It took them only an hour to get things gathered up before they were finished with the things that needed to be resold—three boats, several cars, as well as ten homes all over the world that they’d purchased with the money that didn’t belong to them.
He did worry at one point when the men’s noses started to bleed. But as soon as he checked to see if their minds were stressed, he found that they were plotting to not just kill Rebel for what she was making them do but to continue doing what they were doing now. He wasn’t going to shed a single tear for them. They’d hurt a great many families depending on the money from the policy their loved one had taken out with their company.
The money totaled more than he thought it would have. Of course, they’d had to sell the items such as the boat and cars at a loss, simply because they were used. But the homes generated more than had been paid for them, so he thought it was working out better.
“I will need the names and addresses of everyone you scammed. I know you have a list of them someplace. Either hand it over to Harris, or I’m going to take it from you. And let me warn you now, I won’t be gentle about getting it.” Crumble, even after all she’d made them do, still bulked at the idea of handing over the information. He did it at great cost to himself, and when Saulnier gave Harris the file he had in his desk, the man was sobbing like a baby. He was the weak link in this, he realized. Crumble was the one doing most of the scams. When Harris okayed what she’d been given, she stood up and told them both they were under arrest.
“Wait a damned minute. We both cooperated. We gave you everything you needed. Even things that belonged to us. I’ll not have you arrest us too.” Harris asked Saulnier why he thought he was above the law. “Because we are really good at this. I mean, sure, it was against the law, but we did give them some of their money. That should count for something.”
“It does. I’ve not shot either of you yet.”
Her men came into the room and handcuffed them both. They were still bitching about how they’d helped them when they were taken away. The best afternoon he’d spent, Rodney thought, was getting something to go right for a lot of people.
Rodney had the pleasure of going to the staff and telling them the insurance agency was closed down and that they’d be hearing from the government on whether or not they’d be called in as witnesses. He watched them. Most of them, he thought, weren’t surprised by the closure, and one of them did a little dance when he told them that they needed to turn in any keys they had. Harris told him it would have been difficult for them not to have known what was going on in a place this small. It would be more difficult, she thought, for them to be around town.
“People would have known where they worked and spoken to them, figuring they might be able to help them in some way. I’ve checked, and their employment rate is high. The turnover here is more than most larger companies have.” Rodney asked Harris if they could help them in some way. “Yes. I have it on my list of things to discuss with everyone when we get to my house. You’re still coming, aren’t you? I do have a couple of favors, after seeing Rebel at work, that I think she can help me with at my job. I had no idea she was this powerful, did you?”
“I am as well. She also told me that my cat is bigger than even Shep’s. I’m sure I can tell you that whatever you need from us, we’ll help you as much as we can. You know that, correct?” She said she did and kissed him on the cheek. “What was that for?”
“For not freaking out. For being my brother-in-law. For the hundred and one things that you do for me every day that I don’t know about.” She kissed him again, this time hugging him as well. “I just don’t know where I’d be right now without all of you around me. Not just in my job, but just about everything. You all have saved my life. I hope you know that.”
“I do. But I think you’re giving me much more credit than I deserve. I believe it was Grandda that saved you. We just took you into our hearts to love.” She started to cry, and he didn’t know what to do. Hugging her right now seemed somewhat dangerous with Shep glaring at him. “If you start sobbing, Shep is going to have me for dinner. And I can’t go against him, no matter how big I am.”
She looked at her mate. “Oh, do behave. I’m telling your brother how much I love him and his wife.” Harris hugged Shep, and he calmed down. “All right. Food is on the way to my house for us. Why don’t you follow us there, and we’ll get this thing started? It’s a great deal of money we’re going to have to figure out how to spend. And I, for one, would absolutely love to be able to spend it smartly. Or at least have fun with it.”
Rebel was napping as they drove to Shep’s home. She said she was exhausted, so he stopped on the way over and picked up two gallons of orange juice for her. Knowing that fresh-squeezed was better for her than not, he thought about getting them a juicer so they could make whatever she needed all the time. Smiling as he walked out to his car, he thought this magical crap was beginning to be a lot of fun. Now all he had to do was figure it out. Rodney wondered how much help it would be to their practice too.
Chapter 6
The list that was given to him from the school board looked smaller than he thought it would have been. Heath then realized he’d only been given a part of the needs the school had. His brother Trenton had been given one, as well as the others in the family. They were comparing the lists when Shep stood up and handed them each a credit card. It was from the account now called Special Projects.
“We have to use this?” Shep said it would be easier for them to keep track of what was spent if they did that. “I can see that. However, this stuff that we’re getting, do you think it would be cheaper to build a brand new building? I mean, this list has things on it like upgrading the bathrooms. Putting in new air conditioner units. I know for a fact that air units could run upwards of ten grand. Not that we could build for that much, but it would be costly.”
