~~~
The house was quiet, and Hester thought it
was the best sound she’d ever heard. Of course there wasn’t anyone to wait on
her, but she was content for now to do things for herself. It’s not like it was
a permanent situation. Andi would be here soon enough, and that idiot brother
of hers would be so grateful to have a house to live in that he’d do whatever she
told him. It was Hester’s brother that was pissing her off.
Just this morning she’d gone to see him
again. And unlike the first time, she had no issues other than her having to
leave her cane at the front desk. Then she was shown to a nicer room and her
brother was waiting. He still had that god-awful jumper on, but since things
had gone so well up until then, she’d not said anything.
“How have you been, Hester? It’s been a
while.” Hester told him she was having to do everything and that was pissing
her off. “Well, when you live alone, those things happen.”
“Where are your brats, George? I want you to
make them come home now.” He looked at her with that confused look on his face,
and she smacked the table to get him to focus. “Andi and Jim. Where are they hiding
out? I want you to make them come back to live with me in my house.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” When
his nose started to bleed, she watched as the officer in the room with him
simply handed him a tissue. “Been doing that a lot lately. They say nothing is
the matter with me, but it sure does make my head hurt at times.”
“I don’t care about your stupid head. You
need to tell me where they are. I have things that I need to complete yet and
they’re keeping me from it. I do not like this, George, not one bit.” He nodded
but still looked confused. When she put out her hand to slap some sense in him,
the officer only put his hand on his gun and she lowered her hand. Christ, it
was getting so a person couldn’t do anything they wanted any more. “Andi is
supposed to have taken up with this man. What do you know about that?”
“I don’t know anything.” He got another
tissue, and she wanted to tell him to stop this nonsense and answer her.
“They’re taking me to prison on Friday. To tell you the truth, I’m sort of
looking forward to it. I’ve been there before, you know, and they feed you—”
“What the fuck are you talking about? You’re
not going anywhere unless I say you are. And you will not be going to a prison
where I can’t come and get answers from you. You tell them I said so.” He nodded
but didn’t look inclined to do as she said. “George, so help me, I’m really
going to lose my temper here if you don’t tell me what is really going on with
you.”
“Nothing. I had a gun when I weren’t supposed
to and I hurt somebody. You know they told me that I couldn’t have a gun when I
got out.” Hester sat up in her chair more and had to clench her hands together
so she’d not hurt him. “You don’t have to come up and visit me in the prison,
by the way. I know that it’s hard on you. But I did hear from a lawyer about
the house.”
“What about the house? That’s my house.” He
shook his head. “Yes it is. When April passed, you said so long as I lived
there and helped you with the children that I could have it as my own.”
“I don’t even own it, Hester. And now that
the rent isn’t being paid, I’ve been kicked out. And that’ll mean you too, I
guess. But anyway, you have ten days to get your things all bagged up. I’d help
you, but—”
“Damn it, George, I will not be thrown like yesterday’s
milk out of my own home. It’s mine, and I dare a soul to come and try to take
me out. Tell me where that damned girl is and I’ll make her pay it up. Fucking
bitch should have been doing it all along.” Hester wanted her cane. It was the
best point-maker she’d ever used. “George, are you listening to me?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He
looked at the officer. “My head is hurting something furious. Can you make her
go away? I just want to lay down.”
“I am not leaving here without answers.” But
her brother did look ill. She snapped at the officer to help him, and all he
did was open the door and tell her it was time to go. “I’m not leaving him. He
has to answer me about those fucking little shits of his.”
In the end she was escorted out and an
ambulance was called for George. And no one would give her any answers as to
what they’d done to him either. As he was being loaded up and taken away, she tried
once again to get him to answer her.
“Where are they? You have to know where Andi
is. I don’t care about that retarded one, but Andi can get me money. I won’t be
thrown from my home.” George started to sob, then, that his head was splitting
in two that his brain was falling out. “Oh, don’t be so stupid. You’d have to
have something in there for your brain to spill out. Where is Andi, damn it?”
And now here she was with the mail from the
last several days laid out in front of her, and she knew as surely as she was
sitting there that someone was going to show up and try to take her house from
her. The paperwork that she’d found in the dresser drawer had confirmed what
George had said: the house was only a rental, and the letter he’d gotten a week
ago said that they were going to evict them.
