“When I get back. I need to get this settled up and have my own things around me. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that.” He told her it was fine, and she smiled at him. “I hope so. As soon as I get back, I’m going to rock you until the sun comes up and more if I can manage it.”
“I’ll help you.” Kissing her again, feeling her pent-up need, Dwayne walked to the front door. “I’ll be home for supper. Raven said the plane is all ready to go anytime you want to leave.”
“The sooner I go, the quicker I can get back.” This time she kissed him. “Will you be all right here with Jamie? He’s going to be raring to go now that he’s feeling better.”
“We’ll be fine. If he gets to be too much for me, I’ll take him to my parents. They’ll love having him over. Especially when he calls them his grandparents.”
This time he did leave the house. Already late for the office, he sat at his desk and was ready to go. It wasn’t until he looked at his computer and saw the date that he realized why he’d not seen anyone in the building but security. It was Saturday. Shaking his head at his confusion, he decided to do a little shopping. Jamie needed a phone. Also, a winter coat that he could wear until his mom got back. Calling the house, he told Brit what he’d done and what he was planning.
“Good. You guys can take me to the airport. I’ve just decided I’ll leave now and be back sooner.”
He drove home. Dwayne also realized she’d need something to get around in. Pulling off the side of the road, he pulled out his notebook and wrote things down. It was going to be a blast hanging out with Jamie, he thought.
Chapter 4
Brit was glad for the extra hands in getting things packed up. Raven and the other women had come along with her when they found out where she was going. Then, when she’d begged off from their shopping spree, they decided to help her so she could go with them. They were going to use her apartment as a stashing place for things they didn’t want to carry.
“All done. The homeless shelter will be here first thing on Monday to take the furniture and the boxes of clothing. That was nice of you to think of them.” She nodded, distracted from what Penny was saying to her. “Are you upset about the fact you’re giving this all away? We can cancel them coming if you want.”
“No, it’s not that. I think this is the best way to deal with this stuff. I’m missing some things. Not a lot, just some things I could have sworn were here.” Andi entered the room and sat down on the couch that was going too. “I don’t suppose you saw a photo album, did you? It’s pictures of my parents when they were alive.”
“Your landlord took it. Along with about ten pairs of your panties and some other personal items. Did you know he was a crossdresser?” Brit asked her if she was serious. “I am. I can even tell you what color of your panties he has on right now if you want.”
“No thanks. What I meant was, why would he take things from me? I think he’s married, right?” She did that thing with her hand that meant she was sort of right. “I usually bust people’s chops for doing that sort of thing, but you scare the living daylights out of me. What do you mean? Is he married or not?”
“He is, but they’re not really a couple. She has affairs, and he watches them. In a dress that belongs to Mrs. Carter down the hall.” Brit sat down. “Are you really afraid of me? I wish you wouldn’t be. I’d never hurt you.”
“Yes, I’m afraid of you. Of all of you, to be honest. I’m the only human in the bunch, and even though I was told I was immortal, I still think you could put me in a world of hurt. Back to Mr. Black. Not that I want my things back, thank you very much, but how long has he been doing this?” She told her. “Christ, that’s a very long time. Fifty years? So, since I know he’s fifty-six, he’s been a crossdresser for all this time, and I had no idea.”
“I think you met him once when he was dressed up. You said you had the same dress she had on.” Brit remembered it, how she thought the woman was very manly but hadn’t said anything. “Yes, if you’re thinking that—it was your dress. You had given it to one of the charities around here the week before.”
“This is all too much.” She looked around. “The only thing I want back is the photo album. Can you, I don’t know, twitch your nose and get it for me?”
“Yes.” When she put her fingers to her nose and “twitched” it, the album appeared on Brit’s lap. “I don’t normally twitch my nose, but you were beginning to freak out. Have you ever noticed how much we say that? Anyway, you have it, and I’m starving. How about, since we’re done here, we go and get us something good to eat that is totally terrible for us?”
She was ready to eat as well. Brit hadn’t really packed all that much to take back to Ohio with her—their clothing, the few pictures hanging on the wall that she had picked up here and there. The computer Jamie had in his room wasn’t worth saving. Mr. Little—Matthew, he’d told her to call him—showed her how old it was. So she had him wipe it clean, and they were donating it as well.
There were no pets, no plants, and nothing endearing to her about the place she and her son had lived in for the last ten years. Looking around one last time, as they were going to spend the next two days in a hotel, she didn’t have one bit of nostalgia for the place. It had been a place for them to stay warm. The place had never been warm to them, Jamie told her when she talked to him earlier.
Penny stood next to her like she was thinking of something, then snapped her fingers and smiled at her before speaking. “Dwayne should have taken your blood before we left, and you two could have spoken. Wait, we can fix that. Andi?”
When she was ready to ask what was going on, Brit found herself in the living room of Dwayne’s brother’s home, and a loud football game was on the big screen. She stumbled into his arms when she “landed,” she thought it might be called.
