Jace: The Pride of the Double Deuce (9 page)

“No. This is perfect.” She still hadn’t touched the ring, and he was sort of worried. “I’d very much like for you to do the one-knee thing, if you don’t mind. Just for me.”

Nodding, he picked her up and sat her on the table. Standing up, he went to one knee, holding out the ring for her to see. He wanted this to be right. To be perfect. So the words had to be as well.

“I’ve fallen in love with you. I think it was when you helped that bear, but maybe it was long before that. But it seems to me like I’ve been waiting for you my entire life; my body, my heart just beating and functioning until you came to fill them.” She nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks as she let him take her hand into his. As he slipped the ring onto her finger, he continued, “I do love you. I want to see you swollen with our children. I want to build a life with you and everything that comes with being with you. I never would have guessed…never would have thought of you being the person for me, the other half of my soul, but you are perfect. Would you please, pretty please, be my wife?”

She nodded, and he watched her face. He told her he’d really like to hear the words, and she said it at the top of her lungs as he pushed the ring on her finger and kissed it.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.” Standing up, he pulled her to him and kissed her. Her body wrapped around him as he swung her around the room over and over until he pressed her against the counter. The throat clearing behind him made him growl low until Palmer laughed.

“I take it she said yes.” Holly put out her hand and showed her dad the ring. “It looks almost as good on you as it did on your mother. And she’d be just as proud of you as I am. Congratulations, love. I think you both made a wonderful choice.”

Champagne was brought out and they celebrated by calling his family over for dinner. Jace just wanted to find a nice, dark corner and make love to Holly, but it wasn’t to be. There was something important that Palmer had to tell them both.

“Oh, wait. The barn money. I completely forgot to give it to you.” Holly disappeared and returned a few minutes later with an envelope. “Mr. Clarke dropped it off on his way to town. He said that he had some errands to run and would be back tomorrow.”

Jace took the envelope and stared at it. According to Palmer, any money that they made from the sale of the siding was theirs. He said that the insurance company just wanted the mess to be taken care of, and if they made a little on the side, it was fine with them. When Jace opened the envelope, he nearly dropped it.

“Holy shit.” He handed the check to Palmer, who only smiled. “I thought we’d get a couple hundred bucks, but not this.”

“He said that the siding was big right now. And Ed said that the man was glad to have it. Good for you.” Jace only nodded at Palmer as he stared at the check again. “What do you plan to do with your first…your first two million dollars, young man?”

“I have no idea.” He looked at Holly. “It’s half yours. What do you want to do with it? Or all of it…I’m not greedy, so long as we can have a nice honeymoon with some of it.”

“Let’s think on it.” He nodded at Holly and took the glass from the butler. When Palmer raised his, Jace did the same.

“To the sweetest couple I know. May you have a long and wonderful life together. May I become a grandparent at least once before I die, and hopefully soon, I’ll have a partner at my business that I can trust.” They touched glasses, then drank. Jace decided right there that he kind of liked having a little extra money for the finer things.

His family arrived a little while later and they hugged him and then Holly. His cat was making noises that said he wasn’t happy with the situation, but he was able to calm him with promises of taking her to the woods later and letting him have her first. Jace was so happy now that he’d not listened to himself when he’d decided against marrying Holly Snow.

“You’re happy then?” Aunt Georgie sat down next to him on the couch, and he told her he was. “Good. Your parents would have loved her too. She’s going to keep you on your toes, I think.”

“She will.” He watched her talking to Mason and Logan. “I’m in love with her. And when she said yes, I could have fallen over. I never…did Mom and Dad love each other this much, I wonder? I can remember them less and less over the years, but I can remember them always touching each other. They seemed to really love being together.”

“I’m sure they did. They were very happy together, especially with you children. When Mason was born your father was so proud, and as each son came to him, he was like one of the roosters in the yard. Just crowing like he’d had the only boys born to a man ever. And when they left on their trip…I’m sure that when they left here, they never dreamed they’d never see you children again. I’m just really glad I was able to come and help out.”

“You’ve been like a mother and a father to us, and we would have…there is no telling what might have happened to us had you not come to rescue us.” She kissed his cheek and leaned her head on his shoulder. “It’s done with Rogers. He won’t get away with anything anymore. And the money that Holly found is back in the bank to be distributed to those he took it from. The insurance company to the bank said it might have taken them years, if ever, before they found that money. They’re giving Holly a bonus for doing it. She’s amazing.”

Ed had come to him the morning that the police had found the notes from young Seth. He asked him if he had a minute, and then as soon as the doors were locked to his office, he told him what he wanted to do.

“He’s going to get away with it. All of it. And you know why?” Jace had only shaken his head, a little worried at how angry the older man was. “Because he’s fucking nuts is why. Or so he wants everyone to believe. And he’s been planning this for a good long time. Had I known, had I any clue what he was up to, I would have ripped his throat out myself.”

