Trevor (Strong Manor #6)

Chapter 3

Henry was having a hard time in keeping up with the conversation that Peabody was telling him about since he said that his employee had been cahooting with the enemy and holding hands with him. He knew a bit about the other people that were at the auction this morning but he also heard that his baby girl was hanging out with the Strong family. It was all he could do not to dance himself a jig while Peabody bitched at him about fairness and the price of four hundred dollars an hour for her doing nothing.

“You knew the price it was going to be before you had her showing up at seven in the morning to hang around and doing nothing. You were also told that she wasn’t going to be loading a dammed thing for you, so you might as well get over that part. She’s strong enough to do it, but I don’t pay my drivers to be lifting heavy things when they don’t have to. I know too that Donna told you several times—we have it recorded with you agreeing with my employee that you’d get your own people to load the…think how much money you saved in not having to hire loaders when you didn’t win anything.”

“He cheated.” Henry laughed and asked him how Mr. Strong had cheated. “He had more money to spend than I did. Who pays a grand for a bedroom suit that is used? So what if it’s solid oak? It’s still used. I should have been able to get that stuff for five bucks a room. I tell you that even going to auctions is getting to be cutthroat nowadays.”

Henry winked at his lovely wife, Anna, and put the phone on speaker so she could hear what the man was saying to him. He was glad that Henrie had given him a heads up on the man being mad when she’d gone home. But she hadn’t said a word about holding hands with one of the Strong men.

When Peabody got belligerent, he hung up the phone. Since the man had put a credit card number down to rent the rig today, he went ahead and charged him the five hours and smiled while he was doing it. That would teach him to think that he could fool someone like him. He looked at Anna when the charge went through.

“What did he say?” Henry told her what had transpired before she’d come into the room. “He said he cheated because he had more money? Good heavens, Henry. What a thing to be upset about. Of course, he has money to spend. He has a good family that has been saving this town forever. Even he should understand that. But what of his story about our Henrie holding hands with one of the Strong men? I believe the only one that is left is the baby, Trevor. And I believe that he’s in his mid-twenties.”

“That’s what I heard as well, that he was the baby. Wouldn’t it be great if they were to hook up? However, that young man is in for a rude awakening if he thinks that she’ll be easy. She’s hard on men.” Anna agreed reminding him of her boyfriend in high school. “Yes, he thought just because she was beautiful, she was stupid too. I doubt he’s made that mistake again with any woman.”

They both laughed thinking about the kid that had tried to take advantage of Henrie. He’d pretended to have car trouble and she’d gotten under the hood and found out that someone had pulled the plugs on his distributer. Once she fixed it, she made him get in the back seat, and she drove herself home. The kid had never lived it down what she’d had done to him, and he moved away. Best thing that had ever happened to Henrie. No one ever tried to take advantage of her again.

Henrie was coming to their house for dinner. He was sure that it was the only meal that she got that wasn’t fast food. Her life had been doing one thing after another, and he didn’t know what he’d do without her. She was his heart and soul next to his wonderful wife. He never regretted a day that they’d taken her in when she’d been ten years old.

She showed up just as they were having a nice chat in the living room. He didn’t want to ask her about the Strong man because he didn’t want to embarrass her. Apparently, his wife had no such trouble.

“Are you seeing Trevor?” He watched as her face turned a bright shade of pink and smiled to himself. Even if she said she wasn’t, he could tell that she’d been thinking about him. “He’s a good man, from what I hear. Comes from a good family, too.”

“Are you tired of me and trying to get rid of me?” Anna tsked at her. “No, I’m not seeing him. He considered me his good luck charm or something, and he dragged me from room to room to get the rest of the household goods for the house he just bought. Did you know that the Courtrights are moving into a smaller home? I think that they mentioned that it was closer to their children. Now, there is a nice couple.”

“Don’t fob me off, young lady. Peabody told us that you were holding hands with him. You couldn’t do better with him in your life.” She told them that she wasn’t looking for anyone to be in her life just now. “Still. He must have liked you well enough to have you in his court. Did you happen to know what he paid for the bedroom furnishings?”

