Mr. Always & Forever

by Ashlee Price

  “It was my pleasure. Call me and we will set something up before you go back. That is, if you have time.” She hoped that he would, but Mary had learned that she felt more than most. It wasn’t that she was planning their children or anything like that, but she had thought about being his something new more than once. It was hard not to think about him in that way. He was gorgeous and actually had a personality that wouldn’t be expected from a man in his position.

  Mary watched him go and she sighed to herself. He was the type of man she was looking for and she hadn’t even known it. Usually she dated business men and artists, but now she wondered if what she really needed was just a good old-fashioned hard working man. A man like Henri was hard to find though. She had to go all the way to Venezuela to find one that made her forget about her ex. Darryl had been what she had thought about when she was getting ready to go on the plane. She was going to give him a call when she got back and hope that he would want to get together. After Mary got back to her house, the last thing she was thinking about was Darryl. Henri was on her mind and she wondered if he was going to call.

  ***

  About an hour after she made it home, Mary had to go meet with the author that had hired her for the pictures. It was a peculiar man that was kind of hawkish looking in the face, but he turned out to be very nice and very generous. They went through the pictures that she had just had printed off and the last picture of Henri came up. She blushed a little when Trent asked about it.

  “Oh sorry, sir. I had a little film left and he was a man I met on my plane ride back.” Mary grabbed the picture and smiled back at him. He seen right through her and the old man smiled at her.

  “Of course. It seems like you like this fella.”

  Though she didn’t think of men as fellas, she couldn’t disagree with the sentiment. She had liked him, a lot and still wished that she would see him again. All she could do was wait to see if he called though.

  “Mary?”

  “Yes, sorry. I don’t know where my mind is today. I am going to blame it on jetlag.”

  He just nodded again. The man was quiet, but always his eyes were watching and like most writers that she had worked with, he seemed to see more in the way of how people ticked than most people. He was interested in her reactions, but would never be so forthcoming to actually ask.

  “Well, the pictures look great, Mary. I am so glad you were able to go down there for me. I used to do my own pictures and illustrations, but I am getting older and do not look forward to the travel much more than I do my chair.”

  She smiled back at him. “It was my pleasure. I wouldn’t have been able to visit if not for the job, so it has always been a bonus. I get to do what I love and travel.”

  “If everyone was as easy to work with as you, Mary. I have a new project coming up that I thought might be right down your alley and that gentlemen in the photo would be perfect.”

  “Perfect for what?”

  “I am writing a book about cowboys and that man looks about as cowboyish as I think it gets. I don’t know if that is a word, but you get my point.”

  Mary was already shaking her head. “I don’t think he would go for something like that. He is a Callahan, so he won’t do it for the money.”

  Ralph shook his head. “If he feels half of what you do, I am sure you can sweet talk him into it. It will give you a reason to go see him.”

  She looked at him surprised, though she would never admit that she was thinking almost on the same lines. It was surprising, but it shouldn’t have been. Trent had always been that way. “I will see what I can do, but I think you are starting to get a bit fanciful in your old age.”

  “That very well could be, Mary.”

  He gave her more details of what kind of shots he was looking for and though it wasn’t really something she had done before, she did like the idea of having a reason to see Henri again. Now all she had to do was wait for him to call.

  Chapter 4

  “Good to see you home brother. You have certainly gotten darker since I saw you last.”

  “It is so hot there Scott. I always thought Texas was hot, but it was like that there, with no breeze, ever.” He was already smiling from the cool breeze in the house from the air conditioners. Henri knew there was a lot of guff about global warming, but there was nothing better after getting out of the hot sun and he questioned if a few less years on earth was worth it. At the moment he thought so.

  “Hell it can’t be much hotter than here.”

  “Trust me, it is. So what is going on here? I have been getting news that everyone is getting married. Are you next on the chopping block?”

  Scott shook his head. His girlfriend had been pushing it more and more and he knew it was because everyone else in his family seemed to be getting bit by the bug. He was not and though she thought there was a chance, there was no way that Scott was going to go down that route. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ready, he just never really even thought about getting married.

  “Nope, none of that for me. Mom’s guilt never worked on me.”

  Henri just smiled. It was good to be back and be around family. “Yes, it always worked on me, so I am going to have to keep my distance. How is she doing?”

  Scott shrugged. “She is doing good. There has been a lot of crazy stuff going on lately and she just takes it all on like a charm. You know how mom is. She is supposed to be down this evening.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Gemma told her that you were coming in for a while. She misses you and you have been running around in the jungles for months now. Besides, it is your sister’s wedding in a few days.”

  Henri started to correct him, but there was no point. In his family’s eyes, he had been tromping in the woods eating leaves for the last couple of months. They didn’t want to hear about any new ways that they weren’t already doing. That is one of the reasons why he left. Henri was sick of the same old, same old status quo. He wanted to try new things and see new people.

  “What about you, Henri? Did you find you a nice little dark-skinned beauty down there that doesn’t speak English?”

