Take Her to HeVan (Nephilim Book 6) (24 page)

They checked into the nicest hotel in Boulder after flying in from Chicago. Since she had a free day before she was due in court, she and the guys went shopping. Both Karlo and Charl had black cards. The Nephilim had great wealth, so she used one to do some private shopping at the lingerie store. Sure, she was already married the Nephilim way. Now she was going to be married more traditionally, and she wanted a really special wedding night.

At nine o’clock the next morning, Marla, Karlo, and Charl met Mr. Edwards in the hallway outside of Judge Davis’ courtroom. True to his word, he had helped them by putting the annulment on his docket as quickly as he could.

“Well, Marla, are you ready?” he asked her.

“Absolutely, do you think Jake found out? He hasn’t done anything to stop us?” she asked him.

Until the Judge actually declared her proxy marriage to Jake O’Brien annulled, she was worried something bad would happen.

“If he found out, he’d have to be here today in order to contest the annulment. Neither he nor his attorneys have approached me about the papers he was served with.”

“When I do get married tomorrow, that means I will have completed the terms of Granddad’s will. Does that mean the ranch will finally be mine?”

“Yes. Come see me after the wedding and we’ll go over it. Then I’ll file the final paperwork necessary to complete probate and complete my term as executor. Now, shall we go inside? We don’t want to be late for our court appointment.”

“Of course,” Marla said.

The four of them went right into the courtroom. The Judge was finishing up a different case, so they all sat down quietly and waited to be called.

It didn’t take long before the bailiff called hers and Jake’s names. She approached the front of the room with Mr. Edwards, Karlo, and Charl following behind. They sat at the now empty left hand table in front of the rows of chairs for witnesses and the public.

“Marla Jones is present. I’m Paul Edwards, her Attorney-of-Record in this action.”

“Is Mr. O’Brien present?” asked the Judge.

“He doesn’t seem to be, Your Honor. I have an affidavit here by Deputy Sheriff Tucker. The required documents were served to Mr. O’Brien. He’s had more than the required twenty days to file against the annulment,” explained Mr. Edwards, pulling the necessary papers out of his briefcase and handing them to the bailiff, who handed them to the Judge.

“Thank you. Everything here is in order. The annulment is duly registered on this day and it will be recorded as such. Are you still in a mind to marry your young fella there, Miss Jones? You are once again Miss Jones, after all,” said the Judge with a smile.

“Yes, sir, I am. His brother has arrived to stand as witness and best man,” she added, indicating Charl.

“Good. I take it you’ve regained your wits, Mr. Darvik, and you are free to marry Miss Jones? We’re not going to find out you were married to someone else, too?”

“No, sir. My memory returned when I saw my brother. I’ve never been married. I love Marla and only want to marry her,” said Karlo.

“Fine, then, be at my chambers tomorrow afternoon at two and I’ll perform the marriage then. Don’t forget to get a new license. It’s been thirty days so your previous license is no longer valid. We don’t want any technicalities to invalidate your marriage this time.”

“No, sir, we’ll do just as you suggest. I can’t wait to be married to Marla,” swore Karlo.

After leaving the courthouse, Marla reminded Mr. Edwards she would see him the day after the wedding. It was a beautiful day, so Marla offered to take them sight-seeing. Then Charl insisted on taking Marla shopping again. He didn’t feel she had been spoiled enough. He wanted to shower her with gifts. The day before, she had returned to the hotel with only two small shopping bags. He wanted her to buy for every dream she had. During the trip back from the station, he had carefully questioned her about her plans for the ranch, so he turned down her offer of sight-seeing because he’d made some appointments for them.

“Where are we going?” she asked him when they got into a cab.

Charl gave an address to the cab driver before answering Marla’s question. “I had some blueprints made of the entire ranch property and a separate set of plans for the house and outbuildings. While we were away on our trip, Becky did some research for me and made an appointment for us with a design firm.”

