“No, the nurse asked if my period had started. It’s due today, but it hasn’t come yet.” She hesitated before she said, “I was getting a pregnancy test…or three for in the morning. She said to take one when I first get out of bed.”
“That fine, but shouldn’t you get a blood test?”
“The first appointment I could get is Wednesday. If the test is positive, they’ll confirm. If it’s negative, they can see what’s going on. Will you go with me?”
“Of course I’m going with you. That’s not even an option.”
They’d calmed down tremendously, but the adrenaline hadn’t completely worn off.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m good right now.”
He stood and kissed her all the way to their bed. When he laid her down, he removed her clothes. “I’ve got five days of loving I wanna make up for, but I need to take the edge off, then I promise I’ll be gentle.”
“I need that, too. Make me fly.”
He rolled her over and pulled her ass into the air. “My sweet girl. It isn’t gonna take that long, but in this position I’ll get you there quickly.”
Evan entered her from behind and feeling her for the first time in a while made him want to blow immediately. With a couple more strokes, she was right there with him. Her moans and pleas drove him faster, and within minutes they were calling out each other’s names.
Talk about a quickie. The edge was gone, but the need was still there. He lingered a few minutes before leaving to get a wash cloth, but when he returned she wasn’t moving. He couldn’t see any blood, but his heart raced all the same. As he reached for her, he heard her take a heavy breath. She was asleep.
He breathed a sigh of relief before he cleaned her up and covered her with a quilt. If she could sleep, he needed to let her, so he closed the door and cleaned the house. When it was back to normal, he unloaded the stuff from his car, leaving the little bag in the console for last. How was he going to present it to her? Since she’d been nauseous, he didn’t think food was a good idea. She’d already said yes, so did he need to do anything special? She was giving him the most precious gift in the world. Not only herself, but possibly a baby. His baby. There was nothing he could do to top that, so he stuffed the ring in his pants pocket as he started upstairs. When he reached the top step, he saw her laptop and the idea came alive.
His girl was a writer, so he’d write her a story and snagged her laptop on his way outside. He wasn’t very good at this, but didn’t all love stories begin with Once upon a time? He started typing his love story for her. It was more of an essay than a story by the time he typed The End.
When he finished, he printed the story in her office downstairs, where he found everything he needed. She even had paper that looked like the edges were burnt, so he used it. He heard the creaking of her moving around upstairs before he was done and hoped she wouldn’t mosey down the steps. He finished his task as quickly as possible and went back up. Just as he reached the landing, she came out of the bedroom and looked like she was feeling better. Her eyes weren’t as puffy.
“I heard my printer.”
“Yeah, I used it for a document. Wanna read it?”
“Sure.”
“Feel free to correct any errors you find.”
She sat on the sofa next to him as she took the paper. “Once upon a time?” She looked at him with questions in her eyes.
“Keep reading. I know that part is right.”
He watched the smile stretch her lips. “A lonely prince named Evan?” He nodded for her to keep reading. She did and the questions slowly turned to humor. “I don’t think Princess Ginger would let Prince Evan do that. I’m sure there are laws against that in this fair land,” she said through a laugh.
“My story, my laws,” he said. He had a hard time keeping a straight face.
He watched as her smile faded and tears pooled in her eyes. She gasped, and then brought a hand to her mouth as she continued to read. Her chest heaved as the flush of color moved down her body while she tried to hold back the sobs. When she looked at him, tears rolled down her cheeks so he asked, “Where are you?”
She pointed, and he began reading for her. “Before the Queen died, she told Prince Evan to pick a wife that he could confide in. A wife that would support his decisions, hold his hand in good times and bad, and would make him complete. Look for a maiden that he could live with today and grow old with tomorrow. Not just a compatible lover, but also a friend. Prince Evan knew he’d found all those qualities in Princess Ginger.” The tears streamed down her face as he leaned over and kissed her gently while he pulled out the ring. When he sat back, the ring laid in the palm of his hand. “You’ve already said ‘yes,’ so let’s make this official.”
“Let’s,” she whispered. When he slid the ring into place, he kissed her finger where it sat. He hugged her close and she finished the story with, “In the southern tradition, Prince Evan planned to keep Princess Ginger barefoot and pregnant. Once he had a bun in her oven, he knew his life would be complete. They got married very quickly and lived happily ever after. The End.”
She had come full circle, as her smile was back. “I can’t believe you wrote this.”
“Darlin’, you’ve given me everything I could ever ask for. I just wish my parents were here to meet you. They would’ve loved you. My dad would love your fire, and my mom would love how you take care of me. Mitchell is my only family, and I haven’t even told him I proposed. However, I did tell him I wasn’t waiting on him and Kayla so they better pick a date soon. I wanna tell them when we get back.”
“Yes, but I need to tell my parents everything sooner rather than later.”
“Okay, I have to be back in Riverton Crossing on Thursday. You can invite them there or we can go to Georgia soon. Whichever you want. What time is our appointment on Wednesday?”
“I made it for ten to give me time to get up and settle my stomach before we leave.”
“Sounds good.”
