Out of Bounds Read Online Free PDF Page A

half.”
    “He’s a conman. He’s got to be,” Bren
suggested. Suspicion narrowed her grey eyes.
    “Utter bastard,” Hallie added. “He can’t just
move in on you like that. You need to get the locks changed soon
as. There’s that twenty-four-hour guy who’s always advertising on
the radio?”
    “That won’t help for long. And if I did
change the locks I wouldn’t put it past him to take a wrecking bar
to the doors. He’s perfectly polite but he sounds damned
determined.”
    “That’s breaking and entering,” Bren
retorted. “We’ll come and stay the night. Then he’ll have to fight
off three of us instead of only one.”
    “What? You’ve got nothing better to do on a
Saturday night than play bodyguard?” The warmth of true friendship
settled around her like a soft, much loved blanket.
    “Nick’ll understand—especially if I make it
up to him tomorrow.”
    “Tart,” Hallie grinned.
    How Jetta envied their easiness with
men...
    “But moving in with me isn’t the worst of
it,” she added. “This Anton’s bought the house next door. I thought
the Godfreys had gone to live up the coast and rented their place
out.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I’ve seen guys there and
heard music when I’ve been visiting Gran, but the Godfreys have
definitely sold it to him. And Anton says he’s going to pull it
down.”
    “Don’t tell her any more until I’m back,”
Bren instructed, diving out into the kitchen. She returned quickly
with coffees. “He’s going to pull it down? Why?”
    “To build a block of apartments.”
    “Is he, like, going to steal all your
sunshine or something?”
    “Steal my whole life,” Jetta groaned. “He
says both houses are coming down and eight apartments are being
built, and I can have one.”
    “Very big of him...”
    Jetta huffed out a sigh, defeated and
confused. “The last thing I want is a brand new apartment. I really
love Gran’s old house. It has such potential to look treasured
again.” She shrugged, and stayed silent for the next few seconds.
“I don’t know where I really stand,” she added. “It’s a huge scare,
and I can’t find out if it’s for real. Not until Monday. Not until
the funeral’s out of the way and the legal firm is open after their
summer break.”
    “He’s a conman,” Bren repeated.
    “Maybe. Maybe not. He seems very keen to get
me to his lawyer and have everything explained.”
    “You need your own lawyer,” Hallie
inserted.
    Jetta pulled down the corners of her mouth.
“Haven’t got one. Never needed one. He says the same man has also
been looking after Gran. Now she’s passed, surely he has to get in
touch with me?”
    “Och, this is all sounding far too
incestuous,” Bren declared, collapsing down onto the sofa beside
her.
    “In more ways than one,” Jetta muttered,
reaching out for her favorite mug and sipping the black coffee with
caution.
    “It’s all right,” Bren said, watching with
amusement. “You may have deserted us but I still know to add a wee
bittie cold water to yours.”
    Jetta nodded gratefully. She sent them both
an anxious glance. “And that’s the other thing, of course. My plans
to have you two live in the house and look after it for half rent
while I’m in New York? Down the drain at this rate. You didn’t hand
your notice in on this place yet, I hope?”
    “Hey, your Granny only died yesterday. Give
us a chance,” Hallie protested.
    “This is such stink timing!” Jetta exclaimed.
“I’ll have to contact the Design School and probably rearrange
things yet again. Not to mention grovel to Faye Severino and see if
I can keep my job for a bit longer. Or maybe not. I just don’t know
what’s going to happen.”
    “It’ll all work out,” Bren soothed.
    “Yes, but my life’s going backward .
I’ve been in limbo for months, worried about Gran, not daring to do
the New York course until something was settled about her. I’m glad
I paid ahead so they’ll have to find a