Chapter 77
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
H overing her hand over a glass on the shelf, Larissa asked Moon as he came around the counter, “Would you like me to make you a glass of juice?”
“No, thanks. I’m late.”
Leaning back against him when he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, she gave in to the pleasure of his mouth nuzzling her neck.
“What time are you getting off today?”
“I should be done by twelve.” She lowered her arm from the cabinet to link her fingers with his at her waist. “I thought I would give Mom the day off and run some errands with Jace; take him to the park for some fresh air. What would you like me to make for dinner?”
“How about you ask Kendra or one of your sisters if they’ll babysit tonight? We could get dressed up and eat at King’s, or splurge and drive to Jamestown. There’s a nice restaurant there we could check out.”
“Can we go on your motorcycle?”
She felt Moon pulling away before his arms did. Her throat grew tight as he moved to the fridge for a bottle of water. Blaming herself for pushing him to take her on a motorcycle ride when he had made it obvious several times that he didn’t want to, she once again told herself that she had to learn to pick her battles with him, and this one, she wasn’t going to win.
On the brighter side, she had been basking in the attention he had been giving her.
After arriving home from The Last Riders’ party, they had spent the whole weekend alone with Jace, spending much of it in bed during Jace’s naptimes.
Refusing to lose the glow surrounding her after the wonderous weekend they had spent making love, and what she had taken as them growing closer emotionally, she gave herself a mental nudge to just take it slow and not push Moon past his limits.
“We can do King’s,” she quickly gave in. “I love their appetizers.”
He pulled her back into his arms, where he rewarded her with a passionate kiss that ended abruptly when her mother walked into the kitchen, placing Jace’s empty bottle in the sink.
“Morning, Kendra,” Moon greeted her mother cooly.
“Moon,” her mother responded smoothly.
Giving Moon and her mother reprimanding glares at the insulting expressions they gave each other as they passed behind the counters, Larissa filled her glass with juice.
“I’m going to head out.” Pausing beside her, Moon pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you around five?”
“Okay.”
As she made a slice of toast, she was aware of her mother’s watchful gaze. “What?” she asked, turning around.
“You seem particularly sunny today.”
Smilingly, she buttered the toast. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Her mother’s lips tightened into a thin line. “Oh, I don’t know … he shut you down pretty hard when you suggested going to Jamestown on his motorcycle.”
“If I’m not upset, then you shouldn’t be.” At her mother’s worried expression, she set her toast down to hug her. “We had a wonderful weekend, it’s a beautiful day, and Moon wants to go out for dinner. I’m so happy, and you should be, too. Moon and I are getting along great, and Jace is a dreamboat. Nothing is wrong just because Moon doesn’t want us to take his motorcycle tonight. Don’t overanalyze it just because you don’t like him.”
“You’re wrong there.” Her mother surprised her by contracting her. “I like Moon. I just wish you would take up for yourself more when he acts like a prick.”
“I will. I promise.” Finishing her drink, she grabbed her toast. “I have to go, or I’m going to be late for my appointment. See you this afternoon.”
Her mother still looked worried but dropped the subject. “Bye, darling.”
T he short drive was made in no time, and as she got out the car, she noticed Lana’s car parked next to Priss’. She hadn’t seen either sister since they had helped her get ready for the masquerade party on Friday.
Smiling, she locked the car door, thinking Lana had come by to talk about how the party had gone. Already deciding which parts she was going to leave out, she opened the office door to see both of her sisters talking at the reception desk.
“Good morning.” Cheerfully walking toward them, she noticed neither smiled in return. “What’s wrong?” She frowned. “I’m not late for my appointment, am I?”
“I asked Priss to reschedule your appointment.” Lana rose from behind the desk. “We need to talk in your office.”
“Okay …?”
Their grave expressions had fear knotting her stomach. Was there something wrong with Mom’s health? Was one of them sick?
Apprehensively entering her office, she saw a pile of folders placed on her desk. Lana and Priss took opposite sides of her chair to stand when she sat down.
In her chair, her gaze was caught on the computer screen, which was on. She read the name on the top, then jerked her eyes up to Lana’s. “What’s this about?”
Lana’s expression was one she was familiar with. It was the one she wore when giving life-altering facts to her patients.
“Larissa, when Bennett stole my money, I hired a firm to go over our financials. I was terrified he used his relationship with me to steal from both of you. Thankfully, he didn’t. But I signed up for a two-year subscription in case he was biding his time.”
Her fear eased a bit. At least nothing was physically wrong with any of their family. She almost cried in relief.
“For goodness’s sakes, you two nearly scared me to death.” Sympathetically, she grasped Lana’s hand. “Don’t worry. Whatever Bennett has done, we’ll fix it.”
Lana turned her hand over to hold hers instead. “Larissa, it isn’t Bennett who we have to worry about.”
“Moon?” Her mouth went dry in fear. “What’s he done?”
“Did you know Moon is a contract lawyer?”
“You have to have the wrong man.” Disbelievingly, she shook her head. “He’ a factory worker for The Last Riders.” She gave her sister an angry look. “You had him checked out?”
“He does more than work at the factory.” Lana released her hand to point at the computer screen. “I did have him checked out on Friday, but only when the company I hired to monitor our business finances sent me an email.”
“He’s been stealing from me?” she choked out.
“No, Larissa.” Lana gave her an anguished look. “He didn’t have to. You’ve been giving everything away to him.”
N umbly, she drove home, leaving Lana and Priss at the office. When she arrived at the house, she carried the folders inside that Lana had prepared for her.
“You’re back early.”
Forcing a smile to her lips, she carried the folders to the dining room table before going to the living room, where her mother was sitting on the couch, to stare down at Jace playing on the blanket on the floor. “I finished early. I thought I would save you a trip from bringing Jace for his feeding.”
“Oh.” Her mother stood. “Then I might call Lana and see if she wants to grab some lunch.”
“You should. I’m sure she’d like that.”
“You want to come and bring Jace?”
“No, Jace will be ready for his nap after I feed him. I don’t want to disrupt his schedule.”
“Okay, I’ll go ahead and leave, then. Did you need me to babysit tonight for yours and Moon’s date, or did you ask Priss or Lana?”
“I decided not to go out. I’ve got a headache. I thought I’d take a nap with Jace.”
“Good idea.” Her mother brushed a quick kiss over her forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Carrying Jace into the bedroom, she fed him then laid him down for a nap. Once he was asleep, she got to work.
In much less time than she had expected, she left their bedroom and headed into the dining room, where she took out her cell phone to type out a text.
“ I need you to come home. Now. ”
Sending the text, she sat down to wait.