Authors: D. T. Jones
“Have there been any more problems?” Sandra knew he was talking about the intruder that appeared at the bathroom door yesterday morning. It was a particular memory she would like to forget.
“Not since your people called you,” Matthew commented in a low tone. “I think your security system scared him off.”
“Good. Let’s hope it scared him back to whatever gutter the bastard crawled out of.” Creighton shook Matthew’s hand and bid him good-bye then turned and walked with Sandra back to his parents’ house.
“What did he mean, not since your people called you?” she asked him once they were on their own.
“About two o’clock this morning the alarm system detected an intruder. We don’t know who it was because the cameras haven’t been installed yet, but the alarm scared them off. Between that and my mum accidentally setting off the alarm at their house, the security team had their hands full.”
“You think it was Miriam’s cousin, don’t you?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist. “If it was, he knows we’re on to him and watching. I doubt we’ll have much to worry about from here on out.”
“Why does he think you owe him? He shot you, not the other way around.”
“Konrad Bachmeier was always a sick kid,” Creighton said quietly. “Miriam told me he had been hiding in her wardrobe watching her undress. That’s just before her father sent him back to Germany and told him not to return. When he showed up on my door stoop that day, a voice warned me to send him packing, but I felt sorry for him. I honestly thought if I gave him a chance, he’d turn his life around. Then my shipping foreman caught him stealing cameras, cell phones, speakers; the works. After he shot me, the police found a shit-load of cocaine and methamphetamine in the hole he was living in. It looked like he was selling the electronics to support his habit.”
“So he blames you for firing him? But why did he shoot you?”
“That’s a question that has yet to be answered. He blamed me for his losing his job, which was rightly so since I approved his dismissal, but he was so stoned when the police caught him, he barely knew his own name. I guess he thinks I owe him for sending him to prison, but that too was the result of his own stupidity.”
“Well I can’t wait until your team catches him. A creep like that shouldn’t be on the streets.”
“I don’t want you to worry about this,” he insisted. “We’ll find him and put him back where he belongs.”
“I’m not worried, I trust you and I trust your people. Besides, my grandfather taught me to fight and to fire a gun, so I’m pretty sure I can defend myself.”
“I have no doubt of that.” Creighton laughed, stepping up to the front porch of his parents’ house, holding the door open for her. “You have a lot of bottle.”
“Irena,” Emma was saying as they entered the kitchen. “Go to the cellar and collect some preserves. Sabrina, you and Cathy go set the table. Derek, Andrew start taking the food into the dining room please.” Everyone snapped to attention and quickly begun bustling around the kitchen, carrying plates of food and drinks into the dining room as they had been ordered.
“I hate going into that cellar,” Irena grumbled when she came back into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. “I always feel like I’m being watched.”
“It’s all the spiders and mice,” Andrew teased, stepping up behind his little sister and tickling her waist, causing her to scream.
“That’s not bloody funny!” she snapped.
“Enough,” Emma interjected. “Take the bangers to the table and th
e rest of you find your seats.”
Creighton grinned as he and Sandra stepped into the dining room behind his mother. The room was alive with noise and Sandra had no choice but to smile as her husband held the chair out for her. This was what family was all about; fun, laughter and maybe a little mental diversion. And it was a family Sandra was quite happy to be a part of.
“Your mother had a hard time sleeping last night. She thought she kept hearing someone walking around the house,” William said a short time later, leaning against the back of a chair in the kitchen as Sabrina, Sandra, Cathy and Irena washed and dried the dishes. The caterers arrived a few minutes earlier and were busy setting up the tables, tents and decorations outside for the reception.
“Was there anyone here?” Creighton asked with a frown, his large hand wrapped around a mug of lukewarm coffee.
“No, it was just the same sounds that have always been here; creaks of an old house settling in the evening air.” They fell into silence, each knowing the other was concerned about the events that had nearly disrupted the wedding ceremony the day before.
“All that aside, son,” William said a few moments later in a soft tone when Andrew, Emma, Mary and James joined them. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you how proud your mother and I are of you. Sandra is a wonderful girl and we can see how happy she makes you.”
“I am very happy, dad,” Creighton said, glancing to the woman who laughed with the girls as they cleaned up. “I knew the minute I laid eyes on her; she was the one for me. Now all I have to do is keep her happy, show her how much I love her and cherish her for the rest of my life.”
“So nothing difficult, eh?” Mary added with an amused smile.
“Right,” Creighton confirmed. “She’s already started my
husband
lessons.”
“Oh Lord,” Derek commented. “You know it’s permanent when they start the lessons.”
“To be completely honest, I’m looking forward to them. So far they’ve been rewarding.”
“Provided you complete the tests with high marks,” James added, his arm slipping around his wife’s shoulders.
“Though failing them can be just as pleasurable,” William added, looking to his wife and smiling a secret grin to her.
“Thanks dad,” Andrew said with a scowl. “I could have gone my whole life and not heard you say that.” The small group laughed together, bringing the eyes of the room’s other occupants to stare at them while Sandra walked to Creighton’s side, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel and yawning.
“Long night, Sandra?” Andrew asked with a wink.
“Very long,” Creighton answered for her with a wicked grin, pulling her to his lap. “And very eventful.”
“That’s enough you two,” Emma scolded. “Sandra is a proper lady and proper ladies never discuss their evenings in their husband’s arms.”
“Ah mum, we were just joking,” Andrew complained, sounding very much like a teenager. “If Sandra is going to be a part of this bloke’s life, she’s going to have to show her bottle.”
