Forbidden Contract (The Birmingham Brothers Series) (3 page)

“Welcome home
.” She smiled hugging him.

Unlike the matriarch of the Montgomery family Kathleen Birmingham was small and petite with an Irish temper that matched her flaming red hair. She had met her husband Roark while he was back packing across Europe during his college years. His friends had gone on to see the rest of Europe while he remained behind to court a feisty Irish woman who had put him in his place their first night at the pub. They had fallen in love by the third date and when he came back to the states she had followed. His description of his home in Montana hadn’t done it justice and Kathleen fell in love with the lush forests that grew all the way up to rugged cliffs of the mountains. He built their first home near the river and together they created an empire. She miscarriage their first child a daughter and the grief almost destroyed their marriage in their first year. Then she became pregnant with Trent and for the first half of the pregnancy lived in fear of another miscarriage. Two years later Justin was born, then another two before Beckett and finally two years later Ethan. By then she had given up the hope of having a daughter and set into her role of being the only female in their family of 6. She had always dreamed of the day of having a daughter in law but had begun to give up hope that any of her boys would settle down. Trent at 30 was too involved in the company to have time for women, Justin was too shy, Beckett was too much into women to ever settle for one and Ethan was just to analytical in his selection.

Of all of her sons Beckett was the closest in looks to
Roark. He was taller than his father by a few inches but had his trim muscular body with broad shoulders that tapered down to his narrow waist with trim hips atop long perfectly formed legs. With his dark hair and blue grey eyes she understood why women fell at his feet. Even when he was a toddler the women would gravitate to Beckett vying for his attention and he ate it up. Her other boys were tall too but they were broader with more of a linebackers body. She swore when the three of them stood side by side they made an impenetrable wall of testosterone. Ethan got her red hair and brown eyes, Justin and Trent each had brown hair and blue eyes. Roark used to joke with their teachers that they resembled the mail man and for a while the boys even doubted who their father truly was.

As she walked with her son up to the house she saw her remaining two come out beer in hand to begin the celebration. For the past few years they had been trying to make inroads into the
South only to be turned back due to Southern prejudices. Kathleen often argued with her husband that the Civil War was over and the North won. He would smile patiently and her heart would melt. He still made her knees go weak when he looked at her that way. She took her seat next to her husband and watched as her son’s congratulated each other on Beckett’s success.

“So Beckett
tells us how you pulled it off.” Roark asked once the usual teasing was done.

“Yeah who did you have to sleep with
?” Trent asked before taking a swig of his beer.

“No one…yet
.” Beckett grinned. “Actually I just found their weakness…seems the Montgomery boys have been hiding the true state of the business and its demise from Regina Montgomery….I just presented her with the facts and my proposal.”

“I still say we
’re stupid for paying those idiots a salary just so they can strut around like they still own the place.” Justin argued

“I can
’t believe she agreed to your terms without countering terms of her own.” Kathleen said and when she saw Beckett’s eyes shift away she wondered. “What….there’s more to this deal then you’re telling us isn’t there?”

“
What did you agree too?” Trent asked “We don’t have to give them credit for our work to do we?”

“No…they will only be around long enough for our work to speak for itself, they will have no control over any of the workings of the company
.”

“
But?” Kathleen pressed. “What else is there….what did Regina demand in return for her to agree to your deal?”

“Funny thing
.” He said trying to figure out the best way to bring it up. “She proposed a merger.”

“No way…..I wouldn’t merger with those idiots
; I’d rather kiss the Grayson contracts away.” Ethan argued then seeing the look on Beckett’s face he was just as curious as his mother “What kind of merger?”

“
Marriage.” Beckett laughed trying to make light of it. Now that he thought about it he realized how crazy it would sound to his family.

“MARRIAGE
!” Trent asked as he spat out his beer. “To who?”

“
Her granddaughter.”

“
Why…..what’s wrong with her?” Justin asked.

“Actually nothing….she
’s quite attractive.”

“Wait a minute, the old battle ax really suggested one of us marry her granddaughter to seal the deal
?” Justin laughed. “How did you keep a straight face?”

“Actually…..she suggested I be the one who does the marrying and I agreed
.”

“What!” Kathleen said
shocked.

His brothers thought it was a joke and they busted out laughing. When the
y realized he wasn’t kidding they grew serious.

“You
’re kidding right?” Trent asked

“Seriously Beckett, you’re pulling our leg
right?” Ethan asked

“No I’m not…..believe me I thought it was joke when she brought it up but the more she talked to me about it the more it made sense
.”

“Wait a minute….you
?” Ethan said. “Married?”

“Well I will be in
four weeks.” He grinned.

“No Beckett you won
’t.” Kathleen stated. “You’ve done some pretty hairball things in your life but you’re not marrying a total stranger so we can purchase a company.”

“
Mom it makes sense, I marry her granddaughter and it helps in our cause to win over the South, makes us look legit….all I have to do is set her up in a house for a year, give her a reasonable allowance and for her part she will put in all public appearances with me. At the end of the year we’re established, she and I divorce, I give her a small nest egg and we finalize the sale…..we can’t lose with this.”

“You can
’t marry this woman…. I won’t allow it.”

