She managed three steps before she hit a patch of ice and her feet went out from under her. She didn’t even have a chance to say “oh, shit” before her head impacted a rock hidden by the snow and everything went black.
Kate woke once while Mike and John were carrying her between them back to the house. She awoke a second time when the doctor began his poking and prodding of the painful bump on the back of her head.
Kate awoke the third time to the sound of loud voices.
“Again? What do you mean she passed out, again?” Tom’s agitated voice came through the speakerphone. “Have you called the doctor?”
“It’s a damned lucky thing that we saw her leaving the house and followed her. We saw her feet go out from under her and saw her head bounce off of a rock. Between us, we managed to get her home and call the doctor. We also lucked out when the storm passed through as quickly as it did, or the doctor would never have made it up here. He said her head is fine. The thick cap she was wearing helped to protect her.” John’s voice was rough with emotion.
“As a precaution, Mike and I will check her every few hours tonight to make sure she’s not concussed. But the doc doesn’t think so. He did say that Kate’s emotional meltdown last night could cause her body to require more sleep than normal to restore itself.”
“Emotional meltdown? Last night? Damn it, John! What the hell is going on out there?” Tom shouted.
“Why don’t you come home and find out for yourself what’s going on? Kate needs you here. You know damned well that you can have your physical therapy here. You don’t need to be in the hospital for that,” John shouted back.
“You’re overstepping your bounds, John,” came a deadly quiet voice from the speakerphone.
“Bullshit! We’ve been friends since the three of us were ten years old in the orphanage. We know how your mind works, Tom. You want everything to be perfect,
you
want to be perfect before you come home. Well, if Kate wanted perfect, she wouldn’t have married you, now would she? Get your ass in gear and get home. She really needs you. Come home.”
Kate heard the phone slam down.
“Well,” said Mike. “That went over pretty well, didn’t it?”
Three weeks later Tom was home and a completely equipped physical therapy room had been constructed next to the pool room, with a therapist who came on a regular basis. The old, creaking elevator had also been updated and could now accommodate Tom’s wheelchair without a problem. That was almost two years ago.
* * * *
“Kate? Are you with us?” Tom asked with a smile.
“Oops, sorry. I was…er…woolgathering, I guess.” She blushed as she looked into his teasing eyes.
Tom’s eyebrows lifted just a fraction as he noted her blush, then he gave her a quick wink and smile, and turned back to the group assembled in front of him. Mike and John stood just behind him. The three musketeers were on the prowl, again. God, they looked good enough to eat, she thought and felt the heat of another blush rise up into her cheeks.
“I’ve called you here because I’m going to be away for at least a month, or possibly longer, and want to make sure you understand that you will be unable to contact me at all during that time. If any of you have anything that needs to be discussed with me before I leave, it had better be done now. I am going to assign one individual to make all decisions on my behalf during the time I am away. That includes all legal issues.” He nodded at Anna.
“It also includes complete banking authority for any and all transactions, to my financial portfolio, and to any decisions regarding Martins Enterprises.”
Tom listened to the murmurs of those in front of him, noting the varying reactions to his news.
Tom continued, “I discussed this matter with Kate—”
“Oh, please,” Scott interrupted, “no disrespect intended, but surely you need someone with more experience in the business and financial world.” His naturally florid face darkened with anger. “Certainly, your wife is a lovely person and can handle the day-to-day household problems that can arise, but she’s not qualified to handle the responsibilities you’ve outlined.”
Scott glared at each person at the table in unspoken challenge as he continued. “With my degree in finance and my experience in running my own business, surely I am the most qualified person to handle the intricate financial and business decisions that will have to be made during your absence.”
“Well, Scott,” Tom said in a cool voice. “Actually, Kate declined my offer for her to run my operations in my absence. She is in the process of finalizing the sale of the business she created years ago. You
have
heard of IntriKATE Design, Inc. haven’t you?”
Kate watched with satisfaction as the blood drained from Scott’s face and his jaw dropped in shock.
