Darin: The Pride of the Double Deuce - Erotic Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (3 page)

BOOK: Darin: The Pride of the Double Deuce - Erotic Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance
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“And you want me to care for them all? That’s a lot for one person to take on, even if I do have glowing reports.” Susie nodded and smiled at her. “I’m not going to be alone in all this, am I?”

“No. But I do need to make you aware of a few things. You’re going to hear and see things that you might not understand. I just want you to keep an open mind about whatever you might hear or see and ask questions before you run off in the night. And you’re also going to think me and my husband mad, but we’re not. We both have a gift.” Susie put her finger on her daughter’s arm. “Bonnie is at the top of her class right now. They have a spring fling coming up that she’s glad that she’s not going to be going to. Her classmates make fun of her because she’s poor. Not that she’s told them, but she thinks they just know because they’re mean. Her teacher doesn’t care for her, or so Bonnie thinks. There is a little boy in her class that teases her terribly about the backpack that she carries. She’s terrified that you’re not going to like it at the ranch and she’ll not get to ride a horse. There is more that I can tell you, but for now that should be enough. Would you like for me to touch you?”

“Who told you that?” Susie shrugged, and Mercedes pulled her daughter closer to her. “You’ve been spying on us? Is that how you’re going to make me work for you? You think to blackmail me or something and that I’ll do as you want?”

“No. I know this is going to sound strange, but I can feel everything there is to know about you. And not only you and other humans, but animals as well. I can’t actually talk to them, but I can communicate with them. It’s how I can know when they’re in pain a great deal better and faster than you can.” Mercedes started to shake her head. “I can. And so can my husband.”

“What are you?” The question made all the others look at her. And had they not been on a plane high in the sky, Mercedes would have gathered her daughter up and left them. “You’re not human.”

“No, we’re not.” Mercedes started to shake her head and stand when Susie touched her arm. “You have to listen to me, Mercedes. I know things about your ex that might just save you and your daughter’s life.”

Mercedes sat down but away from Susie. “I don’t understand what’s going on here. You’re scaring me and I don’t like it.”

“He’s hired a man to watch over you. The man in the apartment across from you and Bonnie. His name is Jacks.” Mercedes nodded. “Several weeks ago, he was to get into your house when you weren’t looking and take your house key and make a copy of it. He did this. Your ex-husband had cameras set up around the place to keep tabs on you. He watches you sleep and shower too.”

“No. I don’t believe you.” But she did. There had been times when she knew that someone had been in her place. Sitting on her bed, touching her things. “Why is he doing this to us? We’re not his to rule anymore.”

“He does it because you got the divorce and he wasn’t able to stop you. And now that you have left, he’s going to make it so that you never leave him again. There are people coming for you. He’s one of them, but they’re coming and they won’t stop until he gets what he wants.” She looked at Bonnie, then at Susie again. “You know that I’m not lying to you. You know what sort of person he is.”

“He told me when we were married that I’d be his until I was dead. He married me, forced me into it, or he’d have killed my father.” Susie said nothing, but Mercedes had a feeling that she knew. The woman was either too clever or she was what she said she was, someone who could read her memories. “Is he safe?”

“Yes, your dad is safe. No one knows where he is but you, Gerard, and I. As soon as we get home I’m going to have a few men go get him and bring him to live on the ranch with you and Bonnie. I want you to know right now that nothing will happen to you so long as you believe in us and that you do as we tell you. Your father, he’s going to be safe as well.” Mercedes looked away. “I’m very sorry to have done this to you like this. But you have to know that there wasn’t any time to sugar coat things.”

“When Nash finds us, he’ll kill us all.” Susie told her that he’d try. “You don’t know him like I do. When we were married, he had a gun to my head and a man standing near us with one pointed to my father’s head. The clergy acted like it wasn’t that big of a deal. I don’t even know why he wanted to marry me.”

“Because you said no.” Mercedes just sat there thinking of the conversation that she’d never been able to have before. Not with any of her friends, and especially not her daughter. “There’s more I’d like to tell you, but I think you’ve had enough for now.”

“Yes. More than enough I think.” Susie said nothing more but didn’t move away either. “I have to find somewhere that’s safe for us. My daughter will need to go to a school that won’t allow him to take her when he wants. My father…if you know about him, then you also know that he needs special care.”

