longer than it was necessary to get a glass or cup of tea.”
“You have so much space. And cabinets. Look at all these cabinets.” Those too were
empty of items that one might find in a household, but she didn’t seem to care. “And
this refrigerator. Oh my, it’s a double wide too. And a stove. Look at it. I could have
such fun making cookies and things in here.”
“You bake too?” She nodded, her eyes filled with excitement. Going down on his
knees before her, he took her hand into his. “Marry me.”
He had meant it as a joke, but the moment the words came out of his mouth, he
knew that’s just what he wanted. He wanted her as his wife. The mother of his children
and his companion for the rest of his life.
“You have no idea how much I love you. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life,
and now that you’re here, I don’t ever want to let you go. And the fact that you cook too
is a bonus I never thought I’d have.” He kissed her finger, the one that had the dragons
on it. “You hold within you all that I am. You know that. But you also hold all that I will
ever be. My love, my heart, even my body and soul. I love you, Emma Gentry, more
than I have ever thought it possible to love a woman. Will you please marry me?”
“Yes.” He looked up at her and could see the tears falling down her cheeks. “On
one condition, of course. You let me have this as my domain. I have always wanted a
kitchen like this. If you just let me have this one room, I will never ask you for anything
again. Unless it’s more cooking things.”
“Deal.” Standing up, he kissed her. He loved her. And unbelievably, she loved him
too. Backing from her when he realized he wanted to take her right there, he told her
they had to fill the house. “In order to sleep here, we’re going to need more than a ten
year old mattress. I think it was my old one when I went to college. And a few more
towels.”
He was moving out the door with her as he made a list both verbally and mentally.
Christ, it was going to take them all day just to get things for the kitchen. He stopped as
they made their way to the car and turned to look at her. He wondered how they were
going to buy things and keep her safe, then realized that people like the ones that were
chasing her would never think to go to the kind of shops he had in mind. Plus, with his
money, Kenton was pretty sure that they could close down the store and have it all to
themselves. He was going to do just that. Anything to make her safe.
“Car. You need a car. You can drive, right?” She nodded and laughed at him. “This
is very serious. You need a car in the event that I need you to come to my offices and let
me fuck you on my desk. Then there is the added advantage that you can go to the store
and get whatever you need to cook with, so long as you’re careful and take one of us
with you. You can cook whatever you want for me and I will love it.”
“I like the way you think, Dr. McCade.” She got into the passenger side and him
under the wheel. As soon as he started the engine, he realized something. “What is it?”
“I have not one clue where to buy furniture at. I mean, clothing at the mall, sure,
but where do you buy furniture for a whole house? And I’m sure that mattresses have
some specialty store as well.” She was still laughing when he called his mom. “Can you
tell me where you got that couch in the living room?”
“Oh Kenton, you lovely child. I’m guessing that you’re buying furniture. Thank
goodness. I’m downtown now. You take me to lunch and I’ll show you where to go.”
He agreed and told her that he had Emma with him. “Well of course you do. Why
would you leave her at home when you’re buying things for the two of you? Kenton,
where is your head today?”
“Fuddled I guess. And she agreed to marry me, so you know.” When his mother
didn’t speak, he thought she was upset. “I love her and I need to spend the rest of my
life with her.”
“Kenton, that’s the most wonderful…I’m sobbing like a little old woman here and
people are staring. Come to the Mason Store on Fifth and we’ll celebrate with me
buying you a lovely living room set.” Kenton told her she was neither old nor little. “I
love you, son, but you have no idea how long I’ve thought of you and the others getting
married. Now hurry so I can hug you both.”
Mason’s was a huge seven floor building that had it all under one roof, or so they
said on the marquee out front. Beds and linens were on one floor, living room stuff on
another. And everything in between spread out all over the place. By the time they’d
made it to the top floors, he was sure that he had sat on, picked up, and touched every
item in the place once if not twice. But he’d had the most fun on the third floor where
the kitchen appliances and silverware were.
Kenton could tell that she wanted it all. Every whisk, all the knives, as well as the
pots and pans that hung over the huge old looking butcher block. He asked dragon
what she was doing by just moving from piece to piece.
She does not want to overspend
. He asked him what that meant.
She has been without for
so long, her brother taking what was not his when he robbed her of her pretty things that she
knew she could never afford again. She does not want you to think her greedy.
Greedy? Her? He doubted that she’d ever be that. But he did understand. He
moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as she looked at a set of
dining plates. They were pretty, but he had no idea what she liked.
“You’ll need to get at least fourteen place settings of whatever you like.” She turned
in his arms, and he could see that she was upset. “Did someone say something to you?
Tell me who and I’ll kick their ass.”
“No one said…what are you…? You know, I don’t care. This place setting is a lot. I
mean, just one set is over fifty dollars. Fourteen sets of it is seven hundred dollars. Then
there are the things that go with it. Platters, salt and pepper shakers. Even things like
bowls to serve in and—”
He put his hand over her mouth. “I have money. Not an endless supply of it, but I
haven’t spent much since becoming a doctor. I mean, you did have a look around my
house, so you know that I’m not one to spend my money needlessly. I inherited my
house from my grandfather, so I saved money there. I have no gardener either. I think
the kid down the block mows my lawn for a couple hundred bucks a month, but he
does a good job and I don’t have to mess with it.” He picked up the plate and could see
him eating from it with his family. “I love this. I can see it stacked nicely in the cabinets
just waiting for someone to come and visit us.”