“Over my dead body.” Hester sipped her juice
and wondered where the hell those kids were. She would have thought that Jim at
least would have come back. Him being stupid and all, he’d simply forget about
her beating him every time she felt like it. “More than likely the fool forgot
where he lived and here I am without nobody to help me with this. He’d find
her. That boy could find her no matter what.”
Kicking the mail to the floor, she nearly let
it lay there when she saw the paper under it and the headline that seemed to
blare out at her. Knocking the mail out of the way with her toe, she nearly
spilled her drink all over her when she read what it said.
Cormac Harrison to wed Andi Collins in
private ceremony
.
Picking up the paper now, she could see the picture of her niece standing
alongside a handsome man. She read it three times over, but she couldn’t find
any mention of her name or that of George. Jim was saying that he was going to
be attending the farce along with the Harrison clan. And right there, next to
the groom-to-be, was the man that had assaulted her when she’d gone to see
George the first time.
“She will not be marrying him. Not when they
find out what I know.” Standing up, she went to find her purse. There was
nothing in it but her keys if anyone cared to look, but beneath the lining she
had a small gun. Smiling to herself, she called her a taxi to take her to this
wedding. The cab was pulling in the drive when she realized that the paper was
two days old and that they were more than likely married already, since it had
no date as to when the nuptials were to come about. Showing the paper to the
driver, she told him to take her to the person’s house on the page.
“The Harrisons expecting you, ma’am? They’re
a tight bunch and don’t take to strangers just showing up.” Hester hit him with
her cane and told him to mind his own business. He didn’t say a word again
about being an unwelcome guest in her niece’s own home.
If I play this right
, she thought,
I
can move in with them
. Or have them pay her. That sounded even better. That
this rich husband—and she could tell that there was money to be had with this
one—would pay her to keep quiet about what she knew about his new wife. She
didn’t know anything really, not even where she was, but she’d bet she could
come up with a few stories that would make him pay her to keep quiet. As she
was driven to the house, Hester started compiling a list of things she was
going to tell the man. Yes, sir, she thought, things were about to get a good
deal better for her.
Andi was sitting on the front porch when the
taxi pulled in. Dad was on one side of her, and her new brothers were all lined
up on the other side. Not Riordan, of course. He was still in China with Storm
and wasn’t expected back for a few days yet. And Mac was still out west on a
mission to save a company. He knew what was going on here, and while he wasn’t
happy about it, he knew she was as safe as she could be.
As soon as the cab rolled to a stop, Andi tensed
up. Dad, always the calm sort, just put his hand on hers and told her they had
it. She hoped so. Right now all she wanted to do was run and hide. But a
standoff, as Bri had called it, was in order. She looked up at Darcy when he
growled low.
Looking in the direction that he was, she
could see the blood on the driver’s forehead and wanted to go to him and see if
he was all right, but didn’t move. First of all, she was still sort of weak,
and secondly, the man had told them what was going on with her aunt, as he was
a tiger like them. She could not wait to get changed.
“There you are. Get in this cab and get your
ass home with me. Christ, have you any idea what shit I’ve been going through
with you three? Get in now, and I’ll not take it out on you too badly what’s
been going on.” Andi just stared at her. This woman had terrorized her enough,
as far as she was concerned. “Did you hear me? Get your ass in this cab and let’s
be quick about it. I noticed that your new husband isn’t here. Run off, did he,
when he figured a few things out?”
“And what is it you think he might have
figured out? That I’m related to you?” Andi laughed. “He knows, and despite
that, he still loves me.”
“Love? You have no idea what that word even
means. He just wanted to fuck you and that’s it. It’s all men ever want from a
woman. Get in the car.” Andi told her no. “I’m sick to fucking death of people
telling me no. And while you’re at it, get some money too. I don’t care if you
have to sell off any ring he might have got you with. I need some cash and
you’re going to give it to me.”
“No, I’m not.” She stood up then, towering
over her aunt as she stayed on the bottom step of the porch. “I’m not going
anywhere with you. I’m not going to give you any money, nor am I going to let
you hurt me again. You mean nothing to me.”
“You don’t mean shit to me either, but you
will pay for being smart with me. And as for hurting you, I’ll do what I want to
you, and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.” Andi told her she was wrong.
“Oh, am I? Does your new family know about the wolf you said you seen when you
were tied up in the back yard? Did you tell them about that one? I bet you didn’t.”
