Authors: Lauren Dane
Lauren Dane
over. We have not received these items.” Edward stood and addressed the judge, back straight and Maggie felt in good hands.
The judge turned a steely gaze to Alex and his attorney. “Well?” The attorney whispered to Alex, who began to argue with him. “Your Honor, Mr. Parsons has left these items at home and will forward them to Ms. Wright by the end of the week.”
“
No
!” Maggie said urgently to Edward. “I want those pictures and my underthings back today! He promised.”
“Your Honor, Mr. Parsons has known he had to turn over these items since he made this agreement last Thursday. My client is understandably upset. Not only has Mr. Parsons terrorized her and vandalized her home but he possesses intimate items belonging to her and has taken photographs of her, without her knowledge or permission. We are prepared to wait while a police officer escorts Mr. Parsons to his home to retrieve these items posthaste,” Edward said calmly but firmly.
The judge looked at Alex and then to Shane. “Sheriff Chase, can you or one of your men escort Mr. Parsons to his home to retrieve these items? Which, by the way—I have difficulty understanding why he was given them back after he was arrested to begin with?”
“Yes, Your Honor. I can send Officer Spence right now. The items were given back to Mr. Parsons by mistake, included in the inventory of his personal items when he was released from jail.”
“Do it then. Mr. Parsons. You have half an hour to produce
each and
every one
of the items you agreed to in the plea agreement. If a single item is missing—a single photograph or negative—I will send you to jail for a week on contempt charges. Do I make myself clear? We will recess until two fifteen, at such time you had better be back here and in full compliance or I’ll toss your butt in jail.” Alex nodded and Shane spoke quietly to his officer and he escorted Alex outside. Maggie shook with anger. When the judge walked out she
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turned to Edward. “He did that on purpose! He was going to try and get away with keeping all of that stuff. He’s not sorry at all.”
“I’m going to wring that bastard’s neck,” Kyle ground out.
Maggie put a restraining hand on his arm. “No. It’s what he wants.
It’s better if we just get on with our lives and pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“Maggie’s right, Kyle. He’d press charges and you’d be the one in jail,” Matt said, having come to join them once the judge had left the courtroom.
“Then you all can protect Maggie.” Fury still coursed through him.
“I don’t need protection, Kyle, I need you. I don’t want him to win anything else. Please.”
Shane approached. “Hypothetically speaking and all, if I were, as the sheriff, to hear any threats against another citizen, I’d have to get involved.” He looked directly at Kyle. Kyle nodded at him quickly, scowling. “You did a good job, Maggie.”
“You sure did. You kept focused and remembered to address me instead of the court directly. The judge is on your side here,” Edward said, patting her shoulder.
They sat and waited for Alex to come back and twenty-eight minutes later he did, holding a large box that Shane took possession of. “Let me do the inventory, Maggie. You don’t need to see it.” She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed the box. “No, let me.” She shooed them all away and asked to use the jury room. She wouldn’t give Alex the satisfaction of seeing her upset.
“Sweetheart, please let me come in and help you.” Kyle’s words were softly spoken as he brushed a lock of hair out of her face.
“No,” she whispered back, caressing his cheek. “I appreciate you wanting to be with me, I really do. But this is just too much for me to share with you. I plan to burn all of the pictures in my fireplace tonight but I want to make sure everything, is here. I can’t wonder whether he’s got copies or not or I’ll go mad.”
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Kyle nodded and kissed her forehead.
“Liv, Dee, can you help me please?” she asked and both women nodded and went with her into the jury room.
All of her underwear and other lingerie were there and they moved it with a pencil rather than touch it and put it back into the plastic bag.
The pictures were deeply upsetting. She counted each one and then Dee and Liv matched with a negative. Maggie knew how bad it was when Liv didn’t even make a crack. She was horrified knowing her most intimate moments were most likely seen by half the police force. The other ones were just creepy, knowing that Alex had watched her do her laundry and go grocery shopping.
“They’re all here. Let’s go out and tell the judge.” She put the lid back on the box and her head up high and they all went back out where the judge was waiting.
“Is everything there to your satisfaction, Ms. Wright?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Parsons, if copies of any pictures you took of Ms. Wright show up, I’ll throw you in jail. You’re lucky that you haven’t had to beat off the concerned men of Ms. Wright’s life over this incident. I am going to be keeping an eye on you due to your prior history of harassing and stalking women. Keep your nose clean and keep away from Ms. Wright. Do I make myself clear? If she is somewhere that you come upon, it is up to
you
to leave. If she comes into a place you are, other than your workplace or your home, it is still up to
you
to leave.” Alex nodded, keeping his eyes down.
