individual buyers, even if it means making less money. If we make him a cash offer before he gets a real estate agent involved, he’ll probably jump on it.”

  “How did you even hear about it? It isn’t listed. I looked after I got your voice mail.”

  “Yeah, I know a guy.”

  “You know a guy? That sounds sketchy.”

  “It’s not, I promise. I just know a few people from my years in the construction business th
at are always happy to let me know when they hear about a property I might be interested in.”

  Morgan nodded and glanced back at the land. “If it’s really the price you mentioned and it’s not an ancient burial ground or a former Superfund site, I say let’s put in an offer tomorrow morning. There’s no way we’ll find anything better for that price. Especially in this area of town.”

  “Check—no zombie corpses and no toxic waste. We should be good to go. I’ll get the offer drawn up in the morning and hopefully we can get closed on this quickly.”

  “Great.”

  All this had happened faster than he’d expected, but there wasn’t much reason to linger in an overgrown field with her. They turned together and he started walking her back to the white Mercedes convertible she’d driven over. Back in college, she’d driven a similar, older model. Just the sight of it now reminded him of long winding roads with the wind in their hair and not a care in the world. That was a long time ago, though. A simpler time.

  “River?” she spoke about halfway to her car, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

  “Yes?”

  She stopped and turned back to the empty lot. “You know, as a developer, you could take that land for yourself and build some trendy and expensive row houses here. You probably could make a fortune with the way this area is trending up. When that downtown walking trail is done, you could easily get three quarters of a million dollars each. Are you sure you want to use it for this project? We could find a different property. The one in West Ashley wasn’t bad. I could probably get the price down.” Morgan turned to look at him with her question lingering in her eyes.

  River shook his head. She was right, but he hadn’t even considered it. “No, that’s okay. When I saw this land, I could see our little houses sitting on it. Kids running through the sprinklers in their grassy yards. I saw three families that were proud of their new homes. The kind that I would’ve loved to have, that my mom would’ve loved to have when we had nothing. That’s what I want. Not a bunch of trendy three-story pseudo-historic town houses at ridiculous prices. There’s enough of those around town these days. The whole area is losing its character thanks to all the HGTV home-flippers.”

  Morgan studied his face for a moment when he was done speaking, and then she smiled. He wasn’t sure if he’d said the right thing until that moment. She might’ve been more impressed by the take-charge, make-money answer he hadn’t given, but he’d given the answer she might not have expected but wanted to hear. Before he could say anything, she leaned in, gripped the lapels of his suitcoat in her hands and pressed a sweet, soft kiss to his lips.

  River hadn’t been expecting that. And yet, the moment her lips touched his, he knew it was everything he’d been waiting for over the last decade they’d spent apart. Suddenly, all his worries and cares didn’t seem to matter anymore. There was just this moment.

  He was finally able to get his stunned body to respond to his brain and brought his hands to rest at her waist. He wanted to do more than that, but he held back. Nothing Morgan had said or done up to this point had indicated she wanted more than a working relationship. This kiss could mean anything. He’d learned long ago not to presume when it came to the female brain and how it worked.

  And then, as suddenly as it happened, she pulled away, leaving him confused, aroused and confused. It bore repeating.

  He stood looking down at her in stunned silence as she finally released her hold on his jacket and took a step back out of his personal space. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused as she looked at him, even a bit shaky on her feet with those tall heels.

  He reached out a hand to catch her elbow and steady her and she smiled. “Thanks.”

  “What was all that for?” he asked.

  Morgan took a deep breath and wrapped her arms across her chest, hugging her sweater tighter to her curves. “When you were talking before, I was just thinking that maybe you’re a pretty good guy after all.”

  “Uh, thanks?” River wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. He’d always thought he was a good guy, but apparently Morgan felt otherwise. It was probably the money thing. With her, it always came back to the money thing.

  And yet, she’d just kissed him.

  Her gaze dropped from his and surveyed the ground for a moment awkwardly. “I probably shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “It wasn’t very professional.”

  “I didn’t mind.” He said the words a touch too quickly, making her look back up at him with a soft smile curling her dark lips.

  “Still. My father would frown on my behavior. I’m representing the company after all.”

  “Your father would disapprove of anything that involved me. Honestly, I can’t believe he let me through the front door.”