“I should have thought of this before.” He took her hand to his mouth and kissed it before biting deeply into her skin. It really didn’t hurt, but she could feel something different. Offering up his hand to her, she looked at his blood as it pooled in his palm. Licking it, feeling the dizzying effects of it, she was back in New York, almost where she’d disappeared.
Now that I can speak to you without having to go through the others, I want you to have a good time. Jamie and I have gone shopping here. He now has a nice heavy winter coat that he’s out in the snow playing with Molly in. Also, boots. So if you were planning on picking those up, we have them.
I’ll mark them off my list. He will need a desk and a place to do his homework. Which reminds me. I don’t know anything about the schools there. Where does Molly go? He told her. Will the pack school take Jamie too?
Yes. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve already talked about it with the pack leader, and they’re all for it. Also, I’m not sure you’re aware of this or not, but Holly got him a laptop that he’s been using in the room he’s been in. Which, I’m to tell you, is the one he wants to keep. Something about the view. The only thing I could see that he’d be looking at is in Gunner’s backyard. Unless it’s the animals there. She told him it was and marked the computer off her list. What else can I do for you, so you have some fun? Do you have ornaments? I have a few dozen, but not enough to cover the tree we’re going to have. It’s going to be monstrous. As in at least fifteen feet tall.
My goodness. No, I don’t have any. Jamie and I had this old ceramic one that we used, but it bit the dust while we were packing up. Not that I was going to use it anymore. I want a large Christmas too. How do you do Thanksgiving? I’m betting it’s huge. This year especially. He told her it would be. Good. I don’t remember the last time Jamie and I had one. We usually went out to eat, but that got to be boring too after a few years. I can’t think of anything else. I’m going to see if they have some ornaments I can pick up. Anything special?
No. Mom gave me some of the things I did for her when I was in school. Not many, mi
nd you, as we were homeschooled until we were old enough to see the world, she told us. I was able to skip grades four through being a few months shy of graduation. All of us were like that. She told him she was proud of him. Thanks. All right, my dear lovely future wife, you have a good time. We’re on the four-yard line here and behind by two points. I have to see this ending.
Looking around as to where they were, she decided that nothing could be better than hanging out with a bunch of women, with all the Christmas displays up already. She decided she was going to do a little shopping for things for the family as well. What do you get, she wondered, for a family that seemed to have it all? Brit knew she could figure it out. And she’d have fun doing it too.
“I don’t want to embarrass you or anything, but I wanted to talk to you about money.” Holly, who had flown in later with Sippy and met them at the store, spoke to her when they were alone. “Dwayne is going to take over my business when I’m ready to let go. The way he’s working, it’ll be a lot sooner than I thought when I started. I’m thrilled, don’t get me wrong. I have so many plans with— Yes, get to the point. I pay him very well.”
“Thank you. I make good money too.” Holly nodded. “But that’s not what you’re trying so hard to tell me, is it? I’m better if you just give it to me straight. You think I’m spending too much of his money. I assure you, I’m not. I’m only using my credit cards and—”
“That’s it. You see, I noticed you’re putting things on your credit card. Are you one of those people that says he pays some bills from his account, and you pay the rest from yours?” She said she’d never thought of it before. “I’ve always been a component of the money goes into a single pot, and we all use it. Dwayne’s last commission check alone was nearly four million dollars. The one before that was considerably more.”
“Considerably more than four million.” Holly nodded and smiled at her. “I see. Sort of. How much is Dwayne worth? Or is this a question I should be putting to him?”
“Him, I would say. I think the two of you should talk, but the reason I bring it up is that I believe you’re not having fun. I do love that you’re checking prices and going to the clearance rack. My goodness, I do that too. All of us do. Especially Raven.” She huffed. “I’m nervous, and I’m rarely that way, so I’m getting sidetracked. What I’m saying is, you should have fun and purchase all the things you want. Not regardless of the price—no, I don’t mean that. But you should buy your son that game system you were looking at. Also, I know for a fact that Gunner would love that pipe holder. I’ve only just noticed that he’s collecting them. I do love that boy—all of them, very much. Talk to Dwayne, child. I’m sure the two of you are long overdue for a nice sit-down.”
With a pat on her back, Holly left her there. Looking around the store at the women that she’d come with, she did notice that their piles were larger than hers. Also, they were having a great time. She was pinching pennies so tightly they were screaming.
I need to talk to you. Brit smiled and asked him if Holly had spoken to him. Yes. Well, spoken to is using the term loosely. She told me I need to get my butt in gear and talk to you. So, here I am talking to you. I have…we have money. Too much of it, I think sometimes. But there is a great deal of it. Not counting my commission checks, I make a nice salary. Okay, I make an obscene amount of money. I invest well, and…I’m screwing this all up. I’m sorry. It never occurred to me that this was something we should talk about before you left. I’ve never had a mate before.
Neither have I. Jamie and I used to have nothing until I hit on this idea that I could collect the uncollectable and make it work for us. Thus the name of my warehouse. Uncollectable Merchandise. Dwayne told her he’d not even known that. As Holly pointed out, we’ve not spoken much. Mostly it’s me yelling at you about something you didn’t do.