“That’s the business Kate started with just an idea and her own hard work. By herself, she built the company up, step by step, into the multimillion dollar business it is today. So, I’d say Kate is more than qualified for anything she chooses to do,” he finished coldly and turned back to the rest of the group.
“Deciding who would be acting on my behalf was a ‘no-brainer’ for me. But, because I value Kate’s opinion, I asked her who she thought it should be. It didn’t surprise me in the least that Kate came up with the name of the same individual. We do think alike, don’t we, Kate? In more ways than one,” Tom said with satisfaction.
“Therefore, effective the twenty-fifth of next month, all financial and corporate problems should be referred to and decisions will be made by John Givens. Mike Malone will be handling all finances related to the household and the various lake and ranch properties.
Tom carefully watched the varying expressions at his announcement. Only Walker and Anna seemed to assimilate the news and responded with very little outward show of surprise.
“Tom, I can have the necessary papers ready for your signature by the end of this week,” said Anna. “John, Mike, the power of attorney forms you will need will be ready at the same time. You can all come in together, and we’ll finalize and sign everything then. I think I have what I need, so if there is nothing more, I’m going home to George before the storm gets any worse. Tom, anything else I need to know?” she asked as she gathered her notes together and stood.
“No, Anna, you’re free to leave. Give my regards to George when you get home.”
Before Anna could leave the room, Scott Thomasson erupted from his chair with such violence that his chair tipped over behind him.
“You can’t seriously be giving all of that financial authority to your
bodyguards
? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Even your wife would be better than those nobodies. What experience does either one have in dealing with major financial decisions or running a business, or anything else for that matter? They’re just hired muscle, dime-a-dozen bodyguards, for Christ’s sake.”
Tom’s body stiffened, and his eyes narrowed in anger as he watched Scott.
Anna reached into her purse and took out her hand-held recorder. She placed the recorder on the table in plain sight and then switched it on. She opened her notebook, sat down, and started taking notes.
“Walker,” snarled Scott. “You can’t tell me that you want a
bodyguard
coming into your office, telling you how to run the company. He’d run the business into the ground within a week.”
Walker looked at Tom, who nodded. “Well, Scott,” Walker drawled coldly, “The fact is, John Givens has been in attendance, with Tom, at virtually all corporate board meetings, strategy meetings, and any other company meetings we’ve held in the last three years. He handled things when Tom was hospitalized and knows exactly what Tom would do in any given situation with regard to the corporation. John and Mike are also the
owners
of M-G Security, not just employees.
“And,” Walker continued, “John has also made several suggestions over the last few years that have resulted in Martins Enterprises saving tens of thousands of dollars a year. I admit I would hire him in a minute as my vice president, if I wasn’t sure he’d have my job within a month, or less.”
Comfortable laughter swelled around the room as John made a slight bow to Walker and turned up the corner of his mouth in a wry smile of acknowledgement.
Tom grinned and said, “Walker, I haven’t had a chance to discuss with you the problems you unearthed on the ranches owned by Martins Enterprises. That was a great investigative job you did. I’d like to leave the resolution of that in your hands and let John handle the day-to-day problems and paperwork at the corporation while I’m gone. You know what’s needed, and I trust that you know exactly how to handle it. Let Mike or John know whatever you need, and they’ll make sure you have it.” Walker gave a satisfied nod of agreement.
“Furthermore, I can assure you that your job is safe from John.”
Walker smiled.
Scott looked wildly around the room. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever—”
“Enough!” Kate shouted as she surged to her feet and glared at Scott. “You have no right to question any decisions we make. Tom and I have the utmost confidence and trust in John, Mike, and Walker, and that’s all that matters. Had we wanted your input, we would have asked for it. Now, either sit down and shut up, or get out of here.”
Tom’s chest expanded with pride as he watched his wife. Mike and John exchanged a quick glance before they turned their attention back to Scott.
