“Help me? And if you’ve looked even a little into my life, Mr. McCullough, you know that I have nothing. Not even a home by the time I get back.” Larson nodded and asked him to have a seat. “My family, you said they lived here at one time?”
“Yes, all of them did, and they’re buried here as well. Not your father, though we can take care that he is as well if you’d like, along with your mom. We only just found the little cemetery about a week ago. Well, we found it before then, but we’ve only just figured out who is buried there.” He nodded and took a cup of tea when it was offered to him. “My wife and I would like to help you out with your life, if you’d allow us to. And I’m to understand that you have some money coming your way from the government as well.”
“That’s what I’ve been told too.” Carl looked around the room, and so did Larson. “I have never lived in a house. Grand or otherwise. A home for the most part that had about a dozen or so other kids in it. Then trailers for the rest of the time. I’m not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me, just telling you. But this is very nice. I really love what you’ve done so far.”
“It’s been a huge undertaking, getting this house back to livable. It was left with no regard to what happened to the things left behind. We’ve discovered a great many things about the people who lived here.” He showed him the fireplace, and pointed out that the mantel and some of the bricks had had to be replaced. “We’ve decided, since there are gas lines to the house, that we’d make this a gas fireplace. We’re modernizing a lot of things here. Your family, they might well have been happy with the changes, I think.”
“My relatives.” Larson nodded, and that was when Jon joined them. He didn’t say anything, but joined them on the couch. Carl sat in the wingback that had only just come back from being redone. “As I’ve said, several times now, I don’t know any of them. My parents died when I was young, almost too young to remember them. I’ve been nearly on the verge of losing everything since I struck out on my own at sixteen. Whatever you need or think you might need from me, I don’t think I can help you.”
“We know that.” He nodded and set the cup down, half finished. “Your family was very wealthy. So much so that they didn’t care about the cost of things, and it’s doubtful if they ever thought of anything beyond getting what they wanted. Not that they were rude people, but they did have money and didn’t care how they spent it.” He asked him if he knew how much. “Yes. When your grandfather went off to war, the family was worth about two million. By today’s standards, that isn’t a great deal of money. But then, they were wealthy beyond anyone around.”
“I think two million is a great deal of money. I have about two bucks to my name.” Larson felt his face heat up and told him he was sorry, he’d not meant to belittle him. “You didn’t. I’m just telling you the facts.”
“Among the things that we found, there is a policy that hasn’t been cashed in, as well as some gemstones and other things. Things that we’d like to give you.” He asked him why. “Because they’re a part of your family.”
“Mr. McCullough, I know that you’re married. You have a lovely home, one that I don’t know. You have family right here, all around you all the time. Do you have children?” He told him that they had one that they’d recently adopted, and his wife was expecting their second child. “Family. I don’t have that. Not even the makings of one. I don’t have children to pass any of this down to. I have nowhere, as of now, to store such things if I were to take them.”
Larson started to explain to him that it belonged to him when Virginia spoke. She had been quiet until then. Jon winked at him when she sounded pissed off, something that he was afraid was going to make it worse for the poor man.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Just shut up and listen, will you? We have an insurance policy that was found that is worth just over a hundred thousand dollars. Your great grandmother might have been a little nuts and rude, but she knew to take care of her family. I do know that she knew about your dad, and tried to find him well after the war was over. We might not ever know to what levels she tried, but she took out this policy for any family that came forward when she died. That would have been her sister, I suppose, and let me tell you, that woman was a fucking bitch by all accounts. But she didn’t find it, and even went so far as to make this place in her image. She’s who we have to thank for having so much shit to sort through. But in a way, I’m glad that she took it upon herself to tear out the old and put in what would have been new back them. Because the treasures we’ve found are going to keep us happy for a long time.” She stood up and handed him the box that they’d found just last night. “Those are pictures of your relatives long past. He was a handsome man, and loved your grandmother. He wrote more letters home about your grandmotherher than most people do in several lifetimes. But he was killed before he could bring her home to meet his mom, and she never was able to find her. And she looked.”
Larson watched as Carl opened the box with trembling hands. He had seen the pictures, all of them older than he was by nearly three times. There were pictures not only of Carl Jr., but his parents, Jane and Carlson Sr., as well as the other family members. There was even a tintype of the younger brother when he was in his casket. A morbid picture, but history all the same.
“These are...I’ve never known any of them, not even to know their names.” He was teary and Larson felt bad for him. “My dad always joked about being the son of a rich man. He wasn’t around for very long after I was about four or five. But that was how he explained to me why I had no grandparents to go visit when the other kids around me did.”
“Jane looked for her for decades, it seems. All she knew about your grandmother was that she had been a war baby, and that her parents were gone by the time that Carl Jr. had fallen in love with her. When he was killed, she received all his letters from her, and even with the address, it was nearly impossible to find her. But with today’s technology, not only were we able to find her, but where her parents are buried as well.” Carl thanked them for the pictures, then looked at Virginia. “We’ve made arrangements for you to stay with us for the rest of your stay, if you would. We’d like to show you what we’ve found out about your family, and give you more than just a pot to piss in, as my mom is fond of saying.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She told him that he didn’t need to say anything, just to say yes. “Yes, I’d like that. But I need to find some work, if there is any to be had. I’ll need money to get around with.”
