“I was in grief. I don’t know why, but it struck me as strange or something, and I thought Sam had been killed. It’s all that kept going through my head, that he was gone and his body was lifeless.” Jon said that he’d never even been harmed. “I don’t think I could get that into my head. It was.... When Wells was talking, all he could talk about was killing him. Running him through that machine and seeing him coming out the other end. Like he had the other man. And I just couldn’t get over that. He had died, and that was all I could see.”
~~~
Virginia was ready to forgive him when he’d pulled into the driveway. She was still hurt, but hearing him explain things, how he’d felt, to his family, she knew that he was hurt by himself more than he had hurt her. He had completely lost those days when he’d been in his grief, and it cut deep into her heart as well.
The nanny, who was helping her with little Sam as well as the other children in the house, handed Sam to her. She took him right to Larson and put him in his arms. Taking his blanket off and unzipping his jammies, she showed him that he was unharmed.
“See? There isn’t a thing wrong with him.” He nodded, touching his fingers lightly to his down covered chest and face. “He’s been sort of a pain in the butt since we’ve come here. For some reason, he hates to be rocked anymore.”
He laughed. It was so surprising to her that she laughed as well. Larson took his clothing off, leaving him still in his diaper. She wasn’t worried about him catching a chill, the room was very warm with all the others in it with them.
“When I saw him, before, it was as if he were lifeless.” She said she was sorry for that. “Yes, I don’t know why. I know that I keep saying that, but I really don’t. I might need a doctor or something.”
Jon came to stand with them and gently put his open hand on Larson’s head. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do, help or hurt him, but she pulled the baby into her embrace while he did it. Just as gently as he touched him, he pulled away and Larson looked up at his nephew.
“You aren’t going to need any help with a doctor. You have it all right here.” Larson nodded at Jon, as if he believed him. “You need to take a break, Uncle Larson. With the death of your friends and stressing about the baby and your new mate’s safety, you were overwhelmed by it all, and it took its toll on you.”
“Yes, I need to do something that has nothing at all to do with death and money and anything related to Wells.” Jon said that’s what he wanted him to do. “I will. First thing I want to do is get married. And I think the sooner the better.”
He leaned down to Virginia and kissed her hungrily, then lifted his head enough that her nose was touching his. She heard his belly growling then, and his face lit up with the sound. Giggling, she stood up with Sam and put out her hand to Larson.
“How about you eat first? Then we’ll see how you go from there.” Dinner was all ready to go, and she headed there with him. “I love you, Larson. I’m glad you’re going to be spending time with us. I’ve missed you.”
Dinner was a large noisy affair. They were all there except for Hawkins, who was coming home in a couple of days to visit. Then, according to Larson, he was home for good after that. They’d be a family again, and she knew that Rich and Bea would be happy to have all their boys home too.
After dinner was finished and the mess of it cleaned up, they went home. She had left the house with nothing but the things on her back and Sam’s diaper bag, so it was nice to get back and into her own things. Having a bed that she loved, and some of the things that she’d brought to the house were amazing to have again. And her mom said that she’d take care of Sam through the night to give them both a much-needed full night’s sleep.
“We’re not going to get much rest, I’m afraid.” She asked him why not, and he wiggled his brows at her. “I haven’t been with my mate for a very long time. And neither has my cat. We’ve missed you.”
“You did, huh? Well, I’ve missed you both as well.” She walked to the bed, opening her robe as she did so. “I just couldn’t find a thing to wear that didn’t make me want less on. So, I ended up naked for you. Is that all right?”
“More than all right. If you come here, my cat will show you how we feel about that.” She didn’t even get the chance to move before he was his cat. And then, when he jumped onto the bed with her, she put her fingers into his fur, holding him to her as he purred. It was going to be a long night at this rate, and she couldn’t wait to—
“What is it? Sam? Is he all right?” His cat was standing over her, his body stiff, his fur standing straight up as he watched her. “You’re freaking me out a little here.”
You’re in heat. She asked him what that meant. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew, but when he spoke again, she warmed. Then he was Larson again, his body stiff over hers as he explained. “You’re in heat, and if we have sex, we’re going to create a child. As much as I’d like to just take you, it’s ultimately your decision to have a child.”
“Because it’s my body.” He nodded and she looked into his eyes. They were dark with passion, and something more. She was sure it was need, but she could also see his love for her. “I want to have your child, Larson, more than anything in this world.”
He entered her slowly. It wasn’t sex, not this time, but making love. And he did it so well. Larson touched her face as he kissed her. Held her in his arms as he made love with her. She felt valued. Loved and happy. And when she felt her climax taking her, it wasn’t a hard punch to her body, but a rising up and touching the stars, then brought back to earth on a cloud of feathers.
When she cried out with her second release, he held her as he filled her. Giving her something that she would love and cherish for the rest of her life.
“I so love you, Virginia.” He held her for the rest of the night, making love to her when he woke, making her feel as if she were the best thing in the world to him. And she felt the same way about him, and would forever.
