Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (41 page)

Mila and Kevin arrived considerably past Kevin's usual start time. He went straight to the main house to prep another room for painting while Mila delivered Little Kevin and Buddy to Jenny's studio. It only took ten seconds for Jenny to notice the engagement ring on Mila's finger. She dragged her sister to the other side of the studio away from the ever-listening ears of Emmie. "Last night went well?" Jenny teased.

"Shush," Mila whispered. "Yes, things went very well last night."

"Did he…" Jenny croaked as her voice gave out.

"Jen, we have all the time in the world to discuss this in detail. Kevin asked me to marry him last night—twice. The first time, he was funny and frustrated. The second time, he was sweet and romantic. I accepted both times, and then we made love. Let's just say he has the hands, and everything else, of a skilled craftsman."

Jenny hugged her. "So, happy!" she said, a bit louder than she expected.

"Mommy!" Emmie said, putting her hands on her hips and frowning. "Bad, naughty, Mommy! Daddy said no talking. I can talk, but you can't!"

Jenny made a sound of pure frustration as Mila laughed. "I'm going upstairs to help Kevin paint. Ring me, if the baby needs me. You don't have to say anything."

* * *

Jenny rang her sister several hours later. She needed a break, not to mention all three kids needed lunch, as did the adults. When Mila joined her, Jenny had a note ready filled with questions. They bundled the kids in their coats to go back to the guesthouse.

"Thirty minutes," Mila called out as she opened Josh's office door. "Meet us at your place for lunch and bring Kevin."

* * *

"Good, I'm starving," Kevin agreed when Josh interrupted him later. He popped the lids back on the paint buckets and put the rollers, pans, and paintbrushes into large plastic bags to keep them from drying out.

Josh looked around the almost finished room. "Jen is disappointed we didn't get to do the painting ourselves, but you have done an excellent job.

"Two more rooms and I'll give the house its final inspection. Afterward, you can do the furniture load-ins. I'm kind of sorry the job is over." He grinned widely. "Not that I'm complaining since I got Mila out of the deal."

"Congratulations," Josh said. "Is there a timeline yet?"

"We haven't gone there yet. I would say vaguely within the next six months. Mila says a celebration isn't a big deal for her since you and Jenny are her only family. Believe me, it will be a big deal in my family. When I think about it, elopement comes to mind."

"We eloped," Josh informed him. "It lasted for about two weeks. Then, my mother, sister, and two sisters-in-law sat us down to tell us how it would be. The men backed up their women. There was no way they were letting us off the hook so easily. They all planned it, so we had to get married a second time or face the wrath of some really pissed-off women."

"You only had four women to deal with," Kevin said, looking worried. "I've got a mother, six sisters, and fourteen female first cousins."

"Are you complaining about being outnumbered by the women in your family again?" Mila asked as she came to get them for lunch.

"Yes," Kevin admitted. "You do realize with me being the only son, with six older sisters, they will play hell trying to control our wedding."

"I'm a big girl and an ex-soldier. I think I can hold my own. Jenny will be my backup. She can help me take it and them on, if necessary," Mila said firmly. "I think letting your family help would be great. Didn't you tell me one of your sisters owns a bakery in town?"

"Yes, Mary does, she will design a masterpiece," Kevin warned.

"Good, we'll tell your mother and put her in charge of it," Mila said. "It will make her day."

Kevin laughed and shook his head. "It will make her
decade
, which is how long she has been trying to marry me off. Are you certain you want to do this? Although, my mother does have this town wired, and we have relatives in all kinds of business, the bakery, a florist, restaurants. I want you to do it any way you want, but my cousin Wayne will be my best man, so we have to have a sign-language interpreter."

"We'll talk to your mother and your sisters. We will get along fine, as long as they understand I am a casual person who prefers a pot-luck buffet over a fancy catered affair. Oh, and I want to get married in your house, so attendance is limited by how many will fit."

"Well," Kevin said turning to Josh. "We are further along in the planning than I expected. Have we got a date yet?"

Mila smiled at his teasing. "No, we will discuss it later."

Over lunch, the two couples tossed around dates and wedding ideas. Josh and Jenny offered their big house for the wedding, but Mila vetoed the suggestion. She explained she wanted to be married in the same place where Kevin had proposed. Kevin said if that were the case, they should marry in the parking lot of Kroger's grocery. She tossed a chip at him.

"No food fighting," Jenny whispered, looking at her two kids.

"No talking!" Three adults and one child scolded at the same time. Buddy woofed in agreement.