“Leave her be,” William scolded, sounding much less the authoritative figure than his wife. “We don’t want to scare her off before she gets her foot in the door.”
“What time does the reception start?” Sandra asked with a deep blush, hoping to distract the direction the conversation had taken.
“We still have a couple hours,” Creighton assured her, gently massaging her outer thigh.
“Just so long as we don’t delay your itinerary,” she smiled. “I know how much you hate falling off schedule.”
“Creighton has always been about schedules, even as a baby,” Emma said with a warm smile. “He crawled when the books said he should, he walked at the precise time and even taught himself to use the loo. Just took his nappy off and never put it back on. He was even born on schedule, his due date came and I went into labor. Three hours later we had a beautiful baby boy to add to the family.”
“He has always done everything by the book,” Derek teased his brother.
“Derek was born nearly a month late,” Emma continued. “Andrew was two weeks late, Sabrina was three days early and my water broke with Irena while we were Christmas shopping.”
“I was born to shop!” Irena said joining the conversation, smiling as everyone laughed at the irony of her comment.
“And you haven’t failed in that adage yet,” Creighton teased.
“With luck, Sandra will be able to break Crey of his day planner lifestyle,” Sabrina added.
“What’s the matter with staying on schedule, I ask you?” Creighton argued. “If it wasn’t for an itinerary, I would never have been able to build my business to what it is today.”
“True, but now that you are mega rich, you can afford some time off to pursue a healthy marriage,” Sabrina insisted. “I am hoping for more nieces and nephews very soon. After all, Derek
and Kristin can’t be expected to hold down the generations alone.”
“I would love to have a new baby in the family,” Mary said wistfully. “It’s been ten years since we had an addition and we’re not getting any younger you know?”
“Why don’t you give them a chance to get used to each other before you start saddling them with a litter of kids,” Cathy complained from where she stood, leaning against the counter, listening and frowning at the conversation going on at the table. “They barely know each other, for all we know they won’t be able to tolerate each other a month from now.”
“Have you always been rude, or are you just rehearsing for the part of Queen Bitch?” Irena blurted out, bringing a quick and stunned silence to the room. Cathy stared at the young girl through narrowed eyes.
“Your brother may have known my sister for two years, but Sandra has barely known him for two weeks,” she insisted.
“Crey and Sandra are in love, you wicked hag,” Irena shouted. “You’re just jealous because he didn’t shag you, like Andrew has.”
“Irena Kathryn!” Emma snapped. “That’s enough of that. Cathy is a guest in our home and you will show her the respect she deserves. Now stop all of this at once. I will not have anything upsetting the day’s festivities.”
“Well it’s true,” Irena said, a little less forcefully.
“I said that’s enough. Go to your room until it’s time to get dressed.” Irena stared at her mother, mouth agape as though she couldn’t understand why she was being punished.
“You heard your mother,” William said in a soft, deep tone that warned her to obey immediately. Irena turned and stormed from the room, mumbling all the way up the stairs until the slamming of a door echoed through the house, assuring all that she had done as ordered.
“Cathy, I am very sorry for what Irena said,” Emma began, apologizing for her daughter.
“She meant no harm,” Sandra interjected, surprising even herself for her bravery. “She was merely defending me and I appreciate it.”
“As do I,” Creighton added quickly.
“That being said, I think we should all consider getting things moving before the guests start arriving,” Mary insisted.
“Yes, I agree,” Emma added, her tone filled with uncertainty. “Derek, go help Kristen with the children so she doesn’t overexert herself. Sabrina why don’t you show Sandra her outfit for the party and Andrew you can get changed at your brother’s house. We’ll meet back here in an hour for family pictures. Chang said he would be here by then and he’s never late.”
The room quickly came alive with people moving about, but Sandra, Creighton, Cathy and Andrew remained behind until the room was empty of occupants. Sandra drew a deep breath and stood from her husband’s lap, looking at her sister who was staring angrily at her.
“Could we have a few moments alone, please?” she asked the two men who hesitated.
“I believe your sister and I need to have a talk,” Creighton insisted, stepping up beside his wife.
“Not right now,” she insisted. “I need to speak with Cathy alone. I’ll be along in a few minutes, you go upstairs.” Creighton opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by the stubborn, determined expression on Sandra’s face. He drew a deep breath and glanced to Andrew who walked silently beside his brother out of the room, leaving the two sisters alone.
“I cannot believe you took that girl’s side over mine,” Cathy snapped softly.
“And I cannot believe that you are still trying to make me change my mind about Creighton,” Sandra snapped back. “You said you would accept my decision and lay off.”
“Sandra, be sensible. You don’t know him well enough to surrender your heart and soul like this. It’s insane to get married to a man you’ve known for only two weeks.”
“You know, Creighton insisted that you were holding me back, keeping me in your shadow, but I defended you. I told him that you would never do such a thing. Now I’m beginning to think Irena was right; you are jealous. You tried your damnedest to seduce Creighton when he came to Kansas, but it didn’t work. Is that why you’re so angry about my marrying him, because you wanted him for yourself?”
“How dare you?” Cathy growled softly. “I have done everything to protect you. I don’t want to see you hurt and I know that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Creighton Ashford is a playboy, he has lovers from one end of this world to the other and you’re a fool to think he would give all of that up for you. You’re such a naive little snippet; you have no idea what he’s
doing. What makes you think that he won’t throw you aside once he’s had his fill of you? What makes you think you know how to please a man like him?”
“And I suppose you think you have what it takes to keep him happy?” Sandra accused, pushing the small voice aside that whispered that her sister had a valid point. She was naive and could never be the type of lover Creighton was used to having.