“Are you saying they belong to an animal or something?”
“I think they belong to Anthony, but I have to wonder what they’re doing in a Blissview Hotel humidor and where the rest of his remains are?”
“Those are keen observations. I was too wrapped up in my emotions to notice those things. I can’t wait to hear what Lyric discovers in San Francisco.”
“I have a feeling he’s going to solve the case,” Elijah replied. “I’m also feeling optimistic about the outcome for the first time since the investigation started.”
“It’s only been a few days, but it feels like a wild ride nonetheless.”
“That it does, Freckles.”
Later in bed, Elijah opened up a bit more and told me stories about his dad and the way he viewed him as a little kid. “Earning his praise was my highest priority in life until I learned the cool thing my dick could do.” I tried to squelch my snort before it escaped but wasn’t successful. “My brother… He was my hero, Maegan. I’m not sure I can ever get over him sleeping with Brandy or forgive the rift it created between my father and me.”
“I don’t think you have to know all the answers tonight,” I replied softly. “Maybe you should acknowledge that you’re going to see your father in a few days and let that sink in. Let the words flow naturally when you see him again rather than prepare a speech in advance.”
“That’s probably sound advice.” Elijah blew out a long sigh. “I just hope Jack and Brandy aren’t there.”
Well fuck. I hadn’t thought about her being there. She was the first girl Elijah loved, emotionally and physically. They might still be together if she wasn’t a faithless hag. I could feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it. I wanted to go in there, wherever this meeting took place, all classy to make Elijah proud, but a big part of me wanted to tear those two up. “I’m sure they’ll stay away,” I said. Who was I trying to assure? Him or me?
Elijah didn’t respond, and I realized why when I paid attention to his breathing. I was glad he fell asleep easily but knew it would be a while before I could shut down my brain and follow him to dreamland.
IT TURNED OUT THAT DECIDING to see my dad and putting a plan into motion were two very different things. He’d given me his cell phone number to program into my phone which I did after we disconnected our call Tuesday night. Hell, I was stunned to learn my dad finally broke down and got a cell phone after blaming them for society’s downfall for so many years. I’d started to call him a dozen times between Wednesday morning and Friday night, but I hung up before the call could even go through. I expected Mom to call and lean on me a little since Dad made the first move, but she didn’t. Mom had waited for this moment for ten years, and I knew she wanted her family put back together more than anything. I wouldn’t give her false hope and make her believe we could go back to the way things were before our lives exploded because of two selfish assholes. Agreeing to see Dad was a decision only I could make, and even though I’d made it, I couldn’t seem to take the next step.
On Friday night, Maegan and I went on a double date to dinner and a movie with Milo and Andy. We invited Memphis, of course, but he claimed he was working on a special project while Lyric was still out of town, but we suspected he was moping. Well, all except Milo who thought Memphis’s special project was manscaping for his reunion with Lyric the next day. Either way, it was just the four of us, and Maegan chose an awesome action adventure movie that we all enjoyed. I loved the action and plot while the rest of them drooled over one of the lead actors. Even I had to admit the guy was a sexy beast and pulled off playing a villain better than any of his nice guy roles.
Saturday morning rolled around, and Maegan went off to work while I hung around the house. I walked by the open door to the nursery, and that was when I finally worked up the courage to call my dad back and confirm I was coming to see him. I wanted to be the best father I could be to my children, and that meant I needed to unburden myself of the hurtful things of my past. No one said I had to forgive and embrace him, but I could at least find peace and move on with my life.
“Hello, Elijah,” my father said, sounding exhausted and vastly different from the robust man I remembered.
“Did I wake you, Jack?”
A rough and tumble chuckle came from the other end of the connection. “You’re back to calling me Jack again, eh?”
“Well, you caught me off guard when you called me the other night, and I said the first thing that came to mind.”
“I guess I have your answer to my request then. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to call me back. I appreciate that you at least heard me out.”
“Not so fast,” I firmly said before he could hang up. “That’s not the kind of man you raised, Jack. I needed a few days to think about what I wanted to say to you. I guess I never really thought I’d have the chance.”
“So, you’re coming then?” he asked. Was that hopefulness I heard in his voice. Couldn’t be.
“I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s great, Elijah. Your mother will be so happy.”
“She’s especially going to be happy when she meets the special someone I’m bringing with me.” Mom had heard plenty about Maegan during our phone conversations, but there was no way she was prepared for the awesomeness of seeing my lady in person.
“I thought you sounded happier than the last time we talked.” I knew he wasn’t referring to the brief conversation from a few days prior.
“Jack, the last time we talked, I was in the hospital after a brawl fight at a bar. You wanted me to suck it up and soldier on after learning about Jack and Brandy.”
“I vividly remember the encounter, Elijah. I have lung cancer, but I’m not senile.”
“That’s good because pretending it never happened won’t fix anything.”
“No, it won’t,” my dad said after a pause. “Do you know about what time we can expect you? Your mother will want to prepare food for you and your lady friend.”
“We’ll probably be there around four o’clock if that works for you. Please tell Mom not to go to any trouble though.”