“Not as much as I think they would have gone for. Most of the people there weren’t bidding, but I think just having a look around. He got a good deal on the rooms. There isn’t anything that he’s going to have to do to move right in. They even sold the dining room table and chairs that they couldn’t take with them.”

They talked about the house that he had gotten and how perfect it seemed to be. She told them how the kitchen was up to date, a thing that would take the most time in remodeling, and now that he was outfitted with the bedrooms and dining room things, he could move right in like he’d been living there all his life.

“I’ve never been in their home. Not to say I’d not been invited but there was something always taking us away from going. I know that they used to throw the best Christmas parties when their kids were home. I’m glad that they’re going to be moving closer to them. My goodness, they must be in their late seventies by now.” Henry didn’t point out that they were just hitting their mid-seventies this summer. That would put him in the dog house, and he loved being around his wife when she was just a little—a tiny bit—upset.

Dinner was great, but he thought that it was the company. He so loved cold meatloaf sammiches as a dinner and would eat his weight in them if he wasn’t careful. Not really, but he would have the cook make the meatloaf the day before, the smell of it baking making his mouth water, and the next day they’d have their dinner. It was one of the few things that he enjoyed more than his wife. She liked them but not like he did.

After dinner, he watched as Henrie dozed off and on throughout the evening. He wanted to suggest that she just spend the night; there was plenty of room, but she’d leave, and he didn’t want her to do that, being as obviously exhausted as she was. She finally dozed off into a deeper sleep, and lying her down on the sofa, he covered her up, and he and Anna went to their bed. It had been a long day, and he, for one, was ready for the next day. Just as he was lying down, it only being about nine o’clock, his cell phone rang. It was the service that he employed to answer the phone when the business was closed for the day.

“I have a Mr. Trevor Strong on the phone, sir. He wants to talk to you about your granddaughter.” He asked her what he’d said. “He wants you to give her his phone number so that she can call him. Something about a good luck charm. I wouldn’t have bothered you about it, but he’s a Strong, sir, and I, for one, have trouble turning them down for anything.”

“Yes, I know what you mean. All right, Hilda. Give him my house number and tell him that we were just off to bed. Ask him to come have breakfast with us in the morning and he can give it to her himself. She’s staying the night here.” He hoped that she’d be there in the morning and not take off in the middle of the night when she realized where she was. “Tell him that we eat at seven sharp and for him to wear his laze about clothing. I’m going to put him to work with…never mind. Just do that for me, and we’ll be set up.”

When he put the phone down on his dresser, he couldn’t help but dance. He’d been doing that for most of the day since he’d heard from Peabody, and he was having a wonderful time with knowing that maybe, just maybe, his wonderful granddaughter was going to be taken care of when he and Anna were no longer around. Christ, he loved his Henrie. She was the best thing that had ever happened to them.

She’d only been an infant when her parents were divorced. For whatever gods were watching over her that day, Henrie had been spared the fights between both her parents. There were times when he loved his daughter-in-law more than his own son. He’d messed up with Sharon, demanding that she hand over Henrie so that he could raise her on his own. He’d only wanted the child support that she’d give him if he won. They’d long since written him out of the will that would have made him millions of dollars. As it was now, Henrie was getting the bulk of their massive estate, and there was even money for Sharon. She had been a good person to all of them.

He couldn’t sleep, not right now, so when Anna turned off her light and rolled to her side, he got up. She wouldn’t have woken if a bomb went off. She was such a heavy sleeper. Going to his office, he turned on his computer and did a search on Trevor Strong and the rest of the family.

My goodness, he thought the things that they’d done in their helping their town was a long list. And they didn’t seem to be stopping anytime too soon. That’s when he found out that Jenson Strong had been elected for their congressman, and he was glad that he’d made it. The boy was going to do good things even if he only did half of what he promised he’d do once he was in office.

Trevor was a good man. He had invested well with his brothers’ help and had managed to save millions of dollars on his own. The family as a whole was worth billions and he decided right then and there he was going to have Maverick help him with some of his money. It was never too late to invest so that Henrie would have a better life than they’d had when they started out.

