The brick stairs that led up to the house were so wide that he could have parked his new SUV along the front of it six or seven times, bumper to bumper, and had plenty of room left over. But at the top, where it met with the front doors, it was only about two cars wide. The people standing there looked like they had stepped out of the 1800s to meet with the lord and lady of the house. The butler coming toward them greeted them all three, and he was happy to know that they’d been not only expected, but the house had been readied for them.
“Mr. Marshall, I’m glad to finally meet you, sir. My name is Taylor. The household is ready to meet you as well.” He looked at Harris. “Ms. Harrison, it’s been a very long time, indeed. I must say that you look so much like your mother that I didn’t know what to say to you.”
“Thank you, Taylor. I’ve been sending funds to update the house. Have you been able to get anything done?” He assured her that all was well. “Good. I’ve come here to make a decision with Mr. Shep. I don’t know what my plans are for the house.”
If the butler was upset about it, he didn’t even blink to show it. After introducing him and his father to the staff, and telling Harris who was new or not, Taylor led them into the main hall. And good Christ, what an entrance hall it was.
Shep looked at the artwork on the walls, the large paintings that were as old as his grandda was, or older. He walked to the first one, with a frame that looked like it had been dipped in gold. He could see the signature in the corner and turned to look at Harris.
“Yes, it’s who you think it is.” He pointed to it again. “Yes, Shep, I know. My grandfather was good friend with the artist, and bought it from him to help him out. I think it’s worth a great deal more than he paid him back then.”
The rest of the house was just as well appointed. The dining room was something that he wanted badly. It was long and had a table in the room that would seat as many as fifty guests, he’d bet. The chairs were lined up along both sides of it like soldiers, with one at each end to keep the company in line. The chandelier was magnificent, and so bright that he was sure once the lights were turned on there wouldn’t be a darkened corner in the entire room.
The study was just as beautiful. Books were on each shelf, with their titles showing in the dim light. Several conversation areas, as he thought they were called, were all around too. A large fireplace sat in one corner, dark now that it was warm outside, but he could see it lit up in the winter with candles and pictures over the wide imposing mantel.
There was no overhead lighting in this room, but he could see the tin ceiling. It was darkening with age, and he was happy to see that no one had painted over it. Sitting in one of the chairs when Harris had to take a call, Tayler asked him if they were to be wed.
“When I can get her to tell me she will. I’ve asked her a couple of times, but I think I’m wearing her down.” He nodded. Shep wondered if he had a sense of humor. “What do you think of her selling the home? I think she’s been afraid of the memories that surround this place.”
“I’m sure that she has. We have replaced every piece that those men dared to touch. The dining room table and the chairs too. The master bedroom has no furniture as yet, but all the carpets were taken up and the floor sanded to its original wood. It’s very lovely there. Also, all the paintings were insured, so they have been replaced with something similar. The house is quite old, sir. It has been in Ms. Harrison’s family for a number of generations.” Shep told him that Harris had mentioned that. “I worry for her, if I may say. She has endured so much over her short lifetime.”
“She has. I’m going to make it my life’s work to make sure that she has a better time in life from now on. I love her very much.”
Taylor might have been about to say something, but Harris came into the room then. She looked upset.
“Everything all right, Harris?” He took her hand into his and she looked at him. “What is it? Tell me what it is so I can slay the dragon for you.”
Taylor left them then and he told her he was sorry. “I don’t think he was upset, just leaving us alone for a few minutes.” She looked around. “This room was my father’s favorite place to be. He spent a great deal of time in here going over the books that he needed information from, and writing his own. The call was from my contact in the Department of Homeland Security. Shelly Main isn’t a person. I believe it’s a fake name, though I can’t be sure. I’m following something that has her related to the VP. I’m thinking that’s what it is, so that no one will connect her to him. I now have to figure out who she is, and then tell Lily. Whoever she is, she’s going to have a great number of questions to answer. Especially if she’s Benson’s daughter.”
“Is Lily in trouble? I mean, is she safe?” Harris told him how Shelly was on vacation, one that Lily had made her take. And that Lily had also disabled her badge. “I’d go a little further than that, if I were her. I’d circulate her picture so that everyone is aware of who she might be.”
“I’ve done that through the secret service.” Harris thanked him for thinking of that. “I need to get my mind off of this for a little while. Are you ready to see the rest of the house? It’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be coming back here.”
“Grandda is in the kitchen. He said he could smell something baking. I swear, Harris, that man has a nose for baked goods like no one I’ve ever met before.” He opened the door and found that two of the staff were there with the butler. Taylor turned to him and asked if he could answer a question please. “Sure. I mean, I can try, but I’m new to this household.”
“Your grandda said that you’re not selling, and that you’ll be having dinner here this evening. I thought that I would ask if he was prone to making plans without making sure.” Shep said that his grandda was prone to a lot of things that he shouldn’t be doing. “Would you like to stay to dinner? I’m afraid that we’re not prepared as we’d be if we’d had more notice, but I think we can make a nice meal for the three of you.”