“You have built in china cabinets that this will be in if we get it, as you well know.
And I’m betting not only do you know the kid’s name down the block who mows your
lawn, but that you overpay him each time because his family needs the money.” He
nodded at her. “If I pick this out, this design, you have to pick out the everyday wear,
all right?”
He started to ask her if they could just use these, they were pretty, but he saw his
mom shaking her head at him. Instead of asking her what she was talking about, he
looked at what she had in her hand. It was a plate that had dragons on it. Not well
designed ones, but he loved it. Telling Emma yes, he moved to pick up the plate his
mom had sat down and moved from and showed it to Emma. She squealed in delight.
They had plates now. And everything else that was needed to fill a home was easy after
that. Kenton even convinced her that she needed to get all new dishtowels to match the
plates, as he was sure that he only had a couple of those as well. Kenton didn’t even
care what it all cost them. She was happy and that made him happier than he’d ever
thought possible.
As they made their way home, after having dinner with his mom, Emma napped
lightly in the seat next to him and he wondered how pissed she was going to be about
the purchase that Lewis had helped him make without her knowledge. He really did
need for her to have a car. He wasn’t sure what she was going to do with the big SUV,
but he’d gotten it for her and it was at their home. Their home. It sounded so lovely.
~~~
Anderson sat at her husband’s desk and surveyed her new home. And it would be
hers too, once she found the fucking will. She was sure that he’d left her everything. It
was just a matter of figuring out who the attorney was and having things put into order
so she could claim it all. The fact that Emma was still alive and around didn’t bother her
overly much. As far as Anderson was concerned, she was as good as dead.
She was still pissed that her men hadn’t been able to kill them all when they’d been
cornered in that office. Anderson had a feeling that her father had done that, but when
it looked to her like her men were going to be killed instead of the McCades, she’d
stepped in and made herself the hero. And she was glad that had fallen into her lap as
well. Anderson liked when people thought she was a good person.
Bartholomew hadn’t really known where Emma was when she’d come back to him,
and he more than likely thought she was dead too. By Bart’s hand no doubt. And
Anderson wanted him to think that. Having no one to share the wealth with, she
thought again, was just fine by her.
When the phone rang, she let it go. No one, as far as she knew, was aware of where
she was, so she was sure it wasn’t for her. Getting up, she went to the large safe that
hadn’t been here the last time she’d been in the house. Walking around it again, she
wondered what the hell was in it and why Bartholomew had never mentioned getting
it.
“What were you thinking?” Walking around the heavy steel box for the third time,
she tried to think what he might have done with the combination. She was sure it was
going to be something simple, like their wedding day or her birthday. But so far none of
those had worked. She’d even tried to use the date she’d “died,” and then the one that
she’d come back to him, but neither of those were it either. “Who were you trying to
keep out of this? Not me, surely. We loved each other, right?”
Anderson laughed. No, she’d not loved her husband, not since he’d told her that
going straight was going to be the only way they would live. She’d tried it and had
hated every second of it. But he’d said no, and Anderson hated that word as much as
she did her daughter and son.
Anderson had come back to her husband of thirty years four years ago. The story
that she’d told him was that she’d been in a state of flux, not knowing her name or
where she’d come from. Wandering the state, she’d only just gotten her memory back
and thought it a good idea that she remain hidden away for insurance, as well as
someone possibly coming back to finish the job. It had been a glorious and wonderfully
profitable few years with him. At least for her it had been.
Lying to the man had never been so easy. He was so in love with her that she’d
been able to get him to do anything she wanted. To a point. And the fact that he didn’t
want to do them made it so that she was the one getting all the profits instead of sharing
them with him.
He still held onto his beliefs that there should be no drugs or drug paraphernalia
and no prostitution in his businesses. Stupid when you thought of all the cash he could
have had. Or in this case, she had. But he’d been a firm believer that what they had was
enough. Enough money, enough cars, as well as enough love to see them through any
ups and downs.
“Well, you were wrong about that. I needed what you weren’t giving me, and now
you have gone and put something here that I can’t get into. Why would you think you
needed this safe? And why didn’t you tell me about it?” She touched her fingers to the
key pad and tried just pushing random numbers. Nothing was working. “Damn it,
Bartholomew, you were supposed to trust me.”
The phone rang again. She was ready to pull the thing from the wall and be done
with it when Steward came in the room with her. He was grinning, which made her
think that her little phone call to Daddy had worked. He flopped down on the chair
behind the desk where she’d been only moments ago, and she wanted to tell him to get
up. Christ, the man was making her fucking nuts.
“He is so fucking freaked out right now. Telling me that he knew the voice but not
from where. And so you know, Emma and that McCade man applied for a wedding
license today. They’re set to be married on Friday according to the paperwork. I’ve
already set up a little party for them. They should be married and dead all within an
hour of saying their nuptials.” He asked her about the safe.
“I don’t know. It was here when I got here last night. And according to the bills I
found on the desk, it’s been ordered and here for a couple of weeks. Long enough for
him to have told me, don’t you think?” Steward asked her if the combination was with