Unfinished Business

by Savannah Maris

  “Sheriff, Mayor. DEA and another state officer are with Mr. Taylor as he finishes writing his statement. Once they have that information, they’re getting a search warrant for Deputy Smith’s home, car, office, and bank accounts as well. At a minimum, he’ll be brought in for the assault of Harley Youngerner, and questioning for his murder. Based on the autopsy report, we know the drugs were given to Harley after he was practically beaten to death, and from everything we’ve found out, the drugs were just to taunt the Judge.

  “You know we try not to humiliate someone in uniform so would you rather we wait until after his shift, Sheriff?”

  “Hell no! I’ll bring him into my office, and you boys can address him there. I’ll take his gun belt and shield because I need my officers to see that I may be old, but I don’t put up with dirt. He needs to be made an example of.”

  “What time is he due back from that meeting?”

  “Mid-morning I suppose.”

  “I’ll let everyone know. Mayor, do you have any questions for me?” Ben asked.

  “Do you want to become my Chief of Police?”

  “No, sir, but I know the perfect man you need. Can I send him by? The Sheriff knows him too.”

  “Then let me hear it.”

  They stayed another half hour telling Mayor Sinclair what he needed to know about the man. Ben set an appointment for him as they walked out of the office heading toward the Sheriff’s.

  They were sipping their second cup of coffee when a knock sounded on the door. When the Sheriff yelled for whomever to come in, the desk clerk opened the door and told them Deputy Smith had called. The clerk relayed that Deputy Smith needed to pick up something in Cloverville before coming back to the office.

  “Did he say what it was?”

  “No, sir,” she said.

  “Thank you.”

  When Ben heard the door close, he looked at the sheriff. “What do you think that’s about?” What the hell?

  “I have no idea. I didn’t send him over there.”

  “Where does the Judge live?”

  “He used to live in Cloverville, but he lives on the north side of town now. Why?”

  “I don’t want those two near each other. I’m going to check on Taylor. Let me know if you hear anything from Smith.” Ben walked out with a smidgeon of suspicion in the back of his mind.

  24

  Yesterday was one of the best days of his life. Hell, the past three days had been the best. Ginger had his ring on her finger, and the doctor confirmed the pregnancy. The only bad part was the nurse at the doctor’s office. Just the thought pissed Evan off all over again.

  “Miss Monroe,” called the nurse from the door. They walked toward the young woman. “And who are you?” she asked as she looked directly at Evan, but tried to block him from following Ginger. If this little woman thought she was going to keep him from his, he’d pick her up and move her to the side. Evan narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows. How did he answer that? Before he could say anything, Ginger answered for him.

  “He’s my fiancée and if the pregnancy tests were correct, the father of the baby,” Ginger said sweetly. Who the hell else would he be?

  “Hello father. Do you have a name?” The nurse stared at him with a pen readied to write.

  “Evan Riverton.” If that was what she wanted, why didn’t she just ask for his name? She plastered this smile across her face as if she’d accomplished something. All she’d accomplished was pissing him off.

  “Are you thinking about that nurse again? You’ve got angry eyes, right now. I swear she was just pulling your chain. Try to focus on the doctor when he told us we’re definitely pregnant.”

  “I thought she wasn’t gonna let me go back there with you. I don’t wanna miss anything with the baby, Gin. I was debating if I’d get arrested for physically moving her.”

  Ginger wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. “I wouldn’t have let her keep you out. I wanted you there as much as you wanted to be there. I think she just likes to see which fathers go all protective. You, babe, have that protective element down pat,” she said before kissing him. He pulled her closer and buried his face in his spot. The hug helped to calm him.

  “Are y’all ready to go? Is baby up for a car ride?”

  “I think so. I’ve got plenty of crackers and water. Vitamins are packed. How long are we going to stay at the ranch?”

  “A few weeks. Why?”

  “I’m going to let my property manager rent the house then. We just have to be back for the next doctor’s appointment in five weeks.”

