“Just sleep, love,” Phillip said. “We’ll take care of you.”
That sounded like an excellent idea. “’Kay.” Leesa sighed and simply let the slumber take her.
* * * *
Jason was getting used to having any number of people—family, all—either stop by and say hello or just sit right down at the table with them whenever he and Phillip visited Lusty Appetites. Once he realized how eager Phillip had been to meet as many people as possible, Jason had relaxed some, and maybe even begun to look forward to who’d take a seat with them next.
They’d just sat down, after kissing Leesa as she headed into the kitchen. She would be closing again tonight—and coming back to the house with them afterward.
He and Phillip had decided to have lunch then head into Waco. They wanted to furnish the downstairs bedroom, currently empty, as an in-home office. They didn’t have any face-to-face meetings planned for the next month, but neither of them felt they wanted to go that long being strictly “on vacation,” either.
The larger truth was that neither of them was ready to head back to New York.
Two older men came into the restaurant just as Jason was settling into his chair. As the men looked around, Jason put names to the faces. Craig and Jackson Jessop. The two men’s names had seemed familiar when Jason had first heard them the week before when they’d met. He hadn’t yet been able to place exactly why. Likely just because we’ve met so many people in the last couple of weeks. The darker-haired man, Craig, met Jason’s gaze, nodded, and touched his brother on the arm.
Both men grinned and headed right on over.
“May we join you?”
Because the gentlemen were about the age of their parents, both he and Phillip had stood as they’d approached.
“We’d be honored,” Phillip said.
“Hey, Uncle Craig, Uncle Jackson!” Ginny Kendall followed close, menus in hand.
“Good afternoon, Ginny.” Craig Jessop kissed the woman on her cheek. “You’re looking well and happy. How are the kids doing?”
“Marty and Nicky are absolutely loving being in first grade, and Ben is relishing his role as older brother at school.”
“Halfway through first grade already! They grow fast,” Jackson said.
“They really do. I’ve decided to put in more hours here while the boys are in school, so we’re all happy. Are all y’all having tea?”
It hadn’t taken either Jason or his cousin long to decide the sweet tea served at Lusty Appetites was the best they’d ever had.
“Sounds good,” Jason said. Phillip and the uncles agreed, and Ginny headed off to get their drinks.
“What do you see that looks good?” Jackson Jessop asked. “Everything is good, mind you, but there are one or two dishes that your Leesa makes that I especially like.”
“Word travels fast,” Jason said. The night just past was so much in his thoughts he found it hard to mind that by now likely everyone in Lusty knew he and Phillip were dating Leesa.
Dating is such a high school term.
“Yes, indeed it does.” Craig’s grin was completely unrepentant. “We just don’t see why y’all should be treated any differently than the rest of the family. But don’t worry. It’ll only be you men who are teased—and it won’t be unkind.”
The rest of the family. Jason was surprised just how good that thought felt.
By the time Ginny brought the tea, everyone had decided on their lunch. The brothers Jessop each ordered the meatloaf, which was the special that day. Since Jason and Phillip had both gone without breakfast—they’d told Leesa they’d have a morning snack of her and had—they were both famished.
“I’ll have the steak, with fries and gravy. Medium, please, Ginny.” Jason handed her the menu.
“The twin pork chops for me, please.” Phillip said. “Also fries, and a salad too, with Italian dressing.”
Conversation during lunch was light, focused on family. Both men mentioned their wife, Anna. More the tone than their words gave away the deep love and respect the men held for their wife. At first, Jason had thought that having been born in Lusty, and therefore raised in a community that encouraged ménage relations, contributed to the ease with which it seemed those relationships thrived.
But Jason had also noticed the same trait between Mel Richardson and Connor Talbot, two men who called themselves co-husbands to their wife, Emily Anne. He’d learned that they weren’t life-long friends but had both bonded over detective work—and love for Emily Anne.
Maybe family and environment have nothing to do with it.
They all sat back, having cleaned their plates. The Jessops traded a look, and then Craig sat forward.
“We wanted to talk to you about your business,” Craig said.
“We’ve looked at your prospectus and done some research into the clients you’ve chosen, as well as the investment packages you offer,” Jackson said. “I have to tell you, what you’ve done is absolutely brilliant.”
“It is,” Craig agreed. “Most fund managers look to make as much money as possible, as quickly as possible, and so aim toward the upper tier of income earners for their client base. Your targeting mid-range clients with sound, proven investments really is unique in these times.”
“We weren’t looking to make a lot of money,” Jason said. “We were more interested in the long game. Our goal was to earn steady and increasing returns for our investors.”
“We did our research, too, and it seemed to us that too many firms looked for the big and the flashy, only to sputter out after a decade.” Phillip nodded. “That approach? In our estimation, it never works for long. Most funds don’t last that long. In fact, in our research, we found only one other fund that has—LTT Venture Capital. It’s a much larger and more robust enterprise, but basically, it appears to have the same basic strategy. Well, that and an uncanny knack at picking winners.”
“What we wouldn’t give to learn from the geniuses behind that,” Jason agreed.
The expression on Craig’s face matched the one his brother