“Why will he get away with it?” He told him about the laws governing a man who was unstable, and that he thought Nigel had been playing that card for a while now. He said that he’d figured it out when he’d been asking when he was going to get out. That the bank needed him to come in and run it correctly. It was then that he’d had the prison put a camera on his cell. “You think he was faking it in the event he ever got caught.”

“What sort of idiot puts the passwords on his computer for the entire world to see? And even the account numbers? The man had to know that eventually he’d be caught, and when he did, he wanted a plan B to fall back on. Well, that’s what I had Holly looking for, his escape plan. And she found it, didn’t she? Five hundred million dollars in a bank that had no ties to the United States and has no extradition laws. He had it planned to the minute. Even with the killing of the Carters, he could plead insanity. It might not have stuck, but the whole insanity thing would have gotten him a much lighter sentence. He might even say it was what pushed him over the edge. No, he’s going to get away with all of it. But I have a plan.”

“A plan?” Ed had nodded and then explained to him what he was going to do. All he needed was for Jace to make sure that there were friends of his in the van and not regular cops.

“I don’t want any of them to be hurt.” Jace nodded, not sure whether he liked the plan or not. Then Ed said what had pushed Rogers into doing it. “His plan was to marry Georgie and then kill her for the insurance. The policy was already in place. He was going to kill you all, including Holly.”

Jace had looked at the policy that had named Rogers as benefactor if his aunt should die. And it would have been doubled should she be murdered. Rogers even had a marriage license filled out with both their names on it. Ed told him that all he had to do was file it at the court house and he’d get the farm and everything else. There didn’t even have to be a real marriage, just the appearance of one for him to get the money, the farm, and anything else and run.

That afternoon, Jace had called in a favor and made sure that the men knew everything before going in. Both of them had been a part of their extended family years before his parents had died. One of them had lost everything in the scam that Rogers was playing too. After that, it was a done deal.

Jace had told Mason and Aunt Georgie. Then he’d told Holly. They all thought it was a sound plan, and Holly had told him to forget it ever happened. He was having the hardest time with that. He was making a plan to kill a man. Sure, he’d been about to kill them all and had killed the Carters, but this was different. Jace was doing this.

“You’ll see that it was for the best.” Jace nodded at Aunt Georgie, but wasn’t so sure. “If you had not helped him, Mr. Clarke I mean, then things would have gone terribly bad for him. You saved him as well. And with the money that Holly was able to find, a lot of people are going to benefit as well.”

Nodding, he watched his future wife. If Rogers had harmed a hair on her head, he would have killed him all by himself. This way it was benefiting them all. Jace just hoped that none of this came back to bite any of them in the ass. Ever.

Chapter 9

Jeff was waiting in the office when Mr. Snow came in. He had his coffee ready as well as all the phone messages from the night before. It had taken him a while to wrestle them from the receptionist, but he had them now.

“Good morning, sir. I have printed your schedule for you and have all your messages here, as well as your favorite coffee.” Before he could set it on the desk with everything else, Mr. Snow told him he was cutting out the coffee. “Cutting it out? I don’t understand.”

“I’m not drinking coffee anymore. I’ve brought in my own tea.” Jeff tried to think what he was supposed to do now, and was still standing there with the cup in his hand when a stranger walked into the office.

“I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to wait until your appointment time is here. What’s your name and I can see about it?” Mr. Snow laughed, and the man just walked by him. “Sir?”

“This is my future son-in-law, Jace Douglas. He’s going to be hanging around here for a while. Then in a few years he’ll take over for me…sooner if I can have a grandbaby to bounce on my knees.” Mr. Snow told Jace to have a seat. “Hardgrave, can you see about getting Jace here a badge that will give him all my accesses? I don’t want him running into trouble should he be here without me. I’m sending out an email today welcoming him to the company, but this will make things easier for him.”

Jeff left them to their talking as he staggered out of the room and into the cubbyhole that he’d made for himself. He sat down and tried to wrap his mind around the fact that things were moving in the wrong direction. That this man was going to take what he needed…his wife, his money, even his father-in-law and his insurance.

His mother was going to be pissed. She’d been telling him for days now that he needed to get on the stick, that women like Holly didn’t come around all that often. At least not for him. She’d told him just last night that a woman like Miss Snow would be stupid to marry someone as stupid as him, and if he wanted her, he was going to have to knock her up.

“But we’re not even dating yet.” His mother had hissed at him, something that she was very good at doing when she was mad. Not that Holly hadn’t had sex, he supposed. A beautiful woman like her would have men all over her all the time. And the cowboy from the other day proved that she wasn’t really picky about who she had it with either. But in order to get her with child—that sounded so much better than knocked up—he’d have to get near her, not to mention naked. Jeff didn’t see that happening any time soon. If ever.

