Passages (The Kings of Guardian Book 13)

by Kris Michaels

  Dixon's eyes were sharp and worried.

  Frank hated that his health issues had caused that immediate response from all his family.

  “Is there anything at all that I can do to help?”

  He forced a reassuring smile to tip the corners of his mouth. “Not a thing, son. This has to do with their mother. Just something that needs to be done. You get yourself back down to that house and stop worrying about me.” He winked at Dixon. “Have you told him how big the family was?”

  Dixon chuckled. “Yeah, but they don’t have a clue.”

  He grunted. “They will. Soon.”

  Frank caught Tori’s attention and tipped his chin toward his den. She nodded then and glanced toward Keelee. Frank waited for Tori to look back at him before he inclined his head to include Keelee. He gently extracted himself from his grandchildren, who seemed to swarm around him whenever he was in the house, and headed toward his den. He drew a deep breath, steeling himself for the rest of the day. His eyes dropped to the small bar. Why not? He poured himself a small glass of the good stuff. Waiting to drink the fancy liquor or do the things he'd always put on hold for some time later? That wasn't happening anymore. Time on this earth was too damn short.

  Frank sat down in the conversation group and waited for his daughters. They trailed into the office one after the other. Keelee headed straight to the bar. “What do you want, Tori?”

  “Give me some of the single malt.” Tori sat across from her father.

  They waited for Keelee to finish pouring the drinks and sit down.

  He leaned forward and steepled his fingers together, choosing his words carefully. “I read the letter your mother left me. Let me preface this by saying she did not tell me what she had written to you. Your mother was very unhappy here at the ranch.” He was tentative, not quite sure how much detail he needed to give.

  Keelee cleared her throat. “She told me she was leaving us.” Keelee glanced at Tori who crossed her legs.

  Tori nodded. “Yeah, and why.” She kicked her foot in the air quickly and repeatedly.

  Oh, his little girl was pissed.

  He smiled. “Your mother tried hard to make a go of it here. It just wasn’t in her. I watched the life drain from your mom, day by day, little by little. Her leaving to go find happiness, that would’ve been okay with me. I would’ve fought like the devil for you girls. She wouldn’t have won that battle, but in her letter to me, she told me she wanted me to have custody of you. I would’ve been fine with joint custody, but she didn’t ask for that. You both belonged here on the ranch with me. She knew it.”

  “How can you be so calm about this?” Tori leaned forward.

  Frank took a sip of his scotch. “What could I have changed? I loved her the best way I knew how.”

  “I still want to be mad at somebody.” Tori took a sip of her whiskey. “Maybe I can be mad at Richard.” She shrugged. “But part of me wants to find him and tell him what happened to Momma.”

  Frank leaned back in his chair. He hadn’t thought about that. Elizabeth just cutting off all communication, it would’ve been very difficult for Richard Berkley to understand. “Did she give you contact information for Richard?”

  Keelee shook her head. Tori mimicked the action.

  Frank closed his eyes. “His name was Richard Berkley. That’s all I know, except that his family lived in the Virginia area. His parents were some highfalutin society types.” He sighed and opened his eyes again. His daughters' worried expressions pained him.

  “That’s more than enough for me to find him. My question is, do you care if I do?” Tori swirled her whiskey in her glass, staring at the amber liquid instead of looking at him.

  “If you’re sure this is something you want to do, I’m fine with it, but I’d like to be there when you talk to him,” said Keelee.

  He considered what Tori and Keelee had said. “I think Richard Berkley deserves answers, but there’s nothing that says he will take a phone call from you.” Frank took another sip of his scotch. “But he knows my name, and he’d probably take a call from me.”

  Both girls leaned forward. Tori stared at him. “Dad, you don’t have to do this.”

  “That is where you are wrong. Doing the right thing? That is always a moral obligation. Your mother loved that man. He needs to know.” Frank shrugged. It was cut and dried. He would want to know.

  Keelee turned her head and spoke to her sister. “How long will it take you to find him?”

