Unexpected Guest: A Riverton Crossing Novel - Book Three

by Savannah Maris

  Thomas cleared his throat and backed away from the nurse. “I’m sure Cat can’t wait for you to get back,” Ginger said to Thomas as the nurse’s elation calmed with Ginger’s comment.

  The nurse walked away, and Ginger looked at Thomas. “If you want to be with her, end things with Cat first. Take it from someone who’s been in that position.”

  “I don’t want to be with her. I love Cat. Jamison knows I’m dating someone,” Thomas said confidently.

  “Good. I’d hate to see you get castrated by Cat and your sister.” Ginger smiled widely. “So, Doctor, can I still get married tomorrow?”

  “What did Dr. Tucker say?”

  “Everything looks good and to tell my doctor when I see him.”

  “Then I’d say that’s a yes.” Thomas chuckled.

  When Evan finished the paperwork, they walked out to a Cat, Mrs. Monroe, Kayla, and Mitchell. Her mom wrapped her arms around Ginger, then everyone else followed suit. As they left the hospital, Thomas had his arm around Cat, just like Evan did with her. When they turned the corner, Ginger saw the nurse watching through the window as Thomas walk away with Cat. She hoped Thomas had told her the truth.

  33

  Ginger rested her head on Evan’s shoulder on the way home. She wasn’t physically tired, but the last few hours had taken its toll on her mentally.

  When they pulled into the driveway, they were greeted by everyone who stayed at the ranch. Evan helped her out of the car and held her close to his side. As her dad walked up to her, she stepped into his arms. He hugged her tightly and whispered into her ear, “It’s really him, Ginger. It’s really Grayson.”

  Ginger pulled back to look at her dad. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Mitchell lent him a razor and some clothes before he left. Look,” he said as he pointed to her brother.

  Without the beard and sunglasses covering his face, she could see her brother. He was bigger since she last saw him. He didn’t look like the computer geek at Georgia Tech anymore. She wanted to go to him, but she was paralyzed as fear shot through her. Yes, this was her brother, but he was also the man who had scared her and Evan to the point of her becoming a prisoner at the ranch. She was angry about that but glad he was alive.

  When Evan placed his hand on the small of her back, she turned to face him. “Darlin’, he may be your brother, but for the time being, you won’t be left alone with him, especially after what’s happened tonight. I don’t want him upsetting you again,” Evan softly said.

  Ginger nodded. “I know. I don’t know what to say to him. I’m angry and happy.”

  “Together, we’ll do this together,” he whispered before he gently kissed her. “First, you need to eat. I don’t want you getting sick and passing out again.”

  Before Ginger had a chance to respond, someone cleared their throat next to them. When they looked up, Grayson stood there with his hands in his pockets looking a little sheepish.

  “May I hug my sister?” he asked.

  Ginger looked at Evan while Evan stared at Grayson. A few moments of silence transpired before Evan said, “That’s up to her.” Evan turned to Ginger who had welled up tears in her eyes.

  Tentatively Ginger released Evan and moved toward her brother as Evan took a step back. When Ginger looked around, Nathan, Ben, Sam, Mitchell, and Thomas were all standing close by watching them. She knew if Grayson acted inappropriately, they’d pounce. Ginger broke the hug and moved back into Evan’s arm.

  “I’m sorry, Gingersnap. I didn’t know you were pregnant,” Grayson said with tears in his eyes.

  “D-Did you send those pictures and the emails?” Ginger asked. The tears fell down her face.

  Grayson’s face turned red, and his lips drew tight. “I did,” he said with a clenched jaw.

  “H-How could you?” Ginger asked as she hit Grayson in the chest.

  “How could I? Are you fucking kidding me?” Grayson’s tone grew louder which put Evan and the other men on alert. Evan moved between Ginger and Grayson. “After what that asshole did to you in Nashville? How could I not?”

  “Man, if you upset her one more time, brother or not, I’m going to kick your ass,” Evan said as he leveled Grayson with a hard stare. “And just so you know the odds, there are a few other men here who will make sure you feel a great deal of pain.” Evan pointed around the room. “If you want to continue speaking with Ginger, you will do it calmly. Do you understand me?”

