Before he could move it again by wrapping his arms around it, a piece of the wood popped open. Standing back, he looked inside the small compartment and saw something there. Pulling the entire piece out, he laid it on the wire roll that was being used. It was full of jewelry and small stones.
“Well I’ll be dog napped and put to sleep.” Larson looked at his dad and thought him the strangest man he’d ever known when it came to being surprised about things. “You thinking that she hid it in there to keep her sister from finding it? I heard tell that the woman, the sister, she wasn’t a peach.”
There was a pair of earrings that looked to be rubies, very old ones if the color was any indication. A wedding ring with diamonds surrounding it, as well as several smaller diamonds in a black bag and a couple of other stones that he wasn’t sure of. Larson wasn’t sure what to do with them.
“I’d just be making a list of what you find and where you found it. That way, you got yourself covered in case someone comes looking for it.” He told his dad what he’d been told about the house from the bank. “Yeah, you do get whatever you find, but that don’t mean that people won’t be wanting a piece of it.”
That was true. So, as he made a list of things that they had unearthed, he took pictures of them and sent them to his computer. Larson decided to make a file and have it ready should Lauren find anyone that might come back on them.
The rest of the afternoon was spent bringing in other pieces that his dad had deemed worthy of his rooms. It was funny really, the way his dad had wrapped each piece up with care and told the movers that they had to be extra careful with them. He told him later that these were part of history, something that you just couldn’t go back and make again. Dad pointed out the craftsmanship of the large sideboard they’d brought in, and told him how the wood wasn’t even around any longer.
Larson found Virginia in her office working with Sam in the little bed beside her. Not bothering either of them, he brought in more boxes to be gone through, as well as some more crates. At the rate they were going, it would be years before they got around to getting everything emptied. Not that he cared…he was having a blast, and he was sure his dad was too.
When he was called to dinner by Flo, he hadn’t any idea that she’d come back, he’d been so involved with what he was doing. She told him that her things would be delivered tomorrow sometime, and asked if he’d help her get them set up.
“Anything you need, I’m there for you.” He looked at the doorway and saw the table was still empty. “Should we go and get Virginia and Sam?”
“No, not unless you want to have her upset. When she’s writing a new book, it’s easier just to drop off food for her and clean up when she’s done. And remind her, gently, to go to bed.” He laughed when she did. “I swear to you, Larson, she’ll be fine. It’s how she does it, and it works for her, so she doesn’t change. I keep an eye on her. I love doing it for you both.”
“Thank you. I guess I can understand that. I like my own space and how I do things as well. How long do you think she’ll be under?”
They were both laughing when Virginia entered the dining room. After he asked how she was, she sat down beside him at the table.
“It’s the strangest thing. I was working away when I suddenly had a need to find you and come to eat. I’ve never done that before.” Larson told Virginia that he was glad that she had, and what he’d been doing today. “Do you need for me to help you?”
“No, not unless you want to. I have it under control. You do your thing and I’ll do mine. I think that works for us both, don’t you?” She nodded and grinned at him.
They were both laughing when Lauren came in the room. He could tell that she’d had some success with looking up the names, and when she handed him a thick file, he looked up at her and asked if it was bad.
“Bad? No, I don’t think so, but there is a lot of information that you should have. And when you’ve read that, I want you to come see me. I have something I want to do, and you have to be involved.” He told her anything. “Good, I was hoping you’d say that. The bodies of the three sons are buried someplace on this property. I’d like to find them and take them to someplace special. They were good men, and one was a mere child.”
~~~
Carl looked over the letter again. He’d been called to an attorney’s office earlier this morning, and had dropped everything to come and see what was befalling him again. Since he’d not been doing anything anyway, it had been easy for him to drop things to come in. Being out of work was hurting him badly right now.
“I don’t understand this. It says that they want to exhume my long dead grandfather and bury him someplace else? I thought that he was lost overseas.” He rubbed his forehead and looked at the name of the person sending this. “Is this a joke? The President of the United States contacted you?”
“Yes sir, he did. And I got on the first plane I could to come and let you know his plans. What is it you know about your long dead relatives?” Carl told him next to nothing, as his father was a bastard child. “I see. Well, the estate was settled some time ago, and the house, your family home, was sold. But the family that purchased it, they found some things in the house that they think might belong to you.”
“If they found some unpaid bills, then I’m afraid they’re going to be out of luck with that. I can barely make it now.” He assured him that there were no bills. “Then what is it they think I’d want? I mean, I’ve not had anything to do with the Watmores since…well, I’ve never had anything to do with them. My father didn’t know much about them even before his mom told him who they were.”
“We have a record of your grandfather and his brothers. He and one brother were good soldiers—the other brother died as a child—and your grandfather, Carlson Jr., was killed before your father was born. We’ve talked to a few people that might have some information, and they say that if he had known about your dad, he would have married your grandmother and made arrangements to have them brought to his family home.” Carl said that was all well and good, but a bit too late. “You might be wrong about that, sir. The family, as I said, they have some things that you might want.”
