Calhoun Men Boxed Set

Chapter 3

Randal - Chapter 3

Rosemarie hated the cold. If she could have, she would have gone back down to Florida and been done with it. She might still, once they had her kid back and she was free of her. Looking over at Lance, she asked him again if he was okay driving. He glared at her and told her that he’d not wrecked, so he was fine.

“I was only going to say I could drive a little bit too if you wanted me to.” He told her that he was sorry, but he was a little on edge. “Yes, me too. I hate Ohio. I have no idea why Sally Anne thought it was a good place to flop at.”

“She had to be far enough away so that no one would put together that you two were related and running that scam. I still don’t like that part of it. I know that it helped us, but it’s the government, and they can be harsh when you break their laws.” She smiled when she thought of the amount of money they’d both made off that kid. “What are your plans for her when we get there? She doesn’t know us any more than we do her. Maybe she’ll not want to come with us. Have you thought of that?”

“I don’t care. We need her to come along, and we’ll make sure she has it right in her head too. I don’t want anyone looking into shit about us.” He asked her what she meant. “You know, the fact that we’ve been saying that she’s right there with us all along. That’ll make people think about our card and how much we been getting, ‘cause they think we already got her now.”

“Yeah, that’ll be bad. What do we tell them if they ask why we don’t? I’m sure you have that all worked out.” She told him what she and Sally Anne had come up with. “That’s a good one. She was visiting her sister. I like that. And if they ask about the income tax, what then?”

“That we didn’t know that she was scamming the government, and that we honestly thought that since we was supporting her, we could take her out on our taxes and such. That way, without her being able to blame me, she’ll be in trouble, not us.” She hated that her little girl was gone. “I’m gonna miss her so much, Lance. She was such a good girl. Not at all like your daughter is.”

“She’s been a sore spot on us since we got together. I think sometimes that I didn’t do right by her, leaving her the way I did. But Carol, she was a good woman and always teaching Laney things that would put her ahead in the world. Which I guess is a good thing. Like figuring her checkbook out for herself and all. I don’t know why you never learned about a check and all. Unless it’s because there was never any money. Is that it?” Rosemarie nodded. “When I met you, my love, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I feel so free all the time.”

“I do as well, Lance. You’ve been really good to me too.” She watched the cars going around them and wondered why they were going so fast, like they were trying to get someplace that was giving away free shit. “These people are insane driving like this. You just be careful, honey, and we’ll get there when we do. I hate that we’re missing the funeral and all, but we’ll be there in one piece.”

Rosemarie had tried to call Laney to ask her for money to help them get home to bury her sister several times over the last few days. She’d not told Lance that she had her number. He’d be calling her all the time, just to make up to her about what he’d supposedly done to her. But of course Laney wasn’t answering her phone. Rosemarie did wonder if someone had called her yet about Sally Anne’s death, and hoped that they hadn’t. Rosemarie would love to be the one that told her a month from now that her poor sister and her wonderful husband were dead. Rosemarie looked out the window and thought of the first time she’d met the girl.

“My lord, you’re a fat one, aren’t you?” Lance hadn’t been as nice to her as he was now, and he told her to hush. “Well, look at her, Lance. She looks like a ten-pound sausage in a one-pound sack. You should move away from the table sooner, honey, if you want to get yourself a man.”

“I don’t need a man in my life.” Rosemarie told her that since she was a little kid yet, she’d figure it out later. “I’m going to save my money and become something. Daddy is going to send me to college.”

He hadn’t, not after Rosemarie had gotten done with him. There just wasn’t any money for the kid and college, not with them spending it like they had it. And in the beginning, they had had a lot. Besides, Sally Anne had expressed an interest in hair styling, and they’d had to put out the money for that. Then after that, there was always something that they needed or wanted more than paying for college. About a week before her eighteenth birthday, Laney had come to them about her mom’s insurance.