“I’m not going to waste my breath because you know how she is.” I did know, but it was worth a shot. “Elijah, I’ll be happy to see you and meet your lady.”
Emotion rose up from the pit of my soul to choke me, making it hard to breathe or speak. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I managed to say after a brief pause. I hung up before I could make a fool of myself by doing something like bursting into tears.
Sitting around the house was the worst thing I could do because it would give me too much time to think. I remembered Andy had said the night before that he was all caught up on paid projects and planned to work on his and Milo’s house on Lover’s Lane. I knew my way around a hammer and had plenty of experience painting, so I headed over to the new house.
When I arrived, Andy was jamming to rock songs that were popular before either of us were born, but they called it classic rock for a reason. It wasn’t his music choice I found interesting; it was the air guitar he played on the long pole attached to his paint roller while lip syncing.
“You’re making great time with the renovations in here,” I said, noticing all the hideous dancing pepper wallpaper and outdated cabinetry had been removed.
“Jesus fuck!” Andy shouted then whirled around to face me.
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t fuck, but maybe I missed church the day they read that section of the bible.”
“You scared the fuck out of me,” Andy said, crossing the kitchen to turn down the radio. “I need to be less dorky if people are just going to pop in unannounced.”
“Sorry. Would you like me to go back outside and text that I’m stopping by so we can start all over again?”
“Would you pretend to forget what you just saw?”
“Not in a million years,” I said, grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, I know. Why don’t you do a repeat performance tomorrow when we come over fo
r brunch?”
“Why don’t you kiss my ass?” Andy aggressively dipped the paint roller in the pan of paint on the floor then rolled it up and down the washboard-like grooves of the tray engineered to help spread the paint evenly on the roller.
“Aw, don’t be mad,” I teased. “I just stopped by to see if you wanted some help.”
“How good are you at cutting in?”
“I have a steady hand,” I said, holding them up in the air. “You want me to cut in these other two walls while you roll the ones you already did?”
“That would be great. The ladder is right around the corner, and there’s a small paint bucket on top with the paintbrush I used.”
I pulled the ladder into the kitchen and positioned it by the wall opposite to the one Andy was painting. “I like this beige paint color. It’s warm and inviting. I have to admit I expected Milo to pick out a bolder paint color for the kitchen.”
“Nah,” Andy said. “He tends to go for neutral backgrounds and bolder accent pieces. We are doing a charcoal gray accent wall in our bedroom as a contrast to our white headboard. The rest of the room will be a soothing, medium gray with a hint of blue undertone.”
“You sound like you’re the guy working the paint counter at the hardware store.”
“Dare used the description when he helped me stage the flip house I bought earlier this year. I wrote down the name of the paint because I liked it.”
Conversation trailed off as we focused on our tasks. Once I was done cutting in, I found a spare roller and helped paint the rest of the kitchen. “What next?” I asked when we finished.
“I appreciate your help, Elijah, but I sense there’s an ulterior motive.”
“I’m wounded.”
“You’re full of shit. I won’t force you to talk, but I will accept your kind offer.”
“You’re so magnanimous.”
“Is Milo talking about my condom size again?” Too bad I’d just taken a healthy gulp of the extra Gatorade Andy had in his cooler. I ended up shooting the orange drink out my nose which burned like hell.
“I believe that’s called magnum,” I said once I could speak, “and no, that’s never come up in a conversation between us.”
“There is something you can do to help me out,” Andy said, leaning close like he was afraid someone would overhear him. “Tell me what Maegan has planned for the turret room.”
“Hell no,” I said, shaking my head. “I am not getting in the middle of their battle.” The upstairs bedroom in Andy and Milo’s new home had a window seat tucked into the dormers of the Cape Cod windows. The Miracle twins were locked in a battle to see whose room turned out the best. I assumed Andy and Milo were planning to use their room for kids too, but I didn’t really know for sure. Maegan would kill me if I spilled our plans to the enemy. After all, Milo was just as tight with Vanessa as Maegan was, so it was likely he’d call on her to paint a mural if he found out what Maegan planned.
“It was worth a shot,” Andy said, shrugging.
“Are you in the doghouse or something?”
“No, but it never hurts to gain some advantage over a Miracle.”
We painted the living room and dining room before Maegan called looking for me. I couldn’t believe how quickly the day passed when I was busy doing physical labor and seeing which one of us could do the best air riff to the hair band classics. I was by far the best air guitar player between the two of us, but Andy’s lip-syncing skills far surpassed mine.
When I got home, Maegan was practically coming out of her skin with excitement. “Lyric solved the case!”
She went to throw her arms around my neck, but I stepped back in case some of the paint smears on my T-shirt were wet. That’s when she really paid attention to my shirt and jeans. “Sitting around here wouldn’t have been good for me today, so I decided to help Andy out. We got three rooms painted on the first floor.”
“Do you know anything they have planned for their nursery?”
“No, and I wouldn’t share any details with Andy when he asked me for some insider information.”
“That scoundrel!” Maegan gasped.
“What did you learn about Anthony, Freckles?”
“Why don’t you go shower and change clothes while I start dinner. Then I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“What are we having?”
