“Where is my son? Where are the rest of the boys?” Abby was holding her own with Eita, so he just took the groceries she had, three bags of them, and handed them off to the guys behind him. “North, I swear to Christ, if you’re in this place, I will come in there and beat you to death. I’ve told you over and over about hanging around with the riffraff.”
“Riffraff? You mother fucking bitch. Riffraff? You do know that every one of the men, not boys, in this home are related to each other?” If Eita answered her, Mars didn’t hear it. “Oh, go back home and take a pill before I have to shove a shit load of them down your throat. And if you call me a slut again, I will not be responsible for what I do to you. However, I will warn you, every fucking time you look in the mirror, you’re going to remember me because I’m going to write my name on your face. Holy Christ, you are worse than I thought you were. You know what I think? I think you need a lesson in manners. And I’m just the bitch to teach them to you.”
Pulling her into the house when it looked as if Abby was going to go after Eita, he stared at her when the door closed in his aunt’s face. He could hear the others laughing, his cousins in the kitchen. Loudly and full of so much hilarity that he had to smile.
“You pissed?” Shaking his head, he reached for her hand. “You kiss me now, and there won’t be any dinner. And I have all kinds of good shit— I’m really fucking upset. She called me a slut. Asked me—me!—if I was going to go in there and sell myself to you and your landlord. Then she saw the cars of the others. Boy, did that piss her off. Mars, if you don’t kiss me right now, I’m going to explode.”
Taking the matter out of her hands, he pulled her to his body and pressed her against the wall. Kissing her, not at all being gentle about it, he knew that he’d met the woman of his dreams. How he was going to keep her safe—his family safe from her was something he’d have to look into. But Mars was about as happy as he had ever been.
Chapter 4
Brandon didn’t know what to think about the two of them. Abby was hell-bent on acting like nothing had happened, but the rest of them, Mars included, wanted details. He just wanted to watch Mars and Abby together. He’d never seen such sparks between people in his life.
“Do you plan on getting that lettuce cut up for us to eat tonight, or are you going to fondle it a little more?” Brandon grinned at her. “You’re cute, but not that much. Cut the lettuce like I showed you, or that’s all you’ll be eating.”
They were all helping with the dinner. He was in charge of the lettuce. Mars was working on buttering the bread then spreading garlic all over it. North had cut up the tomatoes, cukes, as well as a few other veggies that he didn’t have names for. Wats was setting the kitchen table and getting yelled at by Shawn, who was telling him how it was set up when the butler did it at his house. Booker was the only one that had finished his task of making sure that there were plenty of noodles cooking. The meatballs that Abby was frying up were making him doubly hungry, and his belly was protesting badly about it.
“Did you really call my mom a fucking bitch? I think it’s great. I don’t think anyone has ever done that to her before. Under my breath, I have, but not to her face. Not yet, anyway.” North was having a good time. After he’d told them all about his scary heart scare, the rest of them realized how ill he’d been the last time they saw him. “My mom isn’t going to make your life very easy from now on. Especially if you plan on hooking up with Mars here.”
“I plan on that too. If he’ll have me. Also, I don’t care if she tries to make my life hell or not. I don’t live my life to suit others.” She saw the exchange between North and Mars, Brandon knew it. When she pointed her wooden spoon at Mars, the man looked positively giddy. “You going to be protecting me or her when it comes to it? Because you know as well as I do that now that the fire has been lit, she’s not going to back down when it comes out that we’re seeing each other. If you want to see me.”
“I do. And I will have you.” Mars’s face turned bright red when he realized what he’d said. “What I meant was, I’d like to start seeing you more. In answer to your question, I won’t need to protect you at all, I don’t think. And my aunt can go fuck herself if she thinks that I will go to the dark side with her.”
“I’m not going to protect her either.” North looked at him and smiled. “Mars and I had a talk this afternoon, and we’re going to buy a house around here and not give any thought to what my parents are going to say about it.”