It was nearly three in the morning when he thought that he should go to bed. It didn’t matter what time he would go to bed. He’d be up at six-thirty every day. He thought that was one of the things that he disliked about getting old. Your body just seemed to have a mind of its own. Setting his alarm, just in case he did sleep over, he smiled to himself, thinking about the things that he’d been able to find out. While he’d been in his office, Henrie had awoken and he sent her off to be so that she’d not have to drive. He was surprised and pleased that she did just what he wanted. He didn’t, however, mention that they’d be having company for breakfast in the morning. She’d leave for sure.

His alarm went off while he was reading the news on his phone. He was glad to see that Bradon Wallace had gotten life in prison plus one day. The judge must have been old school he’d not heard that saying in some time. Usually, it was life without parole. But it was good too for the Strong family to have the man in prison. He’d caused enough trouble for Gracie Strong, and a man didn’t deserve it any better than he did. He told Anna about it when she got up.

“I read about him just the other day. Can you imagine stealing millions of dollars from his own niece? He wasn’t even the person who should have been in charge of her, either. I just hope when we’re gone, a long time from now, that no one takes advantage of Henrie. Not that I’d think she’d let them, but you never know about slick people.” He told her that he thought that Henrie had a good head on her shoulders and be damned the man that tried anything with her. “True. I have so much to do today, Henry. I just don’t know where to start. I think I’ll start with having a good breakfast.”

“We’re having company. I nearly forgot.” He told her about the phone call that he’d gotten last night and how he’d invited the young man to have breakfast with them. “I know that Henrie is still here. She got up about midnight, and I sent her to her room. She looked exhausted even after taking a nap on the sofa.”

“She’s working too hard. There is no reason for her to keep driving. Even though Sharon has finally retired, Henrie still works. I wish she’d just become a—well, she’d never be a woman of leisure, but it was a nice thought anyway. I so love that girl.” He said that he did as well.

When they got to the kitchen, not only was Henrie there but Trevor had shown up as well. He could tell that she was irritated, which he didn’t blame her. They’d gone behind her back and set the two of them up. Trevor was talking about his house and how he was going to be able to move into it within the next couple of weeks.

“Why are you here again?” Anna told her that he was a guest of theirs and for her not to be rude. “I wasn’t being rude. I think that’s a good question. There is a rumor going around town that you’ve met your future wife and that you’d be off the market soon. What are you, a slab of meat? What kind of saying is that? Off the market? I don’t have any desire to become a housewife, especially to a house that flipping big.”

“I didn’t ask you to be. I’d hire a lot of staff if it came to that.” He laughed, and Henry couldn’t help but join him. That got him a glare from both Anna and Henrie. “It is a large house. I thought when I started looking into having my own place that I wanted smaller. But I got the two mutts out there, and now I want them to have a big back yard.”

There were two of the cutest puppies in the back yard when he got up to look. One was all black, and the other was a shade or two lighter. They were having a good time, chasing sticks that his butler was tossing for them, and Alan looked as if he was having a good time, too. He’d never seen such a big smile on his face before.

“They were abandoned, and my sister-in-law brought them to the vet. Ten of them falling all over each other like they couldn’t get close enough to her. She was going to keep them all, but I convinced her to let me have two of them, and the rest of the family took a pair of them as well.” Anna asked him if he’d gotten a good deal on the house. “Yes, better than I thought I would being that it was only on the market for a few days. It also saved me a bit of money because they were in a hurry to sell so they could move closer to their daughter. She’s going to keep an eye on them from now on, I guess.”

They talked about everything under the sun while they ate. The cook, Sue, had gone all out when she realized that she was going to be cooking for more than the two of them. There was so much food that he despaired of having a lot of leftovers, but Trevor seemed to understand the assignment and ate whatever was left when the rest of them were full. Henrie didn’t back off either when it came to filling her belly. He thought that she was too thin anyway.

~*~

Trevor knew that Henrie was upset with him. He had sort of blindsided her into spending the day with him. He didn’t know why she seemed to intrigue him but when she was spitting mad, as she was right now, he thought her to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, he didn’t say that to her. He wasn’t that stupid.

