Beau, p.14
Beau, page 14
“They divorced soon after. But now that it’s coming out about how she tricked them into paying her an ungodly sum of money, they’ll be working together to get her to stay in prison. I’d like to know what she’s done with all her illegal gains from these scams she’s been playing. I mean, so far as I know, she was able to net nearly ten million dollars from other people that she scammed as well.”
“That’s a great deal of money. I wonder how much she would have gotten from my family had they believed her.” David told him that he thought that she was in for the long run with the Watson/Sheppard families. She would have taken them for more money than she had previously gotten all together. “There were things going on that she didn’t have any idea about when she came to this town.”
“You mean because of the family being shifters? Yeah, I wondered how she was going to make that work out when I read your reports on it. She claimed to be their mother, yet she wasn’t a shifter like them. That’s another thing that she’s been complaining about. That shifters should have to tell people what they are. That it should be the law. The woman is nuts if you were to ask me.” Jameson agreed with him. “It’s too bad you didn’t allow her to get in deeper with herself. She might well have turned and run. But then she’d be doing this to someone else, and they might not have faired as well as you guys did.”
That night, when he was at his home, he went over his notes again and decided that he’d had enough. Going into one of the bedrooms he was using as a sorting room, he looked over some of the things that he’d brought back with him the other day. He was just sorting through the linens that he’d gotten when his doorbell rang.
He’d not been expecting company, nor had his family told him that they were coming over, so he didn’t know what to expect. Opening the door, there was no one there until he looked at the big truck that was in his driveway. The person coming toward him was saying how she’d gotten things packed up earlier than she thought and had them on the truck.
“It’s a lot of the bigger stuff.” He asked her what she was talking about. “The estate manager was able to get all the bigger stuff loaded early and told me to bring it to you. He said that he’d contact you to let you know.”
“No one contacted me about anything.” He looked into the deep cavern of the back end of the semi and whistled. “There is a lot of stuff on this thing. I’ll have to get some help, or you’ll have to wait until the weekend. I had no idea you were coming.”
“I can’t wait for the weekend. I have a load that goes back in the morning.” She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. “I’ll call now to see what’s going on. Can you please make arrangements to have this emptied out tonight?”
He contacted his brothers and asked for their help. They were willing to come over, but he didn’t know what he’d do if they hadn’t been able to help him. As it was, he was going to have to pay for pizzas, their payment for helping unload everything tonight. It was going to be late, too, for as much stuff that looked like it was in the semi.
~*~
Demi didn’t know what to think about the men who were unloading the truck. They didn’t even seem mad because the truck was a few days early. But got right to work and unloaded the furniture right off as if it didn’t weigh hundreds of pounds. Even things that took four men to load on the other end didn’t seem to bother the two men who pulled it off and into the house. And what a house it was, too.
The front hall had been a staging area for some of the things that had come on the truck. She knew they were getting the bedroom things upstairs first and then the living room things last. There were six bedrooms in the house, and enough furniture to make sure that someone could easily sleep in the rooms once they were set up. The linens and other things that she’d seen at the other house were being packed up to come on another smaller truck than the one that she was driving.
“Do I know you?” She’d been asked that before. Not tonight, but by other men hitting on her. She knew that she was good-looking. She kept herself in shape, too. But this man seemed sincere about asking the question, and she was sad to say that she wished she’d known him, but didn’t. “You look like someone I’ve worked with before. Perhaps gone to college with or something.”
“The only time I’ve been on campus is delivering something to them. I did go to college online, but I’m sure that doesn’t count.” He said that it did as she was getting an education. And then he smiled at her. “You could put the electric company out of business with a smile like that. I’m not hitting on you, but you’re a good-looking man.”
“Thanks.” He moved on when she did, and they got two more bedroom sets out of the truck. She didn’t know who loaded it for her, but they put all the furniture that went together near the other things that went in the same room.
There was no doubt that they were all related. The man that she’d met first seemed to be the baby of the family, and they treated him like it. She’d be pissed off if someone treated her the way that he was being treated, but he seemed to not take them all that seriously. She was glad. It might have been a big fight had they started something with all the work that needed to be done. She looked up when someone said her name. She’d not even realized she’d given it to them, but then remembered it was on the paperwork.
“It says here that there are two more trucks coming to my house. I’m sorry, but it looks to me like I’ve gotten most of the furniture that I had bought. What other kind of stuff will be on another semi?” She told him that she didn’t know that her company had been called in to deliver it and that they said she had a load going back the same way. “I don’t know what that means, but that’s all right. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.”
He stood there staring at her for several long, tense moments before he looked at his family. Then, when she thought that he’d walk away, he took a step toward her and inhaled deeply. Like he was trying to smell her for some reason. She asked him what the hell was going on.
