“Yes, that’s her. I wonder what brings the barracuda out.”
Stephanie walked up to the woman, and without the usual niceties she asked, “What the hell do you want, Sophia?”
The woman smiled and said, “Is that any way to greet a relative, Stephanie? Your parents should have taught you better manners and respect, my dear.”
“My parents taught me to show respect for people who have earned it. And you, Sophia, have not earned it.” That said, Stephanie turned to Kane to let him know she was taking Sophia into the office. She didn’t need to have this discussion in front of the entire paper.
“Sit down, Sophia, and tell me what you want. I don’t have a lot of time, and trust me, I’m in no mood to deal with your bullshit.”
Stephanie knew she was behaving badly, but dammit, after what this bitch put her through, she had every right to dislike and mistrust her.
“I didn’t come here to fight with you, Stephanie, I came here to apologize. I’m sorry for the comment earlier. It seems old habits die hard with me, and my snootiness has always been my downfall.” Sophia pulled her trusted hankie from her purse and wiped her upper lip with it.
“Well, that certainly is a change for you, Sophia. I think that is the first time I’ve ever heard you apologize for anything. Damn, you must be dying or something.” Stephanie had really only meant that as a joke, but when she saw the look on her aunt’s face, she knew.
“How long, Sophia?” she asked quietly as she leaned against her desk for support. As bitchy and nasty as her aunt had been, Stephanie always thought her to be almost immortal.
“I’ve got about six months to a year, Stephanie. I guess this is karma, huh. I was a complete and total ass wipe after your mom and dad’s death, so now God is punishing me for it.” For the first time in her life, Stephanie saw real emotion in her aunt’s face.
Kneeling in front of her, she took her hands in hers and said, “Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you, Sophia.”
Sophia burst into tears.
“Oh, don’t cry, auntie, we’ll get through this together. You can come a stay with me…oh damn, you can’t do that because I live with Kane and Turk. I can rent you an apartment in town, and we’ll hire you a nurse so that you have around-the-clock care and…”
Sophia cut her off with a hand over her mouth before she could go on.
“Ah, Steph, you have grown into such a giving woman, your parents would be so proud of you, but that’s not why I came here, sweetie. I have everything taken care of already. I have a nurse, and when I can no longer be taken care of at home, I have secured a place in a hospice so that I’ll die comfortably. I came here to apologize to you, that’s all. I know I was hard on you after your parents’ death, taking you to court over their will. The only excuse that I have was grief and fear. Fear that I would live the rest of my life without my little brother there to tell me when to take the stick out of my ass. And grief at the loss of him and your wonderful mother, who was also one of my best friends.” A tear rolled down the older woman’s cheek, and Stephanie reached up to gently wipe it away.
“When I heard you were back in town, I knew I needed to come and see you and explain my actions. I’m so sorry for making your grief over the loss of your parents worse by dragging you into court. It was unconscionable of me, and my brother, if he could, would probably come down from the heavens and kick my ass.”
Resting her head on her aunt’s lap, Steph let a few tears fall herself. Tears for the loss of the companionship that these two could have given each other during that awful time and tears for the loss of the years since.
“I forgive you, auntie, just promise me that I can see you more now that you’ve told me. We’re family, and I won’t let you live your last days alone. Like Dad used to do, I’m gonna be the one to tell you to take the stick out of your ass and live life to its fullest and dance to all the music the world has to offer. Dance until you can’t dance anymore.”
Sophia threw her arms around her niece and hugged her like she was a lifeline. After a few more sniffles from both of them, they laughed and stood again, hugging each other tightly.
Walking her aunt to the door, she felt even freer than ever before. She had never understood her aunt’s venom after her parents’ death. Aunt Sophia, though sometime stuffy, had been a great person.
Now Steph knew why she had acted the way she did.
* * * *
Kane had been waiting outside her office the whole time. He knew the history between the two women and was not going to allow Sophia the bitch to hurt Steph anymore.
When the door opened, he was surprised to see the two of them come out holding hands and laughing.
“Oh, Aunt Sophia, I don’t know if you remember Kane Bryson…”
“Oh yes, Kane, well, you finally have her back here, my boy,” she said, and then stepping closer to him, she continued, “Make sure you and Turk take damn good care of my niece, young man, or I swear by all that is holy, I will haunt you until your dying day.” With that said, Sophia kissed both of them on the cheek and walked as regally as ever out the door.
“Well, that’s a change,” Kane said as he watched the older woman leave. He felt Stephanie snuggle into his side and immediately pulled her fully into his embrace.
“Let’s go into your office for a minute, angel eyes, and you can tell me what the hell is going on.”
The moment they were alone in the office, Stephanie burst into tears in his arms.
“Baby, don’t cry, please, whatever she did, I’ll make her pay for it, trust me. That old battle-ax is done hurting you.”
Kane looked down at the woman in his arms, his heart breaking for her. Stephanie was strong, but for some reason her aunt was able to bring her to tears, and that made Kane furious.