“Stuffed pepper soup, salad, and breadsticks.”
I took the steps two at a time until I reached the top. Oddly, I didn’t like stuffed peppers, but I loved them deconstructed in a soup form. I showered, changed, and returned downstairs in less than fifteen minutes. By then, Freckles was cooking the diced onions, garlic, and red and green peppers in olive oil. It was one of my favorite smells, second only to Maegan’s arousal. Speaking of which, I was in desperate need of my girl.
I came up behind her at the stove, wrapped my arms around her waist, and propped my chin on the top of her head. “I’m back.”
Maegan pushed her ass against my crotch. “I can feel that. I’m happy you’re home too.”
“I better tell you my news before I get caught up in the ghost story and tangled up in your limbs. I’m a goner once I’m inside you, and there’s no guarantee my brain will start functioning again before the morning.”
“What’s up?” she asked, although I suspected my Nancy Drew had a good idea.
“I finally called my father back and told him we were coming.”
“Are you okay?” Maegan asked, setting her spoon down and turning in the circle of my arms to look into my eyes.
“I am okay, but I didn’t want to stew about it all day, so I kept busy.”
“When are we heading north?”
“That’s the part that might upset you,” I said, grimacing. “I told Jack we would be there by four o’clock.”
“Memphis, Lyric, and I are getting the first crack at an estate up around the Columbus area, but we should be finished in plenty of time.”
“Freckles, I can reschedule. I don’t want you rushing around to accommodate plans I made without consulting you. I can go by myself if—”
“I want to go, Elijah. We can make this work. The guys and I are heading up after brunch, and we will be done in a few hours.”
“My folks live on a farm in Madison County which is north of Columbus. Why don’t I meet you guys at an exit off the interstate? You can ride with me to my parents, and one of the guys can drive your SUV back to Blissville.”
“That sounds perfect to me. Are your parents expecting me?” Maegan asked.
“I told him I was bringing home someone very special to meet them.”
Maegan squinted playfully. “Do I know this bitch?”
“Jack said he and Mom are both excited to meet you.” I swallowed hard. “He also said he would be happy to see me again.”
“Elijah, that’s wonderful. He’s making an honest effort.”
“Because he has cancer.”
“Or facing mortality gave him the courage to do what he’s wanted to all along.” Maegan reached up and caressed my cheek.
“Happier news,” I declared. “Tell me what Lyric found out.”
“Do you remember Lyric saying the concierge’s great-great-great-grandfather worked for Denver Collins, aka Wallace Bennington III?”
“Yeah. Lyric was hoping some awesome stories were handed down through the generations.”
“Anh Yang, that’s the concierge, had so much more than stories. She had Wallace’s journals and photos which have never been shared with the public before, and she also had a humidor just like the one on our mantle containing the other half of Tony Reid’s ashes.”
“Tony Reid? Was that Anthony’s alias in San Francisco?” I asked.
Maegan nodded. “He made it there, Elijah.”
“How? I thought he was locked in the attic or sent to an asylum.”
“The story just keeps getting better. You won’t believe what Lyric uncovered.” She vibrated with joy which was exactly wha
t I needed.
“I won’t know until you tell me.”
Maegan giggled happily then told me a story that I expected to appear in one of the historical romance books she loved so much. Anthony Bliss’s mother came for a visit and discovered her son was having an affair with a man. Maybe she uncovered his plans to leave his family. She drugged him and locked him up in the attic with the intention of having him sent to an asylum. Maegan’s eyes lost their happiness and humor when she got to that part. “Elijah, I will never abandon our children no matter what they do or who they love. I promise you.”
“I know, Freckles.” I couldn’t wait to see her become a mother.
“Melanie Bliss sent a wire to San Francisco to let Wallace know what was happening. She turned the tables on Anthony’s mother by slipping the same drug in her tea then helped Anthony escape with Wallace. She reported his disappearance to the police, and Anthony’s mother returned to New York.”
“Melanie Bliss helped her husband leave her to be with another man?”
“I guess it was an arranged marriage or at least one of convenience. Maybe Anthony and Melanie tried to make it work, but they were nothing more than friends. I wonder how hard it was for Anthony to leave his children behind?” she asked wistfully.
“How did the humidor with half of the ashes get here?”
“Wallace was convinced Anthony’s spirit remained after he died because he was restless and would rather be in his beloved Bliss House. There was also speculation that he felt guilty for being the reason Anthony left his children.”
“The children,” I said. “There are probably Bliss heirs out there somewhere.”
“Lyric’s network will attempt to find them and see if they’d like to participate in the show.”
“There will definitely be a show?” I asked
“As long as they can obtain permission from The Golden Gate Bridge Inn management firm to film. The network hopes to make this a big event with us taking our humidor to San Francisco to join the two spirits.”
“Two spirits? You mean Anthony’s ghost has a split personality?” I asked.
“Oh! In all my excitement, I forgot to tell you what else Lyric learned. Wallace Bennington’s ghost lives in that hotel. Lyric thinks he can’t rest until he knows Anthony is at peace.”
The Lady Stole My Heart (The Lady is Mine, #2) Page 8