Eric moved to stand next to the desk. “Is there any reason she can’t revoke his power of attorney today?”
“Absolutely not. I can have my secretary draw up the necessary document, and she can sign it while she’s here. It won’t take but a minute.”
“Then let’s do it,” Laynee said. “I’m not giving a power of attorney to anyone. I’ll rely on David and Eric to look over the documents and read them to me, but I’ll be making all my own decisions.”
Eric laid his hand on her shoulder. “Is there a way you can have Laynee’s business printed in Braille so she can read it herself and just ask questions if she needs to?”
Laynee sucked in a breath and turned to Eric, her face glowing. “That would be wonderful, Eric.”
Kemp nodded. “It can be done, but it takes time. If you want these in Braille, you’ll have to come back in about ten days.”
“I’ll sign what needs to be done today, but have copies of everything done in Braille and send them to me when they’re ready. For now, I trust my guys to read them and make sure I’m not signing something I shouldn’t. You can rest assured, Mr. Kemp, that if my father gave you instructions concerning me, or the estate, it’s a lie. I’m breaking off contact with him, and he will not be involved with my business in the future.”
Kemp’s mouth dropped open and then quickly snapped shut. “As you wish, Laynee. There are three lists here which outline what you’ve inherited and the approximate value. Why don’t I leave you alone with your friends so you have time to read them, and then I’ll come back and have you sign all the necessary paperwork.”
“Can you tell me how much the estate is worth?” she asked.
“Conservatively speaking, approximately four and a half million at today’s market prices. Only about a third of that is available as cash.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Kemp rose. “I’ll leave you alone and be back in about a half hour. That should give you time to read everything. You can use that tablet to make a list of any questions.”
Eric watched him walk out and then whistled low. “That’s some chunk of change. Did you know he was that well off?”
Laynee shook her head. “I knew he had money, but I had no idea how much. It’s no wonder my father wants to get his hands on it. He doesn’t have anywhere near that much wealth of his own.”
David glanced at the papers. “He had to be somewhat wealthy. What about that fancy school he kept you in for all those years? That had to cost a pretty penny.”
“My grandfather paid for that. One of the few visits he made to Oregon, I asked him why he paid to keep me away. He told me that I was better off growing up away from my father if my mother couldn’t be there, too. Since Father wouldn’t let me live with Grandfather, he footed the bill for me to stay there. He liked that they worked with me, teaching me how to survive in the real world without my sight.” She wiped a tear off her cheek. “He said one day I’d thank him for making it possible for me to grow up in the school, surrounded by people that cared.”
Eric pulled up another chair and sat down beside her. “And were you?”
“Was I what?”
“Surrounded by people who cared.”
She smiled. “Oh, yeah. I had several teachers and advisors over the years that made me feel really special and loved.”
Eric leaned close and kissed her cheek. “You are very special.”
David picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. “And very loved.”
Laynee sighed. “Let’s get through these papers and get back to the house. I’m ready to become your mate.”
Eric tightened his fingers around her hand. “Are you sure you’re ready? There’s no going back once we give you the mating bite.”
“Once we mate you, our souls will be connected. Some mated couples develop psychic bonds. Sometimes the bonds are strong enough they can hear each other’s thoughts, and sometimes it’s weaker, leaving you only able to read emotions. We won’t know until after we mate which ours will be. With you human, the link will probably be based on emotion. You’ll know when we’re happy, or sad. Even fear will transmit to your mate. Once we’re mated, you won’t be able to stay away from us. You’ll have a yearning to be near us all the time.”
“Will this yearning be the same for the two of you?”
Eric snorted. “It’s even stronger for us. Our animals will demand we stay close to you, close enough to always protect you from danger.”
“Are we going back to your home in Glacier to live?”
David cleared his throat. “Actually, I wanna talk to the two of you about that.”
Eric’s mouth dropped open. He’d thought they were heading back to Glacier as soon as possible. “What’s there to talk about?”
“Can it wait until we get back to the house?” David looked down at the papers in his hand. “I’d rather not do it here. I promise nothing’s wrong. I just have an idea I wanna run by the two of you.”
Laynee laid her hand over Eric’s. “We can give him some time, can’t we?”
Eric blinked and then nodded. “Sure, bro. Let’s get this business settled and then make plans tonight.”
“The plans for tonight better include mating me. I don’t want another night to go by that I’m not yours, completely.”
Eric smiled as his wolf stretched out, flicking his tail. He was more than ready to complete their mating. “Our plans for tonight definitely include mating with you.” He glanced up at David. “And then we can talk about David’s idea.”
* * * *
Robert studied the fax in his hand and cursed viciously. He turned and walked down the hall to Jeremy’s small office. Without knocking, he opened the door and walked in. Jeremy dropped his cup of coffee, the brown liquid making a puddle across his empty desk.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” He grabbed a box of tissues and began drying up the steaming brew. “I could have been burned.”
