“No, you don’t understand. My memory is getting better! Easton has been to Disney. Banana and Geepa took her last year!”
Chapter Fifty-One
Tristian
Tonight was a celebration. The family was going to dinner and champagne was on order. English had been magnificent when she’d taken the stand. I was so proud of her.
Easton insisted on wearing one of her princess dresses and a tiara and she begged English to wear the one I gave her in Vegas. With a lopsided grin, English pushed it on her head and announced she was ready.
“Oh, Mommy! It’s bootiful!” Easton said.
“Not as beautiful as you.”
My two princesses walked out the door and I watched how they held hands. I would do anything for them, anything at all. My love knew no bounds.
We arrived at the restaurant to a noisy group in a private room. Everyone was there, all of English’s siblings, her parents and grandparents, along with Stacey. They cheered when we walked in and Easton waved her wand.
The chatter at the table was loud and boisterous, so it was nice we had our own room. All the kids were at one end and adults at the other. The food was both adult- and kid-friendly and we celebrated with gusto. The kids were allowed to order anything they wanted, as long as it was reasonable and didn’t give them a tummy ache later.
The adult women ordered lobster, while the guys ordered some kind of steak. After dinner ended, we returned home for a celebration that led to lots of adult playtime for English and me. We had to wait patiently until Easton fell asleep. The kiddie cocktails she’d drunk at dinner had her bouncing all over the place until she crashed.
“Damn, remind me not to let her have that much sugar so late again,” English said as we left her room.
“Those kiddie cocktails must’ve been loaded with caffeine. I bet they put an extra dose of that blue syrup in them too.”
“I don’t know. I should’ve asked when I ordered them. Too late now.”
It was after nine. “She’s going to be a grouch in the morning.”
“Eh, I’ll remind her how much fun she had and she’ll be okay.”
By now we were in the bedroom and I said, “You know, I’ve been thinking. When we got married, it was a real quick thing. How do you feel about renewing our vows and having a wedding reception where the family can come?”
The way she stiffened at my words gave me my answer.
“Look, we don’t have to do that. It was only an idea.”
“You’d really want that?”
“English, if you haven’t heard me, I love you. Yes, I want that, but only if you do. No pressure here.”
“What if we waited until Geepa was done with the McLure trial? We’ll be there, of course, but I don’t want him to worry about it and not be able to celebrate.”
I brushed her hair off her shoulders. “I’ll take that one step further. We can wait until after that and after we solve the mystery of your accident and my father’s.”
“That’s a great idea. Then we can really celebrate.”
“I’m going to celebrate anyway, every night until then.”
“What will you celebrate?”
“You being my wife. When we talked about this”—she opened her mouth to speak, but I held up a hand—“I wasn’t fully invested in us. My heart wasn’t there and I didn’t think I’d fall this hard, but being away from you in Vietnam told me just how wrong I was. Then that blasted accident brought everything into focus for me. You’re the one, English, the one I don’t ever want to live without. You don’t have to say anything back. I’ll accept you as is. I just wanted you to know where I stand.”
She cupped my face in her warm hands and said, “I love you too, Tristian. I didn’t imagine anyone could be so kind to not only me, but to Easton as well. I always knew we were a package deal, but I never saw anyone loving us both as much as you do. It shines from you.”
Our lips met, gently at first, but then I lifted her in my arms and carried her to the bed. As I laid her down, I said, “This is an added bonus too.”
“What is?”
“Our sexual compatibility. You like to fuck as much as I do.”
“And I never knew it.”
“I’m glad I was able to teach you something.”
“Something? You’ve taught me a lot.”
“And I’m not close to being finished.” I slid her underwear off, then her dress was next. I nibbled on her nipples until she moaned and did a lazy exploration of her body. My mouth teased her clit until she begged for release. She climaxed with my hair tangled in her fingers.
“Tristian, I need your cock inside of me.”
“First, your mouth.” I knelt over her so she could suck me, only I was close and wanted inside of her too much. I pulled back and then moved to the side so I could flip her onto her knees. The globes of her ass were creamy white and tempting, so I softly smacked them and followed up with kisses. My tongue delved into her from behind until I couldn’t take it any longer. I pulled free and slid my hardened cock into her pussy.
We found our rhythm, but I had to slow us down. I wanted this to last. My fingers sank into the soft skin of her hips as I controlled our movements. When I felt the walls of her pussy vibrating against me, I lost all control and shouted her name as I came.
We lay together, spooning, and I played with her breasts as I kissed the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder.
“That was spectacular,” I whispered.
“Yes, it was.” She wiggled her ass against me.
“Mmm. I like that. And I’m going to have that sweet ass of yours one day.”
“Ew!”
I laughed. “What do you mean, ew?”
“I won’t like it.”
A grin played at my mouth as I leaned over her. “Wanna bet?”
“No! That’s off limits.”
“So you say. But we’ll see. And I’ll just add, I’d never do anything to hurt you or that you wouldn’t like.”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right.”
“English, open your mind. But that’s something for a later discussion.”
“Okay.”
