Chapter 12

Sterling - Chapter 12

The bank manager was behind a little. Marty sat there wondering what it was going to be like to have money now that she was with Sterling. She wasn't a spend-for-no-reason kind of woman, but it would be nice to have boots and heavy coats when she wanted them. She looked around the big place. It was what banks thought they had to look like fifty years ago. Imposing. Rich. Safe. But whoever was in charge here had made some serious changes to the inside.

There were flowers on the desks. The tellers, she'd noticed, not only had one at their window, but a couple had them in their hair. They also greeted people by name and asked about their families.

One elderly woman that worked behind the desk looked like she might have been there when it first opened. She had suckers at her desk for anyone who wanted them. Dog treats for those who had pets in their cars waiting. Marty liked this place. It gave her a sense of welcome and safety.

"Sterling, Marty, thank you so much for coming in today. I have been so busy. Also, as per Mr. Sullivan, the money from the sales is in your joint account now. I also have a list of the people who purchased them, as well as their addresses, per Isaac's assistant. Terrible shame about his family. Just terrible." Marty thanked him and they sat down at the desk. Another man joined them. "This is the company attorney. He's here in the event you have questions about what we're about to tell you. Let's go in order of my list, that way I won't forget any details. Here is the amount of the check that we deposited."

Sterling stared at it then looked at the banker, Mr. Music. "This can't be right. I mean, it's wonderful, but I don't think this is correct."

Marty took the copy of the check and burst out laughing. Gavin, he insisted that they call him, assured them that it was correct, minus the percentage that went to the estate.

"You don't understand. This is for four million seven hundred dollars." Gavin laughed and said he knew. "But there were only about a dozen paintings. I mean, I know that they all sold, but this is way more than I thought it would be."

"I'm to understand that you had a very good showing, and this proves that you're a wonderful artist. What I would recommend is that you get yourself a good investor. I'm sure that Tanner could get you squared away, but I'd find someone that deals well in the investments that you have as well." Sterling asked what investments. "I'm sorry. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me do this in order, and I think you're going to understand better. That is the amount you were to receive from the work. Very good, sir."

The copy was put in her purse. Marty would look at it a lot later, she knew, but for now, she was going to pay attention to Gavin to see what else they needed to know. She was handed two cards to sign.

"These are for the accounts that you both will share. If you could sign them where it's indicated, I'll move on. This will allow you both access to the accounts, as well as put in a request for cards to go with it." Gavin looked at her. "You'll have Calhoun on yours, so let me know when that is final and I'll put that in as well."

"We're getting married the day after tomorrow." He congratulated them both and she smiled. "I'm sure that everyone in town is aware of it by now. Word travels fast in a town this small."

"It certainly does." Gavin took the cards back and put them in a pile to his left. Marty could see that his list was long, but the man was checking things off quickly. "Now, for the next matter. Isaac was in here a few days before he was murdered. He had me fix up a few things for him and to have some paperwork ready for you. I think he knew it was not going to end well, and he took steps to have his child taken care of, as well as his family business. He's left it to you."

"I'm sorry, what?" Gavin repeated what he'd said. "I can't take that. I mean, I was going to offer to buy it, but I can't just take it."

"Actually, he had made you a full partner in it. I do believe that's why the amount of the check is so large. You got his share in the sales as well. Then he changed a few things as well to make sure that you got the gallery if he should pass. You are the sole owner of Sullivan Gallery. I can add your lovely wife's name should you like, but he left it for you." Sterling looked pale. She wasn't sure how she felt about it either. "He was very sure of himself when he got here. Not that he was going to die, mind you, but of what he wanted. He also made sure that you had access to his accounts—well, both of you—and that you were to get all his personal belongs."

"His house, you mean." He nodded at her and said everything else as well. "I think you're trying to tell us something and you're hedging. I think you should skip right on down to it and explain."

"The little boy, his son, he made you the child's guardians." If he was still talking, Marty could no longer hear him. The little boy was theirs. She looked at Sterling when he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Are you back?" She nodded, then shook her head. "Yeah, I feel the same way. Gavin went to get the paperwork that we're going to have to fill out to be his parents."