“Stop whining. You sound like a child.”
Jeremy gritted his teeth. “What do you want?”
“We’ve got to make our move tonight. Laynee’s been to see Winston’s attorney and revoked my power of attorney.”
“That can’t have been a surprise to you. Why do we have to move tonight?”
“Because she didn’t know she’d signed a power of attorney, so now she knows she’s been tricked. That alone is enough for her to go to the authorities and cause me trouble. I’ve got to get her taken care of before any of this leaks out.”
“Technically, she didn’t sign it. Didn’t you sign her name for her?”
“I hardly think that matters now.”
“Won’t the attorney be a problem now?”
“I don’t think so, at least as long as it doesn’t look like I had anything to do with her death. I want it to look like her knights in white armor turned out to be devils in disguise. She brought two strangers home and let them stay in her house. She wouldn’t listen to me, and now they’ve turned out to be bad men.” He shrugged. “Some might say she’s getting her just rewards.”
“The men want their payment tripled to even attempt another encounter.”
Robert frowned. “Tripled! Are you crazy?”
Jeremy shook his head. “One of them was caught and is now safely locked away in a jail cell. They want enough money to get far away in case their buddy decides to give them up for a little special treatment.”
“Tell them I’ll meet their price, but I can’t get the money until she’s out of the picture.” He shrugged. “After that, I’ll have plenty of spare change to take care of them.”
“They won’t kill her.”
“Why not? They were prepared to kill her the night they broke in.”
“And they were caught. They said it’d be less of a sentence if they’re caught breaking in than it would be if they caused any harm to a blind girl.” He chuckled. “Apparently they were shocked to find out she’s blind. I guess they have a certain amount of social scruples.”
“Great, just what I need. Fine, have them bring her to me, and I’ll do it myself. I can still make it look like those two yokels did the dirty work.”
“Where do you want to meet them?”
Robert thought for a minute. “There’s a gardener’s shed at the very back of Winston’s property. The house sits on about ten acres, and you have to go through woods all the way to see the little shack. He stored various gardening tools, weed killer, and stuff like that so his gardener didn’t have to haul things so far. Have them bring her there. That way her body can be left on the property.”
“What time will you meet them?”
“Let me see if I can get her to meet me outside.”
Jeremy laughed. “She’s never going to agree to meet you alone.”
“She will if I tell her I have her mother’s things for her, including a set of tapes her mother made for her before she died.”
“Is it true?”
“Yes, it’s true. There are about thirty of them, all labeled to listen to at certain times in her life.”
“And you kept them from her?”
Robert laughed harshly. “Hell, yes. I never told anybody about them.”
“Why do you hate your daughter so much? I understand you want the money, and you can’t get it unless she’s gone, but that doesn’t explain your lack of parental love to your own flesh and blood.”
“I never wanted children. I married her mother with hopes of getting into her father’s law firm. I thought dear old Dad would want his son-in-law to succeed, and he’d give me a helping hand.”
“I’m guessing things didn’t work out the way you wanted.”
“That old man hated me from day one. He never thought I was good enough for his darling girl, and he never let a day go by that he didn’t remind me of it. The more he and I fought, the more my wife lost herself in the bottom of a bottle. She begged me to give her a child. Said a child would soften up the old man, maybe even make him loosen his purse strings. So I finally agreed and she got pregnant.”
“Did it soften him up?”
“I think it made him even harder. He doted on the girl, and did everything he could to make her life easier, but he still treated me like dirt. My wife lasted five years, refereeing between her father and me, and finally drank herself to death, leaving me with her blind daughter. Winston wanted Laynee to come and live with him, but I refused. I kept her away from him out of spite. There was no way she was going to go and live in the lap of luxury without me. But he offered to send her to that fancy school, and I really didn’t want to take care of a handicapped child, so I let her go. And I got the last laugh. Being her legal guardian, I was able to keep him from seeing her for most of her life.”
Jeremy shook his head. “I didn’t know a father could feel as little as you do for his own child.”
“You don’t worry about my feelings. If you want your money, you’ll help me get through this. You just have them ready on the spur of the moment tomorrow and tell them to get a disposable cell that I can call them on. Get me the number this afternoon. Tomorrow, I’m going to settle accounts with my little girl.”
* * * *
David leaned back in his chair and groaned. “Maysie really put herself out leaving us this feast.”
“Yeah, I’m stuffed.” Eric belched and winced when Laynee giggled.
“When did she say they’d be back, David?” asked Laynee.
“Edward told me they’d be staying overnight to give Maysie plenty of time with her mother.”
“That’s good. It’s important to get that time in while you still have time to spend.”
David laid his hand over hers. “I’m sorry you didn’t get more time with your mother.”
“What about you and Eric? You never had any time with yours.”
