“I’m sorry for that, sweetheart. Your mom and I were so busy helping others that we neglected the most important person in the world to us, our own child. We thought that, by giving ourselves and our time with all these different charities, we could make the world a better place, but you were the one that suffered the most.”
Turning toward his wife, he wiped a tear from her cheek.
“We made sure that Jenny had great nannies while we were gone, but they weren’t her parents. They weren’t us,” Josie Black said.
“Mom, Dad, stop it right now. None of this is your fault. It’s all on me. I’m the one who’s made the mistakes, and I’m the one who will have to face the consequences. You are great parents, maybe a little too lenient with me.” Jenny smiled softly. “But you are good parents who only wanted the best for me, and I couldn’t see it. I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it, and that was the problem. I wanted Kane, but he didn’t want me, and I couldn’t handle that. That certainly isn’t your fault, and it’s not his fault. He’s the one who has had to put up with all my crap for all these years. He has every right to hate me for what I have done. I stole ten years of his life with the woman that he truly loves and that he was meant to be with because I couldn’t accept that fact that he didn’t want me.”
Jenny’s mom reached across in front of her husband and grabbed her daughter’s hands. “Sweetheart, if we would have spent more time with you instead of with other people’s children, then maybe we could have helped you sort through it all. That’s what we were supposed to be doing as your parents, and we failed miserably at it.”
* * * *
As Stephanie listened to the conversation between the three Blacks, she also watched the play of emotions on Jenny’s face. She truly was sorry. Somehow Jenny had come to her own realization that her actions were not those of a normal person.
“I’d like to say one more thing before the sheriff locks me up.” Jenny stood and looked directly at Stephanie. “You have been hurt by this as much as anyone, Stephanie. Because of my delusional behavior, you left your home and the man you loved. Although you have done very well for yourself, I am truly sorry to have taken that time away from the two of you. I knew how much Kane loved you back then, and it made me crazy every time I saw you two together. That doesn’t excuse what I did then, but I wanted you to know how sorry I am and that, if I could, I would change it all.”
Stephanie knew that there was no way in hell that she wanted Jenny to spend time in prison. Crazy as it was, Jenny was no longer a threat to them or anyone else, but she was still in need of some serious therapy. Leaning over, she tugged at both Kane’s and Turk’s arms and gestured for them to leave the room with her.
“Sheriff, can you join us for a minute? I’d like to discuss something with you,” Stephanie asked. “You, too, Mr. Lawyer guy,” she said.
“It’s Samuels, Jarrod Samuels,” he told her.
“All right, you need to come along for this as well, Jarrod. It concerns your client, so bring a pen and paper.” Stephanie led all the men out of the room and into another free room directly across the hall.
“What is this about, Steph?” Turk asked
“We can’t send her to prison, guys,” she said.
“What…?” Both men yelled at the same time.
“Just listen to me for a second, please. As angry as I am with her right now, I can see just how truly awful she is feeling. Yes, she needs to be punished and deal with her issues, but prison is not the place for that. A hospital is.”
The sheriff stepped forward, saying, “This isn’t your call to make, missy. That lady in there shot Turk, and I’m sure he’ll want to press charges and make sure she spends a good ten years behind bars, right, Turk?”
Turk blanched when everyone turned to look at him. Dammit. Why did he have to be the one to decide?
“What do you mean by a hospital, Steph?” he asked.
“I think that she should have to spend some time in a psychiatric hospital. I’m sure her parents can find a really good one and that she has to stay there for at least a year. If she walks away, then Turk can file charges, but I think she is ready to deal with whatever issues she has. She’s not a danger to anyone but herself at the moment, so I think this is the best solution.”
Turk smiled and pulled Stephanie against him for a kiss.
“I think you’re right, baby girl. But all three of us have to agree on this.” Turk and Stephanie looked up at Kane expectantly.
“I think it’s probably the best way to get her the help she needs. As long as she agrees to any terms we decided, I’m all for it.”
The sheriff looked at Jarrod Samuels and asked, “Are you okay with this idea?”
“I’m all for any idea that keeps my client out of prison. She doesn’t need to be any more damaged by a stint in jail, but she definitely needs some help. This is the best solution for all involved, but whether she’ll go for it is another thing.”
Jarrod turned and headed back into the other room where the Black family waited.
After two hours of talking and negotiations, Jenny had agreed to spend the next year in a hospital near Toronto. Her parents would be renting an apartment close-by so they could see her as often as was allowed. She would receive one-on-one therapy as well as group therapy, and her parents asked if they could also get some help rebuilding their relationship with their daughter. The sheriff had agreed to allow Jenny and her parents to go home, escorted by a deputy and her lawyer, to pack some clothes for her stay in hospital. Then the deputy would escort Jenny to the airport to board her flight. There would be security from the hospital waiting when she landed so there was no chance of her running.
Hopefully this would be enough, but only time would tell.
* * * *
This time as the three of them walked out of the sheriff’s department, they knew that they would have to stop to answer questions.