“Do you have enough for eight, Taylor?” He told Harris that he could feed an army should she give him an hour. “Yes, well, you might think you’re feeding one after you meet the rest of Shep’s family. If they can make it, I’ll make sure to let you know. Something else that you might already be aware of, Shep and his family are cats—jaguars. Will that be a problem?”
“No, my lady. I don’t foresee it being anything like that. He will know too that there are others in the household that aren’t human.” Harris told the elderly man that she’d figured that out. “If you’re all right with showing the house to Mr. Sheppard on your own, I’ll have a conversation with cook now, and we’ll await hearing from you about the others. All right?”
There were eight bedrooms in the house, most of which had been closed off. The furniture in the rooms was covered up with large sheets, but he could tell that the rooms had been swept recently. He noticed that they had skipped one of the bedrooms, and he could only assume it had been hers. The master suite was right in front of her when she turned and looked at him.
“This room is empty of most all of the things that were in here that night. Nothing was saved from it. Even the things that were undamaged were tossed out. I told Taylor when I was able to take over things for myself that I wanted nothing in here to remind me of that night.” He told her that he understood. “The room at the other end of the hall was mine. I’ve avoided it, but I think that if I can go into the master, with you, that I’ll be able to go into that room as well. I’m sorry that I’m so unsure of myself right now.”
“Honey, there are fresh memories in here even if they are very old ones. I’ve heard from my brothers, and they’re coming to dinner. They’re excited to see the house. I only told them that we’re undecided about it for now. Are you still?” She didn’t know, Harris told him. “I can understand that too. But I will tell you, this is the most beautiful house that I’ve ever had the pleasure of going through.”
“Will you be all right here if I dec
ide to keep it? And your grandda, will he stay with us? I’ve grown very fond of the old man.” Shep said that so long as there were baked goods around, his grandda would stay in a barn. “I don’t think we’d have to go that far, but there is one of those too. Also, there are a great many other things here that I couldn’t stand to part with. We’ll look those over too.”
As soon as she threw open the two doors that led into the master bedroom, Shep knew that he’d beg her to stay here. It was a room that someone could sleep soundly in and enjoy the outdoors too. From the hardwood floors to the large wrap around porch that went from one of the large glass doors to the other, it was a place that he could see them living in until they pushed up daisies.
The bathroom was bigger than his bedroom at his mom’s house. There was not only a tub, but a shower for two, double sinks, and a commode that was behind another huge, closed-off area. Walk in closets were at the other end of the room, along with a vanity for a woman. He moved out of that area out onto the deck, and stood there in awe that this could be his home if she wanted.
“There are over six thousand acres here. Not all of it you can see from here. It’s been cut off in a couple of places to make room for the roads that travel to the orchard and the gardens.” He asked her what they grew here. “Mainly we only grew what we would eat. The rest was donated to the pantries and such. The orchard is the same way. The cook will bring in extra staff, and they put up the fruit when it is ready and make other things that are put in the large freezers in the sub levels of the house. The water is supplied through an underground water system that was here all along. There are also solar panels on the roof and up on the mountain there that supply the house with electricity. My father did most of the improvements on the house.”
“That’s wonderful.”
They made their way back into the room, and she picked up a phone that he’d not noticed before. She told Taylor that they’d be having eight for dinner, then asked if it would be all right. Apparently he said yes, so she nodded at him.
“I hope that if we decide to keep the house, he doesn’t run for the hills after feeding us all.”
The bedroom that they’d skipped was next. Harris didn’t hesitate at all, but opened the doors to the little girl’s room. Her books were still on the shelves. The bed, a bright pink, was made up, and the little pink hearts that were on the spread were in the curtains too. Harris picked up one of the books and handed it to him. It was Moby Dick.
Opening the book, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that it was a signed copy. It was addressed to a man by the name of Hopewell Harrison. He looked at her.
“This was in my mom’s family for a great many generations. But when my grandparents died before having any other children but my mom, she inherited it all. It’s called Harrison House. My first name is my mother’s maiden name. For a while it was called Parker House, but my dad thought it sounded like they made rolls here, so we just called it Harrison House. If you’d like to live here with me, I’d call it Marshall House, with you.”
“I’d very much like to live here with you. Raise children and have my family here. But I’d very much like for you to marry me, Harris. Marry me here in this house, so that your parents can be a part of our day.” She nodded. “Thank goodness. I was sure that Taylor would have tossed me to the street if we weren’t married soon.”
“I have a favor to ask, please?” Shep told her anything. “I’d very much like to combine my rings, if you don’t mind. Something of my mom’s, her engagement ring, and whatever other piece that you have of your mom’s. If you wouldn’t mind.”
“I think that is an excellent idea, future Mrs. Harrison Parker Marshall. I also think that calling this Marshall House, if you don’t mind, would make me very happy.” She nodded, and he kissed her. “If we had a bed up here, I’d break it in right now. But, I can hear my family coming anyway, so we’ll postpone this for a little while longer.”
