Lincoln_The Manning Dragons

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I’m talking to my sister-in-law. You have no business interrupting.” Lincoln pointed out that he hadn’t married Ginger and never would. “You got that right, but I want to see my son. I know he’s here sometimes. He’s my kid, no matter what she says to the contrary.”

  “Ginger didn’t list your name on the certificate?” Walton said he didn’t know, they didn’t have a Conrad birth certificate on file. “I guess you didn’t hear then. His last name is Rice. And good for her. I’d have advised her not to give yours as well. What do you want with Wendall?” He asked who that was. “Ginger’s son is Wendall Rice.”

  “What the hell kind of name is Wendall? And why doesn’t he have my name? This is why I should have him now. If she were to keep this up, he’d be the biggest dork in school. Just tell me where he is, Grace, and I’ll be on my way.” Grace said nothing, so Walton looked at him. “You can understand this, can’t you? I bet you were called Abe your entire life because of your name.”

  “Actually, I was born well before he was, and always thought that he was named for me, not the other way around.” At the look of confusion on his face, Lincoln laughed. “Don’t hurt yourself, Walton. Also, your son is in good hands. And well cared for. Better than I’m sure a murderer would be able to.”

  “I didn’t kill my parents.” He didn’t say anything. “My mom got up and did that all on her own. And then she murdered herself. I think she was just tired of living with my dad. I know that I was. He was a mean person. But I’m going to inherit soon, and I’ll be able to have nannies out the ass for him and send him to the most expensive schools. He’ll be a great kid. And mine.”

  “That isn’t going to happen, Walton. My sister is doing a wonderful job of raising her son to be a good man. And you better stay away from her or else.” He actually asked Grace or what. “I’ll rain a hurt down on you that you’ll feel for the rest of your very short life. I promise you, should you touch any of them, I’ll hunt you down.”

  “Big words for such a little girl.” He shoved her, and before he could move again, Lincoln had him by the throat and was tightening his grip. As he struggled, turning darker and darker all the time, he felt Cooper talk to him.

  He’s not worth it. The paperwork would be a killer. He told him that he’d hurt his mate. She said that he only pushed her. And you’re terrifying her. Let the jackass go and we’ll deal with him in a more personal way.

  Instead of putting him down, he tossed him toward the wall. The crack he left said that he hit pretty hard, but the idiot stood right up. It wasn’t two seconds before he was back on the floor and not moving. Grace jerked Lincoln toward her and then slapped him across the face.

  “What was that for?” She told him. “I know that you can take care of yourself, but he touched you. And no one touches what is mine, Grace.”

  “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just go all Neanderthal on me.” He grinned, and she asked if he wanted her to hit him again. “You’re being an ass.”

  “Because I was protecting you?” He had gotten loud and tried to calm himself down. He wasn’t mad, just shocked. “I love you, and he might have hurt you.”

  “Then you step in when he’s about to hurt me. Not when I was just ready to kick him in the balls until they were right under his double chin.” He couldn’t help it, he laughed. “I’m not being funny.”

  “You’re right, you’re not the least bit funny.” He laughed again. “I’m sorry, but I can see the look on his face when you would have done that. I think, for some reason, he has it in his head that you and your sister are helpless. You should have been able to prove otherwise to him. And for that, I’m profoundly sorry.”

  “Good.” She stared at him and then turned to walk away. “Men. Why do they have to be so macho all the time?”

  “Shall I call the police? I don’t want that to be against your policy of taking care of yourself.” She flipped him off and he had a good laugh about that too as he pulled out his cell. But when he turned around Walton was gone. He had no idea when that had happened, but he ran after Grace to make sure that he wasn’t in the house.

  “What is it?” She held him as he told her what happened. “He got up from that? Christ, he must have the luck of a cat, nine lives and all. You should have let me kick him. Men do not get up from that without a lot of complaining.”

