Katie In Denver (In Denver Series Book 3) (19 page)

Rita continues, “Henry and Maize’s Retirement info is also in there. They don’t know, but Richard set aside a retirement fund even on top of what they were already paying in. It has done very well; please make sure they get the information.” 

“Rita, why are you talking like this? This conversation is making me really upset.”

“Child, it’s my time to be with Richard. I know tonight is the night I’m going to join him. You have made the last moments of my life on this Earth so happy, Katie, I never knew the love of a child, but I felt that with you. I can smile knowing I had my very own grandbaby in MJ.”

“Please, Rita,” I say going over to her and kneeling. I rest my head on her lap as the tears fall down my face. “I’m not ready for you to go yet.”

“I have to go to make room for someone else,” Rita says with a smile. “And I will see you again, child, I promise. Now, please walk me to my room, and sit with me awhile.”

I help Rita to her home and sit in the wingback chair in the corner. MJ and Michael both come to see Rita, and when MJ comes in, she calls him to the bed and he leans over. Whatever she tells him makes him laugh. She pats his face, and he kisses her forehead. 

Michael and she talk and laugh; she tells him to be good to me always and to fill this house with lots of children. 

“Child,” she calls me to her bed. “It’s time for you to go be with your husband and your son, and I will see you in the morning.”

I don’t want to leave her, but I do what she says. 

Crawling into bed with Michael, I sob, “I think she is going to die tonight.” I bury my face in his chest.

“I think so too, baby, but Rita is right; we can’t be sad. She had a great life with a man she loved; I hope they find each other on the other side. Katie, you did an amazing thing for Rita, you gave her love, peace, and comfort.” I sob into Michael’s chest. I haven’t lost anyone I was close to since Aunt Maggie. It is once again gut-wrenching.

The next morning, Henry is waiting for me in the main house. When he nods, I know she was gone. I have to brace myself of a piece of furniture,

“All has been attended to, Mrs. Kerrigan, as per Ms. Fairchild’s instructions.” 

I nod that I understand what he is saying. He steps forward and sits next to me. Henry has always been so stern and professional, but I know as much as Rita was his employer she was also his friend. I lean on him.

“Let’s not be sad. Mrs. Fairchild would take great offense to us sitting and crying all day. I have made several calls and things are underway for her homecoming.”

I walk to the den and pull out all the paperwork she gave me. I lay it all out on the table, and I’m surprised. She really had made all the arrangements. 

I look at her last will and testament and start to cry again. She had left every single penny to MJ and any natural or adopted sibling he may have. Equal shares were to be kept in trust until they reached twenty-one years of age. Along with that is a letter to me.

Katie, 

You will give me lots of grandbabies, some will come from your womb, some will come from your heart. I had this revised after the first day I met you. I knew you were coming; Richard told me in a dream. I was supposed to go the night of your wedding, but I knew you needed me a little longer. In the next few weeks, you will find yourself with a child in your womb and a child in your heart. I know I sound like a crazy old woman, but I know what I know. I love you so much, Katie Kerrigan, and I promise you I will see you again. 

Marguerite Fairchild. 

I clutch the letter to my chest and don’t feel any sadness, but hope. Michael and I had discussed birth control, and we decided that I would not renew my next prescription. There was already going to be a huge age difference between MJ and any other children we were going to have, and it worried me a little that they wouldn’t be close.

Rita has a homecoming the likes of which Denver has never seen. When we get to the church, we are shocked to see it packed with people. Only the front row for family remains open. We walk to meet Henry and Maize, his wife, and person after person gets up to speak about the Fairchild Scholarship and how it changed their life. The Fairchild’s were humble people in life but gave back in every way possible. When the service was over, I ask Henry and Maize to follow me to the main house.

“Henry, Rita wanted me to give this to you and Maize.” I hand him the paperwork for his retirement fund.

After looking it over, he closes his eyes and needs a minute to compose himself. 

“Richard and Rita were salt of the Earth people,” he finally speaks. I could tell he is choked up and trying to mask his emotion. “I can’t believe Richard did this for us.”

“As you can see you are very, very wealthy. You and Maize have worked in this house for the last twenty-five years; you’re still young. I want you to take this and go enjoy your life. Rita left you a list of places she never got to see. I want you to send me a postcard from each place,” I say with a smile. “Michael has drawn up this payout paperwork. It pays you for the next five years and also rolls over all your 401k and other retirement funds into a money managing account.” 