“The policy that we told you about is at the bank. All you need to do is sign it and you’ll have all the cash you need while here. But I’m hoping that you’ll stay here. To live around here.” He said he’d have to think on that, then told her he’d like that as well. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. Come on, we have to get things set up for you. And if you don’t mind, we’ll have you sign off on moving your family around a little bit. Your uncle and grandfather are war heroes, and they need to be someplace so they can be honored.”
He signed off on the paperwork and then was taken to the barn. Larson was so excited that he nearly forgot about Jon. When he pulled him aside, Larson asked him if things were all right.
“Yes, but he isn’t kidding when he tells you that he’s broke. I know that you knew that, but he’s also very ill and cannot afford to see a doctor about it.” Larson asked him what was wrong with him. “Cancer. He is riddled with it now. There is no hope for him, but for my blood. I can help him, if you wish. I won’t mind, and I think he’s deserving, don’t you?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, but if that’s what you think, then I’m all right with that.” Jon nodded. “What else? I can tell there is something else that you want to tell me.”
“Yes, there is. But it can wait. You should spend as much time with him as you can. He’s a nice man, but he really is dying. He is aware of this, but he doesn’t have long to live.” Larson asked him how soon. “You and Aunt Virginia have extended things for him, simply
by being who you are, but he’ll never spend the money that you are giving him in the form of the policy, nor will he live long enough to see his family buried again.”
Larson didn’t want to think of the elderly man dying. He’d only just met him, and didn’t want him to leave so soon. But they would make life easier for him, in any way possible. As soon as he saw him with Flo, Larson looked at Jon again when he touched his hand to his shoulder.
“He will find love.” Larson asked him what he meant. “Flo. Not the same, but she is his mate. And I will make it so that they can be happy, if that’s what you want too. But you must explain things to him, today if you can. Flo is his other half.”
“Really?” Jon said that he was telling him the truth. “I know that, but for them both to need someone and finding it so close to us, it’s wonderful, don’t you think?”
“Yes. But I won’t help him until he understands what I can do for him.” Larson said he’d do it, today. “Hurry, Uncle Larson. He really doesn’t have that long to live.”
~~~
Virginia wasn’t sure that the man understood what was going to happen. He seemed as lost as any soul she’d ever seen. Mom was holding his hand, something that she was surprised by until Larson explained. They were mates, or something like that. And Jon could save his life.
“You mean, all I need to do is drink a little of his blood and I’ll be fine? I have to tell you, young man, I’ve been sick for some time, and if you’re just saying this to give me a little happiness before I die, then I don’t think that’s very nice of you.” Larson said that he’d never lie about something like this. “Yes, I’m sure that you wouldn’t, but you have and I don’t like it.”
“Do you believe in shifters, Carl? I mean, have you seen them? Been around them?” He said that he had. “I’m a cat…a jaguar, as a matter of fact. My nephew Jon, he’s a little of everything. And can do more things with just his hand than even an elite shifter can do. He has saved all our lives over the months he’s been here, and will continue to do so. And he can save your life. As I said, you don’t have much time, and he wants you to understand what will be involved if you let him help you.”
“And this nice lady here, she’s going to love me, no matter what? I suppose she’s been helped by this young man too?” She had, as a matter of fact, and it wasn’t until Mom stood up that Virginia knew what it was going to take for him to believe. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to be sucked into this. I’m a dying man.”
“Yes, you are.” Mom walked to her and nodded as she continued. “Darling, will you please try and kill your mother? I don’t want to have to find love for the first time in my life, then have it taken away by something as nasty as cancer.”
“Mom, I can’t do that.” She said that she could and should. “No. I’m not going to try and take your life. Even though I know that you can live through it, my heart would break for doing such a thing to you. I can’t do that.”
Mom looked at Jon and he nodded. “Will you forgive me, Grandma?” She nodded then hugged Jon. He smiled gently at her as he held her to him and stabbed her twice in the back. When Virginia started for them, Larson stopped her.
“I love you all so very much.”
The blood was real and plentiful, but her mom only smiled at her. When she lifted her shirt up and showed Carl the wounds that had all but sealed, Mom took him by the hand and told him that was what Jon’s blood could do for him.
Jon walked toward him then and put out his hand to Carl. He was still staring at the wounds that had disappeared when he was stood up. Jon said his name three times before he finally looked at him.
“I can save your life. But you have to understand that you’ll live forever.” He nodded, and Virginia wasn’t sure he was understanding this. “Forever, Carl. Do you understand that? And you’ll have magic of your own to call on.”
