“You will be then.” Blaze looked up at him when he laughed. “You don’t think she’ll be a good attorney?”
“I do. But it’s you having so much confidence in her. Just like an aunt would have. I’m very happy that you’re going to be there to encourage her along the way.” Blaze said that she’d been one once, a good attorney. “Why did you stop doing it?”
“Because, as Miley said, there aren’t a great many good ones out there. I got fed up with not fighting the system so much as fighting others like me. I hope that she’s not getting into it for the money. There are a good deal of people like that as well.” Miley asked her if they were all in it for that. “No, I didn’t mean to imply that they were only in it for money. But there are a lot of them that are. You have enough money now that it won’t be an issue for you, right?”
“No, it won’t. I want to be something that I can be proud of. And I think that by being a good attorney, I can be. I mean, not just for the family, though that is a big factor in this. But I’d like to be there for the ones that can’t afford a good attorney. That need someone that will fight for them to the very end. That’s what I want to do.” Joel had never been more proud of her than he was at this moment. “Of course, I might just meet some really nice person and marry him before I can make a go of it.”
“No.” Joel realized that he’d shouted and lowered his voice. “What I mean is, you’re never going to date, marry, or even have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s going to happen.” Joel glared at Esme. “And that will get you nowhere too. I don’t take glares seriously. She’ll be and do what she wants. And that, I think, is what we should all want for her. But to say she won’t date? You are so a dad if you really think that.”
She was right, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to think about. Going home, he and Mercy sat on the couch again in the living room, a room that they were both coming to love very much. When Miley said she was going to bed, they both hugged and kissed her then snuggled back into the couch.
They made love there, on the couch, with the fire in the fireplace. Joel removed her clothing as if each piece was priceless. Her skin was touched reverently, as if it might bruise or shatter. His kisses, all over her body, were like tiny brands to her skin, his marking of his mate.
Taking her body, here at this time together, was love. He was sure that this was what the term making love came from. It wasn’t just a coming together of two bodies. No, it was two souls merging into one. Rolling her to her back, Joel continued to make love to Mercy as he told her with his mouth and voice how much he loved her. That he would cherish her forever, that she was his and only his forever.
And when she came, crying out his name over and over, Joel watched her face, and saw what love she had for him. Kissing her as he released deep inside of her, Joel thought two other people could not love each other as much as he and Mercy. They were one, they were family, and Joel was glad that she’d fallen in love with him.
Life, Joel thought, was very good right now. And as far as he was concerned, it couldn’t get any better than it was at this moment.
~*~
Blaze looked over the design that she’d gotten today. It wasn’t hard for them to have someone take apart the toys they had—carefully, of course—and then make a diagram of them to use. All the toys had been done that way, except for the few that Miley had helped her with. And they were going to be a big sellers, Blaze thought.
This toy was giving her fits, because the man who had come up with the blueprint for them said that they were perfect and that they moved smoother than Miley had said that they would when she’d been working with her. Blaze didn’t see what he might have seen, but she didn’t think that it was right. So she took the blueprint and looked it over carefully to find what her mind was telling her was wrong.
After putting it together in her mind, she used a bit of magic and assembled it using just the prints. There was a problem with the movement, but it wasn’t the toy’s fault, but that of the man who had printed them up for her. He’d left out a very important step.
Picking up the phone, she called him. Deter Prints was going to fix this today for her. As soon as the phone was answered, she knew that something had happened. The person on the other line simply answered the call with “Police.”
“Either something has happened to Mr. Deter, or you’re there for another reason altogether. Whatever it is, should I be worried about my product?” The man asked her if she was a toy maker. “Yes. I have been in business for a very long time. I inherited the company from my parents.”
That was the story that they told anyone they didn’t know. It not only explained why the same name held the company, but why it had been in business for so long. Before she could ask again what was going on, a woman came on the line. She was brisk and cold sounding, but efficient.
“What company am I talking to, please?” She wanted to point out that she wasn’t a company, but a person, but decided to let it go. For now. “You have a long list of toys that have been made up by Deter Prints, am I correct?”
“He doesn’t make the toys for me, but he makes the blueprints for me so that my company can make them. I’m assuming that this is some kind of investigation, and that you have a list in your hand. So, skipping over what you already know, let’s get down to business. Why are you there? And why are you going over my list of toys?” Blaze waited for the woman to stop cursing. “Finished?”
“Yes. And you are right, this is an investigation. There were some complaints that toys being made here—or in your case, prints of how the toys needed to be made—were being made by this company, with his name on them. The prints that have gone out, they’re not correct, and it’s not until they’re made that the flaw is found out. Did you find one in the prints you have?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling. He said they were perfect. And had I put them on the production line like this, I would have had a great many toys that didn’t work for me or the people who paid for them.” The woman, Agent Williams, asked her if she could come to the plant. “I can. When would be a good time for you?”