Marla gasped and then tears sprang to her eyes. “Charl? What did you do?”

“You mentioned your plans to remodel the house. You also had plans for organizing the alpaca pens and building a series of aisles and gates for moving the animals around. As a wedding gift to you, Karlo and I are going to make sure your plans are put into effect,” he said matter of factly.

Marla burst into tears.

Karlo was sitting in the front seat of the cab as there wasn’t room for the three of them in the back. He turned to look over his shoulder when he heard her cry out.

“What’s wrong, Marla?”

She tried to answer but the tears kept bubbling up and neither of the men could understand cry-speak. The cab driver came to their rescue. “She’s happy. She can’t believe you would do so much for her. She doesn’t know how she ever got so lucky. And you’re so getting lucky tonight,” he told them.

By this time, they had reached their destination. Karlo handed the driver a twenty for a six dollar fare. “How were you able to understand her?” he wanted to know. Charl was helping a still overwhelmed Marla from the cab.

“I have three daughters. Thanks. Have a nice day,” he said before driving away with a chuckle.

When Karlo caught up with Marla and Charl, they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk kissing. It was one method of getting her to stop crying. When they entered the office building, she was still a little weepy so Karlo followed his brother’s example and kissed her in the elevator.

When they gave their names to the receptionist, Marla had a perpetual smile on her face, even if her eyes were still a little red and watery. She was even more impressed when they were shown in. She expected an office. What she got was a conference room and a team of designers and architects. They had Charl’s plans on the table.

“Hello, you must be the Darvik brothers and Marla Jones. I’m Paul Chambers and this is my brother, Tom, and our sister, Louise. I have to say, we’re intrigued by this project. I understand, Marla, this ranch has been in your family for a long time and you’re the alpaca expert. Would you explain the purpose behind your plans? We’re not as knowledgeable as you,” he said with a smile.

“Mainly, the Hembra or breeding females and their Cria, babies less than a year old, need to be kept separate from the adolescent males, and the stud males also need to be kept apart from the other and each other. So the chutes and gates are for moving them from pen to pasture while keeping them apart. It also allows me to give the animals regular health inspections. By having the pens separated by the chutes, it pulls them apart just that much more. Then the pinwheel of pasture around the dormer pens mean they all stay in good condition,” she explained.

“Wow, so well thought out. I never knew taking care of alpacas was so easy and so hard at the same time. I have tons of questions, but they can wait. Paul’s going to work on that part of the project. I’m going to work with you on the house and Tom’s going to be floating between us. Charl explained that you have a tight timeline, wanting the project completed before the snow flies,” said Louise.

“We can and will build all our deadlines and completion targets into the contract. The interior of the house, to get it perfect, may take us past the November first goal. What we’d like to do at this meeting is make sure we have a good understanding of what you want. It’s already May and what you want to do with the pens and pastures is nearly locked in so we’ll start work there.

“Then we should have plans for the house and buildings in a couple of weeks. Ideally, we’d like to come out and see the house, meet with you there to go over the various possibilities. You might want to consider a new house rather than a remodel. With remodeling, it almost always takes more work and effort than a build. With a house as old as yours, the plumbing, electrical, et cetera may not even be up to code,” said Paul Chambers.

For the next several hours, the six of them went over everything. It was decided the Chamberses would come out to the ranch at the end of the week and bring the final contract with them. Charl left them with a retainer as down payment and the three of them left.

“Oh, wow, I still can’t believe you’d do all this for me. I’m still reeling,” said Marla.

“We’re not done, honey. That was the biggest gift, sure. There’s still more to come,” said Karlo, giving her waist a squeeze and holding her up a little when her legs went weak. Charl flagged down another cab and he gave the driver the address to the next stop where they had reserved a private dining room for a romantic lunch.

