Chapter 3

Gracie didn't like being in the hospital again, but she really had been in a great deal of pain and was glad that someone could get her here and mellowed out. She didn't understand, and there was no talking to Maverick about it why he was still hanging around.

The nurses had been all overly helpful in making sure that she was comfortable and that she wasn't in any pain. She'd been put into a private room when she'd returned from an x-ray. Of course, it could have been because Maverick—of course, him again—telling anyone who came into the room that he wasn't leaving. And that he hoped that they didn't mind if he spent the night with her. She might have objected to that, but the shithead winked at her, and she felt her entire body warm to the thought of what he'd been saying.

The man had a couple of screws left, that's all. He'd get better when someone pointed out to him the error of his ways in hitting on her. He kissed her all the time, quick pecks on her mouth that had her craving for more but also not wanting more. The man—

"I have to go and sign some paperwork on the house. I wish you could go with me, but I'll take care of everything for you." She asked him what that meant. "You'll see. Jenson is coming in to sit with you. All right?"

"No, it's not all right if he sits with me. I don't even like that you're sitting with me. Why don't you go home to your new house? I'm sure that there is plenty of shit for you to do there." He told her that he was waiting for her to pick out the carpet together. "You'd better not be covering up those wonderful floors with carpet. I will brain you if you even suggest it again."

Laughing, he leaned over and kissed her. Before she could tell him that he had to stop doing that, he was gone. Jenson must have met Maverick in the hallway because he was laughing when he came into the room with her.

"He said that he's in love with you." Gracie told her nearest and dearest friend that his brother was full of shit. That made him laugh all the harder. "I don't blame him, to be honest. You're a wonderful woman, and I couldn't be happier that you're going to be an honest-to-goodness part of my family."

"That's not possible, you have to know that. We've known each other for a total of what? Five days? And most of that, I've been in here, recuperating. He can't love me, Jenson. Even you have to see that. What will it do to your political career with someone who has barely made it out of high school and can't hold down a job? Not to mention having an uncle that is set to kill her off." Jenson sat down close to the bed and took her hand into his much larger one. "Please don't tell me that it'll all work out. You know my life history more than anyone. I'm not the kind of person that people marry. Especially for love."

"What I know about you…let me start with a list of things that I not only admire about you but also love, too. You're brilliant. Who tutored me when I was behind in one of my classes. So please don't say things about your intelligence when I know better. After you knocked me around a couple of times, I got it, didn't I?" Gracie rolled her eyes at him. "Also, you're wonderfully loyal. Even with all the shit, as you call it was going on in your life, you made time to be around me and my parents. I often think that you're the reason that I decided to take this course in my life. You were my cheerleader in debates at school. You told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was meant for greatness. You have given me the boost that—did you know that I thought long and hard about whether or not I could go into politics? Every decision that I made about it was thinking about what you'd say to me about it."

"Those are very nice things to say, but that doesn't negate the fact that I'm not the kind of girl for someone like your family." He asked her if it was because of their money. "Of course, it has to—you must have been dropped on your head as a baby. I don't know…Jenson, I have nothing. Not even the clothing on my back. I mean, I appreciate your wife sharing her wardrobe with me but I again have nothing. Is it the money thing ? Only someone with wads of cash to toss around would say that."

"You have money, love. We are working on getting all your inheritance back for you." She told him that it was gone. "Jade found that he has an account in the Cayman Islands. I don't know why people think that's a good place to hide funds, do you?"

She smacked him. He put his hand over his cheek and asked her what that was for. What really pissed her off was the fact that he was laughing, like he found what she'd done to him funny for whatever reason.