“Then get out of my sight.” The judge banged his gavel and the doors were unlocked for the next case.
“I have to go back out to my jobsite, Red. Why don’t you go home with Momma? I’ll pick you up there when I’m done.”
“No, thank you. I need to get rid of all of these pictures and the other stuff. I can’t bear knowing it’s out there.”
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“I don’t want you home alone.”
“Listen, I have to get back to my life. I can’t be afraid. I won’t be afraid of being in my own home.”
He sighed and kissed her gently. “I love you, Red. I’ll come by after work. Please lock your doors.”
“I love you, too. See you later, thanks for being here.” She turned to the rest of her friends and family who were dumbstruck at hearing Kyle say he loved her.
Kyle laughed. “What’s the matter? You think she’s too good for me?”
“Hell yes,” Matt said and Marc laughed.
Polly started sniffling and gave Maggie a big hug. “Honey, you call if you need anything all right? You are a brave, strong girl.”
“I’ll have someone drive by every once in a while, Maggie, just to check.” Shane said. He patted her on the shoulder and she smiled back at everyone.
“Thanks all. I’ll see you later.” She kissed Edward on the cheek and Kyle walked her to her car and watched her drive away.
Shane walked up behind him. “That should be me, but if it can’t be, I’m glad it’s you.”
“You don’t have the guts to let yourself love, Shane. You’d better find them or you’ll end up alone. I’m sorry, Shane. I love her and she’s mine.
That you fucked up and she fell into my lap is a sad thing because I love you and you’re my brother and all. But man, a woman like her, she’s what I’ve been waiting for my entire life.” He turned and looked at his older brother. “Deal with it, Shane. I don’t want you to be alone. You deserve what I’ve got.” He squeezed his brother’s shoulder and walked away.
Maggie went home, took the box straight out to her back porch and loaded a pile of pictures into the fireplace and set them aflame. It took her the better part of an hour to get it all burned, including her beautiful lingerie, which she tossed in with a broken branch from the yard. She sat
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back and watched the flames of a regular fire that was incidental to the immolation of her nasty relationship with Alex Parsons.
Two hours later, she drank Jack Daniels straight out of the bottle as she looked up and saw Kyle standing at the back door.
“Hi,” he said quietly, fighting a smile.
She got up a bit unsteadily to unlock the door and let him in. “Hi.” Taking the bottle from her hand he looked into her face and lost his battle to hide his grin. “Hmm, had a wee bit of whiskey I see.”
“Just a bit,” she said defensively but had to laugh when she heard how badly she slurred her words. ‘Course once she started it was a bit hard to stop.
Continuing to grin, he led her to the couch and sat her down. “Feel any better?”
“I do now that you’re here.” Giggles finally dying, she climbed into his lap.
“Good answer, Red.” He sounded amused. He stroked a hand over her hair. “Let’s get something to eat, okay? Looks like you could use it.”
“Okay. Your mother came by earlier and brought me three casseroles.
Want some chicken noodle casserole, ham casserole or tuna?”
“I knew she couldn’t stay away,” he said with a snort.
“She didn’t stay long. She just brought enough food to last me through a nuclear winter and left again. She’s a good person.”
“She likes you a whole lot.” Which was an understatement.
“The feeling is entirely mutual.” She stood up and held onto him as they walked into her kitchen and she put the casserole into the oven.
After eating a quiet dinner, they went up to bed. They didn’t make love, instead, Kyle held her tight against him and she slept, feeling safe and protected.
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Thanksgiving Day with the Chase family was quite an experience.
There were the normal players, Matt, Marc, Shane, Kyle, Polly and Edward. But they were also joined by Polly’s sister, Georgette and her husband Paul. Kyle’s maternal grandparents Ellen and Andrew were also there. Maggie was overwhelmed as she came through the door holding three pies, a platter of lemon tartlets and a container of brownies.
“Good lord, honey! You must have been baking all day yesterday!” Matt kissed her cheek as he took some of the goodies from her arms. She followed him into the dining room and put the food down.
“No big deal, I had yesterday off.”
