A Somers Dream (16 page)

Holten
and Gabe hunched behind the counter to listen in on what was being said between Shane and Lynesse. “Doesn’t the man believe in walls?” Holten whispered as he tried not to be seen. Lynesse had her back to them but neither one wanted to take the chance she should turn around “Would’ve been easier if there was a door instead of open space” Gabe just smiled at his father. He liked the open concept Shane designed, made the house seem larger but Holten was of the old ways and liked his closed in spaces. When they heard them get up and walk towards the staircase, they slowly traced their steps around the kitchen counter. It was all up to Shane now and Gabe hoped he could get her to tell him what they wanted to know before he threw her out the window. Holten walked over to the kitchen window and gave a thumb’s up to Penny and Marcus, letting them know that things were progressing. Gabe hoped his father was right and that it didn’t turn into a disaster.

Penny and Marcus found themselves a cozy place to sit within the foliage Shane had landscaped around the pool. They could easily see the house from where they were but they couldn’t be seen, which was how they wanted it.
Lynesse couldn’t know they were there just yet. Penny saw Holten give a thumb’s up, letting them know their plan was in action. “Do you think she’ll tell him?” Marcus asked, looking somewhat worried “She can be a talker when she wants to but she can also keep to herself”. Penny looked at him “Shane can be persuasive if he needs to be” ‘
I just hope not too persuasive
’ she thought and she gave Marcus a smile. “Well, I hope he hurries and gets her to own up. I’m sitting in something that’s gushy” he said with a disgusted look on his face. Penny’s eyes lowered to where he was seated and stifled a laugh at the mound of wet leaves and mushrooms around him.

