Forbidden Gold (Providence Gold Book 5)

by Mary B. Moore

  “Healed. It was just a small burn, but Parker went over the top treating it.” And that still made me smile. It was the little things, I guess.

  “Can hot water hitting your tit melt your implant?”

  “I don’t think so?” I hadn’t ever thought about it.

  “What about the sun? If you leave a can in the sun, sometimes it explodes.”

  I’d never thought about that either, but now that I was... Could that happen?

  “Uhh...”

  “Jesus F. Christ, they didn’t say anything about heating them up? You could be lying out one day, and poof, your tits are gonzo,” she shouted, throwing her arms up in the air. Thankfully she managed to keep her hold on the rubber hammer because that shit looked like it’d hurt if it hit you. I didn’t want to test the theory.

  That said, what she’d just said about the sun wasn’t making me feel better about this new concern about my implants exploding because of heat.

  “They never gave me a warning like that when I had them done. If I was going to run the risk of my boobies suddenly turning into a bomb, surely they’d have told me?”

  “Maybe they didn’t want to put you off the surgery? They get paid good money for it, right?”

  Yeah, that was for sure. Both surgeries had been expensive as hell.

  “I researched my surgeon thoroughly, though, and he was one of the best at doing them. Plus, that’s a lawsuit they’d want to avoid, so they’d probably warn you, right?”

  “I don’t know, but maybe you should look it up or ask Parker.”

  Making a mental note to do that, I got back to work. Well, point one percent of my brain got back to work. The rest of it was now trying to analyze the temperature inside the bar versus my current body temp. My bra had slight padding in it, what if that heated up the area too?

  “Hey, what was that text about you sent me last night? The one about getting revenge on your brothers?” she huffed as she did one final hit of the hammer.

  “Oh, you’re going to love this idea…” I whispered, leaning in to tell her.

  Yes, my revenge plans had changed. I was still getting it and would enjoy the hell out of torturing them, but it would also come with something good, so it was a win-win.

  Fourteen

  Parker

  That weekend…

  With so many people under one roof, there were bodies perched everywhere. On the stairs, on chairs, on the floor, on countertops, we were spread out all over the place.

  But we still managed to hear Hurst’s, “You want us to what?” as it echoed around the house.

  Sadie and Beau had arrived just as the food was being served and were now standing with Ari in front of the man with huge grins on their faces, pointing at the television.

  “Okay, so, you know the man who was killed in a car accident a couple of weeks ago?” Ari explained, sounding like she hadn’t just asked her family to do what she had. “Well, we’d like to hold a charity night to raise money for him and his family, and this would be awesome.”

  Their idea for what people could do was to dress up as famous bands and reenact their music videos. And she’d chosen Queen’s I Want To Break Free for her family.

  “The men are all dressed up as women, though, Na-Na,” Tate argued. “I don’t think I could find a pair of stilettos big enough for my feet.”

  Ari’s dad, Jerome, and Hurst’s heads turned so quickly that the rest of us winced.

  “That’s your worry? The size of your feet?” Hurst asked incredulously.

  “Well, yeah,” Tate shrugged. “I don’t want to get blisters.”

  “We’ve already got four groups of men from town signed up to do it,” Beau told them. “One’s doing something from the movie Labyrinth, another’s doing a Madonna one, and the other two haven’t decided yet, but they’re thinking other Queen songs, too.”

  “You’d be acting out Freddie’s part, Gramps,” Ari explained. “We’ll get the outfits for you guys, including shoes,” she added, looking at Tate.

  “I’ll never get into a skirt like his,” Hurst argued. “He looks good in it. I’ll just look a mess.”

  “What about you, Madix?” Sadie asked Luna’s brother, a giant who looked like he’d lift your car without breaking a sweat while cuddling a kitten.

  “I’ll do it. Heard the kid’s been through a lot, so he deserves it.”

