Chapter Seven
Maureen
I followed King out of the clubhouse to an SUV that was sitting in the parking lot. He opened the door for me, and I climbed in and waited for him to join me on the other side.
“So, the boss wants to marry you, huh?” he asked as he pulled through the open gate.
“Yea,” I sighed, watching the town pass by as I stared out the window.
“How long have you known him?”
“My whole life.”
As we drove to my new house, I got a glimpse of the town I planned to start over in. This wasn’t the new start I wanted. This was another fucking link that kept me chained to the Mob. I couldn’t stay here with Justin, ugh, Micah here.
“Has he always wanted to marry you?”
“I don’t think so. If he did, he could have.”
“What does that mean?”
“My parents arranged my marriage. Duane and I had grown up together. His dad was a captain like mine. They were close and decided to connect the two families.”
“So you were forced to get married?”
“Not forced exactly. Groomed, you could say.” It didn’t matter what I told him at this point. I couldn’t stay. “I grew up knowing my parents would pick a husband for me. It’s how things are done.”
I knew I would never get to marry the boy I wanted.
“But Blade’s mom didn’t marry someone picked for her, right?”
“No, Kara met Eduardo, and she said to hell with tradition. Her dad was a soldier, so it was a little different.”
“Did you love your husband?” King asked as we pulled down a dirt driveway.
“I did. Neither of us had a choice, but we decided early on we would make the best of it. We eventually fell in love.”
“When did Sal make it known he wanted to marry you?”
King pulled up in front of the house I had bought, but he didn’t turn off the engine. We sat for a few minutes, while I decided how to answer his question.
Looking over at King, I found him watching me. “If you’re asking whether Sal killed my husband, the answer is I don’t know. Do I suspect? Maybe, but if he did, it had more to do with the organization than it did me.”
Opening my door, I stepped out and looked over at the detached two-car garage. That wouldn’t be great in the winter when the snow fell, but at least Betty would be safe. It was close enough to the house that I could maybe connect them with a room. Looking at the house, I studied the porch that ran along the front.
A porch swing would be perfect.
As I looked around, a woman stepped out of the house and met me at the front door.
“Hi, Maureen. It’s great to meet you in person,” she greeted with a warm smile.
She was a beautiful woman. Her dark hair ended at her shoulders in a long bob. Unlike realtors in Boston, Kristy wasn’t dressed like she belonged on Wall Street. She wore a pair of jeans, a flannel shirt, and cowboy boots.
“It’s great to meet you also,” I said, my practiced smile plastered on my face.
“Hello, King,” Kristy purred.
“Hey, Kristy,” King said from behind me.
“So how did you two meet? I thought you didn’t know anyone here?”
The jealousy was evident in Kristy’s question.
“My car broke down last night, and King happened upon me. I had been sitting there for thirty minutes without a single car driving by. I was really thankful when he pulled up,” I explained.
“A regular knight in shining leather,” Kristy said. “Well, let’s go inside and see your house.”
King followed behind Kristy and me as we walked through the front door into the living room.
It was spacious, even with the thick staircase that split the room in two. The smaller side would make a nice office.
The floors were wood, though they would need to be refinished. As I walked through the room, I noticed the windows on either side allowed natural light to pour in. A large stone fireplace sat nestled between two windows opposite the staircase. That would be a blessing through the winter.
I walked through to the kitchen and found it wasn’t just empty. It was hollow. There were no cabinets, no appliances; the floor was plywood, and the walls were nothing but studs. Thankfully, the insulation was still intact. Putting up walls wouldn’t take long at all.
Off the kitchen was a full bathroom and a bedroom. Before I walked through those, I needed to see the back of the house. Pulling the back door open, I looked into a mudroom. There were hookups for a washer and dryer here. I prayed the walls were well insulated, or the pipes for the washer would freeze during the winter and burst. That was a mess I didn’t want to deal with.
There was a second door that led from the mudroom to the backyard. Opening that door and looking out, I saw a clothesline attached to the side of the house.
It reminded me of when I was a child.
In Boston, there wasn’t a lot of grass, but everyone had a clothesline that hung in the alleys between the buildings. It was how we kept the apartments cool during the hot summer months, drying clothes in the sun rather than running a hot dryer.
“There is a lot that needs to be done, as I told you before you purchased. I hope you’re not discouraged by what you are seeing,” Kristy said hesitantly, pulling me back to the present.
“No, I knew what I was getting,” I assured her, walking back into the kitchen.
I saw her shoulders relax. I imagined many people who bought houses without seeing them in person might have buyer’s remorse. I wasn’t one of them.
I was in love with this house.
This was so much more than a house, though.
This was a new beginning.
A fresh start.
I wanted this. I just didn’t know if I could keep it.
“Maureen, don’t make any hasty decisions. Stay through the holiday,” King said, as if reading my thoughts.
“Have you changed your mind?” Kristy asked, her voice strained. “I’m not sure how long it would take to find someone else willing to purchase a house in this state.”
Ignoring the woman’s panic, I looked out the kitchen window. I could easily envision the chicken coop I wanted to build, and I had already planned out a garden plot on the side of the house in my mind’s eye. With a greenhouse to sit off to the side of that.