His phone rang and startled him, and he reached for it as he was still trying to figure out what to do. The shrill voice of his mother nearly had him hanging up on her. He didn’t have the stomach for more of her advice today. His head was pounding already, and it wasn’t even seven in the morning yet.

“Did you read the flipping paper?” He told her that he hadn’t had time as yet. “She’s engaged. That woman of yours, the one you were going to marry? She’s engaged to some guy named Jace Douglas. Who the hell is that? And how the hell did you let this happen to me? Jeffery, I’m very disappointed in you right now.”

“I just met him.” That made her madder and her voice a few octaves higher as she screamed at him. He let her as tears fell down his cheeks. Jeff wondered if he’d ever be able to do a damned thing right when it came to her. Doubtful anyone could, Jeff thought. She was just that mean.

“You go right over to her house and you beg her to marry you. Why she’d say yes is beyond me, but I want that money, Jeffery. You promised me that money and that you’d set me up in a fine house.” He started to point out that she was living better than him in a house he was paying for, but she went on before he could. Not that he’d actually say those things to her. “I got me an eye on the house down the street. It’s bigger than this one and it’s clean. Do you know how dirty this one is? If you would just let me have a maid and a butler, then I’d be—”

“Mother, you know that I can’t afford those things. I’m barely paying for what you have now.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d made a major mistake. She didn’t like to talk about what he could and could not afford. She only wanted. “Mother, I’m sorry.”

She didn’t answer him. Jeff picked up a tissue from his desk and wiped at the tears that no longer just leaked from his eyes but streamed down his cheeks. She would hang on the phone now for a long time, not speaking to him but breathing heavily so that he’d know she was there. Then when she’d had enough or her favorite show was to come on, she’d tell him that he was an ungrateful child and hang up. They’d done this so many times since he’d moved out of the other house that she’d had that he looked at the clock now and saw that one of the shows would be on in another four minutes. Right on time. She said that she was not just disappointed in him again, but pointed out how ungrateful he was and that she wished that he’d been a better child to his poor old mother. Then the line went dead.

When he put the phone on the cradle, Jeff sat there. He would have to do something. To disappoint his mother would be harsh and cruel…but not to her. Jeff had learned long ago that she would never be happy should she have all the money in the world and everything she’d ever asked for. No, it would be him that suffered the most.

Finding a paper proved to be harder than he’d thought it would be. Everyone was holding onto their copies of the happy couple. Finally, he found one in the break room and took it back to his desk to read it. It was much worse than he’d thought.

Not only were they set to be married, but they were rushing it along so that it happened in two weeks. Then they were going to go on a honeymoon around the world. If that were him and Holly, he knew that his mother would want to come along if only to complain to him how it wasn’t the universe. He nearly smiled at the thought. But he caught himself thinking what she’d been telling him his entire life…that he was a heartless boy.

He had two weeks…just two weeks to convince Holly that this Douglas person wasn’t right for her and to get her with child. He wasn’t really sure that was going to happen that quickly, but he was going to give it his best. Still, only two weeks to convince her didn’t seem doable to him. He’d been trying to date her for nearly a year now without any luck; getting her in bed seemed next to impossible to him.

As he worked throughout the day, he made notes; what to do to convince her and what he needed to make it happen. The problem with it was he had no money until payday again, and most of that would have to be sent home since he’d missed the last paycheck to his mother. She kept an accounting of how much he needed to pay her, and if he missed it, she’d demand it the following week.

“Jeff, do you think you can hold this for me while I’m gone?” The key was put in his hand before he could think to tell Sally no. “I’m going to be gone a week on vacation, and you’re the only one that I trust to hold the petty cash.”

“Petty cash?” She nodded and smiled at him. “I’ve never had to deal with that before. I didn’t even know there was one.”

“Oh sure, for whenever anyone needs something for their office, or they might just be short on their check. Mr. Snow doesn’t want anyone to do without. So long as they’re a good worker and haven’t missed too many days, he tells me to give them what they need.” He eyed the key hard, wondering just how often a person could get some extra cash when necessary. “Come with me and let me show you how to fill out the paperwork.”

He and Sally spent the next two hours going over the paperwork. Jeff supposed it could have gone faster, but they kept getting sidetracked on different subjects. He had always liked Sally, but she wasn’t rich enough for his mother. When he had it down, she opened the box and showed him the cash.

“There’s nearly ten grand in here. Usually there is ten thousand in here, but Mr. Conrad needed some money to get his car fixed.” Jeff thought of all the times he’d needed some extra cash and could have had it in moments instead of doing without. “Just make sure that you put the signed paperwork in here, and at the end of the week, the accounting department will come and get it. They’ll make arrangements with the person on how to pay it back.”