“The school that we have set up for her is going to be safer than any you can think of. By the time that your father is here, the ramps for his wheelchair will be done and the bathrooms renovated for him.” Mercedes felt like a heavy stone had been put on her shoulders. “You’ll be as safe as you let us make you. I promise you that.”

“Yes, but I’ve been promised things before and it never seems to work out for me.” Susie said nothing. “I’m really tired. Can you tell me how much longer we’ll be?”

The pilot took that moment to announce that they were ten minutes from landing. Waking Bonnie enough to get her buckled in, Mercedes felt like she was on one of the rides that went in circles, round and round until your skin was pulled back. She wondered if anything would ever be normal for her again.

 

Chapter 3

 

Darin showed the man how to work the elevator, then stood back while he made his way up to his room. The man with Mr. Rose, Scott—Darin’s new-hire—was only seventeen and terrified he was going to fuck things up for himself, but Darin wasn’t worried. All he had to do was take the luggage up to the bedroom and lay it out. Then ask Mr. Rose, a horse buyer from Kentucky, what he needed in the way of supplies. Darin made his way back to the desk to see how things had gone there.

It had thrown them a little when he’d shown up a day early. Things were ready with his rooms, but the dining area had been booked for their family and not available to use. Darin thought, all in all, they’d done well with the unexpected guest. He asked Jessie if there had been any problems.

“No, everything went well. He paid for the weekend and told me that he had ten more coming in Saturday morning. I’ve arranged for several cars to go and pick them up at the airport and have refreshments in the cars when they do.” Darin told Jessie that was a great idea. “Since they’re arriving at around two, I’ll have Truman make them some light snacks and a fruit tray to tide them over until dinner that night. Mr. Rose is early, as you know, so he said that he’d take care of his own dinner tonight. You never said if they were human or not.”

“I don’t know, to be honest. How would we even find that out?” Jessie was a bear and didn’t care all that much for green leafy, nor did he care overly much for anything healthy. Jessie said that he had no idea. “I guess we’ll have to play that by ear.”

“Also, I think in the future we should put bottled water in the fridges. Pitchers and glasses could be expensive if broken. Also, carting ice up every hour or so could be distracting. Then we can have a recycling bin put out to show that we’re green.” Darin nodded, already thinking of where to put it. “Since we have the kitchens laid out the way that we do, I was also thinking that we could store plates, the ones that we use for the rooms, somewhere in them.”

“I’ve already taken care of that. In the bottom counter next to the sink there are a hundred plates, napkins, as well as silverware. We might not use it all per stay, but we can at least have it there in the event that we do. That way when we bring in their buffet during meetings, it’ll be one less thing we have to cart up there.” Jessie marked that off his list, along with the other items he’d mentioned. “My family is coming into town soon. Don’t forget that we’re having dinner in the restaurant as a trial run for Truman. I think he’ll be fine, but he wants this.”

“Very good.” Jessie started away but turned back to him at the last minute. “Your aunt called. She said to remind you to tell Truman that there would be two more for dinner. The young vet, as well as her daughter.”

Darin made his way to the kitchen to let Truman know, completely forgetting that she’d told him last night. Truman was standing next to the stove, just staring at it, when Darin said his name. Truman looked at him with a glazed look, and Darin felt his cat run along his skin.

“I’m not sure I can do this. I was...this is a big deal, and I’m going to fuck it up for you.” Darin told him he was going to be fine. “No. I’m not. I have twelve people for dinner tonight and the chicken that I have planned is going to be trashed, as the buyer got a deal for a reason. It’s bad. I can’t seem to get anyone to make the side dishes right, two people quit before I got the pleasure of firing them, and I’m having a hard time thinking beyond the fact that I’m going to fail.”

“Okay, first, there are going to be fourteen of us.” Truman groaned. “It’ll be fine. I’m calling in some help for you. Julie, the pack master’s wife, has been begging me to let her come in and assist you. She has a couple of relatives, too, that want to come to play in a big kitchen. And trust me when I tell you, these women can help you in ways you won’t even realize you need.”

“So hire them.” Darin told him to get a grip as he picked up the phone. Ten minutes later, not only did he have a crew coming in to help, but he also had called the buyer for the chicken, who refunded their money. “I still have no chicken.”