Henry and Maize look at each other before he leans forward and signs, followed by Maize. 

“Mrs. Kerrigan, if you ever need anything you just call us we will come right back.”

“Enjoy your retirement. I will be fine here, it’s just me and my two men.” They both hugged me and left. 

Maize came in a few minutes later with a giant old book.

“This was Ms. Fairchild’s; she gave it to me when I first started here. It belongs to the next cook in the house; it’s all her mother’s recipes. MJ’s favorite is the buttermilk biscuits and gravy. And Michael’s is the beef stew. And yours is the fried chicken. I want you to still be able to have those things.” She placed the book on my desk and lef.t

I look through the book. The handwriting is delicate, and some of the words are spelled wrong. I stare at all the history in my hands and take the book to the kitchen. 

Maize kept and organized a functional kitchen. I pull out the stuff to make biscuits and follow the steps. As I knead the dough my eyes mist over; Rita’s mom and Rita and Maize and now me, we all read this book and followed these same steps. Someday my own daughter will do the same and her daughter and her daughter after that. When Michael and MJ come into the kitchen, they sit at the counter and watch me work. 

MJ washes his hands and comes over to me. Flipping the page, he gets out the things to make the gravy. Michael follows, helping him with the stove. In the kitchen with my men, we make dinner together. We make our favorite things and sit around the table laughing and talking.

“Mom,” I hear MJ. He looks nervous as he gets up and rinses his plate. “I want to go to middle school in town. I know you teach on the Res, and I can still go to school there, but I want to go to school in town.”

“I have no problem with that.” I see the shock on MJ’s face.

“I also want to have my last name changed to Kerrigan.” I can’t help but laugh. 

“Your last name
is
Kerrigan; it has been for the last year. Your dad went into to vital records and had his name added to your birth certificate. Your new birth certificate and social security card say Michael Jareth Kerrigan. When you start school next year, you will be a Kerrigan."

I see the smile spread across his face. “Why you didn’t tell me?” He ran up to me hugging my back, and then ran over to Michael and hugged him as well.

“Because it wasn’t important. You were always a Kerrigan, MJ. Now it just says so on a piece of paper.”

Chapter 28

Michael 

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. I was just informed that Randall, Katie’s stalker and the man who tried to kill me, has decided to plead guilty instead of taking his chances with a jury. I feel relief, but also anger that I won’t get my day in court to tell everyone that the relationship he had with Katie was completely made up in his mind. His parents had disowned Rachel after she refused to support her brother after he murdered her husband. I always saw how much more they favored Randall over Rachel, but I never knew how evil and hateful they were to her until they started bashing her in the press and saying their son suffered from a mental illness and wasn’t in his right mind, and, therefore, should be in a hospital, not a prison. They painted James and Rachel as the real masterminds of the kidnapping, saying it was for ransom since they were desperate for money. It was awful to see them on talk show after talk show spewing their lies.

I am sitting at my desk going over reports when Stacy walks in. 

“Michael, the police are here to see you. They have social services with them.”

I get up and step into the reception area of my office where I see two uniformed officers and a man and a woman in regular clothes. 

“Please step into the conference room,” I instruct. 

“What is this about?” 

The female social worker opens her file. “Rachel St. James was murdered three days ago. Her parents have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Ashton, her son, was placed in a temporary foster home.” 

I point to the man sitting next to her. “You, go get him out now.” When the man hesitates, he looks at the officers. 

“Please escort him to get Ashton,” the woman says. “I wrote down the address, bring him here. I am heading home.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.” 

“Gwen.” 

“Can you ride with me and let your partner go get Ashton? I think my wife needs to be present.”

“Of course. I know your parents. I went to school with your brother Killian.”

She turns to her partner. “Go get Ashton.” 

We make our way to the house, and MJ and Katie are sitting at the kitchen table working on homework when I come in.

“Hey, baby,” Katie says. “Why you are home so early?”

“Come to the den.” Katie and MJ follow me “This is Gwen, she is with social services.” I see Katie grab MJ and pull him close. “Rachel was killed, her parents were arrested, and Ashton is in foster care.”

“Go get him!” Katie exclaims. 

“I sent my partner to get him. He should be in here the next hour. We need somewhere for him to stay until we can locate a next of kin.”