  Grayson turned his attention to Evan. “Does she know about your past? How you and your dynamic partner over there infiltrated a sex club? What happened when you did?”

  Evan grabbed Grayson by the throat and squeezed. “She knows everything about me. Ev-er-y-thing. Is that what you were trying to warn her about?”

  Grayson’s eyes were bulging as he tried to nod. Evan released his throat. “Dude, you’ve caused a hell of a lot of problems over the last few weeks. The email you sent me put her in a bad place—that’s the first reason I want to hurt you. The email you sent her now has ATF wanting to speak with you which will probably cost you your clearance level.” Evan took a step toward Grayson which caused Nathan and Mitchell to step closer too. “The one you took of us beside the pool has my blood boiling. Why the hell would you even want to see that?”

  “I wanted you to know I could get to her anywhere,” Grayson said.

  “Was it you beside the river too?” she asked.

  “Yes, but that wasn’t planned. I needed to see if I could get a different angle, and you just showed up."

  “When you saw her in North Carolina, she was buying pregnancy tests. You better thank your lucky stars the doctors just gave her a clean bill of health because if you’d prevented our wedding or harmed our baby, I would be sitting in jail because you’d be six feet under. Your big brother duties are officially over. She’s my responsibility now, got it?” Evan poked Grayson in the chest. “You will not stress her out anymore. Ever.”

  Ginger’s hand covered her mouth as silent sobs left her body. Evan turned and wrapped her in his arms. “Do you want to stay here and salvage our night, or do you want to go rest?”

  “Ginger, I was never far away from you. I followed you to the assignments I thought could be dangerous. I beat the shit out of David Whitehouse for cheating on you. I was prepared to do it to him too if needed,” Grayson said as he pointed to Evan. “I never meant to upset you, especially if I’d known you were pregnant. But I couldn’t let you get married and not be here. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

  “You were the visitor he said I sent?” Ginger asked. When she looked at Evan, she saw some of his anger had lessened.

  “If he kicked Fuckhouse’s ass, he can stay,” Evan reluctantly agreed.

  “Where have you been?” Ginger asked as Evan moved her toward a plate of food Kayla dipped for her.

  Grayson went to sit next to Ginger, but Evan stopped him. “Across from her. I don’t trust you yet,” Evan said. Grayson didn’t argue and sat across from Ginger.

  “Evan, he’s my son,” Mrs. Monroe said with tears in her eyes.

  “Yes, ma’am, but he’s terrorized Ginger for weeks. I’m not ready to forgive him, and I don’t want him to hurt Ginger or our unborn child. I’m sorry, Mrs. Monroe, but he’s gotta live by my rules right now,” Evan said with a sad smile.

  “He’s right, Mom. If I’d known Ginger was pregnant, I wouldn’t have followed her in North Carolina, I wouldn’t have sent the package this morning, and I probably wouldn’t have shown up here tonight. I owe them both a huge apology, so I’ll follow his wishes until I prove I never wanted to hurt her,” Grayson said to his mom, but he was looking at Evan and Ginger.

  “So, where were you?” Ginger asked again.

  Grayson took a deep breath. “First, just know I’m sorry I couldn’t say anything to you at the time.” Grayson’s eyes locked on Ginger’s as they became watery. “My arrest was staged. I had witnessed something at Tech, and when I went to the authorities, they started the pr
ocess to put me in witness protection. Until the paperwork went through, they staged a bar fight to get me arrested, and then I sat in jail until my new identity and paperwork were ready. Part of the conditions was that I couldn’t say anything to you, Mom, or Dad. I just had to walk out of the jail and get on a bus.”

  Ginger reached for Grayson’s hand. “Oh God. I’ve heard of witness protection, but I never thought I’d meet someone who’s in it.”

  “I didn’t want to completely lose me, you know, so I had them change the letters of my name for my new one. That’s how it became Mayson Grooner,” he said through a chuckle. “What better place for the government to hide me than in the military. Since I was working on a computer science degree, they put me at Ft. Gordon in their cyber intelligence group. It was perfect. I followed the blogs you wrote for so I’d know when you were taking assignments. I’d take leave and follow you.

