Her Forever Dreams

by Agnes Alexander

  “Daddy, is that you?” Jessica came running down the stairs.

  “Yes, honey.”

  The group moved from the kitchen area to entry way. Jessica threw her arms around her father’s neck. “I’m so glad you’re home. Chief Staples was here when you called and said somebody was shooting at you.”

  “They missed us.” He kissed his daughter’s cheek and said, “Honey, I don’t think you’ve met Julia and Andrew.”

  “Hi.” She looked at them. “Welcome.”

  “Hi, Jessica, and thank you.” Julia noticed how much this daughter favored her dad. She was tall and willowy. Had the same brown hair and the blue-gray eyes. She figured Ashley must favor her mother because her features were so different from her sister’s. Julia thought both girls were lovely.

  “After the kids went to sleep, we moved from the playroom to the upstairs den. We’re all still there. Hunter wouldn’t let us come down and I had to fight Jimmy to get down here to greet you. See, he’s waiting at the foot of the stairs for me. Are you coming up there?”

  “Yes, I think we should.” He glanced at Julia. “Will you ride up in the elevator with me? I don’t do those winding stairs so well.”

  “Of course I will.”

  “Come on, Andrew,” Hunter said. “You might as well climb the stairs with us. That’ll give Dad and Julia about thirty seconds of privacy. They might want to kiss or something.”

  Seth reached out to bop Hunter’s shoulder, but Hunter backed up.

  “That’s a good idea,” Andrew said. “They’ve been so frisky I’ve felt like a voyeur on the ride from Asheville.”

  “All right, boy. I’ll bop you, too.” Seth laughed.

  “Come on Andrew, I’ll show you the way.” Jessica locked her arm in his. “I see Dad’s already accepted you as one of us, which means you don’t get any special treatment around here, and don’t you start expecting it just because you’re a famous singer.”

  Andrew laughed and patted her hand.

  Hunter followed them and Seth turned to Julia. “Shall we go to the elevator where I can have my thirty seconds of private time with you?”

  “I’m ready. I guess a thirty second kiss is good enough to start with.”

  As the elevator door closed, Seth pulled Julia close to him with his left arm and kept his balance with the cane in his right hand. His lips covered hers and her mouth had opened slightly as his tongue teased hers in the dance of love.

  The kiss was still in the first stages of passion when the door opened, and Hunter said, “See I told you they’d be kissing.”

  “So, you were right. Here’s your dollar,” Andrew said. “Did it tickle, Mom?”

  Julia made a face at him. “I can’t believe you asked that, or that the two of you were betting on us.”

  “I should have known I’d lose the bet. You did say you wanted to know if his mustache would tickle.” Andrew winked at his mother.

  Julia blushed, and Seth laughed.

  “I’m sorry for taking advantage of your son, Julia, but I knew he probably thought his mama wouldn’t act so turned on. But I know my dad. He has dreamed of getting his hands on you again for years.”

  Everyone laughed, and Seth said, “I’m going to take this cane and give every one of you a thrashing. Isn’t that what old men used to do with their canes?” He guided Julia out of the elevator as they all continued to laugh. “And that goes for you, too, Jimmy Littleton. Don’t think ‘cause you’re not family you can get away with anything.”

  “I didn’t do a thing, Seth. I just let Jessica here pull me into the scheme. You know I can’t say no to her.”

  Ashley looked at Julia and made a sudden stop.

  Seth almost plowed into her, but was able to pause in time. “Mrs. Singleton, it’s hard to imagine you as the woman Daddy loves,” Ashley said as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

  “Yes, it’s me. Hello, Ashley.”

  “I knew you were Daddy’s Julia, but it just hit me. You really are the lady I interviewed with.”

  “I didn’t know you were Seth’s daughter until tonight, but I’m glad he has such a charming child.”

  “Excuse me, girls.” Seth took Julia’s hand. “Could you continue this conversation in the den? I’ve been cramped in the car for about an hour and now that I’m standing around on this leg, it’s beginning to throb. I need to get to my lounge chair.”