“You knew she wasn’t going to die when you did that, didn’t you?” Jon said that he knew it. “And this thing you want to do to me, it’ll give me that? The ability to live a long time and not hurt anymore? Boy, I have to tell you, I hurt like the dickens all the time.”
“I assure you, Carl, you’ll no longer hurt, nor will you die. That’s important that you know that. You won’t die.” Carl repeated what he said, and Virginia still wasn’t sure he fully understood. But she knew that not hurting anymore would be something that he’d focus on. “Are you ready? As much as I’d like to give you time, you don’t have a great deal of it left, do you?”
“No. I probably would be dead now had I not had this trip to look forward to. I mean, I thought it was a sham. Even up to the point where the limo picked me up at the airport. But I wanted so badly for it to be true. That someone out there knew who I was and where I came from. I want you to save me, young man. And if you say that I’m going to be getting to love this woman here, then I’m all for that too.” Jon nodded and hugged him. “You’re a good family. I’m so glad that you called me. So, if this doesn’t work, I’m beholden to you for even trying.”
“It will work. All you need to do is drink a little of my blood.” Carl looked around the room and all of them nodded. “That’s all there is to it. You might feel a little dizzy afterwards, but you’ll be as good as new.”
“All right then, let’s get it going.” Carl held her mom’s hand then kissed the back of it. “You sure are a beautiful woman, Flo. I do hope this works for us. I’d love to be your other half.”
It had only taken a small drop for them, but with Carl being so ill and so close to his own death, she thought it should take a little more. When Jon cut his finger, just on the tip, she watched as the tiny droplets landed on the other man’s tongue. She counted seven, and then looked at her mom.
“You’ll need just a bit more, I think.” She knew then that the doctor’s visit that her mom had gone to yesterday hadn’t been all that normal. “You need to speak to your daughter too, Grandma Flo.”
“Yes, I will.” The drops on her mom’s tongue were two, but she was worried now. And as soon as her mom hugged her, she asked her what was going on. “They found a tiny lump. Nothing much, they told me, but it worried me, you know. To live a very long time and to be ill the entire time wouldn’t be very good, don’t you think? But I was going to talk to you when I got the results back. I promise you.”
“Don’t keep things from me, please? I need to know that you’re all right and that you’re going to be around for the rest of my life.” She hugged her and whispered in her ear. “I’m going to have a baby. I was going to wait too, until I knew for sure, but Larson said it was true, and I have no reason not to believe him.”
They were going out to the barn when Carl suddenly stopped moving. Mom rushed to him and asked him several times if he was all right. But all he did was stare straight ahead. Virginia looked too, trying to see what had startled him, but she saw nothing. Then Carl fell to his knees and she began to worry more.
“It’s the magic. It’s healing him.” Virginia looked at Jon when he spoke quietly. “By the end of today, he would have died in his sleep. Had he been at his home, they would have found him weeks later, his body left in the house for no one to find that loved him. We’ve given him not just a second chance, but a life too.”
“Will he be all right?” He nodded as Larson picked Carl up and carried him to the side entrance to the house, where her mom was living. Mom was right behind them. “He’ll be all right, won’t he?”
“Yes. He’ll need rest. A great deal of it. And time to get used to his new energy and life. I don’t know, to be honest with you, how he has made it this far. The man was eaten up with cancer.” Virginia sat down on the bench and Jon asked her if she was all right too.
“I’m fine. Nervous, I guess. And scared a little.” He grinned at her. “How do you know all this stuff, Jon? I mean, I know that you’re special and all, but you seem to know a great deal about everyone. Does it ever get to you? Knowing the outcome before it happens?”
He sat
with her. “Sometimes. I don’t care for some of the things I’ve been able to see. And I do have trouble at times remembering that some of the things I’ve seen haven’t happened yet, and I must keep it straight. I have seen your child.” She stared at him. “Would you like to know anything about it? Sex? Or even what it gets from you as a cat?”
“No. I don’t think I want to know. I mean, knowing that I’m having a baby is really wonderful, and having a child by the man that I love makes it even better. But I think knowing too much would just be that, too much.” He nodded as if he understood what she was saying. “Jon, I don’t really want to know much about my future. I mean, if it’s my child or with this family, then tell me, but my own? I think I’d like to do that as it comes. Does that make sense to you?”
“It does. You want to be unaware of things. Feel them when they happen. I love that. I can’t see my own future, not clearly. But, and this is only since coming here, I’m very glad that I’ve been a part of this family. You will find none better when it comes to loving and protecting you, as they have me a great deal.”
“And you have them as well, I believe.” He nodded and stood up, telling her that he had things to take care of. “Be careful please. I know that you’re this all-powerful being, but I also know that you can be hurt. Don’t let anyone harm you, Jon.”
When he wandered off, she made her way to the barn. There were a few things in there that she wanted to get cleaned up. A cradle that had been handmade by someone with loving hands, as well as the rocker. She was sad to see that both items were missing. Virginia went back to the house and checked on Carl.
Larson: McCullough’s Jamboree – Erotic Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 13