But Richard’s aim was dead-on. Uncle K, seemingly stunned that he had been hit at all, fell over, down the steps of the plane, and onto the tarmac. He landed on top of Fiona.
Richard ran to the foot of those steps. He ran as fast as he could run.
Janet had run to Spencer, removing her jacket to compress his bleeding stomach wound, but he was waving off Richard, who ran to him too. “Fiona,” he said. “Help Fiona!”
Richard grabbed Uncle K’s dead weight and threw him aside. And that was when he saw Fiona. A gunshot through the head. There was no way she survived that. He looked at Janet. And shook his head.
“Is she alright?” Spencer was asking them. “Is she alright?”
But Richard was already distracted. He saw movement from Kai-Shah. And he aimed his gun at him. But first he needed to know why.
“It was my money,” Kai-Shah was saying. “He stole it because I ordered him to. He stole it to set me up for the day I walked out of that prison. Took me six years after you killed him. Because you killed Pourtnoy. He was my sister’s only son and you killed him! They said he committed suicide. But that was a lie. I knew it was a lie. You killed him. You made him give all that money back and then you took him out. And as soon as I walked free, I declared I was gonna make sure I took you out. And everybody you loved too.”
“But it didn’t work, did it, asshole?” Richard said. “I’m still here. And so is my brother. And so is my woman. You failed again you miserable sonafabitch! And for the record, I didn’t kill him.” And when Kai-Shah tried to reach for Richard’s gun in one last attempt of vengeance, Richard shot him one time, through the heart again. And that was enough. He was dead.
Then Richard went to Spencer even as they heard sirens in the distance. The air traffic controller at the small airfield had apparently phoned 911, and then got out of the way.
“There’s nothing more we can do but wait on the ambulance,” Janet said. “Go check on your crew on the plane. Make sure there’s nobody else trying to come for us.”
It was Richard’s thought as well, and he began running up the steps onto the plane. When he saw that his flight crew had been gaged and tied up, rather than killed, he sighed relief. And made sure nobody else was on that plane.
Once satisfied, he untied his pilot, who would untie the rest of the crew, and then Richard ran back to aid his brother.
But when Spencer finally found the strength to lift his head up and look over at his fiancée, and saw the state she was in, he began wailing in despair. He cried like a baby.
And Richard had to hurry down to him, and hold him, even as they saw the police cars and ambulance on the tarmac heading their way.
Janet continued to apply pressure, even though they both knew it was no use. He was bleeding profusely. It would take a miracle.
But they had managed to come together again, despite the incredible odds. They both believed in miracles.
EPILOGUE
“Said the shepherd boy to the might king,
‘Do you know what I know?’
In your palace warm, mighty king,
‘Do you know what I know?’
A child, a child, shivers in the cold,
Let us bring him silver and gold.
Let us bring him silver and gold.”
The Regney/Shayne Christmas carol Do You Hear What I Hear hummed softly in the background as Richard, Janet, and Mo celebrated Christmas together at Janet’s house. It was snowing very lightly outside, but Richard had never felt as much warmth and closeness as he felt inside his heart.
His family was celebrating Christmas at their individual homes in Texas, and although Spencer was out of the hospital and recovering nicely at Monty’s house, he was still in a state of grief over Fiona and didn’t feel like celebrating anyway. Fiona was a pain in the neck most times, Richard knew, but she had a big heart too. He hated what happened to her. He hated that he didn’t figure it out in time to prevent it. But he understood grief. He knew Spencer’s heart would recover. But Spencer needed time to grieve.
But Richard wasn’t going to let anything spoil Christmas for Janet and Mo. They had enough of life intervening and spoiling their happiness. Not this Christmas.
But he needn’t worry. Mo, being Mo, wasn’t about to let anybody spoil his Christmas. They were eating, but Mo was speeding them along like an excited child.
“Alright now, we need to hurry it up,” he said again. “We got to leave to get to the arena in time. And this is a lot of food we got to eat.”
Richard laughed. “Don’t worry, Mo. We’re going to sit in my skybox. We won’t have to wait in line.”
Mo was surprised. “We won’t?”
“Not for a second,” Richard said.
Mo smiled. “Well alright! I’m liking you more and more boy.”
“Oh, Mo,” Janet said. “Just because he has season tickets to every Thunder game and owns a skybox is enough to gain your like?”
“It sure helps,” Mo said with a grin.
“Although,” Richard pointed out, “neither one of you are supporting the Thunder on this beautiful Christmas day.”
“Not when LeBron’s in town, we aren’t,” said Mo. “But any other time? We’re down with Oklahoma. LeBron’s in town? Bump Oklahoma! What they ever did for me?”
Richard and Janet laughed. And Richard looked at her. Thanks to her, all three of them wore matching bright-green ugly sweaters, but Janet, he thought, looked radiant in hers. “This meal is delicious,” he said to her. “The best Christmas meal I’ve ever eaten.”
“He lying,” Mo said, and Janet laughed.
