Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (39 page)

Josh felt a little guilty but was secretly glad Jenny could not talk or argue about his increased security precautions. The Home Secure Company was installing perimeter cameras outside and inside the house. Jenny was not at all happy about having cameras inside her home, although there were only three in the main living spaces. Josh was still working to convince her that the inside cameras would only be activated by them and no one else. He demonstrated the controls to her and promised the cameras were only for their safety when the men were not there. So far, she was still angry and had given him a two-page written diatribe about the invasion of personal space. He had not convinced her yet.

The property surveillance was now out of testing and operational. The system would observe both wildlife and human trespassing. Each camera no longer ran 24/7 as they had during the test period. Now, the ring of cameras ran on a continuous random program of ten seconds of video for each camera. The company had written a program to search the incoming video for any instances of a breach and flag it for human visual inspection. Josh would know in less than twenty-four hours if anyone attempted to cut, climb, or jump the fence from the outside. He would hear about it and have visual proof.

Considering the apprehended poachers now awaited trial along with Blake Parker, some might view the entire system as overkill and a waste of money. Josh chose to consider the constant vigilance a necessity for the safety of his family.

After weeks of uncertainty and what seemed an endless stream of problems, life suddenly became very mundane. Peak Designs' commitment to the Richfield Towers Project was progressing on schedule. Legal teams from both sides were reviewing the contracts. So far, the legal eagles had raised no red flags only noting a few typos.

Josh spent his working hours on the computer, handling finances, designs, and staying in constant contact with his partners. He was also acting as a recruiter calling old associates and co-workers to see if they would consider employment with Peak Designs. Gene Lincoln, his friend from Pugh and Barkley, had used his portion of the settlement to pay off debts, and had left DQ&H for another firm. He told Josh he would give them a one-week notice and join Peak Designs in Colorado as soon as they said the word. He would live at an Extended Stay Hotel until he could move his family. Brice was getting similar responses from his contacts, which led to a discussion on relocation expenses incurred by their handpicked candidates. If Peak Designs were to live up to the ideals they professed, they would have to absorb some of those costs.

The partners were not making promises or verbal agreements with anyone, yet. They were only networking to discuss the possibility of future employment with viable candidates. They would still have to conduct interviews, perform HR evaluations, and make final hiring decisions. However, laying the groundwork in advance would save time in the end.

Josh called his old friend, Lamarr Winston, and tentatively offered him a position as Chief of Security for their new company. Lamarr suggested Josh call his brother who was a self-employed small business owner with three large moving vans, who could possibly help move employees across the country at a
family
discount.

Jenny had to email typed answers to a long, drawn-out deposition for one of the credit card companies affected by the fraud. Someone there seemed to believe her laryngitis was too convenient, even though she had faxed the company a copy of her doctor's diagnosis. They had even hired a local attorney to witness her deposition. When she was finally done, she went into her studio and worked for hours before resurfacing.

Jenny wanted to talk to Mila, really talk to her. She could see her sister was happy, but the note writing was ridiculous. She wanted in-depth details. Mila went home every evening with Kevin and returned every morning glowing. If a man could glow, Kevin was doing a good job of it too. The man was happy and relaxed as he and Mila finished the majority of the painting in the upstairs bedrooms of the main house.

Jenny had begged off and offered to watch Little Kevin in the studio along with her two children. He was no problem since he still slept most of the time. Emmie was especially good at putting his pacifier back in his mouth if he lost it and Buddy seemed to think it was his duty to bark every time the baby made a sound. She would call Mila's cell if her baby needed to nurse. Jenny was accomplishing a lot with her artwork, but she had wanted to be in on the painting stage of her house. She and Josh had planned the decorating together, yet now he was busy with his new company, and she was pregnant. She would not take a chance being around the paint and solvent fumes.

They had selected new furniture, which was being held for delivery until they were ready for it. A freight company had delivered their belongings from Connecticut and it was in a storage unit. Whatever they did not use of their Connecticut belongings, they would send out to auction.

Four days into her forced silence, Jenny realized she was cranky. She could have told people to blame it on her hormones, except she could not tell anyone she was pregnant yet. She wanted to tell her husband first, only not in a note. She had not lost her voice for this long since she was in college.

Mila and Jenny planned an afternoon in town. Kevin volunteered his Mom and Dad as babysitters since he wanted his father to look at the work they had done on the main house. While he gave his Dad the grand tour, his Mom could watch the kids. That precipitated a dinner invite to the senior Carters. Josh told his wife to go ahead since the senior Carters were running late. He would watch the kids until Kevin's parents arrived.

Mila put Little Kevin in a sling carrier and grabbed his diaper bag, and she and Jenny headed out in the Land Rover. When they got to town, Mila announced she had a doctor appointment, one she had not mentioned earlier. Jenny shrugged and took advantage of it to make an appointment for herself while she waited for Mila. The nurses had no problem following her written note: Laryngitis, pregnant, confirmed by Dr. Frost, need initial appointment. The nurses made the appointment before a preoccupied Mila reappeared.

They stopped at the gallery where Jenny held a complicated one-sided conversation with Julia and showed her sketches of pieces she wanted to create for her showing. She also dropped off five new pieces for sale. Julia had another check for her, so their next to last stop was at the bank where Jenny opened an account in her name only. They ended their errands at the grocery store.

Although her day had gone well, Jenny found she was still in a
mood
. She especially wanted to know why Mila looked so strange when she came out of the doctor's office. Since she was driving, Jenny whipped into a parking lot and stopped.

