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course.” She leaned forward on Terrel’s desk, resting her elbows on the smooth wood. “But he said something that made me curious.”
    “What’d he say?”
    “He mentioned you were not Adam Montgomery’s biological son. Is this true?”
    Her heart hammered as she waited for his reaction. Terrel didn’t seem the least bit surprised. Once again, he kept an all-to-familiar business expression.
    “Yes. Most everybody knows my mother married Adam when I was four years old. A year and a half later, Adam decided to adopt me, so my last name was changed.”
    She chuckled and shook her head. “I was shocked to hear him say that because you hadn’t mentioned it before.”
    He shrugged. “I’m a Montgomery now. In my mind, I’ve always been a Montgomery. My life began the day my mother married Adam.”
    She smiled. “I wish I’d known Adam. He sounds like such a remarkable man.”
    “He was.”
    “What was Joshua like?”
    This time, Terrel’s expression did change. Hard lines crossed his face, his brown eyes turned dark. Obviously, this topic wasn’t welcome. She squirmed in her chair, awaiting his response.
    “Joshua and Adam were exactly opposite. Even now, I wondered if Joshua had been a legitimate son. I was more like Adam than Joshua.”
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    He flipped his hand through the air and relaxed in his chair. “But it doesn’t matter now. Joshua’s death was a relief to both my mother and me. We didn’t know what would have happened to Montgomery’s Aisle if Joshua had taken over.”
    “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what was wrong with Joshua?”
    “He was crazy. Loony. Not to mention a very wicked man. In fact, I think it was Joshua who’d given Adam the heart-attack that finally killed him.”
    She gasped. “Why, what happened?”
    “Adam found out about Joshua’s gambling habits. That wasn’t too bad, but the next day Adam discovered another one of Joshua’s bad vices.” He paused, but only for a moment. “Joshua was heavily into cocaine, and he was depleting his inheritance.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Very. Mother knew about it, but she kept it from Adam in fear of what the news would do to his bad heart. Adam confronted Joshua, and Joshua laughingly admitted to his drug problem. Right then, Adam had an attack. The next day, he died.”
    A sob tore loose from her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
    He scrubbed his hand around his neck. “You didn’t know. Right after the funeral, Joshua’s habit got out of control and so mother had him put in a drug rehabilitation clinic. Joshua escaped and came home. While we were at work, Joshua had a little party in the kitchen and overdosed.”
    She reached across the table and touched Terrel’s hand. “I’m sorry to make you talk about it. I’ll never bring it up again.”
    He turned his hand over and clasped her fingers. “You didn’t know, but the memories are so painful I’d rather forget.”
    She nodded. Now she couldn’t wait to get home and kick that lying so-called future-man out of her house.
     
    * * * *
     
    Kendra stepped into her apartment and slammed the door. All the curtains had been pulled closed on the windows, only a few lights were on in the front room.
    She stood in the hallway, listening for Eli’s movement. A heavenly aroma wafted from the kitchen and pots clanked together. After throwing her keys and purse on the small table, she marched into the kitchen…and stopped dead in her tracks. Eli stood by the stove, stirring a wooden spoon around inside a pan. She sucked in a quick breath. My kitchen is dirty! But when she studied him more, that thought vanished.
    From his appearance, he looked as if he’d just taken a shower. His wet hair swept laid away from his face and hung down his neck. Although he wore a new pair of jeans and a shirt (that actually matched), his feet were bare, once again. He looked so cozy standing in her