Free Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) by Mariella Starr Page A

Don't be surprised if he doesn't want it back.
    "My advice is to go about your business as usual. You need to keep on top of the estate attorney to make sure no claims come out of the woodwork from people wanting to dip their fingers in the pie. With this kind of money, there are usually a lot of suits claiming the old man promised them something. Unless they got it in writing, the courts would bounce them out if they even make it that far. Maybe somebody shoveled the old man's walk or ran an errand for him at some point. When millions of dollars are at stake, everyone thinks they are entitled to a part of it."
    "Well, that would be more than I did," Josh exclaimed. "I didn't know he existed."
    "It doesn't matter," Tyrell said. "He knew about you and he is blood kin. He named you in his will sixteen years ago. That, my bro, will hold up in court.
    "Take the settlement money and go into business for yourself, if that is what you want. Give yourself time, and give your marriage the time it needs. Your relationship problems are still there, Josh. Right now they are shrouded in your current blind panic. If Dad drilled anything into our heads, it is family comes first ."
    * * *
    Jenny was sitting in her walk-in closet surrounded by a mountain of clothing. How she had accumulated so many clothes she did not even wear was not a mystery, but she still regretted it. Emmie was playing dress-up in a shimmery silver cocktail dress and high heels Jen had not worn in years.
    "I remember that outfit," Josh said from the doorway of the closet.
    "It is going out to a resale shop or into Emmie's dress-up box. I doubt I would fit into it again."
    "You are not much bigger now than when we married," Josh said, looking at her. "You are a little too thin, in fact."
    "A woman can never be too thin," Jenny protested. "Even so, I went up a dress size after Emmie and another after Adam. Childbearing has had an effect on my figure."
    "So what," Josh teased in her ear. "I love your hips, and your butt, and the fullness of your breasts, all of which are only a tiny bit bigger now. You are a woman, Jen, not a skinny, size two adolescent. You are beautiful and you gave us two amazing babies out of your stunning body."
    "Thank you," Jenny said as he squatted down to kiss her.
    Josh plopped down on the floor, and began a game of tossing clothes over Adam and pulling them off him to make him giggle. "I have a job offer."
    "Really," Jenny exclaimed. "Is it a good one?"
    "It sounds good, but I have to fly to Denver for an interview. I will be away for a couple days. While there, I also want to take the time to go to Montrose and check out Brice's proposition. Can you handle things alone for a few days?"
    "You have been on business trips before," Jenny said mildly.
    "Yes, I have," he agreed. "Denise has also used those times to corrupt your mind and pick our pockets. I cannot come back to discover several thousand dollars of debt that was not there before I left. I need you to be strong."
    "I will be strong," Jenny promised. "I still have a ton of stuff to go through. Each time I mark a box for auction or resale at a consignment shop, it reminds me how stupid I have been."
    "I hate being a hard-ass, but I have to be," Josh said firmly. "You don't have a good track record of turning down your mother. I think she's implanted little time bombs in your brain, she says a keyword and you cave."
    Jenny shook her head. "I won't cave," she promised. "You read too much science fiction."
    "Okay, I have your promise. If I come back to discover she has conned you into something, your ass will pay for it and not in a fun way."
    "I will bury myself in packing, and I will ignore her. You have my solemn word that I will not go near a mall. The Engleson's want settlement and occupation in twenty-eight days. The idea of being homeless in less than a month scares me."
    "We will never be homeless," scolded Josh. "We have the settlement and we are going to fine. We will recover from