by Kathi Barton
His house was almost finished too. He’d been thrilled to get such a good deal on the place. People were working on it, putting in security cameras, surveillance protection, as well as making his office a place that he could go to and know that he was secure. There had also been a safe room put in. They were finding that the electrical circuits weren’t up to par, as well as the safe room would more than likely kill him and whoever was with him because of the shitty construction of the walls.
Just yesterday he’d been told that he needed all new outlets in the kitchen, as well as his office. Making sure that they weren’t just padding his bill, Adrian went to see Sunny. Right away she was able to find out that they were not padding the bill, but they had been doing work for him that they’d not charged him for. He took care of that immediately.
There was a note on his door when he got home. Not touching it, he told Sunny what he’d found. The woman had an uncanny ability to touch something then be able to tell you not only who had done whatever it had been, but also anyone that worked with this person. She could see what their agenda had been. This time was no different.
Just touch the very tip of the paper. I should be able to get a great deal from that. He asked her if he should be worried. Always. And I’m not kidding either. Now that you’ve put it out there that you wish to fill the presidency seat when it comes open, there will be a good many crackpots out to push you out of their way.
Not so sure that she wasn’t wrong about that, with trembling fingers he put his fingertip to the smallest part of the note as he could. When she laughed, he let out a long breath. Whatever it had been, there wasn’t anything that had frightened her.
It’s from your brother. Adam wants to know if you’d like to help him out with Thanksgiving. He thinks you make the best homemade rolls in the country. She laughed harder, and he felt his embarrassment go through the roof. Should I tell him that you only call them homemade because you bake them there? Or should I tell him that you’ve been using frozen unbaked dough and passing it off as your own? You are, I suppose, making it at home, which will qualify for them being homemade. And you do thaw it out and work it into rolls too. You are a sneaky bastard, aren’t you? I won’t tell on you if you tell me how you do it. I’d like to have David argue with Adam on who makes the best rolls. Your secret is safe with me so long as you share.
Deal. He plucked the note off the door and read it. It said just what she’d told him it would. Putting the note into his pocket, he unlocked the door and went inside. Speaking of rolls and dinner, I’ve just had mine with Dad and Grandda. They’re going to help me on a couple of projects around the state.
He told her what it was going to entail and for her to help them when asked. Adrian was sure that they’d get around to asking her and the others. There was a good possibility that they’d know more about the companies than he could find by just researching them on the Internet. But Grandda and Dad, they’d find the heart of the person. And that was what he wanted more than anything.
Going to the kitchen, he realized that he was still hungry. When talking to his family, any of them, he’d not eat as much as he should. Adrian was always taking notes on what was being said, as well as talking around his food. It had always been easier for him to skip eating as much as he could and focus on what he wanted—information.
Pulling out the cold pizza from last night, he sat at the counter and ate two pieces while thinking about what he was up to. Over his head, he’d told himself more than once lately, but he’d been assured that he was doing great.
While munching on his fourth piece, he pulled out the paperwork that he’d been given today. It was about four businesses that he had tagged for helping out the state. One of them he wanted to mark off just because the name, to him, sounded sketchy. John Smith? He’d have one of the girls look into that one for him. Then he pulled open his laptop and began to do research on the company that his grandda had mentioned.
It had very good reviews was the first thing that he noticed. Out of seven thousand plus reviews, they still carried a four point eight. That was better than the construction company working on his home, including the one that Henry had recommended.
Adrian found a large article about the family—no names were mentioned, of course. But it said that the owner had been accused of infidelity and had won that suit, just when there was the trouble with his wife being killed in an automobile accident. It had laid squarely in her lap. The more Adrian read, the more he liked this unknown man. By midnight, Adrian had found nothing on the man that would have him think that they’d not work well together.
He had two sons, the article had claimed. Mason was one and Angus was the other. There were no pictures of any of the family, not even one of the wife when she’d been killed. But there was plenty to say on that matter. Nothing against Mas, as he liked to be called, but plenty on the accusations of a woman named Mabel Clark.
The woman had accused him of fathering her child. This was a trick that he’d seen used recently, on Meghan’s young son, blaming Adam for fathering the child. Of course, this turned out to be for extortion, as it was impossible for Adam to father any child that didn’t come from his mate, Ivy.
Smiling after putting all the paperwork away, Adrian sat down on the couch to watch the football game that he’d recorded. He should just go to bed, he knew that, but he had to let his mind settle. And football was the best way to do that.
Tomorrow was another day, a long work day, and he had enough on his plate and calendar right now that he’d be busy for the next fifty years. But he had to admit it, he was having a great time. And he thought that he’d make a good president as well.
Chapter 12
Adam wandered around the hotel again. He wasn’t sure how much more he and Evan could do without professional help. Grinning, he thought of what sort of professional help they might really need. Coming down the staircase, as always he could see it finished, people coming in and out of the place. That was when he knew they could do this.
“Hello.” The man standing in the front lobby smiled at him. “I’m Angus Barnhart. I was told that I could meet Mr. Whitfield here. Or a Doctor Whitfield. I’m with Mason Tile and Paper.”