“I’ll get out of here, you stupid bitch,” Scott mumbled beneath his breath. He started to leave and then turned back to Kate again.
Scott’s face was contorted in rage, and spittle sprayed from his mouth as he screamed, “I know what it is. You’re fucking your bodyguards! That’s what it is. Hubby can’t get it up any more, so you’re screwing the hired help. I heard the three of them used to share their women all the time. Everybody knew it, too. Looks like they’re still sharing! Get out of my way, bitch.” He roughly tried to force Kate to back up as he pushed by her, deliberately hitting her in the stomach with the corner of his briefcase
Kate gasped and grabbed her stomach. Then her arm shot out and her fist clipped Scott’s chin, hard. Scott staggered back, tripping on the overturned chair. He dropped his briefcase and his arms windmilled frantically as he lunged forward, trying to keep his balance. One arm hit Kate and knocked her onto the floor, and he fell awkwardly on top of her. Tom’s scream of rage filled the room.
Mike vaulted the conference table and grabbed Scott by the waist, carefully lifting him off of Kate’s body. John was already at Kate’s side, assessing the damage, with Tom’s wheelchair beside him.
Setting Scott on his feet, Mike then plowed his fist powerfully into Scott’s midsection. The blow knocked Scott into the wall. He slid down to the floor, vomiting all over himself and holding his stomach.
Kate moaned softly and tried to get up, but John gently held her down. “Take it easy, Kate. You’ve got a lump the size of Texas on the back of your head and you weren’t wearing a heavy knitted cap this time.”
Kate laughed weakly but didn’t try to get up again.
“Mike!” said John. “Tom is calling for an ambulance, but it will be at least thirty minutes, or more, before it can get here. I need some ice and some packing. Thank goodness it doesn’t feel as though anything is broken. But these head wounds can be tricky. They can bleed like the devil with minimal actual damage, or there could be a concussion or other problems. She needs to be in the hospital where they can check her out thoroughly.” Tom looked coldly at Scott then raised his eyes to the stunned gazes of those left standing at the conference table. “Meeting over! Someone get that asshole out of my sight and my home. As far as I’m concerned, he can stink up his own car until a tow truck can move it out of here. Anna, I’ll call you tomorrow. I want legal steps taken to shut that filthy mouth of his.”
“I know just what you need, Tom. Am I correct in assuming you are also going to pull your financial portfolio from his firm?”
“Immediately, thanks for reminding me.”
“Tom,” said Anna softly as Mike and John put pillows beneath Kate’s head and then wrapped her warmly in blankets. “You know it really was an accident. Scott didn’t deliberately try to physically hurt Kate.”
“I don’t know, Anna. I don’t know. It looked like he deliberately tried to knock Kate aside as roughly as he could, and he has a nasty reputation for physically abusing the women he’s been associated with in the past. I don’t think he’s changed any.”
Anna nodded and shrugged. “You could be right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Tom, unless I can help with anything now?”
“No, but thanks. Go on home to George. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
Tom watched as Walker grabbed Scott roughly by the back of his collar and literally dragged him out of the house on the seat of his pants.
“So,” Kate said the next day. “You three were in the habit of sharing your women. And what am I? Chopped liver?”
Kate worked very hard at keeping a straight face, but the look of stunned surprise on the faces of the three men surrounding her hospital bed destroyed her control. She began laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath.
“Oh,” she cried helplessly through her laughter. “I’m glad that pain pill finally kicked in or I’d be in agony right now. Whew! If you could only see the expression on your faces.” And off she went into another peal of infectious laughter.
Finally, wiping her streaming eyes with a tissue, Kate looked up and caught a strange look pass between the three men.
Oh, boy, I could be in some trouble here. Or not.
“Sorry, guys, I honestly couldn’t resist. Have you come to take me home?” Kate looked from face to face with all of the contrived innocence she could muster. But from the predatory expressions on their faces, she didn’t think they bought it.
“Uh, Dr. Sorensen said I could go home today. You’ve come to take me, haven’t you?”