The Sapphire Brooch by Katherine Logan (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

“Don’t make us wait,” Jack said, but Charlotte had already disconnected.

“What’s an STD?” Braham asked.

Jack turned up the radio to hear the news on NPR. “Sexually transmitted disease.”

“Like syphilis and gonorrhea?”

“There are even more diseases now to worry about.”

Braham turned down the radio. “I’m listening.”

Thirty minutes later, they stopped at the corner of Eleventh Street and Clay. Charlotte jumped into the backseat. “So how far through his repertoire did Jack get? Can you repeat any of his jokes?”

Braham turned in his seat, trying to stifle a smile. “I’m going to drive once we hit the… hmm…interstate.”

Charlotte smacked the back of Jack’s head. “Don’t you dare let him drive. Can you imagine the nightmare we’d have defending a lawsuit if Braham had an accident while driving your vehicle?”

“Calm down. It was a joke. You’re more afraid of being sued than you were of Sheridan’s threats,” Jack said.

She put her head in her hands for a moment then straightened. “If Sheridan had acted on his threats, you wouldn’t be living at the plantation now, and if Braham causes a serious accident, a judgment against us could do what Sheridan didn’t. Please don’t let him drive.”

Jack eyed her in the rearview mirror. “By the time Braham drives on the highway, he’ll know what’s he’s doing.”

“Promise?” Charlotte asked.

“Promise,” Jack said.

17

Washington, D.C., Present Day

When they reached Washington, Jack drove directly to his agent’s office on Connecticut Avenue and parked in front of the converted Victorian home. “I’ll make lunch reservations and send you a text where to meet,” he said to Charlotte.

“I don’t know why you didn’t tell her you had other plans. Just because she calls, you don’t have to jump,” Charlotte said.

Jack slid out of the car and grabbed his leather case from behind his seat. “She makes my life easier, sis. It’s why I jump.”

Charlotte climbed into the driver’s seat and adjusted it and rearview mirror. “You’ll start talking book deals and forget all about us.”

“I’ll make the reservation as soon as I get inside. Promise.” Jack closed the door and waved good-bye.

“I’m not holding my breath,” she yelled.

Braham studied their interaction with intense interest. Although they often snapped at each other, they obviously adored one another, teasing relentlessly. He couldn’t help laughing at their shenanigans, and when he did, they would glower at him with identical blue eyes. Because he had been an only child, he had spent much of his time with his friend Cullen. Being around Charlotte and Jack reminded Braham of how much he missed his friend, and how empty his life was without him.

A car pulled up behind Charlotte, stopping traffic. Braham paid close attention to how other drivers maneuvered their vehicles. It took him a moment to realize the car was waiting for Charlotte to move out of the parking spot. There wasn’t much difference between driving a car and driving a carriage. One went faster than the other, is all. His spirits were bolstered knowing he would be able to drive the Range Rover as soon as he learned the rules.

Charlotte pulled out in front of the waiting car, accelerating quickly. Braham tugged on his seat belt strap, checking to be sure the latch was secure.

“Relax. I’m a good driver. I’ve never had an accident.”

“The speed limit is twenty-five miles per hour. Jack never goes over the speed limit. Do ye?”

“No, and he doesn’t speed now because a few years ago he had a rash of speeding tickets and got his license suspended. He’d be in a mess of trouble if he lost his driving privileges again. The plantation isn’t accessible using public transportation.”

“Ye wouldn’t be in trouble, too?”

Charlotte put on her blinker and changed lanes. “I live a few blocks from the hospital. I could walk if I had to.”

“Driving doesn’t look difficult.”

“If you want to learn, you can drive around the plantation. But if you get a scratch or dent on Jack’s baby, he’ll put a noticeable dent in you.”

A smile brought Charlotte’s dimple out of hiding.

He wanted to kiss both of them. The idea enticed him. After his physical reaction to her touch last night, he had remained aroused until he learned Lincoln had been murdered. Now his body was betraying him again.

“If someone put a scratch on Liberty, I’d feel the same way.”

“Liberty? Your horse?”

“A black Morgan. My cousin gave him to me when I left California. She said he was my Liberty Bell, and not to get him scratched, cracked, or broken.”

“She must have a real sense of humor. Great name.”

“Great horse.”

Charlotte stopped at a red light and checked her phone exactly as Braham had seen Jack do dozens of times. When the light turned green, she put the device down and drove through the intersection, paying close attention to the cars around her. She didn’t drive as close to other cars as Jack did, she held the steering wheel with a tighter grip, and she never looked at her phone while driving. A very cautious driver. Did it spill over into other aspects of her life? If it did, he had a greater appreciation for the risks she had taken to rescue him.

“You must not have had Liberty with you in Richmond.”

“I left him outside the city.”

She shot a quick glance at him, eyes wide. “At an abandoned farmhouse?”

“Yes. I was assured he’d be safe.”

“That’s what Gaylord told me when we left our horses there.” Her shoulders tightened up so subtly, if he’d been sitting an inch farther away, he wouldn’t have noticed. The trip must have terrified her.

“Gaylord’s a good man,” Braham said.

She bit her lip and made it swell slightly, looking highly kissable and in need of serious attention from him. It would take her mind off her fearful recollections. It would briefly distract him, too.

“And very quiet,” she said.

They rode in silence for a few blocks. He didn’t recognize any of the buildings, or the street, for that matter. Washington had changed significantly in the last hundred and fifty years.

He had