  Now that did surprise me. Harris Raine’s story had been broadcast across the country on the news, so now everyone knew what he and his family were going through. It was a relief because it meant a lot of people were focusing on helping him out, so hopefully at least one problem would be lifted from his shoulders. Surgery, doctor’s bills, and medication were fucking expensive.

  “Levi will be the blonde schoolgirl,” Charlotte announced, clapping her hands together. I could’ve sworn I saw a smile being exchanged between her and the other ladies who’d suggested it, but it was gone before I could really see it.

  “Yes, and I’ll find Tate’s shoes,” Lily added. “We’ll get you some nice ones, honey.”

  Clapping his hands together, Hurst grinned at the group. “You won’t be needing me, then. There’s only five of them in the video, so you only need five of us. You’ve already got three, add in Noah and Archer, and there you go.”

  “Ah, I think Ari’s right, you should play Freddie’s part,” Linda argued, joining them. “If you don’t shave for the next couple of weeks, we’ll be able to dye your mustache. Or I can just get you one to stick on from online.”

  “Thanks, dear,” he hissed, stalking over to the corner to pick up Sneezy.

  The two of them had formed a bond when he’d accidentally dropped one of the kid’s toys, making the poor animal faint out cold. The kids had all started crying because they thought it’d died, but then Sneezy had bounced back up again and had headbutted Hurst in the shin. Since then, whenever they were around each other, where one went, the other one was sure to follow.

  “So, what you’re saying is that all of us have to do this,” Archer said, not phrasing it as a question but as a conclusion because that’s what it was.

  “Yeah, even Parker will be in it.”

  Wait, what the hell?

  Walking up behind Ari, I muttered, “I will? But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Spinning around, she gave me such a huge smile that I would’ve promised to do anything for her—if she’d have done it before she showed us the video and told us their idea.

  “It’ll be great! The local doctor who was involved in Harris’ situation lends his time to raising funds for him,” she said excitedly like she was reading a headline.

  Leaning in until my mouth was right beside her ear, I whispered, “I know you’re doing this to get back at your brothers for the Girls Night In shit, but I’m not sure what I did wrong?”

  I’d never been in a relationship, so for all I know, I could’ve left the toilet seat up or done something worthy of being tortured like this. It’d just help to know what.

  Giving me a small kiss and a pat on the cheek, she winked and walked away.

  “Bet it was the toilet seat, son. That always gets Lindee pissed at me,” Hurst sighed, echoing my theory, as he joined me, his little friend standing beside him.

  “No, that’s me that gets pissed on. Do you have any idea how disgusting it is for a woman to sit down on the toilet and for her ass to touch the porcelain inside it? Knowing people have used that toilet, regardless of how clean you think it is?” Linda argued, somehow hearing what he’d said over the other discussions going on. “Ladies, you need to housebreak your man. If you do it early on, you’ll live a peaceful life without falling into the toilet every time you need to use it in the middle of the night. If you don’t, well, then you end up with that,” she pointed at Hurst, who was now looking indignant.

  “Hey, I’m housebroken!”

  “Give me an example of how.”

  Hurst frowned as he thought of an example and then snapped his fi
ngers together with a smug grin. “Last week, I put the toilet seat down. I knew you weren’t feeling well, so I made sure it was perfect for you.”

  One of Linda’s eyebrows arched at his excuse as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Yet, you’ve forgotten to put it down for eleven other days since. You’ve also omitted that the reason I wasn’t well was because you gave me food poisoning.”

  “Fuck!” he mumbled under his breath. “She said it was a virus, so I didn’t think she’d figured it out.”

  “Hurst will do it, too,” she said to the girls in a tone that made it clear he was doing it.

  “Can I at least wear a blonde wig? I don’t know if I’d suit the black one.”

  “Freddie wears a black one in the video, so you’ll be wearing the same one,” Linda told him with a beaming smile. “I’ll find a nice bushy mustache for you too, honey, don’t you worry.”

