Authors: Shady Grace
Maybe they were fools for letting things go too far. But she couldn’t take it back now. She couldn’t stop her feelings. After everything she’d gone through, and how hurt she was by his sudden departure, she felt horrible for him.
“Come in. I’ll make us some drinks. I think we all need it.”
As the three of them gathered around the kitchen table, Mary couldn’t help staring at the diamond on Mima’s finger. Just a few months ago they had simple lives. Now everything seemed completely different. They were different people now. These hardened men blew into their lives and changed everything.
She didn’t feel like the same woman anymore, and after her night with Terry in the hotel, she didn’t want to go back to her old self. She rummaged through the cupboards as Mima and Gabe took a seat at the table. “All I have is wine. It’ll have to do I guess.”
“Wine is fine. Better than nothing,” Gabe added.
Once everybody had a glass filled to the rim, Mary looked square at Gabe. “I’m going to show you something, and please don’t think the worst of me.” She got up and retrieved Terry’s note then handed it to Gabe.
She noticed his worried demeanor change to something like curiosity before he set the paper down and shook his head. “I knew he was a softy. What a tard.”
“Honey!” Mima elbowed him in the ribs and ripped the paper out of his enormous hand. After she read the note, a knowing smile crossed her cute face. “Oooh. I knew it. I saw the way he looked at you at my cabin. He wanted you.” Her dark eyes narrowed, but they gleamed with excitement as well. “And you’re upset that he’s gone. I knew it when you answered the door.”
Gabe’s jaw dropped and he fired a warning glance at Mima, although it wasn’t mean in nature. “That’s enough out of you. You can’t know everything.”
“You never mind, Mister. I know what I saw. Female intuition is a force not to be argued with.”
Mary watched the two across from her, and couldn’t contain a smile of envy. They were perfect for each other. Gabe, so huge and dangerous, and Mima, tiny, yet tough as nails, had what Mary wanted. They looked at each other as if that mountain a mile away could crash down around them and they’d never notice its path of destruction.
Contentment. That’s what they had. Mary wanted to know what it felt like to be content, to be truly happy, to look at a man and be unaware of the world around them.
And passion. She wanted more passion too.
With her attention divided between Gabe and Mima, and her rioting thoughts of Terry, Mary’s gaze wandered around the room. As much as she loved this kitchen and its simple country style with beautiful, hand crafted cupboards, she wanted more than all this simplicity. She wanted to feel excitement. She needed a sense of glamor, to know what it felt like to wear a shimmering dress like in those magazines. Have her hair done in a ritzy salon. To be able to run in heels without breaking her face.
She chuckled to herself over the mental image.
Terry would laugh at her, too. Then he’d offer his hand and help her off the polished tiled floor of an immaculate ballroom and swing her around like a princess.
She shook off the silly idea and faced Mima, whose brow arched high in curiosity.
“What?” Mary took a long pull of the red wine, thinking about her options, and trying damn hard not to blush over Mima’s probing stare.
“What are you thinking about?”
Mary looked away from her best friend and halted at her collection of historical romance, remembering how Terry had asked in a deep, sensual tone if she was a damsel in distress.
“I’m thinking about a dress.”
And finding Terry and stripping him naked. Baring his body and his soul for me to dissect.
“A dress?” Mima looked at Gabe before Mary, her expression puzzled. “For what?”
Mary sighed deeply and took another sip of wine. “The fairy tale. But I’m the one who has to do the chasing.”
Gabe shook his head, his expression completely baffled and hilarious. “I don’t understand you women.”
“Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m going to go to the city. Aside from the animals and you guys, there’s nothing here for me. At least, not right now.”
Gabe looked confused. He glanced over to Mima who gave him a nudge on the shoulder.
Mary shrugged, but she felt her cheeks heat. “I think I need a change in scenery. Well, it’s much more than that, but a change is definitely what I need. Will you two watch my babies and the house for a while?”
Mima reached across the table and took Mary’s hands in hers. “Of course we will.”
“We will?” Gabe echoed.
“Yes. We will,” Mima said sternly, then winked at Mary. “Mary has a man to go after.”
Mary didn’t realize how lost a big man like Gabe acted when Mima was around. Maybe she wore the pants in their little mountain house. Either that or her little mountain buddy constantly distracted him.
Finally Gabe’s eyes widened as it suddenly dawned on him what she meant. “Oh, fuck. You can’t go there.” He took a healthy drink and Mary could see his mind was skipping a mile a minute.
“You know Terry came here to check up on me right after Tom died. Then he suddenly stopped coming. I always wondered why. Then he came back again, and, well, you read the note. Maybe I did something wrong before. Maybe he wasn’t really interested. . . .”
Gabe shook his head. “Let me tell you something about Terry. Remember when I first came here and offered you money to babysit? You said he was probably a player and didn’t feel comfortable with him staying here, right?”
She nodded, embarrassed by what she’d said that day. She hadn’t even given Terry a chance. He was probably as lost as she was in life, except she could decide her actions day-by-day. Terry didn’t have the same luxury. He was forced to do his father’s bidding, and forced again to run the show now.
“Terry never was a player, Mary. Sure he’d had a few flings, he’s a man after all, but he’d never take advantage of a woman—not intentionally. He lost his mother at a young age and he loved her dearly. His entire life has reflected around pleasing his father and doing everything to keep the business in good standing. That shows dedication and loyalty. If he came here to spend time with you, then it meant something to him.”
He brought me carnations. His mother’s favorite.
“And now his father is gone and he’s in charge of something he doesn’t want,” Mary added, feeling like she was about to climb a mountain without any equipment. But she’d do it if it meant saving Terry from a lifetime of heartache.
