Authors: D. T. Jones
“I don’t think there will be very many people in this town who won’t remember our visit,” she laughed. “We left a wake behind us, as affective as a tornado.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve gone through one too many of your tornadoes and nothing I could do or say would compare to the aftermath. I was never so scared in all my life.”
“And to think, that wasn’t even a very bad one.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not see another one. I have to admit, you amazed me. To be able to live through this, over and over again; you’re a much stronger woman than I ever gave you credit for.”
“It’s a way of life for anyone willing to live in this part of the country. Danger comes with the territory, as well as a simpler, happier lifestyle than the big city.”
“I can’t wait to get you home, where the only thing you have to worry about is me.”
“
I have a feeling the next hundred years are going to be more exciting than anything I could have imagined in a storm cellar,” she smiled.
“Damn right, Mrs. Ashford; and don’t you forget it.”
Kansas
had been a wonderful trip, though perhaps not as long as she would have liked. Sandra visited with old friends before biding her grandparents’ farewell. James and Mary would be joining them the following month. Creighton had paid the back taxes and hired the workers to start the restoration after being assured by Andrew that Angela Meacham was not killed in the house.
Michael Farnsworth was elected unanimously as the Mayor of Hoisington until the next election and was already busy setting up office, sorting through the budget and making plans for the coming months.
Cathy had left for New York as she planned, but not before Sandra and she had spent several hours talking. Once her little sister set her straight and made certain she was aware of the consequences of touching Creighton again, accidentally or not, Cathy was able to leave town with a fanfare and celebration that only money could afford on such short notice. The rift between the siblings had been healed and Sandra was able to breathe a sigh of relief. At least there would be no more anger whenever she discussed her sister.
Sandra reclined on the sofa of the plane as her husband clanked away on his laptop nearby. The trip had been wonderful
but exhausting and she actually found herself relaxing as she thought about going home to England; a home that was nearly complete and ready for them to move in. She was nearly twelve weeks pregnant and after relenting to the continued insistence of her grandmother, they had seen a doctor the day before leaving Hoisington to verify that all was well with the baby. They had more than a dozen pictures of their child sucking its thumb and waving to them, yet it was still too small to determine the sex. Creighton insisted it was a boy that would make any father proud while Sandra teased him that he was looking at the baby’s cord between its legs and not its gender.
It was nearly four in the morning when the plane landed at London City Airport, six miles from Central London. Sandra was exhausted and eager to return to the flat
in Chelsea. They would meet with their designer, Maxine, tomorrow and discuss their plans and desires for the décor of their home in Yorkshire. Until then, all she wanted to do was sleep.
She sat in the back of their private limousine, next to Creighton who cradled her near his chest.
James and Mary had found a charming house online in Florida, two miles from their son and daughter-in-law, Jimmy and Ellen and five miles from Aunt Sally. To make certain they didn’t lose out on the deal, they had put a deposit on it, sight unseen, but Jimmy had checked it out and said it was beautiful and in perfect condition. He even teased his parents about swapping homes with them.
“Try and stay awake a few more minutes,” Creighton told her in a hushed tone. “We’re almost home and I have a surprise for you.”
“I’m too tired for surprises,” she grumbled. “Can’t it wait until I’m more awake.”
“
Perhaps, but I think you’re going to want to see this,” he assured her. Sandra sighed as the car came to a halt. A moment later and Harvey opened the back door as Creighton helped his wife out. He smiled to his friend and told him they would not be going anywhere else, then wished him a good night’s sleep.
The lobby to the building was
deserted except for the two security guards, one at the desk the other watching the cameras in the glass booth. They both looked up at them and nodded, welcoming them home and smiling as Sandra yawned. Creighton kept his arm around her waist as they stepped into the lift then swiftly rose to the top floor.
Once inside their flat, Sandra kicked her shoes off and peeled out of the shirt she had been wearing the past twenty
-four hours. Creighton smiled as she pulled her bra off and sighed a sound of relief, mentally making note to take her shopping for some maternity clothes. She pulled her pants off as she walked toward the stairs, dropping them on the floor at the bottom step. Climbing the stairs naked, she knew he was watching and she really could care less. She was exhausted and wanted to fall into the bed, pull the blankets up over her head and sleep for the next twelve hours.
She flipped the switch on the wall and glanced around the dimly lit room, immediately noticing the table Rochelle had given them as a present. She blushed scarlet but chose to ignore it as she went into the bathroom to relieve herself and brush her teeth.
“I know it’s late, but would you like a warm bath,” Creighton asked as he joined her, reaching for his own toothbrush.
“No way,” she mumbled around the minty
toothpaste in her mouth. “I want sleep and nothing more.”
“Will you let me wake you in the morning?” he asked with a wicked grin as he popped the end of this toothbrush into his mouth.
“I doubt you’ll get the chance,” she said as she rinsed out her mouth and returned her toothbrush to the holder on the counter, happy now that he insisted they have spare toiletries at the flat. She wasn’t in the mood to empty her luggage to find the other one.
“If I know your son, he’ll wake me
up long before you get the chance.”
“Son?” he asked in surprise.
“You’re the one who insisted he’s as well-endowed as his father. I’m going to bed,” she mumbled turning and walking to the door. “You can tell all about the table tomorrow.” Sandra couldn’t help but smile as his muffled laughter followed her into the bedroom. She crawled naked onto the bed, pulling the covers down and crawling in between the cool sheets. She was nearly asleep when the bed sagged beside her and she knew he had joined her. It was amazing that her body knew whenever he was close by, even before her eyes registered him. Regardless of how quickly she felt the moisture begin to build between her legs, the bed and the man would have to wait until morning.