“Ah, but you underestimate me. Not only do you have the money back in your coffers, but there are two dozen steaks coming to compensate you for his mess up.” Truman started nodding, and Darin could almost see his mind working on a new menu. “Julie said she’d make dessert for you if you’ve not made it yet.”

“Yes. Fine.” Truman moved away from him, and Darin felt like he’d just averted a huge disaster. “Can I hire who I want?”

“It’s your kitchen. That was our deal.” Truman nodded again and stopped to look at him. “What now? Anything else?”

“I thank you for this. You gave me a chance when we both know that you shouldn’t have.” Darin said nothing but moved out of the kitchen. Yeah, well, little did Truman know that he’d given Darin a bigger one by saying that he’d work for him.

Most everyone that worked for him had a brush with the law at one time or another. Some of them had been painted up pretty good with the brush, but they were people that needed a hand up. Darin had wanted to do something for the people that he’d met in the kitchen Landon had set up for the homeless, and this was his way of doing what he could. Emma had helped him figure out background checks, Aunt Georgie had gone way above what he’d asked of her in finding shoes and uniforms for them, and even Mason had provided car service to and from the shelter for those who had no cars yet. Others rode bikes or simply walked, but it was working out for them all.

“Hey, Darin. We just got back from out west. I’ll talk to you about it later.” He moved toward Mason when he came in the front lobby. “I’d like for you to meet someone. This is Bonnie Crosby. Bonnie, this is my brother Darin. He owns this place.”

When she put out her good hand to shake his, Darin took it and felt the nice firm grip. He thought he might like this kid. His one weakness was children, and blonde, blue-eyed little girls were the best. Smiling at her, he asked about her cast.

“My dad did it. He wasn’t really happy that Mom and I were leaving to come here. He’s not a nice man.” Darin glanced at Mason, who shook his head. “He hurt my mom too. Beat her up pretty good.”

“I’m really sorry about that. I hope the two of you are better now that you’re here with us.” She didn’t say anything but looked at Mason. There was something there, some hero worship, Darin thought. “I was wondering if I could sign your cast for you. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to do that for any little girl. And I love the pink.”

“Miss Susie said I should have any color I want. They didn’t have any rainbows, but she said she’d work on that for me. She’s really nice, and Mom likes her.” Darin nodded and stood up. She backed from him, but he didn’t let that bother him too much. If her dad did do this, then he could understand her fear. “You’re very big, huh?”

“I am. But I do have something over here that might make you happy.” He started walking away and was surprised when she walked alongside of him. As they made their way to the front desk, he told her what he was going to do. “I have some new markers back there that I’ve not used yet. And how about if we put a rainbow on this thing for you?” He had Jessie hand over the box of markers he’d been using to make charts.

“You can draw a rainbow? I’m okay with it, but this is my right arm and I can’t use it.” He wasn’t sure the real order of the colors, but after telling her his problem, she smiled at him. “I’ll help you. The first color at the bottom is violet.”

Mason walked to where they were, Bonnie sitting on the chair behind the counter and him standing next to it. Mason leaned close and asked him for a favor.

“I was going to see if she can hang out with you for a little while. About an hour.” He asked him what was going on as he opened the indigo marker. “Her grandda is arriving soon, and we want to get them settled in. He’s going to be staying with us for a little while. At least until we can find a home for them.”

“Sure. We can have some fun together, can’t we, Bonnie?” She nodded as he put the next color on her cast. Blue had been applied, and so had green. Mason thanked him and told him he’d be back later. Darin was working his way up to yellow when she told him she was hungry. “I can take care of that too. Come on. We’ll see what my friend Truman has to snack on. I forgot to eat lunch today.”

Bonnie followed him to the dining area when they had the rainbow done. Darin thought it looked pretty bad, but Bonnie said it was perfect. He supposed that at some point in your life you forget the colors of a rainbow, and was glad that she’d reminded him of how pretty they were. When asked, Truman said that he’d fix them right up, and the two of them sat in the kitchen while he made them some lunch.

“My mommy is going to work for Miss Susie.” Darin told her he knew that and that Susie was his brother’s wife. “There sure are a lot of you guys, huh?”