  Julia moved to Seth’s left side and put her arm around his waist. He dropped his arm around her shoulder. She slowed her pace to match his and they followed everyone to the upstairs den.

  When they entered the door, all the seats were taken except the oversized lounger. Seth made his way to it and eased down into the soft brown suede. Julia didn’t have time to find a seat because he nodded for her to sit beside him.

  “I’ll sit with you as soon as I see something I can put my rose in.”

  “Here’s something, Julia.” Jessica reached for a small vase sitting on one of the end tables. “I’ll put some water in it for you and I’ll be right back.”

  Julia handed her the rose and then sat in the chair with Seth. She soon found her head tucked on his left shoulder and he had his arm around her. He laid his cane aside and put his right arm around her, too. She felt safe and warm in his arms. She wondered what all the children thought, but she didn’t dwell on it. She was too comfortable. She knew she was where she was supposed to be.

  Jessica returned with the rose in the small vase. “Here you go.” She sat it on the table beside Seth’s chair.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Jessica grinned at her then rejoined Jimmy on the sofa.

  “Now that we’ve all settled in,” Seth said, “tell us what has been going on.”

  CHAPTER 23

  After the threatening calls were explained and the group began to relax, Seth said. “It’s now after midnight. I suggest we try to get a little sleep. We don’t know what’s coming up tomorrow. Jessica has her room, and Ashley will sleep in the suite with her kids, as usual. There are three other bedrooms up here so each of you can have one.”

  “What about you and Julia, Dad? I don’t think you should go down to your room. Where’re you going to sleep?” Jessica looked at her father.

  He looked down at Julia. “Are you comfortable?”

  “Very.”

  “We’ll sleep right here.” He pulled her a little tighter.

  “You need to sleep in a bed, Dad. We guys can double up and then you and Julia can each have a room.” Hunter looked at them.

  “Son, I’ve waited over twenty years to hold this woman in my arms again. I’m not about to be separated from her tonight.”

  There was a pause, then Andrew said, “Since you’re married, why don’t I bunk with Hunter and you can have my bed?”

  “What do you mean, married?” Jessica looked at Andrew.

  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on the way here, but I couldn’t help it. It was as if they forgot I was in the back seat and they were talking about the wedding they had several years ago. It seems they stood on a bridge somewhere in Asheville and said their vows. Now, they both say they still feel married, and always will, even if it wasn’t legal in the State of North Carolina. Of course, now that they plan to make it legal…”

  “What?” Hunter looked at him.

  “Yeah. He proposed to her right there in the car and she said yes.”

  “I guess that means we’re stuck with the both of them.”

  “That’s right, Hunter.” Andrew looked at all of them. “Whether you all like it or not I guess you’re stuck with her as a step-mom and me as a brother.”

  Seth grinned and winked at Julia. She nodded, smiled and snuggled closer to him.

  “Well, as happy as Daddy looks, I don’t mind her, but I’m not sure if I want another little brother. Hunter gives me enough grief.” Jessica shook a finger at him.

  “Don’t worry about them. I’ll fight both of them off for you, honey.
” Jimmy put his arm around her.

  “Thank you.”

  “Well, I don’t mind having another little brother,” Ashley said. “Since I’m the oldest, I get to tell all of you what to do. Now, as far as Julia’s concerned, I’m not sure how I feel. She might turn out to be a wonderful wife for Daddy, and then she could be a great stepmother and an evil boss—or vice versa.”

  “Wait a minute,” Hunter said. “I just thought of something. If Andrew is in the family, I won’t be the baby any longer. I like being the baby, because I get all the attention.”

  “Well, suck it up and deal with it, brother,” Andrew said. “I’ve been an only child long enough, and I kind of like this idea of having siblings. Being the baby will be great. I’m used to all the attention, anyway, and that won’t have to change.”

  “Look at it like this, Hunter,” Jessica said. “Ashley and I boss you around and you can’t retaliate. Now, you can boss Andrew around.”