“I cannot wait.”
She left him there with his tongue hanging out, he was sure. Shep was going to have to keep on his toes if he wanted to keep up with her. She was his future wife. He could not wait to tell the rest of them. And the household.
Chapter 7
Dean wanted the house that Mom had lived in. They decided to maintain his house; it was smaller than the rest of them. So in the event that someone needed a place to lay over they could stay there instead of in a hotel. The swap out was fine with the rest of his brothers, so he took it. As they moved things that Shep wanted to take with him to the new house, people that Harris had hired were all over Marshall House, getting it ready with whatever she needed.
Grandda was beside himself with excitement to be living in a house so prim and proper, and it was a little closer to where Mom and Grandma were both buried. Dean walked around the rooms in his new home, and smiled whenever he saw something that would tug at a memory. He thought about dinner last night in the mansion that Shep and Harris would now be living in.
The brothers had been so nervous about having dinner in the house as soon as they’d gotten out of their cars. Rodney thought they for sure had the wrong house, but when Shep came out to show them around, all of them doubled their fear of fucking up things for their older brother.
Dinner was more than he could have hoped for. Not only were there steaks and baked potatoes as big as his hand, there were other things that made it seem more like he was at a restaurant than having dinner at home.
Garlic twist knots that everyone loved but were afraid to eat more than one of. Bacon cut up into perfect little squares that went with the potatoes. Nothing was served in pans, either. There was no foil around the spud. The butter was in small pats, with a large M in the middle of each one. Green beans that hadn’t been broken up were laid like logs on a platter. There were button mushrooms that had some kind of stuffing in them. Dean was actually afraid of some of the dishes. He didn’t know what they were, and was afraid of making himself want to spit things out. So he just sat there, with his beautifully done steak and potato, and tried to figure out what to do with his hands. That was until the roll hit him in the forehead. He looked at Harris when she laughed.
“This is going to be our home, guys. What is the matter with you all?” Some mumbled, others said nothing at all. The butler asked what he’d like to drink. “Bring them some beer, Taylor. Maybe it will loosen them up a little. Oh, and will you tell Grace that the rolls are perfect?”
After he left them to get the beers, Dean had stared hard at Harris. There was something about her that he’d not noticed until that moment. She was comfortable in this house. Harris had been born to be rich. She was too, according to Shep. Richer than all of them together.
“Why are we here? For you to show off?” He didn’t know why he’d said that, but he had and he wasn’t taking it back. “I mean, this is a house that people wait all their lives for. The meal here is something out of Plate and Platter, if there is such a thing. So why did you invite us here when you had to know this was too much for us?”
Shep stood up, and Dean did as well. Harris told them both to sit down, and while he had a hard time doing what she told him, he finally did. He knew then that he’d hurt her feelings.
“When I was a child, my entire life was shattered in this room. My parents were both killed, and I was a child that had no one left but an aunt that no more wanted me than I did her. But I survived.” She looked around the room. “I thought that by inviting you guys here, you could help me make my first good memory in this room. As a family.”
He started to tell her that he was sorry, but she cut him off as she stood up. If she left them there, he would be as good as dead, and Dean knew that he would deserve it. But she turned and looked at them all before she spoke again.
“You mother fucker.” He felt his eyes widen when she looked at him. “You stupid mother fucker. I swear to Christ, if your mom were here right now…. Well, I’m sure that she’d be as appalled at you as I am.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that.” She told him that wasn’t good enough. “Okay, it’s not. But I’m uncomfortable, and I don’t want to fuck up.”
“So you insult me? Well, thank you so much. Are you more comfortable now with yourself? Do you think that if I were to pass you some of the corn pudding, you’d turn your nose up at it?” Dean said he didn’t know what the dishes were, so he’d not even be able to pass it to her. “My staff worked very hard on this, because they wanted to impress you as well. The corn pudding is the yellow corn bread looking stuff.”
“I’m so sorry. I was embarrassed about how I was feeling, and took it out on you.” She glared harder at him. “If it’ll make you feel any better, I’ll try everything on this table. So long as you tell me what I’m eating.”
“There is no poison in any of this, but I might put some in your dessert.” He said it was no less than he deserved. “The corn pudding, I’ve pointed out. There is green bean casserole that is really good, and not at all like you might see on the television with mushroom soup in it.”
As he began trying the dishes on the table, all of which he simply loved, she told them what the dishes were. The stuffed mushrooms had a sausage mixture in them that he thought he could have eaten the entire plate full of. There were poached pears that, while the name sounded pretentious, it was one of the best things he’d ever tasted that had pears in it. The bacon, she told him, was from the estate. As were most of the things on the table, including the steaks.
“You’re self-reliant here.” She nodded at him as he passed her the last of the corn pudding. “I studied that in college. It was more like a fantasy than a reality, I thought. But you’ve made it work. I’d like to study the land, if you’d not bury me on it anytime too soon.”
Sheppard: Marshall’s Shadow – Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance (Marshall's Shadow Book 1) Page 8