  “When you started dating David Whitehouse—” He looked at Evan. “I like the name you call him better. Anyway, when you started dating him, I started watching him. I knew what he was doing, and wanted to get you away from him. I saw your vibrant personality wither to nothing. I was glad you left. And when you did, I paid him a visit.” For the first time, Grayson had some semblance of a smile on his face.

  “I’m glad you met Kayla Gregory. She’s a good friend.” Grayson raised his head to look at Kayla. “Then you came here. It was hard to find out who you were seeing here because you stayed inside a lot. I’m assuming with him.” Grayson cut his eyes to Evan. “I was in the bar in town the night you met Nathan, even though I didn’t know his name at the time. I followed you and the other car to the hotel. I was in one of the trucks in the parking lot when you ran out. I knew you went in with Nathan but came out alone, so I waited. When I saw Evan leave, I took his picture and ran it through our databases.”

  Grayson again looked at Evan. “Sorry, man. I needed to know everything about you, so I started digging. When I came across the picture of the two of you in handcuffs,” he said as he pointed between Evan and Nathan, “I thought I’d hit the jackpot to protect my sister.”

  “Well, ATF wants your name. That picture had never been public, and they aren’t happy, man,” Evan said.

  “I needed to know if you were like Whitehouse.” Grayson ran his hand over his head. “When I saw you by the pool, I knew you’d received the first email. I watched, expecting her to leave. When she didn’t, I knew I had to rock you.”

  “About that picture, I want the data card. That was a personal moment between us,” Evan said through gritted teeth.

  “Believe me. I wish I had eye bleach after that.” Grayson shook his head. “Anyway, I sent the other email to let you know that I knew who you were. I’d hoped Ginger would’ve left, but she didn’t. I sent the pool picture hoping she’d believe you couldn’t protect her.” Grayson rolled his eyes then leveled them at Evan.

  “You just wouldn’t go away,” Grayson said then took a deep breath then turned his attention to Ginger. “When I saw you in the drugstore, I was afraid you’d recognize me. I wanted to tell you who I was, but couldn’t. I knew being here tonight could get me in trouble, but dammit, I couldn’t miss my only sister’s wedding. The package this morning was my last attempt to make sure you weren’t jerking her around.” He glanced at Evan.

  Looking back at Ginger, his eyes watered and his tone softened. “Now, you tell me you’re going to be a mom. I’m going to be an uncle,” he said with a smile. “How could I miss not being a part of her life?”

  “His,” Evan said.

  “You already know it’s a boy?” Grayson asked with excitement.

  Ginger rolled her eyes. “Evan seems to think it’s only logical for the boy to be born first so our daughter will have a big brother or something like that.”

  Grayson looked at Evan. “Maybe we can get along. I like the way you think.”

  Evan’s eyes said that he wasn’t there yet, but maybe one day. “What about witness protection?”

  Grayson shrugged. “I’ve got a couple years on this stint before I can get out. I’ll talk to my case worker to see if the threat has gone. I’ll have to keep this name, which will help, but if anyone’s been snooping around Mom, Dad, or Ginger, it won’t be safe for me to stay.”

  Begrudgingly Evan said, “We leave Sunday morning, so you’re free to stay here until then. We can put your bike in here, and no one’ll know.”

  “Thanks, I’d like that,” Grayson said as he stuck his hand out to shake Evan’s.

  The men shook hands, but Ginger knew that didn’t mean Evan trusted him. Grayson had to earn that.

  34

  The following morning didn’t have the peaceful start everyone had hoped for. Mrs. Monroe was banging on Evan and Ginger’s door.

  “Evan, you need to leave. I’ve already woken up Mitchell and Kayla. Y’all need to get a move on!”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Evan called back. He rolled over and put his arm around Ginger. “She’s kidding, right?” he asked as he kissed Ginger’s neck.

  “Oh God,” Ginger mumbled.

  Evan stopped moving immediately. “Is that a good ‘oh, God’ or a bad one?”

  “Both. I don’t want you to stop, but if you don’t, she’ll come in here. Not to mention, I don’t want to get out of bed,” Ginger whined.

  Evan rubbed her tummy where their baby was growing. “Is he cooperating?”