When Shane walked up the stairs, he could feel
Lynesse’s eyes watching him. He hoped he could get her to tell him without having to ‘do’ anything. He allowed Lynesse to pass in front of him and followed her into the bedroom. “Close the door” she said as she walked over to the bed and sat down. “And what if my dad wonders why the door is closed?” But Shane did as she asked. He walked over to the bed where she sat and took her hands into his. If he was going to play this, he needed to pull out all the stops no matter how revolting it was. “You are giving me a tour and it closed on its own” she responded “it does happen” and she smiled. ‘
I’m sure it does whenever you’re in a room
’ Shane thought and smiled back at her. Lynesse leaned in to kiss him and Shane followed suit. This was the last thing he wanted to do but if he wanted to get her to talk, she had to believe he was all for it. All Shane could think about while kissing was compare her to Penny. He could feel the coldness in Lynesse’s lips whereas Penny was all warmth and all he wanted to do was feel Penny’s lips on his once again. Talking her by the shoulders, Shane broke off the kiss and went to stand next to the window where the nightstand was. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of Penny to give him strength but there was no sight of her. Which was not surprising, she would’ve found a place to hide and made sure they couldn’t be seen but still see the house. He had a feeling exactly where she was when he felt a pair of hands surround his waist. Turning around, he gently pushed Lynesse away from him. He didn’t want Penny to see her in his arms “Lynesse, we need to go slow. There’s been so much the past few years, I’m still unsure of all this” As he looked down on her, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the phone on the stand. There was an intercom option on the phone, all he needed to do was push the button and the whole house can hear the conversation. But he needed to get Lynesse away from it first and as he motioned for her to sit on the bed he made sure he blocked her view from what he was doing. As she sat down, he sat next to her and pushed the button without her being the wiser for it. Lynesse was about to say how they would get past what happened when Shane silenced her with his finger on her lips “I want to trust you again but I’m unsure as how to go about it. I want you to know that I do have feelings for someone else and I’m not sure exactly what they are yet. She left me with no word and I need to close that part of my life before I can move on” Shane hoped he had sounded sincere enough for Lynesse to buy it. “Oh sweetie” she smiled at him “You were always so emotional. I do so love that about you. But maybe it’s for the best that she’s gone, no? I’m here now. You don’t need that woman, you only need me” Lynesse reached up and palmed his face. She knew she couldn’t make love to him here while Holten was downstairs. It wouldn’t be ideal for him to walk in on them, no it wouldn’t. Lynesse tried to kiss him but Shane pulled away “I know that, honey” that word stuck in his throat “but if I could only find her and tell her it’s over. Let her know that she didn’t get to me. I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s something I need to do before we can be together, but I can’t find her anywhere”. Shane hoped that came across as desperation to be with Lynesse. He needed a reason for her to give up what happened to Penny and the only way he could think of was for him ‘needing’ to see Penny before being with her. Lynesse stared at Shane, not believing what she was hearing. He needed to
see
her before he could move on? She knew he was a bit of a romantic and a weakling of the heart but she never knew he was so…dramatic. She stood up and walked to the middle of the room. If she was to produce Penny, he would be able to tell her what he wanted too and then they could be together. She needed to tread lightly here, she looked over at Shane “Can I ask you a hypothetical question?” she walked over to him and sat on the bed and Shane looked at her with confusion, at least he hoped he looked that way.  “Just so that I can understand what you’re saying” she said quickly knowing he had a curious nature and he would want to hear it. “Sure. Ask away” he said, trying to sound interested. He really needed her to confess so that everyone in this house, and backyard, can move on with their lives and give her what she’s due. But he also knew Lynesse could spook easily and the last thing he wanted was for this to blow up in his face. “What if you knew she was in town? Would you end it and come be with me?” This is what he was waiting for “Of course! Why would you ask such a crazy thing? I want to be with you, Lynesse. Not her. But I need to end it first, it’s the right thing to do. For the both of us” Shane reached out and held her close. Playing this part was difficult, he didn’t like being this close to her let alone be touching her. Lynesse returned the hold on Shane and she held on so tight that he felt she would cut off his oxygen. This is what Lynesse was waiting for, although he wasn’t begging her forgiveness, this would have to do. Lynesse broke her hold on Shane and smiled “I know where she is” she said with a smile. Before Shane could cut her off, she quickly added “I knew you wanted to be with me but needed to end it with her before you could. I found out she was in town and extended an invitation, so to speak, for her to stay at my cabin”. Shane couldn’t believe his ears, he still needed to hear her say what she did so he needed to tread lightly “What do you mean by extended an invitation?” Lynesse was to giddy to be careful now, she had him. Shane was hers now and no matter what she had done, he would see it as a means for them to be together. “Well, I found out she was in town so I had her brought to my place. She wasn’t hurt if that’s what you’re worried about” she smiled as she said this. She knew he would be worried about anyone who was taken under those circumstances. “I made a phone call to an associate of mine and he tracked her down and found out she was heading back to town. I believed she was probably going to try to weasel her way back and well, I couldn’t have that knowing that you still did love me. So, I had him kidnap her and bring her to my cabin where he has been taking real good care of her. So there is no need to give me that worried look of yours. She’s perfectly safe” Lynesse gave a quick kiss on his lips to reassure him all was fine. Shane was ready to explode but kept his cool, this still wasn’t over. “I think maybe we should make our presence known downstairs. Dad is going to wonder what’s taking so long up here and I don’t want him thinking anything was going on if you know what I mean”. And he stood, holding his hand out to Lynesse for her to take. “We still need to discuss what to do about Holten. He can’t know about us, darling. Not ever” Lynesse stood and, with her hand in his, made her way towards the door. “Oh don’t worry about dad. He won’t hear a thing from me” “I knew you would understand” she said to him before walking down the stairs. Everything was going according to plan and Lynesse couldn’t be happier. Shane was doing his best not to run down the stairs, but he was hurrying her along slightly. He wanted away from her and Penny in his arms.