“Did they say what?” He said that he didn’t know, but they wanted to see him. “Is this a scam? I mean, it’s nice of them if it’s all true, but I’ve seen enough on the television to know that this sort of thing, scams like this, happen all the time. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I just don’t think I could handle any more bad shit coming my way.”
“I don’t blame you, sir. But I assure you, this is all on the up and up. The McCullough family is an upstanding one. And if they say they want you to come and see what they’ve found, they think it will be worth your time.” He nodded. What did he have to lose, really? “There is a plane for you to use, and housing has been set up for you as well. A number of people would like to talk to you, once you have settled whatever you need to at the house. All right?”
“And you’re sure this isn’t a way to get me there for something terrible? I don’t usually have this sort of thing happen to me. I mean, just bill collectors and such.” Again, he assured him that it was legitimate. “All right. I can go out there, but I have to warn you, if this is a scam, I’m not going to be able to come back here and face the fact that I have ten days to clear out of my home and move on. On to where I have no idea, but my life is falling apart around me.”
The next morning he was on a plane on his way to Ohio. To say that he’d been surprised by the private jet sitting on the tarmac just for him would have been a gross understatement. As he was asked if he needed anything, water or food, Carl wondered at the expense of this venture. If it was a scam, which he was beginning to believe it wasn’t, then it was a very costly one for someone.
A limo was waiting when he landed. Carl wasn’t so naive that he thought this was normal for anyone. As he was driven to the hotel or wherever he was staying, he thought about the kind of money it would take to just do the simple t
hings that had been done for him. Not only had he been flown here and put up, but he’d been given a gift card of a thousand dollars to help him along the way.
As soon as the limo stopped, he sat there and stared at the huge house he was in front of.
“Hello, you must be Carl Watmore.” He nodded at the woman. “I’m Lauren McCullough. I’m so glad that you decided to come and stay with us a few days. For however long you wish, really. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I don’t know what’s going on.” She said that she’d explain it to him. “I hope so. I can’t help with anything on the family, I’m afraid. My dad, he knew nothing of them, and when I came along late in their life, my mom passed away and then he did a few months later. I’ve been alone for a long time, Ms. McCullough.”
“You’re not anymore.” He nodded and followed her into the house. “We’ve found out that your great uncles, both of them, didn’t have any children. Trevor was an infant when he passed away…from diphtheria, we think.” She continued talking as they entered the big house. “Your great uncle Phillip was an infantry man in the Army, and did a lot of things that should have earned him the Medal of Honor. However, he wasn’t given that because when his body was to be interred into the cemetery, it was lost. And that of your grandfather.”
“Lost? How does the Army lose a body?” They were in a large office, and the walls were covered in pictures with sticky notes attached to them. He walked to the first one he recognized and asked if that was his father. “I mean, he looks like him, but this picture, it’s very old, isn’t it?”
“Yes. That’s your great grandfather. And the one below it is your father. He was born about seven months after his father was killed. We think it might have been a month or so before his death was recognized, but it’s hard to gauge it exactly since it was war time.” He nodded and looked at the other photos before turning back to Ms. McCullough. “You’re the last of your family, Mr. Watmore. None of the others had children, and even before that, there were few children born to the family that lived. We’d like for you to see some of the things that were found in the family home. It might explain a few things to you.”
“Why?” She asked him what he meant. “Why does anyone care about this? Or me, for that matter? I’m a man on the verge of losing everything I have, which really isn’t all that much anyway. I have no money, no ties to this place, and I don’t know any of them. As I said to that attorney, I never knew a thing about any of them.”
“Yes, we’re aware of that, but as I said, you’re their only living relative, and being such, you are entitled to all that would have come to them, had we known about your dad.” He asked her what that meant. “Backpay, sir. You are entitled not only to the back pay as a descendant of your father, but also some benefits that we’ve made sure you can take advantage of. Your father, had the Army known about him, would have been on the receiving end of this, but you are now in line to get them.”
He was getting too much too fast. When he sat down on the little chair in the office, he put his head between his knees. Not that he was sick, but he had to close out some of the bombardment of words and information coming his way. When he saw the shoes of a man in front of him, he started to raise his head and wasn’t able to.
“I don’t want you to freak out when you see me.” He said he was all right now. “Yes, but my presence has an effect on people that makes me want to cringe. Remember, Mr. Watmore, I’m just a man.”
He lifted his head when the hand was moved. Carl nearly put it back down between his knees when he realized who was there. The president smiled at him, and Carl felt himself smiling back. Carl leaned back in his chair when the president sat down too.
“My friend, Lauren, has gone to a lot of trouble to find you, sir. I’d hate to have to explain to her that I scared you so badly that you ran away.” Carl told him he was in a dream. “No, I’m here and I’m real. There are times, even now, that I find it hard to believe myself that I’m president, but I’d like for you to call me Jarvis.”
“Like we’re friends?” He lowered his voice a little, embarrassed that he’d squeaked. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to wrap my head around all this.”