“No,” MJ says. My heart seizes as I realize that MJ doesn’t want Ashton here. Even though I made a promise to James. I will have to find another way. “We are his next of kin; he is supposed to be here with us. One of the womb, one of the heart,” I hear him whisper.

“What did you say, MJ?”

“It was what Rita whispered to me. She told me I was getting a brother and a sister soon. One of the womb and one of the heart. Ashton is supposed to be my brother. It’s going to be really hard for him, he is going to be sad and angry, and he is going to hate us, but in time he will be my best friend and my brother.” I see Katie sit down. 

“One of the womb, one of the heart. Rita said the same thing to me,” I hear Katie add.

Gwen pulls out tons of paperwork. We learn that Ashton is nine, just a few months younger than MJ. He is extremely gifted but socially awkward since he skipped a grade. 

MJ excuses himself and goes up to his room. I leave Katie and Gwen in the den to finish up while I check on MJ. 

He is pulling the sheets off the bed in the room next to his. 

“What are you doing, buddy?” 

“This room is too girly. I have an extra bed in a bag grandma bought me; it has the galaxy on it. It’s better than these covers with flowers all over them.” I walk in and help MJ make the bed. He grabs the flower vase off the side of the bed, and he grabs the pink towels out the bathroom. “Dad can your grab those curtains down, please? Mom had some dark blue ones in the closet in the hallway she got them for me to match these sheets.” I walk to the closet to get them, and we hang them up. In fifteen minutes, the room has gone from feminine to masculine. 

We stand at the door. “Buddy, you did an amazing job.”

He shrugs. “I made it work with what I had.” We walk back down to the den and sit and wait. 

It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang, and I could feel Katie tense next to me.

Ashton walked in. Behind the officers, he looks so small. When he looks up, he has a black eye and a split lip.

Katie rushed over to him with MJ hot on her heels.

“What the hell happened to him?” she asks the male social worker. 

“He won’t tell anyone. He hasn’t said a word to anyone.” The social worker looked uncomfortable. 

Gwen steps over to Ashton. “This is going to be where you’re staying. This is Michael and Katie Kerrigan. Your mom asked me to place you here.”

Ashton doesn’t look up. He doesn’t make eye contact with anyone. 

“Wanna see your room?” I hear MJ ask. Ashton doesn’t speak but moves toward MJ.

I watch as they disappear.

Gwen speaks, “Rachel felt like she was in danger. I’m with social services, but I always volunteer with Rachel at group homes. She asked that if anything happened to her that I bring Ashton to you.” She turned from me to Katie. Gwen swallowed the lump in her throat. “She told me to get Ashton to you, Katie. That’s why I went to Michael’s office.”

"Rachel was a good person. I know what she did to you and Michael but please believe she was a changed person."

"I know," Katie whispers holding back tears, "I forgave her." 

Everyone leaves and Katie walks into my arms. "I'm pregnant," she says. "I'm guessing it’s a girl since we have a new son." 

"Oh, baby! I'm so happy right now!" I'll admit, I can't help but cry like a baby. I wipe my face, and we walk upstairs to check on Ashton. 

He and MJ are sitting on the floor playing video games. When he sees us at the door, he goes into his bag and grabs an envelope. 

It is addressed to Katie and me. Silently, he continues to play with MJ. Katie and I walk to out of the bedroom and open the envelope.

Katie and Michael,

If you're reading this, it means I'm dead. I know finding out I named you as Ashton's guardians might come as a shock to you, and you’re probably wondering why. I can only give you one reason. Love. The love that you and Katie have for each other. Your son and your family, I watched it with envy in my heart for so many years until James and I found it in each other, as much as we tried to live our own lives separate from my family, their toxic hold was never far away, always lurking trying to infect Ashton. If they have not been implicated please I ask with my dying breath, fight to keep Ashton from them. They are pure poison and will only turn him into a monster like Randall. Katie, I know you will treat Ashton as your own every day for the rest of your life. That is the type of woman you are. Michael, I know it will be hard to look at my son and see James and me. I know what we did to you all those years ago destroyed your relationship with Katie and led to your illness. But I beg you to please look after my boy. James and I were once your friends, please don’t let our one childhood mistake harden your heart to our son.  I know this seem so surreal, I'm sorry, but I needed to make sure Ashton went to a loving family and not fall into the foster care system. Please forgive me for burdening you. I am just a mother trying to do the best for my child. May God forgive me for all my sins and all the heartache I have caused you two.