"Do you have any idea…no, of course you don't." The door opened and there stood Maverick, smiling at her with a bouquet of pink roses. "Do you have any idea what my uncle will do to you? Did Jenson tell you that I was engaged once? Well, not technically engaged, but he had the ring on him when he was murdered. Right there on my front stoop. I've known all along that it was Bradon, but no one could prove it. Or they didn't care. Jeremy wasn't marrying me for love. I certainly didn't love him but it was good for us both, him marrying me so that his family wouldn't disown him. Don't you see? It didn't matter that his family had money. All the money in the world won't save you if he figures out that you're making me happy. He'll kill you simply for that reason. That he never wants to see me happy."

"I have more money than he does." She fell back hard on the bed, hurting herself in the process. Crying, not for the pain but for how hard it was to get through to him. "Honey, he won't get to you so long as there is breath in my body."

"That's just it. There won't be any breath in your body if he…You know what? I give up." Jenson got up and left, but not before hugging Maverick. As Maverick toed off his shoes, he started talking to her.

"I'm sorry that I've been so flippant with you and what you've been trying to tell me since we met. I'm also sorry that I've been throwing around that I believe that money will protect me. I know that it won't but you're right, I don't know all the reasons that he terrifies you so much. But I'm learning. Jade called me right after I left here and told me what she'd been able to find out about the soon-to-be-dead Bradon. I'm not joking about that. If he keeps doing what he's been doing to you, I'm going to take him to task. And by that, I mean I'm going to keep digging into his life until I find enough to put him away for good. Can you move over, please? I'm exhausted." Before she could think what a terrible idea it was to allow him to get into bed with her, she moved to the far edge, and he got in with her. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Digging into his life. There are things that I don't know if you know about the man. So tell me if you do. Things that we know together will go a long way in keeping him where he is."

"I lived with him since I turned four. I know a great deal about him that he might not even know, either." Maverick yawned and then asked her what she knew. The yawn made her do that same thing, and her eyes were suddenly very heavy. "He has a few wives out there somewhere. From what I could find in his papers that he tried to hide from me is that he never divorced either of them before he married again." Maverick yawned again, bringing her along with him. "Stop that. You're not going to sleep here."

"I'll just take a nap. That way, I can get up when I'm awake. Tell me more. Or we can do this when we're less exhausted." She told him he wasn't that tired. "Oh, but I am. I think that I've been up for the last few days. Not a single nap or anything since we bought the house."

Gracie found it too tiring to point out that she'd not bought a house with him. Her body hadn't felt this relaxed or good in longer than she liked to think about. As soon as she closed her eyes, just like him, only needing a nap, she knew that she was in deep trouble with this man if he could make her feel like this by just sleeping in the same bed with her.

When she woke up, the sun was peaking through the blinds, telling her that it was daytime. It wasn't until she started to move that she remembered that Maverick had been in bed with her. The scent coming from his pillow warmed her up and made her smile. Then he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Where are your clothes?" He said that his brother was bringing them. Maverick told her that he didn't expect her to be awake now and that he had his boxers on. "And why wouldn't I be? It's daylight in the event it missed your noodle."

"I know the time." Maverick stood there for a few seconds. She couldn't tell if he was angry or not but watched him carefully. "You're forever yelling at me. Why is that, you think? Also, you're set on pushing me away. It won't work. Move over so that I can warm up in bed with you."

She did it again. Just moved over to make room for him like they'd been doing it all their lives. Christ, she was going to ask for someone to examine her head. She had to have something wrong with her. When he was in bed, his chilled legs rubbing against hers, she asked him to move over.

"Then I'll be cold again. I've come to a conclusion. I don't think that you're going to like it any more than you do anything about me, but I love you, Grace." She didn't say anything. Her heart had stopped beating for a few beats while she thought of what he'd just said. "Good. I've rendered you speechless for now. I love you so much, more than I thought it was possible to love another human being. You do push me away a great deal and while it does hurt my heart, I know that I have to work all that much harder to make you feel what I feel for you."

