Blind Acceptance (25 page)

“You’re talking about the two of you making love to me at the same time.

That’s why you stretched my bottom, wasn’t it, Eric?”

“Yeah, honey. I wanted to get you ready so it wouldn’t hurt when we take you together.”

“What will your family think about you mating a blind human?” She shook her head. “It’s been my experience there’s very little blind acceptance in the world. Most people prefer to look over us as if we didn’t exist in their perfect world.”

“They already know you’re our mate,”

David said. “They knew before we took you to Remus’s house. They’re happy for us. Not every shifter is fortunate enough to find their true mates in their lifetime.

They just want us to be happy.”

“Would any children we have be human or shifter?”

Eric shrugged. “There’s really no way to know. We have other pack members in mixed marriages. Mali and Melissa had two pups. Cyndie is human, and Zediah is a wolf. There’s no way to know until the pup is born.”

“Uh, did you say pups?”

David snickered. “It’s the term wolves’ use for their young. If I had been explaining, I would have said cubs.

Old habits are hard to break. Shifter babies are born human. They don’t get their shifting characteristics until after they hit puberty, sometime around their thirteenth birthday. I promise you won’t have a litter, unless multiple births run in your family.”

Laynee giggled. “Not that I know of.

Okay, that’s all the questions I can think of right now. I’m sure there will be more later.”

“You can ask us anything, and Eric and I will always give you an honest answer.”

“When do you want us to do this?” she asked. “When do you want us to mate officially?”

Eric grinned. “I’m in the mood to take care of it right now.”

David shook his head as Laynee giggled again. “A little control here, you two. Right now we have a formerly armed intruder tied up in the hall. I wanna question him and then send for the police. If he’ll give up your father as the one that hired him, we can have everything taken care of today.”

Eric growled. “Fine, but tonight, we’ll have a special dinner, send Maysie and Edward out for the evening, and then mate.”

“Why do we need to send them out?”

“Because wolves tend to howl when they mate, and bears tend to growl. We don’t wanna scare the life out of the help.”

Laynee laughed and turned toward David. “I wanna see your bear. It’s safe, right?”

“It’s perfectly safe, but we’d have to be outside. He’s too big for your bedroom.”

“How big is he?”

“I’m around five feet at the shoulder when I’m on all fours, and a little over ten feet if I stand up on my hind legs.

Mind you, I’ve never been on a scale, but I’d hazard a guess and say I weigh in at around fifteen hundred pounds. I’m definitely more than should be lounging in this nice bedroom.”

“I still wanna see him for myself.”

“Then tonight, after we’re alone, we’ll go out back, and I’ll introduce you. My bear will love meeting his mate in person.”

Laynee leaned forward and touched his cheek. She smiled and replaced her fingers with her lips. “I’m gonna hold you to that,” she whispered.

Eric sighed. “Okay, let’s get this asshole to talk so we can get rid of him and go back to bed.”

Robert fumbled for his phone, glancing blearily at the clock on his bedside table. “Conners here. What’s so damn important you had to wake me before the sun’s up?”

“We’ve got trouble.”

He sat up and ran his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. “What’s wrong, Jeremy?”

“It didn’t go as planned.”

“Elaborate.”

“They failed, with one casualty.”

“Casualty?”

“One of ours.”

“Son of a bitch! Will he talk?”

“Normally, I would have said no, but this time I’m not sure. I was told there was gunfire, but no one knows the outcome.”

Robert cursed. “In other words, a gun went off and the rest of the rats bailed.”

“That’s about it.”

“Do they know who hired them?”

Jeremy laughed harshly. “No, I was stupid enough to leave your name out of it.”

Robert smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. “Maybe the shot took care of the problem.”

“Doubtful. It’s been almost an hour, and no police or ambulance has been summoned. If the girl sustained an injury, the neighborhood would be crawling with police.”

“Give them one more chance.”

“I don’t think they’ll give us another chance.”

“Then make it worth their time and risk. But tell them they don’t have to kill her this time.”

“What do you want them to do?”

“I want them to kidnap her for me and get her away from her two saviors. I need to talk to her before we do away with her. We need to know just how much she knows and who all she’s told.”

“Are you crazy? After what happened tonight, they won’t be able to get inside the place. They’ll almost surely change the alarm codes.”

“I don’t care how they do it, just get her away from the house and let me know where they stash her.”

“And if they refuse?”

“Remind them we could always give them up to the cops.”

“Thanks, Officer Denton,” said David.

“We appreciate your help.”

The officer looked over the notes he’d written. “You’re welcome, Mr. Wind River. I have to admit, this is the strangest case I’ve had in a long time.”

David snorted. “Yeah, it’s been a little bizarre.”

“He’s obviously on something, and I’ll be pretty interested in finding out what it is. It’s been a long time since I had a suspect delusional.”

David coughed. “He was spinning some tall tales.”

Denton chuckled. “Yeah, devil eyes, claws like a bear. He’s been smoking something. It’s a good thing you’re such a light sleeper and he started on the vacant side of the house. If he’d come to your bedroom first, this story might not have such a happy ending.”

“We’re gonna take every precaution, starting with changing the codes on the alarm this morning.”

Denton scowled. “Wish he’d been willing to say how he got the code, but I guess the boys downtown will question him further. I’ll let you know if we get anything else out of him.”

“Thanks, we appreciate it.”

Denton leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Don’t ask me any questions because I can’t answer them. I can only tell you to watch your back while you’re here. We’ve had complaints from a certain individual that has us looking into this family’s affairs. It doesn’t have anything to do with Miss Conners, but her association with members of this family could put her in jeopardy. You might want to get her out of this house and take her back to Glacier with you.”