  “Yeah, about that. Gin, your doctor is a man and he said the next visit you should be far enough along for him to do that procedure where he uses that thing that looks like a dildo to see the baby’s heart beating. He can’t do that if you have on panties.”

  Her smile was breathtaking, but he thought she was really laughing with the gleam in her eyes. She cleared her throat to regain her composure. “First, he’s been my doctor since I moved up here. Second, I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s seen me without panties on before.” She lovingly placed her hand on his chest. “Third, I really need you to think about seeing our baby and not where the wand has to go for the ultrasound. Fourth, you need to understand there may not be a female OBGYN in Riverton Crossing. I think Charleston or Savannah would be too far. Do you want what’s best for our baby? Because I do.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Then please come to grips with the fact that medical professionals will have to see my pussy before this is over with.”

  “Correction. It’s my pussy.”

  “Fine. It’s yours, but you still need to get a grip. I’ll try to get a female, but can’t promise in a small town. That’s how I ended up with the doctor I have. There just wasn’t one.” She held out her hands and shrugged her shoulders.

  They gathered enough clothes for Ginger and left part of his there. He had five weeks to accept that a man could be looking at his wife in a way he didn’t want any other man seeing her. His wife. He hoped she’d be his wife by then. He loaded Betty because Mitchell hadn’t seen his Camaro yet.

  As soon as they were on the road, Ginger made all the arrangements for the house to be rent ready with the property manager. When she hung up, he remembered to tell her Nathan was coming over that evening, and possibly Sam and Ben, too.

  “Have you been talking with them while you’ve been gone?”

  “Yes, a lot has happened in the last week. The main thing is Chief Curtis Taylor has been arrested, and I can’t wait to hear what Ben has to say about that. Hopefully, Sam has something from DEA on the drugs that were used on Harley, and Nathan is just coming for a beer.” He paused for a moment. “Ben also knows he’s picking up the fingerprints I took off your phone.”

  “Do you think he’ll get anything?”

  “I hope so. How are we gonna tell Mitchell and Kayla?”

  “I don’t know.” She held up her hand and looked at her ring. “This will be seen as soon as I step out of the car, but I think we need to tell them before the others get there. I’ll wait to call my parents until after we talk to them.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Hell yeah! I’ve never been a parent before. I don’t know how to do this stuff. What if I do something stupid and hurt the baby? What if I eat something wrong and make the baby sick? What if…”

  “Ginger stop. I was talking about telling your parents, not about being one. I’m not a doctor and don’t pretend to be, but I’ve been around animals enough to know that your body’ll know what to do. It’s natural. You just take care of your body, and I’ll take care of you. You’ve bought those books. They’ll help you plan and know what’s going on inside. We’ll read them together so I can be a part of this too. You’re probably gonna get sick of me constantly checking on you.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Have you thought about what you want for a wedding?”

  “Small. My brain is all over th
e place. Part of me wants something at the ranch, but my mother may want something in Georgia. Then again, eloping sounds good. Justice of the Peace?” She bit into a cracker with her eyebrows raised.

  He laughed as he glanced over to make sure she was okay. Now he understood what Mitchell was talking about with Kayla. “Are you getting sick?” She shook her head and he raised a brow.

  “Just staying on my eating schedule so I don’t,” she said around the cracker.

  “Once I talk with Mitchell, I should know my schedule for the weekend. If you feel like it, I’m happy to go to Georgia. I want the wedding sooner rather than later, Gin. Promise me.”

  “Promise.”

  They rode in silence for a while when he noticed she was asleep. There was static on the radio, so he turned on his iPod and one of the first songs he and Ginger danced to came up, “Already Callin’ You Mine” by Parmalee. He put the GPS on silent and followed the directions as he thought back to that night. Every minute from dancing in the living room to the moment she left the hotel room to falling asleep with her in his arms. It didn’t feel as though he’d driven far when he parked outside The Treasure Trail. He looked around before he kissed her awake. Her eyes fluttered open then grew wider as realization hit. “Why are we here?”