  Henri just shook his head. His brother was a mess and it was kind of refreshing to hear that it hadn’t changed. They were now the last to be single and as long as Scott stayed single, at least he wouldn’t be the only one. Paul and Marcel had already gone down the very path that Elna had prescribed to them. Henri was sure that he and his brother would be the hold outs.

  “No, still single. The women were afraid of me down there I think. They called me the crazy white guy, so I don’t think I had much of a chance even if one had caught my attention.”

  “You should have showed some of that money you got. That seems to work everywhere you go in the world. Cash is king.”

  Henri sighed and grabbed some more coffee. He decided it would be scary to be in that man’s brain. “Well I didn’t go that route Scott. It’s not that much different then here.” His brother was acting like it was the Red District everywhere, but since he didn’t travel, there was a good chance that it was exactly what he thought. He wasn’t the smartest brother, but he was always good for a laugh.

  “Yeah, well I wouldn’t mind getting out of here for a while.”

  “You are still dating that one chick aren’t you?” Henri felt bad that he didn’t really know her or her name, but Scott kept her away for a reason. He liked to keep his romance life away from the family, probably to stop all the pressure that seemed to come with meeting the Callahan brood.

  “Chick?” He guffawed. “You sound as bad as me. Yeah, we are still together.”

  “Maybe you will be the next to get married.”

  Scott gave him a dirty look and was relieved to hear his sister coming in. Her fiancée was with her and she went straight for Henri. They had been close as kids, Gemma was close with all of her brothers, but she had always liked Henri. He was the free spirit of the family and even though she hadn’t had the guts to run around the world, a s
mall part of her still wanted to.

  “Henri, my, you are dark! How have you been?”

  She practically jumped into his arms and he twirled her around for a minute before letting her down and meeting the man she was about to marry. She made the introductions and Henri couldn’t have care about the man at all, but the way his sister was beaming, he had a feeling that they were perfect for each other. There was a second that he wished a woman would look at him like that, but he was so happy for his sister to have finally found love. Henri’s mind went to Mary briefly.

  “I’m good sis. How are you? Congratulations on the engagement.”

  Gemma was practically glowing, walking on air and she just beamed back at him. Her fiancée was looking at her with love and Scott made a gagging sound in the back of his throat. Gemma’s smile faded and she pushed him back. “Don’t be jealous. You need to just on and marry your girlfriend.”

  Scott scowled and moved to the other side of the kitchen and poured another drink. He asked if anyone wanted anything and only Gemma gave him a drink order of ice water and lemon. “I meant more for your new beau.”

  She didn’t care and Scott got her what she wanted. Gemma was one of those people that was hard to say no to. Both brothers gave each other a look. They kind of felt bad for her fiancée, but as long as he gave her what she wanted, it would be okay. Henri still had the scar on his hand where she had stabbed him with a fork. All the brothers knew that Gemma didn’t play. To see her so happy was good for Henri, but he wondered how long until she was throwing utensils at her soon-to-be husband.

  Gemma asked him a bunch of questions and true to form, he couldn’t not answer her. She had a way of asking a question and he had to answer. Henri had always been unable to hide much from her, even when he could turn the rest of the world off. His mother came in a little after Gemma and the old ranch house was getting louder by the minute. Then Marcel and his wife, as well as Leanna and her husband came down and Elna was in the kitchen whipping up a meal for them all.

  Henri found himself on the porch drinking something a little stiffer than a sweet tea. It was still loud, the people laughing and talking behind him in the house. He definitely wasn’t on the little ranch in Venezuela anymore and Henri wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He had missed his family, but while he was back in their bosom, he missed the silence and solitude.

  “I thought I would find you out here, Henri. You were always the one as far away as possible when we had big get-together.”

  “It is just too much with them. It always has been. I don’t know how you can deal with them all the time.”

  “I can’t, that’s why I moved out last year.”

  “Why didn’t I know that, Gemma?”

  “Because you are always on your next adventure and I can’t hardly keep up. You aren’t going to be staying long, are you?”

  He shrugged. Henri had told Carlos he would be back, but he wasn’t sure. There was something that he wanted to see about, see how it all would work out. Henri had been thinking about the woman he had met on the plane ever since he left her earlier in the day. It was strange to him because he usually didn’t do that. Usually he didn’t worry about women too much.

  “I don’t know. I was thinking I might go into Houston later in the week.”

  “Really? Why?”

  Henri wasn’t ready to say anything about the why and he just shrugged.

  “Henri, did you meet a girl?”

  “No, why would you ask that?”

  “Because that is the only thing that has been thinking you would go to the city in the first place. It’s not for the business, so it has to be a girl.”

  He looked at her as if she may in fact be a witch. Gemma read people so well sometimes that it made the person wonder if she was in their head. “I did meet a woman on the plane.”

  Gemma smiled broadly. “See I knew it was a girl. You should give her a call, Henri.”

  Again he wondered how she knew so much. “I was thinking about it, but I don’t know.”

  She waved her hand at him, “Trust me. Call her. She is waiting for you to call her I bet.”