“Nothing. I mean, there is a lot going on, but it’s nothing right now. It could be, but right now I’m not going to say anything. I’m not sure that I have it right, so I’m not sure what to say to you right now. It might be a joke that my brothers are playing on me, but then I don’t know why they’d do that. Do you? But it could be—” She smacked him when it looked like he was going to continue speaking like he was. He put his hand on his cheek and stared at her. “You’re not supposed to be able to cause me any harm.”
“You’re off your rocker. What the hell are you talking about?” He said she was his mate. “I don’t want to be your friend. Or mate, whatever you want to call it. I think you have something wrong with you.”
“So do I right now.” He moved a step back from her when she lifted her hand to smack him again. “I’m sorry. I’m not making any sense to myself right now. My name is Jameson Sheppard, as you know. You’re Demi Rothchild. I didn’t mean friend when I said you were my mate, but my mate. Like someone who is supposed to be my everything.”
“You’ve enough shit going on right now without me being your everything. And if you mean what I think you mean, you can just forget about that, too. I don’t have time for a husband of sorts, nor do I want one. I have my life just the way I like it.” He said that he did as well. “Well, good for you and me. We don’t have to take this any further than it is right now. Just so you know, I’m going to be really pissed off if you think that I’m going to bow down before you and be your willing slave.”
“I don’t expect you to be my willing anything.” He looked around again. “I’m still not sure this isn’t a joke being played on us by my brothers. They’ve been teasing me a great deal about being the last one to get a mate.”
“What are you anyway?” He told her that he was a light colored jaguar. “I don’t know what that means either. Light colored?” He explained to her what he meant and how Rogen, his brother Weston’s wife, was a dark jaguar. “I see, but that still doesn’t mean that I want to be your slave. Or have anything to do with you at all.”
“I don’t blame you.” He moved to get more of the furniture, and she let him. When he pulled off one of the last few pieces, she helped him load it on the trolley that they were using to get things up the front stairs. “I’m considered quite a catch by some of the women in town. Not that I have dated all that many of them. But that’s what I heard.”
“Like I care.” Once he had it up the stairs, she went back to the truck to help with something else. He disappeared into the darkness of the house, and she tried her best to forget about him and being his mate. Like that was going to happen anytime soon.
When the truck was empty she closed the doors and waited for someone to sign off on the work order. She had to have someone sign it, or she didn’t get paid. As he came out of the house, she noticed that he was better looking in the bright light of the moon. Not that she’d say that to him, but it was something that she could think about. Later, not tonight. She still had to go to the warehouse where she had to bring a load back from. And she was going to leave tonight if she had enough hours to go.
By the time he’d signed off on the paperwork, she was about as pissed off as she could be. Who the hell did he think he was telling her that she was his mate? She didn’t need a man in her life, nor did she want one.
Getting in her truck to leave, she was stopped once again because she forgot to get the furniture blankets that had wrapped the things up that she’d brought. As she was pulling out of the driveway, she saw him staring at her through the side mirror. She wondered what he could be thinking and decided that she didn’t care. As she’d told him, her life was fine just the way it was.
It took her less than an hour to get to the warehouse, where she was picking up a return load. Since they were closed up to loading, she decided to get into her bed and try to get a little rest. It wasn’t as stressful as it used to be driving a big rig; she was getting used to it, but it did exhaust her when she had to help unload something like furniture.
She was just waking up when her cell phone rang. Groaning when she realized it was her father, she answered with her name and nothing more. He’d either be pissed off and hang up because she only said Rothchild, or he’d talk to her about whatever was going on in his life at the moment. She didn’t want to talk to him today.
“I think I have the gout.” She asked him what his symptoms were. “I don’t have any that the internet says I should, but I know that I have it. It’s in my feet. That’s the most common one.”
“What does it tell you to do to get rid of it? And so you know, I’m working right now and don’t have time to go over all the symptoms that you might or might not have.” He called her ungrateful. “Of course I am. Why do you even bother calling me when you have some kind of ailment?”
“I wish you were a son. He’d have more sympathy toward my illnesses.” She said he had a son. “Well, he’s busy working. What you do isn’t work, Demi. It’s a waste of time with your education that I paid for.”
“You didn’t pay anything for my education; I had scholarships. And I like this better than being a doctor in a place that doesn’t appreciate me. Sort of like you don’t.” He sputtered around, calling her ungrateful again. “If I’m so ungrateful, why do you call me all the time? I’m sure you have better conversations with Liam and Dan.”