"We're raising Gavin too?" Her voice was loud, she knew, but no one said anything to her. "I'm freaking out a little here. I never dreamed in a million years that.... Why would he do that?"

"I don't know. But there is a letter to us both. I told Gavin that we'd read it when we got home. And since Benson is still with my mom and dad, we can take him home now. There are some things we'll have to sign, but he's our son as of the moment we leave here." She sat there while the banker explained things once he returned. She supposed she should have listened, but her mind wasn't working correctly.

They had millions of dollars now, a business, as well as a child. Marty put her hand on her belly and wondered about the one she carried. This was just too much for her to take in. She stood up, and both men did as well, then she asked where the bathroom was. Running in the direction she was told, she knew she was never going to make it.

She was sitting on the floor in the stall when she heard her name. Marty knew who it was; Christine had been coming to the shop every day just to hang out with them. She had grown to love the woman as much as she did anyone else in the family.

"Are you all right, my dear? TJ is about to come in here to slay dragons for you should you need him." Marty laughed. "There you go. Come on out here and have a word or two with me before Sterling breaks the door down."

"I was suddenly overwhelmed by everything." She came out of the stall and went to the sink to wash up. "I suppose you heard that we're going to raise Benson. That little boy. He's lost so much for someone so young."

"Yes, but he'll be loved by all of us. A readymade family that loves him will take care of some of the pain of it. And not that I don't think it's a great loss, because it is, but being so young, he'll not hurt as much as someone, say my age." Marty nodded and turned to look at her future mother-in-law. "You're still a little pale, child. Have a seat on the counter and let me get my heart rate under control."

She sat on the counter and put her hands on her lap. There was so much running around in her head that she had no idea where she should begin. Marty looked at Christine and smiled.

"Sterling made millions off his showing, and now owns the gallery. We're going to be parents to Benson, as well as our own child. The house changes to suit us, which means that it'll have the nursery as well as Benson's room all complete by the time we get home. It'll be perfect as well. I'm a partner in an antique shop with Noelle, and we've just taken the furniture of a very wealthy and sad woman, who may or may not have hidden more treasures in her things." Christine told her welcome to the family. "The wedding is soon and I have no one to invite to it, no family. Also, I've no money of my own, save for the few things that are in the furniture we find. If there is any. I'm not the type of woman that people like Sterling marries."

"I'm so glad that you're going to raise that little boy. He'll need you both. And someday, I'm hoping soon, you will have a child of your own. But with Sterling and you being different, perhaps that's just the point. You're perfect for him, I think. And you should know that anything that we have, you have. And that would include Sterling's money. I'm sure that he's told you that." She nodded. "Good. He's a good man that has had some very difficult times of it. That too, I'm sure he's shared with you. But what you don't know, or don't understand, is that you brought him back to us. Sterling used to be such a wonderfully happy young man. Vibrant, full of life. He taught children and loved every moment of it. Every aspect of being their teacher. Then a monster came along and took that from him. Hurt him so badly that even as his mom, I'll never understand. Nor do I think I want to. But you've given him back to us. You've given him that spark that we all missed. You say you have nothing. Well, from where I stand, I think you've given us more than anyone could have by loving us, and especially my Sterling. By the way, I love that you call him that."

"I've never loved before. Never had anyone care for me like he does. For that matter, you all have. I'm so glad that he found me." Christine hugged her. It was heartfelt, Marty could feel it, and she hugged her back. "I'm ready to go back out now."

"Of course you are. But you should know that the rest of the family has shown up. They can feel—well, Trent can mostly—but we all knew you were upset, so just let them hug you and ask after you. They'll feel better for it." As they were going to the door, Christine paused again. "Oh, and you should expect something different from James. He's...well, he's James. As much as I love that old man, he can be the most irritating of all the men I know."

She had no idea what to expect when she came out the door. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask Christine if they could wait them out. But suddenly she was being hugged tightly and hands were patting her on the back. Love. This was just what love felt like when it was freely given. Then she looked at her grandda-in-law.

"I have a favor to ask of you. Well, all of you." James wiped his nose with his hanky then nodded at her. "I'd like to call you what Sterling does. Grandpa for you, if you'd allow it. And the others, Grandma, Mom, and Dad. I already think of the others as brothers and sisters."