“Why couldn’t you have come here yourself then called later to get someone to move this crap for you?” He didn’t have an answer to that but did tell her that she was his good luck charm. “You won’t think that when I bash your head in for dragging me out here today.”

The auction had been one that his parents went to every month. It was the first Saturday, and he was excited to be able to find things for his own home this time. There were several pieces that—she bumped into him hard and he turned to see what was the matter.

“That’s Peabody over there, I think.” He looked, happy for the heads up about the man. “He’s going to cause trouble if I don’t miss my bet. I wouldn’t engage with him if you can help it. My grandda said that he has been trouble since he was a child. I don’t think he’s going to be happy with me either since they put the charge through on his credit card today for having me hang around the other place for him.”

“I’ll protect you.” She snorted and asked him if she looked like she needed protecting from a blowhard like him. “Good point. Then you protect me. I’m delicate.”

She snorted again, and he threw back his head in mirth. He was having a good time, and they’d not even started bidding yet. But they did keep their distance from Peabody. There was no point in ruining everyone’s fun for the man.

Since this was indoors, there was no reason for coats. It wasn’t all that warm inside even, but with all the people and excitement it was comfortable. And there were lots of household items too, things that he didn’t have in his house like pictures on the walls—there were a lot of pictures and paintings there. Some tools that he thought would come in handy if he needed them for a leak or something. There were also things like a computer desk that looked similar to the filing cabinet that he had. Lots of little things that he wanted to pick out for his home. He hoped that he could convince Henrie to help him with that as well.

He didn’t know why he was pursuing her. He liked her all right. She was beautiful and strong-willed. Today she was wearing a pair of leggings that showed off every muscle in her body along with the curve of her ass. But she was standoffish. Like she’d rather be anywhere but with him. That didn’t bother her either, as he was enjoying her honesty about being around him. Sometimes, it hurt, but for the most part, he laughed at her.

He saw her standing with his mom and wondered what they were up to. Then he saw the box of teacups in front of her, and they were talking about them. Mom used to collect teacups and saucers but she’d gotten tired of them taking up all the room she had them in and had sold them off. Someone had gotten quite a collection, he remembered, and his mom was happy with the room again. He thought that she had been gathering snowmen now. Not large ones, but some that, at the most, about as big as his hand. He noticed, too, that there was a box of those nearby as well. He came up behind them just as Peabody noticed that he was there.

“There you are. You gotta sell me one of those bedroom sets for you stealing them from me.” He told the man no and felt the tension in Henrie as soon as he looked at her. “I gotta beef with you too. Your boss, he charged me for you sitting around on your ass at the auction yesterday morning when you helped him win all those rooms of furniture. I’m going to dispute the charge and we’ll see what that gets that company.”

“Yeah? Well, good luck with that. He also sent in the paperwork that you signed, stating that you were going to pay the money if you won anything or not. Also, I have it on good authority that it about overcharged your card that you left on file to pay for the privilege of having me around.” He asked her why she thought it was a privilege. “Because without me there, you might well have won some of it. Then what would you have done with the furniture since I wasn’t going to drag it out to the rig?”

“That’s not right.” She shrugged, and he looked at him. “You owe me at least one of the bedroom sets. I got a daughter moving back in with me and I need the extra beds.”

“I don’t care.” He looked like he was going to hit him, with his fist doubled up and his arm tight. “I’d think very hard on your next move, Peabody. I’m not a little person, and I won’t allow you to hurt or bully me. I’m a grown man about half your age and your weight. Don’t mess with me.”

“You think you’re all that, do you? I’ll have you know that I’ve had men like you hurting in ways that they never bothered me again.” Trevor just stared at him and was glad when his dad and Barton showed up behind Peabody.

Trevor took a step back, but he didn’t back down. Asking his mom and Henrie to please move away from him, he nearly took his eyes off of Peabody when they did. It was the move without argument that surprised him the most.

“Mr. Peabody, you might want to have a look around you before you do something that your bottom can’t cover. My oldest is here, and he’s got all kinds of people around him to protect his family. You make a wrong move and I’m sure that they’ll have no trouble running you in for threatening this family. Again.” Dad turned Peabody around so that he was facing him. “Don’t do it. I’d hate very much for this place to become a crime scene. I love coming here with my family.”