“That’s one of the things we’re going to talk about. I’ve taken a look at the cost to build, as you suggest. However, the amount of red tape is a great deal to have to deal with. Even with Ricky helping me, he said it could take months to sometimes years to get approval for something like this. Then they could change their mind halfway through the project, and we’re stuck.” Rodney said he’d looked into things when he’d been told about the meeting today. “You finding out something that would help make this go easier is good with me.”
“We build it on our own anyway. We can say that we’re building it to use as a private school that we want to run for ourselves. Then once the building is finished, we can rent it out to the district, so they aren’t responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of it. Also, we’d be able to upgrade when we want, as well as shut it down if it comes to that. I doubt we’ll go that far, but it is something to think about.” Heath said he liked Rodney’s idea. “There’s more, too, that Rebel and I were talking about. With the magic we both have, we can put things around the building inside and out that would make it safer for the kids. No one, not even the teachers, would have to be informed of it. But this magic we could put around it would simply be an added layer of protection for not just our children, but all of them.”
“At what cost to you two? I mean, I don’t have any kids right now, and I’m not in any kind of hurry to have them, but I also don’t want the two of you hurt while keeping the kids that may or may not go there safe. What does it cost you in health?” Rebel told Heath it would only be something that they’d use when they were alerted to someone trying something. “So you’d have this like radar thing going on and would make it stronger when you felt a bad vibe. Or something like that.”
“That’s it exactly. No guns would be able to pass the front doors. Not even from the teachers. Also, there will be added protection on days like when pictures being taken. I know from being at the school on those days, it’s a mad house. People coming and going. Rebel also suggested that we could do a tighter background chec
k on anyone that enters the building. Not just the staff, but anyone.” Heath was liking this more and more. “The cost of building the building would be better in the long run. However, having control of it and the things that would be going on with the building would keep us in the loop of knowing what is needed. We’d be able to have a firsthand look at all the upgrades when they’re put in too.”
“It’s got my vote. I would like to suggest that we try to use as many local contractors as possible.” Rodney told him he was looking into that as well. “Good. Then this list—should I try to find new things for the school or scrap it for something else?”
“We all have to agree on this. I don’t want anyone thinking we have to do anything we’re working on. If you don’t want to be a part of the project or projects that we have going, that will be fine as well. Myself, I’m taking myself out of the police station project because I’m too close to the whole thing. If it were left up to me, I’d fire just about everyone on the force and start again. But that’s just me.” Heath asked Harris why that was. “I don’t know, really. But if you were to take a look at the people working there, you’d see that most of them are older than I think is regulation for a force this size. Also, a great many of them are not just overweight, but they more than likely wouldn’t be able to do their jobs if it became necessary. You might be saying we don’t have to worry about that because we’re a small town. But the moment we put in these improvements, we’re going to have people wanting to come here simply because of the schools. It will become a problem then.”
“I never thought of us growing and it causing trouble. I guess I just thought we’d be this quaint little town that we are forever.” Rebel said there would be people coming to town for that reason too. They were a quiet town without much in the way of crime. “To be safer? Or to prove that we’re not as safe as we had thought?”
“Both.” That startled him. And while that was rolling around in his head, Rebel mentioned that there would be other beings coming as well. “They would know that Rodney and I are powerful. To kill us, which isn’t possible, would be a big deal. Also, while I’m talking about immortality, we all have it. And with this magic, no one would be able to hurt one of the children, including the babies.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Grandda looked around the room. “I thought we were all there anyway. That we’d not die for a long time. Are you saying it’s changed in some way?”
“None of us will ever die. We can’t be killed, and no one can harm us in any way. Nor can anyone, if they wanted to, remove our heads.” Heath wanted to tell his grandda this was a good thing that Rebel was telling him, but she seemed to understand he was upset about this. When she sat next to him, taking his frail hand into hers, she spoke to only him. “Grandda, all you have to tell me is that you want to die, and I’ll make it happen for you. I don’t mean that I’ll outright murder you, but I will be able to take the immortality from you whenever you wish. At any time you’re ready. However, I’m hoping you wish to stay with us for a bit longer.”
“I’ve been here a lot longer than I thought I would have been, honey. I do miss my wife and Jill Ann.” She said she understood that. “I know you do. I surely do. Let me think on it a bit, and I’ll talk to you some other time. All right?”
“Of course.” Heath watched the two of them together. No one would ever think Grandda wasn’t related to the women in this room by blood. They all looked a good bit like him, but it was the women that seemed to be as much a part of him as they were. Even with her red hair and dark eyes, Rebel looked like she could be his grandchild. “When more babies start coming along, I’m sure you’ll be right there with them. Showing them the ropes like I’m sure you did for their fathers and uncles.”
“I could get them in trouble when I wanted some fun. My wife would fuss at me, but I’d see her there taking a few pictures of them.” He stood up and shook his head. “Dagnab it. I have some boxes of things I meant to bring up from the basement. They’re things your grannie made and put back for you all. There are some pretty little booties and baby things too. Not all of them blue. Like she knew there would be some little girls coming around. And I have a rocking chair for the lot of you too. I don’t know how it was that we ended up with seven of them, but I got one for each of your homes. They got names with them too, so I’d make sure they went to the right person. And a handful of pictures of you being rocked in them by your momma, me, and your grandma. I wish I’d have remembered.”
