Chapter 4
Howard watched the young couple as they walked hand in hand down the little street.
He’d been having someone watching over his daughter for years now, and this was the first time he’d seen her with a young man at her side, where she seemed to be enjoying herself.
He knew about as much about the young man, Ivan Frazier, as he did himself.
And all of it was good. He would enjoy talking to the man, but when the time was right.
Howard kept an eye out for Debra so that she would not intrude on their time together.
He’d been blackmailed into leaving his daughter alone all these years.
For as much as he wanted to be with her, there were his other children that he had to save as well.
When Debra came to him to tell him that she was going to have his baby, he never believed her.
It wasn’t until she was born that he got the tests taken that proved without a doubt that she belonged to him that he started to take an interest in her.
And he’d fallen in love with the child, too.
Howard had been divorced by then, his first wife having wanted to go and spend her golden years on spending money and having a good time.
He’d just wanted to relax and have some downtime after working hard all his life, and they parted ways.
The two of them had three children together, and they had grown up much like their mother.
Flighty and spending money like they had an endless supply of it.
He was glad when he married her that he’d had her sign a prenup, and that saved him from having to be broke all the time with the way that she spent money.
It was Debra’s plan all along to ruin him by telling people that he was a pedophile.
Not that it mattered to him all that much, but it would have ruined his chances with his children.
They would have grown up with the thought that he had done things to them that a father shouldn’t, and he didn’t want to give them that out.
They would have used it too, to make it so that he had to pay them more money.
He knew that without a doubt. They were as greedy as their mother had been, and, as it turned out, as greedy as Debra had been too.
Thankfully, it had only cost him a house payment once a month and money in her account.
Not as much as she wanted, but enough to keep her happy with her lot in life and to leave him alone.
He thought that he made out better than she did as he got to see his daughter grow up without Debra being any the wiser.
If not for Robert and Cindy Ranger, he might not have been able to spend as much time with his daughter as he liked.
They would have her home for holidays and summer vacations, and he’d be there as much as he could.
He’d also been able to pay for her boarding school, then her higher education when the time came.
Howard had put a lot of time and effort into being there for his daughter when she needed him, and now that Robert and his lovely wife were gone, he was going to have to contact her after all these years.
He was both nervous and excited about the prospect of meeting her face to face with her knowing that she was his daughter.
“Mr. Bash, there’s a phone call for you on line two. She said that she has information about your daughter.” He asked if there was a name. “She didn’t give one. I did ask, but she kept changing the subject around so that I wouldn’t get it. She’s very slick, I will admit that.”
“Hello?” He waited on the line for a few seconds before he repeated his greeting and said his name. “I’m Howard Bash. You wanted to speak to me?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you come back on the line.
My name is Brandy Fraizer. It’s amazing what you can find out when you have a seemingly endless supply of money.
Of course, it helped that I had your name.
I’m the sister-in-law to your daughter, Serenity Ranger Frazier.
” He stood up, then sat down twice more before he found his tongue.
“I’m guessing that you didn’t expect someone to find you.
You didn’t make it hard, I will say that for you.
Debra is giving her a hard time again, and I thought you’d like to know that she’s getting married soon. Not Debra, but your daughter, Sen.”
“I didn’t know she was dating that man, and it was serious.
” She told him how they were mates and that Ivan would make sure she was safe as he could, but it was Debra who was causing them the most trouble.
“How can I help? I was just thinking that I need to talk to Serenity. Robert was my go-between for us. I don’t think she’d remember me all that much if not for them. ”
“As you’ve no doubt heard, they’re both gone.
Car accident. Sen is living in their house for now.
When I spoke to them yesterday, they were house hunting.
Something about the house being too much of a maze for them to be living in it.
They’ve decided to find them something that they both can enjoy.
” He asked her if it had to do with the kitchen.
“I’m not sure, but if that’s the first thing that you think of, then that’s more than likely a big part of it.
The two of them are getting along very well, but as I said, for her mother. She’s not a nice person, is she?”
“No, she’s not. I’ve been dealing with her for the past twenty-four years, and it’s never gotten any better with her.
She’s going to have to stand on her own two feet here in a few months when Serenity turns twenty-five.
I no longer have to support her.” She asked if he was paying for the big house she was living in.
“You know a great deal about me when I don’t even remember your name.
You said it was Frazier. The only Frazier that I know is the owner of a large slaughterhouse that just went up.
He’s doing well, too, if my sources are correct. ”
“I’m married to him. Lica Fraizer. Sen is going to be marrying his brother Ivan.
Ivan is a vet of good standing.” He started taking notes on the conversation so that he could go over it later.
He would have to do a search of his own before the end of the day.
“I’m arranging a little get-together that I’d like for you to attend.
Sen will be there. She knows that I’m trying to reach you.
As I said before, you’ve made it easy to find you.
Was that on purpose? So that she could find you if she wanted? ”
“That’s right. I wanted her to be able to find me if she ever needed me.
I’ve waited a long time now, and I’m guessing that it’s taken her so long because of her mother.
” She said that some of it had to do with her.
The other was that she didn’t have the funds.
“I didn’t give her all the money that I could have because I didn’t want to make Debra any more pissed off than she usually is.
She hates that people have more than she does at any given time, and I didn’t want my daughter hurt again. ”
“She’s putting together pieces of her childhood from memories now.
She said that she had such a wonderful childhood that the only thing she could attribute it to was having her aunt and uncle in the picture.
I have a feeling that you were the one who was footing the bills when it came to Sen.
” Howard told her that she was right. But they did make it so that he could see her when she came to the house for events.
“I figured as much. You did well, Howard. She thought that the man named Howard was her father, but she was never for sure about it. I’m glad you didn’t just let her be raised by that psychopath of a mother. ”
“Has she threatened her again?” She told him of the details of the death of her uncle and aunt, and how she was a billionaire.
And that Debra threatened to kill her if she got more than she did from the estate.
“That sounds like her. She only hit her the one time that I’m aware of, and I took her from her mother.
Debra was never stable about things when it came to money.
She was forever trying to get more out of me since Serenity was just a baby.
But as I said, when Serenity turns twenty-five, everything stops for her mother, and the house that she’s living in will revert to my child.
There will be no more money put into her account, nor will the house be hers to live in as she sees fit.
Everything that I own will go to Serenity when I pass away, too.
My other three children are on their own when it comes to living in this world. ”
“Is that someone else she’s going to have to deal with when you pass away?
Your other children? If so, you’d better be doing something about them now.
I don’t have much tolerance for people who try to hurt what I consider my family, and Sen is the moment she became Ivan’s mate.
” He said that he’d dealt with them and they know better now.
“I hope you’re right. I would hate to have to take you to task if one of them gets out of hand.
I’m not without a great deal of resources myself. ”
He didn’t know what she’d do to him once he was dead, but he had a fear of her all the same.
Telling her again that his children had been dealt with had her telling him he’d better didn’t bode well for him.
Howard decided that he was going to have another talk with his children to make sure they understood that he was finished with them.
So far, they seemed to understand, but he was going to make his point again.
There was no point in pissing anyone off after he was dead.
He had a feeling that she’d be digging him up and causing him all kinds of trouble if things went south with his kids. She was sort of scary.