"It'll come with a price. This thing you want to do." She nodded, expecting no less from this older man. "I'll expect to be invited to dinner weekly, and I want to be asked to babysit, even if you have nowhere to go but to the mailbox. I've never had a great grandchild before, so I'm hoping that you'll make me toe the line when I mess up with them."

"Will you love them?" He said of course he would. "Then you can't ever mess up as far as I'm concerned. And I've never been a mother before either, so we can learn together."

"Good deal." He hugged her then, picking her up in his arms and then swinging her around the room. When he set her on her feet, he kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna have some fun now, I think. Yes, sir, I will."

~*~

Sterling was sitting in the chair by the desk. He'd been up for hours, just sitting there waiting for the sun to come up, his mind too busy to settle on one thing, so he let it roam. Looking around when the door behind him opened, he looked at Noah and Benny.

"How are you?" He nodded at Benny and smiled at the man. "You look like a man who has a great deal on his mind. We thought we'd come by and add more to it."

"Maybe it'll make a nice distraction. I've heard from the faerie queen and a few other royals over the last few days. Did you know that there is a lineage for each and every part of the earth?" Benny told him that he was learning that as well. "I've been commissioned to paint them, and for a great deal of money. I was letting things work around in my head about that as well."

Noah sat down while Benny roamed the snowy deck. He was a good man with a lot on his mind as well, Sterl would think. When he finally settled in the chair by the fire ring, Sterl looked at Noah.

"The little girl that your brother is keeping an eye on, did you know that she's part faerie?" Sterl told him that nothing would surprise him anymore. "Yes, I would imagine that you've had a lot more than most men thrown at you. I came to tell you that I've found her aunt. She is not at all like her sister."

"I didn't figure she would be. I've been thinking about her as well. And I've concluded that she's a mate to one of my other brothers." Noah nodded. "I thought so. And I have a feeling that it's going to be Randal. He already has a connection to the child. That way they'll come together for her."

"Not as easily as you might think. Laney Price is.... You know my Joe and how stubborn she can be? Well, Laney is much more. I'd say she might even be more stubborn than I am." Sterl asked if she was on her way. "Not that I'm aware of. I think you'll find out that she has a great deal of mistrust when it comes to her sister and her husband. I don't believe that she thinks they're really gone. They might have done this to her before."

"They were sick bastards." Noah agreed. "So, how do we get her here? I'm assuming that you might have a plan in all this."

"I do. But you aren't going to like it." Sterl leaned back in the chair and regarded his friend. "First of all, she doesn't have the means to come here. Not that she's broke, but she won't touch her savings account for any reason. She came from a very poor family, and decided that she won't do without."

"I can understand that, but this is her niece." Noah shook his head. "You said that the woman in the house was her sister. Why won't this be her niece?"

"Heather is her half-sister. Laney only just found out about it a few months ago. Laney's father is the child's father, and her stepmother is the mom. Very complicated, I think. The reason that the Zenicks had her is anyone's guess. But I'm going to figure that as well. You might say that this is a mission for me. I'm bored." Sterl laughed and Noah cocked a brow at him. "You think my boredom is funny?"

"No. But I remember something that my mom used to say to us as kids. A bored wolf is a wolf that is going to be in trouble. I would imagine that as a bored vampire, you can get into all sorts of trouble. Are you, Noah? Going to get into trouble?" He grinned at him. "Ah, so you've considered that, have you?"

"A little. Which brings me to why I'm here. I don't think you should take the little girl out to her sister. You and Marty should go alone." He asked why Randal wasn't going. "He needs to figure that part out on his own. And he will, but that will need to be his doing. Leave Heather here when you go see her sister, then tell Laney what you've been able to find out. I know that isn't much, but you'll have more when you leave."

"You know more than the police?" Noah nodded and looked over at Benny. "He found it for you."

"Yes, Benny is very good at digging, I've discovered. And he's finding things for me all the time now. We make a good partnership. But this woman, she'll come back with you to sign paperwork. That's the only reason that I've figured will bring her back. As I said, she is most untrusting." Sterl said he could do that. "Also, and this is the part where I think you're going to be upset with me, I've set you up for a gallery opening. It's in mid-July, so you should be able to paint more before then, correct?"