"That's the problem. You won't have to work all that hard at making me love you. But you have to also know that it's dangerous. He'll come, and you're not prepared at all for what he'll do to you." Maverick leaned on his hand and looked down at her. The smile tore at her heart more than she thought that it should. Brushing some of the hair from his cheek, he smiled at her bigger. "You big jerk. What the hell am I going to do with you?"

"Several things come to mind." He wiggled his brows at her. Gracie couldn't help but laugh. "But we've not the time nor the privacy to do those sorts of things to each other. However, we can talk about the things that Bradon has done to you. In the name of being prepared, I was wondering if he was the sort of person that has a pattern."

"Pattern? I don't understand." He explained it to her while still rubbing his legs up and down hers. "Stop that. I can't think when you do that." His legs stopped, but it didn't keep him from laughing. "Okay, so a pattern on how and when he finds me. Let me think. Mostly, it was on Fridays. He had it worked out so that he knew somehow when I got paid. I suppose that was easy enough for him to figure out. I do remember a time when an apartment complex caught fire. It was the one that was across the way from where I was. The police said it was faulty wiring. I don't know if he was guilty or not then. I do now."

"The house fire that burned you out this time, they caught him red-handed, so to speak. When the fire department tried to get him to back away from the flames, he told them that he'd only done this for one reason and he wasn't going to miss you. He did mention you by name and wasn't going to allow you to sneak off and get away from him again. I'm assuming that at some point, you were able to escape him?" She tried to think and told him that she'd have to give that some thought. "Okay, so we know that he likes to set fires to lure you out. He's not opposed to bribing someone at the bank—which I meant to tell you. They have found the person responsible for Bradon getting money out of your account. He has, or he had, an account at the same bank and all your deposits were put back into your account as of this morning. I forgot, I'm sorry. It did drain his account but no one seems to care about that. The money, all of it, was just sitting there. The woman, sorry to say, has been arrested and charged with the crime. Since then, she's been talking about all the things that Bradon had been telling her about."

"About me, you mean." Maverick told her that it was for the most part, but they're finding a couple of others that had been robbed by him. "Are they family? I mean, did you need me to tell you if they're related to me in some way so that we can figure this out? I do know that there is at least one aunt who ended up not getting anything from my parents will. I don't remember the details, but I do remember finding out that she'd been taken advantage of by Bradon, too."

They talked off and on for the next hour. Barkley showed up at some point, giving her a hug and some information on her uncle. After Maverick changed into clean clothes, she was bereft of his warmth. But she didn't say that to him. She thought that his ego didn't need any more stroking.

~*~

Maverick found himself whistling several times today. He knew that people were staring at him and he found that he just didn't care. However, the house, being in a state of flux, was wearing on him. When his dad showed up at the house, he asked him if this was normal.

"Of course it is. There is always more disaster at the beginning. But now that everything is fixed with the wiring and such, things will start to go smoother and it'll start to take shape." He asked his dad if he was sure. "As sure as I am for the love that I have for you."

"That's…wow, Dad, that was wonderful." After getting a tight hug, he asked his dad if he was going to go with them tomorrow. "I know that I have just about everything that I need in the house, but the auction is probably going to be the last one of the season, and I just want to hang out a bit. Even Grace is going with me."

"You love her, don't you, son?" Maverick told his dad that he loved her with all his being. "I'm so happy for you. To be honest, I worried that you'd not find someone to love. You're so…well, in the words of Jade, you were kind of stiff about life. I think that has to do mostly with you being a nerd."

They both laughed. Dad had been calling him a nerd since he'd been a boy. But he'd worn it like a badge of honor. And because of his nerdiness, he'd kept his family in money that they'd never spend in all their lifetime.

"I was just thinking about this house. Are you breaking even on it, you think? You know that I considered it for the foundation, so I'm wondering if I passed up a great deal or not." For the first time in his life, he told his dad that it didn't matter to him if he broke even or spent a fortune on the house. Grace loved it, too. "Then that's answer enough for me. I'm proud of you, Maverick. You've found something that you love, and you're sparing no expense in making her the happiest person she can be. However, it's hard to tell sometimes if she's happy or not. She…well, she's not shy about just saying what's on her mind, is she?"

