Liam's Perfect Woman (Home to Harbor Town 2) - Page 64

That did it. Nick Malone stepped back, allowing them to enter.

“Follow me,” he said.

Ma

lone led them into a truly stunning great room, featuring a forty-foot ceiling and the largest picture window Natalie had ever seen. The house was built on the side of a mountain. Its panoramic view of a sparkling Lake Tahoe and the surrounding High Sierras was the most jaw-dropping she’d ever seen.

They followed Malone up a grand staircase made with lodgepole pines and down a hallway, which was more of a gallery, given the museum-quality paintings hanging on the wall and occasional sculptures.

Nick gave them a severe once-over as he knocked at a door.

“Linc? Are you awake?”

“I am,” was the quiet reply.

“Mr. Kavanaugh and Ms. Reyes have arrived.”

“Send them in,” the voice on the other side of the door came more energetically.

Malone put his hand on the doorknob and turned to Liam.

“He’s very frail. His level of awareness wavers, depending on how fatigued he is. Don’t badger him with a lot of questions.”

Liam smiled even though his eyes were like blue ice chips. “No worries. We’ll be very gentle. My mother taught me good manners.”

Despite Liam’s sarcasm, Malone turned the knob and pushed open the door. He shut it behind them with an angry click once they’d entered the room.

And what a room…Natalie thought in wonder as she looked around the enormous space filled with everything from plush oriental carpets to detailed nautical maps that had been framed and mounted on the wall. Interspersed were oil paintings of horses.

DuBois himself was in the middle of all this wonder, sitting in a wheelchair, his gaze fixed on Liam. He had the look of a man who had lost a great deal of weight in a short period of time, leaving him lined and shrunken. Only his thick, steel-gray hair carried a remnant of former vitality.

“Mr. DuBois? Thank you for seeing us,” Liam said warmly, shaking the man’s outstretched hand. “This is Natalie Reyes.”

“Hello,” Natalie said, taking DuBois’ frail hand in her own. He nodded courteously at her, but immediately turned his attention back to Liam.

She knew by now that DuBois was only a few years older than Brigit Kavanaugh, but they might as well have been of different generations. Brigit could have passed for a woman in her late forties. DuBois’ multiple strokes had taken their toll, however. He might have been in his late seventies instead of in his sixties.

“I thought you might resemble her more,” he told Liam in a feeble voice. “I thought you might look more like your mother. Beautiful Brigit.”

Liam smiled. “I take more after my father, I’m afraid.”

A cloud seemed to fall over DuBois’ features.

“I understand you went to school with my mother,” Liam said.

“Yes, yes,” DuBois said, some of the animation returning to his face. He waved them over to a plush velvet couch. Once they were seated, he maneuvered his chair so that he faced them. “She was my first love, Brigit Darien. You see? There,” he said, nodding toward several photographs arranged on a round end table. Liam leaned over and plucked out one frame. He held it in his lap, examining the photograph of what was obviously a teenage Brigit Kavanaugh sitting on the back of a brown horse with a gleaming coat. Brigit looked beautiful, the sunlight making her hair a luminous gold, a brilliant smile for whoever had snapped the photo.

“Brigit practically lived on my father’s ranch for a few years. A more natural horsewoman I’ve never seen. It broke my heart when she moved to Chicago.”

“I can see how she would break your heart. She was so pretty,” Natalie said. “When did you and Brigit meet?”

“We were both enrolled by our parents at a local stable for lessons. I grew up on a working ranch, and can’t even remember when I wasn’t riding, but I didn’t know anything about showing a horse until I was fourteen or so. Brigit would have been about twelve. She preferred jumping, and I was into roping, but once we got past our prejudices for each other’s expertise, we became the best of friends.”

Liam chuckled as he returned the photograph to the table. Despite his show of amusement, Natalie sensed his tension. She shared in it.

“You two were close,” Liam mused. “I’m surprised my mother has never spoken of you.”

“No?” DuBois asked in a quavering voice.

Tags: Beth Kery Home to Harbor Town Billionaire Romance
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