“I’m in the process of looking for one now.” Brandon had wanted to ask Mars a question since this morning when he was looking for real-estate. “You own this condominium park, don’t you, Mars? You and your mother did.”
“Yes. We collect the rent here, as well as a few other places around the state.” Brandon had gone one step further when he figured out who owned not just the land here, but several places in town that he thought his parents used and rented from him. “Before you ask, yes, I own the property that your dad’s building is on, as well as the law firm that North’s father works in. The building and the land are ours. Well, I guess mine now. Each of your parents, in some way, pays us monthly rent. Mom and I even own the dry cleaners that they use.”
“Seriously?” Mars nodded at Abby when Mars left the room to get more serving bowls. She looked at him. “He’s wealthy, isn’t he? I mean, like very wealthy.”
“Yes, he is.” When North said no more, the rest of them paused in their tasks. Even Abby, who had been turning over the meatballs one at a time, seemed to have frozen up. Mars entered the room and looked around like he knew he’d been talked about. He looked at North when he cleared his throat. “I think you need to explain to Abby here why you’re going to be able to support her in any fashion that she wants. Also, to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about money again.”
“You don’t.” Mars looked around, then at Abby again. “Mom and I bought lottery tickets when I was just out of high school. She bought them off and on, more when the jackpot got up there pretty high. At that time, I was able to add to the purchase, and we bought six each. We won the largest single winner ticket in the history of the game.”
“Christ. I remember that. It was all over the news about— Holy Christ, Mars, that was a huge fucking winning. Over a billion bucks after taxes, if I remember correctly.” Mars didn’t take his eyes off Abby as she continued to stare at him. Booker kept talking about the jackpot and how he’d never known it was them until Brandon told him to shut up. “Why? Do you have any idea how much money he’s worth now? I mean—”
Punching him in the shoulder, finally had Booker looking at Mars and Abby. They hadn’t said a word, but he could tell that Mars was worried, and Abby seemed upset. When she took off her pretty little apron and left the kitchen, Mars followed her. North moved in to finish the meatballs while she was gone.
“She’s upset. I don’t know why, but she’s pretty upset.” Booker asked him why she’d be upset. “Because, moron, she didn’t know that she was hanging with a man of wealth. I don’t know why I think that, but I do. She was fine until that was brought up.”
“Why would that upset her?” No one seemed to have an answer for him, so Booker went back to his chore. “I think it’s funny that he’s wealthier than even our parents are. And they don’t— Holy shit, they don’t know. My parents were talking about having to take over the bills that Mars is running up because of this funeral and other things. Mom was really pissed off because no one will hand over the bills so they can check things off it that they think— Something just occurred to me. I mean, it might have you guys already, but our family hates him.”
All of them rolled their eyes at Booker. He laughed at it, good naturedly, but Brandon could tell that he was just a little embarrassed. North, taking the meatballs out of the skillet and putting them on a platter, started telling them what he knew about Mars.
“He’s afraid that Abby will b
e hurt. I know what he said, but I think he’s genuinely afraid that someone from our family will harm her because she’s his girlfriend. Or whatever this between them turns out to be.” Brandon wanted to tell him that he had nothing to worry about but honestly thought that Mars had good reason to be worried. “I think—and this is what I’m going to do. If you’d like to follow, while appreciated, it’s not necessary—but I think we need to gather around her to keep her out of harm’s way. She can kick ass, but my mom wouldn’t attack where she can be seen. She’d hurt her by hiring someone else to do her dirty work. Like she always does for things that aren’t going her way.”
“I agree with you. And I’m going to buy a house here as well.” The rest of them chimed in with Brandon. “Not just a house, but a home, like I know Abby and Mars will have.”
“You’ve got them marrying, Brandon. I think that’s a little out there.” Booker told Wats that he didn’t think Brandon was far off. That they had sparks that he’d never seen before. North agreed with him, and so did Shawn. “I think she’s perfect for him. But something about the money upset her, and I don’t want her to hurt him over it.”
