“Oh, my God. It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the geniuses behind LTT!”
“What?” Phillip looked confused. But he caught on fast, maybe thanks to the expression Jason knew he wore.
Craig nodded. “The initials stand for Lusty Town Trust. We started out as teenagers and seemed to have a knack, as you noted, for picking winners. The Town Trust invests in every business the family owns, in one way or another, of course.” Craig chuckled. “So they invested in us, and we called it LTT because it sounded important.”
“But we are damn proud that we increased the Town Trust’s account a hundredfold.” Jackson’s smile was all of that.
“We still do some investing, of course,” Craig said. “But the Town Trust’s capital is so enormous now that other firms have been contracted to handle things for the family. That much money? You really have to diversify.”
“I was convinced that the only way to succeed meant I had to focus like a laser on the goal and take one step after the next to achieve that end. To be driven, dedicated, and serious.” Jason had thought that and had worked hard at precluding anything that might detract from the ultimate goal. Now he was beginning to question that belief. In fact, he was beginning to question damn near everything.
“Well, you’re right, to a point,” Craig Jessop said. “But if you don’t let yourself have a life, what the hell are you working for?”
“The one thing we can tell you, without a doubt?” Jackson leaned in closer. “We were damn good in our chosen profession before we even met our Anna. But after? When we’d wooed and won her? It was as if we’d suddenly become twice as smart and twice as lucky.”
“So being driven, no mistake about it, that’s good,” Craig said.
“As long as you are in control of the steering wheel,” Jackson said, “and plan a route that will bring you happiness. There really is more to life than money. That is the one lesson that every child raised in Lusty is taught.”
“That was something that was a strong growing-up principle for us, too,” Phillip said. “Grandpa Christopher couldn’t abide a child—or grandchild—who expected a free ride, just because he’d been successful building his business.”
“And that was the principle behind how we structured The Benedict Fund,” Jason said.
“Kate has often related the story told her by her mother-in-law, Madeline Kennedy Benedict,” Craig said. “Apparently your grandfather, Christopher, went through a phase when he was in his teens when he believed himself to be ‘the cock of the walk.’ It was Sarah Carmichael Benedict who disabused him of his assumed air of entitlement.”
“My father told me that the death of Grandpa Christopher’s younger brother Edward, who was killed in the Second World War, deeply affected him,” Phillip said. “He’d wanted to enlist himself but had been denied because farming was considered crucial to the war effort. When peace arrived, he decided to leave Lusty, to prove to himself that he could build a life from his own skills and hard work. That he deserved to be alive when his brother was not. Dad got the impression, from this way his father told it, that when he looked back on his own life, he wished he could go back and kick his own ass.”
“The loss of a brother, especially under those circumstances, can change a man,” Craig said.
“Yes,” Jason said. “And so, too, can the discovery of a family—and a family history.”
Jackson Jessop looked over at his brother then reached forward and patted Jason’s hand. “The most important trait a man can possess, in my mind, is the ability to be able to reassess in light of new facts. Adaptability is the key to survival in nature—and happiness, for those of us at the top of the food chain.”
“I’m glad you joined us for lunch today. Thank you,” Jason said.
“Now if you could point us to the best place to acquire some home-office furniture,” Phillip said, “we’d be grateful.”
The brothers Jessop both grinned, and Craig even chuckled.
Jackson raised his glass, toasted them, and downed the rest of the tawny liquid. “Men, do we have a place for you!”
Chapter Eleven
“You’re looking…happy.”
Leesa spared a glance for her bff. They were both huffing and puffing their way along the indoor running track at the gym. Not that they were running. They were speed walking, or more precisely, their version of it. They’d decided to change up their routine and had added this new phase to their workout.
She and Rachel intended to give the elliptical the same amount of time as they usually did. Provided, of course, they had enough left in their respective tanks to do that after this new addition to their routine. It hadn’t sounded like it was such a big add, but it used some different muscles than the elliptical did. Leesa was feeling it, and that just annoyed her.
“I look happy?” Leesa repeated Rachel’s words. “I never knew that I had been looking unhappy.”
Rachel laughed. “All right, Sarge, let me put it this way, then. You look like a woman who’s enjoying a sex life.”
“I hope I look like a woman who’s enjoying a great sex life.”
Rachel’s chuckle drifted back as her friend picked up her pace and moved slightly ahead of her. Leesa guessed by the fact that her own smile was stretched wide she didn’t mind the gentle teasing. It had been only a few days, but with that first evening, her sex life had been better than during the entire course of her marriage.
“I was going to ask for details,” Rachel huffed. “But considering your answer, I don’t think I need to.” They had half the track left and focused their attention, and energy, on finishing this second lap. Leesa had never had a female friend close enough to share those kinds of details. Maybe I could with Rachel. After a couple of glasses of wine. She kept her gaze on