“I do, but they don’t have the wherewithal to help me when I have something wrong with me. You’re just jealous because I love them more than I do you.” He’d said that to her before. And while it still hurt deep in her heart, she didn’t say anything to him about the pain he’d inflicted on her. “Did you hear me?”
“I heard you, and believe it or not, I don’t care anymore. It’s not like you’re going to take out an ad in the newspaper about how much you dislike your daughter. And if you did, what good would that do you? None. If you have gout, which I don’t believe that you do, then stop drinking, lower the acidic foods that you’re eating, and see a real doctor, as this one is no longer going to be yours.”
Hanging up on her father always felt good for about two seconds, then she felt terrible and wanted to call him back and tell him how sorry she was. She wouldn’t. She’d done that once before, and all it had caused her was grief. Getting out of the truck to see when she was going to be loaded, she left her cell phone in the rig and walked the distance to the building to get her information.
By the time she was ready to leave with her load, she was pissed off again. They’d made her wait until noon even though she’d been at the door since eight in the morning. Getting her paperwork finished up, she was finally on her way at one in the afternoon and wondering how she was going to be able to make her truck payment without having to dip into her savings.
It couldn’t be helped, she supposed. But then there was plenty of money in her account to pay off the truck; she just liked living on the edge. Laughing at herself, she was nearly to the next stop when her cell rang again. She didn’t recognize the number, so she didn’t answer. It would be just like her father to use someone else’s phone just to trip her up.
Being off on the weekend made it so that she could go to her condo for a few days. She had plenty to do there, laundry and cleaning up her rig. She wasn’t messy at all, but she did like to get her sheets washed when she could and clean the windows of the rig. They’d get really dirty when she was traveling. The windows, she told herself, not her sheets.
She’d nearly forgotten to check her messages when she got home. There were two from the estate that she’d picked up things from. They wanted her to take the next load to the client, and she was going to refuse. All she needed was to hang out with Jameson again so that he could begin his knocking her around as his slave. She had more important things to do, like going to the dentist rather than being around a jerky guy like him.
The next time her phone rang, she answered it knowing that it was going to be either her father or her brothers. They would want something from her, and she’d turn them down, then they’d call her again. It was a never-ending thing with them, trying to get off the phone for one ailment or another that they claimed that they had. Answering the phone with a snarl of her name, she was surprised when the person at the other end laughed.
“It’s Jameson Sheppard. You have wonderful phone manners.” She asked him what he wanted. “They said that they’re having trouble with the delivery of the rest of my stuff, and I was to call you and convince you to take the load. I have no idea why they thought that I could get you to do it, but I said that I’d try.”
“It’s my days off.” He said that he was sorry and would get someone else to deliver it. “Never mind. I’m hiding from my family right now, so I’ll go get it. I can have it for you, provided that it’s loaded for you tomorrow morning. Will that suit you?”
“That’s perfect. I’ll have my brothers on standby to help again. They sort of owe me.” She didn’t want to ask, but found herself asking if it had been a joke, her being his mate. “No, that part is true. But we can talk about it when you get here.”
“No, thanks. I told you that I don’t want a mate at all, and that’s the way it’s going to be from now on.” He didn’t say anything, and she thought about the way she’d said it. No wonder she didn’t have any friends, she thought that if that was the way she spoke to them all the time. “I’ll be there tomorrow morning. We can talk if you want, but I’m not going to be your mate. As I said, I have better things to do with my life than to be a slave to some man who thinks I’m stupid.”
“All right, we’ll talk then. But I know you’re not stupid, so I would never say that to you.” When he hung up the phone, she felt angry. Then the guilt that she’d treated him like she had her father settled in. Christ, she thought, she was never going to be in a good mood for more than an hour at a time if she kept this up.
Before You Go…
Share your voice and help guide other readers to these wonderful books. Even if it’s only a line or two, your reviews help readers discover the author’s books so they can continue creating stories that you’ll love. Log in to your favorite retailer and leave a review. Thank you.
Kathi S. Barton is an award-winning and bestselling author known for her steamy paranormal romances and unforgettable characters. A recipient of the prestigious Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, her books have topped the charts on Amazon and All Romance eBooks, earning her a loyal global readership.
Kathi lives in Nashport, Ohio, with her husband, Paul. When she’s not crafting passionate love stories set in magical worlds, she enjoys camping, exploring local auctions, and attending county fairs, where Paul showcases his artwork and pottery. Her creative spark—fueled by a muse she describes as a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Hugh Jackman—brings her stories to vivid, heartfelt life.
Paranormal romance with plenty of heat is her favorite genre, and she loves connecting with her readers. Feel free to reach out—Kathi would love to hear from you.
Email: aaronskiss@gmail.com
Blog: kathisbartonauthor.blogspot.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Kathi S. Barton, Beau