* * *

After lunch, Jenny put Emmie and Adam down for naps. Mila was nursing the baby when Kevin and Josh went back to the main house. Josh said he would help with the painting for a couple of hours. Jenny used the kid's naptime to sketch out designs for new art pieces. She also wrote a detailed note to Mila handing it to her when she finished with the baby. The note was for Mila to write down random thoughts about what she wanted for wedding plans.

When the phone rang, Mila answered.

"I'm sorry, but you will have to call back. No, Jennifer can't speak to you, she has laryngitis. If you give me your name, she can call you back in a couple of days hopefully. No. Why don't you give me your number and I'll have her husband call you back?" Mila suggested.

"Who," Jenny mouthed.

Mila ignored Jenny as she dialed Josh's cell. "Hi, could you come back over here. There is someone on the phone wanting to talk to Jenny. He says it is important and it involves Denise."

"Who," Jenny mouthed again.

Mila did not answer her, instead waiting until Josh appeared.

"Who was on the phone?" he demanded.

"A Mr. Maurice Clifford," Mila answered. "He said he needs to speak with Jen. He was very insistent, even though I told him she has laryngitis."

Josh dialed the number and put the phone on speaker.

"Mrs. Grayson?" the man asked.

"Mr. Grayson," Josh said.

"I need to speak to Jennifer Grayson," the man insisted.

"You can speak
to
her, but she can't answer you. You have already been told she has laryngitis," Josh said. "I have you on speaker phone, Mr. Clifford, she can hear you. What is this about?"

"Mrs. Marsden specifically asked if I would speak to her daughter privately," Mr. Clifford said.

"I am already losing patience, Mr. Clifford," Josh snapped. "Either tell us why you contacted us or we are hanging up. By the way, how did you get this number?"

"Almost any number can be obtained for under twenty dollars on the internet," Mr. Clifford said dismissively. "Denise was not aware of that. I find it difficult to understand why a daughter would separate and cut off all contact with her mother."

"My wife hasn't cut off contact," Josh retorted. "She calls once a week, whether Denise is there to take the call is another matter. We have personal reasons for limiting contact with Denise. Now, if we don't soon get an answer as to the reason for your call, I will terminate the connection!"

Jenny wrote something on her pad and waved it in front of Josh.

"My wife wants to know if her mother is sick or in the hospital?"

"No, her health is good. She is understandably under a lot of mental anguish as there has been a terrible misunderstanding. The police have detained Denise, accusing her of credit card fraud. I am sure it can be resolved. It was merely a matter of her giving out the wrong social security number. If you could contact the credit card banks and explain the mix-up, they would be more inclined to drop the charges."

"It was Mom," Jenny croaked in a disbelieving tone.

"No, even she could not be so greedy," exclaimed Mila loudly.

"Mrs. Grayson?" Mr. Clifford asked.

"No, we have told you three of four times already, Jenny can't speak," Mila exclaimed. "I am Mila Grant, Denise's other daughter. The one she disowned when I was seventeen after I refused to go along with her insane idea to marry a pervert twice my age to give her access to his bank accounts. I don't know what excuses Mom has given you, but this is no misunderstanding or mistake. No one gets a credit card in someone else's name without it being deliberate. Mom tried to screw Jenny and they caught her. Well, tough, for once she can pay the price for her actions."

"Miss Grant, Jenny gave Denise permission to get those cards."

Jenny shook her head violently at Josh and Mila.

"That is an outright lie," Josh responded. "I agree with Mila, this was deliberate. Denise used Jenny's name and social security number, she had the cards sent to PO boxes associated with false addresses. She will get no help or sympathy from us. In fact, now that I know who did it, I am inclined to have my wife press charges against her so she might learn a lesson. Denise Marsden is not above the law."

"Mr. Grayson, I'm sure we can come to an agreement…."

"Hold on," Josh interrupted. "Jenny is writing something down for you to relay to her mother. Josh looked over her shoulder as she wrote furiously. "Tell Denise this is directly from Jenny."

Josh read from her tablet. "I'm done with Mom. She has made me feel guilty for the last time. Tell her she will never use me again. I will not be conned any longer. I have real family—my husband and children, my husband's family, and my sister who is back in my life. This is all the family I need. They actually love me and show me so every day. Mom has never shown any love for anyone or anything except the almighty dollar. She will get no more help from us. She did this to herself. She can't blame anyone else for her actions. Tell her not to call or contact us again!"

Josh pulled his wife into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "Mr. Clifford, those are your marching orders. Don't call again." He leaned over and disconnected the call.

"It was her," Jenny whispered. "All this trouble and it was her."

"We will let Mr. Mitchim handle it," Josh promised. "Are you okay?"

