“Don’t pay any attention to Daddy, Jimmy. I loved my proposal. It was romantic. We were by the window with the snow falling outside, and you on your knees in front of the fireplace…” She leaned over and kissed him. “I love you so. I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you in that cafe when Brooke was interviewing you.”
“After we went to dinner with Brooke and Hunter, I thought you were extra special, too. That’s why I called the next day. I couldn’t get your pretty eyes off my mind.”
“Lordy, Lordy, Lordy,” Norma said as she came around pouring coffee to go with the cherry pie she’d served. “Now, I’ve got my work cut out for me. It’s going to be parties and showers and planning. I’ll have to help the cleaning ladies keep this place spotless.”
“You sure will, Norma. My woman, here, has already told me she doesn’t like to clean, so I guess it’s up to you.”
Norma rolled her eyes at him and paused beside Jessica. “You picked out a good one, girl.”
Jessica stood and threw her arms around Norma. “I’m glad you like him. Will you help me with the wedding, too?”
“I’d be glad to, honey child.”
Julia noticed Norma dab her eyes with the paper napkin she was holding under the coffee pot. She realized how important this woman was to this household. She probably spent more time with the children than their mother did. Julia was glad they had her, even if her chatter was something she had to get used to.
The phone rang, and Norma sat the coffee pot on the sideboard. “I’ll get it.”
The excitement continued in the dining room and no one noticed when Norma returned with a strange look on her face.
“Who was it, Norma?” Seth asked.
“I’m not sure, sir.” The room got quiet, because Norma was never this formal with their father. “It’s a woman. She said she wanted to talk to the woman we call Julia, but she calls her…a bad name, sir.”
Seth said, “Let me have that phone, Norma.” Everyone knew by his eyes, this was serious.
“Honey, it’s Dorie. Why don’t we go in the den and you can get on the extension and listen.”
“I’ll bring you a phone, Mr. Armstrong.” Norma hurried out of the room.
“Ashley, maybe you should take the children out of here.”
“Okay, Daddy. Come on kids, we’re going to take your cookies to the playroom. We’ll make a party.”
They followed her out of the room.
Norma returned with another portable phone. “Seth, promise me you won’t say anything.”
“I can’t let her talk to you like that, Julia.”
“Honey, I’m used to it. Promise me you won’t butt in. I’m going to try to get as much information out of her as I can. I might be able to find out something to help Richard in the investigation. If you say anything, she’ll hang up.”
“I’ll try to keep my mouth shut and remember the phones are bugged. This time, they’ll have a recording.”
“Mom, are you sure you want to talk to her?”
“I do, son. Now, please, everyone be quiet.” She clicked on the phone and put it to her ear. “Dorie, how did you find me?”
“Listen you slut, you can’t hide anywhere I can’t find you. Woodrow is mad because you’ve whored around and shacked up with the sperm donor. How could you want to go to bed with a cripple?”
“Woodrow is dead, Dorie.” Julia could tell by her voice she was drinking, if not drunk.
“That’s not so. He’s telling me what to do. He said for me to kill the son-of-a-bitch and his offspring, too. He’s about to change his mind about you and the bastard, so I might get to kill you, after all. Woodrow doesn’t like what you’re doing with that damn man.”
“How did you know I was here, Dorie?”
“I got my ways. You don’t do nothing I don’t know about. Eve tells me a lot, too.”
“Eve is dead, too.”
“The hell she is. She wants that rotten, no good husband of hers to come be with her. Why, I don’t know. He’s nothing but a devil as far as Woodrow and I are concerned. Woodrow says he’s probably doing evil things to your body, and you love it. He said you’d never do evil things with him, you whore. I guess it takes a down and dirty man to do the dirty things you like.”
Julia saw the anger rise in Seth. She reached out and took his hand.
Dorie laughed. “I heard you had a sex orgy at that prim and proper big fancy house of his last night. How does your little bastard like having two sisters to play with?”
To keep him from saying anything, Julia had to squeeze Seth’s hand until the knuckles turned white. He finally took a deep breath and seemed to relax. She let up a little.
“Dorie, you’re talking nonsense. Woodrow knew all about Seth. He knew I loved him, and he knew Andrew was a product of that love. He accepted that, and he accepted Andrew as his own. Why couldn’t you accept it, Dorie? You could’ve been a part of your brother’s life if you’d only accepted the facts.”
“The fact is, you trapped my brother. He didn’t need you and he didn’t need your bastard son. He just thought he loved the two of you. He was happy before you came along and convinced him to marry you and give your son a name. I knew he thought he wanted children, but he didn’t need them. He had me. He didn’t need anyone but me. Then you came along and ruined that. You damn slut whore. I bet you and that evil man are fornicating every night and laughing at my brother—my wonderful, beautiful brother. You don’t deserve to live, and you’re not going to much longer if I can talk him into letting me kill you.”
Julia knew Dorie was losing it. She tried another tactic. “Dorie, do you know the police think you’re dead?”
It worked. Dorie cackled. “I sure do. I set it up for them to think that. Now stupid whiny Virgie Fox is in a grave with my name on it. Isn’t that a kick?”
