regardless of the hour.”
“Dollars?”
“Yes.”
Ridiculous. “Isn’t that a bit exorbitant for a plumber?”
His initial surprise melted into a smile, revealing dimples that would make the most cynical single gal swoon. “Probably so, but I’m not a plumber.”
Hannah’s face heated over her utterly stupid assumption. Had she been thinking straight, she would have realized he wasn’t a working-class kind of guy. “Then what are you? Who are you?”
He pulled a business card from his jacket pocket and offered it to her. “Logan Whittaker, attorney at law.”
A slight sense of dread momentarily robbed Hannah of a response, until she realized she had no reason to be afraid of a lawyer. She gained enough presence of mind to take the card and study the text. Unfortunately, her questions as to why he was there remained unanswered. She’d never heard of the Drake, Alcott and Whittaker law firm, and she didn’t know anyone in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
She looked up to find him studying her as intently as she had his card. “What’s this about?”
“I’m helping settle the late J. D. Lassiter’s estate,” he said, then paused as if that should mean something to her.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone named Lassiter, so there must be some mistake.”
He frowned. “You are Hannah Lovell Armstrong, right?”
“Yes.”
“And your mother’s name is Ruth Lovell?”
The conversation was growing stranger by the minute. “Was. She passed away two years ago. Why?”
“Because she was named as secondary beneficiary should anything happen to you before you claimed your inheritance.”
Inheritance. Surely it couldn’t be true. Not after all the years of wondering and hoping that someday...
Then reality began to sink in, as well as the memory of her mother’s warning.
You don’t need to know anything about your worthless daddy or his cutthroat family. He never cared about you one whit from the moment you were born. You’re better off not knowing....
So shell-shocked by the possibility that this had something to do with the man who’d given her life, Hannah simply couldn’t speak. She could only stare at the card still clutched in her hand.
“Are you okay, Ms. Armstrong?”
The attorney’s question finally snapped her out of the stupor. “I’m a little bit confused at the moment.” To say the least.
“I understand,” he said. “First of all, it’s not my place to question you about your relationship with J. D. Lassiter, but I am charged with explaining the terms of your inheritance and the process for claiming it. Anything you reveal to me will be kept completely confidential.”
When she realized what he might be implying, Hannah decided to immediately set him straight. “Mr. Whittaker, I don’t have, nor have I ever had, a relationship with anyone named Lassiter. And if you’re insinuating I might be some mistress he kept hidden away, you couldn’t be more wrong.”
“Again, I’m not assuming anything, Ms. Armstrong. I’m only here to honor Mr. Lassiter’s last wishes.” He glanced over his shoulder at Nancy, the eyes and ears of the neighborhood, who’d stopped watering her hedgerow to gawk, before turning his attention back to Hannah. “Due to confidentiality issues, I would prefer to lay out the terms of the inheritance somewhere aside from your front porch.”
Although he seemed legitimate, Hannah wasn’t comfortable with inviting a stranger into her home, not only for her sake, but also for her daughter’s. “Look, I need some time to digest this information.” As well as the opportunity to investigate Logan Whittaker and determine whether he might be some slick con artist. “Could we possibly meet this evening to discuss this?” Provided she didn’t discover anything suspicious about him.
“I can be back here around seven-thirty.”
“I’d prefer to meet in a public venue. I have a daughter and I wouldn’t want her to overhear our conversation.”
“No problem,” he said. “And in the meantime, feel free to do an internet search or call my office and ask for Becky. You’ll have all my pertinent information and proof that I am who I say I am.”
The man must be a mind reader. “Thank you for recognizing my concerns.”
“It’s reasonable that you’d want to protect not only yourself, but your child.” He sounded as if he truly understood, especially the part about protecting Cassie.
She leaned a shoulder against the support column. “I suppose you’ve probably seen a lot of unimaginable things involving children during your career.”
He shifted his weight slightly. “Fortunately I’m in corporate law, so I only have to deal with business transactions, estates and people with too much money to burn.”
“My favorite kind of people.” The sarcasm in her tone was unmistakable.
“Not too fond of the rich and infamous?” he asked, sounding somewhat amused.
“You could say that. It’s a long story.” One that wouldn’t interest him in the least.
“I’m staying at Crest Lodge, not far from here,” he said. “They have a decent restaurant where we can have a private conversation. Do you know the place?”
“I’ve been there once.” Six years ago with her husband on their anniversary, not long before he was torn from her life due to a freak industrial accident. “It’s fairly expensive.”
He grinned. “That’s why they invented expense accounts.”
“Unfortunately I don’t have one.”
“But I do and it’s my treat.”
And what a treat it would be, sitting across from a man who was extremely easy on the eyes. A man she knew nothing about. Of course, this venue would be strictly business. “All right, if you’re sure.”
“Positive,” he said. “My cell number’s listed on the card. If your plans change, let me know. Otherwise I’ll meet you there at seven-thirty.”
That gave Hannah a little over two hours to get showered and dressed, provided the real plumber didn’t show up, which seemed highly unlikely. “Speaking of calls, why didn’t you handle this by phone?”
His expression turned solemn once more. “First of all, I had some business to attend to in Denver, so I decided to stop here on the way back to Cheyenne. Secondly, as soon as you hear the details, you’ll know why I thought it was better to lay out the terms in person. I’ll see you this evening.”
With that, he strode down the walkway, climbed into a sleek black Mercedes and drove away, leaving Hannah suspended in a state of uncertainty.
