Twisting her hands in front of her, she walked past him into his apartment.
He shut the door behind her. “This way.” He led her to the kitchen. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” he asked, taking a long sip of his own. He sensed he was going to need it even more than he’d originally thought, because judging by her behavior, something was up.
“No. Thank you. I’m hopped up enough.”
She didn’t seem hopped up, but deflated. He knew she’d suffered from severe depression after losing the baby, but she’d seemed to be coming out of it lately and behaving more like herself.
He placed his cup down, grasped her hand, and led her into the den, where his wall-to-wall television and electronic sectional sofa were located.
Maxie was a year younger than him, and they’d been inseparable from the time his family had moved in to the Long Island neighborhood. Over time, the feelings he’d felt for her had become more, but he hadn’t been the confident man he was today. He’d been the geeky younger brother who struggled with school, liked his video games, and wanted nothing more than to be in front of the computer screen. As opposed to his overachiever, sports-oriented older brother. Four years his senior, Keith was competitive to the extreme and thrived on Lucas’ insecurities. Despite the lack of rivalry on Lucas’ part, what Lucas had—or wanted—Keith had made it a point to take.
And that had included Maxie.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her, knowing she wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Although his brother had bought the apartment downstairs, another fuck you to Lucas that forced him to watch Keith with Maxie close up, he and Maxie had kept their distance after the marriage. And she’d pulled further away after losing the baby.
She opened her purse and pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. The word FORECOSED jumped out at him, stamped on top.
His gaze shot to hers.
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
“I don’t understand. Keith was a partner at a top New York law firm. He had to have left you well off. With insurance.”
She shook her head, and he gave her a moment to compose herself. She finally met his gaze. “Your brother isn’t… wasn’t who you thought.”
Lucas hadn’t thought much of his older sibling, but that wasn’t something he would share with his widow. It was enough he carried the guilt for the negative feelings he had for his dead sibling and the depth of emotion he felt for the man’s wife.
“What do you mean?” Lucas asked.
She blew out a long breath, her brown eyes meeting his. “Most of it doesn’t matter except for this. Keith was into gambling. Heavy-duty gambling, and I had no idea until after he died. He drained our accounts, took money from the 401-K, and hadn’t paid any of the life insurance he had.”
Lucas stiffened as he absorbed that information, but too much still didn’t make sense. “Okay, but banks don’t just foreclose. They give you warning.”
Her sad eyes met his. “When we moved in here, Keith was doing very well at the firm. He told me we paid off the mortgage. Then, after he died, of course I didn’t make any payments because I didn’t think there were any to be made.” She glanced away. “I had no idea Keith had taken out another mortgage and somehow forged my name until the sheriff delivered the notice!” she said with the first show of anger since she’d arrived.
Lucas glanced at the paper in his hand, still confused. If it had been a warning, he could have paid off the debt and saved her home. “Didn’t you get advance notice? They usually give you time to make payments. I could have taken care of things.”
She shook her head. “I called the bank. Apparently they had a post office box on file, not the house address. Keith hadn’t paid the mortgage in almost a year. Here I thought at least I had the apartment free and clear, because thanks to the gambling, there was nothing left.”
He stared in disbelief. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”
“Because I thought I could handle things.” She shifted her gaze from his, her hands twisting in her lap. “I got a job for minimum wage at a boutique and—”
“Hold on.” He held up one hand, interrupting her. “You’re a paralegal at Keith’s firm. What happened to your job?”
“The partners fired me after Keith died and the truth about him came out. He’d been siphoning money from the firm too. I’m tainted goods by extension. I can’t get a job at another criminal law firm. Nobody will go near me. I have resumes with a lot of civil firms but no bites.”
Shock rocked through him. Lucas had never had a good relationship with his sibling, and he knew damn well he’d been a shitty husband. It had taken everything in him to watch the sparkle leave Maxie’s gaze over the last few years, but he’d told himself it wasn’t his business. He’d had no idea Keith had been a thief and a gambler.
“If he were here, I’d strangle him,” Lucas muttered.
“I’ve thought the same thing myself.” She twirled a strand of hair around one finger nervously. “I’ve been paying the utility bills and buying food. You know, the basics, but I thought at least I had the apartment to my name.”
His head was spinning with the amount of information he hadn’t known, and he ran a hand through his hair. “Why am I just hearing about any of this? Obviously you know I’d help you, because you’re here now,” he said, unreasonably hurt she hadn’t come to him when she’d realized she had no means of support.