Sniffing and stepping back from him, Steph said quietly, “No, Kane, it’s not like that. She’s dying, and she came to apologize and explain her actions after Mom and Dad’s death. I understand so much more now and can accept her apology.”
Kane couldn’t believe how forgiving his woman was. After everything Sophia had put her through, she was willing to forgive her.
“Why would you forgive her after what she did, angel eyes?” he asked.
“Because you forgave me,” she said before snuggling in against his chest again.
“How about I go and call Turk to come and get you. There are a couple of things that I need to do, but I think that you’ve had a little bit too much of an emotional day.”
Before she could say anything, he held up his hand. “I’m not saying you have to, but you’ve been here less than a week and have had some major emotional upheavals. Would you please, just this once, do as I ask and take the rest of the day off so that Turk and I can take care of you. I know you have lots to do here, but if you end up sick, that won’t do any good, either.”
He hoped he was making some sense to her, because to him it really didn’t matter whether or not she agreed with him, she was going home early, and that was that.
“Just this once I’ll do as you ask. I’m really wrung out, and I don’t think that my being here is going to be of any help. Shayne can take care of things over the weekend as well. He’s a really great kid, Kane, and after what he told me that about his family, I want to do something special for him, and I think you and Turk can help.”
“Whatever you think we can do, we’ll do, baby. If Shayne is as good as he seems, then he deserves to be treated well. And as long as he keeps his young paws off you, I’m good with that.” Kane laughed and grabbed Steph’s bag and headed for the door.
They met Shayne just outside her office and let him know that Stephanie would be gone for the rest of the day, and that unless it was really important, Shayne was to take care of everything.
Before they left, Stephanie pulled Shayne into his office and said, “I didn’t want to ask you this with all those ears out there because I don’t know how much everyone knows about your family history, but I wa
s wondering if your sister and her husband ever got the chance to take that honeymoon?”
“No, after my niece was born, finances became even tighter. I was hoping that, within the next six months or so, I’d be able to pay their rent for the next year. They won’t even let met pay rent, so I’ve been putting into a special account for my niece’s education. My sister said that I needed to save my money so that when the time was right I could find a nice place close to them, and I wouldn’t have to struggle.” Shayne smiled, and Steph could see just how much his family meant to him.
“My family has taken on way too much when it came to me. I want my sister to be able to enjoy her family without so many struggles. When Mom and Dad died, she just took me in without a backward glance and without a thought to how it would affect her life. I want to give her something remarkable to show her how much she and her husband have done for me.”
Stephanie squeezed his hand, saying, “I want you to do something for me, and I don’t want any questions, okay? I want you to call Avery’s in the city and make reservations for your sister and her husband, and then I want you to book the honeymoon suite at the best hotel, and I mean the best. Somewhere like the Ritz, and make sure it’s for two nights with the works. A full spa treatment for both of them, and I want a special dinner served for just the two of them in the private dining room. And make sure you charge it on your company credit card. I don’t want to find out you paid for it yourself, Shayne. This is one of my gifts to your sister for raising such a fabulous brother.” Stepping forward, she gently kissed his cheek and left.
* * * *
While waiting for Stephanie, Kane had called ahead to Turk to let him know that he needed to come and pick up Stephanie to take her home. He’d been watching her as she spoke with Shayne, and the sad look on her face unnerved him. She’d been through a lot since coming home, and now the visit from her aunt. Whatever it was that Sophia said to her had affected her greatly, and he just wanted to wrap her in his arms and carry her home to Turk.
As Stephanie and Shayne came out of Shayne’s office, he watched as the young man kissed her cheek and handed her to him.
“Are you ready to go, baby? Turk’s going to meet us up at the club so that he can take you home. I just have some paperwork to do and a few phone calls to make, and then I’ll be straight home, too.”
She was too quiet on the short drive over to Club Kinsey. Something was definitely wrong.
“What happened with Sophia, angel eyes? You’ve been so sad since she left. I thought that if you’d forgiven her, you’d be happier.” Kane took her hand and kissed the palm.
“She’s dying, Kane. She only has about six months, and at the most a year. She wanted to clear the air with me before she went. Sophia came to explain to me why she behaved so badly after Mom and Dad passed, and she wanted to make sure I would be okay.” It broke his heart to see the woman he loved in such pain.
Pulling into the parking lot of Club Kinsey, Kane immediately noticed Turk leaning against the back of his truck waiting for them. As they parked, Turk walked over to the passenger-side door, which Steph had already opened, and lifted her into his arms.
“Rough day today, sugar?” It was more a rhetorical question than anything else.
Walking back to his truck, Turk placed Steph inside the truck cab then headed back to speak with Kane.
“What the hell happened, Kane? She looks almost catatonic.” Kane looked over his friend’s shoulder, his heart breaking for her.
“Remember me telling you about the trouble Stephanie had with her Aunt Sophia after her parents’ deaths? Well, Sophia showed up at the office today. She’d heard Steph was back and wanted to make amends for all the trouble she caused.” Running a hand over the tight muscles at the back of his neck, Kane continued.