“Miss Morrison, is it true that you are married to both Kane Bryson and Turk Delray?” one of the out of town reporters asked.
Surprised by the question, Stephanie could only smile and say, “That would be highly illegal, even in Kinsey.”
“Mr. Delray, what do you think about the woman who shot you, because she was jealous of your relationship with Mr. Bryson, getting off almost scot-free?” another idiot reporter asked.
“Miss Black is not getting off scot-free. She is spending the next year in intensive therapy in a psychiatric hospital that we chose for her. She isn’t a danger to anyone other than herself anymore, so putting her in prison would only do more harm than good. She is a troubled woman who needs to be helped by a doctor and her parents, and that’s all she needs. As for my relationship with Kane, he’s my business partner, and we are…”
Turk turned to look at both Kane and Stephanie, knowing if he said he was in a ménage relationship with them, all hell would break loose. It would probably damage Stephanie’s reputation as well as Kane’s.
Stepping forward, Stephanie smiled and said proudly, “I am in what is commonly referred to, by some of my close friends, as a twofer. What’s a twofer, you might ask? It’s having the love and respect of not one but two men, and it’s certainly not an uncommon thing in this town. There are a lot of twofer couples as well as some that are three or more. We don’t ask you to conform to our lifestyle to live here, but in Kinsey we do expect everyone to be treated with dignity and respect, and we take care of our own. If someone has a problem with the way I live my life, they don’t need to have anything to do with me, but I’ll be damned if I’ll allow anyone to malign my friends for falling in love. As newspeople, we report on death and destruction on a daily basis. We talk to victims of crime that are so scared they can’t even leave their homes. Many of us in Kinsey have found a life that is a perfect fit for us, so if you have a problem with it, that’s just too fucking bad.”
Taking both men by the hand, she pushed her way through the crowd of yelling reporters and walked straight over t
o Kane’s truck that was parked in front of the paper.
“Damn, angel eyes, that was spectacular.” Kane laughed and kissed the top of her head.
“Downright jaw-dropping,” Turk said, lifting her hand to his mouth for a gentle kiss.
“Well, everything I said was the truth, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to justify my relationship for complete strangers.” She beamed.
Kane opened his truck door and climbed in to reach into the glove compartment. Stepping out of the truck again, he and Turk kneeled down in front of her on the sidewalk.
“Stephanie Morrison, I have waited a long time for you to come home to me, and Turk here has had to listen to all my stories about you and your beautiful angel eyes. I have loved you since the moment I saw you and will love you until the day my eyes close for the last time.” Kane turned his head to Turk and gestured for him to say something.
“Oh yeah, after listening to all the wonderful stories about you and seeing you through Kane’s eyes, when you walked into the diner that day, I was already in love with you. You are the bright spot of my day, and I will always love and protect you, baby girl. Will you please do us the honor and marry us?”
Kane opened the little ring box that he had retrieved from his truck and placed the ring on her left hand. It was exquisite. A large two-carat diamond sat surrounded by small emeralds, all of which rested on a wider-than-normal band.
With tears running down her cheeks, she started to laugh.
“What in the sam hell is so funny, little girl?” Turk asked.
Smiling down at the two men whom she loved more that life itself, she said, “I just told a bunch of reporters that it’s illegal to marry two men, so how can I go back on that.”
“Well, you’ll be legally married to me,” Kane said as he stood in front of her.
“But the three of us will have a bonding ceremony at the club at a later time. I will be as married to you in my heart as Kane is to you legally, baby,” Turk whispered into her ear from behind.
“And we want to have the ceremony as soon as possible. We can either have a small wedding this weekend, or we can go right now and get married. We already have the paperwork done, so all you’ll have to do is sign everything, and we’re good to go.” Kane and Turk stood there like two little boys waiting expectantly for something exciting to happen.
“I would love to go to city hall right now, but I think you need to think a few things through first, Kane. Like a prenup, for example. All my money is wrapped up in the paper and some other investments, and will be for years to come, but both you and Turk have a well-established business. And you, Kane, also have part ownership in Club Kinsey to protect. I don’t know what Turk has, but I think we should have a document drawn up so that you are confident that I’m not after your money.”
Turk laughed and picked her up to swing her around. “Damn, I love you, woman,” he said.
“No prenup, Stephanie, because there will be no divorce, ever. You marry us for life or not at all. Even if a divorce were to happen, you could take whatever you wanted, because none of it would mean jack shit without you, angel eyes.” Turk handed her over to Kane.
“So let’s go get Shayne to be one of our witnesses and do this now, okay, baby?” Kane said, smiling at her.
Turk went inside the Pictorial to get Shayne. After what seemed like forever, both men came out.
With his face lit up in a smile from ear to ear, Shayne stood tall beside Turk.
“Okay, boss lady, let’s go get you married,” he said.
“Hey, why do you want me to get married so fast, Shayne?” she asked.
“Because it’s a known fact that a married woman is more docile after she gets married,” he said innocently.
Before he had even realized what was happening, both Kane and Turk had lifted him off the ground and were running down the sidewalk with him. All three of them being chased by a very pissed-off, not yet married, so not yet docile, woman.