  Morgan’s lips twisted in thought for a moment before she shook her head. “I doubt he knows. Or if he does, he kept his mouth shut about it. My brothers worked the details, I’m pretty sure, and they don’t know about...us.”

  River stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back a bit on his heels. “Wow. Your family is really good at keeping secrets. I know your father likes to keep private issues private, but to keep things from each other... That’s next-level secret keeping.”

  Morgan narrowed her gaze at him for a moment and then nodded slowly with a sad expression on her face. “You have no idea.”

  There was something about the way she said the words that made him wonder if there were more Steele family secrets than just their ill-fated marriage. He wanted to ask but thought better of it. If she felt like sharing, she would tell him. Besides, he imagined there had to be more than a few skeletons in the closets of that big mansion of theirs. Some of those doors were best kept shut.

  With a sigh, Morgan’s expression shifted back to her usual practiced facade, but when she looked at him, there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes instead. “You know, this isn’t very professional of me, either, but what the hell... Can I buy you a drink?”

  Four

  The waiter put a glass of wine and a tall pilsner glass on the table between them. River hadn’t anticipated ending up in a bar with Morgan tonight, but he wasn’t going to complain. He didn’t have anything else to do. It was either crash at the small apartment he kept downtown and work, or drive out to his home on Kiawah Island and work. It was the same thing he did every night, typically staying in the city during the week and escaping to his coastal retreat on the weekends. But no matter where he was, not much was going on. Honestly, this day had brought more highlights than the entire month that preceded it.

  He tried not to think about how all those highlights featured Morgan.

  “So tell me what you’ve been up to, River. It’s been nearly a decade since my unscheduled departure from your life in the middle of the night. What happened after that?”

  Sitting down, having a real conversation with Morgan seemed a bit surreal. They’d gotten past the initial resentment and anger, moved through the polite discussions and now they were getting to the real talk. He was curious to know what she had been doing with her life, too, but his own stories were not that exciting.

  “The short answer is that I’ve been working ever since you left. You remember how I was working construction with my dad back when we were dating?”

  Morgan nodded.

  “Well, I took the money from your father and started my own construction business. It was what I knew. I’d met plenty of good guys who were willing to come work for me, and with my dad’s experience and guidance, I was able to get the company up off the ground. Actually, I worked my tail off, seven days a week, to get where I am today. It’s only been in the last year or so that I’ve been able to take a breath.”

  “It takes time,” she said. “My father inherited a company that was already very successful, but even then, he was in the office more than he was at home when we were young. Things change.
Competitors come and go. The market shifts. Right now, we’re coping with losing retail space in brick-and-mortar stores and expanding our online presence. You’ve got to stay on your toes or you can lose everything you’ve worked for.”

  “Don’t I know it. And really, starting a construction business right at the tail end of the housing bust was the dumbest thing I could’ve done. People were foreclosing left and right. But I watched the market and started with small houses that people could actually afford to buy. I worked with a financing company that went through hoops to get people approved when almost no one could get a home loan. It made all the difference. There were times I worried, though. I even started going to college online in the evenings in case I needed a backup plan.”

  Morgan perked up in her chair. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I have an expensive framed diploma on the wall to prove it. I got a degree in industrial management. I’m not sure what I would’ve done with it, but I never had to find out. That’s enough about me. What about you? I presume you finished school, although I never saw you around Columbia after.”

  “When summer was over, I went back to the University of South Carolina and finished the fall semester. I didn’t leave campus very much, though. I wasn’t doing that well with my classes after everything that had happened, so I was trying to focus and keep my grades up. After that, I decided to take a semester off.” Morgan stopped talking to take a large sip of wine. “So I took a break and went home for a while. Then I ended up transferring to Georgetown and finished school there.”

  “I didn’t realize you left South Carolina.” River hadn’t kept tabs on her, but honestly, he couldn’t have even if he’d wanted to. The Steele family left almost no digital footprints to follow. After her father took her away, it was like she’d never even existed. She could’ve spent the last ten years on the moon for all he knew.

  “Oh, yes. I actually still live there most of the year. I have a town house in the Georgetown area that I started renting when I was still in school. I ended up loving the area and stayed. I come to Charleston for the summers to work on the annual charity project, and then I return home. Our company has a large production facility across the river in Virginia and that’s where my office is.”