“Oh, you have no worries on that one, my dear.” She took the phone. “Listen to me, you overpaid jack ass. I’m not accustomed to being treated this way on—”
Lucian walked up to Demi just as she turned away from Cindy. She had it handled.
Lucian, however, looked like a little boy caught looking at girly magazines in the bathroom.
“I’m so sorry.” She asked him for what. “This. This is a mess. And I was showing off to my dad on how I could just call up the bank and get him a home. I should have cleared it with you.”
“Why?” He said it was her money. “It’s our money. And if you think I’m going to have time to stop and approve every purchase you want to make, then you’re off your noodle. The reason I gave you access to everything is because I want you to feel like it’s all yours as well. As for buying your parents a home, wonderful. It’ll be really nice having them so close. And showing off is an amazing feeling. It’s not you that caused
this, Lucian, it’s that jackass banker. But I don’t think he’s going to be employed much longer. That’s who your mom is talking to, his boss. The president of the company.”
“Wow, you do have contacts in high places, don’t you?” He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. “I’d like to take you someplace, strip you down to nothing, and make love to you for the next century. I don’t think that’ll be enough time, but it would be a start.”
“I’d like that as well.” He looked down at her. “Well, we have been living in the same house for the past week. I’d like to have you in my bed as well.”
Before they could make their way back home, Cindy handed her back the phone.
She had a self-satisfied look on her face as she walked to her husband. Things, she knew, were about to get funny. Mills’s phone was ringing even as he was demanding that the McCrays be arrested for trespassing. This would be over soon. And they could get on to more...personal things.
Chapter 5
Cindy walked around the kitchen again. It was hers, her domain, and she was excited to know that she could cook up a huge meal and have enough room to put everything—a dining room that would hold them all, and bedrooms so that grandchildren would be able to come and spend the night. Running her hand over the counter, she looked over at her husband of thirty-seven years.
“He just gave it to us.” She nodded. “I don’t know how a bank can afford to do something like that. We was going to buy it. Did he know that?”
“Yes, he did. And I told him that, several times. But he said in order to make up for all the years of putting up with Mr. Mills, we deserved something. Profound, I think he called it. Oh, Alden, isn’t it wonderful? And Lucian and Demi are going to help us fill it up.”
“Yes, we will be needing some furniture.” She smacked him on the shoulder. “I knew what you meant, honey. I did. And I can’t wait for a little grandchild myself. Hell, honey, I’d be happy with him being the only one giving them to us, too.”
“I would be too. We never pressured them, and I don’t plan on it now. But Alden, we have a home that we can feel good about for them. A pool in the back yard. Next year I’m going to put in a garden and roses. I so want a nice bed of roses. That other home, it didn’t have any room for such things.” He got up and hugged her. The man could hug a person until they screamed, but this time he was gentle, his arms relaxed around her. “Alden, I have never spoken to a person like that before. But that man, Mr.
Strickler, thought I’d done a wonderful job of telling him what was going on. And he told me that if I had any more trouble from the bank that I was to call him personally.
Imagine that, calling a bank president personally. I’ve never even called a doctor personally before. Have you?”
“No, I can’t say that I have. But I don’t think that you having all the answers was all it was either.” She said that she knew that it was because of Demi. “Yes. I heard her tell that man if he didn’t fix this right now, she was going to pull all her accounts. And that’s a fair amount of money too.”
“She told me about the money in our account and why she’d done it. Well, why
Lucian had done it. He did it for all of us. And when I get around to it, I’m going to talk to him about it too.” Alden told her that he had. “And what was his reasoning for it?
He’d better have a good one.”
“He does. He said that Demi saved him. I wasn’t sure how she’d gone about it at first, but I think it had to do with her saving his heart. Making him feel like a man. You know how it feels to go someplace and have to put it back when you want something powerfully.” She nodded. “Well, I think that’s what he was talking about. Not having to put back. And I don’t think he was talking about trinkets and stuff, but food and meat on the table. It’s been a long while since we’ve been able to have a consistent amount of meat on the table.”
“Yes, even though the boys have been helping us out and we live alone, it’s been hard on us.” She went to the living room and tried to imagine her old things in here.
“We’re going to let them help with the house, Alden. I know that we have a great deal of pride. I think I might have a smidge more than you, but we don’t want to shame them when we have someone over.”
“I doubt very much that Demi or Lucian would think a thing about what we have in our home. But I think you’re right on this. We want everyone to be safe. That couch that we have that no one sits on, it’s because of that spring. And you know as well as I do that all we have is hand me downs from when my parents were alive.”
She nodded. Even her pots and pans, what few they had, were from them. And they’d long since run out of glass glasses and used canning jars when they were empty.
Goodness gracious, it had been so long since she’d had anything new that she wanted to cry. Sitting down on the fireplace stoop, she did just that.
“Now honey, don’t be crying. You know that just tears at my heart. We’ll let them do whatever they want. Even buy us some shoes if you want.” She glared at him. “Well,
I got you to stop crying.”
