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“Yes, that’s wonderful. I didn’t want to be that far away either. And we can use one of the rooms here for the nursery.” Miley was getting more excited everyday about the new baby. They were going to the doctor that specialized in shifters next month to find out all sorts of things. Joel entered one of the rooms along the hall. “I think I found the master.”
The room was huge, taking up the space of two of the rooms across the hall from it. There was a bathroom with closets, and windows that looked out over the expansive back yard and pool. Plus, from there he could see the driveway and the horse paddock. He could see himself being master of the manor here. He was laughing when he turned back to Mercy.
“What’s out there that you find so funny?” He told her what he’d been thinking about. “Good. And as master of the manor, you get to name the place. It’s tradition for a bird to be into her nest, so to speak, to name it. I haven’t any idea when that started, but when I was just a chick, we were Falcon Nest. Stupid, I know, but—”
“That’s perfect. I love it.” She asked him if he was sure. “Yes, we’re all falcons here. And I would imagine that any children we have would be as well. So this is perfect. I love you.”
Joel was kissing Mercy when he heard the crunch of gravel. He didn’t think that he’d ever had hearing as good as he did now. Sometimes it was nice, like now, to know they were having company. But other times, in the middle of the night, he could swear he could hear the wood groaning under the weight of age.
“Someone is here.” He asked her if she knew who it was. “You know him. It’s your brother. I have no idea how he found us here, but I intend to find out. He’s becoming a pain in my ass, just so you know.”
“Mine too. Let’s go and run him off so we can get things squared away at Falcon’s Nest.” The more he said the name, the more he liked it. As they made their way past Miley, Joel asked her to stay up here. “I don’t know what he has to say, if anything, but I’d rather him not know that you’re here with us.”
“All right, Dad, but I have to tell you, I don’t think I like my uncle. He’s a pain in the butt.” She moved past them to the next room. “If you don’t really mind, I think I will take two of the rooms up here. I like having my own space.”
They were just coming down the stairs when the doorbell sounded as if it were stuck. Joel knew that it was Saul, trying to make a point of letting them know that he was there. The little fucker was going to get a piece of his mind. And he looked at Mercy as they took the last step down.
“I’m going to deal with him. I’d like to think it was once and for all, but I have a feeling that the only way we’re going to be rid of him is with him in prison or dead. And I think I have the perfect spot to bury him. In the pasture so that he can be shit on all the time.” Mercy was laughing when he opened the door. “What the fuck do you want? And more importantly, how the hell did you know that we were here? Have you been following us?”
“Of course I have. How else would I know where my brother is living? Are you buying this house? Christ, Joel, if you have that sort of money, surely you can spot me a few thousand bucks. It’ll be nice to be able to have some nice things too.” Saul tried to push past him, and Joel blocked him. “Aren’t you going to invite me in? It’s not very nice of you. How will I know where I might be staying should you have me over for dinner or something?”
“You’re not going to be invited anywhere where we are. And as for coming in, no. Not on your fucking life. Besides, Saul, there is nothing here for you to steal, so it’s a moot point, don’t you think?” Saul said he sounded like he was being nasty. “I was hoping you’d get that. And I’m happy to say that I was being nasty to you. I don’t want you around. Don’t you get that? I have a nice life now, one that I’m very happy with. I have a good wife, a child on the way, and I have a daughter that I love. You, however, are not on any of those lists of things that I love. I want you to get out of my life, now, or you’ll be arrested for trespassing.”
“You can’t do that to me.” Joel asked him why not. “I’m your brother, Joel, in the event that it slipped your mind. I’m your blood relative, and therefore, I mean more to you than any of these—these people are nothing compared to what I am to you.”
“You’ve got that all wrong, Saul. You are nothing compared to what I have with them. And you will never be anything more than a pain in my ass. Now, this is the last time that I’m going to tell you—stay out of my life, or so help me, Saul, you’ll regret it.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Mercy. “She’s not going to give into you either.”
“Do you hear the way that he’s talking to me, Mercy? Like he has a right to. How come you’re not sharing whatever you got with me? I’m your relative too.” Mercy laughed. “You think this is funny? All this shit that he’s saying to me? I don’t. It’s rude, and I won’t have it.”