“She said that I was the beneficiary. I want to use that money for my education.” Her dad had laughed then and said it was all gone. “What do you mean, it’s all gone? You can’t touch that money. It belonged to me.”

“Well, you had to eat, didn’t you? You needed shoes and a good coat, didn’t you? You think that kind of thing grows on trees?” Rosemarie watched her man and wondered why he’d never said a thing about any insurance, and was ready to pounce on his head when Laney just walked away. “There isn’t no insurance that I can find. Carol talked about it, how she had set it up for Laney to have money for school, but I can’t find anywhere where she actually took out the policy.”

“Why didn’t you just tell her that?” Lance said it was more fun to make her think they’d spent it all. “Yeah, well, it was fun seeing her face crushed like that. She’s not a nice person, that daughter of yours.”

“I don’t know. I guess I never noticed it before you came into my life. She’s nothing but a goody two shoes, as you said.” He’d been sad about that. Rosemarie hadn’t been sure then or now if it was because of her, or that his little girl was disappointed and upset with him.

It wasn’t long after that when Laney moved out of the house and started working. She could be persuaded to send them money when they needed it for rent and such at first. Even to send some to her sister when she called. But then that had dried up as well. No cards, no money, and when they called, she rarely answered her phone. It was like she didn’t want a thing to do with any of them anymore. Then Heather had been born.

Rosemarie would have thought she was too old to have another kid. But when Heather was born, all she could think about was taking it out and smothering it. All it did was squall and scream. Wanting its diaper changed, or something to eat. When Sally Anne called her one night and told her how she’d lost her own baby, they’d come up with a plan to use the kid for some extra cash. But Sally Anne kept it instead of selling it off for more money like she was supposed to.

Sally Anne pulled the same scams that the two of them had before Lance came along. Putting Sally Anne’s name on the charity Christmas trees in the malls. Going to the food pantry with her all wrapped up in her arms got her more food than they could eat. Also, Rosemarie would stand on the corner with her daughter and people would drop off money in the hat she’d beg for it in. And all the while, she’d never had to pay rent or utilities, and she had herself and Sally Anne a nice home to stay in. That was, until her daughter turned eighteen and all that dried up like a hot day in the sun.

“You think that she was true to me about how much she was making on the scams? It’s too bad that she had to die just before Christmas. We sure did rake it in this time of year.” Lance said he had no idea, but he didn’t have any reason not to believe her. “Yeah, she was a good girl, my Sally Anne. And to be cut down in the prime of her life like she was. I’m going to see about finding her dealer and suing them. There might be some money in that too. He probably sold her some bad shit and she paid the price, my little girl.”

“I don’t know if I’d say much about that, Rosemarie. They’d know that you knew about her and drugs, and that could be a bad thing since we’re going to take Heather back with us. But you are right, the two of them made a nice couple, I think. I mean, they sure did look like a wedding cake topper when she sent us some of her pictures.” She smiled at Lance, thinking that he never said that sort of nice things about his own daughter any more. “I’ll tell you about something that I’ve been thinking about, Rosemarie. I’m a little worried about what Laney might say if someone called her. Laney might be a pain in the ass, but she isn’t stupid about things. She might fight us for custody of Heather.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing. She might want to buy her off us. Of course, you’ll have to tell her that she has to follow the rules we had with her sister.” She was warming to the idea. “In fact, I think we should sort of charge her rent for her having the kid. You know, so we can be compensated for the loss of her. Oh, and the funeral costs too. We can tell her that we have to pay it, and have her pay us monthly for that too.”

“I thought you said that the city paid for her and Clay’s funeral. If she were to want the kid, then we’d not have to mess with it. It’ll be a strain on us, having that kid around all the time. I mean, just having my daughter around when her mom died was hard on me. And I had my parents to help out.” Rosemarie hadn’t liked them either. They were as straight-laced as Lance used to be, and sometimes still was.

“I know, but we have each other and we’ll work this out for us.” Laney would take the kid from them, but at a price. “How much do you think we can get for her? I’m thinking about ten grand, and another five each month after that.”

