“I think you can hold court in here, Lady,” Liam whispered in my ear as he gently lifted me up in his arms. “In you go.”
After he’d placed me in the middle of the massive bed, he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m going to get your medicine and something to drink. Stay put, everyone will come in here to see you,” he commanded.
I smiled warmly at him. “Anything you say,” I breathed, reveling once again in his beautiful, sparkling blue eyes.
“Wow, Casanova…what did they give her in that IV? She sure is agreeable and cooperative,” Tana noted, sinking down on the bed beside me.
“I think she is still in a state of sedation,” Sunni chimed in. Liam chuckled as he left the room.
“I’m so in love with him,” I breathed as Tana closed her hand over mine.
“I know you’re in love. We’ve all known it for a while, now. It just took you a while to catch up,” Tana smiled, tracing the veins in the back of my hand. She then ran her index finger over my engagement ring.
“This is awesome. Who wouldn’t be in love?” she added.
“You know that’s not the reason,” I retorted too defensively as she smirked at me.
“I know. Money would never be the reason for you. So, do you like it?” she asked, throwing her arm out to indicate the beautiful bedroom.
“I love it. You did a great job! I don’t think I could have chosen anything I’d like more,” I said truthfully, taking it all in again.
“You know Jen helped too. She just couldn’t be here today. She was the only one in the shop who could work till five,” Sunni informed me as she ran her hand over the rich upholstery on the chairs.
“Well, please thank her for me. You three have outdone yourselves.”
Tana studied my face several moments, making me feel uncomfortable.
“What?” I finally demanded.
“I’m just wondering…are you okay? I mean, really okay? Jeez, Kel, you were shot! You almost died…and Liam told both of us about Reeves.”
“What about Reeves?” I asked, mortified Liam would have confided everything to my friends, especially considering I’d kept all of it private for years.
“That he killed your mother, and had something to do with your sister’s death. It had to be an awful lot to process,” she surmised as I nodded slowly. I let out the breath I’d been holding, relieved Liam hadn’t told them everything after all.
“Jen thinks you might need to talk to someone,” Sunni added as I shook my head.
“I’m good, girls. Really. Liam has a good friend who is a therapist. I’ve already been to her and talked about some of it. I’ll get there.”
“When you consider the stress you’ve been under at work, the thing with Dan, losing your sister, then this…I just want you to know we’re here for you. Whatever you need,” Tana offered.
“Thank you. You’ve always been there for me. You two are the closest thing to sisters I have,” I said. Sunni moved to hug me.
“Wow, this is a real moment. Kelly-cat is getting mushy on us,” Tana teased as Liam returned. He carried Masen in his arms.
“Masen! Come here,” I squealed. He held his arms out to me.
“Mamama!” Masen called out. Liam looked at me over his head.
“Did he just call you mom?” Tana asked incredulously.
Liam nodded. “I think he did. Here, Momma,” he offered, placing him gently down on the bed beside me. I snuggled him in close to my good side as Liam sat down on the bed beside us.
“He also says “Eeee!” when he wants Ethan,” Chelsea announced upon entering the room behind Liam. “It’s the cutest thing. Sammy is going through a phase calling her daddy Ethan because Masen does it.”
“Chelsea, thanks for keeping Masen while I was in the hospital.”
“He’s a doll, Kel. It was no trouble. Sammy is going to miss having him around all the time.”
“Chelsea, have you met my roommates Sunni and Tana?” I asked as she nodded.
“We met at your sister’s funeral, and we visited a lot at the hospital. How are you?” Chelsea asked.
“Better now that Kelly’s home where she belongs. And it appears we aren’t your roommates anymore,” Tana observed as Liam smiled. He grabbed Masen up, who was trying to crawl up my torso. Flipping him over on his back, he pulled his shirt up and blew bubbles on his belly. Masen giggled a deep-belly giggle, trying to flip over and escape.
As Chelsea watched me try to painfully readjust my position on the bed, she cleared her throat. “I think we might need to clear out for a while and let her rest. It’s going to be a couple of weeks before she’s fully recovered.”
Tana and Sunni took her comment as their cue to stand. “We’ll come and check on you later, Kelly-cat. We might even bring you dinner,” Tana offered.
“Someone has already tried to kill her once this week, Tana. Let’s don’t do it with your cooking,” Sunni teased. Liam chuckled. “Get some rest, Kelly,” she finished. They both turned to wave at the door.
“Liam, I’m going to go and put some things away I brought from home, and see to the nursery. Just call me if I need to come and get Masen,” Chelsea called over her shoulder.
“Thanks, Chels,” Liam called out, lying back beside me on the pillows. He’d placed Masen on the bed between us, and while he played with his toes, his eyelids had drooped, almost placing him in a sort of dream state. When I stroked the fine hair on his head, his eyes finally closed, his breathing becoming rhythmic.
