Moonsong (34 page)
Authors: Lisa Olsen
“Who is it, honey? Is it the drywall for the upstairs bathroom? Can you ask them to unload that into the…” Amelia stopped short when she saw the short balding man at Cutter’s side, his girth taking up most of the doorway. “Oh, Mr. Warwick, we were just talking about you, please come in.” Cutter was frowning for reasons she couldn’t fathom, and she turned up the wattage on her smile before he scared the man off. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee? Fresh baked cookie maybe?” she smiled, waving him inside and past her grouchy mate.
“Thank you, Miss LaRoche, maybe a cookie or two,” he patted his considerable middle with a smile.
“Please, call me Amelia. Why don’t you two go into the parlor and I’ll be there in a minute with some refreshments?”
“Actually, I’m here to see you, Miss… Amelia,” he held up his briefcase.
“You’re here to see me?” her brows climbed in surprise as she looked from the lawyer to Cutter, who still looked grumpy over something.
“Yes indeed,” he smiled widely. “I have some news I believe you will find of interest.” Some of his smile dimmed as he caught sight of Cutter’s expression, and he smiled a little nervously. “If there’s somewhere where we might sit…?”
“Right, of course; the parlor?” she gestured to the room, darting a curious look at Cutter before poking him lightly in the side in passing. “Stop trying to scare the man!”
“What?” Cutter gave her a careless shrug.
The lawyer had already taken a seat on the couch and busily rifled through the contents of his briefcase. “I have here a copy of the last will and testament for Adele LaRoche,” he said at last, withdrawing the document.
“Oh.” Amelia sank down into the nearest chair, making no move to accept the paper he offered, and Mr. Warwick looked to Cutter in dismay.
“I’m sorry, my dear, it must be upsetting to talk about after your loss, but we have some paperwork to take care of for your inheritance.” Cutter took the document from Warwick’s hands without asking, eyes scanning the page briefly before turning to the next. A little disconcerted by the action, Mr. Warwick continued to address Amelia. “The bulk of your late grandmother’s estate with the exception of a few small bequests goes to you of course, with a small annuity to Chase and Scarlett LaRoche. There are some decisions that need to be made…”
“I don’t want it,” Millie interrupted before he could go any further.
“Miss LaRoche, I understand you’re still grieving…”
“I don’t want her money, any of it. Give it to Scarlett and Chase,” rising, she went to the window.
“I’ll have a talk with her, we’ll be in touch,” Cutter interjected, dismissing the man with a nod before moving to join Amelia at the window.
Left to see himself out, Mr. Warwick closed his briefcase and hauled himself to his feet. “I apologize if I’ve upset you, there’s no immediate rush of course, I’ll come back in a few days.”
“I said we’ll be in touch,” Cutter rumbled.
“Ah, of course. Have a nice day,” Mr. Warwick gave them a tight smile and withdrew.
“I don’t want it,” Millie repeated before he could say anything. He probably thought she was crazy to turn it down, but she wanted nothing to do with Adele’s legacy.
“I can understand that, and no one’s forcing you to have anything to do with Adele’s money, but by all rights it belongs to you. Amelia, we don’t need her money to survive, I make a very good living from my work, but have you thought about what else it could bring you? Adele owned several businesses in town, and quite a lot of real estate from the look of those papers. You’ve been looking for something else to keep busy with, something local to keep you out of trouble. I’d say this qualifies,” he gave her a slow grin.
“There are strings attached to it, even with her gone… I don’t think I could use it without thinking about her betrayal,” she shook her head.
“What about the children? It’s part of their legacy.”
“What children?” she blinked.
“Our children. We have to look to the future don’t we? What if you set some aside as a trust fund for their future? And you can give the rest to Chase and Scarlett as planned, maybe sell off some of the businesses if you don’t want to be involved,” he suggested.
“It sounds like you want me to keep it,” Amelia frowned and Cutter sighed, wrapping his arms around her.
“I want you to do what you think is best, but I also want you to take some time to really think it over instead of making a snap decision you might later regret. As I said, I have more than enough to take care of you and our family even if we end up having ten kids, but it’s still not a decision you should make lightly.”
“Ten kids?” she quirked a brow. “My, isn’t someone feeling ambitious?” Millie chuckled, relaxing against him.
“Well… okay, three or four? I always wanted a big family. Did I mention that twins run in my family? You never know what the future might bring,” Cutter kissed her softly.
“You never know,” she agreed with a sigh, tilting her head up to kiss him a bit more thoroughly. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s my girl.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
It was almost impossible to wake up earlier than her husband, as he was frequently up and out of the house before dawn and Amelia had never been much of an early riser. Most days he got in a few hours of work out back in his woodshop before she was up and around to make breakfast for the two of them, except when she went into town early for work.
In the end Amelia decided to keep the Moonsong Café and some of the properties, and that kept her busy enough most days. After providing a generous living for her cousins, there had been enough to set aside a trust fund for any future children and still have ample funds to keep the various businesses afloat. In fact, it was Adele’s money that made it possible to push Cutter’s divorce through official channels faster than anticipated. A generous donation helped the judge to see things their way, allowing Cutter to finally put that part of his life in the past and look to the future with Amelia.
When the divorce became final, Millie insisted on a quickie wedding in Las Vegas with Scarlett and Chase as witnesses, although by the time they’d gotten to the chapel, Chase was nowhere to be found, having been diverted by some other distraction in the City of Sin.
But on Christmas morning, she made a special effort to slip out of the bed they shared to go down and fetch the presents she’d hidden, placing them carefully under the massive tree in the living room. Maybe she’d gone a little overboard on gifts, but she’d been in such a festive mood, and with money to burn, she wanted to shower her loved ones with attention.