“That sounds like a goodly amount, don’t you think? I mean, she has to live too. I mean, we are giving her our only child together, but we don’t want to break her, do we?” He laughed a little and she loved it. “I’m gonna need a few drinks before I can go much further, honey. Why don’t you pop open that bottle you put in the back and we can get warmed up?”

She had several cases of the shit in the back, all of them taken right from the truck at their local bar. The man had left his delivery truck unattended, what did he expect to happen? But the cases of liquor would only go so far before they’d have to do something else. She wished now that they’d gotten several more of them instead of just the three that they had.

“Next time it pulls in, we’re going to be ready for him. I got us lined up with a cart for it. That way when we unload it, we’ll be able to carry it off like nothing at all.” He told her that was a good plan. “But we have to be back right before New Year’s. That truck is going to be like gold and you know it.”

“Yes, for the New Year deliveries, I think you mean. It’ll be well stocked, as well as some of the better brands that I used to drink too.” She nodded at him. She sometimes forgot that he had come from an educated background, while she’d not even finished high school.

“Yes, it will be. I never thought of that. You think we should get the kid something? I mean, so far as she knows, she lost her momma. And if we want her to like us enough to come with us, we’re going to have to be nice.” Lance said he had it. He’d gotten her one of Sally Anne’s old dolls that she’d left behind. “Well, aren’t you just the right man for the job.”

“When Laney lost her mom, she latched herself onto a dolly and never wanted anything to do with anything else. Everywhere she went, the doll was with her. She just never seemed to come around to me again, but sat in her room talking to it like she was too sad to speak to me.” She pointed out that she hadn’t liked her either. “No, she didn’t. And you opened my eyes to all her odd behaviors. I’m telling you, Rosemarie, I never knew I could like coasting through life like I have been with you. When Carol was alive, I was so straight and on point, it never occurred to me to be anything but that. I like my life now. It’s exciting and fun. We get to do things I never did before.”

She could tell that he was just saying those things. He was upset all the time about things. Money and taking extra food from the pantry when they didn’t need it. And then there was the income tax, as well as the free housing. He was looking for a job again too. And she knew she’d have to put a stop to that soon.

But still, Rosemarie loved that he’d said those things to her. It made her feel all warm inside. Nobody but this man could make her feel like she was worthy and loved. As she watched the snow coming down around them, she thought of their years together and how much fun they’d really had, even though he could be a poop head when he got all business like with her. It had been an adventure, she would say that. And she loved him more than she did anyone else she’d shacked up with.

“Maybe when she pays us for the kid, we should go on a trip or something. Go someplace where it’s warmer than Florida. With pretty sandy beaches and Adirondacks that you like.” She had to think what that was…he was so much smarter than her. “Those wooden ones aren’t my favorite, but I know how much you like to sit in them.”

That was another thing that he did for her. Lance never made her feel stupid when she didn’t know something. He’d just say something a different way for her to understand. The man was a marvel.

“Yeah, I’d surely like that. Sand and sun is enjoyable at home, but to be someplace different would be nice. I’ll look for someplace when we get back home. I’d like to just fill up on those little drinks with the umbrellas in them. I don’t even care if they water it down a little for me to enjoy it if it’s got fruit or shit in it.” They both laughed. “But we ain’t driving. This shit is for the birds. We’ll go first class. I bet we could even hire us our own plane to get there with the kind of money that Laney is going to pay us. And she will. Her heart is just too tender not to.”

Rosemarie wasn’t going to take shit from his daughter anymore either. She just decided that. Laney was going to play ball with them or she’d be in deep trouble. The kind of trouble that Rosemarie could rain down on the girl would be monumental too. She had connections that nobody, not even her Lance, knew about. It would be worth any cost too, just to have the bitch out of her hair. Rosemarie knew that Laney was directly responsible for her little girl’s death, she just wasn’t sure how yet, but she knew it. And Laney was going to pay.