“He’s asleep,” I murmured as I glanced up at Liam. Liam watched me closely.
“You’re so beautiful with him, Kel. I love you both so much,” he breathed, stroking my cheek with his index finger.
“I love you,” I whispered back as I lay my cheek against Masen’s head.
Thirty
I was feeling better, but being cooped up in the new house also made me restless. I was dying to get back to work, so Liam arranged for me to be able to work on some of the new ads for Whelan at home on my laptop. I had a conference call once a day with Lisa and Gabby to put my mind at ease. Everything was working so perfectly it had me a bit worried.
“Kel, baby, I’m home,” Liam called out.
“I’m on the patio,” I called back. It was a mild afternoon. A stray afternoon thundershower had cooled the temperature down considerably, and I pulled Masen’s pack-n-play through the French doors so he could nap while I worked on my laptop.
As Liam paused at the patio doors I placed my index finger to my lips.
“Shhh…he’s still napping,” I cautioned. He smiled, leaned over the side and placed a kiss on Masen’s head.
“Hey,” I objected.
“Don’t worry, you’re next,” he grinned as he leaned over me. I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him down on me in the lounge chair.
“Careful. I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, covering my lips with his. I met his kiss boldly, flicking my tongue in his mouth and gently biting his bottom lip as he pulled away.
“Hey, Hellcat, you’re gonna start something we can’t finish,” he cautioned, dropping his laptop case down beside the chair.
“That’s the idea.”
“So you had your checkup today? What did the doc say?” Liam sat down on the chaise beside me as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m doing great. The wound is fully healed, and he thinks the scarring will be kept to a minimum. And I’m through with physical therapy. He said he’d see me back in a month,” I said dismissively.
“Why do you have to go back?” Liam asked with a worried gaze. “Is there anything else he’s concerned about?”
“No,” I hesitated.
“What is it?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Nothing to be concerned about.”
“So we’re good to go on our trip?” he asked anxiously. We’d wrapped up planning our wedding trip since I’d come home from the hospital. It was to be a simple four-day affair to Cancun to
get married on the beach, with Liam’s family and Tana as our only guests. My only worry was how to explain to Liam why I couldn’t drink alcohol on our honeymoon. I wasn’t quite ready to share my news with him, and I hadn’t had time to process all of the emotions for myself. I ran my hand over the scar, and then down to my abdomen as my heart rate accelerated. I glanced back up at Liam, who studied me closely. I had to get my emotions under control.
“Yes…he gave us the thumbs up for sex,” I finally teased.
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Well that’s good, since that train has already left the station,” he joked.
“Yeah, well. I couldn’t wait. I have no control when it comes to your body,” I whispered against his cheek.
“I knew it. You’re just interested in the body.”
“Mmm. It’s quite a body,” I commented.
“So is yours,” he whispered back, slipping his hands up underneath the short sundress I was wearing. “Would you like to go out and eat? We could go to that diner out on Highway 290.”
“I have a romantic dinner all planned for us here. I called your mother and got her recipe for her shrimp that you like so much,” I said.
His eyes widened. “Woman, I just might have to marry you after all,” Liam exclaimed, smothering me with a kiss.
“You are marrying me,” I struggled to talk against his lips.
Liam sighed as he rose, and then turned back to me as he ran his hand through his tousled locks. “You might not want to marry me when I tell you about today,” he stated.
“Well, that would never be possible, but what about today?”
He turned and stood directly in front of me. “My Dad and Tex came to see me today. Some of the men in my grandfather’s political circle came with them. They had a proposal for me,” he began. My stomach did a flip-flop at the expression on his face.
“What proposal?” I whispered.
“You heard about Senator Williams’ stroke a couple of weeks ago. They want to ask the Governor to appoint me to finish his term. With Reeves’ death, we’re two Senators short in the party. They want me to get my feet wet. The Governor will probably only run one more time, and they hope to groom me for his replacement down the road.”
I thought I’d faced my biggest fears already. I’d shared all my secrets with Liam, and he still loved me. But memories of the television news story about Reeves and my mother, our pictures plastered on the television came quickly to mind. I rose from my chair, unconscious of wringing my hands.
“I know this is a lot to throw at you. I can tell them no, baby. It’s reasonable to argue that it’s too soon after the shooting,” he offered quickly.
I turned to face him. “Liam, I’m not the main issue. Do you want to enter politics?”
“I don’t want to do anything to upset you. You’ve made so much progress,” he argued.
“Answer me truthfully. Do you want this? Do you want to be a state senator…and to possibly make a run for governor someday?”
Liam stood silently, his face giving nothing away. But there was something in his eyes, something which sparked a memory of a shared conversation on the dance floor not so long ago. “I’m still young. I always try to look at the positive side of politics. I’m too young for my ideals to be tarnished yet,” he’d said.