“Mom….look we all know I’m not the marrying kind….this is perfect.
”

“Beckett…I still have hopes you will one day marry….you just haven’t found the right girl yet
.” Kathleen argued then seeing Beckett flinch she regretted her comment.

“Not for lack of trying
.” Trent joked trying to make light of the situation.

“Bite me
.” Beckett countered. “Mom….it’s no big deal….it’s one year….no one will get hurt.”

Kathleen thought about th
is for a minute. “And this granddaughter….she’s ok being used like this?”

“She likes her life
style; one that will disappear if the company goes under….she’s already agreed.” Beckett assured her. “She even signed the contract before I signed it.”

“You already agreed and signed a contract
?” Roark demanded. Until that moment he had been silently listening to the others. “Why were you so rash?”

“
Because I knew you guys would try to talk me out of it and I had already made up my mind while I was there.” Beckett said feeling like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“
And what about Macy?” Roark asked. “How is she going to react?”

“She’ll probably be upset…knowing her she might even throw things but in the end she’ll forgive me
.” He grinned. “I know none of you have ever liked Macy. But she and I have been totally honest with each other since the beginning. I never had any intentions of doing anything more than sleep with her and enjoy her company. Lately with all her friends getting married she’s begun to question our relationship. By me getting married she’ll rethink things and see the benefit of this.”

Kathleen looked at Beckett and shook her head. “You don’t really think Macy will still want to see you after this?”

“Of course she will.” He said taking a swig of his beer. “It will add some new excitement to our relationship…all the sneaking around…..forbidden romance.”

“And what will your new wife think about that?”
Roark asked

“It’s all part of the contract
.” Beckett said surprised. “Don’t worry I’ll be discreet….where’s the fun in it if I don’t play the part?”

Kathleen looked at
Roark and threw her hands in the air as she walked into the house. She didn’t understand how Beckett could be so causal about this. When she heard the door open and close behind her she expected to see Roark come in to talk to her. She was surprised to see Beckett.

“Mom
.”

“What happened to you Beckett….when did you give up on love?”
She asked already knowing the answer. He looked at her and she saw the pain on his face.

“The day she died
.” He answered then turned to walk out.

“Beckett
.” She said stopping him. “Lachelle wouldn’t have wanted this for you.”

“Well she
’s not here is she?” He said looking at her trying to replace the pain with anger.

“It wasn’t her fault….she fought it as long as she could
.”

“There were other drugs she could have tried
.” Beckett said trying to control the pain from overtaking him. “She gave up.”

“She was tired
.” Kathleen said touching his arm. “Her body just gave out….she loved you….she fought as long as she could for you.”

Beckett looked at her and his eyes filled with tears
. “I know.”

“Oh Beckett
.” She said pulling him into her arms. “You can’t run from love forever.”

“I can
’t go through that again…the pain of losing someone I love.” He said looking at her as he once again closed off the pain and regained control of his emotions. “Mom….this arrangement for marriage….it doesn’t mean anything….it’s just business.”

Kathleen wanted to argue with him, force him to face the pain, grieve for Lachelle and hopefully begin to heal but she recognized
that mask he wore was once again in place and he would not listen to her. She sighed as she touched his face.

“Ok
.” She said.

Beckett kissed her cheek then headed back
out to where his brothers were as his father passed him. Roark entered the kitchen and found his wife busy putting dishes in the dishwasher. When Kathleen felt Roark’s hands circle her waist she stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. Tears streamed down her face and she welcomed the comfort of his arms.

“Hey….what
’s this?” He asked.

“Oh
Roark, after all this time he still hasn’t grieved Lachelle….that’s why he’s never settled down…”

“I know
.” He said as he looked at her surprised face.

“You knew….why didn’t I know
?”

“Because you haven’t fully grieved for her either
.” He said honestly.

“What are you talking about….I grieved for her
?”

“Yes…for her…..but not for them
.” He said. “Kathleen we all loved her, despite their age we all assumed they would marry….but you planned this whole life in your head , you were going to have the daughter we never had, you were going to have the wedding, the family holidays, the grandchildren.” He said as he touched her cheek. “Lachelle didn’t just fight to live for him....she fought for you too.”

She looked at him and realized he was speaking the truth. Lachelle was
the daughter she miscarried and she had become the mother Lachelle had lost. Lachelle was going to be the one who came over and helped with Thanksgiving meals, the one who would have helped her decorated the house, wrap the presents and bake the cookies. Then when she was pregnant they would shop together for the baby. Elizabeth would help her decorate the nursery, give her advice when she got nervous, be there when her grandchild was born.

“Oh my god
!” She said touching her cheeks.

Roark
smiled. “Don’t worry…it’s why we all love you.”

“
The boys knew too?”

“Yeah….all but Beckett
.” He said. “Look….the boys and I were talking….we don’t think Macy is going to take the news as well as Beckett thinks…this may be the thing that finally breaks them up.”

“You think?”
She asked hopefully.

“Yeah….but don’t tell Beckett that
.” He grinned. “He might change his mind.”

“
But marriage….is he jumping from a frying pan and into the fire?”

“No…I looked over the contract…Regina Montgomery is no fool….she
’s assured her family name will retain its status, her family is going to be taken care of and we will get the business…at the end of the year Beckett will be free and hopefully Macy will be gone.”