~*~

Laney hadn’t ever wrapped gifts before on this scale. She had gone just a little overboard, she knew that, but once she got started, she had so much fun, she didn’t even think about the cost. Which, Randal had told her several times that they could well afford whatever she wanted. When the bill came in, she knew that she’d be regretting the spending, no matter what he said. But she’d never forget how much she had enjoyed it.

“I brought you some refreshments, my lady.” Wally wouldn’t stop calling her that, so she had to grit her teeth whenever he did. When he smiled, she asked him if she’d been doing this wrong. “I don’t believe there is a wrong way to wrap gifts. I was just thinking how much fun you were having. And so is Master Randal. He is currently updating his class work and whistling. Since I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve heard him do that. You have been good for him.”

“Yes, he might not think so when we’re married.” He smiled bigger and she laughed. “I’m not going to give into him, nor do I plan on making it easy on him. He’s only doing this to help me with my sister.”

“If you say so, miss. The family will be here in an hour. If you wish, I can have this finished for you in no time so that you might be ready for the service.” She looked around. There was so much more for her to do, and tomorrow was Christmas. “The faeries have been waiting for you to say you are finished so that they might help, so you know. They are as excited as you to have so much to do for the holidays. And with a child in the house, they are beyond ready for some fun.”

“I love having them here. They do take some getting used to, but they’re all so sweet and nice to me. Yes, tell them to come and finish up for me, please.” Before she was finished speaking, the room was filled with the tiny people. And once they started moving, she sat very still and watched.

They were so fast and full of energy. But it wasn’t just that. They were efficient too. It seemed as if every movement they made was with purpose and reason. And as they moved around the room, picking up the rolls of paper, using the tape dispensers, she leaned back. The scissors were left alone, she noticed, as they just ran their hands along the rolls of colorful wrap and flew away with it. In less than ten minutes, they not only had the rest of the gifts wrapped for her, but the room was tidy again. Laughing, she stood up and one of them landed on her hand.

“Thank you, my lady. We so enjoy helping you.” Laney told her it was her pleasure to watch them work. “We will help you in any way we can. We would also like to help you dress for your wedding today. The pip has watched the movie with the pretty cinder girl.”

She knew that a group of faeries and or brownies was called a pip. But it took her a moment to realize what she was talking about with the cinder girl. Laney asked her if she had enjoyed the movie. And when she said that she had but the little faeries were wrong in her opinion, Laney laughed. “Yes, I’ve never seen a plump faerie, nor a brownie. I think you move too quickly and burn a great deal of energy.”

They entered the room she’d been sleeping in, and she felt her heart take a little jump when she looked around. “This room is so much bigger than my whole apartment back home. And much nicer.”

“You have excellent taste, my lady.” Just as she was to correct her on just calling her Laney, not that it would do much good, she spoke again. “My name is Bane, I have been around a great many summers. We have taken a vote, and it has been deemed that I be your faerie. It is my honor to serve you, my lady.”

“Wait. I don’t understand. What do you mean, serve me? I’m not...just tell me what that means and we’ll go from there.” Bane grinned at her, and Laney had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like this answer. “You’re saying something with that smile that makes me nervous.”

“I belong to you and only you. The only other persons who can make me do something that I do not wish to do are your mate, Randal, which he would never do, and the lady of the earth, my queen.” Laney sat down and tried to think what it meant to own a person. Small yes, but she was a person. “You do not have to pay me, but to give me flowers when you wish. And I can do all manner of things for you. You will be surprised how much I can do for someone such as you. And it will never be a hardship to serve you, no matter what it is. We are so happy to have you here, making Master Randal so happy. And with you bringing the child into the home, we have so much to do and enjoy Lady Heather as well.”

“You mean a human when you say someone like me?” Bane nodded. “Okay, but just to be clear, I’m not thrilled about the word owning. You can work for me, but I don’t own you. All right?”