But chasing after him when somebody already tried to kill him twice would be like knocking on death’s door. She just hoped she had the nerve and the strength to go there, make her peace with Terry, and come out standing tall. She had to. If she didn’t she’d go crazy wondering what could’ve happened. She’d never forgive herself for not taking a chance, because she sure as hell wasn’t getting anywhere around here.
“You’re gonna be walking into dangerous territory, Mary. I don’t think—”
“Nothing you say is going to stop me. He needs me. Now more than ever. I’ve already shot at a guy because of him.”
Gabe and Mima both blurted, “What?”
“You didn’t know? I figured he would’ve told you already. Anyway, I got a call for a nuisance beaver and some lunatic started shooting at us and tried to drive us off the road. Terry killed him. We ended up at a hotel that night.”
Gabe released a disgruntled breath and shook his head. “So it’s true. Somebody really does want him dead. Fuck sakes.”
After long minutes of strained silence, Gabe reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here, if you’re going to the city, then you’re going to need this.”
“What is it?”
He slid the envelope across the table. When Mary tore open the flap and saw a large wad of one-hundred dollar bills, her jaw dropped. “Gabe, I can’t take this. I didn’t exactly babysit him.”
“Well, apparently you did. Think of it as a reward for helping the team.” He smiled at Mima who turned pale, then glanced back at Mary, his expression tight with worry. “If things don’t work out as you plan, then you’ll need some money to go elsewhere. I mean it. Once you show your face, you may become a target yourself.”
Mary cleared her throat. She hadn’t really thought about that. But she wasn’t going to turn back now. She had to do this. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
“It’s a lot of money.”
“To you, sure. To me, not much.”
The excitement and fear of the unknown made her whole body vibrate. “I’ve never really gone anywhere before, aside from college, and that was a long time ago. I don’t even know what to do in the city.”
Gabe reached over the table and patted her hand. “Don’t you worry. I’ll have it all covered.”
She was really beginning to like this man. “How?”
Gabe glanced at Mima and made an apologetic face, before he focused his attention back to Mary. “Because I’m going with you.”
* * * *
Terry stood next to his father’s urn, staring hard at the large picture of a younger, more robust man in the gilded frame. Wanda had requested a private service two weeks after his father’s death to allow enough time to pass for things to settle and for Terry to take over. Besides, in this business having a funeral too soon after a death risked a mass murder then and there.
He paid no mind to anyone else as he stared at the man who made him. The father who made him into the hardened man he was today.
His last minutes must have been horrifying. Did he see his killer? Did he know him? He’d give anything to take that night away, to save his father, even if they didn’t always get along. Even if Terry hated this life he was forced into.
It ripped his soul apart to see Colton McCoy in a container. Nothing but a black ceramic vase as proof that once a strong man had lived on this earth before they burnt his flesh and bone to ash. He didn’t even get to see him before he left, and he was ashamed. It didn’t matter how hard the old man had been on him. He was still his father, and he loved him.
He swallowed, his jaw tight, his eyes dry. He had no tears left to cry.
A hand touched his shoulder. Without flinching he slowly turned to find two officers out of uniform standing behind him.
“We’re sorry for your loss, Mr. McCoy.”
He nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
The rookie officer standing further back cleared his throat. He appeared more than a little nervous to be in a room filled with the kind of men that could end his life with a single nod. “Please let us do our job, Mr. McCoy, and solve this case. We understand what you’re going through, but let the law handle this.”
No. You’ll never understand.
“Thank you.”
Somebody sobbed behind him. It took a moment in his dazed mind to realize it was his stepmother. She leaned back pitifully across one of the fainting couches closest to the picture. Her hands covered her face while her body shook with every haunting cry.
“Excuse me, boys.” He took a seat on the edge of the old couch and put an arm over her trembling shoulders. “It’ll be okay. I’ll take care of you. Whoever did this is going to pay with their very lives.”
As he patted her hair and held her to his chest, he glanced around the room to the many people who came to offer their condolences. He recognized many faces. Hardened men who knew well how to navigate this house, and how to conduct business in the McCoy fashion.
But there were a few he’d never seen before. Was the killer here with them? Could he be watching them now and plotting his next victim? Would Wanda and Terry be next? If the enemy was among them he’d rip their throat apart with his bare hands.
Terry’s mind raced with so many questions, it took a moment for it to dawn on him that Gabe stood at the entryway to the great room, looking out over the crowd. He watched as Gabe nodded to a few men. Terry raised his hand to wave him over, but when Gabe moved to the side, Terry’s hand paused mid lift and his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw who lingered next to him.
What is she doing here? Why did Gabe bring her here?
Dread consumed him. This wasn’t the place for her. She should be at home hating him, wishing she’d never laid eyes on him, safe from all the bad people in this world. But he stared at her like his whole existence meant nothing without her.
His heart, filled with sadness for many things, thundered hard in his chest. He took her in, swallowed her up with his searching gaze. He remembered everything in great detail, and it bore a whole into his very soul.
She wore a simple black dress with her hair piled high. No jewelry, little makeup, only her plain beautiful self. No other woman compared to her, and he felt a hard pang of regret if his sudden departure broke her heart. He was an asshole. A lowdown, dirty son of a bitch for leaving her like that. But he believed he did the right thing at the time. This place wasn’t safe, especially with her around. Nobody was safe around him and he hated himself for it.
He felt her hold on him right in his groin, as if she’d gripped him right by the nuts and said,
“You’re mine, so shut up and accept it like a man.”