  I think that was the most worrying part of it all if I was honest.

  He walked over to the couch with a resigned sigh and sat down heavily before patting the cushion beside him for Sneezy to jump up on.

  “Uh, Gramps,” Ari called. “We don’t really let the goats on the leather couch because their hooves could ruin the fabric.”

  Shooting her a glare, he leaned over Sneezy with what I could only describe as a mutinous look on his face. “If you’re making me dress up in a skirt and wig that definitely won’t suit me, then I’m cuddling the goat on the couch. Like I have the build for a skirt like that. Freddie also had killer facial and chest hair. I’m going to have to draw mine in with a Sharpie.”

  Then, realizing what he’d just done and the ideas he’d given his wife, he shook his head violently. “I mean, it’ll look great as it is. I’ll do the king of Queen justice.”

  Unfortunately for him, it was too late. The damage was done.

  Seeing this, I wisely kept my mouth shut so I didn’t end up in his shoes. Elijah was wearing a curly auburn wig and fishnet pantyhose and knee-high boots, apparently. The wig's color they said they were getting him got me thinking yet again about the woman who kept going into the bar to speak to Ari.

  Chantal had a dark freckle on the side of her chin, but the woman Ari saw hadn’t. That didn’t mean anything, though. She could have covered it with makeup or had it removed by her favorite plastic surgeon. And if it was her, what the fuck was she up to? I wasn’t concerned for me, I knew how to handle the bitch after years of dealing with her, but I was worried about Ari and Dale. I’d told my brother my suspicions the day after Ari had told me about her, and he’d agreed with me that we needed to be vigilant.

  Maybe I should speak to the Townsends and get their take on it? More eyes made for a safer Ari.

  The conversation was now a full-blown argument about who was wearing what, so I leaned against the counter and snickered at the insults flying around. I had no idea why Elijah was so sure he had more of a ‘fall coloring,’ or even what that was, or why Tate insisted on spring, but it was funny as hell to witness.

  Seeing Jerome back away slowly, doing his best not to get the women’s attention, I started to make my way toward him to speak about my suspicions, but of course my phone started going crazy in my pocket.

  I knew by the tone it was work, but when I saw the text from the ER’s coordinator for the day telling me there’d been a four car accident not far from where I was, I groaned. We had paramedics on their way, but it said if I was close to the scene, I was to help out and then come into the hospital. The hospital was trialing a new system—there was a duty coordinator in the ER, a doctor, who would text out requests and updates to staff when things happened. There was a big boss above them, obviously, but with terrorism, viruses, and an increase in injuries, they were hoping this would help keep the ER running smoothly. Sometimes being good friends with Chris was great, other times—like when he knew where I was and how close I was to an accident like this—it made life that bit more complicated.

  Moving quickly to where Ari was standing watching me, I pulled her in for a hug. “There’s been an accident not far from here, baby. I need to go.”

  Pulling back, she watched me carefully. “Okay, but you stay safe. Don’t go turning over any burning cars or trailers.”

  “I keep saying this, but it bears mentioning again—you’re great for my ego,” I snickered. “I don’t know any doctor who’d do that.”

  Gifting me one of her soft but intense smiles, she raised up and gave me another kiss. “I’ll see you later?”

  Like that was even a question. We’d spent every night together since that first night, and even though she’d told me I didn’t have to and that she was worried about me burning out on her, I couldn’t not be near her. I wasn’t going to burn out, she gave me too much oxygen for that.

  Throwing out a wave at everyone else, I jogged out to my vehicle and headed to the accident scene. Halfway there, I broke the law by picking up my phone and dictating a message to Ari on it to go and collect her computer stuff from ‘storage’. I don’t know if it picked up what I’d said properly, but I hit send anyway, not wanting to risk wrecking my own car.

  Ariana

  Parker: Don forget to get you’re com poo ter shit, baby. Kiss kiss.