“How in the world did you ever get her into the barn and on the horse? I know you’re a strong woman, but not that strong.”
“You’re not only a slut, Julia. You’re dumb as a rabbit turd. I had help. You’re right about one thing, I’m not that strong. But my man is. He’s strong as any two oxen put together. There’s not a man in the county who can lick him. Why when he was popping Eve, he thought he might have to take her no good husband out. Too bad she got mixed up and tried to kill her son, because she thought he was yours, then she messed up real good when she only winged him. Things would have been so much better if those bullets had killed your lover.” She cackled again. “How do you like making it with a cripple, miss whore? They say some of these men who are half men can get it on pretty good.”
Julia wouldn’t retort. She asked, “Who is your man, Dorie? Who is helping you?”
“I’m not telling you that. I don’t want him to go to jail. We’re going to kill the lot of you, and then we’re going home and be together again.”
“Are you afraid if you tell me he won’t go away with you?”
“Of course not. I’m not telling because you’ll tell that Chief Staples.” She laughed. “I think that name is a hoot. His name is staples and he has a gun. Get it slut, Staples Gun?”
Julia ignored her. “Does your man work for Mr. Armstrong, Dorie?”
“Of course he does. How in hell do you think we’d get in there with the gates locked and the alarms on and all the security people around? He goes anywhere on the Armstrong property he wants to, and he talks to them, and he does his job, and he’s even nice to the sperm donor. We got it made, and when the time is right, we’ll strike. It’s going to snow tonight, and that messed up our plans. But wait until tomorrow night. Now, you go on to bed with your crippled lover tonight and do your dirty deeds one last time. I hope you enjoy it, ‘cause you’re all going to wake up in hell the morning after the apocalypse.”
The phone went dead.
•♥ •
“Oh, how I wish I could get my hands on her.” Every muscle in Seth’s body tensed as he slammed down the phone. He wanted to curse. He wa
nted to hit somebody. He wanted to wrap Julia in his arms and protect her from such an assault of words. He couldn’t follow his first instincts, but he could follow the last. He held his arms out to her and she went into them.
“Is there anything we can do?” Andrew asked.
“Not now. Give us a few minutes alone, and we’ll explain what’s going on.” He stood. “Come on, Julia. We need a little quiet time.”
She got up and followed him.
“Stay in the house, all of you.” He looked at Norma who was hovering in the door. “Bring some coffee to my sitting area, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
C HAPTER 27
It was the first time Julia had been in Seth’s room. It was done in browns and beiges. The furniture was beautiful wood, and the fat posts on the bed were carved. She liked the style. The sitting area was an oval glassed- in section off the back of the room. It was furnished with two lounge chairs with a table between them. There was a small love seat to the side.
“You have a nice room, Seth.” She didn’t want to talk about the call.
“It was fine for me when I was alone, but now we’ll be sharing it, and it’ll have to be redecorated.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “I want it to be fine for my wife, too.”
“Well, I have to admit, I’d like a nice sofa to cuddle on in the sitting area instead of two chairs where we’d have to sit separately.”
“I like that idea. When I was alone here, I didn’t need a place for cuddling.”
There was a tap on the door. “Come in, Norma.”
She brought a tray with coffee and tea. “I brought your pie and put a few cookies. I knew you didn’t get to finish your dessert.”
“That was thoughtful, Norma. Thank you.”
“Yes, ma’am. I hope you approve of where I put your clothes in the closet. If you want me to change them, just let me know.”
“I will.”
“Thank you, Norma.” Seth smiled at her.
“Yes, sir.” She slipped out the door and closed it behind her.
Seth and Julia shared the love seat. She sat pressed against him. “Thank you for not jumping in while I was on the phone with Dorie. I knew she’d hang up if you did.”
“Lord, I not only wanted to butt in, I also wanted to reach into that phone and strangle that evil woman.”
“I know.”
“If you hadn’t almost twisted my hand off, I might have said something.”
She laughed.
“That sounds good,” he said. “I love to hear you laugh.”
“I’m happy when I’m with you, and it’s easy for me to laugh when I’m happy.”
“It’s easy to do anything when I’m with you, my love. All I need are those little signals you’re so good at giving out.”
“Like me stopping you from jumping on Jimmy this morning?”
“Exactly like that. Look what a mess it would’ve been with him getting ready to propose to Jessica. I don’t want any strain between my in-laws and me.”
“There won’t be. I’m anxious to meet Hunter’s fiancée. I’m sure she’s a lovely girl.”
“She is a nice girl, but…”
“Uh-oh. Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, no. I just get the feeling sometimes that she’s not the right one for Hunter. I’m not sure they have the same goals in life.”
“But you’re going to let them make their own decisions, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes. I was pushed into a marriage, so I don’t intend to try to get my children to marry or not marry any special one.”
“I’m sorry Ashley’s marriage didn’t work out. Thanks for telling me the details.”
“I don’t want to keep anything away from you, Julia. You’re going to take on the responsibility as the matriarch of this brood and I want you in the know.”
“It pleased me when Jessica asked me to help with her wedding.”