“Do I strike you as being violent?” Each of them nodded when Abby came back into the room. “Okay, that’s a fair assessment. I’m sorry for abandoning you like that. I didn’t know that Mars had money.”
“Does it matter?” Abby took her time looking at Brandon and answering. Her answer didn’t make sense to him, but it seemed Mars understood. Because it does was not a good enough answer. “Why? Why did it upset you when you found out that he had money?”
“Because I don’t have shit.” No one said anything as she slammed the spatula she was using to put the red sauce in the large bowl. “I’m a jerk, I’ll admit to that. But I thought that we’d be happy here, living in this condo where no one would hurt us. Not that I’m afraid of that happening, but it’s been...I guess you could say it’s been an eye-opener to not just find out that Mars has money, but that he has more than enough to last him for the rest of his life and never worry. I worry a great deal. Now, enough money talk. Let’s eat.”
Brandon thought it was going to be impossible to eat with the added tension around the table. When someone knocked at the door, Abby went to get it since she’d been up getting the wine glasses. As she was coming back down the hallway, talking to someone behind her, each and every one of them stood up, ready to do battle.
“Sit down, guys. One of the mothers told the police that we’re having an orgy here. Or something like that.” The cop, a guy that Brandon hadn’t met yet, looked around the table groaning with food, then back at them. “I was just telling Officer Meadow here that we’ve got a funeral tomorrow, that Holly Wilkerson was related to us all, that we’re having a hardy meal before we have to face up to tomorrow and all that it entails. He just wanted to have a look around.”
“You’re not boys at all, are you?” Mars asked him if he wanted something to eat. “No, sir. I mean, I sure do—damn that smells good. Beg pardon, ma’am. But when I was told to come here and check things out, I was under the impression that you were holding little boys here that didn’t have the sense to get in out of the rain. You’re all grown men. Perhaps I heard her wrong. She told the station that you were holding boys here and that she was afraid that sex was going on.”
“No, you didn’t hear her wrong, and you know it.” Officer Meadow looked at Abby when she handed him an aluminum foil wrapped something that looked like a sub. “The Wilkerson family does not like any of us. And I’m sure after today you’ll get more than a few calls to come here and bust up a party or something like that. We’re just seven people who have lost someone very special in our lives, Mars’s mother, and we’re getting together for food and support. If you want my advice, I’d tell Eita Wilkerson to mind her own fucking business. As you said, everyone here is over twenty-one and has good jobs and a place to live. But that’s just me.”
“I’m going to get her on false reporting for sure.” Meadows brought the sub—Brandon could see that it was that now—to his nose and inhaled deeply. “My goodness, you guys are lucky to have someone cooking for you like this. I’d put on twenty pounds just from smelling this.”
When he left them, happy that no one had to be arrested, Abby looked at all of them before she spoke again. Brandon wasn’t sure that he wanted to hear what she was going to say, so he, like the others, braced themselves for it.
“Should I expect this from now on? Being harassed by the police on every little thing that I do?” Mars told her that she should. Then he smiled at her. “You’re not off the hook yet, buddy, so keep that charm down to a two or three on the chart, please. She did call me a slut. Several times, as a matter of fact. Also, this isn’t the first time that I’ve had a run-in with her. One other time this week, but when I was seventeen as well.”
“Did she hit you?” North looked ready to leap from the table when Abby nodded. “They won’t again. Not if I have breath in my body will she hurt you or any of us again, Abby. I swear.”
“Don’t make those sort of promises, North. Your mom isn’t stable. I’ve known that for a very long time. But when I was younger, just out of high school for the summer, she ran me down with her car.” North, as shocked at the rest of them were, asked her why. “Because the florist that I was working for at the time closed at five o’clock. I guess Eita needed flowers for the dinner table. She told me, several times, that she was having important people over. This was all said to me through the locked glass front door. Then she proceeded to explain to me how I wasn’t all that important, and that if I didn’t open the door, she’d break it down.”