By the time they returned to the hotel at six, she’d also been to a custom boot- maker and been measured for twelve pairs of boots in all styles from riding, walking or dancing boots. She’d also been taken to a large department store where a personal shopper had been arranged. Karlo had asked about marriage customs and Charl had done some research online. Marla was getting an entire new wardrobe of clothes and accessories, including a beautiful Cinderella style gown.

She kept bursting into tears and telling them it was too much and they’d simply urge her to try on something else because she looked so pretty. When they were done, they ended up having to take two cabs back.

“Do you mind if we just call room service for dinner?” Marla asked, as she crossed the lobby, Karlo and Charl following behind, towing luggage carts full of packages.

“Are you very tired?” asked Karlo.

“No. I just thought with all the running around we’ve done, you might prefer to spend the evening quietly.”

“You wanted to join in the manner of your people. The research we did shows that in addition to providing a home and starting off your married life with all new clothing, you are required to have a party with all your close friends and we are required to also go out and drink to excess with our own male friends prior to the wedding. Since the wedding is tomorrow, tonight is the only time to complete these rituals,” said Karlo.

“It’s a little late for me to be calling up my friends about a bridal shower or bride’s night out. Also, we’re keeping the wedding on the down-low, remember? So Jake doesn’t find out until after. Besides, other than Mr. Edwards and Jim Tucker, who do you guys know? Hey, this isn’t our floor.”

“A great many of our brethren are here,” said Karlo before he knocked on a door.

There must have been someone nearby because it opened right away, before Marla could answer Karlo.

“Hi, you’re here, right on time. Oh, are those the new clothes? It looks like you guys bought out the store. Come on in, Marla,” said Becky. “Hey, Karlo, hey, Charl, the guys are up in your suite waiting for you. Don’t get too wasted tonight, okay? You want to be clear-headed tomorrow.”

Marla entered the large suite and was surprised to see other women she recognized from the Sanctuary.

Karlo and Charl left her to her pre-wedding ritual while they went upstairs to meet with the other warriors and start their own ritual.

Marla looked around the room at all the women’s faces, some she knew and some she didn’t. The more people she saw, the harder it was to keep her composure. She lifted her hands to her cheeks and shook her head.

“I can’t believe you’re all here; and you kept it a secret.”

“I hope you’re not too tired; we’ve made plans. Why don’t you take a shower? I’m sure we can find you
something
to wear,” Becky said, eyeing the mounds of packages on the two luggage trolleys.

“Okay, that should revive me. Oh, good, you’ve got some munchies. I’m starving. Let me eat a little to stave off starvation; lunch was hours and hours ago. Then I’ll shower. While I’m eating, you can fill me in on the plan. I know I’m only getting married in the judge’s chambers, but I still don’t want to look like a hag on my wedding day,” said Marla, filling a plate with finger food.

“Okay, that’s where we’ll start,” said Sarah. “You’re not getting married at the courthouse. We strong-armed the event coordinator here at the hotel. We reserved one of the ballrooms. Julie and Amy,” she pointed to two ladies sitting on a loveseat. Both were so pregnant they looked like they were about to pop. “They aren’t going out with us this evening, so they are supervising the decorating. I mean, when you have big strong men at your disposal, use them.”

“What about the judge?” Marla asked.

“Oh, he thought it was a great idea; he’s totally on board. Only we can’t be late because he has to be in court by three. I’m not worried those men will do whatever it takes to marry you,” said Sarah.

“Yeah,” Marla sighed, “I can count on them. Besides, going out dancing with a large group of women who are pretty much all in various stages of pregnancy means I won’t get too drunk. We’ll be ordering pitchers of virgin drinks.”

“But, honey, as the only non-pregnant one, and the bride, you have to get plastered on our behalf,” said Becky.

Tammy came in from the other room rolling two large suitcases. They were unlike any suitcases Marla had ever seen. Hard-sided rollers, nothing new there, but what made them unique was the decoration. One had a hot pink background with yellow and blue flowers all over in a pattern. The other one had a reproduction of Monet’s famous painting of a field of iris on it.