“Why are you running away with me, Kane?” Shayne asked.
“Because I need you for a witness, and if your boss gets a hold of you before the ceremony, I can almost guarantee she’s going to geld you.”
Gulping, Shayne egged the two men on to move faster because she was almost on them.
At the courthouse, Kane and Turk stopped and set Shayne down on the ground again.
Well, at least they’d given it a good try, because Stephanie was not far behind them, and she was madder than hell.
“Of all the chauvinistic and barbaric things to say, Shayne, that one takes the cake. If you expect me to be all docile just because I’m marrying the men of my dreams, then think again, sweetheart, because after this wedding…your life is going to be a living nightmare for quite some time, kiddo.” With an evil smile on her face, she turned and headed into the courthouse.
“Oh shit. I am in so much trouble. You two have to help me out of this one. I’m standing up as a witness to your marriage. I expect some backup from you two,” Shayne snarled at them and followed behind Stephanie.
Turk and Kane looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and started laughing as they followed the two crazy people.
After finding an available judge, Stephanie sat in the hall waiting for their turn to go in. Her nerves were frayed because she wanted to be married to these two men so badly.
Since Joe and Helen were away on their trip, there was no one for her to worry about calling. Except maybe Aunt Sophie, but with such short notice, she probably wouldn’t be up to it. Kane and Turk were her family now and always.
It seemed like they had waited forever, and what bothered her was that they didn’t seem to be too busy. There were no other couples waiting, and there hadn’t been anyone, other than court staff, either coming or going from the room. So why were they still waiting?
The red light that indicated for them to go in finally came on, and with Kane on one side and Turk on the other, they opened the door to the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
The room had been done up with wedding streamers and flowers, and all the staff from the paper was standing and waiting for them to walk down the short aisle to where the judge waited for them with a smile on his face.
“How in the hell did you do all this?” she whispered
“You can thank Shayne for all this, baby girl. He wanted to make up for his comment. He feels real bad that he upset you so much.” Kane leaned down farther and whispered in her ear, “I think the boy has a little crush on you, angel eyes, so be easy on him.”
Before they had barely take two steps forward, the young man that they’d all just been discussing stepped forward, along with his sister.
“Kane, Turk, I would like the honor of walking Miss Stephanie down the aisle, so if you please follow my sister, she’ll show you where to stand.” Shayne took Stephanie’s hands and pulled her out of the room again.
“Hey, aren’t we supposed to be going in the other direction, Shayne?” She laughed.
“I know, we will, but I wanted to have a moment alone with you to thank you for everything that you have done for me and my family. Because of you, I now have a place of my own, and Shayla and Jason can live without worrying about me all the time. Jason’s firm has received some really fantastic jobs lately thanks to you and those two Neanderthals in there. I know you and your men have been singing Jason’s praises to a lot of influential people, and I really appreciate it. Shayla has been able to quit work so that she can be the stay-at-home mom that’s she always wanted to be. And all of this is because of you and your generosity. There is only one more favor that I’d like to ask of you.”
“You can ask me whatever you want, Shayne, you’re family, and family sticks together, always.” Stephanie couldn’t help but let a tear fall down her cheek.
“Now don’t be getting all weepy on me, boss lady. I just want to be able to mentor under you at the paper. Don’t get me wrong, I love being your assistant, but being a reporter or editor is wha
t I’d really like to do.” Shayne blushed when she reached her hand up to cup his cheek.
“Why do you think Joe made sure your office was next to mine and that you worked so closely with me? It was because he knew your potential and wanted me to make sure that I gave you every opportunity to shine, just like he did for me, and trust me, Shayne, you are way better than I ever was, and if you want, when I come back to work, after my honeymoon, you and I will sit down and talk about what kind of stories you want to cover.”
Shayne wrapped his arms around her and swung her around, yelling out his thanks.
“What in the hell are you doing out here with our woman in your arms when you’re supposed to be walking her down the aisle to us?” Kane yelled at him.
“Oh, don’t be such a big goof, Kane.” Shayne laughed. “You know that Stephanie has eyes for no other men but you and Turk. I was just thanking her for all her help. Now get your big ass down at the front so I can bring your bride to you.”
Kane stood there looking down at the young man. Very few people ever joked with him like this. They all seemed to be too afraid that he’d break them apart. But this young man had balls of steel, and Kane knew right then that he and his family would always have the protection of him and Turk.
“Okay, then,” he growled and walked back to the front.
Stephanie looped her arm through Shayne’s, and as the music started, they walked down the aisle to the men that awaited her.
One she would marry legally, but both would always be in her heart.
Chapter 14
After the ceremony, Stephanie quickly held a staff meeting in the middle of the courtroom.
“I’m going on my honeymoon now. I know I haven’t been around as much as I should have since I bought the paper, but now that all this shit is settled, I will be back full-time when I get home. In the meantime, Shayne and Frank are in charge.”
Bailey, Debbie - Stephanie's Homecoming [Men of Kinsey 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 17