The next morning she woke to an empty bed. His side was cold, so she knew that he’d been up for some time. When she got up to take her shower, she found a note on the counter top, as well as a pair of worn work gloves.
We need to sort out the stuff in the barn…that’s where I am now. If you want to join me, make sure you wear something that you don’t mind getting ruined. There were two big hearts, then more to the note. I am so excited about seeing you heavy with our child. And just in the event that it didn’t work, I think we should make sure whenever we can that you are pregnant.
More hearts and his name. She was still laughing when she got out of the stall and started to dress. Going to the kitchen, she found that her mom was there with the new cook and holding Sam. She held the little boy while her own breakfast was made.
“Do you really want me staying here?” Virginia asked her if she wanted to stay with them. “I do, but the two of you, you have to start your life now, and I don’t want to be in the way.”
“My goodness, Mom. How can you ever think that? You are my rock when I’m writing, and Larson would never understand me while I’m in my zone.” She nodded. “Mom, do you want to live here with us? I can’t think of life without you here with me. I don’t think I could write without knowing that you were taking care of me.”
“You’re just saying that because it’s true.” They both laughed. “I would love more than anything to live here with you two, and Sam. I’ve so enjoyed this house and watching it come together. And the room that has been set up for me is simply beautiful. I have my own entrance and shower. Larson even set it up so that I have a kitchen if I want something, as well as a living room. It’s like I’m living with you, but not.”
“Larson said that he was worried you’d not like living in the lower levels. But you’re right, it’s really nice, and the fact that it’s all yours, I love that too. You can go away and be on your own whenever I get to be too much for you.” Mom took Sam when Virginia was given a plate of food. “Mom, please don’t
leave us. I don’t even want to think about you even just being down the street. I love having you around, and Larson thinks the world of you.”
“I know that, honey, but as I said, you’ll be getting married soon, and you might not feel that way after a few months.” She told her never, she was her best friend. “And I love you as well. But let us change the subject. I understand that the two of you are working in the barn today. The pack women are going to be sitting Sam today. He’ll enjoy that. They hold him a great deal.”
“Yes, they love him too. And he’s part of their pack, I guess. Larson said that the more of them that hold him, they’ll have his scent and they can find him anywhere.” She shivered when she thought of the necessity of that. “You can join us if you want.”
“No thanks. I have to go and find me a nice bed and furniture for my living room. Larson said that there is an account at the local mall’s furniture shop that I’m to use. What a wonderful man you have in your life.” Virginia told her that he was in both their lives. “Yes, I suppose he is. My son-in-law. What a wonderful thing to just realize. Anyway, I’m off to go shopping, and Bea is going with me. We’re going to do a little shopping for the holidays. I’ve never been so excited before.”
When her mom left to head to the mall, Virginia put Sam down for his nap. He was just dozing off when three women from the local pack showed up to take care of her little man. Having so much family, extended and otherwise, was something she’d have to get used to. They were all so willing to put out a hand to help you, no matter what was going on.
Chapter 9
Larson pulled the next box of books down and looked at the titles. The lady that had collected these had an eclectic taste in reading. They went from scientific methods of thinking to romance. There was even a sprinkle of children’s books among them. He pulled the first book out that he touched and read the title to Virginia.
“What do you suppose she was thinking about when she was reading how to wire a refrigerator for the household?” She said that she didn’t know, but apparently, she had dabbled in pottery as well. “Yes, there’s a kiln, a gas one, in the barn that Mom wants to play around with. I swear she gets into more things than the kids, but she has fun too.”
“Your mom is a hoot, and I love the fact that she includes my mom in a lot of her activities. I’ve never seen mine so outgoing before. Do you think I stifled her a little?” Larson wondered where she might have come up with that, but before he could answer her, she said his name softly. “Look at this. It’s a first edition from William Poe. And it’s signed.”
They looked the book over and Larson thought it was in perfect condition. None of the pages were even molded or bent. As they set that one aside, they found four more books, all of them signed by different authors and made out to Miss Jane.
“What was the name of the person that owned this house? Not the sister, who should be shot for leaving all this out here unattended, but the original owner.” Larson told Virginia that he might have known at one point, but he didn’t anymore. “We should look for their family. I mean, this is some very valuable stuff, maybe they’d want it.”
“There wouldn’t be anyone left. I mean, not of either sister. They weren’t all that kind or nice, and they neither one had ever married, from what I understood from the banker. That’s why the house was empty for so long. There wasn’t anyone around to tell the bank what to do with it.” Virginia said that was sad. “It really is, but I will have someone look for some information on them. The library has some back issues of the town’s paper. Perhaps there is something in those.”
Virginia seemed excited to have something to look into. She enjoyed research and making sure that her books were done well in that respect. As he pulled the next box off the shelf, avoiding the books for now, he opened the large crate up and looked at the dishes that were inside.
“Virginia, look at these.” Larson pulled a plate off the top of the crate and unwrapped it. “Wow, these are beautiful. Look at the detail on this.”
