Legal Heirs 2

By Kimball Lee

Who committed the original sin, Charlotte, Finn, or Bly? Does it really matter if a new act of betrayal has the power to ruin them all? Desire and deceit go hand in hand and come in unexpected forms, the two together will unleash a chain of events that will alter lives forever. Charlotte will feel the sting of deception that sends her careening down a forbidden path. In the end one little boy’s future hangs in the balance. The heirs have grown up in the prequel to Legal Heirs 3, Hearts of Fire, and their lives will be wilder and more fascinating than anything that has come before!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kimball Lee
• Release date: Nov 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310496370

Kimball Lee

Hi, I'm Kimball Lee and I'd like to welcome you to the many worlds of my imagination! The topics of my novels and novella-series will vary but my style of writing remains the same. I don't write 700 page books padded with useless words that take three chapters to describe a doorknob! I do write funny, interesting, happy, sad, romantic, often titillating and always thought provoking works that pack a lot of good reading into just the right number of pages. I hope you enjoy my writing and know that it comes from the heart and I give every spare moment to creating characters you would want to have as friends and worlds you would want to visit or live in. Happy reading! Kimball Thank you for visiting my author page, please connect with me on my social media sites! [e-mail]

Book preview

LEGAL HEIRS 2

And no one would know…

Surrendering Charlotte Chronicles

Book 6

By Kimball Lee

Copyright 2014 Kimball Lee

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Smashwords Edition

Chapter One

My dad is getting married, did I tell you? Charlotte asked Amanda as they lay under a huge umbrella on the beach. To Belinda Rhodes. Have you heard of her?

"You mean the diamond-draped cowgirl who was on the cover of Town and Country magazine last month?" Amanda asked, signaling for another margarita.

That’s right, the San Antonio rose whose late husband owned the New Orleans Saints once upon a time. Not to mention most of the oil in the state of Texas.

Are you happy, sad, or don’t give a shit? Amanda asked, taking two margaritas from the bartender who worked at the McCall House.

I’m pleased for my dad, and I’ve talked to her on the phone a few times. She’s a nice woman with a big ol’ Texxxxas drawwwwlll. They’ll be here any minute. She’s forty-eight and she has two young kids.

The Rhodes Ranch widow — damn, she’s a catch. I believe she gives my brother a run for his money, as far as her finances go. I read that she inherited more billions than you can count using all your fingers and toes, Amanda said, licking the salt from the rim of her glass before she took a sip.

Her little boy is the same age as Atticus and the girl is fifteen. Guess what their names are? Charlotte said, rolling her eyes, which got Amanda’s attention immediately.

They were lying on the sand beyond the lawn of the McCall House and Amanda turned on her side and flashed a wicked smile. Something super southern? Clementine and Bubba? Magnolia Blossom and John Wayne?

Pretty close, Charlotte said. "Matilda Jane and Balthazar, but they call Balthazar… wait for it… Cuatro. As Belinda informed me, it’s pronounced Kwaaah-tro!"

What the hell is a freaking Cuatro?

"It means four in Spanish, and he is Balthazar Rhodes the fourth, comprende’?" Charlotte said and raised her eyebrows, waiting for Amanda’s witty reply.

Amanda waved her hand in the air for two more margaritas. Well isn’t she the queen of shitty kids’ names. Matilda’s kind of cute, and I guess Cuatro beats Balthazar any day of the week. She’s not some bleached blonde bimbo Barbie doll from Podunk, Texas who married money, is she?

Nope, her grandfather was LBJ’s godson. According to her, in Texas money marries money. By the way, you really are beginning to sound like Evangeline when you stick the knife in and turn it.

Wash your mouth out with soap please, I am nothing like Evangeline. Look at all these kids — someone should nominate me for Mother of the Year. And who the hell is LBJ? Amanda said, slathering more sunscreen onto her pale, freckled arms.

"Uh, Lyndon Baines Johnson, dummy, the former president of the USA, from Texas. You are beginning to remind me of the old lady in the shoe. Are you keeping Beau for the entire summer?"