22
Evan spent the next half hour or so in the kitchen pulling fingerprints off Ginger’s phone. He had just put the samples away in a safe place when Ben’s name flashed on his phone. “Hey, man.”
“Are you on the road yet?”
“I’m home with Ginger. I’m gonna need you to run some prints when I get back to South Carolina.”
“Anything I need to know today?”
“She saw the third man this morning. He had her phone, so I hope your guys in the lab can get a solid print.”
“I’ll get it to them.”
“Anything new happening on your end?”
“Plenty. We’ve put an undercover guy and a follow-up team on the chief. He passed a counterfeit hundred at the big box store, but gave legitimate twenties at the grocery store.”
“From the same group of marked bills?” Evan asked.
“No. Once he left the box store, the follow-up team went in and had the managers pull the cashier’s till. This one was washed and the denomination changed so it passed the marker test. We’re getting a warrant to pick him up and search his house.”
“Is he the only one passing the fakes?”
“So far. Maybe he thinks, with his position, he’s untouchable. Maybe other merchants know but just aren’t reporting him.”
“What about Jones and Dribble?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. No change in spending habits, no fake money exchanged. We don’t have probable cause to pull their bank records yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Have you heard from the Judge?”
“Yeah, we released Harley’s body yesterday.” Ben sounded sympathetic. “I heard the Judge was having him cremated and holding a private service later this week. And by private service, I mean just the Judge and the preacher. I also heard there’s an investigation regarding his presiding over Harley’s hearing, and he could be sanctioned or removed from the bench. He looked worse yesterday than he did Friday.”
&
nbsp; “Shit, that doesn’t sound good. How’s the Sheriff doing?” Evan knew he needed to get there soon.
“He said it was hard getting away from Deputy Smith on Friday, but he did it. He’s taking the philosophy of keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I really thought he’d have confronted Smith by now, but he’s sticking to the plan.”
“I’ll be back on Thursday.”
“I don’t know if we can wait that long to pick up Taylor,” Ben said hesitantly.
“Don’t. Since I knew him in high school, I shouldn’t be there for that. Have you gotten anything off the note or picture of Ginger?”
“Only the fingerprints we knew would be there. The picture of Harley was taken with a phone. The picture of your girl was taken with a camera. We can’t tie them together.”
“Fuck!” Evan gripped a kitchen knife until his knuckles were white.
“We’ll get him. I’ll talk to you on Thursday, man.” Ben ended the call.
Evan braced his hands on the kitchen counter to digest some of what Ben had said. His thoughts were all over the place. Ginger was still in some lunatic’s sights and it didn’t matter if they were in the mountains or at the ranch. The money. Was it all in that briefcase and did all of it go to Curtis? Was it all marked or counterfeit? Were they running the money though the bank or storing it in the vault, and could a teller be on the payroll? Still too many questions and not enough answers. Then there was Harley’s murder. How was it connected? Was it connected? Riverton Crossing hadn’t had this much criminal activity since it was founded.
Evan walked out back as he thought about different scenarios and theories, but kept going back to one specific act, so he called Nathan.
“Sup?”
“You on the beach?”
“You know it. You still with Ginger?”
“Yes,” Evan said with a chuckle.
“How is she?”
“She’s been sick, but other than that, she’s good.”
“Do you mean sick, sick or the other kind of sick?”
“We’ll know in the morning,” Evan said with confidence.
“Did she tell you what she wanted to do?”
“Yeah, man. If she’s pregnant, we’re keeping the baby.”
“Good. I know you didn’t call just to bust my balls so what’s up?” Nathan asked.
“Remember when you took that video of Carlos the day of the bust?”
“The one in his hotel room with the drugs?”
“Yeah, you said Anthony Agusto gave him the drugs to help with his pain. Do you think Anthony would’ve shared with anyone else for extra payment? Or in exchange for payment?”
“Sure. He was always willing to share if he thought you deserved it. Why?”
“When you’re off the beach and sober, call Sam. He can fill you in. I think some MI drugs are still in Riverton Crossing. I’ll be back in town on Thursday. Let’s have that beer.”
“Are the rumors true?”
“If you’re asking if I resigned, yeah. I’ll tell you everything when I see you.”
“Lucky bastard.”
Evan laughed as he disconnected the call.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. He found himself not wanting Ginger out of his sight. He now understood how Mitchell felt when that car tried to run over Kayla. He only relaxed when he could see her. Now, Evan felt the same way.
The following morning, Ginger awoke feeling the same way she had for the last five days–queasy. She waited until she couldn’t hold it any longer to go to the bathroom. The night before she’d made sure to leave the pregnancy tests beside the toilet. She followed the instructions precisely. When she finished and walked back toward the bed, Evan was sitting on the edge waiting for her.
“Well?”
“I don’t know. It said it takes three minutes so I’m going to lie down and wait.”
“I’ll go check. Do you want some crackers? Water?”
“Crackers would be nice.”
By the time he’d gotten her the crackers, the three minutes were up. He disappeared into the bathroom for a few seconds. When he returned, his smile and tears told her all she needed to know. He gave her the tests as he got back in the bed and slid the covers down to kissed her flat belly as he said, “I’m so glad you’re in there.”