“Oh yes. I forgot that you were coming today. My brother is working—on call—but I can help you with whatever you might need for today.” The younger man nodded and looked around. “Do you think that you can help us out?”
“Oh yes. We’ve been in business for a long time, and we specialize in older places, redoing the walls and floors to match the time they were built in. This is from the late eighteen hundreds, I believe.” Adam was impressed. He’d gotten the time right, and his positive attitude had him believing that they had a good chance of making this work. When Angus walked over to the front desk, something that Adam thought had to go, Angus pulled out a small crowbar and lifted a square of tile off the top. “Just as I thought. You can keep this or not, but we can bring this wood up to its original beauty, and I’m betting that since this is wood, you’ll find that the sides are also the same work.”
He flushed brightly, and Adam smiled. “I think we might be able to work well together.”
“I’m sorry for not asking first if I could tear up your counter this way. My dad said that I need to work on this.” Angus laughed, but his face was no less red. “I get excited on projects such as this one. Most people would have gutted the place and made it all plush and modern. I prefer the old over the new. The antiquated aspects of a place that make us remember, while not the best of times, that there were other times than where we are now.”
“I’ll have to take you to my brother’s house. He had everything about it redone to match the time period. With a few alterations for better plumbing and such.” Angus told him that he’d enjoy that. “Good. And if your firm is anything like you, I’d count on having the job.”
“Thank you. I only need to take some video of the entire place, one room at a time. If you don’t mind.” Adam told him t
hat he could do whatever he wanted. “Are you thinking from top to bottom or just an overhaul of this area, Mr. Whitfield?”
“Call me Adam, please, and the entire place. With the exception of a couple of the rooms being turned into suites, we’re going to bring it up to code. We also want to add Wi-Fi and convenience things such as that but have them blend into the rest of the place. Can that be done?”
Angus was looking around the main floor. Adam followed him because he was liking the way the man seemed to be searching for any flaw in the place, things that others who had owned the hotel had done to bring it up to whatever design they had in mind for it.
Twice more he pulled something away from the wall. Once he peeled back carpet to show hardwood floors—not just hardwood, but a floor that had been made into a design, oaks and walnut in a pattern that circled the room. Adam knew that neither he nor Evan had thought of what might have been under the carpets, and wondered if there were more little treasures like these. And Angus took pictures of everything that he did.
After getting a call from his dad, Adam told Angus how to get in touch with him. The huge tablet sort of thing was turned on now, and he was going around each room describing what he was seeing and what he’d discovered. Adam watched him for a few minutes more before leaving him to his work. Excited as all hell, he talked to his brother on the way to his parents’ home.
“You remember your Aunt Bea, Grandda’s sister, Bea Whitfield?” He told his dad that he did and shivered. “Yeah, right there with you, son. She’s coming for a visit. I was thinking that maybe you can find her a house to rent—one on the other side of town so she’s out of our hair. Dad has a couple, but he said he’s not having her that close to us. I can’t blame him on that. She’s a bit of a nosy biddy, and—well, a lot of other things too. But if you could find her something, like I was saying, it’d be much appreciated, son.”
“How long will she be here?” Dad said too long, but Mom told him that it was to be until after the holidays. “In which year? I mean, the last time she stayed through the holidays, I think she was here for four or five years.”
“Yes, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we have no choice.” Adam had to hide a smile. Aunt Bea had never married, as far as he knew, but she wasn’t shy about telling anyone how many lovers she’d had between this time and the last time you might have seen her. “She said that she only wants four bedrooms. I don’t know how old she thinks you boys are, but she wants room for you to be able to spend the night.”
“I’m thinking that none of us will take her up on that. I think that we’re all a little too old for sleepovers. In fact, I don’t think any of us spent the night with her at any time.” Dad shivered this time. “Dad, she can’t be as bad as she used to be, can she? I mean, she has to be in her eighties, right?”
“Ninety-four. And she’s not changed a lick.” Dad sat down and looked at him with pleading on his face. “I know that Josh usually does this sort of thing—you know, finding housing and such. But he’s helping Adrian with a speech that he has to give at the White House in a few days. Aunt Bea is coming to invade us on Thursday morning. Told us to hold Thanksgiving for her. Like she rules the roost.”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic, Oliver. You know as well as I do that she’s not that bad. Just too opinionated and loud about it.” Mom smiled when she looked at Adam. “She’s going to be so happy that you boys are having mates and children. We have so many now, and more on the way with Sunny due at the first of the year. I’m thinking that the news of children will mellow Bea out some. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.”
Adam asked Josh what he had on the books for a rental, long term. After getting a list from Dad’s office in the form of an email, he took it home with him. There weren’t that many on the market for rentals. There were a great many smaller homes, homes that the bank had seized, as well as a couple more that had to be torn down because of the terrible shape they were in. As soon as Ivy came home, he told her about his aunt.