“Yes, my lady. Lord Randal told me that you would not like that word as well. When I asked him, he said that I should go easy with you, that you are new to us.” Boy, Laney thought, that was an understatement. “He also told me that should you seem hesitant, that I was to tell you that he has a faerie as well. Also, I don’t know if you’ve been told, but Wally, your cook, is a witch. He can do great things.”

“Yes, that I knew.” She looked around the room and wondered what she was doing here. Yes, she had agreed to marry Randal, and they had an understanding that it was in name only, but the man was driving her crazy.

When she’d come to him with her answer, he had been so sweet about it that she did want to give him a kiss. But he told her that he’d wait until she was ready. Whatever the hell that meant. She was ready all the time when he was around her. Even when he wasn’t, she felt all hot and bothered just thinking about him.

“Mistress?” She looked at Bane and wondered again what she was doing. “Are you unwell?”

“I don’t know what I am. I’m confused. Overwhelmed. Overheated. I think that I’m also well over my head in this relationship with Randal. He’s so sweet, but I have a feeling that it’s only a fa?ade or something.” Bane just stared at her, as if she didn’t know what to tell her. “I was wondering something. His mom, Christine. Is she...is she someone that I could talk to? I mean, is she as nice as she seems?”

“Oh yes. They all are. You should have them come here and talk to them.” When she disappeared, Laney went into the bathroom to shower. The shower alone was as big as her closet, and the big closet was as big as her living room. Turning on the water, she stripped down and thought about marrying this man. Looking in the mirror, she thought about ever loving him.

“You are nuts, did you know that?” Her reflection had no comment. “You should not only have your head examined, but you should be committed too. Marrying a complete stranger just so you can keep your sister safe is nuts. And the fact that he is making you feel like a hotheaded teenager on your first date isn’t the way to go into a name only relationship either. Yep, you’re nuts.”

The shower was a wonderful place to think. The water was nice and warm, and the jets hit her in all the right places and made her muscles relax. Laney had a feeling that the house, again, was taking care of her, but at the moment, she decided that she wasn’t going to think about what it might be doing. When she finished, she stood in the stall and dried her hair. Doing one thing at a time and not thinking about everything was less devastating to her thought process.

Wrapping the towel around her body, she entered the bedroom only to stop in her tracks. Six women, all of them family, were sitting around the room with tea and scones, another thing that she’d come to love here. Clearing her throat, they all turned to look at her.

“What would you have done had I come out of there naked?” Jas, Randal’s grandmother, laughed and told her that they all had the same girly parts. “Yes, I suppose we do. However, my girly parts are not usually on display. Are yours?”

“Not unless it’s a full moon. Bane said that you wished to speak to us.” She had? Well, they were here now, and she might as well ask the hundred and one questions that were circling around in her head. “You are worried, I’m thinking. About what we might think about all this. Well, I for one am thrilled. You are a perfect fit in this family.”

“You have no idea if I am or not.” Laney tried the trick, the one that dressed her, and when she felt clothing cover her, she put the towel in the bathroom. “I might be a serial killer that kills men for their money after I marry them.”

“You’ve never been married. You date very little. And usually with a man by the name of Dave Collar. He is your go to man when you need someone on your arm. His lover, and husband now, is Jamie Groves. They’ve been together for several years, and you love them both.” Laney sat down as Joe continued. “You have forty thousand dollars and some change in your savings account right now. And you have a nice 401k that you can transfer to another fund whenever you like. A car that is older than you, and mostly sits in the garage because you don’t like the traffic that comes with going around town; not to mention, you’ve come to love taking the city busing system. It gets you to and from work or wherever. You are very cautious about investing, but you figure you have time so you invest wisely and carefully. I could do that for you. I have a knack.”

“You have a knack for a lot of things, I guess.” Joe nodded. “Why are you looking into my personal business?”

“Your parents are coming here. I want no surprises when they do.” Laney said that she could have told her all this. “Yes, but I like to have a look too. You’d be surprised how much is out there that you might not know about. Most people think that they know everything there is to know about themselves, when they’re just as much in the dark as most about their spouse or whoever. Like you, for instance.”

