Angel House

By JC Edwards

Roxy’s only goal is to protect the homeless shelter where she works. Jason Reed inherits the land the shelter is on and when he goes to find out why his uncle never sold, he meets up with Roxy at the front desk.

Sparks fly when Jason tries to discover why it is so important to keep the shelter open. Is there something she is hiding from him?

~30,000 word novella, Angels in Disguise series

• Language: English
• Publisher: JC Edwards
• Release date: Jul 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476413983

JC Edwards

Jessie can’t remember NOT writing. She lives in the country with her husband of 26y and knows how much work and joy goes into a happy ending. She spent the last 2 decades raising and home schooling her 3 precocious (and wonderful) children while writing to maintain her sanity. Now that her children are grown, she begins to look outward to publishing her writing and hopes you enjoy it. *COMING SOON! Emanations- little poetry bytes

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Angel House

By

JC Edwards

Angel House

Copyright 2012 by JC Edwards

Published By JC Edwards

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

Dedication:

To Kimberly Troutte, because she made this book so much better! And to my family, for always being there.

Chapter 1

Roxy put down the newspaper in shock. Her coffee sat untouched, her breakfast forgotten. Her fingers itched to pick up the phone and call this Mr. Jason Reed and give him a piece of her mind.

She steamed, frustrated that her hands were tied. Who did he think he was, anyway? Stop it, Roxy, she thought, getting up and pacing her kitchen before grabbing the newspaper to read the article again. You don’t know him or even what he wants. But her thoughts ran all over the place as she thought about the ramifications of this news. She reread carefully this time.

The newspaper article said Mr. Jason Reed, of the Benton-Reed Corporation, had inherited properties on Olive Street from his uncle, Martin Reed, recently deceased and it was speculated that certain prime properties in Harmon would be sold, including Angel House and the restaurant next door.

Should she tell the Pattersons? Or should she just let it go for now and see where things went from here? The Pattersons ran the homeless shelter, but they were getting on in years, and more and more of the responsibilities of the shelter were falling to the people on their staff. Roxy did the PR and organized the social gatherings and contacts for the shelter, both internally, and externally. And she was on the warpath now. Problem was, Martin Reed had not left much information for any of them. His policy had always been to operate behind the scenes and leave well enough alone.

That had worked well for all of them, until his cancer had returned swiftly 5 months before. Time had simply run out before there had been a chance for him to tell any of them what his plans were for the land he so generously leased to them every year. Roxy had seen the notice in the paper that he had passed two months before, and when she had not heard anything further, had assumed that his family had taken over and decided to keep things as they were. Until she read the article in the paper this morning, that is.

Absently she nibbled on a piece of her toast, now grown cold. Grimacing at the flavorless bread, she dropped it on her plate and left for work.

Angel House was one street over from Roxy’s place, on one of the main streets in the old part of downtown Harmon. Today was not warm, thank goodness, and her walk to work was invigorating. By time she got to work she felt much better.

Stopping briefly to look at the small plaque on the front of the building identifying it as Angel House, Roxy wondered if Jason Reed knew how many lives had been saved by this small organization. Her own, included.

***

Jason put down the newspaper, frowning as his assistant sauntered into the office. He briefly assessed the man as he sat down. Ryan was known for pointing out ways for Jason’s division of Benton-Reed to save money or invest in new properties. All in all, he considered Ryan indispensible. But perhaps he had gone too far this time.

Having the newspaper print a speculation about Jason’s recently inherited properties before his approval was both presumptuous and potentially dangerous. Communities could be touchy about their land holdings and, after Benton-Reed’s last brush with public scandal a few years before Jason came on scene, they were very careful not to let the public in on their plans before it was absolutely necessary. Now, with his assistant smugly sitting before him, he considered the best course of action.

You’ve put me at a distinct disadvantage, here, Ryan. I do not like finding out my personal business or speculative plans by way of the newspaper. He looked carefully at Ryan, pleased to see a flush on his neck.

The younger man squirmed slightly before narrowing his eyes. I’ve been talking about this in our meetings for two months now. Three prospective buyers have approached me about that property. It's prime, Jason. Have you been out to Harmon lately? It’s really starting to build up and property values, especially in the heart of town, are skyrocketing. Those properties would be fairly lucrative, but the Olive Street ones are the ones people want.

Jason turned away from his assistant and looked out the window. He had never been very close to his uncle. He swallowed down resentment at the mess that had been dumped on him. He already had a lot to contend with, now that his father had decided to retire and leave the running of the Reed portion of Benton –Reed to him and his little brother. Now, he had more properties to deal with and a mess because of Martin’s illness and subsequent death.

And then there was the problem of this Angel House. He knew Martin had an arrangement with the people to lease it to them for a ridiculously low $400 per month. He clenched his jaw. He just didn’t know why Martin would have done this. Many charitable places received grants to lease real estate property. Marty had been an excellent businessman. There seemed to be sentimentality behind this that Jason had yet to understand.

Ryan named an exorbitant sum, commenting that it was the best offer so far. Jason never flinched, having handled sums much larger in the past. It would take some investigation to find out why the offer was made and what the actual values of the property were. If Ryan was right, Marty had been sitting on a gold mine.

He buzzed his secretary and asked her to get him all the files on Angel House, then turned to Ryan. He raised an eyebrow, his silence speaking for him before he added, Nevertheless, you overstepped your bounds here and now I may have to do some damage control with both the public and the people who lease that property.

Ryan seemed unrepentant at his tactic. You can’t just sit on an opportunity like this, Jason.

But there was something that was bugging Jason about the whole thing. He just couldn’t seem to figure out what it was.

***

Roxy looked up from her desk and saw that someone was standing in the foyer, waiting for help. She quickly put aside what she’d been working on and got up to go out to greet the, her steps faltered, gentleman. His suit was tailored and expensive. His face was tanned above his dress shirt and his blonde hair had highlights only the sun could do. But his eyes were the most intriguing. Deep blue, like a stormy ocean, they pulled at her gaze. She quickly looked away, but not before she recognized the discomfort so many people had when they came in for the first time.

She put on her friendliest businesslike façade, and said, Can I help you?

Yes, I’d like to see Mr. or Mrs. Patterson, if they are available. He handed her his business card. His voice slid over Roxy like velvet and her automatic reaction to it was to stretch up taller than her 5’2" and preen like a stroked cat.

She balked at this, instantly mistrustful, and looked down at the card that identified him. Yes.