He straightened and glanced around.

“See you around.”

David watched as the policeman climbed into the passenger side of the patrol car and then headed back inside the house. His partner had already put the suspect in the back of the car. He and Eric had started to question him, but apparently the neighbors had heard the shot and called the police. There hadn’t been time to force him to say anything, and he wasn’t giving up his boss.

“Sounded like they’re already investigating Robert Conners.” He turned and watched the car disappear down the street. “I wonder who turned in Daddy dearest.”

Edward walked into the parlor. “Can I get you anything, sir?”

“No, nothing, thank you. We’ve got to take Laynee to see her grandfather’s attorney. He needs her signature, so we’ll be gone for a good part of the day.

I plan on taking her shopping for a few new clothes and then to a nice restaurant.

She doesn’t really wanna go to her dad’s for her clothes, and she doesn’t have much here.”

“If you’re going to be out for dinner, I think I’ll take Maysie down to see her mother. She’s been in a nursing home for the past couple of years, and Maysie doesn’t get to see her very often. She doesn’t drive and won’t take the city bus, and we seldom have the same evening off.”

“Then by all means, please do go and enjoy yourself. We’ll be back after dinner, and we’d like some alone time, so please, take your time coming home.”

“In that case, I think I’ll instruct Maysie to pack an overnight bag, and we’ll stay and have dinner with her mother. There’s a hotel across the street, and we can come back early tomorrow.

Will that be acceptable, sir?”

David slapped him on the back, catching his arm when he shot forward.

“That would be great, Edward. I appreciate your cooperation.”

Edward sighed. “There’s nothing quite like young love, sir. I’ve been there so I completely understand.” He turned and hurried toward the back of the house.

David chuckled. “Apparently, the three of us together doesn’t bother the old guy.”

Eric studied the panoramic view of Minneapolis through the glass wall in the attorney’s office and suppressed a groan. He hated being in the city.

Hopefully, once Laynee got her legal business settled, she’d agree to go back to Glacier with them. His wolf was restless, pacing back and forth, anxious to complete the mating and frantic to get back to his woods.

“Miss Conners, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I had a pressing matter to contend with that couldn’t wait.”

Eric turned and glanced at the middle-aged man who’d walked over to Laynee’s chair.

“That’s quite all right, Mr. Kemp.”

She reached out her arm and touched David’s hand. “This is David Wind River, and over by the window is his brother, Eric. They’re family to me, and anything that pertains to my business can be discussed in front of them.”

Mr. Kemp glanced at Eric and then back to David and raised his brows. “If that’s your wish, Miss Conners, I’m happy to make your acquaintance, gentlemen.” He turned and took a seat behind his desk. Opening a file, he took out several sheets of paper. “Miss Conners…”

“Please, call me Laynee.”

“Certainly, Laynee. What I have for you today are the papers transferring everything to your name.”

“What exactly do you mean by
everything
?”

“The estate includes the property in St.

Paul, and that means the house, the land it sits on, and everything inside. You’ll also inherit a nice portfolio of stocks and bonds that have been managed by a firm here in Minneapolis.”

“Can I see a list of her assets?” asked David.

Kemp glanced at Laynee and frowned.

“I can sense your hesitation, Mr.

Kemp. Please consider them as my eyes since I can’t read the papers myself. I trust them explicitly.”

Kemp smiled and nodded. He quickly pulled another set of papers from the folder and handed them to David.

“Along with the stocks, there are three bank accounts. The banks have already been notified, but technically the money won’t be yours until all the papers are signed and witnessed today.” Kemp cleared this throat. “Laynee, your father has been in to see me and indicated he would be handling these affairs for you.”

She stiffened in her seat. “My father is to have nothing to do with my business.”

“He did produce a signed power of attorney giving him the right to act on your behalf.”

“I never gave him the right to make decisions for me.”

“Do you have a copy of that, Mr.

Kemp?” asked Eric.

The attorney nodded and pulled a single sheet from the file and handed it to David.

He stared at it a minute and then turned to Laynee. “Honey, I’ve never seen your signature, so I’ve got nothing to compare this to.” He looked at Kemp. “Give me a tablet and pen, please.” The man nodded, pulled a small tablet from his desk drawer, and handed it to David along with a pen. “Here, love.” He placed the pen in her hand and gave her the tablet. “Sign your name for me, Laynee. Just the way you’d sign for your father if he asked.”

Laynee ran her fingers around the perimeter of the tablet and then traced a line to the middle. Her other hand moved the pen over, and she quickly wrote something. David took the tablet and compared it to the signed document. “It looks like you signed it, love.”

Her nostrils flared. “If I did, I didn’t know what it was. Before we left school, he had me sign a half dozen documents. He said they pertained to leaving the school and taking insurance on me once I moved home. I didn’t have any reason to doubt him.”

“Oh, dear,” Mr. Kemp fretted.

Eric moved to stand next to the desk.

“Is there any reason she can’t revoke his power of attorney today?”

“Absolutely not. I can have my secretary draw up the necessary document, and she can sign it while she’s here. It won’t take but a minute.”

“Then let’s do it,” Laynee said. “I’m not giving a power of attorney to anyone.

I’ll rely on David and Eric to look over the documents and read them to me, but I’ll be making all my own decisions.”

Eric laid his hand on her shoulder. “Is there a way you can have Laynee’s business printed in Braille so she can read it herself and just ask questions if she needs to?”

Laynee sucked in a breath and turned to Eric, her face glowing. “That would be wonderful, Eric.”