  “That’s a great idea.” He turned toward Andrew. “Now listen here, little brother. You might be a big heartthrob on stage with all the women yelling your name and falling at your feet, but remember this: when you’re here, that don’t mean squat. Here, I’m the boss and don’t you forget it.”

  Julie could hold it in no longer. She laughed out loud and looked up at Seth. “Can you believe them?”

  “Sounds like a bunch of adolescents instead of grown- ups in their twenties, don’t they?” Seth was laughing. too.

  “Will we be able to handle them all?”

  “Julia, my love, as long as I have you at my side I can handle anything this world hands out.” He laid the lounge chair back, pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

  Andrew stood. “Oh, Lord, they’re going to get mushy, and I’ve had my fill of lovey-dovey tonight. Where do you want me to sleep?”

  “I agree with you. The kiss on the elevator was enough for me.” Hunter stood, walked over to the lounge chair and looked down at them. “Are you sure you won’t take us up on the offer of a bedroom?”

  “We’re fine, son. When I take this woman to bed I don’t want to worry about anything. Especially not somebody trying to frighten my family.”

  “In that case, good night.” He leaned down and kissed his father’s forehead. Glancing at Julia, he said, “What the hell, I might as well get used to kissing you good night, too.” He kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked away.

  Julia was shocked, but pleased.

  Andrew kissed her next, and looked at Seth. He didn’t kiss him, but he did reach out and take his hand. “Be good to my mom,” he whispered.

  “I will, son.”

  After everyone said their good nights, they all left the room and snapped off the light. Seth reached for the throw on the back of the chair and spread it over them. “I hope you’re not upset because I refused a bed for us tonight.”

  “I would’ve only been upset if you’d taken them up on the offer. I’m like you, when we share a bed, I don’t want to be concerned about anything or anyone. I want it to be private and personal.” She chuckled. “I sure don’t want it to be when our children are in the next room discussing what we’re up to.”

  “Knowing that crew, they’ll probably discuss it no matter where or when, but I do want to wait until everything is right.”

  “Do you mean, you want to wait until we’re married?”

  “We are married, Julia, and making it legal is not important to me. I only meant that I want to wait until everything is settled with this mad woman.” He could feel every inch of her slender body and wished he hadn’t turned the offer of a bed down, but now she’d said she wanted to wait. He couldn’t take her now, no matter how much he wanted to. “It won’t be long, my love.”

  “Good. I thought you might have misgivings about us.”

  A thought crossed his mind and he took a deep breath. “I do need to tell you something. When I was on the way to Asheville tonight, I thought about what I was going to say to you. I wanted to meet Andrew and hoped he’d accept me as a friend, if not his father. I had set my mind to the fact you’re a powerful business woman and there was no room in your life for me, but I couldn’t wait to see you anyway. I thought you’d be distant and cold, especially after you saw my leg. It turns a lot of people off, and God forbid, I figured if you ever saw the scars you’d run away repulsed. I decided I wasn’t going to give you the opportunity by subjecting you to the awful sight.”

  She started to speak, but he shushed her. “Let me finish.” She nodded, and he went on. “I was ready to walk in there, apologize for being late, ask if I could come back and meet Andrew at another time, then you opened the door. There you stood in your revealing, sexy nightgown, and your robe didn’t help much in hiding your beautiful body. I took one look at you and all my plans melted and fell to the floor. All I wanted to do was press you close to me and feel your body against mine, because I had no doubt it would feel like it had always felt. It was as if those years apart never happened. You were the same person I loved then, and the person I love now, and I know you love me as much. I can feel it.” He breathed deeply. “There is one thing that still concerns me, though.”

  “What’s that, Seth?”

  “My scars. They’re awful, Julia. They cover almost all my hip and across the joint down almost to the groin area. They’re an angry red, and they’ll never change. It’s been too long.” He sighed. “Now, don’t get me wrong. They don’t affect my manhood. I can still produce in that way, but I’m afraid if you see how gross they are you’ll run in the other direction.”