The plate that he held had a scene on it of the house they were living in. Not only was the house in color, but the flowers and trees around it were in full bloom too. The next few plates made him realize that someone had painted them by hand…each plate was slightly different. Virginia took the next item and found that it was a tea cup and saucer.
“These are the famous roses, I’m betting.” Each one of the little cups was decorated in full color with the roses that he’d been told were prized roses in his back yard. Picking the crate up, they went to the house and put it on the long table in the library that they’d been using to put some of the books on the shelves. As they unearthed all the plates in the crate, he went to get the next three crates to finish the set.
Fourteen place settings were unwrapped, each with a dinner plate, dessert plate, cup, and saucer, as well as a mug and soup bowl. Also, there was a starter set, which he never understood the name of, as well as a large tureen, ladle, and wine glasses that were etched with the same rose design as the cups. And a tea pot that was so delicate he was afraid of breaking it by holding it too tightly.
As they set them out, stacking them in neat piles, all he could think of was the cost it might have been, even back all those years ago. Now it would be a fortune to have such a beautiful handmade set…he couldn’t imagine how someone would have justified something like this. Flipping the plate over, he saw the mark and that they were made in his home town.
“Do you think anyone that worked there would remember these plates?” He pulled his computer into the room they were in and started doing a search. “It went out of business in the early fifties after being in business for over one hundred years. There’s a website for their company. Market Holland. I’m going to email them.”
He’d never imagined that it would be this much fun unearthing boxes of stuff. They had already found so much that they had decided to keep in the house that they had nearly filled an entire room with the boxes. The books would be cleaned and put on the shelves in this room, along with some of the smaller pieces of handmade pottery that they’d found.
By lunchtime they had barely made a dent in the things that were only in the one section of the barn. Dad and the crew working on the house were finishing up the dining room today, and Larson wondered if there was any kind of cabinet that they could display the dining ware in. Eating his sandwich, he looked up when his dad joined him in the kitchen and sat down with a worrisome look on his face.
“What is it, Dad? Please tell me that you’re not finding something wrong.” He shook his head. “Then what has you looking like you’ve lost your friend?”
“I was just out in that shed, and I tell you, son, that sucker is huge for just being called a shed. Anyhoo, I found this here stash of furniture clear in the back. I was just wondering how we missed that. But my thinking is, we should hold off on finishing up in there until you two have a look see. I think you might want to make a few changes.” He asked why. “Well, it looks like someone just up and tore out some of the pieces that go in there and stuffed them in that shed.”
They spent the next three hours going through the building. Dad found some pieces that he could use in the house, mostly built-ins, and they found many boxes of love letters, as well as several from the government on the death of a son. But the best part was, they had a few names to work with. And Miss Jane had been married, and she’d had three sons.
“Mrs. Jane Watmore. Married to a man by the name of Carlson Watmore. Sons were, in order of birth, Carlson Jr., Phillip, and then Trevor. Trevor, we think, might have died soon after birth. There is the payment of a headstone here.” He had called Lauren, who was just as excited as he was. “Also, there is mention of a woman, but nothing other than her initials, that might have been a servant here, as well as a good friend of Jane’s. WB is all I know about her.”
“Okay, and you think they might have served in the military?” He said that it looked as if they might have been killed, and she
had two telegrams from them. “Okay, that narrows it down, because they should have dates as well as their ID numbers on them.”
He read those off to her as well. “I only want to find out if there are any survivors of this family. We’ve found some things in the house and outbuildings that someone might want.” Lauren said that she understood that. “Let me know if you find anything, and whatever it is. Also, the sister, I nearly forgot her. Her name was Marie Ross. There is nothing more on her that we’ve been able to find.”
“This is good. It’ll take me a couple of hours to get something back to you. However, if you find something else, just let me know. I like getting my teeth into stuff like this. Also, there are some things you might want to consider before contacting them. If there are children and they weren’t notified, they might need something more than trinkets. They might want your house. I’d look into that too. People suck, as you know.” He said that he’d look into it. “As for your business, you’ve been cleared of any and all wrong doings, so you can open back up if you wish.”
“I’m not sure.” Lauren said she understood that as well. “Yes, well, maybe I’ll just work from home and be choosy about who I work with. I can’t do that anymore and be happy about it. Besides, I love being a house husband.” She pointed out that Colin had too. “Yes, but he had four little ones underfoot. That would scare even the most sainted man.”
When he hung up after giving her all the information that he could, Larson helped his dad take some of the bigger pieces in the house. There was indeed a cabinet to put the dishes in, as well as a sideboard and a couple of old frames that matched it all. As he was setting the cabinet in the corner, where it would be moved to, he stepped back to have a look at it.
“You thinking that you want it there?” He looked at Dad and asked him where he’d put it. “I was thinking over in the other corner, that way when we bring in the table there will be more room.”
Larson: McCullough’s Jamboree – Erotic Jaguar Shapeshifter Romance Page 11