I had visions of doing all sorts of naughty things to her and seeing her beg for more.
The following night, we were at it again, and my tongue was working her over. She was soaked, so I took a chance and, using a lubed finger, rimmed her puckered hole. She stiffened at first, but relaxed as I continued to flick her clit with my tongue. As soon as my finger passed the ring of muscle, she orgasmed. And loudly.
“Oh, fuck, oh, fuck.”
When her spasms ceased, I teased her. “Told you it would be fun. And that was only part one.”
She gaped at me like a guppy, so I kissed her open mouth.
“If that was only part one,” she said, “you better learn CPR for part two.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Tristian
A couple of weeks passed when Stanton called to tell us the report on Ravina’s car came back. English and I went out there to see the results.
“We found our rat,” Stanton said, handing me the envelope.
I reached for it. “Let me guess. Sherman.”
“I wish. It was Mother.”
English and I stared at each other before I said, “Now we know she isn’t harmless.”
As cold-hearted as Mother was, this news was devastating. I’d always believed she loved my father, but now we knew it had been a sham.
English reached for my hand and held it.
“Guess not,” Stanton spat.
“Where’s Ravina?” I asked.
“I’m right here,” she answered, walking into the room. “What did you find?”
We told her the news. “Did you let Mother borrow your car?”
“Not to my knowledge, but then she had access to it like she did all the cars here.”
“Stanton, did she know about the meeting that day?”
“No idea, and I did
n’t ask Dad.”
“And why would you have? You never thought the morning would end in a wreck.” I glanced back at the papers in my hand. The only prints in the car, other than Ravina’s, were my mother’s.
Landry paced the room. “Now what do we do? Call the police?”
“Yes, and turn everything over to them. If they determine there’s enough evidence, which I doubt there is, then she’ll be charged.” With the little knowledge of the law that I had, everything that had turned up seemed circumstantial to me. But it was best to let the law decide.
English clenched my hand. “Tristian, this doesn’t make sense. Why would she do this?”
I had thought the same thing. Until… “I believe she wanted Dad to add a codicil to the will, only leaving everything to her. After she found out what he was planning, she wanted him out of the way before things were finalized. What she didn’t realize is the codicil was already signed and sealed.”
“Why didn’t Sherman just tell her?” Stanton asked.
This was what had bothered me at first too. “I had the same question. Dad must’ve suspected something fishy was going on and had another attorney do the codicil and not Sherman. Mother and Sherman were conniving enough to work out this accident plan. I think they figured if Dad was out of the way, Mother would get everything. And if I inherited, controlling me would be easy because I didn’t want the business. They had no idea about Dad’s little charity clause and I doubt they thought I’d get married. They most likely assumed everything would end up in her hands or Stanton’s, so that’s why the accident. Remove Stanton and Dad at the same time so it would default to her. Too bad for Dad, he outsmarted them. It cost him his life.” Turning to my wife, I added, “And it almost cost you yours, because she couldn’t stand the idea of me having control all because of you.”
Ravina stood. “She was going to blame all this on me! She deserves to pay for this.”
Everyone agreed. I also said, “If the law can’t press charges due to insufficient evidence, I’m going to cut her off. It’s the least we can do.”
My older brother called in the police and we explained, turning over everything we had to them. Next, I contacted Ryan and asked for his help. He suggested calling in Clayton Summers, who had more expertise in this area. Clayton agreed with us in that there might not be enough evidence to arrest her. “Let’s wait and see what the police find.”
It was tense, knowing what we did and not able to confront my mother with it. The days dragged, but Clayton called to let us know that a trial date had been set for William McLure. It was in twelve days and Mark was eager to move forward.
While I was on the phone with Clayton, I asked, “Any news yet with the situation at my house and the cars?”
“Nothing yet and don’t be surprised if you hear before me.”
“I’ll call if I do. How do you think Bill McLure’s trial will go?”
Clayton chuckled. “The governor fired McLure, so I would say if that’s any indication, it’ll go well. I feel sorry for his attorney.”
“Why?”
“Put yourself in his shoes. How would you like to defend that?”
“Point taken.”
Ten days later, English and I sat together in the court room as the trial went on. The best part of it was when McLure jumped up and shouted at his attorney. The judge ordered him to sit down, and when he wouldn’t, he was found in contempt. One more problem to add to his mountain of issues.
“Mr. Bridges, can you take me through the night you were assaulted by Mr. McLure?” Clayton asked.
“Objection. He is making an assumption.”
“Overruled,” the judge said. “That is no assumption, as Mr. McLure was arrested at the scene. You may continue, Mr. Summers.”
“Mr. Bridges, will you walk me through that night?”
“Yes. I got a call from my granddaughter, who was extremely frightened. She told me Mr. McLure had forced his way into the house and was threatening my daughter-in-law. Since I live right down the street, I jumped in my car and headed over there. When I walked in the house, Mr. McLure was shouting at my daughter-in-law and threatening to take my great-granddaughter away from her. He was in her face, yelling. So I went up to him and asked him to lower his voice and to stop acting that way. He then punched me in the face. I fell backward, tried to break my fall with my elbow, but hit my head anyway. It knocked me for a loop, I’ll tell you.”