“It is a lot to take in, but if you can stand a little more, I’d like to thank you and your family for your loyalty and service to our country.” Carl nodded and told him he didn’t know them. “That’s what I’m doing here. I want you to know that you’re not going to endure any costs for what I’m about to tell you. We want to bury your relatives in a place of honor. And how they disappeared is something that I’m sure happened a great deal back then, but their bodies were shipped home rather than through the normal routes. I’m sorry.”
Carl nodded, still not sure what he was supposed to be doing here. Yes, he supposed they were his family by some fluke. He supposed that in some way, all this about his dad’s birth and the way he’d been left alone might be just the way he’d said, but there were other things going on that he wasn’t sure how he was involved.
“We would like for you to come with us when we honor them.” He asked where. “Arlington. They should have been buried there, along with their comrades, in a place of honor.”
“My great grandmother…is she in trouble for this? I mean, I know that she’s long gone, but I’d hate to have someone tarnish her name now that it’s been found out.” Jarvis laughed a little. “I don’t know what I should be thinking.”
“Your great grandmother won’t have her name tarnished. From what we’ve been able to piece together, she lost more than most when she sent her boys to war. She lost her husband early in their marriage and was left alone to grieve. Ms. Watmore became a recluse for a long time, and didn’t open her home for many years. It was the talk of the town, I guess.” He nodded, realizing that he had a lot in common with the elder woman. “When she died, her sister, a terrible woman from our information, came here and took over the family home. Not that it was hers, but she did it anyway, tearing out anything that had belonged to her sister and putting it in storage. That’s how we found out about the children, as well as you.”
“And what does that mean, exactly?” Jarvis smiled. “I don’t know you well, sir, but I don’t think that’s going to bode well for me. What’s going on? I can take it.”
“Come with me and we’ll show you what we’ve found, and you can decide what you want to do. The McCulloughs own the house and all the contents, so you keep that in mind when you meet them. What they’re doing, it’s above and beyond what others would do for a stranger.” He nodded. “Larson and Virginia are newly married too, so getting their attention might be a bit hard.”
They might have a hard time, but he thought he was well beyond having a hard time paying attention. This all had come out of the blue for him, and he felt like he was on one of those rides at the county fair. The one that would shake you up and let you try and stand on your own. He felt just like that.
Chapter 10
Larson was nervous. Not just nervous, but also excited. He had everything laid out for the man, including some of the love letters that they’d found. He looked at Virginia when she joined him in the library.
Carl had arrived two days ago, and had been shown the town and taken to lunch and dinner by at least half the family. The other half of them had been telling him what was found, showing him around and having a good time with him. He was a very nice and gentle man. He’d even had a few conversations with him since he’d gotten here.
“Are you ready for this?” He nodded, then shook his head. “Yeah, right there with you on that one. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m excited and afraid at the same time. What do you suppose he’ll want to do with the things we’ve found for him?”
“I don’t know. Lauren said that he’s broke, and that even coming here has set him back a few bucks. I guess he’s been afraid to use the credit card she gave him for fear it was fake too.” Virginia told him she could understand that. “I guess you would. You told me that you and you
r mom lived in your car for a time. My family has always had money, but we never spent it like we did. We had chores, and got allowances when we did them. My parents had rules and we were made to follow them.”
“My mom had rules too, but it was hard to enforce them when there was nothing to take from me. Not that I was a rule breaker. I knew that we were poor and helped anyway I could. Now that I have money coming in from my books, I do find that I want to make sure she has it all because she has given up so much for me. But I would imagine that most kids would be that way.” He didn’t think so but said nothing. “Oh, Jon is here. He said he’d talk to the man if he thought he might need it, but wasn’t worried about him. And we’re not to rush him too much, but he mentioned that he’s nearly out of time. I don’t know what that means really, but Lauren told me and she likes her rules followed as well. She said that he’s overwhelmed, too.”
The workers in the house had been given the day off. It wasn’t close to being done, but they did have the kitchen, living room, and the dining room complete. Also, Virginia’s and his office was nearly done. That, to him, was the best part.
He loved his new office and all the beautiful antiques that they’d found to fill it with. Some of the things that Virginia had had at her other home had arrived the other day, and they’d donated most of it to the local project that stored things like that for when there was a fire or someone lost everything in other ways.
When the front door was opened, Larson counted to ten before going into the hall. They had staff now, just a few people to help them out with the house, but it was something that they both had to get used to. As soon as he saw the older man, he knew just how he felt. Overwhelmed, stressed, and unsure.
“Hello, Mr. Watmore. I’m so glad that you could come to our house today. Meeting in town has been nice, but this is your family home.” He shook his hand and then Virginia’s. Instead of going to the dining room, she led them to the living room. “My wife and I, we’ve been digging through your history, as you know, and wanted to share it with you. I know it’s a little late to ask, but we’ve also dug around in your past as well. And we’d like to help you.”
Larson: McCullough’s Jamboree – Erotic Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 12