  He kissed her again then called the police. Lincoln did leave out the part where he’d gotten into trouble with his mate about how to take care of Walton, and they said that they’d send a car right over. Lincoln wasn’t sure that he’d not hurt Walton badly, and the fact that he got up and took off made him think he was on drugs. He tried to remember if he’d smelled them on him and couldn’t.

  Once they were on site he let them ask the questions. There was something about this whole thing that made him think that Walton had come by for another reason than just to see his son. And how did he know that he was here sometimes? Was he stalking them? Was Grace safe in the studio? Was Ginger at the greenhouse? He decided they needed to have a family meeting, just to make sure that they were all keeping tabs on each other. And if Grace didn’t like it, he’d beat her bottom and tell her he was going to be all manly. He might even do that anyway—it sounded like fun. He told her his plans.

  “Have them come for dinner. We’ve not had them all here since we moved in.” He told Grace that was an excellent idea. “Also, have Ginger bring the kids. I’ll feel better about them staying here rather than at the house alone. I know you have it guarded, but I’d prefer if he wasn’t able to trap her someplace with them.”

  “I’ll have the staff ready some of the rooms for them. I think there might even be a baby bed from the pack that we can use.” The phone was ringing when she went to the kitchen to tell Finny they were having guests and see what they could have. He answered the phone. “Lincoln Manning, may I help you?”

  “Mr. Manning, my name is Howard Taylor. I’d like to speak to you if I may. I’m to understand that you’re married to Grace Rice, sister of Ginger. She’s the one I’m trying to get ahold of. There is some…. A change was made to the will of Mrs. Conrad, and I need to discuss it with her.”

  “Sure. If you can make it this evening, her and the children are going to be staying here while they hunt for Walton.” He said that was an excellent idea. “He was here earlier threatening my wife, and he wants to see the little boy.”

  “Don’t let him do that, please. I have it on good authority that he plans to leave the country with him. He wishes to raise it as his own.” The man laughed. “He isn’t stupid, not book wise at least, but he’s bragging that he has a son and will be raising him to be a lot like him. He’s also been to the courthouse looking for a birth certificate. Ms. Rice did the correct thing by not naming him as the father.”

  “Finding out Wendall’s name seemed to upset him.” Lincoln laughed a little. “We’ll all be here about six. I’m sorry though, but we’ll have to see identification when you arrive. I don’t want anything else to happen to my family. I’m sure you understand.”

  “Oh yes, I do. I’ll see you soon. Thank you, Mr. Manning.” He told him it was Lincoln. “Yes, all right. And please call me Howard.”

  As Lincoln made his way back to his offices, he wondered what had changed in the will. And if that was why she’d killed her husband first. From what he was to understand about the woman from those that knew the couple, she barely said a word and was under the rule of her husband. Lincoln didn’t think that Grace would ever bow before him as the older woman had in her marriage. And he was sure that he didn’t want her to. That wasn’t the way to have a life with someone that you loved.

  Getting his computer set up only took about ten minutes. But he had so many boxes in the room that he decided to unpack the books as well as the many things he’d collected over the years to put on the shelves. There wasn’t a great many considering how old he was, but the items were beautiful to him. He looked up when Grace entered.

  “
I just got off the phone with Garrett.” She began unwrapping things and setting them on the shelf too. “He said he’s sending over a mockup of a flyer and wants to know if I’d go for an extra night with the showing. I told him it didn’t matter to me.”

  “We’ll get a hotel.” He could tell she was distracted and tried to get her out of the mood. Finally, he gave up and asked her what happened.

  “He did sell Cooper the painting. But he wouldn’t pay the price.” Lincoln was pissed then, just like a fire had been set under him. He was reaching for his cheap ass brother when she continued. “Cooper said he’d only pay the full price, like the public would have. Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know, love. Perhaps you could ask him yourself.” She nodded. “If you don’t mind my asking, how much did he pay for it? And just so you understand, he can well afford it. We all have more money than we can ever spend.”