Jenny nodded and gulped. "It was guilt. I kept call—. I don't ha—any guilt, anym—."

"No, you shouldn't," he agreed. "Mila, can you watch the kids, I want Jen to calm down."

"Sure," Mila agreed as Josh led her sister away.

"Okay," Jenny whispered.

"No, you're not." He led her into their bedroom and made her stretch out on the bed. "I want you to completely relax for a few minutes. Calm down, close your eyes, and let go of it all. Stop straining your vocal cords. They need rest too."

Josh lay down beside her and held her close.

"Think about all the good things in your life. There's a new Emmeline or Adam in here," he crooned, laying his hand on her still flat stomach. "What were some of the names we rejected last time? There was Annabelle and Autumn for a girl, and Connor, Lucas or Caleb for a boy. I like the old-fashioned names, Annabelle for a girl, Caleb for a boy. We could start researching names all over again. We have eight months to find our book on baby names when we unpack our books." Josh kept talking. He felt her relaxing to the sound of his voice. He knew when she drifted into sleep. Jenny slept a lot in the first two months of both of her former pregnancies. He did not think this one would be any different. If he could get her to stop and slow down, she would also stop fighting her body's need for rest.

He finally slid out from behind her and went downstairs. "Let's trade places," he suggested to Mila. "You go help Kevin while I stick close by in case she needs me."

"Will she be okay?" Mila asked. "I accepted Denise's inability to love a long time ago. I don't think Jenny ever gave up hope."

"She said it herself, she has all of us. It might hurt for a while, but she will be okay." Josh said. "Hey, I know she appears soft, but Jen has a spine of steel when she needs it. I don't know what your immediate plans are for the future, but Jen could use your help here for a while longer."

"I'm sticking around," Mila promised. "Kevin says I am already hired as his mechanical engineer. In the past, he contracted such work out to other companies. He likes the idea of keeping it in-house. We have not worked out the details yet since he also likes the idea of a mother staying at home close to her children until they are school age. He is an old-fashioned guy at heart. I never thought I would have any choice except to find a job to support us. Now, I am considering being a stay-at-home mom. Maybe not for five years, but I am thinking about it."

"I don't think we ever discussed it," Josh admitted. "It sort of worked out that way. I liked the arrangement and Jenny loves being with our children full time."

Several days later Jenny knew her voice was okay. Her throat did not hurt and was no longer scratchy. When she talked to herself in the privacy of the bathroom, which was about the only place she had any privacy, her voice did not give out. Not that she could use it since Josh and everyone around her refused to allow her to speak a single word. Josh was behind it, of course. When the doctor said seven days, Josh took it to mean seven
full
days and he intended to enforce it. She had one more day to wait.

Meanwhile, Blake Carter was out on bail and had promptly disappeared. Kevin said he was not surprised, but he also wasn't too unhappy about it either. If Blake didn't show up for his court hearing, an arrest warrant would be issued. As far as he was concerned, whatever it took to get Blake out of town was a good thing. Blake wouldn't be hassling his cousin, Debra. Kevin had told Mila, Debra was dating a good guy, a technician at the hospital. Kevin had his fingers crossed it would lead somewhere.

Hollis Leonard was also out on bail, but he was home attending to his son. He was receiving help from several local agencies for home care nursing staff. He would have had help all along if he had only asked for it. It was still unclear how prosecutors would handle his case. Two of the poachers were out on work programs but had to return to the county jail every evening for lock-up. In this way, they could continue supporting their families, or at least that was the theory behind the program. The other two poachers had outstanding arrest warrants. The court considered them flight risks so they would remain in county jail until their trial dates.

Today, Kevin was doing his final inspection of the main house. He was nitpicking and still finding little things such as paint drips and scratches to fix. He had already told Josh today was his last day working at the Bentley property. He was done. He was taking photographs for his files and to share with his father.

Bubba stopped by for lunch. He was back to work at his private security business. It still ticked him off that someone had gotten the best of him.

Everyone was sitting around talking when Josh asked Kevin if he would be back when the locksmith came to do the drilling.

"Yeah, I will make a point of it," Kevin said. "I still can't believe he is the only guy in this whole area with the equipment to break into the safes."

"It is what it is," Josh grumbled. "It has to do with being bonded, and knowing how to do the job without wrecking the safe or vault. He will be able to drill out the old lock mechanism, and then replace it with a new one."

"I still think Bentley must have left a clue to the combinations," Kevin said. "I read every
Hardy Boys' Mystery
, and
Encyclopedia Brown
book I could get my hands on as a kid. The clues were always something easy and personal. We tried all the obvious birthdays and anniversaries, his and his daughter's, even Mrs. Dougherty's birthday. None worked."