Hugging his dad, he felt good. Taking his dad out to the deck that had been finished just this morning, they both loved it. He told his dad that he was going to have a fence put around the pool that was back there in the early spring.

"I'd just like to get the house done now. I'd love to be in it by the holidays. However, I have to admit, I don't know if that's going to be possible right now." Dad told him that he thought that he'd have plenty of time. "You think? I hope so. It's a grand old house, as you said but I find that I'm having fun, though stressed about watching it come together."

"Where is your lovely Gracie today? I thought she'd be here watching over every step of the process." He told him what she was doing. "That's right. Your mom told me that she was going shopping with the girls. I don't know why I didn't think about Gracie being with them. I have to get used to her being around. Do I, son?"

"I hope so. She's always pushing me away, mostly due to her uncle, but we're getting around that, too. I'm glad that she's out of the hospital, and I promised her that I'd try my best not to fall on her anymore. I still feel bad about hurting her again. But she just smacks me around a bit, and that's the end of it." Dad asked him if he had any more information on Bradon. "Just what you knew. When I was at the hospital yesterday, Barkley bought me in some clean clothes and told me that he's not made bail because there is a problem with Bradon's accounts. I didn't know that Jade had the power to put a hold on people's accounts. Makes me a little more afraid of her now." Dad told him that it was Jenson who did that and had the FBI looking into the man's crimes. "You were able to use the information that Grace gave you, I'm assuming. I'll have to tell her. She thinks that her uncle is going to come after us. And I was…I hurt her feelings because I was being so casual about it. I told her that I'd take the man's threats more seriously from now on."

There was a commotion going on in the front of the house where the dining room was being stretched out. They decided that the room was large but really not large enough to hold his family if they came over. Building out and putting in some large windows made the room seem about three times the size that it had been. He couldn't believe it when the family was back again when he went to see what was going on.

He knew their names now. The woman who seemed to be in charge, her name was Carol. The others, while knowing their names, he didn't know which was which. He really didn't think that it mattered all that much since Carol seemed to be the only one who spoke. The other three, all men, just nodded when she was speaking, like they had been trained to do so.

"You had us arrested." He said that he did, and if they caused him any more trouble he was going to do it again. "Look. I think you got off on the wrong foot with us. You just stop this nonsense that is going on, and we'll call it even. Like I said before, the only reason that we couldn't buy the house back from the bank was because of the taxes. Now that you've paid them off, we can all live here as one big happy family."

"No." Maverick was sure as soon as he said that to her that she'd never been told no before. Her face, ruddy looking anyway, took on a purple hue that made him think that she was going to have a stroke or something. But she let out a long breath, counted to ten out loud, and asked him what he meant. "No, as in, I'm not moving out. I'm not going to stop the work being done on this place and I plan on raising my own happy family here. I don't know why you think that it's all right with me that I put the money in this place, and I'm just going to walk away."

She turned and looked at her brothers, who, of course, were nodding again. When she turned back to him, he could see the confusion on her face. He had no idea what he'd said that she didn't get, but he was willing to bet that she'd let him know what it was.

"You're not going to leave here? I mean, I was nice. I didn't hit you or anything. That at least should count for something, don't you think?" He just stared at her. Wondering once again what on earth she was thinking. "Look. Like I said, you've gotten on the wrong side of us. And we're willing to let that go as milk under the bridge. You just get out now, and I won't have to slap you around. And don't think I won't because of you being a man. I've kept these three in line all these years, so you'll be a piece of cake. You're sort of a pretty boy, aren't you? I'm thinking that being as pretty as you are, you might have gotten your head up your ass and think that whatever you want is all right. I'm here to tell you that I'm not a pushover. You'll do as you're told and do it now. I don't have time to be fucking around with you."