  “Three point seven million. I don’t understand that.” Lincoln asked her what. “First of all, why someone would pay that much for a painting by a virtually unknown artist, and why everyone thinks all of them will sell like that one did.”

  “Can I ask you something first?” She nodded as she sat down when the box was empty. “When you painted that first picture, the one on the large canvas, what did you think was going to happen to it? And honestly, what did you want to?”

  “I really never thought beyond getting it done so that I could move onto the next, and then the next after that. It was like if I didn’t paint them, I’d die or something.” He nodded, understanding the need to finish a project once it was started. “I have to tell you something, I have the same feelings about more that I want to do. This time it’s not dragons, but wolves. The first is so complete in my head that I could literally just go paint it without thinking about it.”

  “Then you should. And yes, I think that every piece will sell.” She said that she’d have to wait until tomorrow, the canvas needed to be stretched. “I can help with that. I’ve done that sort of work before. Is it going to be as big as the King painting?”

  “I don’t think so. It’ll be large, but manageable for me. The other was difficult to paint because I had to come up with ways to get to the center of it. With this one, I’ll be able to walk around it. It would be easier if it were upright, but I’d not be able to paint without a ladder or scaffolding.”

  He would see about getting her what she needed. Lincoln wasn’t going to have anything stand in her way while she worked. Christ, three million. He was going to have to tell Cooper he got off cheap, just to tease him. But he did wonder if the wolf painting would be about an old battle as well. Hank would know as soon as it was finished. He might even buy it.

  ~~~

  Howard had never had a meeting with such large men before. He always thought that he was taller than the average male, but they towered over him. And the women—well, it was clear to him who ran the family. The men would have laid down their lives for these ladies.

  “Did you get plenty to eat, Mr. Taylor?” He told Ginger that he had, and for her to call him Howard. “All right. And I’m Ginger. They said that you wanted to speak to me. If you need to make it private, that’s fine, but I’m going to tell them all anyway. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to know what the Conrad estate has to do with me.”

  “As I was telling your brother-in-law, Mrs. Conrad changed her will a few weeks before she killed herself. And in it, she must have known about you, your daughter, and son. She didn’t know what sex your baby was, but she was heartbroken that it was Walton’s child. She said in the will that she hoped you did a better job of raising your child than she did hers.” Ginger looked as if she was going to cry, and he handed her his handkerchief. “She was a troubled woman, my dear. Her husband was abusive. Not physically, but verbally. He was forever telling her what a fool she was, that she was stupid. And Walton wasn’t any better. The day that she murdered her husband must have been the most difficult thing she’d ever done. But in reading the will, which I’ll get to, I think I understand a great deal better why she did it.”

  “Please, let’s hear it, if you don’t mind.” He nodded and pulled out the will. He asked if it was all right if he just skipped to the meat of the thing. “Yes, if you think the rest is unnecessary. I don’t understand why you think I’d need to know this.”

  She took the part he pointed out for her. When she began reading it to herself, the others asked if she could share. Ginger began again aloud, and he knew this was going to be a tear jerker.

  “To my darling grandchild. First, I want to tell you how sorry I am that I cannot be there for you as a grandma. I would like you to remember me fondly, and to not judge me too harshly. I did what I needed to do to survive. And I didn’t even do that very well. I would like to tell you a shortened version of my life.

  “I met your grandfather when I was eighteen. I was stupid, I know that now, in thinking that I could change him into a man I could love. But he never wanted my love. Only the prestige and money I brought to the marriage. Then a few months later, my own parents died, leaving me with a multimillion dollar estate. As you can well imagine, Walton was happy. I was not.

  “The money became a sore spot for us. I had it, he didn’t. And no matter how many times he begged, beat, or even tried to kill me for it, I would never sign it over to him. And for that, I paid the price. I became the world’s loneliest rich person.