As predicted, Sandra woke the next morning with a jerking in her stomach that made her run to the bathroom. As she leaned across the toilet, she thought about the books they had been reading. If they were right, she was nearly at the end of the morning sickness stage, and she welcomed its departure gladly. She honestly felt as though she should name the many toilets she had visited in the past three months. The one in her grandparents’ home could be John, the one at Aunt Kissy’s could be Jane, the one on the plane would be Miles, since Creighton insisted they needed to keep up their membership in the Mile High Club and this one was definitely
Pervie
, named after the perversion she knew her husband would soon introduce her to…again.
Creighton awoke to the sounds of his wife in the bathroom, gut wrenching echoes that made his own stomach jump
echoed from behind the closed door. He tossed the covers aside and quietly padded down the stairs to the kitchen where he stood in front of the fridge, completely naked. He poured a glass of juice and took two croissants from the glass covered container on the counter then went back upstairs. He sat both on the bedside table then went to Sandra, pulling her hair over her shoulder to keep it out of the way.
“Almost over,” she whispered, wiping her mouth on some toilet paper before standing up.
“Soon love,” he assured her. “I’ll start a tub, you go eat, there’s food and juice beside the bed.” Sandra nodded and walked back into the bedroom, listening to the sound of the water filling the tub as she sat on the edge of the bed, eating a croissant slowly.
“After a bath to relax, you and I still need to have that talk we’ve been putting off.”
“What talk?” she asked, watching as he sat on the bed beside her.
“You need to understand more about my business,” he told her softly. “Michelle sent me last quarter’s accounts and
I want you to look at them and see what exactly I do that makes so much money.”
“I don’t want to know,” she grumbled. “I’ve already told you, your business is yours, not mine.”
“I was hoping you would have changed your mind about that,” he said, taking her hand in his and smiling as her face began to regain its natural coloring. “I had my solicitors add you to my accounts. You are now officially, my partner in and out of bed.”
“Why didn’t you ask me before you went and done something like that?” she snapped, standing up from the bed. Her nausea was a thing of the past as she turned on her husband, hands on her hips and anger blazing in her green eyes.
“Because I knew you would say no and I want you to be a part of every aspect of my life.”
“I cannot believe you did this,” she snarled, then turned to go into the bathroom. She stopped by the door and turned around to face him. “You had no right to do
anything like this without my permission. Do you have any idea how it will look once this news leaks out? I already have people thinking I married you for your money; including my own sister. With this you’ve proven all of them right. I will never forgive you for this Creighton.” Sandra slammed the bathroom door shut behind her, leaving her husband sitting on the bed to watch her departure.
“Well, that went better than I thought it would,” he said
to an empty room, smiling as he stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth.
It
was nearly forty-five minutes later before the door to the bathroom opened and Creighton stepped in, leaning against the jam. Sandra had a layer of dried green mud on her face, her hair soggy with the deep conditioner she had applied, a clip securing it to the top of her head. She was dozing in the warm water, her one leg perched on the side of the tub and her hands cross over her stomach. He smiled as he stood there watching her; she was the most beautiful women he had ever known, even when she was green. As if by instinct, Sandra looked up to see him watching her and blinked the sleep from her eyes, watching him walk over to sit beside her on the edge of the tub.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked her, his long fingers caressing the calf that lay outside the water.
“Even when I scream at you like a wild banshee?” Creighton laughed, lifting her foot and kissing the sole.
“Even when you scream like a dozen wild banshees.”
“I’m getting far enough along; I can’t blame my emotional outbursts on the baby much longer. Maybe I’m just insane.”
“Maybe you’re just a female; beautiful, emotional and good with all the passions. I hate fighting with you, but I love making up. But this time, you’re the one who will have to sit and listen to me. There is a reason behind my madness.”
“I don’t want to know how much you make and I have no idea how to help run a business. The most I’ve ever done was prepare a quarterly budget for a small library. There’s a difference between having millions and begging for five thousand dollars.”
“Not really, money is money, just with a few added zeros. But there will be no begging here, at least not where my company is involved,” he winked. “When we were on the yacht, when we first met, there was no need for you to know how much my company was worth and absolutely no way I was going to tell you. Not because I didn’t want you to know, but because I didn’t
want to scare you off. But now it’s different, you’re my wife and you need to know why it isn’t necessary for you to work.” He drew a deep breath as he laid her leg across his lap and began caressing it.
“What if something were to happen to me tomorrow? I could get hit by a car as I stepped off the curb. What would happen to
all that I’ve spent the past twelve years building? I need a partner, someone who can control The Don and treat my employees with dignity and respect. I need you.”
“But I’m afraid of doing something wrong,” she told him, feeling like she was whining. “I could make a huge mistake and cost you millions.”
“I have millions to spare,” he said gently. “And I have the right people in the right positions that will prevent that from happening. The reason I don’t have a board to answer to is because I don’t want anyone telling me how to run my company. I’m sure if I had board members, I’d make more money than I do now, but I wouldn’t have the freedom to buy a farm in Kansas or to hire a single mother to run it. I like things the way they are; I like making the decisions and saying where my money is going. But I need you by my side.”
“I’m scared to learn,” she said honestly. “I don’t want money to ever interfere in our lives.”