  “Fuck me, I thought doctors knew how to spell,” Sadie muttered as I showed her the text I’d gotten from him. “Then again, with the way medications are spelled, it’s no wonder he has issues. I was on something called Mefenamic Acid when I was a teenager, and when I had to tell my teacher at school that I needed to take it, I didn’t have a clue how to pronounce it.”

  Putting my phone back in my back pocket, I watched her as she fed a carrot stick to Gaynor. If she moved it away while she was chewing, Gaynor would do her ‘will survive’ bleat to get it back.

  “What did you do in the end?”

  Shrugging, she gave the last bit of the vegetable to the goat and then dusted her hands. “I just said I had period pains and needed to take the painkillers before I killed someone.”

  Bursting out laughing, I moved over to the steps on the porch and watched the dogs chasing after the goats. To say I was relieved they were all getting along was an understatement. I guess I wanted to give them all a home where they’d all be loved equally, have fun, and be appreciated for the rest of their lives.

  When I looked at small animals, I thought about them getting picked on or knocked over or maybe even overbred just for the money their babies would bring in, so I was trying to help some not live that life. When I thought about it like that, it sounded maternal and kind of freaked me out.

  “Hey, Sadie, do you want kids?”

  Sitting down heavily beside me, she moved all her weight onto one cheek and rubbed the one that’d taken the brunt of it. “Um, I guess at some point, but I don’t know if it’ll ever happen.”

  Oh, shit, what if she couldn’t have kids, and I’d just asked that fucking question?

  “I’m sorry, girl. I didn’t mean to ask a question about something that… Well, one that…” Why couldn’t I figure out how to word this without dropping something in like infertility. I could only imagine how much something like that would hurt, so saying it outright—that could be offensive, right?

  Her bark of laughter shocked the shit out of me.

  “Oh my God,” she wheezed, “you should see your face. Look, I don’t mind you asking me anything ever. If I don’t want to answer something, I’ll usually let you know, like the adult I am. I hate it when people just make shit awkward—like that vaguebooking bullshit. Why don’t people just bloody say it if they’re saying it in the first place? Most of the arseholes who vaguebook are ones who talk about how they have the rights to freedom of speech, anyway, but there they are posting their vagueshit online.”

  I blinked as she spoke, not knowing what the hell she was talking about. I didn’t really pay any attention to social media because it all seemed like arguments and drama.

  “How did we go from kids to awkwardness, to being blunt, t
o vaguebooking and social media?” I genuinely wanted to know. I had plenty of squirrel moments on a daily basis, but this just screamed squirrel.

  “I don’t know, but I feel better for getting my feelings on it all out,” she sighed, smiling as she looked around us. “Right, so it goes without saying that what I’m about to tell you stays right here.”

  Shooting her a dirty look, I agreed. “Yes, it goes without saying ever that what you’re saying stays right here. It also goes without saying that when you tell me something, that’s always the case.”

  “Likewise. So, Mum died when I was fourteen in a hit and run. It was December, and we were on a pedestrian crossing on our way home from my gran’s house, and someone who wasn’t paying attention ran her over. She only had enough time to push me out the way before he hit her and then just carried on driving. My brother was with us, too, but he’d already crossed the road and was waiting on the other side.”

  It might’ve been nine years since it happened, but you could hear the pain in her voice still like she was forcing the words out.

  “Fuck,” I croaked, trying not to picture it in my head but unable to stop it.

  “A driver stopped and helped us, and she was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Bromley, but they stopped her life support four days later. It took her another two to finally stop breathing.”

  The only thing I could do at that moment was to reach out a shaking hand and hold hers tightly with it. I don’t know if it was sympathy, support, or both, but she held mine back with equal tightness as she continued.

  “There was a traffic camera just past the crossing because drivers were dodgy bastards on that crossing,” she huffed out a dry laugh with zero humor in it. “The person who did it was eventually found and convicted and is currently still doing a nice stint at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.”