  Ginger smiled. “Yes, the baby is cooperating. You sound so confident.” She wrinkled her forehead. “Please don’t be disappointed,” she said with a concerned smile as she cupped his face. Please let my dream be true for him.

  Evan smiled at her. “Never.” He gave her a quick peck before he threw the covers back. Evan went to the bathroom and prepared for the day while she lingered in bed for a few more minutes.

  Ginger passed him in the doorway as he left and she went in. “I’ll be ready in a minute,” she said.

  “I’ll go fix your coffee until you get there.”

  While Ginger got ready for the morning, her mind wandered to last night. Grayson was here, alive. He’d been close all this time. She knew Evan hated him for what he’d put them through. Could she help them bridge that gap? Did she want to? She didn’t know because she was mad at him too. With her mind all over the place, she walked out to meet everyone in the kitchen.

  As soon as she walked into the room, Kayla grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. “I love you, but your mother’s timing sucks,” Kayla said as she raised her eyebrows. “I couldn’t believe she knocked on our door just as I was…you know.” She tilted her head.

  Ginger giggled. “I’m sorry. She woke us up, too.”

  “Oh, we were awake. That’s the problem.”

  “It’ll keep ‘til tonight. Believe me, the delayed finish is so worth it,” Ginger said with mischief in her eyes.

  “What? You haven’t told me about this. You’ve done that?”

  “Yeah, the weekend you and Mitchell got engaged.” Ginger’s face turned red and her smile grew wide.

  “I know that look. Which secret are you telling?” Evan said as he brought Ginger a cup of coffee and kissed her cheek.

  Ginger smelled it and didn’t think this was going to be good. One sip and she handed it back to Evan as she shook her head. “Can’t,” she said with disappointment etched across her face.

  The surprise on Evan’s face was evident. “That’s not good,” he softly said.

  Ginger rubbed her belly. “Okay, little one. I guess this is our first test of wills. I can’t believe you don’t like coffee. You aren’t going to like Mommy if she doesn’t have any,” she said to her belly.

  “Are you talking to yourself,” Grayson asked.

  Ginger looked at her brother. “No, I’m talking to the baby. He or she decided we don’t want coffee this morning,” Ginger said with a sad laugh.

  “What about some hot tea?” Kayla asked. “Orange juice?”

  “Both?” Ginger asked hopefully.r />
  “I’ll get the juice,” Evan said.

  “I’ll make the tea,” Kayla chimed in.

  “Gingersnap, I hope they have something to wake you up to make decisions, and calm your nerves before tonight. I think I’ll find someplace else to be today.” Grayson laughed.

  “You can go with Mitchell and me,” Evan said as he gave Ginger a glass of juice.

  “Where are y’all going?”

  “Fishing at the Gregory’s pond. Then we’ll dress there for the wedding. I think your dad was planning to go. If you need to borrow some jeans, we’ll find you some.”

  “Will the girls be safe here alone?”

  “We’ll have mom and Mrs. Gregory. I think Cat is coming over, too,” Ginger said when she finished her juice.

  “Are you sure?” Grayson asked both Evan and Ginger.

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “Count me in,” Grayson said.

  “Breakfast is over in five minutes. Men will be out of this house in ten.” Mrs. Monroe was laying down orders that no one expected to come out of this sweet woman. “Evan and Mitchell, you aren’t supposed to see your brides until they walk down the aisle. This is not good. Not good at all,” she said as she pointed at them.

  “Mom, the US Army drill sergeants have nothing on you,” Grayson said as he kissed her cheek.

  “Don’t forget a photographer may come by and take pictures today,” Mrs. Monroe said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mitchell, Evan, and Grayson all said at once.

  The men left wearing fishing gear and carrying their wedding clothes in hanging bags. Ginger wondered if both her fiancé and brother would return or just one of them. She sent up a little prayer, please let them get along today.

  35

  The men all walked toward the Monroe’s huge SUV. Evan and Mitchell headed toward the back door when Mr. Monroe said, “Mitchell, why don’t you ride up front so you can give me directions?”

  Evan looked at Mitchell and rolled his eyes as he mouthed, “Fuck.” Mitchell chuckled before he said, “Yessir.” He changed places with