“Pay it back? How do you mean, pay it back? They don’t just, I don’t know, take your entire check to make it right?”

“Oh no. When I borrowed money once, I paid it back over six weeks. They took out fifty bucks a paycheck until I got it cleared up. But if the person quits or gets terminated, then they do take the money out of the last check to get their money returned, but that’s the only time I’ve seen them do that.” She grinned up at him. “You’re not going to quit and take all this money, are you, Jeff? I’d really miss you if you did. But you’re not going to. You’re the nicest person I know.”

For the rest of the day, he worked on his notes. There was money he could borrow now, and he was going to utilize what was there. But he wasn’t stupid about it. He knew that no matter what he’d have to pay it back, so he was still very frugal about what he needed. The first thing he was going to buy was a dozen red roses for her. All women loved flowers.

By the time his shift ended, Jeff had a working list of how to win Holly over. Flowers and dinner were on his list, as well as a nice bottle of wine that the two of them could share. And since he knew nothing about such things, he’d used the Internet at work to look up the best kinds to have with certain meals. He was juggling his lists by the time he got home, the key to his future in his pocket, along with a thousand dollars to start his winning of Holly over to his side of the street.

~~~

Holly was watching the house go up. When she’d looked over the plans with her dad and Jace a few days ago, she’d not realized there was a second and third floor to the plans. And there seemed to be a much bigger garage than she’d seen. Then there were the full-sized trees that were being planted in the yard. Georgie came up to her and handed her a lawn chair to use. The two of them watched the men working while sitting in the shade of one of the new trees.

“I don’t think this is what we agreed on.” Georgie just laughed at her and told her it more than likely wasn’t. “Dad is behind this, isn’t he? Jace and I wanted a nice little ranch house, with a basement and a big kitchen. This place looks…how many rooms do you suppose there will be on the upper level?”

“I would say two. But then it could be the master bedroom with an en suite.” Holly could see that now. “There looks to be plumbing too. So a bathroom. The one below it I’d say has at least five, if I’m looking at it right. This looks like a house for a family that is as big as mine. I’m pretty sure that your father is helping you with the children you may have.”

Holly nodded. “I’m going to kill my dad. This is…I’m just going to murder him in his sleep. What the hell was he thinking?”

“That he loves you very much.” Well, that was a good answer. Not the one she wanted to hear, but a good one. “And just to give you a heads up, he’s put out that you’re going to need staff too. So if someone comes up and tells you they want to cook for you, I’d refer them back to him. I think there might be a maid or two, and I’m to understand that your maid is coming with you as well. You’re going to have a houseful even without children.”

“Jace and I wanted smaller, not bigger.” Georgie just nodded. Holly watched a man look as if he were flying all over the place, telling others what to do, where they needed something done. Holly figured he was the foreman.

“I wanted to talk to you about being in a family of cougars.” Holly looked at Georgie and waited. “What do you know of our kind? And others? Jace said he told you about other shifters.”

“I started to ask Jace, but we got…sidetracked. He’s not very focused when we’re together. And I honestly didn’t know that bear was a real bear. I’m betting I never live that one down. Mason said he was having a shirt made for me. Bear woman. He’s on my list as well.” Georgie laughed. “What do I know? Nothing really. I mean, I have seen Jace shift so I know that it’s not painful for him. Also, I guess he is naked when he does it back to human. Why is that?”

“The clothing on a human won’t work right on one of us. Say if he wore tear-away pants all the time, he’d be able to pull those back on because they’d give in the seams and not tear. But blue jeans or any kind of sewn clothing won’t last the change because of the size difference.” Made sense when it was explained like that. As Georgie continued, she got a better picture of what really was going on. “Wolves and other canines that shift have to wait a certain length of time before they can shift back. We don’t, and so far as I know, most cats don’t. Birds or just shifters usually don’t have to wait either.”

“Shifters? I thought you were all shifters.” Georgie shook her head. “What are you then? I mean if not a shifter?”

“We shift, but there is a breed of supernaturals that can shift into most anything. They’re called elite shifters that can even take on things that don’t have a heartbeat. But usually shifters can shift into most creatures, including a person if need be. But I think changing from one human to another costs them a great deal of energy…to hold the other person, from what I understand. They don’t just have to look like the person, from what I’ve heard, but sound and act like them too. It’s very draining.”

“And you’re cougars.” Georgie nodded. “I’ve figured out a few things to show me when a person isn’t a human too. The man on the ladder now, I think he’s a supernatural. I don’t know what yet, but I think so. And the man on the second floor, that’s putting in the electrical units, he’s not human either. There are a couple more that I just feel aren’t, but as far as what makes me think that, I don’t know all of it. They move faster than the other people working with them, and they sort of…I don’t know what you’d call it, but they sort of get bigger when they’re stretching.”