“You mean that time you had me standing in
the yard with only my panties on while you tried to teach me a lesson? Oh no, I
didn’t, but thanks for reminding me. This wolf came out of the woods behind the
house and brought me a blanket to wear at night when it was cold, and he even
brought me bottled water. I thought it wasn’t real, that wolf, but he came to
me again a few days later and begged me to run away, come with him to be safe.
And if I remember correctly, you beat me harder when I told you about it. You
are a horrible person, Hester. Try again to discredit me in front of these
people, and I will hunt you down like the animal that you are. If we’re going
to tell tales about each other, then how about the time you tried to drown me
in the tub when I was an infant? That is true, unlike your story.” Hester just
laughed. “You think it’s funny that you tried to kill me?”
“No. I don’t care what you think about shit
like that. You didn’t drown, mores the pity, but you are going to pay. Where is
Jim? He’s to get his ass home too.” Andi told her he was safe. “He’s never
going to be safe. Not after what he did to me. He was supposed to bring you to
me and he can’t even be depended on for that.”
“He’s not going to be bothered by you again. And
he’s getting the help he needs too. From people that you should have got to
help him long ago.” Hester said nothing. “Did you know that there was an
insurance policy that belonged to Jim and me? I’m sure you and Dad knew about
it. It’s gone a long way to take care of him and me.”
“You’ll be bringing that with you too. George
tried to get it cashed in when you were little, but them damned lawyers, all
fuckers if you ask me, said that you and that retard were the only ones that
could collect on it.” She looked at the cab, then back up at her. “I’m sick of
standing here talking about this. Get in the car with that money and we’ll talk
when you get back home. I’m done with you, Andi; do as I say.”
“I’m finished with you as well. You’ll not be
bothering me again, nor will you be hurting either Jim or I with your evilness
either. So, if you know what’s good for you, which I’m sure you don’t have a
clue about, you’d get back in that cab and go back to the house. At least for
as long as you can. I guess you’re going to be out of a house—”
“What do you know of my business? You talking
to that owner? Telling him to do this? I’ll have you know that’s my house. I
was promised it when I came there to help with you brats. You’ll call him right
now and tell him—”
“I own the house.” Dad stood up then and
walked to stand beside her as he addressed her aunt. “As of last week when I
found out where you were living. One call and I owned it. And in a few days,
when you’re out, I’m going to have the entire place burned to the ground. The
fire department is going to use it for practice and then clean up the area for
me.”
Her aunt took a step toward her, and Ennis
shifted. She wasn’t sure if the rest of them had or not, but she could see him
as he stood on the ground in front of her, between her and her aunt. Hester
nearly fell trying to get away from him, fear written all over her face, and
Andi laughed at her. Running her fingers though his thick fur, she watched her
aunt while she tried to get her purse open. But Donald, the cabbie, simply walked
to her and jerked it out of her hands. The cane too.
“What do you think you’re doing? Unhand me.”
He pulled the gun out of the bag and handed it to Aedan, along with the cane.
“Give that back to me this minute. I will not have you stealing from me. I’ll
call the police.”
“You go right ahead and try.” Andi glanced at
Dad when he spoke. His voice was dark, heavy with something scary, and she saw
his own cat race along his skin before he spoke again. “You don’t have a phone,
first of all, and even if you did, it would never make it to your ear. I’ll
have your throat torn out before you even get it dialed.”
His cat moved again. This time even her aunt
couldn’t have missed him. When she backed up, falling against the car twice
before she got to the door, Donald stood waiting with them as Hester got inside
without saying a word. He looked at them as they stood there.
“You know as well as I do this isn’t the
end.” Andi nodded. “When she comes back—and she will—she’s going to try and
kill you and the rest of this family. Might do you a world of good if you just
took her now.”
“Too many people know her. Might not care for
her and wouldn’t necessarily mourn her death, but we gotta do this the right
way so’s as it don’t come back to bite us in the ass.” Donald turned and told
Hester to shut up when she told him to get in the car. “You be careful there,
Donald. I don’t want you to get hurt again by her. And I thank you for the
warning that she was coming.”
“You tell Mac that I got his butt.”
Andi nodded. She waited until the car was out
of sight before she moved back to the chair. She’d been on her last leg and had
been afraid that she’d collapse where she stood if her aunt hadn’t left when
she did.
Mom came out of the house with a glass of
juice and her pain medications. Andi thanked her and took both. She didn’t like
the way they made her feel, but she was willing to feel dizzy for a time rather
than sore again. She was helped into the house by Liam and taken to the couch,
were she’d been when the call had come in. Closing her eyes, she let the drugs
take her away, for a time anyway.