“Yes. I suppose there are. My aunt raised us when my parents died.” Truman set a plate of grilled cheeses in front of the two of them just as Julie and two of her sisters came in. After getting her set up with what she needed, Darin sat back down with the little girl. “You excited about starting school soon? That lady over there, Mrs. Luna, she’s one of the teachers. I think she teaches fourth grade.”

“I’m in fifth. I took some tests and they moved me up. I don’t like it. The kids all make fun of me.” He asked her why. “Because Mom and I, we don’t have a lot of stuff. Sometimes when I don’t have my fees right away, they call me names. And they hate my backpack.”

“Your backpack? What is wrong with it?” She got down off the chair and moved out of the room. He wasn’t worried about her, Darin knew there were plenty of people around to keep an eye on her. When she returned and handed it to him, he noticed that it was worn and tattered. He started to tell her that he’d get her a new one when she spoke first.

“It was my mom’s when she was in college.” Darin nodded and saw the pins that were holding the front zipper closed. “She said I could have a new one, every year she tells me that, but I love this one. It’s special because even though she had to work three jobs and borrow tons of money, she did it. And I’m going to carry it until I go to college and pass this one on to my little girl.”

Darin could see the love that was between mother and daughter in the way that Bonnie touched the safety pin that served as a zipper tab. There were other things on it too. A patch that had been handmade, as well as a couple that had been bought. He’d bet anything that they weren’t just decorations, but were also covering some place on it that had broken through. When he set it on the table between them, he looked at Julia as she stood nearby. At her nod, he looked back at the little girl who had stolen his heart in only a few minutes and talked to her about coming out to the ranches.

~~~

Mercedes looked around the room her dad was in. He was happy, she could tell that. And not just with being there with them. When she’d gone with Mason and Emma to pick him up, he’d cried for twenty minutes about how much he’d missed her.

“You like it here, daughter?” Mercedes smiled and nodded. Her dad had called her daughter since she’d been a little girl. “And this job, it’s going to keep you away from that bastard ex-husband of yours?”

“Yes. I hope so. Everyone says that they’ll protect me, but we both know what sort of person he is.” Her dad nodded and rolled his chair to the desk that had been brought in for him to use. “They said that the bathroom is ready for you to use too. Did you look at it?”

“I did. These people went to a lot of trouble to put up an old man they don’t even know. I even heard that one of them has got them a nice sized van to cart my bottom around in. Been a long time since I’ve had me any pampering. You too, I’m betting.” Mercedes had been told that too. “Why do you suppose they’re going to such trouble for us? I don’t mean to sound like you don’t deserve it, but honey, they don’t know me from shit.”

“I keep asking, but they said that they need me here and that’s why they’re doing it. I have yet to go to the ranch, but I’m getting excited about it.” He told her he was too and looked out the window that faced the lovely pool behind the house. “Mason said that there is a lift out there too. That Emma’s grandma put it in when she broke her leg skiing once. This used to be her house, I guess.”

“Emma told me that her grandmother was a pistol. I can see that if her granddaughter is anything like her.” Mercedes nodded and sat on the bed. There was a lift on it as well, so that her dad could get in and out of the bed by himself if he wanted. “I’m to understand that there is this big dinner thing tonight that you’re going to. Mason invited me too, but I don’t think I’ll go. It’s a lot to travel when you have to be lifted up and down like they have to me. I’d just as soon go to bed early. Watch some television.”

“You should go, Dad. Bonnie will be there with me, and this way you can meet the people who are taking care of us.” He said he’d think on it. “Dad, I’m sorry about this. You know that, don’t you?”

“Daughter, I know that that man hurt you, and that had you not hidden me away, he would have continued to hurt you by getting to me. But we’re going to make it here, I just feel it in my poor old bones.” She nodded. “I wish someone would put him out of his misery. It sure would make me sleep better at night just knowing that he’s not going to be jumping out of some dark alley like he’s been known to do.”

“Me too, but I don’t think we should wish for his death.” Her dad told her that was the only way some people knew to quit. “Maybe so, but I don’t think killing him is the only answer. Maybe a long prison term would suit him better.”

BOOK: Darin: The Pride of the Double Deuce - Erotic Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance
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