Eric shook his head. “That’s not true. I consider Kitania my mother, and I have wonderful memories of growing up with her, Latan, and Ethan. Even now, I visit whenever I can.”
David sat up straighter. “And that takes us full circle about what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Can we get comfortable in the den for our talk?” asked Laynee.
Eric stood. “Sounds like a great idea. I had Edward put us a bottle of champagne on ice to chill so we could celebrate our mating. Why don’t I get it, and meet the two of you there?”
David stood and took Laynee’s hand. “Sounds like a plan.” He walked with her to the den, sank down onto the overstuffed sofa, pulling her close to his side.
“Is everything okay, David?”
He pressed a kiss to the smooth skin of her neck. “Everything’s great, love. I promise, nothing’s wrong. I just wanna run an idea by the two of you.”
Eric walked in with a bottle and three glasses. He placed them on the coffee table and cuddled up to Laynee’s other side. “Okay, let’s hear your idea before we drink the bubbly.”
David laughed softly. The wine wouldn’t affect them, but it might go to Laynee’s head. It was better to get their opinion while everyone was completely sober. “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to where we should live once we’re mated.”
Eric grunted. “What’s there to think about? We have a business and obligations in Glacier.”
“I know that, but I also know there’re going to be problems.”
Laynee frowned. “What kind of problems? Do you not want me to live with you?”
David took both her hands and kissed her wrists. “No, love, that’s not what I mean at all. I want you with us every minute of the day, and that’s the problem.”
“I don’t understand.”
David sighed. “First, let me give you a bit of background on our pack. The reason we traveled to Wyoming is because Remus, our alpha, ordered everyone in the pack home for a head count.”
“What’s an alpha?”
“He’s considered the head of the pack, or family. His ancestors have been the reigning alphas for several generations. He took over when his father died, and someday, either Victor, or his daughter Eloise, will take over for him.”
Eric snorted. “It’ll be Victor. No matter how much Maddie might believe in women’s lib, I don’t think the pack will ever follow a female alpha.”
David groaned. “That’s an argument for another day.”
“If Remus is the alpha, what do they call Maddie?”
“Her title is Alpha Femm.”
“Why did Remus want a head count?”
David glanced at his brother and then focused on Laynee. “He was notified by an alpha in Canada that several pack members, over the course of last year, had disappeared. He knew that Wind River had problems in the past with some unscrupulous scientists, so he wanted to give them a heads-up.”
Laynee groaned. “You’ve lost me.”
Eric patted her hand. “All this happened before we were adopted into the pack, so our information is a little sketchy. To keep it short, a doctor managed to keep Maddie hostage for a number of years. When she was finally freed, a colleague of his took over terrorizing the pack, even kidnapping and almost killing several of them. He was captured, but with strange things happening again, everyone thinks he might have a son or daughter that’s taken over for him. Hence the disappearing shifters.”
David snickered. “Man, you are the king of making a long story short.”
“What kind of work were these doctors doing?” asked Laynee.
Eric snorted. “Crazy work. He was attempting to combine human and animal DNA to produce his own homegrown shifters that would do his bidding.”
“Needless to say, he wasn’t successful. But he did do a lot of damage.”
Laynee frowned. “And they think his son is continuing his work.”
David nodded. “It’s apparently a strong possibility. It’s not normal for shifters to just up and disappear. We pretty much like pack living, being able to depend on each other for safety and support.”
Eric sighed. “You’re wanting us to go home.”
Eric leaned his head on the back of the couch. “You’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“I’ve been thinking about it since we met Laynee and I realized she was my mate. The way we work, gone for so many hours in a day, and sometimes for days at a time, we’d have to leave her alone or with someone we trusted.”
Laynee laid her hand on David’s arm. “I could go with you.”
“In time, you probably could. But before that happens, you’ll need a lot of training. I can’t speak for Eric’s wolf, but my bear would be inconsolable if I had to go away and leave you alone. It would probably drive him feral if it happened very often.”
“I don’t think my wolf would be too happy about it either. Have you talked to Remus about this?”
“Not exactly, but I did ask Maddie about possible land for sale on the mountain where we could build a home. She told me of a couple of really nice plots, including one with river access. I figured we could open the office for our new business down in Takoda which would keep the tourists off the mountain. There’s a couple of empty buildings there we could buy.”
Eric nodded. “There are a few nice motels nearby that would benefit from our business.”
“Exactly!” David smiled. “It’s a win-win situation.”
Eric shrugged. “You’re our business manager. Can we afford to open another branch?”
Laynee snorted. “Damn right we can.”
David sat up straighter. “Hold on, now. We’re not taking your money.”
“Why not? If I’m your mate, then what’s mine is yours, and I happen to have quite a bit of money, and it’s a great way for me to invest.”
Blind Acceptance Page 19