“You want to run. You want to hold an office and make a difference,” I whispered. A muscle twitched in his jaw, signaling the inner battle he was fighting. “If this is what you want, I have to give you my support. I have to because I love you. I won’t be that woman. I won’t be a woman who selfishly asks you to be less than who you are. If you’re brave enough to face the public with me by your side, then I’m with you,” I said as I searched his face for a sign of his emotions, one way or the other.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way than you by my side. We’re a package deal,” he said.
“Is that what your Grandfather thinks?”
Liam let his breath out slowly.
“Tex said he thinks marriage will be a good thing for my political career,” he said diplomatically.
I cocked my eyebrow at him. “Spoken like a true Texas politician walking on a barbwire fence,” I challenged.
“Kelly, no…” he began. I held my hand up.
“What you didn’t say was Graham “Tex” Whelan thinks marriage is a good idea for you, but not necessarily to me. He was thinking more along the lines of a sweet girl from Hockaday,” I retorted.
“Yes, and my Dad, for the first time in his life, told him where to go. He told him if he wants me to run, it will be with you at my side or forget it. He told Tex he and Momma already consider you their daughter-in-law, and he’d better get used to it.”
“He did?” I whispered in wonder.
“He knew by the look on my face I was in total agreement. I didn’t have to say a word.”
Liam paced back and forth across the patio. As Masen stirred in his crib and began to fuss, I rose and picked him up.
Crossing the patio in two steps, Liam enclosed both of us in his arms. “Kelly, I love you. You’re the most important thing to me. I want you, first. If you aren’t up for this now, I’ll wait,” he stated, kissing me on top of the head.
I drew up to my full five-foot seven-inches and looked him squarely in the eyes. “Liam Whelan Covington, if I can jump in front of a gun for you, I can stand beside you when you run for office. I’m a Hellcat, remember?”
He grinned slowly and shook his head.
“A Texas Hellcat, through and through. And all mine,” he whispered as his lips covered mine.
Epilogue
His eyes gleamed in the darkness as he watched the video tape.
“My, oh my…I should have hit on his little hellcat a bit harder. I thought she was just a tease, but teases don’t ride like that,” his low chuckle vibrating the walls. “Covington, enjoy her while you can,” he murmured. “Oh, those sex tapes. They will come back to haunt you every time.” Smoke from his stale cigarettes circled around his head in choking clouds. Finally bored with watching them for the tenth time, he turned his attention to the audio on the table beside the tattered chair. He flipped it on.
Kelly’s voice was soft, but clear. “It hurt, Liam. I fought him, and kept him from penetrating…but then he came in my room more and more, and I couldn’t fight him. After I went to Aunt Debs, I thought the nightmare was over. Then I began to get sick. I thought it was the flu at first, but it just wouldn’t stop.”
He flicked the tape recorder off, a broad, sick grin covering his face. “This is better than the footage of Covington naked in the hotel the night of the NFL draft,” he chuckled. Do you think the police will be interested to know Covington had a reason to kill Reeves besides self-defense? Paybacks are hell, and my paycheck for this one is going to be a hell-of-a windfall. The little bitch is protective of Covington. She’ll leave him to keep a sex-tape, an abortion, and a motive for murder under wraps. I can get to her, easy. I’ve done it before.” Turning to his companion, he demanded, “One million…in cash. And once I’m through with her, you’ll never have to deal with her again. You double-cross me, and the tape with Covington’s motive goes to the police for real, and I will end his career in politics for good.”
Author’s Notes
I could never finish a single chapter without the unending support of my family. My husband, Jay, is so supportive of my writing and plays a greater role with every novel I publish. I love you unconditionally.
To my beta readers for Texas Hellcat – You are my editors! Being self-published, I couldn’t do this without all of you. Julie Bradford Lama, Cindy Henry, Monica Chavez, Ashley Ward, Angela Turkett (my comma Nazi), Amelia Cato, Katy Hardin, Carrie Hawkins and my newest beta, Brooke Carlson – Thank you for reading, re-reading, and providing me with all of those extra sets of eyes and welcome input. You all helped me bring the characters to life. This story is partially yours.
A huge thank you is also due to fellow author and long-time
friend, Rebecca Oleson, who read the raw version of the book and provided valuable critiques and timeline input. Our wine and giggle time helps recharge my batteries! Another shout out is due to the therapists and ladies in the rehab department at Wilbarger General Hospital. Thank you for answering all of my crazy medical questions.
Watch for updates about upcoming releases and projects by following me on Facebook on my author page, Shelley L. Stringer, Author, on twitter and Pinterest, or you can go to my website, www.shelleystringerauthor.com.
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