  “Do you know this place?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How do you know this place?”

  “A little birdie told me you like visit here with Kayla. Is there something you haven’t told me? I think this falls under the no secrets rule.” Even though his tone was serious, he was fighting a smile.

  “Yes, I’ve been here.”

  “And did you buy anything?”

  “Yes. A costume for a party, and…” She averted her eyes as the blush swept over her face.

  “And what?”

  “A vibrator. I bought a vibrator, okay?”

  “I can’t believe you withheld that information,” he laughed. “Did you bring it with us?”

  “No.”

  “We’ll buy another one. We’ll keep one at each house. What kind of costume? French maid? Nurse? Oh, please let it be a genie. We can buy you a different one now.”

  “Evan, I’m pregnant! Why would I want to wear a costume? Why would you want to see me in one?”

  “You aren’t showing. We have a while to play before that happens. Even then, it’ll be hot. Come on. I wanna go in.”

  “It’s a French maid,” she mumbled.

  “I can work with that. Do you have my membership card on you?”

  “Buried in my purse where you can’t find it.”

  “I don’t want it, but part of the club’s perks is getting discounts at stores so bring it.” He wiggled his brows as he escorted her through the front doors. They showed their driver’s licenses to the tattooed bald man waiting inside the store. The dude made Mr. Clean look like Popeye. The smile he gave Ginger disappeared when he looked at Evan. The man was bigger than Mitchell, but Evan looked him in the eyes. As they moved past, Evan put his hand at the small of Ginger’s back. “Toys or clothes first?”

  “You really want to buy stuff?”

  “Yes.” He guided her with his hand to the section of costumes where he scanned the racks until he found a display with Arabian Nights at the top. He flipped through each hanger and found the one he wanted. The top, if you could call it that, was made of soft, sheer pink material that fit off the shoulders with cut outs for her nipples. The bottoms looked like a thong bikini with matching sheer material and splits down the outside of both legs that gathered at the ankles with gold bands, but he didn’t think she saw the gold rings attached to the bands. She could wear this even after she started to show because none of her abdomen would be covered. “This one. Small or extra small?”

  “Small. I can’t believe you’d want to see me in that. Are you getting one?”

  “I’m the sheik. I can wear whatever I want,” he said with his cocky grin firmly in place. “What kind of vibrator do you have? You want the same one for the ranch or something different?”

  She showed him what she already owned and he wasn’t impressed. “Gin, I think we can do better than that.” He led her to the big display in the center of the store with a top of the line manufacturer who had everything a woman could use in any color she wanted. “Pick something to match the costume,” he said.

  Ginger looked at all the items. “Evan, they’re really expensive. Why can’t we just get one of those?” she asked pointing in the direction they just came from.

  “Darlin’, this is for fun, not functionality. You’ve got me for that. I’m buying and I want you to have something that feels good, but we can also have fun with.”

  She picked out a pink and white vibrator that was guaranteed to hit her G-spot. With purchases in hand they went to check out. When Ginger presented Evan’s card, the cashier avoided Evan’s eyes and slightly bowed her head. Then the cashier asked, “Would Sir need anything else?” Ginger whipped her head around to Evan as her mouth fell slightly open.

  “No thank you,” Evan replied. The cashier gave them the total, and Evan presented his credit card. Ginger’s hands were clasped together and lips rolled inward. Evan knew she was barely holding her tongue, but hoped she’d make it to the car. He no sooner had the car in gear when Ginger asked, “How did she know?”

  “Did you not look at the card? It not only has my name on it, but also my distinction.”

  “Distinction?”

  “You know, Master, Mistress, Dom, sub. Mine is Sir. I’m not a novice, but I don’t live the lifestyle, either. I enjoyed myself in the club or the bedroom, but that was then. You know what I enjoy now.”

