Yes, why indeed, Bas thought as he tested the shoulder harness of his seat belt. Okay, so maybe he should not have threatened to buy her sister’s share—not that he had any intention of doing it anyway. There was one thing he and his brothers would not tolerate and that was anyone trying to come between them, whether it involved a business deal or otherwise. And there was no way he would have caused problems between Jocelyn and Leah by doing that same thing.
But he had wanted to make a point. When it came to him, she had better not assume anything. The right to sell or not to sell Mason Construction would have been her decision and he would not have taken it away from her. However, she needed to understand that there was such a thing as business respect.
“Okay, we’re here.”
He snapped out of his musings when the truck came to a stop. He swore as he hissed out a breath. Where in the world was he? When she nodded her head to the left, he saw the house through the clearing. It was a two-story brick structure with a double garage set in a bevy of tall oak trees that provided a lot of shade. And he could see the clear blue waters of a lake in the back.
“You know the people who live here?” he asked, admiring the structure and the land, which had to be at least ten acres.
“I’m the one who lives here,” she muttered, opening the truck door and getting out.
He frowned as he watched her cross in front of the truck to get the mail out of a brick mailbox. She lived here? When she got back in the truck and thumbed through the letters, he stared at her for a moment then said, “I thought you lived in the house with Jim.”
She glanced up at him. “I moved back home when Dad got sick, but I’ve been out on my own since I turned twenty-one. I lived in town in an apartment for a few years. I bought this place a year and half ago to stop Reese from burning it down.”
Surprise glinted in the depths of Bas’s eyes. “Reese was going to burn it down? Why?”
Jocelyn blew out a breath before tossing the envelopes on top of the dashboard. “This was Singleton land. At least this is the parcel that once belonged to Reese. He had always envisioned him and Leah living here together as man and wife, and without letting her know, he began building this house and was going to surprise her with it on her birthday. She left town before that. Afterward, Reese didn’t have the heart to finish it.”
Jocelyn paused a moment as if remembering that time. It was moments later before she continued. “At one point he hated this place, swore he would never finish it and even threatened to burn it to the ground. Dad and I talked him out of it. Told him if he didn’t want it he should finish the work on it and sell it. And he did, to me.”
Bas rolled down the window, suddenly needing air. Since he had never allowed a woman to cause him any pain, he could only imagine Reese’s heartbreak. Hell, there wasn’t a woman alive who could drive him to burn anything, not even a hot dog.
“Does your sister know about this house?” He had yet to meet Leah Mason but already from all accounts she sounded like a selfish person to turn her back on the love of a good man.
“No, she doesn’t know everything.”
Bas lifted a brow. “What doesn’t she know?”
“She knows I bought the house from the Singletons but she doesn’t know it had been meant for her.” And now, after finding out the real reason Leah had left Newton Grove, in a way Jocelyn wished she wouldn’t find out. That would only add to the guilt her sister was already carrying around.
Starting up the truck again, she said, “We didn’t come here to talk about Reese and Leah.”
“No, we didn’t,” he said, as she parked her truck in the driveway.
“I come here at least twice a week to get the mail and check on things.” She tossed the words over her shoulder as she got out.
“When will you be moving back?” he asked, getting out the truck, as well.
“I hope in another week or so. I had planned to be back by now, but there’s still a lot of Dad’s stuff that Leah and I need to go through and I hadn’t counted on Leah staying this long past the funeral, although I’m glad she has. And with the cost of gas, living in town has been convenient for me, although I miss the seclusion.”