CHAPTER 30

Gabe and his father where waiting around in the kitchen when Shane went upstairs with
Lynesse. They hoped that Lynesse wouldn’t be the wiser as to what they were trying to do and clam up. Then, out of the blue, they heard Shane’s voice. Looking around, they didn’t see him but…they could hear him. Holten walked over to the counter and noticed that the intercom on the phone was lit up and they could hear everything that was being said upstairs. ‘
Smart boy
’ thought his father. He motioned to Gabe to come over and they both stood there, listening to what was being said. Shane was one hell of an actor to deal with what he was dealing with and Gabe was proud of him. He played his part perfectly and she was falling for it just like they all knew she would. After what seemed like hours, they finally heard what they were waiting for, both Gabe and Holten looked at each other and smiled. They had her! They heard the door open upstairs and Gabe headed outside to call in Penny and Marcus who had been sitting in the bushes since Lynesse arrived and walked back in. They both just sat down at the table when they heard Shane’s voice down the hall “Wait until you see the backyard, it’s beautiful” and they both walked into the kitchen. Shane made his way towards the back door and kept his hand on the handle with his back to the door. Lynesse walked in and saw Gabe and Holten sitting at the table “Hello Holten. I heard you were here so I decided to find out what was keeping you” she gave Holten her best smile as she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. She turned her attention to Gabe “Hello Gabe” and smiled at him as well. “Lynesse” was all he said. He didn’t really have much else to say to her, especially after what she had done. Lynesse looked around the table at the grim faces “Who died?” she asked while pulling a chair out and sat next to Holten. Holten looked at his wife, he knew she was selfish but he never knew she would lower herself to such an extent as kidnapping. “Did you really come here to see me?” he asked her “or did you come here to get Shane into bed?” he already knew the answer and the look on her face pretty much said it all. “What are you talking about? When you didn’t come home last night, I began to worry. He
is
my son as well, dear, if only by marriage and I wanted to know what kept you away for an evening” Lynesse tried to look as innocent as possible. She got up from the table and made her way towards the hall “I am not going to stay here and be accused of something petty and underhanded as that. I’m your wife! How could you think of such a despicable thing?!” she exclaimed. She hoped she sounded convincing as she gave one last look to the three men in the kitchen before turning around. “Uhm, Lynesse?” Shane called out “Don’t leave just yet. I have something for you”. “What could you possibly have for me that I don’t already own?” she asked whirling around to face him. Shane gave a beautiful smile and opened the door. If Lynesse was the fainting type, she would’ve been on the floor at that precise moment.

