O'Brien's Lady (2 page)

Katy's slight accent rolled easily off her tongue and added to her charm and personality. Katy had been like a mother to Sonny while J.B. had traveled.

"You've become a beautiful young woman," Katy was saying, as her wide smile exposed the large space between her two front teeth.

"I don't know about that, but I've learned a lot since I've been away," Sonny answered.

"So, tell me about yourself and what you've been doing." Katy's thick brows arched and she took another sip of coffee.

Katy replaced the mug to the table. "Tell me about your photography."

"I work with a designer named Pierre. He's very talented, and I've learned about the fashion industry."

"Is there something more than business here?" Katy asked nonchalantly.

Sonny felt as if she were suddenly defending herself. "Maybe. I care for him very much, and we have exciting times together."

"Then tell me dear, why I see the light dance through your eyes when my Michael walks past you? Can you answer that?" Katy smiled and winked.

Sonny shook her head. "Katy, you're a tease. Michael and I aren't even friends." She added quickly, "We never were."

"Um-hum. I know what I see. Michael hasn't settled with any one woman yet, and him goin' on twenty-nine."

Katy's words hit Sonny full force, and she felt her cheeks warm as the older woman's eyes were fixed on her. The two of them had been too close through the years for anything to be hidden and Sonny knew that her denial was not convincing Katy O'Brien.

Later that night, Sonny slumped into the blue wing-backed chair in front of the rock fireplace. The living room was just as she remembered it. Hardwood floors buffed to a high shine and thick white throw carpets beneath her bare feet.

The couch was a shade darker than the chair and lined with throw pillows in shades of brown and rust. There was a quiet sense of orderliness here that Sonny had missed. The apartment she still shared with a young model friend was usually strewn with clothing and books and whatever else she and Jan decided to discard. Neither one of them had the time to do housework, and so they passed each other like ships in the night, with only an occasional few minutes left over for just plain talk.

Sometime during the night, Sonny awoke, to find her body still draped comfortably in the blue chair. The trip had been exhausting and she had not been able to fight sleep. As she turned out the lights and pulled herself up the winding staircase, she thought of Michael and the gentle touch of his lips to hers. She shook her head, trying to block the image of his tanned face from her mind, but the feelings he had stirred within her would not be quieted.

Michael had definitely gotten to her today, but she was determined to keep her mind on the business at hand. The business of settling her father's estate.

CHAPTER 2

Sonny sat up in bed with a startled look on her sleep-swollen face. It was already nine o'clock and Ben Mathison was to read her father's will at ten.

The moment she had dreaded was almost here. Somehow, official notification of her inheritance of Pinebrook was going to make her father's death seem so final. Sonny had managed to come to terms with her own feelings of loss, but being back here in J.B's world was unsettling. She only hoped that returning to Paris and her regular routine would help bring her back to normalcy.

Sonny showered and dressed in a white silk tailored blouse and a black skirt that emphasized her small waistline. She fastened the pearl buttons on her cuffs and straightened the wide collar that opened at the neck. Working with Pierre's innovative and outrageous fashions had not altered the quietly sophisticated look she chose for her own wardrobe.

When she had finished tucking her hair neatly at the nape of her neck and applied a blusher to her cheeks and gloss to her lips, Sonny sat on the edge of her bed and took a deep breath.

Moments later, Sonny entered her father's den and was immediately overcome by the darkly paneled walls filled with photographs of J.B. and his past champions. The room pervaded with his presence and she turned away from the familiar face in the pictures.

In one corner of the room, next to the floor-to-ceiling red brick fireplace was a large oak desk. Bookshelves lined every other wall and were stacked with volumes of good reading material. Her father's penchant for books was surpassed only by his love for his champions. The well-worn brown leather couch was placed in front of the fireplace and two matching chairs faced the heavy burled wood table. Being a big man himself, J.B. had filled his house with sturdy no-nonsense furniture. He was a functional man who believed in the true essence of simplicity, a trait Sonny, it seemed, had not inherited.

The small gold ashtray on the table caught Sonny's eye and she picked it up, her fingers exploring the familiar object. It had been a birthday present for her father and it had taken two extra turns at the county fair to win it. She carefully placed it back on the table and turned, startled to see Michael coming through the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Sonny asked, wondering if he had let himself in with Katy's key.

"Coming to see your father's attorney."

Michael handed her an envelope to support his reasons for appearing.

"Ben asked you to be here?"

"It's all in that letter." Michael sauntered over to the couch and sank into the soft cushions. He wore a blue plaid flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Tanned, muscular arms were exposed and Sonny turned her attention to one of the high-backed chairs, as she slid gracefully into the seat.

"Probably wants to discuss stable management." Sonny had begun in mid-sentence without knowing it.

"Who does?" Michael asked.

"Ben, of course. Anyway, you two can discuss whatever it is you need to." It would be best that way, because she certainly didn't want Michael being present while they discussed her father's will.

Sonny unconsciously bit her lower lip as the silence between them became deafening. She shifted her weight nervously from one leg to the other, first crossing, then uncrossing. Michael followed every move with his dark, feline eyes.

Ben Mathison, who looked more like a country singer than an attorney, stroked his bushy red mustache thoughtfully and cleared his throat. "Sonny, I'll repeat myself. Your father bequeathed Pinebrook Farm to be divided equally between you and Michael O'Brien."

Sonny's audible gasp filled the room.