“Did you require hospitalization?”
“Yes, and I need shoulder surgery as well. The fall tore my rotator cuff.”
The defense attorney tried to rattle Mark but nothing he said worked. Mark only replied, “When someone is in your home, trying to attack your family, it’s a very frightening thing.”
McLure’s attorney said, “No further questions, your honor.”
As Clayton said, it was a slam dunk. The jury was out for less than an hour when they read the guilty verdict. McLure would be joining his son in prison.
Then Mrs. McLure cried out, “This is all your fault,” pointing to English. “If you’d treated my son better…”
“Maybe if he hadn’t beaten me, I would have,” English retorted. She was not taking any of that. Mrs. McLure shut her mouth and left the court room.
Then my wife glanced at me and said, “I guess we’re done with them.”
I nodded, thinking about what we still faced with my family.
Chapter Fifty-Three
English
The verdict against Bill McLure called for a celebration. We were invited over to Banana and Geepa’s house for dinner. Banana even bought a special collar for little Bucker, who was coming along nicely in his training. Unlike Boonior, he didn’t care for shoes, but when we arrived, Geepa showed us what that little Bucker had done to their sofa. He’d chewed holes in their cushions. Banana beamed behind Geepa. What was that all about?
I pulled her aside a few minutes later and asked.
“That little Bucker is my ally. I have hated that couch for years, but Geepa hasn’t wanted to buy a new one. Bucker came to my rescue.” She high-fived me and kept grinning.
After inspecting the cushions closer, I said, “Banana, I’d wait to get a new one until he’s done with chewing. He has piranha teeth.”
“He sure does. Check this out.” She walked me over to a bin she kept throws in and every one of them had holes in them.
I choked back a laugh. “Oh, those are really awful.”
“I know. But it’s his fault.” She aimed her thumb at Geepa. “He’s the one who insists he’s the puppy whisperer. I keep telling him to hire someone, but no. And this is what happens. But hey, I’m good with it because now I get to buy new furniture.”
Mom came in with a huge basket full of food, and Dad followed with the same. I felt awful because I’d never thought to ask if I could bring something.
Dad motioned for me to help. I ran over to him and helped unload the baskets.
“Wow! When did you have time for this?” I asked.
Mom chortled. “We didn’t. It’s called a caterer.”
“Oooh. For a minute there I felt guilty for not making anything.”
“No one had time, so I just made a phone call. Much easier.”
I peeked at all the goodies sitting on the counter. “It looks scrumptious.”
“Dad’s opening the champagne and then we can eat.”
Sure enough, Dad called out to everyone and filled the glasses. We toasted to another successful trial outcome. Tristian’s eyes met mine and I knew he was thinking of his own family. What a burden for him knowing his mother had had a hand in his father’s death.
“You okay?” I asked him after the toast was done.
“Yeah. You’re so lucky to have such a perfect family.”
“I don’t know about perfect, but they are wonderful.” I shared with him what Banana had told me about Bucker.
“She’s going to milk that, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “Of course she
is, and Geepa won’t be able to say a thing about it.”
“I’ve gotta say, Easton loves the little Bucker. He is cute.”
“Don’t even think it. He’s not coming home until he loses those piranha teeth.”
Tristian pulled me into his arms. “I have ways of persuading you.”
“Ways? What ways?”
“I can’t show you here. My ways are too wicked.” He gave me a half-lidded stare that sent my heart thundering.
“You’re a rat.”
“No, I’m a lover.”
I knew that too well. “And I love that part of you.”
“Is that the only part?”
“Of course not. I love every single bit of you.”
“Daddy, can you play princess with me?” Easton asked.
“Only if I can be the big ogre trying to kidnap you.”
Easton’s eyes brightened, she let out a giggle, then said, “You gotta catch me.” Her little feet thumped as she ran away.
“That’s my cue,” Tristian said as he went off to chase her.
I walked back over to Mom.
“You and Tristian look very happy.”
“We are. The peanut has him wrapped around her pinkie.”
“I can see that, but he adores her.”
“Mom, I am so lucky. I never thought I’d find someone who would love her as much as I do.”
“He’s one of the good ones.”
“Told ya,” Dad said from over my shoulder.
I turned around, saying, “Stop eavesdropping.”
Dad held up his hands. “I wasn’t. You two were talking too loud. But admit it. If it wasn’t for me playing matchmaker, you wouldn’t be this happy.”
I stuck out my tongue and blew him a raspberry.
“You’re a hard-headed woman.”
“You only have yourself to blame. You were the best teacher.” I tickled him in the ribs. He grabbed me and we laughed.
“Do you remember our tickle wars? We’d get your mother involved and we’d be in a big pile on the floor?”
“Those were so much fun! We used to gang up on you and try to get you, but you were too strong for us wimpy women.”
For The Love of Easton : A Single Parent Romance and Sequel to For The Love of English Page 26