“I see. And you know a great deal about me that you think I don’t. Such as?” She told her what she knew. “Yes, that would be my stepmother’s doing. And once I get the bill for whatever she’s bought with a credit card that she’s taken out in my name, I will take her to court. How many credit cards does she have in my name now?”

“None. I took care of that as well. She and your father have been using one to get here on your dime, and that will no longer get them gas nor a hotel should they stop. The fact that you might have been aware of her deeds makes me think that you also know that she applied for a house loan recently as well. That, of course, was canceled as soon as I found it. The bank, as you can well imagine, was most pleased that you warned them that you were not only not cosigning on her loan, but that you have nothing to do with anything else she has applied for.” Laney thanked her. “It is my pleasure.”

“They’re in Ohio. They arrived in the state about an hour ago. They have been detained a couple of times, but nothing major. We want them to come here.” Laney asked Chloe why. She knew what Randal had said, but was worried that there was more to it now. “Because, my dear sister, we work better when we have all the cards. And the house will rule in this.”

“Funny, using a card quote in this. But, you do know a great deal about me that has nothing to do with them. Why?” Jas smiled at her and told her because they wanted to make sure that she had help when it was needed. “I don’t ask for help well.”

“Yes, we’ve noticed that as well. Now, we’d like to give you a little knowledge about us. While Jas and Christine are wolves, that isn’t all they are. They’re immortal, the same as the rest of us, and that includes you and any children that you will have, as well as anyone that you and Randal call your own.” She asked if that meant Heather. “It does. She will heal much faster than a normal human will. You would be surprised to know how handy that comes in when dealing with pricks.”

Of all the women in the room, she thought perhaps she liked Marty the best. She was personable, as well as seemed like her…a normal person just trying to get by in this world. When they started telling her about the rest of the family and what they contributed to the clan, Laney listened with half an ear. She was getting married today, and she was terrified out of her mind. When someone snapped their fingers in her face, she looked at Jas, the grandmother to them all.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude.” Jas told her she wasn’t as she sat back down in her chair. “I don’t want to be rude again, but why are you guys here? I mean, not just here in the house, but here with me. I’m sure that you have better things to do than to hang out with me.”

“You’re going to be our family in a few hours.” She knew that they were aware of why she and Randal were marrying, and it had little to do with the fact that they believed her to be his mate. “Randal is a good boy. And we just wanted you to feel welcome.”

“But what if I leave here with Heather after my parents are dealt with? Don’t you think it’s a waste of your time to get to know me?” Jas just laughed. “I’m serious. It’s going to be hard enough to leave as it is without taking you guys more into my heart. And Heather is going to be very upset.”

“Why is it that you want to go? I’m not referring to the things you have out there. All of that, whatever it is, can be boxed up and brought here should you want. But what do you have there that holds you?” She said she had a job. “Yes, all right. Is it one you enjoy? Are there friends there that make it worth your while to go to work daily?”

“I love my job. And I’m very good at it. But no, I don’t have all that many friends. I’m somewhat of a loner. I think it has to do with not wanting to spend money on things that are just silly. I don’t drink because my dad does. Drugs are out of the question because of my sister, and I don’t sleep around either.” She said she knew that. “How do you know that? Is this another query about me someone looked up?”

“No. I can smell, as can the rest of us, that you’re a virgin.” That shut her up. She smelled like a virgin? “Don’t be offended, my dear. We can also smell when you’re ovulating, having a baby, and when you’re sick or bleeding. It’s the way of our beasts.”

“This is very strange…you know that, don’t you?” Jas told her that it was normal for them. “Yes, well, I’m not sure how used to that I can get.”

“Oh, you will. And would you like to know something else? My grandson is in love with you.” She wanted to shake her head no, but she felt her heart twist up. Not in a bad way, but with excitement. “I see that you might be just a little in love with him as well. Aren’t you?”