No, West and my mother have been in Geneva for six weeks, basking in the healing waters. Which means Mother is having her yearly tune up, you know, having her ass lifted and her face tightened up. I swear if that ass of hers gets any higher it will be between her shoulder blades. I’m meeting them in New York next week. West is missing his boy big time. God, he’s crazy about that child, and Beau looks like him, doesn’t he? I mean, you would think Beau and Skyler would look more alike. Believe me, I am eternally grateful that neither of those kids look like crazy-scary Lizzie. Oh good grief, Ava! Amanda called out to the group of children who were busy building a giant sandcastle. Don’t put sand in your sister’s hair. Skyler, come here, let Mommy put some more sunscreen on you.

Both little girls ran to Amanda and stood smiling while they were dusted off and re-coated with sunscreen. It amazed Charlotte that Amanda was so loving to Skyler, who had arrived on the doorstep the day of Jack’s first birthday party. Amanda had just taken her in. Not that she had any choice — she was JP’s daughter, born while her mother Lizzie was locked up in a Mexican jail. Amanda had been shocked at first, but she decided not to break up her family by holding it against JP. She was a bastard herself after all, since Evangeline had fucked around on Holden Bly the First and Amanda was the product of that affair.

Skyler was the exact image of JP, except that she had inherited Lizzie’s light complexion. The child was beyond adorable, with wide green eyes, a tiny nose, and the sweetest smile. She was what Charlotte’s mother used to refer to as a ‘tow-head:’ her hair was silky and white like a baby bunny’s fur. Her mother, Lizzie, had fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution as an accessory in the Natalie case. She ended up in a Mexican jail for prostitution and drug trafficking, and as she had done with Beau, she told the authorities to take baby Skyler to JP Thomas in San Diego. Both West and JP kept tabs on Lizzie to make sure she wouldn’t return to claim the children. Lizzie had managed to get herself the best possible guarantee that she wouldn’t be extradited back to the United States. She was now the wife of the one of the most ruthless and powerful bosses of a Mexican drug cartel.

So you’re okay with the guys going on this extended ski trip to New Zealand? Amanda asked as she and Charlotte watched the little girls run back to the group of children.

Sure, why not? Finn works hard, he deserves some time off, Charlotte said, as she counted heads to make sure all the kids were accounted for.

Atticus was seven and Hadley had just turned five the day before. West’s son Beau would be six in September, which was three months away. Jack was five and a half, Skyler would turn five in a month and Ava was four and a half. It made Charlotte’s head spin to think of all the babies that had been born so close together. When she counted Bly’s twins, Holden and Mia, who were the same age as Jack, and Jude’s son, Keller, it was a staggering wealth of children.

Atticus and Jack were out in the Gulf paddle-boarding with Finn and JP, and Hadley was yelling at her daddy that it was her turn. Beau was bossing Ava and Skyler around, telling them exactly how to place shells to decorate the sandcastle. Charlotte smiled at Beau’s cute French accent — once in a while he would mutter "merde!" which meant shit. Amanda would scold him then, telling him he shouldn’t use such words. Beau was growing up bilingual and he already knew a ton of naughty French words.

Can you believe how cute he is? Amanda laughed. West keeps firing nannies because Beau loves to cuss. I’m thinking one of these days he’s going to realize the child is picking it up from Evangeline. I gather that she and West love to fight and then make up, and my mother definitely has a colorful vocabulary when she’s pissed off.

So, are you unhappy that Finn and JP will be gone for the rest of the summer? I know you love JP like crazy when you two are together, but you never say you miss him when they go away to ski or surf on the weekends, Charlotte said. She pushed her sunglasses up and stared out to the Gulf, where Atticus and Hadley were both laughing and having the time of their lives with Finn. All three of them straddled the paddle-board, and Finn circled Hadley with his arm and rested a hand on Atti’s shoulder.

Atticus was growing up so fast, and in the last couple of months he’d become adamant that he could do everything for himself. Finn wanted to protect him, but still let him think that he was in fact becoming a little man. Charlotte wanted him to be her baby for as long as possible, and she had cried herself to sleep when he started calling her Mom rather than Mommy. Finn held her and told her it was alright, Atti was just going through a period of separation, but he would he would