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“Maybe you’ll get some niceness out of this.”
They all walked away, heading to their cars. Mercy had arranged for them to have a nice dinner in town, and then they’d go home to watch an old movie. Even the other birds were going to join them.
He’d not realized how much they all loved popcorn until the other day, when he’d made some. They had eaten six bowls of it before the movie had even begun. It took him several trips to make more before he figured out they were seeds. Laughingly, he made them as much as they wanted, and had purchased a case of it for the next time they came over.
Dinner was at Remi’s place. That was what it was called, and the old jukebox had fit well in with the décor she’d come up with. All the stools were covered in red leather, as were the benches, and each table had a small music player at it. Not the old ones—they were very hard to find, not to mention expensive—but new models that entertained as much as the older ones might have.
There were treats after dinner. The malt machine was up and running now. There were apple and cherry turnovers, as well as ice cream that was hand scooped. Everything that a person would need to have a child’s, or even an adult’s birthday party, Remi told them. To him, it was a perfect ending to the day that they’d had.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Dad, about becoming an attorney. I think I’d be good at that. One for the family. If we’re going to be around for a while, we’ll need someone to fix the ins and outs of living this long.” He told Miley to do what she wanted. “I am, and I do. I have been looking up on it, and there is a great need for good attorneys. And I want to be the best.”
“You will be then.” Blaze looked up at him when he laughed. “You don’t think she’ll be a good attorney?”
“I do. But it’s you having so much confidence in her. Just like an aunt would have. I’m very happy that you’re going to be there to encourage her along the way.” Blaze said that she’d been one once, a good attorney. “Why did you stop doing it?”
“Because, as Miley said, there aren’t a great many good ones out there. I got fed up with not fighting the system so much as fighting others like me. I hope that she’s not getting into it for the money. There are a good deal of people like that as well.” Miley asked her if they were all in it for that. “No, I didn’t mean to imply that they were only in it for money. But there are a lot of them that are. You have enough money now that it won’t be an issue for you, right?”
“No, it won’t. I want to be something that I can be proud of. And I think that by being a good attorney, I can be. I mean, not just for the family, though that is a big factor in this. But I’d like to be there for the ones that can’t afford a good attorney. That need someone that will fight for them to the very end. That’s what I want to do.” Joel had never been more proud of her than he was at this moment. “Of course, I might just meet some really nice person and marry him before I can make a go of it.”
“No.” Joel realized that he’d shouted and lowered his voice. “What I mean is, you’re never going to date, marry, or even have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s going to happen.” Joel glared at Esme. “And that will get you nowhere too. I don’t take glares seriously. She’ll be and do what she wants. And that, I think, is what we should all want for her. But to say she won’t date? You are so a dad if you really think that.”
She was right, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to think about. Going home, he and Mercy sat on the couch again in the living room, a room that they were both coming to love very much. When Miley said she was going to bed, they both hugged and kissed her then snuggled back into the couch.
They made love there, on the couch, with the fire in the fireplace. Joel removed her clothing as if each piece was priceless. Her skin was touched reverently, as if it might bruise or shatter. His kisses, all over her body, were like tiny brands to her skin, his marking of his mate.
Taking her body, here at this time together, was love. He was sure that this was what the term making love came from. It wasn’t just a coming together of two bodies. No, it was two souls merging into one. Rolling her to her back, Joel continued to make love to Mercy as he told her with his mouth and voice how much he loved her. That he would cherish her forever, that she was his and only his forever.
And when she came, crying out his name over and over, Joel watched her face, and saw what love she had for him. Kissing her as he released deep inside of her, Joel thought two other people could not love each other as much as he and Mercy. They were one, they were family, and Joel was glad that she’d fallen in love with him.
Life, Joel thought, was very good right now. And as far as he was concerned, it couldn’t get any better than it was at this moment.
~*~
Blaze looked over the design that she’d gotten today. It wasn’t hard for them to have someone take apart the toys they had—carefully, of course—and then make a diagram of them to use. All the toys had been done that way, except for the few that Miley had helped her with. And they were going to be a big sellers, Blaze thought.
This toy was giving her fits, because the man who had come up with the blueprint for them said that they were perfect and that they moved smoother than Miley had said that they would when she’d been working with her. Blaze didn’t see what he might have seen, but she didn’t think that it was right. So she took the blueprint and looked it over carefully to find what her mind was telling her was wrong.
After putting it together in her mind, she used a bit of magic and assembled it using just the prints. There was a problem with the movement, but it wasn’t the toy’s fault, but that of the man who had printed them up for her. He’d left out a very important step.
Picking up the phone, she called him. Deter Prints was going to fix this today for her. As soon as the phone was answered, she knew that something had happened. The person on the other line simply answered the call with “Police.”
“Either something has happened to Mr. Deter, or you’re there for another reason altogether. Whatever it is, should I be worried about my product?” The man asked her if she was a toy maker. “Yes. I have been in business for a very long time. I inherited the company from my parents.”
That was the story that they told anyone they didn’t know. It not only explained why the same name held the company, but why it had been in business for so long. Before she could ask again what was going on, a woman came on the line. She was brisk and cold sounding, but efficient.
“What company am I talking to, please?” She wanted to point out that she wasn’t a company, but a person, but decided to let it go. For now. “You have a long list of toys that have been made up by Deter Prints, am I correct?”
“He doesn’t make the toys for me, but he makes the blueprints for me so that my company can make them. I’m assuming that this is some kind of investigation, and that you have a list in your hand. So, skipping over what you already know, let’s get down to business. Why are you there? And why are you going over my list of toys?” Blaze waited for the woman to stop cursing. “Finished?”
“Yes. And you are right, this is an investigation. There were some complaints that toys being made here—or in your case, prints of how the toys needed to be made—were being made by this company, with his name on them. The prints that have gone out, they’re not correct, and it’s not until they’re made that the flaw is found out. Did you find one in the prints you have?”
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling. He said they were perfect. And had I put them on the production line like this, I would have had a great many toys that didn’t work for me or the people who paid for them.” The woman, Agent Williams, asked her if she could come to the plant. “I can. When would be a good time for you?”
“Anytime you can. The sooner the better, if you don’t mind.” She said that she’d be there in an hour. And she was bringing her attorney. “That might not be such a bad idea. And while you’re at it, Blaze, I’d bring anything you have that might tell someone that you’ve come up with the ideas that you have had him make for you.”
This was serious. But she had her ass covered. Blaze or one of them had seen this happen before. Theft of an idea or product wasn’t a new thing. And since it wasn’t, they’d taken very careful steps in making sure that they came out on top. The next phone call she made was to Jude. She had been the best attorney she knew at one time, and could, at a moment’s notice, fall into that position again.