“You go on thinking that way, Saul, and I can tell you that you’ll only get yourself killed.” Mercy came to stand next to him and Joel took her hand. “You have been warned. And the next time you come here, I’ll warn you that the gatehouse will be manned, and the guard there will have permission to kill you on site if you try and enter. The fencing around this place is electrified as well, so if I were you, I’d not try that way either.”
“You guys will pay for this treatment.” The siren sounded just as the police pulled into the driveway. Joel didn’t know who had called them in, but he was happy to see them. “You fucking called the cops on me? I tell you, Joel, I’m making a list of shit that I’m going to have to have repayment for. You’re getting into some big bucks right now. How about you spot me some of it now and I’ll forget this whole thing?”
“Mr. Saul Oliver, you’re to come away from the house. Now. You’re trespassing.” Saul looked at him before turning to the officer. Joel saw hatred there, deeper than he’d ever seen it on his brother before. Officer Allen Windjammer put his hand on his gun and unsnapped it before he spoke again. “You give me any shit and I’ll be obliged to shoot you where you stand.”
“Such hostility around here.” Saul turned back to them again before going down the steps. “I’ll be seeing the two of you soon. And that little girl of yours. It’d be a real shame if something happened to her while I’m being treated this way.”
“Did you just threaten them?” Allen laughed when he tossed Saul on the car. “You’re an idiot, just like I was told. I’m going to take you in and let you stew a while in a cell for what you did. Christ man, do you have any idea how much this couple does for this town? Apparently not. Well, let me fill you in on a thing or two. They’ve made the jail one of the best in the state. You might want to thank them for making it so you can take a crap in private. There are better foods, as well as things for a
prisoner to do while he or she is staying with us.”
After reading Saul his rights, Allen put him in the back of the cruiser. Saul could still be heard yelling at him, so Joel tuned him out in order to hear what Allen had to say to them. It looked as if he was trying to find the best way to say it when Mercy spoke.
“Say it before I have to reach down into your throat and pull it out for you. It might be less painful for you for me not to have to do that to you.” He asked about the gatehouse. “I’m looking for someone to fill the spot now. If you know anyone, let me know. Also, the fencing around this place has the ability to be electrified, and I’m going to make sure that it’s on its highest setting until that jackass is out of town. Or at the very least out of our hair. Also, and you might want to drop a few hints to the rest of the people in your station, Saul Oliver has committed murder. I can’t prove it as yet, but we will.”
“All right, I can do that. And I might have just the person for the gatehouse. My brother. He’s a retired Navy Seal, and isn’t adjusting to people well. Perhaps him out there will give him something to do and not have to hang around with a lot of people.” Joel said to send him out to the house. “I can do that. His name is Daniel Windjammer. But most people from the service all call him Jammer. I didn’t ask, so I don’t know.”
They were still laughing when the cruiser pulled away. Going to find Miley, they found her in the bedroom she was going to use as a homework room, she called it, writing down the things she was going to need to finish it off. Even before he could ask, Miley turned to Mercy.
“You have an old desk I can have? I’d rather have wood that has no top. What I mean is, I don’t want a secretary kind of desk.” Mercy said that she knew of two they had in storage. “If you don’t mind.”
“No. As a matter of fact, we’re going to the warehouse after we settle up with the movers tomorrow, I think. I wanted to show your dad around.” She asked if she could go. “Of course. There are some old Victorian beds stuck in there someplace, as well as a couple hundred chairs you might want to put in your new room. It wouldn’t be any trouble to get them redone for you. I know a guy here in town that loves doing it.”
“I’d love to see them. I bet over the years you’ve kept a lot of that sort of stuff.” Joel told Miley that they were going to put a few of the pieces in the house. “That would be way awesome. I have a dream of having a huge family table, and all the aunts around it with their mates. It would be so cool at Christmas.”
They decided to go out to dinner, someplace they could splurge on a good steak as well as some wine. They had a driver now; hired by one of the others to drive them instead of them having to find parking spaces. Joel was looking forward to moving into the bigger house and having Christmas there, just like Miley was.
As they were riding down the elevator to the main level, Miley asked about the grounds around the house. Mercy was telling her about the horses that they could get, because there was a great deal of land to ride on. Joel was looking at the large garage with the apartment over the top. He was muddling through wondering if Daniel would like to live there. It would be nice for the added protection, he thought.