CHAPTER 31

Marcus walked in first with a huge grin on his face with Penny following from behind. Lynesse stood there, not believing what her eyes were seeing. “Close your mouth, Lynesse. You’re attracting flies” Holten said as he got up to get a drink. Lynesse snapped her jaw shut and just stared at Marcus and Penny, how could this be possible? Shane walked up behind Penny and put his arms around her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and frowned at Lynesse, ‘
let’s see how she wiggles her way out of this
’. Lynesse composed herself, this was not good, not good at all. She needed to think fast. “I didn’t know you had company aside from Gabe and Holten?” she said smiling. She walked up to Marcus, pretending she didn’t know him and extended her hand “You will have to excuse Shane’s manners for not intro…” that was a far as she got before Shane cut in with a voice that was dripping with contempt “Cut the bullshit, Lynesse. We know all about it”. “Know about what?” Lynesse could feel the panic rising within her and she did the only thing she could do, smile. Shane walked up to her with a vicious look about him, he so wanted to hurt her but he knew he couldn’t. She wasn’t worth going to jail for. “Did you honestly think I was happy to see you?” he said with venom in his voice “Did your ego actually believe that I wanted to be with you that bad that I would go behind my father’s back? He did me a favor by marrying you”. Shane walked up to Penny and cupped his hands on her cheeks and looked into her eyes. “By doing that, I never would have met the one I truly do love” Penny could feel tears welling up inside her eyes and she took his hands and kissed the inside of both palms. He turned around and looked, once again, at Lynesse. Penny was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, he loved her and that was better than all the chocolate in the world. Holten looked at his wife and he couldn’t feel sorry for her or even pity. “You went too far this time, Lynesse” he said to her and Lynesse fixed her eyes on him. She was like a fox in a trap with nowhere to go. She looked up at Marcus who was just standing there, smiling. Oh! She wanted to slap that smile off his face! “So much for loyalty” she hissed out “I was a fool to think you could do something so easy”. Marcus leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest “You were the fool to think you could get away with it”. Gabe stood up and went to stand next to Lynesse. “You can’t prove I had a hand in anything” she stated “It will be my word against a known criminal. And
she
” Lynesse looked at Penny with hatred in her eyes “can’t prove I had a hand in her abduction. Besides, I am very familiar with the Chief of Police. The man adores me, he’ll believe me before he’ll believe him” she nodded towards Marcus “or that tramp”. Lynesse stuck her chin up and looked down her nose upon them. “Maybe so” Holten said, walking towards his wife “but he will believe me” and Lynesse shrank back as if she had been hit. Holten grabbed his wife in a not so pleasant way and began to pull her down the hall. “The time has come, my dear, that you begin to make amends for all the shit you pulled, and we are going to start with a visit to my lawyer’s”. Lynesse didn’t like the sound of that “What are you going to do?” was all they heard her say before the front door closed. Everyone in the kitchen let out a sigh of relief and Shane turned and took Penny into his arms. He didn’t want to ever let her go and he was going to show that starting right this minute. “I was so scared I’d never see you again” he whispered in her ear and nuzzled the side of her neck. “Don’t ever leave me, ever” and he bent down and kissed her deeply. Penny stood on tiptoes to return his kiss and, with tears falling down her cheeks, she kissed him like never before. Gabe and Marcus, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, shuffled their feet and looked at each other. “Ahem” Shane turned at the fake cough and smiled broadly at his brother. With Penny at his side, he walked up to Gabe and put his arms around his brother, “Thank you” was all he could say. “That’s what big brothers are for” he responded and returned the hold his little brother had on him. Marcus, feeling somewhat out of place, pushed off the counter he was leaning on and smiled. “Well, I’ve done my good deed for the year. It’s time for me to take off” and started to head for the door when Penny stopped him. “What will you do now?” she asked him. Marcus was going to miss this one “I don’t know. With what little money I have left, maybe start my own business. Do something legit for once”. “I wish you all the best” and she went on tiptoes to hug the man who was once her captor but now her friend. Marcus was taken aback by Penny’s abruptness and he looked over at Shane for approval. Shane smiled and nodded his head, he knew Marcus could take him down just by the size of him but he wasn’t going to stop Penny from doing she felt she needed to do. After a few moments, Shane walked up to the both of them and put his hand around Penny’s waist, she got the hint and gave her widest smile to Shane. “I want to thank you for doing what you did” he said to Marcus “I want you to know that the police will never know the part you played beforehand”. Marcus grinned and began to make his way to the front door before Gabe stopped him “Hold up” he said “I’ll walk you out. I want to talk to you anyway about going legit. I could really use you for my new business. How do you feel about traveling?” he asked as Gabe and Marcus walked out the door. Shane turned to hold Penny once again in his arms. “I thought I’d never see you again” she whispered to him. Her feelings were in turmoil and she had so much to say to him but didn’t know where to begin. Shane put his finger under her chin and raised her head so that he could look into her beautiful blue eyes, those eyes he believed not so long ago, he would never see again. “Did you mean what you said earlier? When you said you loved me?” she asked him, feeling a little unsure. Shane kissed her lips softly and gently, then trailed his lips to her ear and said “I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I love you Penelope Dawson. I love you with every fiber of my being” and he stared into her eyes “I love you”. Penny felt the tears stream down her face as she placed her hand on his cheek “I love you, Shane Somers. I don’t ever want to be without you ever again for even a split second” Shane picked her up and carried towards the staircase, before climbing the stairs he looked at the woman who had stolen his heart “Would it be improper to go upstairs?” he asked her, realizing he was holding his breath for her answer. Penny looked up the stairs and back at Shane “I would be sorely disappointed if we didn’t” and gave him her widest smile she could muster. With a ‘whoop’, he ran up the stairs and into the bedroom, surprised at his own strength that Penny had never touched the floor.