“We’ll get them after this, Grandda. It’ll be something I think all of us will want to talk to you about too.” Grandda told him he’d enjoy that as well. “Did you make the chairs?”
“I didn’t. I wanted to, but I was dealing with that stupid son of mine too much when you boys were little. But they’re good ones. Chester Windchaser made them. I think he might still be around too. He is a wolf—one of the founding fathers, I think.” Shep said he remembered them. They were very decorated with carvings. “That’ll be them. I think for each of you, there was a different animal carved into them, with other hints of what you might grow into. Now that I think on it, Rodney, you have a stethoscope on yours.”
Grandda told each of them what he thought was on their rocker. Heath had no doubt that Grandda knew exactly what was on them, and he’d bet he knew the date they’d been finished up too. Something that he’d learned about his grandfather in the last few months was that he was sharp as a tack and didn’t suffer fools easily. Also, his job at the grocery store was getting him out more. Active. Heath loved the old man with all his heart and was hoping that any children he had would get to know him as well as he had.
Lunch was just grazing food, Shep called it. Heath had never had a lot of the things that were there, but he did enjoy trying them. His favorite so far was the little frittatas. He thought they were also delicious with the fresh guacamole. But there were other things he loved too. The pizza rolls were great. There were also tiny meatball subs and meat ones. As he was filling his plate up for the third time, he glanced up and saw that there was dessert as well.
Heath knew his brothers well enough to know they’d start on the desserts first if they were out there. Picking up an entire cherry pie, he asked Molly to please put it back for him to take home. She winked at him and told him she had six more in the freezer and that he was welcome to take two home with him for later. Happy that he’d seen the dessert tray, Heath filled his plate to overflowing.
“Who the hell are you eating for? Twins?” He laughed with Rodney. Then he told him about the desserts. “I saw them when I first got here. Molly already set me three of the carrot cakes aside. She’s been baking all week, she told me.”
“I love carrot cake.” He said he did as well, and that was the reason he put it back. “You’ll share, right? I mean, I’d gladly give you a cherry pie for one of your cakes.”
The two of them were dealing about the cakes and pies when Grandda joined them. After telling him about the pies and cakes, Grandda went to the kitchen. He didn’t know what he was up to, but he’d bet his last chicken wing that he was going to make out better than he and Rodney did together.
They were still standing around the food when Grandda came out of the kitchen. Christ, he nearly swallowed his entire handful of French fries when Grandda came out with a large platter of not just pieces of every pie that was going to be served, but cakes and a gallon of ice cream too. And he also knew that he’d not share. Grandda was the champion of pie eating—or whatever desserts were at the table. Kissing the man on the forehead, Heath told him how much he admired him. He also told him he hoped someday he had a kid that Grandda would take under his wing to show him how to con a collection of desserts from the cooks.
“It is an art form, I tell you.” They were both laughing when he handed a slice of the pecan pie to Harris. Apparently, he’d share, but only with the women in the family. “You have me a couple of grandkids, Heath, and I’ll make su
re they know every trick I taught you when you were a little kid.”
“Deal. I just have to find me a mate, that’s all.”
The rest of the meeting was gone over. The amount of money they were spending on a few of the projects scared him enough that he wanted to back off. He spoke to Harris about it.
“You don’t have to worry about it, Heath. There is a great deal of money. And I’m good at investing as well. I want you all to know that even with all the projects we have going on and the ones that we’re starting, it won’t make a dent in what I’ve gotten. What we’ve gotten. Also, you’ll each receive another credit card today that you’re to use for something fun. I don’t know the vampires that left it to me, but I’m sure they’d be thrilled to know we all enjoyed their savings very much.” Heath asked her if she was going to do the same. “We are. We have, actually. Shep and I have ordered a motor home. One big enough that we can enjoy and have great vacations in. We’ve even gotten one big enough for our children that are coming, as well as Grandda, to come along with us. It’ll be something we can do forever, I’m hoping.”
He’d never been camping. Not even as a child. Of course, as his cat, he’d sleep out under the stars, but he didn’t think that was the same thing. Thinking about how much he might enjoy taking a trip like that, Heath decided he’d do something like that as well. Maybe, he thought until he figured out if he would like it, he’d go small.
Nah, he thought. Go big or go home, his mom used to tell him. Smiling, thinking about what he might want to do with a camper, he decided that until his mate came, and even after, he was going to take his grandda with him on each and every trip. He surely did love that old man.
~*~
Shannon knew there was some sort of upset going on in the hospital, but she wasn’t going to let it interfere with what she was doing there. Her momma was going to die. Every time she thought of that, her eyes would fill up, and she’d have to take long, deep breaths in and out until the hurt and pain of it moved to a place in her heart that she’d be able to let out later.
Rodney: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 8