"What's wrong that you had to go to the doctor?" Jenny demanded of her sister.

"You're not supposed to…"

"Talk, I know," Jenny said. What little voice she had regained, became raspy. "I'm sick of it!"

"Please, don't."

"Then, tell me what's going on with you?" Jenny pleaded.

"Only if you promise to stop talking."

Jenny nodded acquiescence.

"There's nothing wrong." Mila admitted. "I went to the doctor today to confirm I'm cleared for take-off."

"What? Ooh…"

"Oh, is right," exclaimed Mila happily.

Jenny grabbed her pad to write, "So, it's still good with Kevin?"

"Good comes nowhere near describing it," Mila admitted. "I don't
think
I'm in love, I
know
I'm in love." Mila suddenly looked worried. "I want to be with him so badly, yet at the same time, I'm a little nervous."

"Why?"

Mila shrugged. "I'm not as pretty as you. Besides, I'm flabby from having a baby five weeks ago. We've been doing a lot of other things, but…."

Jenny hugged her sister and started the Land Rover, but as she pulled out of the parking lot, she headed in the opposite direction.

"You're going the wrong way," Mila told her.

Jenny shook her head no, as she drove to a side street in town where she pulled in front of
Sinful Angel
and parked. She jumped out of the vehicle.

"Jen, I've never worn much of this kind of stuff," Mila exclaimed. "I'm the tomboy, remember? G.I. Jane. I have a set of sexy underwear in my dresser that I've never even worn."

Jenny did not bother with her pad and pen. She linked her arm through her little sister's and said in a whispery voice, "You are a beautiful woman who needs to feel like one. Sexy intimate wear makes you feel like a Goddess and look like one to your man."

Jenny was not embarrassed in the shop this time. She supervised her sister's purchases while also selecting a few pieces for herself. She was slowly replacing all her utilitarian bras and panties with sexy items. The hot look in Josh's eyes as he watched her dressing or undressing was worth the indulgence."

Mila spent more on a few pieces of
sinful
garments than she had probably spent on all her underwear purchases since she had left home at eighteen. She typically bought panties in packages of six, and bras as buy-one-get-one deals. She had secretly admired herself in the dressing room mirror. What the sexy pieces did for her lanky body was amazing. At these prices, Kevin had better sit up and take notice!

* * *

The senior Carters had arrived, but Gina was disappointed Jenny and Mila had taken the baby with them.

"It's easier for Mila to keep him with her since she is his breakfast, lunch and dinner," Kevin explained. "You'll get plenty of time with him later."

Kevin had pulled Josh aside before they left for the main house. "You can duck out of this if you want. Dad tends to reminisce a lot."

"I like your parents. I would also like to hear more of the history of this place and what George thinks about the changes we've made."

Kevin and Josh slowly walked George Carter through the main house with Buddy leading the way. George did have comments and did sometimes launch into long stories. George was delighted to see so much of the woodworking details had remained almost the same. He complimented his son's carpentry skills with pride.

Josh enjoyed watching the interplay between the two men. They were equally proud of each other.

George launched into one of his stories as they entered the library.

"When Mr. Bentley hired me, this part of the library was already built and the curving balcony stuck out without any support. He wanted all wood millwork here. He had been to the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina and he wanted exactly what they had there. I special ordered a book with photos of the Biltmore estate to prove it had a combination of wood
and ironwork
. After reviewing the book, he thanked me for not letting him make such a mistake.

"Carlo Vitti and I had a ball putting this room together. It was good for our bank accounts too. Your changes are not as fancy as the Biltmore, but it was a little dolled up for my taste anyway. This room looks good."

George complimented Josh on his architectural design to display the library through glass panels. He too considered the library a work of art.

"It is a work of art," Josh agreed. "That's why we wanted to open it to show its beauty. Do you want to check out what's behind the bookcase upstairs?"

"Nope, I'd be lucky to make it up those spiral steps. A hundred and twenty steps down into the hidden vault might not kill me, but unless you added a hidden elevator somewhere, you would never get me out of there." The old man gazed wistfully at the balcony. "I sure didn't know there was a secret room up there. You could take pictures of it for me. I could see it that way."

"We'll do that," Kevin promised as he walked up the reinforced spiral stairs to demonstrate the improvements they had made to the moving bookcase, which George could see from below.

"It sure is a lot more electronic than it was in my day," George chuckled when he was shown into the office. "Everything is computerized now. Still, this room is pretty much the same as it was before."

He walked directly to a waist-high panel of wainscoting on the wall, where he pushed on a hidden latch, and then slid a panel out of the way to reveal a wall safe.

"Christ, Dad," Kevin said, hurrying down the stairway. "I didn't know that was there."

"You still ain't so smart you can't learn something from your old man. Only Mr. Bentley and I knew where we put his safes."

Josh squatted down to look at the safe and pull on the door. "Another locked one. Mr. Carter, I'm sticking real close to you on this tour to see what other hidden places you know about."

George smiled broadly. "Well, I guess my memory isn't as faulty as some thought it was. I was wondering why he thought he needed a vault when he had two safes in the house."

"Two?" Josh and Kevin questioned together.

"Yep, this one, one in his office and another small safe upstairs in his bedroom. We hid it behind a panel in the linen closet."

* * *

Josh and Mila sat with the senior Carters entertaining them while Jenny finished preparing the promised dinner. Kevin disappeared with the list of possible safe combinations and returned forty minutes later shaking his head.