  “In that lifestyle you wouldn’t get engaged, would you?”

  “There are some couples who are married, so yes. There are others who just want to play in the club. For those committed to each other there are different signs, from a piece of jewelry all the way to a collar. That’s between the Dom and the sub. I never got into all of that. I just played.”

  “I see.”

  “Ginger, we’re not going there. I don’t want that anymore. You’re what I want.” He took her hand in his and entwined their fingers. She seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a while. “Tell me what you’re thinking?”

  “I don’t know. You just don’t fit the image I had in my head of someone who’d be into that lifestyle, that’s all. Watching that exchange showed me anyone could be into it and most people wouldn’t even know.”

  “True, but I’m more into kink than pain.”

  “I know,” she said with a smile.

  She didn’t ask anything else, and he hoped his answers had put her mind at ease. By the time she’d eaten again, they were pulling into the ranch. “You ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s just go in. Mitchell and I will get the bags later.”

  Betty was as loud as Shelby so there was no hiding their arrival. He pulled in beside Mitchell’s truck and walked to open Ginger’s door. When they turned toward the house, Kayla was waiting at the door so Evan held Ginger’s left hand in hopes of camouflaging her ring a little while longer because he wanted them to all be together when they broke the news. Ginger kissed Kayla’s cheek but didn’t release his hand as they followed her into the kitchen where Mitchell was eating an apple off the island. Evan looked at Ginger with a huge-ass grin on his face as he kissed her cheek and whispered, “I can’t wait to tell him what happened on that island.” Her face turned bright red and her eyes begged for him not to, but he didn’t make any promises.

  “How the hell was your trip?” Mitchell hugged Evan.

  “The trip out west sucked, but the time with Ginger has been fantastic.”

  “You two look happy,” Kayla said.

  “We are, on every front,” Ginger said.

  “Does that mean what I hope that means?” Kayla asked.

  When Evan let go of her hand, she rested it on the side of her face. “I’ve got so much to tell you. You’re not goi
ng to believe…”

  Kayla didn’t let Ginger finish the sentence before she screamed and ran around the island. “Oh my God! Let me see! Let me see! When did this happen?”

  Mitchell looked at Evan with a scowl. He seemed more hurt than mad. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  “You can say that again. You didn’t…”

  “We’ll tell y’all everything.”

  “We need to celebrate! Mitch, let’s open a bottle of wine,” she said.

  “We don’t need to open a bottle of wine. About the strongest thing Ginger can have is ginger ale. It was confirmed yesterday that we’re pregnant.” As soon as the words left his mouth a hush fell over the room.

  Tears of joy were in Mitchell’s eyes. He hugged Evan again and congratulated him before he went to Ginger. “Congratulations and welcome to the family.”

  Watching his brother envelope Ginger in his arms gave Evan peace. He knew everything was the way it should be.

  “How are you feeling?” Kayla asked.

  “Nauseous, but getting the hang of it.”

  “He may be the older brother, but I’m going to make one thing clear, right here, right now. Other than Mak, he,” Mitchell said, pointing at Evan, “is my only family until now. What’s important to him is important to me. I need to be number two on your speed dial in case he isn’t around. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about me?” Kayla asked.

  “You can be three,” he said with shrug of a shoulder as if he’d laid down the law.

  “Come on, man. Help me with our bags before Kayla beats the shit out of you.” Evan chuckled. When they walked outside he said, “Let me introduce you to my other lady. Mitchell, this is Betty. Betty, Mitchell.”

  “Nice,” he said as he opened the driver’s door. “You told me about her, but didn’t say anything about proposing? Dude, get your priorities straight.”

  “Mitchell, I’m sorry. Before I left for Iowa, I asked her to marry me because I needed her to know I wanted this regardless. She said yes, and I asked her not to say anything. I bought the ring before I came home. That’s why I told you to hurry the hell up, but I wanted to tell y’all face to face. Not telling you was one of the hardest things I’ve done.”