They were still teasing each other, the way that they were forever dealing with the pains of being broke, when someone rang the doorbell. It was a pretty sound, Cindy thought. It made her think of bells at the local church. When Alden came back, he was grinning from ear to ear.
“What have you done, you old fool?” Behind him were their sons, all six of them, each of them carrying a piece of furniture that still had the plastic on it. And when they just stood there, seeming to be waiting, Demi walked in behind them. She just shook her head at them.
“I think they’re waiting on you to tell them where you want things, when any idiot knows that a couch and loveseat go in this room. Put the stuff down, you dummies.”
The furniture was put down and then rearranged the way she wanted it. Cindy looked at the new couch and Alden bouncing on it. “There’s more. Perhaps it would be faster if you came out with us, Cindy, and told them which room to put it in. Then they can move it around for you when they’re done. Lucian called in some of his buddies too.”
“Oh my.” She went to the door and stopped. There were four—four semis in front of her house. “You did this? You bought us all this?”
“No, they did. I just helped line up the trucks. I think they had a blast once they got started. Also, if you don’t like something, just have them put it back on the truck and we can exchange it for something else. And there are a bunch of groceries coming too. I didn’t do that either, but Lucian said if you have a new home, you need to break it in with dinner for them all. Are you up to that?”
She couldn’t help it. Cindy cried. Her heart ached with the amount of love that she had for this family. Not just her boys, but her husband and Demi too. Demi had made this all possible, and words could not convey to her how it made her feel. So, Cindy did the only thing she could think of, and hugged Demi until she hugged her back. Then
Cindy cried more.
It w
as an emotional several hours. She watched her children, all of them grown men with their own lives, and wondered how she’d managed to raise such amazing sons. They were, too. Each of them had been sending much needed money to them every week from their pay. They’d come right away if her or their father needed something done. And now, not only did Cindy have her first new home, but she had new things to surround herself in. Looking around the yard, she was as happy as she could be about that as well.
The food arrived almost the same way the furniture did. Not only was a freezer on the truck with the food, but also a new refrigerator, a stove, and a double oven that she was having installed. She was still in the kitchen when Lucian joined her. Who knew there were so many ways that a person could make a single cup of coffee or tea?
“Are you all right with this?” She nodded at her oldest son and smiled at him. “She said that you’d be. I’m telling you, Mom. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life. And it’s not the money but seeing you and Dad so giddy with this going on. And
I’m so very happy we were able to get you into something newer.”
“Lucian, are you in love with Demi, or her money?” He said he’d never thought about loving her. “I see. So, all this, that’s all you’re happy with? The things that her money can buy us all?”
“No.” He cleared his throat as he spoke lower. “No, it’s not that at all. I don’t think I thought of the fact that I am in love with her. I…. You have to admit, it’s been a whirlwind since she came along. I do love her—I know that. And before you ask, no,
I’ve not said it to her yet. As I said, whirlwind.”
“Yes, it has at that. And she is opening doors for you all as well. Did you hear about
Gannon? He’s going to be working for her now too. Josiah has the dealership, and I don’t think he’s been happier either. She’s not just giving us everything, but she’s making it so we can be proud of it as well.” He nodded and sat down on the newly arrived chair. “She was in here earlier. I’m to have a staff. And when I explained to her that I’d done all right on my own, she said that I had, and wonderfully too. But if I hired two people, even three, that would be three more people that would have a nice income. And since this house is much larger than the one we had before, we’ll need more like eight people. Then there is the yard and the trees that are out back. The pool.
Demi said that for every person that any of us hire, that is one more person that has pride in himself. A meal that he can provide for a family. Shops and restaurants that will be able to hire more people because of me hiring these people. She said that paying it forward is something that she’s done all her life. And it pays well when you need a helping hand.”
“I’m in love with my mate.” Cindy grinned at her son. “Mom, I love her. Very much, with every fiber of my being. I love her.”
“Perhaps it would be better if you told her this instead of your mom. And work on some grandchildren for us, would you? Your father is about to bust, he wants one so badly.” He kissed her on the cheek and started out the door. “Then I’m guessing, from the expression on your face, that we shouldn’t expect you for dinner.”
“Maybe not for breakfast either.” Her face heated up and he came back to kiss her.
Lucian was the only son that she could tease about sex and him tease her back. She had no idea why, but it was all right. “I love you too, Mom. You’re simply the best there is.”
“Thank you. Now go away before I have to call Demi in here and tell her what we’ve been talking about.”
He left her then, whistling a tune. Cindy couldn’t remember any time in their life that anyone in her family had ever whistled. It was a nice sound, one that she could get used to, she thought.
She started looking at the things in the pantry. It was full, and Cindy decided that she wanted to make something grand soon. A big meal, like they’d never been able to have at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Thinking about those holidays, still months away, she got excited again. Not for the food, though that was going to be wonderful, but for the things that she could get now that she had a little cash.