  Tori tossed the rest of her whiskey down. “Give me five minutes on a Guardian computer and I can tell you his Social Security number, his suit size, and his credit rating.”

  Frank chuckled. “His phone number would do.”

  Tori sniggered. “Yeah, but maybe, just maybe... wouldn’t it be cool if he was like four-hundred pounds now?”

  Keelee giggled. “Only you would think of something like that.”

  He took another sip of his scotch. “I’m heading down to Dixon and Drake’s. Their little brother is here. Let’s make that call after dinner.” He stood and finished his drink.

  Tori stood and stepped into his path. “Daddy, you’ve always been my hero. I don’t know why Momma couldn’t love you the way you deserved, but I’m so happy you found Amanda. I’m sorry you were alone for so long.”

  Frank pulled her in for a hug. “I wasn’t alone. I had my girls. God saw fit to bring Amanda into my life as my girls were learning to live on their own. What is that saying? When He closes a door, He opens a window? I’m plum happy with the window that opened.”

  Keelee wrapped her arms around both of them.

  He extended his embrace to include his oldest. “You girls are the single most wonderful blessing your mother could have left me. I thank the good Lord every day for both of you.”

  He heard Keelee’s muffled sniffle. “Damn it, Daddy, you’re making me cry.”

  Tori’s head nodded up and down, and he heard her sniffle, too. “See, that’s what you get when you talk too damn much.” He grunted and squeezed his girls tightly. Their laughter was a soothing balm to his soul.

  Frank smiled as he walked into the dining room and viewed his entire family and all their children. Three tables were crammed into a space that could comfortably hold two. The children’s table was pushed up against the adult table making a sharp L out into the hallway. It was too noisy, too close for comfort, and absolutely perfect. He pulled his chair back but remained standing at the head of the table. He cleared his throat to speak. It was as if someone had flipped the switch. Everyone stopped talking. Well, damn, he had the floor now, didn’t he?

  “This year has been full of ups and downs for us. Our family has grown. I have new daughters-in-law, new grandsons, and an entirely new branch of our growing family.” Frank nodded to Bethanie, Ryan, and Ethan. He grasped Amanda's hand. He couldn't hide the fact he was trembling from her. Her hand squeezed his, and he looked down into her beautiful eyes. He didn't deserve this woman, but he blessed the day God put her in his life.

  “Those are some magnificent highs. We had some pretty big lows, too. Thanks to Amanda, I went to the doctor instead of gutting out what I thought was a lingering flu. It turns out that Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma can mask itself like that; but because Amanda asked me to go see a doctor, I did. I was blessed to have access to the best doctors in the world. I owe a debt I can never repay to Gabriel and Anna for almost instantaneous access, which as we all know, isn't the norm. Healthwise, this past year was hard. It made me realize how precious every day with my family is and always will be, and I need to let you all know something. Today, I received a telephone call from the specialist in charge of my care. He told me there was no reason to see me again.” He put his hands on his hips and cleared his throat. The emotion rolling through him forced him to take a break. His voice cracked and damn it, he fucking teared up. “It would seem that the treatments have worked.”

  The dining room erupted. He figured his smile could be seen from outer space. Amand
a was in his arms and crying. His family had somehow all gathered around his seat at the table. It took damn near twenty minutes to get everybody settled down again. Maybe he should’ve thought about telling them after dinner. He chuckled to himself. He hated not eating on time.

  Chapter 12

  Ethan walked quietly over the wooden floors. He slid his feet into his boots and put on a coat. His mom and dad were asleep, but it was Christmas Eve. How could they sleep? He was excited. He’d seen how Dixon and Drake turned on the big outside heaters. They’d showed him what to do. He quietly opened the door. Both the cat and the dog came out with him. He went over, lifted the plastic cover on the switch and put it in the proper position, flicking it to “on”. The radiant heaters activated immediately. He walked to one of the swings and sat down. The little fluff ball Joy called a dog bounced in the air trying to get up. He reached down and grabbed the tiny thing and placed it in his lap. The cat, missing part of its ear with a kink in its tail, jumped gracefully onto the seat with them. He held the dog in his lap, and the cat launched to the back of the swing and draped itself over his shoulders. The cat’s purr rumbled and squeaked. He smiled at the sound and looked out at the clear, dark, star-strewn sky. It wasn’t too dissimilar from the sky at night on their mountaintop.