Jenny turned around suddenly. "All but one," she said, leaving the table before anyone had a chance to scold her for talking. She grabbed her keys and, not bothering with a coat, ran across the deck to the main house.

Josh and Kevin rose to follow her, and Mila was half out of her seat.

"Go on," Bubba said. "I'll watch the critters."

"Thanks," Josh said, grabbing Jen's coat on his way out followed closely by Kevin and Mila.

"Jen," Josh shouted.

She poked her head out of his office only to disappear the next moment. Hurrying across the room, Jenny was on her knees in front of the wall safe before the rest of them entered. She dialed a number once, then spun the dial and tried again. She pulled the handle and the safe door opened.

"What were the numbers you used?" Josh demanded.

"03-15-80," Jenny said, "
Your
birthday. Bentley left everything to you. He may not have met you nor done anything for you before his death, still you were his legacy. You were the key to everything. Mr. Mitchim said he made out his will when your mother died. He would have known your birth date."

Josh pulled out two large manila envelopes from the safe. He handed one to Jenny as he opened the other.

"Cash," Jenny said, pulling out stacks of large-denomination bills in bank wrappers.

"This one too," Josh said. He returned the envelopes to the safe and locked it, "Upstairs or down next?"

"Up," Mila picked. "Leave the vault for the finale, provided the combination works for all three."

It worked on the second safe hidden in the linen closet. This was the smaller of the two safes, but it was packed full. Josh pulled out black velvet covered boxes and handed them around.

"Whoa," Kevin said, opening a box approximately ten inches square. Inside was an elaborate diamond necklace along with a picture showing a woman wearing it.

"Bentley was married at some point," Mila said. "This probably belonged to your grandmother." She opened a smaller box. "Here's a bracelet to match."

Jenny opened her box to find a dozen or more elaborate rings in every major gemstone with huge stones.

Josh opened the box he held to find a solitary watch, "Patek Philippe. I've never heard of it." He handed out several more boxes, all of which contained jewelry. They looked and admired the pieces before he returned them to the safe.

"Will you be able to go back down there?" Josh asked, holding Jenny back from the spiral steps in the library. "You don't have to go."

"I want to see it through," Jenny said quietly, slipping her hand into his. He squeezed her hand and then walked in front of her as they went down to the vault.

Kevin and Mila had gone ahead, but they respected this was Josh and Jenny's property. They had not attempted to open the safe, although they knew the combination by now.

The big vault opened on the first try. Josh pulled open the door as Kevin jammed a doorstop he had brought with him under it. The interior was huge, at least eight feet high and much deeper than they expected, fifteen feet or more. Large cabinets lined it. Josh went to step in, but Jenny pulled her hand from his and stepped back.

"You go; I'll wait out here."

Mila went to her. "Are you getting claustrophobic?"

"Yes, I don't think I can go in there. You go in and look."

"No, I'll walk back with you," Mila said. "Hey, guys! I'm going back upstairs with Jen!"

Josh came back out. "We can all go."

"You haven't had time to see anything," Jenny exclaimed clearing her throat as it was becoming scratchy again.

"It's collectibles," Josh said. "Stamps and coins from what I saw."

"More jewelry, but it looks like old stuff and baseball cards," Kevin added as he came out to join them. "Gold pocket watches too! If all these cabinets are full of such collectibles, it could be worth a fortune. You will have to hire professional appraisers. Maybe people from the place always on the news… Sotheby's."

"We probably will," Josh agreed. "So, the rumors and gossip were correct. Bentley did have hidden treasures. Come on Jen, let's get you out here. Kev, close the door and lock it, will you? We'll come back down later to investigate more thoroughly."

"Done," said Kevin, kicking out the door stop and closing it."

"My hero," Josh whispered in Jenny's ear as they began the long climb. "You saved our lives and figured out the mystery combination. I still don't get it, why me?"

"Why not you," Jenny asked going through the bookcase passage. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and addressed everyone in a gravel voice. "We have to keep this a secret. If word slips out, the crazy stuff could start all over. We don't want trouble again."

"Agreed," Mila and Kevin chorused together as they linked hands and hurried ahead.

Josh stopped Jenny at the front door and held her back."

"What?"

"This," Josh said, bending his head to kiss her deeply, "is for being so brave, and so beautiful, and so smart."

He turned her around to face the door and gave her a hard, stinging smack on her ass. "This is for being so damn stubborn and talking yourself out of a voice again!"