“You Strongs. You’re all a bunch of pussies, as far as I can see. Standing behind some kind of hit squad when all I wanted to do was to have a conversation with your son here. He robbed me of some things the other day, and he should be made to pay up. You, being his father, you should know that he took advantage of a situation because he has more money than I do.” Dad asked him what he was saying. “I could have had all that stuff if he wasn’t rich. He should have given someone else a chance to get some of the goods. It’s not fair that he can flaunt around his money when people are around.”

“Are you saying that you’re harassing my son and his girlfriend because he has more money than you do? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Dad laughed, a short bark of laughter that didn’t sound like he found anything funny. “There are a lot of people that have more money than we do. You don’t see us complaining and causing trouble with them, do you? Get out of here before I use some of my considerable money and have you arrested. I will, too. Get away from us before…just get away before you bite off more than you can chew.”

“I can chew plenty, so you know.” Trevor was as confused as his dad looked. “Just leave me alone, the lot of you. Rich people like you shouldn’t be allowed to mingle with people like us.”

Whatever that meant, Trevor was all right with it. It made Peabody leave them alone and to walk away to the door. He hoped that he’d leave, but he had a feeling that he was going to regroup and come at them again. The bastard had taken a little fun out of his day, and he didn’t—

The slap to his face startled him. Mom and Dad walked away with his brothers, but Henrie stayed. He asked her why she’d hit him. Before he allowed her to answer him, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the mouth. When he set her back from him, he thought that she was going to kill him where he stood.

“He had a gun.” His lust-filled mind couldn’t understand what she was talking about. When she drew back to hit him again, no doubt, he grabbed her fist this time and kissed it before putting it down at her side. “He was fingering his gun like he was going to shoot you with it. Didn’t you see it?”

“No, I didn’t.” He waved at Jenson, and he came to him immediately. “Henrie said that Peabody has a gun on him. There is clearly a sign on the front door not to be having weapons on you when coming through the doors.” Jenson told him that he’d take care of it and walked away. Trevor looked at Henrie. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? For scaring ten years off my life? For fucking around with an unstable man? Or is it for not correcting your father when he called me your girlfriend? Any or all of those pissed me off.” He asked her if she would be his girlfriend. “No, I would not. You’re not right in the head. You needlessly provoked that man, and it was stupid of you.”

“I didn’t know that he had a gun, not that that should make a difference. You’re right. I shouldn’t have provoked him into getting pissed off. I’m sorry.” She still looked upset, and he ran his fingers down her cheek. “Your skin is just as soft as I thought it would be. And your lips taste like honey to me. Did you use something on them to lure me in to kiss you? I’ll do it again if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind, you idiot.” She turned on her heel and left him standing there. Just as he was thinking about how much fun it was to piss her off, he heard a gunshot. It was all he could do not to run into the scene when he counted the heads of his family and couldn’t find Henrie.

Walking slowly, telling himself that she was going to be just fine; he was just coming to the woman down when Jade screamed at someone to call an ambulance. It was Henrie. She was done, and for the life of him he couldn’t get his mind and body to work to see if she was all right.

“Trevor. Are you listening to me?” He nodded about all he could do now that things had started to come clear to him. “Trevor Strong. Look at me. Look. I’m fine.”

Getting down on his knees, he took Henrie’s hand into his. She must have said to him that she was fine another five times before Jade knocked him over. She told him that he was in the way and that they’d be able to get her to the hospital if he were to allow her to examine her.

“Yes, all right.” He didn’t let go of Henrie’s hand but held it tightly in his own while Jade barked orders to the people around them. When his dad, he knew it was him by the heavy weight of his hands on his shoulders touched him, Trevor told his dad that Henrie was all right. “She’s been shot, but Jade said she’s going to be fine.”

He hoped so. With all his heart, he hoped so. Even though she was talking to Jade and him, the pool of blood beneath her spread out. Once it touched his knees, he had to work hard at not freaking out. Then she told him that he needed to call her grandparents.