"I don't know." Noah said nothing. "The work I do, I thought for some reason that it would go away, the darkness of my work, but I have so many things rushing around in my head that I'm sort of afraid of it."

"That, too, is understandable. You've been afraid for a long time. And the things that are rushing around in there, they'll make great paintings that while few will understand, everyone will love." Sterl wasn't so sure about that either. "Sterling, whether you paint or not, I think you're happy now."

"Yes, very much so, and I'm in love." Noah smiled at him. "We're going to raise Benson as our own. We won't change his last name…Marty and I decided that someday he might like to take over the gallery again, so a Sullivan is running it. But that'll be up to him as well. We read the letter last night and have decided to save it for Benson. Isaac wrote about his love for the little boy and how he'd come to the decision to leave him with us. I think he might need that, just to feel better about what his dad did for him."

"Good. I think that's a very good move. I knew you were smart." Sterl just laughed. "The little girl. You'll help her? You'll go and find her sister for her? She might not be easy."

"None of my life is easy. Falling in love, that was easy, but the rest of my life? No, not easy at all. But, in answer to your question, yes, I'll do this. There really is a person I'm to talk to out there about a show?"

"Oh yes. That was set up long before Benny found out about the child and her sister." Noah stood up. "Go. Paint. Then when you are finished, I'd like to see the faerie queen's painting. She is someone that I admire as much as I do you."

Long after Noah and Benny left and Sterl had gone into the house, he sat in his chair. He wanted to go out and paint…it was something that he had planned when getting up early. But the snow falling in soft flakes and the sun just turning it a nice soft shade of pink had him still sitting. There was so much going on in his head that he reached for the pad and pen that he'd found in the bottom of one of the drawers a few days ago.

He didn't think about what he was doing…just putting the pen to the paper made him relax a little. By the time he was turning to another page to fill, he was feeling like he was onto something. Sterl never looked at the drawings, or whatever it was he was putting there, but closed his eyes and let his mind take his hand to wherever he wanted it to go. By the time he could no longer hold the pen in his hand—it was cramping severely—he was also exhausted.

Leaving the pen and pad on his lap, Sterl leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Sleep took him gently. He knew on some level that he might slip out of the chair, but for now, he was tired and relaxed. Nothing was going to harm him here.

When he woke he was covered up by the coverlet that had been on the couch. Stretching, he looked at the grandfather clock that he'd found on one of his trips with Noelle. It was nearly three o'clock, which meant that he'd been asleep for nearly nine hours. Getting up, he saw the envelope on his pad, as well as the pen. Picking up the note, he read it aloud.

"I don't know if you are aware of it, but there is a nice comfy bed upstairs. I'm glad you got some much needed rest, however. Anyway, I'm at the shop with Noelle, and a package arrived for you this morning. Don't know who it's from, but Alta said you'd like it. Love, M."

Going to the kitchen, Sterl stretched again. His wolf curled along his body, sort of telling him that he was rested as well. Upon entering the big room, he saw the package and the large platter of food that Alta had in her hand. Food first, then package, his growling belly told him.

"It's from the queen. The witch one, not the faerie. Though she will be more than likely sending you one as well. Miss Chris said that you'd need this and I was to give it to you first thing." He thanked her. "Myra said to tell you that you should paint the second one. Don't know what that means, but I was to pass it on to you."

"I was sketching. I don't normally do that, but I had to today." He ate the entire platter of ham, sausage, biscuits, and gravy. Drinking down two glasses of orange juice, he pulled the package toward him and took the knife that Alta handed him. "Am I going to know what this is, you think?"

"I don't know. It's warded so that I can't tell. But you go on ahead and open it. I asked if you needed to do it somewhere safe, but she said anywhere would be fine." He didn't want to think about why she'd need to ask if it would be safe, but cut the tape holding the lid together. "Careful now. You don't want to cut yourself."

Laying the knife aside, he carefully opened the tissue paper inside. When he looked into the box, he wasn't at all sure what he was looking at. When he looked at Alta, thinking she'd have an idea, he was shocked to see her expression.

"Alta? What is it?"

She said "Oh my," and he stood up. But before he could move to her, the blast of heat took his breath away, then darkness engulfed him.