~~~
“We have to hire more workers, don’t we?” Mac
said that they’d need at least two or more people to catch them up in their
orders if they wanted to keep them. “I can do that, but who do we hire? I don’t
want another Elton on my lines, if it’s all the same to you.”
Mac started to tell them that they could get
some temps in to work. They were usually trained on production lines even
before they came to work. But something that Ennis had said to him made him
pause while he gave it some thought.
“A few days a week my mom goes and works at
the nursing home. She’s not a nurse, but she does know a little about crafts. Anyway,
she goes there because she gets bored at home with all of us gone, and it gives
her a little extra ‘mad money,’ as she calls it.” Mac was warming to the idea. “What
if—and this would have to be worked out—what if you hired some of these older
workers part-time, to help them out, and get you some much needed workers? Mom
told me that most of these people are just as bored as she was, and that they
worked outside of the home just to have something to look forward to. I even
think there’s a tax break for hiring them as well.”
“I got something on that the other day. Let
me look.” Noreen looked at the papers on her desk and pulled one out. “Here it
is. I think this was put out by the local adult living home near here. Some man
by the name of Jennings came by and told me that they’d do about anything
within reason.”
As the three of them went over the
regulations of hiring people with some disadvantages in what they could lift or
do, Noreen was making a list of things that they had to improve on in the
building itself. Which was very little, as the upgrades had been done when
their father had gotten ill.
“This might work. I’m sure there are any
number of people out there that could use some extra money too.” Bryon was
ready to go out with his car and bring them in, he was so excited. “I’ll make a
few calls in the morning and we’ll see how to get this going. You know, the
extra hands will be great, but I wonder how many of them might have a few good
ideas to help us out too. Christ, Dad would love this.”
As Mac made his way back to his hotel for the
night, he felt better about coming out here. Andi was fine, thanks mostly to
her being able to stand up to her aunt for now. His dad was happy too that he’d
gotten to witness it, and Mom was going on and on about how happy she was that
they weren’t upset with them. He had to admit, however, coming to the house to
find not just a baby bed and some of his old toys, but a new mattress and baby
items, had thrown him just a little.
“We need a grandchild, Mac.” He was on the
phone with his mom as he packed to come out here, asking her about the items
when she said that to him. “My friends all have grandchildren of their own. And
here your father and I are, six grown boys and not a baby in sight.”
“You should have one then. You and Dad are
still young.” She had sputtered for two minutes before he laughed. “Actually,
Andi and I have talked about it. Once she’s converted we’re going to try. I
know that Storm and Riordan are waiting, but we have decided that we don’t want
to.”
“Don’t you dare tease me, young man. I’m in
no mood to be made fun of.” He assured her that he wasn’t. “You really are?
You’re going to have a baby soon?”
“As soon as we can after she’s a tiger. I
think it would be easier on her, what with all this other crap going on, if she
were a tiger and not human when she gets pregnant.” His mom squealed out her
delight and then told his dad, who promptly got on the phone to verify it.
“A grandson would be good, but I’d take
either right now. I can take a little girl fishing as well as I can a little
boy.” Mac assured him that it might take a few years for that to happen. “Yeah,
well, you don’t know me very well, then, if you think I can’t handle a little
baby and a fishing pole. She’ll love it as much as any little boy would. Maybe
even better.”
“I have no doubt, Dad, none at all. But, just
so you know, if you treat her girly, I think Storm will kick your ass.” His dad
laughed and said he believed she would too. “I’ll talk to you about it when I
get back.”
His dad had assured him that he’d keep an eye
on Andi and that nothing would happen to her on his watch. And from what he’d
heard today, that was just what his dad had done, kept an eye on her. Laying in
his empty bed, he reached out to Andi.
How are you
?
Getting the rest you’re supposed
to be getting
? She told him she was.
Good. I want you rested and well
when I get back
.
I talked to the man designing the new diner
today. Storm asked him to come by and see me if he had any questions. Did you
know that she’s expanding the dining area to be three times as big, and the
kitchen is getting bigger as well
?
Sheesh, she’ll have to hire more people
to handle all that
. Mac asked her if she was worried about going back.
I
don’t think so. I mean, I’m nervous. But I don’t think it’ll be too bad. Everything
will be new and fresh, so that’s the way I’m looking at it
.