  “Just recently he brought me a will and told me to sign it. It had in it that he was going to inherit all my estate and the houses that I owned. I didn’t sign it. And as you can well imagine, I suffered for it. But enough about that. I had this drawn up in the hopes that you could use the money for goodness and kindness. To bring to your home a love that I have never had. A friendship with people you enjoy, and money so you may enjoy a life that I wished I had had. You deserve it, simply because you are my grandchild, despite the problems you will encounter with your father.”

  Ginger looked at him when she read down to the bottom of the page. She was confused, he could see that, but he waited for her to ask questions. He was sure she would have plenty.

  “She left my son her estate.” He said that she did. “Why did she do that? I mean, she doesn’t know me from anyone.”

  “Molly was a very smart woman. She did manage to keep her money, even though throughout her marriage to Walton it became difficult. And she also turned her millions into more, without his knowledge, or mine for that matter. Molly might have given someone the illusion that she was a beaten woman, when all along she was plotting and planning better than any of us could have imagined.” Ginger said that she was sorry for her. “I am as well. I never got to know the woman that she truly was. Walton was a smart man too, but he was ignorant to the needs of his wife. And after their son started to cause them trouble, he cut him out of the will too. His plan, according to the will that Molly wouldn’t sign, was for all her money to go to him. And in the event, which he never believed would happen, that she outlived him, then it would go to several charities he liked and supported. Walter the son would get nothing. Nor did Molly leave him anything.”

  “Will she need to do anything to get the money for her son?” He knew Cooper would want to get to the nitty gritty of things. Howard told him what he knew to happen now. “So, she doesn’t have to claim it publicly or anything. I can’t help but think that would be a bad idea.”

  “Yes, I agree. And it’s set up so that Ms. Rice can manage the estate as she wishes and spend any money that she wants. Molly wanted her to be happy as well, and to have the ability to have fun. Something that she wasn’t able to do.” Howard asked if she wanted to know her family’s net worth. When she nodded but held onto her sister, he had to smile. She was going to be shocked. “In addition to all my worldly possessions, I leave all my homes to the unborn, or at this time born, child of Ginger Rice. I also leave her the house in town, as well as the many others that were left to me from my parents’ estate. There is cash and j
ewelry in a safety deposit box that will be opened upon her request, any and all items listed below can be sold at any time should she wish it. I will not hold any kind of stipulations over anyone as was done to me.”

  “You’re saying there is more than just the house in town?” He said there’s a total of nine, some in several different countries. “Really? Wendall has nine homes.”

  She said it like a question, but he assured her it was right. Then he told her the amount of money. Just over two billion dollars, not including the residences or the items inside them. When she didn’t speak, he asked if she was going to faint.

  “I’m made of sterner stuff than that, sir.” He told her he was sorry but had to bite back a laugh. “Walton, he won’t get any of this? He doesn’t have any rights to this money or the houses at all, correct?”

  “No, none of it. The will is legal, and since she outlived her husband by a few minutes at best, then his estate, which isn’t nearly as much, went to her as well. That too is mentioned here for you. It’s just under one million.” He watched her carefully when she got up to pace. “There is more if I can go on.”

  “You could, sir, but I don’t think I’d hear a single word of it. I’m overwhelmed and terrified of all this.” He said he understood. “Do you? I was dirt poor when I met my husband. Then he died, and I was even poorer. But we had love and loved well. Then this monster comes along and nearly kills me, then ties me to his bed and gives me a son. Now his mother is giving us the world. I think I misspoke. I’m more than overwhelmed. I can’t even think of a word to describe how I’m feeling.”

  “I’m sorry about all of this. But I would like to tell you that so long as you live, you’ll never have to worry about money again. There is also a trust fund set up for Mattie. When you have time, you need to contact the attorney in charge of that. I’m only here today because my friend, the man who set this up, passed away this morning.” She told him she was sorry. “I am as well. It was his fondest dream to see the estate taken care of, and he didn’t get to do what he wanted for you. I had no idea until he called me last night, telling me he wasn’t feeling well, and asked if I could do this for him. And then he was gone.”