“She sounds like she’d fit right in with this family.” He thought about what she said and realized that she was right. Aunt Bea might be rendered speechless when she met up with the Whitfield women of this family. Ivy looked over the list, as well as the one for the things Aunt Bea wanted in a house. “From this list, I’d say your aunt is lonely. Who wants a large house like this one when they’re only renting? Someone hoping for a visit now and then. Also, she wants live-in help, a cook, as well as someone to take care of the yard. There isn’t any reason for her to have her yard attended to if she’s only here through the holidays. It’s winter, no need for her trees to be pruned or her flowers planted. I can see that she might like a cook. But a staff of ten? Nope, this is a person that needs company.”
He looked over the list again with fresh eyes. There were other things on the list that Adam noticed. She wanted a driver. Yes, that he could see as well. When she’d been younger, she’d been hell on wheels, as Grandda told him. And them being sister and brother, he’d know best.
Without looking up from the list, Adam reached out to confirm with his parents when she was to arrive. When they said Grandda was on his way to talk to him, Adam knew something was up, especially after he saw the look on his face.
“She’s here isn’t she?” Grandda answered him with a grumble. “When did she get here? I’m assuming recently, correct?”
“This morning. She came in, made sure we were working on that blasted list, and left, to stay, temporarily she told me, at the local B&B. Do you think we could hire someone to take her out and leave her there?” He looked at his grandda. Adam was sure that he’d ever heard him say something like that before. “Well, you can’t blame me. She went to your mom’s house with white gloves on and swiped them all over the place. She didn’t find anything, of course. But you have no idea how nervous it makes us when she does something like that.”
“Mom runs a tight ship, Grandda. And I’ll save you if she comes around here pushing her way around.” He had no idea how he was going to stop that. Aunt Bea scared the crap out of all of them, except for Blake. For some reason, probably because he was the youngest, he could get away with more than the rest of them. “I think, I hope anyway, that she’ll be easier to be around once she sees the children and the mates. And you know as well as I do that none of them will take any crap from her.”
Grandda smiled. It was bright enough that Adam was sure that he could see by it in the darkest of nights. In that moment, Adam was sure that he’d do anything in the world for the man. Not that he wouldn’t have before, but he made him feel all powerful.
Adam hung around his house until dinner. Everyone was going to the house to meet the old bag, as Grandda called her. None of the rest of them could do that. No one that he knew would ever say anything like that to Aunt Bea’s face. But he was also glad to know that she’d be meeting his own mate.
As smells began to permeate the rooms as soon as he was in his parents’ house again, he felt his mouth water. He knew that tomorrow afternoon, Thanksgiving Day, at his house would have a smell explosion. Every veggie, plus the turkey and ham, would be cooking. There would be roast pork and homemade breads. And gravy. Christ, he was full just thinking about what dinner would bring.
Adam had taken the list of foods that he could remember them having every year and passed it onto Nate. And even though he’d never spent a single holiday with them as yet, Nate was just as excited as he was. Then there would be Christmas.
His family would go all out on those two holidays. All of them really, but the big ones were the last two holidays of the year. Not even his birthday could compare to the food that would be made, the groans that could be heard during the entire day. Then there was football.
They didn’t really have a team that they only rooted for, not like some people did. The Whitfields just enjoyed football. Other sports too, but nothing like the leather ball that was kicked up and down a beautiful field to score.
Adam knew the
moment that his aunt was in the house, and met his only true love, Ivy.
“This young woman, she said that she belongs to you, Adam.” Ivy told her that she’d said no such thing, and that she never belonged to anyone. “Whatever makes you rest easily. Is this true?”
“Yes. She is my mate. The rest of it, you’re on your own with that one, Aunt Bea. I would like to point out that she does have a mind of her own.” Aunt Bea snorted. “She’s working with Evan.”
“A nurse?” Ivy told her that she was a renowned surgeon and worked all over the world. “Yes, well, don’t you think that you’d be better off staying at home, being a good wife and cooking my nephew a nice dinner?”
“No, I don’t think that at all. If he wants a milksop of a woman, one who’ll wait on him hand and foot, then he’d better be making out his will and buying himself a nice plot. I don’t put up with the thought that women are too stupid to breathe without a man around.” Aunt Bea looked as if she had more to say on the subject, but Ivy cut her off. “I’m a good wife to him. Him a better husband than I could have ever asked for. I cook when I please, which isn’t all that often. I don’t make the bed. I would, I suppose, if I was the last one in it, but usually I’m in the hospital before the sun comes up.”
“Are you saying that you’re better than my nephew because you get to cut people open?” Ivy crossed her arms over her chest and stared at his aunt. “Intimidation doesn’t work with me, young lady. I’ve been around for a very long time, and I know tricks that you’ll never understand.”
“Do you now? And for the record, you started this bullshit. I haven’t any idea if this is the way you treat everyone, but you won’t be walking all over me. Not today, not ever. You might want to stick that feather in your cap too.” When Grandda snickered, Aunt Bea turned her eyes on him. “You hurt him either, by word or deed, and I’ll show you tricks that will turn you inside out and backwards so quickly that you’ll think it was all a bad dream. Watch yourself, old lady, or I swear to Christ and all that is holy that you’ll rue the day you ever opened that flapping mouth of yours.”