“Sophia also wanted to let her know that she is terminally ill. She doesn’t have more than a year, it seems. Stephanie, having the sympathetic nature that she does, after hearing Sophia’s explanation, gave Sophia the forgiveness that she was looking for. But I think it’s hit her harder than she expected.”
“Damn, hasn’t she gone through enough already?” Turk scowled.
* * * *
Sitting in the truck waiting for Turk gave Stephanie a chance to mull over everything that had happened in the last few days. When she had decided to move home, she thought she’d be leaving all the nastiness of the big city behind her. The crime rate in her old neighborhood was astronomical, and it was supposed to be one of the better areas in the city.
But even with all the troubles that had happened since coming back, she knew she wouldn’t change a thing. Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at the two men who had won her heart. She had loved Kane for what seemed like forever, but Turk had been a complete surprise.
Suddenly she remembered her conversation with Shayne earlier and jumped out of the truck.
“Kane, I need you to do something for me before I forget,” she said as she walked up to them.
“Anything, baby, you know that.”
“I want you to find me a real good realtor who knows where I can get my hands on some land to build a house.” Stephanie looked really excited at what she was asking of him, but Kane wasn’t so sure.
“You’re not moving out on us, Stephanie.” He growled at her.
Steph could see both men tense at the mention of purchasing land to build a house.
“Relax, big guy, I’m hopefully going to be going into a new business venture soon, and I’m going to need to build a house and office space.”
“What new business venture, Stephanie?” This time it was Turk who was snarling.
“I’ll go over everything with you later. This is a project that I’m only going to be funding. It’s something I want to do that not only helps some really great people, but also brings business into Kinsey.”
Turning back toward the truck, she felt a whole lot better about things. She’d never touched the money her parents had left her. She’d never needed to before, but this project was something that was going to be a good thing all around, and she was sure that her parents would have been proud.
Chapter 11
Jenny sat across the street in her car watching the interaction of the three people she’d been looking for.
She had waited outside the paper hoping to see Stephanie come out alone, but when she exited with Kane, she could feel her heart rate increase as her anger, once again, roared to life.
She knew that once her parents came home, in a few days, that they would help her to make Kane see how good they could be together, but in the meantime she needed to get Stephanie out of the picture, and it didn’t seem like the two men were going to let her out of their sight, so this meant that Turk would have to be removed from the picture as well. That was okay with her because she wasn’t planning on being a sex toy for the two men. Her only care was Kane and getting him to the altar quickly.
As she watched Turk and Stephanie pull away from Club Kinsey, she followed in behind them. Maybe somewhere along the way she’d get the chance to stop and talk reasonably with them. Patting her purse that was on the seat beside her, she thought it didn’t matter anyway, if they weren’t going to see her position in all this, then they were going to have to have an accident.
* * * *
Turk knew they were being followed. Looking in the rearview mirror, he could see Jenny’s car behind them, and he grabbed his cell and pushed Kane’s number on his speed dial.
“Kane here,” his friend answered quickly.
“We’ve got a tail, Kane, and I don’t think that she wants to play nice.”
Stephanie quickly turned to look back to see Jenny coming up on them quickly.
“I’m on my way, Turk. Take Jefferson Road, and Ryder and I will cut her off. This is going to stop today.”
Turk placed his phone back on the seat beside him and headed in the direction Kane had told him to go.
It would take them about twenty minutes to get t
o Jefferson Road, and since there was usually little or no traffic between there and here, Turk knew he’d have to be really careful. Jenny was in a dangerous frame of mind at the moment, and he wasn’t sure how far she’d be willing to go to get Stephanie out of the way. But neither of them were going to allow this crazed woman to harm what they had just found again. Turk smiled at that thought because, technically, he’d only known Stephanie a week, but from hearing all of Kane’s stories and how wonderful she was, he felt like she’d come back to him as well as his friend.
“She’s waving at us to pull over, Turk,” Steph told him. He hadn’t noticed, but Steph had unbuckled her seat belt and slid across the seat to sit closer to him. Damn I love bench seats!
“That’s not gonna happen, kitten. Hold on, we’re coming up to the turnoff to Jefferson, and I’m not going to slow too much to take it. I don’t want to give her any chance to catch up with us until we’re closer to Kane and Ryder.” Just as he made the turn, Jenny bumped his rear with her car and almost sent them into the ditch. If he had been less of a driver, she could have killed them.
“She just tried to run us off the road.” Steph’s faced paled, and she reached for the overhead roll bar.
“There they are, baby. I can see Ryder’s truck waiting at the turnoff, and I bet Kane’s close-by.” Turk started to slow the vehicle as he got closer to where Ryder sat waiting for them. Once they passed the point, Ryder pulled out quickly, cutting Jenny off, and Kane pulled in behind her, effectively cutting off all escape routes.
Turk pulled over to the side of the road, and before he could think about it, jumped out and ran back to where they had Jenny boxed in.
Bailey, Debbie - Stephanie's Homecoming [Men of Kinsey 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 13