Millie cradled a pink, stuffed bunny rabbit, its fur soft against her cheek. More than likely Cutter would think she was insane for spending so much, but after all, he’d urged her to accept the money; it was hers to do with as she pleased. Scarlett and Chase would be over for dinner later in the day, but Christmas morning was reserved for the two of them, a new tradition they’d discussed.
It took her three trips to stow her purchases under the tree, moving in the dark to retrieve them from all their various hiding places throughout the house. Sliding back under the covers, she pressed her cold toes to Cutter’s toasty warm ones, smiling at his drowsy grumble.
“You done sneaking around?” he rumbled low in the darkness and her eyes snapped open again.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Ever since you started stomping around up and down the stairs.”
“I was not stomping!” she insisted hotly. “I was tiptoeing discreetly.”
“I swear you must be part elephant, maybe Adele was hiding that about your family ancestry?”
“Are you calling me fat?” her voice rose a notch.
“No,” Cutter chuckled, “just loud and clumsy,” he teased.
“And a Merry Christmas to you too!” Nimble fingers reached in the dark to his sensitive sides where she knew he was vulnerable, no matter how much he insisted he wasn’t ticklish.
“None of that…” Muscles leapt under her touch, until he gathered her hands in his and stretched them above her head, pinning her under his body. “Merry Christmas,” he murmured, claiming her mouth with his in a possessive kiss. It was quite a while later that they finally emerged from the bedroom, her cheeks high with color as she pulled on her soft fluffy robe to drag him down the stairs, eyes bright with excitement.
“What’s all this?” his brows rose as he caught sight of the presents under the tree that had multiplied since they’d gone to bed.
“I guess a flock of elephants delivered some presents in the night,” she said dryly, settling down on the floor in front of the tree.
“Do elephants really come in flocks?” he wondered aloud and she resisted the urge to throw the nearest gift at him.
“Oh shush, or I won’t give you a present to open. Do you want to open something pretty good, something great or holy crap that’s amazing?” Millie grinned, patting the ground next to her.
“Surprise me,” Cutter settled beside her in his flannel pajama pants, not bothering with a robe.
“Okay then,” Amelia smiled, selecting a flat package and handing it over.
“What does this one qualify as?”
“Open it and see,” she smiled mysteriously.
Cutter tore open the brightly colored paper, regarding the book in his hands with a puzzled look. “The Wild Woods by Simon James. I know I don’t spend all that much time reading, but… is this your way of getting back at my reading skills?” he teased with mock severity.
“I happen to think you’re an excellent reader, a trait that I’d like to see you pass down, hence the book.”
“Um, thanks…” he set the book down, not quite sure what to do with it.
“My father used to read that book to me when I was little.”
“Ah, and you thought…”
“That you might enjoy reading it to our daughter.”
“Oh, we’re having a daughter now, are we?”
“Yes, we are,” she nodded, waiting for the realization that she wasn’t talking in the abstract to sink in, but he never gave her the ‘aha’ moment she was waiting for.
“In that case… I should probably give you this.” Rising, Cutter produced a large box from the hall closet. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it, I just finished it yesterday. Good timing, huh?”
Rising up on her knees in curiosity, Millie pried open the flaps of the box, her eyes widening at the sight of the cradle inside. “Oh… James, it’s perfect.” Cutter helped her lift it out of the box and set it on the rug, the smooth, light colored wood gleaming in the light from the Christmas tree.
“You like it? It needs to be lined of course, but we can pick out some bedding for it, something for a girl from the sounds of it.”
“I love it, but…you knew? How long have you known?” Amelia’s face crumpled, near tears, she’d been so looking forward to surprising him and he’d known the whole time?
“Aw hell… Don’t take it that way, darlin’,” Cutter scooped her up and deposited her on his lap, kissing the trembling lower lip. “I’m sorry I ruined your surprise.”
“But how did you even know? I only found out about it last week! This must have taken you much longer to make.” Her fingers moved over the smooth grain of the wood.
“It’s just one of those things; you’re… different now.”
“What do you mean I’m different?” Millie sniffed, emotions all over the place.
“Just different,” he shrugged. “You smell different, you taste different, I don’t know how to explain it exactly, I just knew.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice. That was understandable, she supposed; it was hard to fault him for his instincts. “Why didn’t you say anything then?”
“I don’t know, I guess… maybe I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to surprise you too,” his hand covered hers on the side of the cradle. A slow nod was given, Amelia could hardly blame him for that, hadn’t she been doing the same thing for more than a week? “But a girl, are you sure?” his head canted to one side to study her.
“Yes, I’m positive,” she nodded decisively. “Why, are you disappointed?” Some men wanted a son more than a daughter; it hadn’t been anything they’d discussed before.
“Disappointed? Hell no, what would give you that idea?” His hand settled protectively over her abdomen. “A pretty little girl with my smile and your eyes, she’ll be quite a little heartbreaker,” he grinned.
“Your eyes,” Amelia covered his hand with hers as a sense of contentment washed over her. “She’ll definitely have your eyes,” her lips curved into a mysterious smile.
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Read on for a special preview of Lisa Olsen's novel,
Angel of Mercy
, available now!
Books by Lisa Olsen:
The Touch
Pretty Witches All in a Row
Moonsong
The Fallen Series:
Angel of Mercy
Mercy for the Wicked
Mercy for the Damned
Book 4
(Spring 2013)
Forged Bloodlines Series:
Wake Me When the Sun Goes Down
Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down
(Fall 2012)
For more information, visit the author’s website at
http://www.lisaolsen.net