Cindy wouldn’t be stupid with it—not her—but she would have to keep an eye on
Alden. He loved the holidays; less since the boys had come along and they’d never had anything to give them much but socks and underwear. But she knew as surely as she stood there it was going to be one of the best they’ve ever had. She even wanted a big tree to decorate. Which reminded her that she needed some ornaments too. Oh my, this was going to be such fun. And she had to think of something very special for Demi.
Without her none of them would be this happy.
~*~
They walked home, Lucian and Demi. Holding her hand in his felt right, like he’d been waiting all his life for hers to fill it. He told her that, hoping that she’d not make fun of him. But he should have known better. It wasn’t her style to be cruel to people— unless they deserved it.
“When I was a little girl, I’d been kicked out of my home. It happened a great deal, but this time I walked to my grandmas. It was quite a hike for a seven-year-old, but I made it. I showed up at her door shoeless and coatless, and she brought me inside.”
Lucian knew that she needed to say this, but it hurt him in ways that made his bear want to take care of. “She ran a warm bath for me, found me something of hers to wear, and fed me dinner. I will tell you that it was the first meal I’d had all weekend. But she never said a word about any of it.”
“Your mother, she would do this often?” Demi nodded, and said her brother and sister as well. “I’m so sorry. I wish I had known you back then.”
“You wouldn’t have liked me all that much. I didn’t even like me all that much.
Anyway, we spent the night watching movies and eating popcorn. A girls’ night, she called it.” They were almost to their home, and he could see the car in front of the house. Lucian was never going to get to make love to his mate with everything going on all the time. “Then about midnight, I woke up. There wasn’t anyone in my room. The doors and windows to the house were locked up tightly, as they usually were, but something woke me. As I laid there in the bed, all I could think about was what my mother had said to me. How she hated me and wished that I had died.”
“I’m so sorry.” She didn’t say anything but looked at the car. She told him that would be Mr. Peyton again. “Yes, he called today. He said that it was imperative that he spoke to you today.”
“All right. When I’m finished here, we’ll talk to him, then kick him out the door. I’ll race you to the bedroom. But that night, feeling dreadful about my life, I decided that
I’d take my own life.” He felt his heart stop beating. She hadn’t succeeded but she’d tried, and that was something that scared him. “I filled the bathtub in the bathroom I had, got out a towel so no one would see my skinny naked body, and found a knife. I knew how it was to be done—to cut downward and not across. So I got into the tub and covered myself, and my grandma walked in.”
Lucian didn’t know the elderly woman, but he could well imagine that she’d have been upset by this, that her granddaughter wanted to die rather than face her life. While he waited on her to finish, he noticed that Daxton was on the porch, rocking in one of the large rockers.
“She said that she’d watch me die if I wanted, but that she’d just go and do the same thing when I was gone. I asked her why she’d do such a thing when there were people that needed her.” He smiled; it sounded like something that his own mother would say. No yelling, just facts. “Grandma told me that life without me wouldn’t be worth getting up for. There would be no more joy in her heart, because I had it all. And that my death would be the end of her anyway. I asked her why she’d say that. And she told me that it was true. That the only reason she got up in the mornings was because she knew that I might come and see her.”
“What did you do then?” Demi said that she’d cried. “And your grandma, what else did she tel
l you? I’m sure that it was profound.”
“It was. It was the best thing that anyone has ever said to me. That she loved me more than her own life.” She looked at him then. “Lucian, I love you. More than I thought would be possible in my life. I want to grow old with you. Have children with you, and to become someone that she’d be very proud of.”
“She was proud of you, honey. And Demi, I love you so much too. My heart only beats because you have filled it. I can only breathe now, smell the earth and things around it, because you awoke something in me that I never felt before. Love. You gave it to me, and I don’t think that I will ever be able to show you just how much you’ve come to mean to me in such a short amount of time.”
They kissed then, powerfully and full of the love that they’d only just discovered they had. Walking hand in hand again, Lucian knew that this distraction was a good one. Not that he knew what Peyton wanted, but right now he’d hurt Demi if he took her. His need was as powerful as he’d ever felt before, and he wanted to mark her as his own.
When they walked up onto the porch, Peyton said he was sorry for the interruption, but this was important. After he invited the man in—as a vampire he would need that—they sat at the dining room table while he pulled out a single envelope. He laughed a little, something that Lucian was sure he didn’t do often.
“Your mother left instructions to give this to you alone. I don’t think she would have counted Lucian as someone you would need to fear. Open it, my dear.” She did, and a single lottery ticket fell out. “Your mom won—the big pot. I know that neither of you need it, the money I mean, but perhaps you can put it to good use. That was what she wanted for you, Demi. I also have a letter from her to you. I think, when your mother found out about her illness, she took a long hard look at her life up until then.
When I talked to her last, she told me how horrible of a parent she’d been to all her kids.
Lucian: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 6