  The door hinges squeaked, and Ethan tensed. Dixon and Drake stepped out onto the porch. “What’s the matter, too excited to sleep?” Dixon asked as he sat down on the porch swing with him.

  “That, and I was thinking about stuff.” He stroked the puffy dog’s fur and shrugged.

  “What were you thinking about?” Drake asked as he sat down in a chair next to the swing.

  “Why was he so damn mean? Why did he hurt my mom? What was he going to do with me when he took me away from her?” Ethan looked up at his brothers. “I know you know.”

  He watched his brothers as they exchanged looks. Great, they weren’t going to talk to him about it, but he wanted to know. He wanted to understand how a man could be so evil. It scared him a little bit to think maybe someday he’d turn out like Harvey, but he couldn’t tell his mom that. Just thinking it scared him. How could he be sure he wasn’t going to be like his dad?

  Dixon leaned forward and clasped his hands together. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he spoke. “We used to ask each other those questions all the time. As a matter of fact, for a long time both of us wondered if we were going to turn out like him. It terrified us. Fortunately, we met some good people, got a damn good education, and went to work for an organization that has high morals and standards. We refused to become what he was. We refused to hurt innocent people; instead, we decided to help those people.”

  Drake cleared his throat and agreed. “We were lucky in one way. We had each other. You’re lucky because you have your mother and Ryan, and now you have us. Even talking about what he did to us used to terrify us. It was almost like if we said something, it would make it happen again.” Drake laughed uncomfortably. “Hell, even now, talking about him makes my skin crawl.”

  “He hurt my mom. Did he hurt your mom, too?” He watched as his brothers looked at each other again. He was starting to understand they could communicate with each other without talking. It must be cool to be that close to someone.

  “Our mom was probably the victim of our father, but she hurt us both, almost as much as he did. Our uncle, her brother, took us in. It was the chance we needed. We’ve learned to take what’s given to us and make the best of it. Do no evil.” Drake gave him a sad smile.

  “Before we met Ryan, Mom was always afraid. Harvey did that to her. I tried to do what he told me to do so he wouldn’t take it out on her, but I’m so glad he died. I don’t care if that makes me a bad person.” He glared at his brothers, challenging them to tell him he was wrong.

  Dixon reached over and placed a hand on Ethan’s knee. “It doesn’t make you a bad person, Ethan. What you need to do now that it’s all over is move forward. Finish school, figure out what you want to do with your life, but above all else, whatever you do, leave this world a better place. Your dad said you’re kind of a genius.”

  “Are you kidding me? He’s the genius. He makes computers that do things I don’t think they’re supposed to do. Did you know he built our house? It’s inside a mountain. The reason I knew all about solar energy is because that’s what he uses to power our house. My dad is the best!"

  Ethan didn't want his brothers to think their stuff wasn't cool, so he quickly added, "I like the windmill farm. It has practical applications here on the plains. It would be difficult to reinforce the structure on a mountainside. The infrastructure of the necessary cabling would be difficult to deal with in a forested area, don’t you think? The footprint would probably be too vast for a vertical terrain.” Ethan laughed as a little dog flopped onto his back demanding belly rubs.

  “That right there proves your father’s point. You, my brother, are very smart. Hey, Jillian is an awesome mechanical engineer. She’s got, shit, what is it now, fourteen new patents on solar energy technology. How about after Christmas, you two go to her lab, and she can show you around.” Drake smiled at him as he spoke.

  “That would be extra!"

  "Ahh… is that good?" Dixon asked.