Instead of dealing with her, he turned away and pulled out his cell phone. Just as he was thinking it was wrong to turn his back on a crazy person, he stepped forward and turned around. She had a baton like the police carried out and had swung at him. Surely, she would have hit him if he'd not turned when he did.

Almost as soon as he recognized that he might well be in trouble with the older woman, she had been tackled to the ground by one of the men working around the house. The other three didn't seem to understand that their mouthpiece had been tackled, so they, too, laid on the ground, watching every move that the woman made and copying it. The police department answered the phone just as he was ready to hang up.

"Joey, I have a problem here." He said that his dad had called them, and they were nearly there. "Thank you. She tried to hit me with a baton. One of the men working here probably saved me a great deal of damage by taking her to the ground."

He closed the connection when three cruisers pulled up his long drive. It wasn't until he saw the woman put into cuffs that it occurred to him how much damage she could have done to him. Sitting down, more like flopping to the ground, he had his head between his knees when his dad asked him if he was all right.

"I think she meant to kill me." Dad said that he was all right now. "Dad, I don't know what would possess a person to think that killing someone is worth doing for a fucking house."

Dad laughed a little, but he was nervous too. It occurred to him that he had cursed while talking to his dad, but he felt the time warranted it. Christ, he just wanted to have Grace at his side right now. Holding his hand, he thought.

The four of them were arrested, and it seemed like the attempted murder was going to keep them there for a while. Joey did ask him if he was going to press charges and Dad answered for him, telling him that he'd bring him down himself. Thankful for his dad more than ever before, Maverick just nodded. He knew that was the best way to handle a crazy person like Carol Loren was.

While at the police station, Grace called him. She was talking so fast about the shopping that was going on that he had to sigh a little. He'd never heard her so worked up and was glad as he gathered that she was having a good time. Apparently, they all were, if their laughing in the background was any indication.

However, now that they were having lunch, she finally got a chance to call him. He told her what had happened at the house, knowing that she'd find out somehow, and he didn't want her to be upset with him for not telling her. He didn't even try and make it seem less scary, telling her that he'd taken her advice to heart and moved in time to not be hurt.

"I'm so glad that you were smarter than she was. Not that it seems like that would be a big challenge. Like you said, who murders for a house?" Maverick told her that he loved her, and she told him that she did him as well. Not the actual words but she did echo his statement. That made him feel a good deal better, no matter how she told him.

"Are you guys having dinner in town? I was thinking that I'd get the others gathered up and find us some manly meal together. Maybe a drink or two. And by that, I mean soda rather than just iced tea." She said that she didn't know just yet as they seemed to be stuffing the car with purchases. "I hope you're getting you something, too. Something that I can imagine taking off of you."

She giggled. It was the first time that he'd ever heard her do that, and he realized that he wanted to hear it more often. Like every day. He was going to make her so happy that she was giddy all the time.

"Jade wants to know if you guys want to meet us in town and have dinner together. There is a restaurant in the downtown area that just opened up. It's Mediterranean food. I've never had it but it sounds good, don't you think?" He said that was perfect and he'd bring his dad. "Good. I was hoping that he was going to be hanging out with you. Sherm is with his other grandda, I was told, so if you want to bring them along, let me know. We're going to be making reservations for about six o'clock if that works for you guys."

"I'll make it work." Since it was just past noon now, he thought they had plenty of time to get in touch with the others. "I'll see you tonight, love. Have fun and spend whatever you want."

He'd given her his credit cards before she'd left. Hoping that she'd not have any trouble with them, he had called the bank and let them know that Grace was using them. They said that they'd print her up some duplicates so that she'd be all right. He was hoping that she'd not mind that he had them say Grace Strong on them.

Maverick couldn't believe how lucky he was feeling. Just by having someone in his life that loved him. Someone to share the rest of his life with. He couldn't have been happier than he was right now, he thought.