When the words left his mouth, tears rolled down her cheeks. “We’re pregnant,” she whispered, laughing and crying at the same time.
He tilted his face to hers as he rested a hand on her tummy. “Happy tears?” She nodded so he cocked a brow. She knew what he needed.
“Mostly, yes. Some sad ‘cause I can’t get my tattoo, though.”
He crawled up her body then guided her mouth to his as he kissed her reverently. When he broke the kiss he said, “The tat can wait.”
As they snuggled, he had one arm around her and one on her belly. Finally he asked, “How will this work with us being at the ranch? Will we need to be back for any doctor’s appointments? Are you gonna change doctors?”
“I want the doctor that’s seeing us tomorrow to see me one more time, and then I thought I could talk to Thomas.”
“Thomas will not be examining you. Not down there. Ginger, he works in the ER, so unless there’s an emergency, his hands won’t be going near you.”
“Thank you for clarifying, but I was thinking more along the lines of referring me to a good doctor.” She kissed him as she smoothed away the anger on his face. “Calm down.”
“Can you ask for a female doctor? I think I’d prefer that.”
“So you’d rather watch a female near me, down there, than a male?”
“Yes, definitely,” he answered without hesitation.
“You’re something else.” She shook her head and giggled at him before she moved to get out of bed. She was feeling better and was ready to start the day.
They ate breakfast, and then lay on the sofa. He had one arm around her from beneath and the other on her belly. She loved that he’d already started putting his hand there. He did it the first night after she told him about her patch. It brought tears to her eyes then, and still did. But this morning she wiggled her ass against him, and he stiffened.
“Are they gonna do an internal exam tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. As far as I know, they’re just doing bloodwork to confirm and see if I know when we conceived. Why?”
He pushed his hardened cock flush to her ass. “I promised you gentle last night.”
“Mmmm, yes you did.” She wiggled her ass again, and he moved his hand from her belly into her panties. He fondled her bundle of nerves and slid his finger into her core.
“Darlin’, you sure?”
“Please,” she softly moaned.
He removed his hand and eased her panties down her legs. When he couldn’t reach any further, she moved her legs to rid herself of them. His arm caught her leg so he could slide into place. Spooning on the sofa restricted their movements so his finger rubbed her clit as she rolled her hips toward his hand, which helped him move as they found a rhythm.
As he peppered kisses along her shoulder, he cupped her breast with his other hand. He stroked her nipple in time with her clit as her inner muscles squeezed him and her breathing quickened. “Are you close?” he whispered in her ear. She whimpered and nodded her head. They came with their names whispered in the quiet room like the calm after their frantic storm the night before. They snoozed on the sofa until he moved them to their bed.
23
The state police had been watching Curtis Taylor since he passed the first marked bill and knew his routine. Since he left for work at six sharp every morning, they were on his front porch Wednesday morning at five forty-five. Ben rang the doorbell with his team standing behind him, and Curtis’s eyes widened when he opened the door.
“Mr. Taylor, I’m Ben Stevens with the state police. This is a warrant for your arrest for passing counterfeit currency and a search warrant for your residence, bank records, bank accounts,
office, vehicle, and any other outbuilding on the premises.”
Ben’s team went around him and started through the house as he cuffed Curtis and read him his rights. Ben left a lieutenant in charge of the search while he took Curtis to the Sheriff’s Department.
During Ben’s visit with Curtis, Sheriff Cahill met with Michael Sinclair, the Mayor of Riverton Crossing, to inform him of the happenings that morning. The Sheriff also explained he needed an Acting Chief of Police and that Ben would come by his office when he finished his interrogation. Sheriff Cahill also made sure Deputy Smith attended a breakfast meeting in his place where the Sheriff’s Department was receiving an award so he’d be occupied for several hours. Ben and one of his men spent the next couple hours questioning former Chief of Police Curtis Taylor.
By the time all was said and done, Curtis Taylor told them everything they needed to know. He admitted to taking bribes and passing the counterfeit and marked currency. He also confirmed Evan’s suspicions regarding Anthony Agosta giving him a gram of heroin the night he derailed the investigation into the fire at the Gregory’s place.
Curtis continued to tell them he’d given the drugs to his cousin, Deputy Frank Smith, to blackmail Judge Harland Bishop. Even though he’d seen the picture Frank had shown Judge Bishop, he hadn’t seen the drugs again. He claimed Deputy Smith called him to meet at the swamp, but he didn’t go because he was with Ruby. Ben noted he needed to verify that.
Curtis finally agreed to be a witness for the state in exchange for a reduced sentence, which Ben would present to the Attorney General, but in the meantime Curtis would spend more time with DEA regarding the rest of the drugs. At the end of the day, he’d end up in protective custody with a team made up of each agency assigned to him.
Ben left to meet with the Mayor while the other agents oversaw Mr. Taylor’s statement writing and booking process.
When Ben arrived at the Mayor’s office, Sheriff Cahill was still there. The Mayor’s secretary ushered Ben in, and he relayed the extent of Curtis Taylor’s confession.
Unfinished Business Page 17