  He wanted to ask her how she knew that, but Gemma was already moving off with her fiancée to dance for a little while. Henri wanted to believe her and though it was just him again, her words were still with him. The fact was that it was what he wanted to hear. He wanted to think that she was waiting for him to call.

  Chapter 5

  When he finally did pull his phone out and give her a ring, she didn’t recognize his voice and his hopes of her waiting were dashed. “Who is this?”

  “This is Henri.” He was now wondering why the hell he had called her at all. She did not even remember him.

  “Oh, Henri, hey. I was wondering if you were going to call me or not. I figured I wouldn’t hear from you for a while. Don’t guys have rules on that kind of thing?”

  “I don’t. I was wondering what you were doing this weekend?”

  “Ah, called me for a date in days. Well I guess I like anticipation. Nothing I suppose. What are we doing?”

  “I was hoping you would like to come to this little gathering I got to go to. It would be nice if you were there.” Henri couldn’t muster up a better answer. He was flummoxed by her not recognizing his voice. It was the first time that he cared and that bothered him. Henri had learned that caring could get him in trouble. He wanted her to have been waiting for the call, but it just wasn’t the case and he was having a hard time getting past that.

  “What kind of gathering? What do you rich people do?”

  He sighed. “It’s just a ceremony thing. Fancy dress. Dinner, dancing, that sort of thing. I understand if you don’t want to go.”

  “Of course I would like to go.”

  He let go of the air that he didn’t realize he was holding. There had been a fear that she was going to refuse. Henri didn’t mention that it was actually his sister’s wedding, but Henri didn’t want to go alone. If he did, he would be set up with a number of ladies from his mother and sister. Beyond that, Henri really just wanted to see her again. He had been thinking about her since she had walked away and now that she had agreed, he was feeling a bit of elation.

  After giving her the address and the time, he hung up before he said something stupid and she decided against seeing him. He didn’t want her to change her mind. When she called back, he was afraid to answer, sure that she was going to tell him that she had done that very thing.

  “Yeah?”

  “Well I was actually going to see if you wanted to do a photo op?”

  “Like before?”

  She giggled a little and he really liked the sound of that. There was something magical about the way she sounded to him. “No not like before. One of my clients is a writer and now he is doing one on cowboys. He saw the picture I took of you on the plane and he is convinced that you would be perfect for it. I told him that I doubted you would.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I don’t know. I guess because you don’t need the money, but I told him that I would at least ask.” She was nervous and talking faster and faster the longer he stayed silent on the other side. Why couldn’t he just say something, she thought to herself?

  “That sounds good, Mary. Why don’t you come here on Friday and we can do it then. There is plenty of room at the ranch if you want to just stay the night.”

  His suggestions caught her off guard, but it sounded like a good plan. There was nothing more that Mary would like to do. “Sounds good. I will see you in a couple of days.”

  “Okay, see you then.” Henri hung up with hope back in his heart and Scott made a comment about the stupid grin on his face when he went back in.

  “What the hell are you grinning like an idiot for?”

  Henri just shrugged. His brother was the most unromantic of them all and Henri doubted that his brother would understand it if he tried to tell him. Henri didn’t even know if there was an explanation
that he had. She was the type of person that drove him crazy and made him wonder why he hadn’t gone to the next level. With Mary, he could see himself going to a level that he hadn’t thought of before.

  “Nothing, Scott. You wouldn’t understand.”

  He looked at the back of him a bit bewildered. Scott was starting to wonder if everybody around him was going crazy. He blamed it on all of the love in the air. It seemed to be cutting off the oxygen to their brains and everyone had lost their damn mind. If he was honest with himself, he knew that it was their mother’s fault for putting it all in her heads. Shaking his head, Scott went back inside to the impromptu party calming down. Davina and Marcel had already gone home because she was pregnant and ready. Leanna and Gemma were talking about the next new addition to the family as they left and Henri was already upstairs. Scott sighed to himself and called his girlfriend up to see if she wanted to go out.

  “Don’t worry Scott. It will be your turn before you know it.”

  Scott tried to hide the grimace behind a smile as Elna smiled back at him. She had the same look that Gemma got sometimes when she was deciding what was best for him. Scott nodded and went up the stairs. Why did it sound like a threat?

  ***

  Mary got off the phone and smiled to the empty apartment around her. She had not expected him to call her so quickly and he had agreed so readily to help her. Mary wondered if he wanted something in return or if he just wanted to see her again. She hoped it was the latter. Pushing the small cat from her lap, Mary got up and sighed at the view she had been missing. Prices were high in the city, but at least she got a view.

  After her meeting with the author, Mary had gotten some mail that was being held for her and just relaxed. It was later in the evening when Henri had called. It made her think about him as she went to sleep that night. There was something about the cowboy that she really liked. When she heard the ringtone for her ex, she didn’t even bother to answer. He had been what she had thought of before she had met Henri, but now there was only Henri to think about. No one else would compare. Mary was starting to think that it was time for her to try something new as well.