I turned and looked at King. What I was looking for, I wasn’t sure. Permission, maybe? I had told Colleen before I left, I didn’t need permission from anyone to live my life. Yet here I was, wanting a man I had just met to give me the ok to stay and build a life in his town. I needed to know that if I stayed, I wouldn’t be disrupting the lives of everyone here.
“You can stay.”
That was all he said. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that Sal would honor my decision to leave. I just didn’t trust him. I never had.
“At the very least, I’m here until my car is fixed, right?” I asked.
A smile spread over King’s face.
“Ok, well, here are your keys,” Kristy said. “I need to get back to the office. I’m not sure why you are questioning this move, Maureen, but Diamond Creek is a great little town.”
“Thank you, Kristy.”
I didn’t follow her to the door.
Standing in the kitchen, looking around, I whispered, “I want this.”
“You can have it,” King assured me.
For a moment, I had forgotten he was still here with me. He stood quietly in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked relaxed. I found that hard to understand, given everything I had told him this morning.
“Can I? I’m not sure. When Sal finds out I’m here with Justin.” I sighed. “Micah. He’ll want to come here. He’ll try to convince me to come back.”
“Are you afraid of him?”
I took a deep breath.
That was a good question.
What was I really worried about?
“I don’t know. Sal is…” I paused, trying to find the right word, “...complicated. No one really knows why he does what he does. He’s unpredictable.”
“We can protect you.”
Shaking my head, I walked toward the front of the house.
“I can protect myself.”
I walked upstairs, wanting to see the bedrooms. The stairs were solid. That was a plus. I didn’t wait for King to follow. It made no difference to me if he did, or if he waited downstairs.
Walking down the hall, I noted several doors on either side. Opening the first one, I stepped into a bedroom. The slanted ceilings reminded me of houses back home. Someone had brought a little bit of the northeast into the Midwest.
That was what drew me to the house in the first place. I walked to the dormer windows and saw the little window seat. Colleen would have loved a room like this growing up.
I could envision her as a little girl, sitting there reading, staring out the window, dreaming. Maybe it was me I was seeing. My whole life I had dreamed. Now those dreams felt like they had a chance of becoming a reality.
Turning back to the hall, I opened the door across the hall. It was a walk-in linen closet. It sat over the room downstairs that I would make into my office. I could see a young family living here. It would have made a wonderful home.
Walking further down the hall, there were two doors similar to the ones I had just opened. One was another bedroom. Turning back, I looked at the rooms. The linen closet would be perfect for storing holiday decorations, as well as extra linens, blankets, and pillows for each guest room.
That is what they would be. My room would be downstairs, and these would be for guests. A place for Colleen when she came to visit.
Opening the last door across from the second bedroom, there was a large, full bathroom. It was the only room in the house that wasn’t a disaster. There was a large soaking tub, as well as a shower. At least I knew once I got my bedroom done, I could move in. This just needed a good scrubbing.
If I moved in.
I still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. I wanted it though. I had planned for it.
Dammit, when will I stop letting others dictate the decisions I make?
I closed the door behind me and walked to the stairs. My descent was slow as I mulled over my choices. King was waiting downstairs, leaning against the wall, his head bent over his phone. He had left me to myself. Maybe he understood I needed to be alone.
He looked up as I stepped off the last step.
“Well?” he asked.
“I’m staying.”
His smile was wide as he walked toward me.
“Glad to hear it. Diamond Creek just got a little more exciting.”
I laughed at his blatant flirting.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Thirty-eight,” he answered.
“Just a baby,” I whispered.
He would have been about twelve or thirteen when Colleen was born. I shuddered at the thought. I never understood how middle-aged women could be with men young enough to be their children. And while King wasn’t quite that young, he was still too young for me.
His brother, however.
“How old is your brother?” Not sure why I was asking.
“Dec is fifty,” King said with a smirk. “He old enough for you?”
“Not why I was asking.”
He was older than me, not that it mattered. “I was just curious, ’cause there seems to be a big gap. Most women don’t wait twelve years between children.”
“Yea, my mom always told me I was a surprise. She always made sure I knew I wasn’t an accident.”
“What’s the difference?”
“She always said an accident was something that wasn’t supposed to happen. A surprise was something you didn’t know you wanted until you had it.”
I smiled at his words. “That is a beautiful way of thinking about it.”
We stepped out onto the porch, and I stopped.
“Is there an auto dealer here?”
“Yea, you buying a new car? ’Cause if you are selling the Mustang—”
“Bite your tongue! I would never sell Betty, but she doesn’t like the snow much, so I figured once she’s fixed, I’ll park her in the garage. I’m thinking I need a truck.”
“A pickup?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yea, a pickup. I plan on having chickens in the spring; plus, I will have a lot of materials to haul fixing this place up.”
“Ok, let’s get you a pickup,” he said, walking to the SUV.
I swear I heard him mutter something that sounded like, “Dec is gonna love that.”
It didn’t matter what Dec thought. His opinion of me didn’t matter.
Keep telling yourself that.
My plan was to stay far away from the town sheriff.
I couldn’t trust cops.
My past had taught me that.