  She put her arm across his chest. “You silly man. I know you can produce as you call it…”

  “How do you know?”

  “You held me close coming up in the elevator, remember? I felt you pressed against me and I felt you start to grow. I knew what was happening to your body.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “Offend me? Are you crazy? It thrills me to know my old wrinkled body can still turn you on like that. The only thing that offends me is that you think I’d be repulsed by your scars. You should wear them as a badge of honor. You saved your son.” Her hand slipped down his body to his right hip. “Is this where they are, Seth?”

  He gasped for breath. “Don’t touch me like that unless you mean business, Julia. I might have to smuggle you downstairs to my bed in spite of our pledge to wait until things are cleared up.”

  “Why don’t you take me downstairs? I changed my mind about waiting, too…”

  He was panting. “Do you really want me to?”

  “Yes.”

  As he pulled the lounge chair to a sitting position, the phone on the table beside him rang. He grabbed it before it could ring again.

  “So, you made it to the house, you son-of-a-bitch. Too bad the first shot went too far to the right. If you hadn’t turned the car at the right time, you’d be the dead man I want you to be.”

  “Who the hell is this?”

  “It’s Eve, you fool. Do you actually think I’ll ever let you get back with the whore? I know you went to see her tonight, and I figure you had sex.”

  He ignored the remark about sex. “You can’t be Eve. She’s been dead for two years.”

  Julia put her ear close to his so she could hear the person on the other end of the line. He adjusted the phone to accommodate her.

  “That’s what you think. Women like Eve never die. They can reach out from the grave and protect what’s theirs…and you belong to me, Seth Andrew Armstrong. You may have made a baby with that slut, but you’ll never have her with you. I’ll see to it you die before you get the chance to bring her into your life again.

  “In the meantime, I’m going to take your children out, one by one. They’re going to die, and then there’ll be nothing between you and me. I know you loved them better than you loved me, so when they’re gone it’ll be just like it was when we were in college. Like it was before I got pregnant with that first kid
. You’ll be as hot and bothered by me as you were then, and I’ll give you all the comfort and love you need.”

  “How can you do that if I’m dead?”

  There was a pause then she said, “I haven’t figured that out yet, but I will.”

  “It’s impossible, and that’s why you can’t figure it out.”

  She ignored him. “By the way, I’m not going to kill your slut and her bastard son, but I am going to make their life miserable from now on. I’m going to Asheville tomorrow and start working on them.”

  “You’re a very sick woman. Why don’t you give yourself up and let us get help for you?”

  “I have all the help I need. I’ve got Eve, and I’ve got my brother, and I’ve got a friend. Now, that’s all I need to tell you tonight. I’m through talking, so now you can snuggle down in your big lounge chair like you’ve always done. Get some rest, but watch out for tomorrow night. I’ll be back.”

  The phone went dead.

  “Was that the person who’s threatening us, Dad?” Hunter asked from the doorway.

  “Yes, son.”

  “Lord, why is this happening?” Jessica said. She leaned into Jimmy’s arms as he came up beside her.

  “Was it Dorie, Mom?” Andrew asked.

  “It sounded like her, so I’m assuming it was her.” She looked at Seth. “How did she know you were in your lounge chair?”

  “I haven’t got a clue?”

  “She said that?” Hunter asked.

  “Yes, I heard her say it.” Julia answered him.

  “That settles it. Dad, you and Julia are either coming in a bedroom up here or you’re going downstairs. You’re sitting ducks right there by the window.”

  “Son, I don’t think…” Before he could finish the phone rang again. He reached for it. “Yes.”

  “It’s the police, Mr. Armstrong. We have a recording of that call and we’ll analyze the voice. We also traced it. It was from a cell phone, but we haven’t pinpointed it yet.”

  “Thanks. Has Richard left?”

  “Yes, sir. He left about an hour ago.”

  “Tell him to come by in the morning. I need to talk with him.”