We’re past that, right? She said she was but could still feel bad about it. No. Please don’t. If we’re past it, then we are. Besides, I’m a dad now, so I feel like I’m unstoppable. But for money. I’m getting close to what Raven has, which I think is all the money. I listen when she or Sawyer talk about what they’re doing. I also watch the market and take my cues from Holly. She’s taught me a great deal about the business world.
My learning curve has been fail and attempt again for the most part. They both laughed. Holly asked me if I was the type that put it all in a pot, and we both use it. When Herman was around, if it went into any kind of pot, he’d take it. So I’ll leave it up to you about how we do our money. Which I have a bit of too. I have invested well, but I don’t have nearly the amount that it sounds like you do.
We have billions of dollars. More than a normal person could spend in their lifetime. I’d like to say that was all we need to worry about, but I’m sure you’re like me in thinking we need to continue to work just in case. I don’t know what problem there would be, but I don’t want to be wishing I’d not retired so soon. Or that we wished we had more money. Immortality makes a person think how long that really is. She knew that too. It was something she worried about. Raven told me you didn’t save much in the way of things at your old place. If you think I might be upset about bringing things back to the house, I won’t. Bring home whatever you want.
It’s not that. After really looking hard at the things we had, I realized how worn, and in terrible shape it all was. Even our towels were just about in threads. I don’t think I’ve purchased anything new for us in longer than I care to admit. Dwayne told her he was sorry about that. Yes, me too. But we don’t have a great deal to sort through when I get back. And Mr. Little is doing a great job on the business computer. He’s even programmed my phone with a way to get orders or messages, and he’s going to set my computers up there. This will make my job so much easier. Not to mention, I’m having someone come in and look to see if they can fix some of the things for me, so they work.
You said they’ll be happier with the things that will work for them. I think this is an awesome business plan you have for yourself. He laughed. All right. I have to get off here. I love you, Brit. I’ll see you in a couple of days.
After the brief conversation with Dwayne, she did have fun. For the next couple of days, she was going to take care of the warehouse things, shop, and enjoy herself. It was really nice to be able to not worry about working or what might be going on there. After a brief lesson, showing Dwayne how to check the inventory for what might be needed and the price list for the daily work, he had been keeping an eye on things for her. And she was planning on enjoying herself too.
~*~
“His arm had to be removed from the elbow down. There might be more damage done that we’ll have to deal with. But for now, that’s where we are. I never would have thought this would happen. I thought for sure we had cleaned all the glue off his hand.” Dwayne asked his brother what he meant, more damage. “When he put that glue into an open wound, especially as much as he did, it was bad enough. Then no one found him in his room. Then gangrene set in, and his fingers had already lost blood flow for several days. Had he not put out the do not disturb sign when he went into his room, he might well have been found sooner. As it was, he had spent nine days lying there, in and out of consciousness, drinking water from the tub when he could get to it, thankfully, or he would never have survived, with the poison from the glue making its way through his bloodstream.”
“Christ. What the hell did he think was going to happen when he did something that dumb? Especially without a medical staff right there with him.” Quincey said he had told him all he needed to do was to talk to and apologize to Sawyer, and he could heal it. “So, since he knew that sometimes glue is used to seal larger wounds, he decided he knew better and used something like he did on his own. What a fucking moron.”
“He could lose his arm entirely with this. I’m also concerned about his heart. The man was a mess even before the thing with the glue.” Dwayne asked if he’d spoken to the police a
bout it. “I have. They’ve taken precautions that he doesn’t get up and out on his own. They have fudged the evidence they found with the storage container, as well as the information from Howard’s doctor, and made sure they’re digging deeper on things. Not fudged in that they’re lying about it, but how they found the container. They’re saying they were led there by an unnamed source. I think that would be the best way to deal with this, don’t you?”
“I do. Howard, I was told, moved on, but his wife is sticking around. She and Brit have spoken a couple of times about funeral arrangements. If that isn’t the oddest thing I’ve ever heard of. Bree is helping her sister finalize her family’s resting place. Also, she helped with the marker for them. It’s nice, I guess. Sort of like preplanning after the fact.” He shivered. “To change the subject, how much do you know about movie props?”
“Props? Do you mean like Brit does for a living? To be honest with you, Dwayne, I’ve never thought of it in any serious kind of way. Why?” He pulled up the inventory Brit had to make her business work, then showed him the pictures of each item from different angles so that people, media people, could see what they wanted. “She even has it in date groupings. Christ, does she really have a 747? How the hell would someone go about getting one of those?”
“I asked her. She said there is a website that sells off surplus army things. Every time they have a sale, Brit looks there to see what she can find. She has two full planes, as well as just the body of one. They’re stored on a different lot that she bought some years ago. Believe it or not, it’s close to here. Right now, we’re having a building put up that she is designing herself that will house the things she purchases. Even Mom and Andi’s things are on this site that Mom is willing to rent out when they need things too.”
“This is very lucrative for all of them then?” Dwayne showed them the prices for just an old couch for three months. “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just have the set crew make one? I mean, five grand for three months—that seems like a great deal of money.”
Dwayne: Bishop’s Snowy Leap – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Page 6