Echoes of Titanic by Mindy Starns Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

once we’re done,” Kelsey assured him.
    â€œWell, well, well,” the man said suddenly from the other end of the room.
    Kelsey looked up with a start, her heart pounding. Apparently, he had just realized she was here.
    Putting a halt to his discussion with the redhead, he stepped forward and put out an arm as if he intended to shake Kelsey’s hand. In response, she simply stood where she was and clasped her hands behind her back. She had no intention of doing any such thing.
    â€œMiss Tate,” he said with a nod, getting the point and letting his hand drop. He didn’t seem embarrassed—nor hostile, for that matter. Mostly, he just looked pleased to see her. “How do you do? I’m Rupert Brennan.”
    She’d been all ready to go on the attack, but then she faltered at the mention of her great-grandmother Adele’s maiden name. “Did you say Brennan?”
    â€œYep. Rupert Brennan. I’m your second cousin, once removed.”

CHAPTER
FOUR
    K elsey was dumbfounded, staring at the stout little man in front of her. Her cousin ? This lunatic was a relative of hers? Trying not to look as astounded as she felt, she cleared her throat and asked the man in an even tone if he would care to sit down so they could talk.
    â€œCertainly,” he replied, as jovial as if they had just met at a family reunion picnic.
    â€œI don’t think this is a good idea—” Walter began, but Kelsey cut him off with a sharp glance. It was her great-grandmother the man had impugned out there. She had a right to know what he’d come here to say.
    As Walter backed off and Lou moved up and to the right in a more protective stance, Kelsey pulled out two rolling chairs from in front of the security screens and placed them facing each other a few feet apart in the middle of the room. They both sat.
    â€œWhy did you do this?” she asked, taking the lead. “Why did you come here and disrupt our ceremony like that?”
    The man looked at her for a long moment, all traces of warmth disappearing from his gaze. “Because it was time for me to be heard. It was time for the world to know the truth about the woman who came to America claiming to be Adele Brennan.”
    Kelsey could feel anger boiling up inside of her, and she knew it was coming not just from this man’s words but his odd attitude. Still, letting him see that anger would get them nowhere, just as she would never wear her heart on her sleeve in a negotiation with a potential client.
    â€œLet’s back up a little, Rupert,” she said, keeping her voice even and trying not to choke on the man’s name. “Will you tell me exactly how you think you and I are related?”
    He nodded, almost eagerly, saying that he was the grandson of Quincy Brennan, who was Jocelyn’s brother and Adele’s first cousin.
    â€œThe same Jocelyn who was traveling to America with Adele when Titanic went down?” she asked.
    â€œYes! When Jocelyn made that trip, her father came along but her mother and baby brother, Quincy, stayed home in Ireland. Eventually, Quincy grew up and fathered a son, Ian, who grew up and fathered me.” Smiling, he added, “Lucky for my dad, when he immigrated to America as a young man, his ship made it all the way here without hitting any icebergs.”
    Kelsey cringed at this guy’s lighthearted attitude about one of the saddest, most senseless tragedies of all time.
    â€œAnyway,” he continued, oblivious to the effect he was having on her, “because my grandfather Quincy and your father’s grandmother Jocelyn were siblings, that makes your father and me second cousins, which makes you and me second cousins once removed. Simple. See?”
    Lou huffed, looking at Kelsey. “Why are you wasting your time with this guy?” With his expensive suit, black slicked-back hair, and short, muscular build, Lou cut an imposing figure. But she knew he was all