“I’m sure she’ll have you sitting in the mother-of-the- bride section when the time comes.”
“I don’t expect that, Seth. Your three children had a mother. I’m not trying to take her place.”
“They didn’t have much of a mother, Julia. They crave what you can give them, even at the ages they are now.”
“I’ll be there for them.”
“I know you will, darling.”
They were silent for a minute, then Seth asked, “Are you relaxed enough to talk about the call now?”
“Yes. I think we should talk about it.” She sat straight. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Please.”
She got up and poured a cup for him and a glass of tea for herself. “We did learn some things, didn’t we?”
“We did. Especially the fact that somebody working for me is in on this. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out who it could be.”
“And we know that Virgie Fox is dead, and Doreen Weaver is alive and well.” She chuckled. “Let me rephrase that, because she’s not mentally well at all, but she is alive.”
“Right.” Seth sipped his coffee and they continued to make a list of things they’d learned from the phone call.
When they finished, Seth called the Coverton Mills Gazette. Hunter informed him it would be about nine before he could put the paper to bed because something unexpected had happened to delay things. When Seth asked what, Hunter said he’d explain when he got home. Hunter didn’t protest too much when his father said he was sending a police officer to bring him home. Seth then made a call to Richard and reported what had happened and listed the things they’d learned, then asked him to make sure a reliable officer picked Hunter up at nine.
“I’ll send one of my best men, Seth, and I’ll come personally to get the recording from the call.”
“Thanks, Richard.”
The third call he made was to the office at the stable. “Theo, would you please bring the files of all our employees to the house for me? I need to look them over to see about raises. It’s predicted it will continue to snow through the night and I figure it’s as good a time as any.”
“Sure, Boss. I’m working with the horses now, but I’ll get them up there about dinner time. Is that okay?”
“That’ll be fine, Theo. By the way, have you noticed any of the men acting strangely around here lately?”
“Not really. Cal came in tipsy the other morning, but I sent him home. He’d had a fight with his old lady and was out drinking most of the night. I didn’t think you’d want him around the horses, but he wasn’t mean or anything. I hope that was okay.”
“You know I trust you to make those decisions, Theo. And it’ll be fine if you wait until after dinner to get the files here. I just want them before it gets too late. I want to study them tonight.” He hung up and turned back to Julia.
“Hunter said something happened to keep him at the paper until about nine. I wonder what it was, because he sounded a little down.”
“I’m sure he’ll explain when he gets home.”
“He said he would.”
“Then, don’t worry about it until you know there’s something to worry about. I think you have enough on you right now.”
“That’s true.” He pulled her to him and kissed her. “Do you realize this is the first time we’ve had privacy since that ride in the elevator?”
“I do, and it’s nice. I have a feeling we’ll utilize this area a lot for our private time.”
“That’s for sure.” He kissed her again then pulled back and looked into her eyes. “You haven’t told me how you like kissing me with the mustache. Does it tickle?”
“I love it, and it tickles just the right amount to turn me on.”
“Good. I’m glad you like it.” He kissed her again. This time long and hard and with passion. “Now, unless you want to hop in that bed and try a little afternoon delight, I think we should go back and check on our kids. They were concerned about you.”
“The delight sounds great, but you’re right—I do ha
ve a responsibility to the children. You told me I was the matriarch, so I better act like one instead of the concubine of the head honcho, as Norma called you.”
C HAPTER 28
After dinner in the formal dining room, Norma cleaned the area and waited in the kitchen for Ward to pick her up.
“It was a lovely meal, Norma,” Julia smiled at her.
“Thank you, ma’am. I wanted your first dinner here to be special. I don’t want you to think we always act like a bunch of uncouth hillbillies.”
“I’d never think that.” She slipped her arm around Seth’s waist. “I think everyone in the family is wonderful, including you.”
Norma looked at Seth and said, “I like this woman. You’re the luckiest man on earth. I don’t see how you ever fooled her enough to make her fall in love with you. She’s way out of your class.”
“That she is, Norma, and you’re right, I am lucky that she still loves me after all these years.” When he saw the puzzlement in Norma’s eyes he added, “Someday, I’ll tell you the whole story.”
Norma probably would have snapped back but a rap on the door stopped her. She opened the door and Ward stepped on the rug inside. “Gettin’ kinda slick out there,” he said. “Better keep everybody in tonight, Mr. Armstrong.” He eyed Julia, but didn’t speak to her.
“Nobody plans to go out that I know of, Ward. You and Norma be careful going home.”
“Spike is going to follow me. I’m going to come back with him and get a snowmobile so I can help Theo in the morning. They say we might have a big one, and my old truck might not make it back if we do.”
“That’ll be fine. I’m sure Theo will appreciate it. With all the commotion going on around here, he needs all the help he can get.”
“And if the roads are too slick in the morning, Norma, you don’t have to come in, does she, Seth?” She wished Ward would stop looking at her. She didn’t like it.
“Of course not. We don’t want you to fall or anything. You need to stay in good shape. All those wedding plans, you know.”
Her Forever Dreams (A Coverton Mills Romance Book 3) Page 19