"Michael…" She turned to him and her eyes ignited with unspoken accusations.

"I'm as shocked as you," Michael confessed.

"My father must have told you something about this" Sonny challenged, her blue eyes filled with distrust.

"No, he didn't."

"Hold it a minute, you two," Ben cut in. "This document is legal, and it's history right now. You can't make accusations or denials and expect it to go away. You'll both have to abide by the conditions, or forfeit your half of the inheritance.

"What?" Sonny's voice was high-pitched and her face was beginning to lose its color.

"You heard me right. Lose your inheritance.

Let me explain the conditions that go along with this, then you can throw stones at him," Ben indicated with a nod of his red head in the direction of Michael. "But, wait till I'm out of the room." He chuckled lightly and then realized he was the only one in the room who found the remark amusing.

Sonny had been sitting on the edge of her seat, and now she sank back against the cool leather cushion and waited to hear the terms of the agreement. She felt confused, betrayed and trapped and there was nothing she could do to stop it. J.B. Mead had always been a man of direction, but this made absolutely no sense at all. Why would he leave half of his estate to Michael O'Brien? Even though he had lived and worked on the farm for most of his life, in what way did that entitle him to half ownership?

"The main stipulation here, that you, Sonny, stay on the premises for the next six months."

"That's too long, Ben. My boss won't wait forever for me to return to work, you know."

"I'm sure that he would understand if you explained things to him. Now, remember that if any of these conditions aren't met, you will forfeit..,."

"Yes, I see your point. But that doesn't make it any easier," Sonny observed, as her face clouded with uncertainty.

"What happens after six months?" Michael asked.

Ben loosened the dark tie around his heavy neck and looked at Michael with mud-colored eyes. "That's simple enough. Both of you will sign papers to the effect that these conditions were mt, and then you can either continue the partnership or one of you sell out to the other."

"Of course I'll sell," Sonny stated with contempt in her voice.

"Maybe you'll change your mind and decide to stay." The twinkle in Michael's dark eyes only angered her more.

He had walked into this room with nothing more than a stable training job, and now he was going to leave as half-owner of everything. The more Sonny thought about it the more she bristled. She was the one who had lost here today, not Michael O'Brien.

And, judging by the look on his face, he knew it too.

Sonny shook her head insistently. "No, I won't want to stay. If we're being forced into this partnership, then I have no other alternative. When the time period is complete, the order of things will change drastically.

Ben continued to make reference to the paper in front of him as he spoke. "Now, this next condition is addressed to you, Sonny. J.B. realized you had very little knowledge of the business and practical workings of Pinebrook. Therefore, he has stipulated that Michael and Will O'Brien fully indoctrinate you on every aspect of the farm."

Sonny's lips paled with anger. "Ben, my father knew that I had very little interest in the farm. Why would he insist on throwing me into something I hate?"

"I can't answer a question like that," Ben said flatly. "J.B. hired me for legal advise, not personal counseling.

Michael's broad shoulders inched up as he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. Sonny tried to avoid the dark eyes that watched her every move and she shuddered when she thought of this man as her business partner.

"Working with Sonny will be my pleasure, Ben." Michael's mouth turned up at the ends and the laugh lines around his eyes became more prominent as he watched her.

Sonny felt an uneasiness come over her as she tried to keep her eyes averted and her mind on the business at hand. If only Michael would leave the room, she could think this thing through and make some sense of it all. Right now, her mind was tormented with the unpredictable future that lay ahead.

Until the news of her father's death had reached her, life had been comfortable and predictable. No changes, no surprises and best of all, no Michael O'Brien. In just a few days, everything was being turned around and she was trapped at the bottom with no visible means of escape.

Ben Mathison made quick order of discussing the terms of the will and left papers for each of them to sign and send back to his office in San Francisco. Sonny wanted time to digest the contract and Ben had agreed to leave her alone.

Michael watched her, as she held the paper

between her fingers, looking more like a frightened young child than a sophisticated photographer. He wanted, more than anything, to hold her in his arms and kiss away the pain of her father's last wish. But that was impossible, because Sonny wanted to leave Pinebrook, She would tire of this kind of life and crave more excitement. Michael did not want to lose her again, for he knew that she would eventually leave for Paris, just as she had four years ago.

"Why did you do this, Michael?"

"Do what?"

"Convince my father that you should have a portion of the inheritance that was rightfully mine."

"J.B. made his own decisions. This one just happened to involve me." Michael's attempts to excuse himself were not working.

"Dad and I weren't very close, Michael, but one thing held never do is leave Pinebrook to anyone but me." Sonny's face shown with bold defiance as she tilted her head to the side.

Michael's eyes still burned with inner lights of mockery and he seized the opportunity to spar with her, something he had missed for a long time. "You might say this is no longer just Mead property. I think my signature on this paper will make it Mead-O'Brien."

Sonny dropped her arms to her sides and clutched the paper tightly between her fingers.

"You only control half, Michael, and only for six months," she said emphatically.

"Oh?" he said, his thick brows arching in question.

"I intend to buy out your half eventually."

"Funny, I was thinking of doing the same thing." Michael smiled and folded his arms.

"You wouldn't dare," she uttered in disbelief. "If anyone should have control of the land it's me."

"And why not me, Sonny? I've worked it while you've been running all over Paris without a thought in your head about life back here."

"That's your opinion," Sonny replied with heavy sarcasm.

"Prove me wrong," Michael challenged.