“Anytime you can. The sooner the better, if you don’t mind.” She said that she’d be there in an hour. And she was bringing her attorney. “That might not be such a bad idea. And while you’re at it, Blaze, I’d bring anything you have that might tell someone that you’ve come up with the ideas that you have had him make for you.”
This was serious. But she had her ass covered. Blaze or one of them had seen this happen before. Theft of an idea or product wasn’t a new thing. And since it wasn’t, they’d taken very careful steps in making sure that they came out on top. The next phone call she made was to Jude. She had been the best attorney she knew at one time, and could, at a moment’s notice, fall into that position again.
After telling her everything that had happened and what she needed, Jude said that she’d be there in about a half hour. Blaze also told her that she’d drive so that Jude would have time to get her shit together.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened to us, so I’ve been keeping a file ready to grab and go for years. All I have to do is put in the paperwork from Miley’s drawings that have been notarized and filed at the courthouse.” Jude had been right on top of things for years. And Blaze realized that she didn’t think they gave her enough credit for it.
“I don’t know what we’d do without you.” Jude asked her if she was firing her. “No. Why would you even think that? I was trying to pay you a compliment, dork ass.”
“Yes, well, you were doing fine right up until you called me a dork ass. What is that, anyway?” Jude smiled at her. “I love you too, Blaze. And I thank you for the compliment. Maybe when this is over you can take me out to dinner. Or something like that. I’ve not been out for ages. I mean, like out on a date. How about you?”
“No, there is just too much going on in the world for me to trust people anymore. I know, too, that this isn’t t
he first time for this sort of thing; it all goes in circles. But you just get to the point where you think, fuck it, I’ve had enough.” Jude said that she was the same way. “Though I have to say, I’d love for someone to look at me just one time the way Joel looks at Mercy. It’s like he’s showing all that he feels for her in a simple glance. You know what I mean?”
“Yes, and when they think they’re alone or that no one is looking at them, you could almost feel the heat as it comes off the two of them.” Jude leaned back in the seat. “Yes, I’d like for someone to look at me like that too. I’d also take a knight in shining armor to come and sweep me off my feet, take me to his grand castle, and the two of us live there happily ever after. I don’t think that happens either, do you?”
“No, sadly I do not. But a castle would be nice. Like the one that we lived in so very long ago. But with a few upgrades. I don’t know that I could live without a bathroom or electricity. And the queen, she was so special, don’t you think? Like she had all her shit together all the time and nothing upset her. Well, it did, I know that, but she was so graceful about being pissed off.”
“Yes, I remember. Once when she was highly pissed at someone—I don’t remember the man’s name, but he wouldn’t surrender his castle, and would let his people starve when she took away his outlet to their farms. But she gathered up what of his people she could, welcomed them to her keep, and then had us crush the castle. It was a good thing that Esme was always able to get in and out to get the staff out. I mean, she was the one with the night vision.” Blazed laughed again with her. “This is nice, Blaze. To be together. I miss that.”
“I do too, now that I’ve had a taste of it with you. I think we should get together weekly, the six of us, just so we can talk. Not about work or taking over some business, but just us to get together and go over old times.” Jude told her that would be fantastic. “I’m going to get it going too. As soon as we get back, I’m going to pull us all together for a dinner out. I think it will be a blast.”
The more she thought about it, the more Blaze loved the idea. This would be a way to get them out of their heads for a little while too. Blaze knew that she was forever thinking of work, what she could be doing if not wherever she was. And having a constant notebook open to jot down more ideas. Yes, she was going to do this. And no cell phones either. Just them, face to face, talking. Blaze wondered how hard it would be to get them to agree just as they were pulling up in front of the building.
“Are you ready for this?” Blaze told Jude that she was. “Me too. We should be done here in no time, don’t you think?”
“I think that this will be an all day event that will run into next week. It’s never as easy as we hope it will be.” Jude got out of the car, agreeing with her. “Please let this be easy. I have shit to do.”
Famous last words, she thought.
Before You Go…
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Kathi Barton, winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement award as well as a best-selling author on Amazon and All Romance books, lives in Nashport, Ohio with her husband Paul. When not creating new worlds and romance, Kathi and her husband enjoy camping and going to auctions. She can also be seen at county fairs with her husband who is an artist and potter.
Her muse, a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman, brings her stories to life for her readers in a way that has them coming back time and again for more. Her favorite genre is paranormal romance with a great deal of spice. You can visit Kathi online and drop her an email if you’d like. She loves hearing from her fans. [email protected].
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Mercy: Queen’s Birds of Prey: Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Queen's Birds of Prey Book 1) Page 17