“I’m not lying,” Richard said, trying to keep a straight face.
“It’s good,” Mo said. “Don’t get me wrong. She makes a mean potato salad. But the best ever? I don’t think so! But y’all hurry up, now. And we got the gifts to open too? And we got to drive an hour and a half to get to the arena? We gon’ be late for sure. I wanted to see LeBron warm up!”
“We’ll get there on time,” Richard said. “We aren’t driving. We’re flying over to Oklahoma City. We’ll get there in no time flat. Stop worrying so much.”
Mo smiled. He knew he could go overboard. But he felt like a kid again. He felt like he had anything he wanted at his fingertips, and he wanted it all!
But they did manage to get through the meal and settle around the Christmas tree, where the gifts were. Mo had the lion’s share, plenty from Richard and Janet. And he couldn’t wait to get started.
“I’m use to one gift for Christmas. A tie and a hundred dollars from Janet.”
“Why the hundred dollars?” Richard asked.
“Because she knew I was gonna take that tie back to the store and get what I wanted. The hundred dollars was just extra in case what I wanted cost more. I get that every year.”
Richard looked at Janet. She smiled. He was dressed in jeans with his ugly sweater, but to Janet he never looked better. “It’s our Christmas tradition,” she said. “We wanted to establish one, and that became it. I got Mo a tie and gave him a hundred dollars, and he went and took it back and got whatever he wanted. I did it the first year he moved in with me, and when he took it back, I told him I won’t get him a tie ever again. But he said get him one every Christmas. He like taking it back. He like getting that hundred dollars. It became our tradition.”
But this year, Mo had designer suits and shoes and anything and everything. “I’m gonna enjoy taking all this back,” he said happily, and Richard laughed.
But then it was time for Richard to open his gifts. Janet had gotten him a beautiful smoking jacket. “It’s gorgeous, babe,” he said, and kissed her.
Mo had gotten him some psychedelic socks. “To go with my ugly sweater?” he asked Mo.
“No you didn’t say that,” Mo said, and they all laughed.
And then it was time for Janet to open her gifts. A pair of psychedelic socks from Mo, and a huge box from Richard.
“Look like a mink coat in that thin
g,” Mo said.
But when Janet opened it, no coat was inside. Just the tiniest of boxes. A jewelry box.
Mo stopped everything. His heart almost stopped too. He looked at Janet.
Janet was having palpitations herself. But she didn’t want to get ahead of herself. She didn’t want to embarrass herself if it wasn’t what it looked like it was.
It was what it looked like it was because Richard took the box from her hand and got down on both knees at her chair. And then he opened the box.
“Damn!” Mo yelled when he saw the size of that rock. “I ain’t never seen no diamond that big in my life!”
“I’ve never seen a diamond in my life,” Janet said, stunned.
“Me neither,” said Mo. “That’s what I mean.”
But Janet was too shocked to pay Mo and his doublespeak any mind. She wasn’t even staring at the ring. She was staring at Richard. “Traditionally,” Richard said, “you’re supposed to take a long time to ask a lady to marry you. But I feel as if I’ve waited six years. Six long, lost years. I’m not waiting another day.”
He moved closer to her chair. “Janet Felicia Evans, will you become Janet Felicia Shetfield?”
Janet couldn’t help it. Her whole life flashed in front of her. All the putdowns and disgusted looks. All the tear downs and hopelessness. Last called for basketball. Never even invited to anybody’s ball. Now she was the belle of the ball? And Richard wasn’t just asking to be her date, but to be her husband? She broke down crying unlike she had ever cried before.
But Mo was scared her hysterics were going to scare Richard away. “Yes!” he yelled. He was in tears too. “I’ve prayed for this moment. Yes! She says yes. And so do I!”
Richard laughed heartily. He finally knew what it meant to be in a happy family. And this was his family now, Mo and Janet, though not in that order. “I appreciate your vote of support,” he said to Mo, “but I think she has to say it herself.”
“Oh, yes,” Janet said between her cries. “I will marry you, Richard Everhouse Shetfield.”
Mo stopped smiling and looked at Richard. “Everhouse?” Mo said.
“And will you have my babies?” Richard asked Janet.
Janet sighed. She could not believe how much it would be her pleasure to have his children. “Yes,” she said. “And I will have your babies.”
“Our babies,” Richard said.
Janet nodded, smiling this time. “Our babies.”
And then they both stood to their feet and embraced.
“Everhouse?” Mo asked again, still unable to figure out that stupid name. But he looked at them, and he was smiling too.
“Said the king to the people everywhere
‘Listen to what I say.’
Pray for peace, people, everywhere.
‘Listen to what I say.’
The child, the child, sleeping in the night.
He will bring us goodness and light.
He will bring us goodness and light.”
Visit
www.mallorymonroebooks.com
or
www.austinbrookpublishing.com
or
amazon.com/author/mallorymonroe
for more information on all titles.
Plain Jane Evans and the Billionaire Page 21