“You didn’t allow her in.” Abby told Mars that she’d been taking pictures for a funeral, the ones she’d told him about earlier. “You were leaving for the day. I remember that now. You were leaving the place and were just a few short steps from your car when someone, no one ever said it was her, ran you down and left. If it hadn’t been for my mom coming down the street— That’s how my mom got you out of a jam. She saved your life that day.”
“Yes, she did. Your mom was there, and I didn’t lose my leg. Nor did I die from loss of blood. I think that she even saw Eita run me down.” North asked her why she’d never said anything. “I did, several times until it was explained to me that I was nothing but a dirt poor kid and the Wilkersons owned everything, including my ass if they wanted to. I’m sure that Holly said something too. We were both told in no uncertain terms that we’d live a good deal longer if we just kept our mouths shut. So, we did.”
“Christ. I never knew.” Abby told North that it didn’t matter now. “Ah, but it does to me. You see, this isn’t the first time that dear Mother has run someone down with her car. Nor will it be the last unless something is done. And I’m going to use the skills that they made me get to figure out a way to get justice for everyone.”
~*~
Eita was about as pissed as she’d ever been at her son. She didn’t even bother explaining things to her husband. Clayton wouldn’t care so long as he wasn’t bothered with it. Eita didn’t even think he remembered that he had a son most of the time. He certainly never complained about him as much as she did. Even the police seemed to be against her now.
“What’s this I heard about you being taken into the jail this morning? Eita, are you causing trouble for young Marsden?” She glared at him. “Leave him alone. He’s just lost his mother, and I’m sure that he’s not thinking right if he’s doing anything wrong right now.”
“He’s never done a thing right so far as I’m concerned. Did you know that our son is there with him right now with some slut, hanging on his every word?” He looked confused. “That Farley girl is hanging around with our family, and I want it to stop before they get some sort of nasty disease or something. I guess last night the police had to go by and break up a loud party. He must be mourning badly if he can have some sort of kegger just after th
e death of his so called beloved mother.”
“Oh, Eita.”
He shook his head and walked away from her. He’d been doing that a great deal lately like he didn’t understand her anymore. She hadn’t changed a single bit since they’d said their I dos.
Looking down at the notes that she’d been taking when all the women spoke, she was a little scared. It seemed that her son was under some sort of influence. She knew just who to blame that on too. To think that even from the grave, Holly was making her kids turn against her. No, not the grave yet.
Eita hadn’t been able to find yesterday’s paper to see what she could find out about the death of Holly. Nor had she been notified of the funeral. Surely by now, the idiot son of Holly’s would have put something in the paper for Monday. Her cell phone was ringing as she was sorting through the mess that was on Clayton’s desk.
“Did you see the paper for yesterday?” Eita told Christa that she was still looking for it. “Oh my God, Eita, the calling hours are this evening, and then twice tomorrow on Friday. The funeral is going to be on Saturday. Why the hell are they letting him schedule all of that when he doesn’t have a pot to piss in? I don’t know how much more it will cost to have that much going on, but you can bet that Penelope is going to have something to say about that.”
“Tonight? Christ. What time are we supposed to be there?” She told her that it started at three that afternoon. “That’s only four hours from now. Why are you just finding this? I’m not blaming you, but I haven’t any idea why we didn’t get a paper yesterday. Or if we did, where it’s gone. I’m going to fire someone over this. I can’t believe this. I don’t have time to get my nails and hair done, much less a dress to wear to this thing. I’m going to murder that boy. I swear it.” Christa said that she was going into Columbus now to see if she could get someone to rush her through. “I should have gone with you, Penelope. We need to start banding together here, or we’ll look like fools. That’s what he’s doing, you know that, don’t you? Trying to make us look bad by not letting us know what is going on. I’m still trying to figure out how much he owes on the condo they’re living in. It’s owned by some company named Abode Well. And every time I leave a message for someone to call me back, I get this form letter in the mail that tells me that there is no one in the office until the end of the month. How can anyone hope to stay in business working like that?”
Marsden (Wilkerson Dynasty Book 1) Page 5