  "Well, yeah." Didn't these guys speak English? Of course, extra was good. He would love to look at her stuff. He glanced toward the huge house where the massive Christmas tree stood profiled in the bay window. "Are we going to the big house for Christmas in the morning?” Ethan had seen all the packages underneath the tree. He hadn’t had a Christmas away from Harvey before. His mom was allowed to get him two gifts each year. His mom had tried to make Christmas special. She’d told him stories about when she was a little girl. He liked those stories. She was happy when she talked about her family. He used to make his mom a Christmas gift every year. He didn’t have money and neither did she, but she’d cherished every one of his gifts. She kept them in a little box and that box came with them when they’d moved to the mountain in the middle of the night.

  “We are. Is that okay with you?” Dixon glanced at him.

  He got the feeling his answer was important, but he didn’t know why. “Sure. It’s going to suck not having gifts for Talon and Reese.” He wished he would’ve known. His dad would have taken him to the city to go shopping.

  Dixon leaned back in the swing and pushed it. The rocking action seemed to make the cat purr louder. “I remember my first Christmas here. It was kind of overwhelming. One thing I’ve learned about Christmas at the Marshall ranch, Christmas isn’t about gifts, although some of the younger kids may argue. Here, Christmas is about family, about growing bonds that last a lifetime, and about making sure everyone knows they are loved.”

  Ethan glanced at his brothers. He smiled and nodded his head. “I like the sound of that.”

  Drake stood and stretched. “I don’t know about you, but morning is coming awful fast. How about we all hit the hay and see if we can get some sleep. You can take the critters to bed with you. Both Dixon and I would appreciate it.”

  Ethan stood when Dixon did, sending the swing rocking behind them. He still held the little dog in his arms. The cat leapt gracefully to the floor and wound itself around Drake's legs. He shifted the ball of fur in his arms. “You know, someone needs to tell Joy this isn’t really a dog. Sasha's more like, I don’t know, maybe a dog-ette.”

  He wasn’t expecting the reaction he got from his brothers. For some reason, what he said made them laugh like loons. His gaze went to the doorway. His dad stood with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. He winked at him and turned away, heading back to bed. He hugged Joy’s little dog in his arms. Maybe Dixon and Drake were right. Do no evil. He liked those words. They made sense. He could do that.

  Chapter 13

  Frank crossed his ankles as he lay in bed. He listened to the sounds of running water. The evening had been chaotic, wonderful, and filled with family and laughter. Except for the half hour conversation he'd ha
d with Richard Berkley. The girls and Amanda had joined him in the den after dinner. Tori had the telephone number and damn it, his fingers trembled when he punched the numbers on his desk phone and put the call on the external speaker.

  "Hello?"

  "I'm looking for Richard Berkley. This is Frank Marshall."

  "Frank Marshall?" Confusion echoed in the man's question.

  "Yeah, I was married to Elizabeth Frazier." He closed his eyes when he heard the man's gasp.

  "Was?" Was that hope or perhaps desperation?

  "Yes, is this Richard?"

  "Yes. I'm Richard. Is Elizabeth..."

  "Richard, Elizabeth died in a tragic accident almost twenty years ago. My daughters and I recently found letters from her to us that indicated she had planned on leaving us and coming to you in Denver."

  He glanced at Tori and Keelee. The man's weeping threatened to bring tears to everyone in the room. Even him.

  "She was going to come to me?" Wonder and desperation filled his question. He could only imagine what the man must have thought all these years.

  "Yes, I believe she was, but before she could, she was thrown by a horse and died. Instantly. Had I known anything about your plans together, I would have let you know." Reassuring the man his intentions were pure was important to him. He wasn't an asshole. He'd have been hurt, but damn it he wouldn't have withheld this information from Richard.

  Silence had reigned at that point, until the man sniffed a bit and asked, "Why are you calling now, after all these years? Not that I don't appreciate it, but what initiated the call?"

  "My daughters found a secret compartment in Elizabeth's jewelry chest. It held three letters. I don't know what she said to them, but the letter she wrote me said you were the love of her life and she was leaving me to be with you."