He hugged her and grabbed her arm. “You ready? Come on through, the family’s in the living room and they’re all dying to meet you.” Taking a fortifying breath she nodded and let him lead her through the door. Immediately, she was greeted by the din of a family at holiday.
There was a football game on and plenty of arguing about politics and sports. The noise stopped totally as they noticed she’d walked in.
Kyle jumped up and came over and kissed her cheeks and put his arm around her and introduced her to his grandparents who took to her right away.
“Is that Maggie?” Polly called from the kitchen.
“Yeah, Momma!” Shane called back.
Maggie stood up. “Oh for goodness sake, Shane, don’t bellow at your mother.” She looked down at their grandparents. “I’ll just go in and say
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hello to Polly. I’ll be back in a few minutes, I’m enjoying getting to know you.”
Kyle walked with her down the hall to the kitchen. Polly was inside with her sister Georgette and lit up when she saw her. “Hi, honey! I’m glad you’re here. This is my sister, Georgette.” A tall woman in purple stretch pants and a gold metallic sweater stepped from around the refrigerator and enfolded her into a bear hug.
Maggie tried not to panic as her face got trapped between two enormous breasts.
“My goodness but you’re a bitty thing! Just adorable. I’m glad to meet a woman who can take another Chase man off the bachelor market. You should have seen Edward when he first met Polly. He was the stuff around these parts, he and his brother. All the women of Petal wanted Edward Chase and he had his share of most of them. Until Polly let her hair grow and she suddenly got breasts.” Kyle looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him whole but his aunt kept on with the story and Maggie struggled not to laugh.
“Oh my goodness, when we walked into the grange for a dance, lordy he fell apart. Tripped over his feet to get to her. From that night there was no other woman in Petal that could get his eye again.” Maggie smiled, thinking about what a looker Polly must have been at twenty years old. Polly smiled back at her. “Oh, honey, they may take forever to fall, but when they do, it’s hard and it’s forever.” Kyle rolled his eyes discreetly and Maggie pinched him. “Okay, Momma, I’m in the room.”
Polly reached up and patted his cheek. “I know, darlin’. Honey, your uncle and your daddy are out back, chipping balls. Get them in here please. It’s time to eat.”
Kyle nodded and went out the door looking relieved to escape.
“He’s so cute when you’re around.” Polly’s smile was bright.
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“He’s always cute, Polly. You and Edward sure do make gorgeous boys.”
“Yes, we did, didn’t we? Now, let’s get this food out there!” Maggie sat in between Marc and Kyle and the constant carping between the two of them made her laugh. Marc was a shameless, but totally harmless, flirt and he did it partly just to needle Kyle. Finally, Polly leaned over and rapped Marc across the knuckles with her fork and told him to stop harassing his brother and Maggie laughed even harder.
The family was so wonderful and welcoming, she felt like she’d never truly even had a holiday dinner before. She helped clear up the dishes but then the men took over, sending the women out to sit and drink coffee and brandy.
“Ah…this is the life,” Polly said, kicking off her spike heeled shoes and wriggling her toes. “Too bad they don’t do this more often. Maggie, darlin’, you must raise my grandsons to do the dishes. I came from a different generation, it wasn’t done very often. I admit I spoiled them a bit.”
“Just a bit,” Maggie said dryly. “It is mighty difficult to not want to take care of Kyle. Luckily, he can cook and his condo is quite clean. As for grandchildren, well, let’s just take this one step at a time.” Georgette laughed. “You’re the sacrificial lamb, sugar. The first real woman who’s caught a Chase boy this generation. Just think about how much easier it will be for the next three after she’s broken you in.” Polly threw her sister a dirty look. “Don’t you go scaring this little peach away! She’s the best thing that ever happened to Kyle. Have you ever seen him so, I don’t know, happy? Calm, satisfied looking? No, this little girl, she’s so wonderful that Kyle’s brothers can now see just how worthwhile love truly is. Not a sacrificial anything, an angel.” Maggie snorted. She wouldn’t think Maggie was so angelic if she knew
why
her son looked so satisfied lately.
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The doorbell rang and Polly started to put her shoes back on and groaned. Maggie put a staying hand on her knee and stood up. “I’ll get it, just put those feet up.”
She walked into the foyer and opened the door, only to come face to face with none other than Lyndsay Cole and her bimbo partner in crime, Stefanie Peterson. Maggie stared at them. “Yes?”
“We brought some pie by.”
“That so?”
“We did it to be neighborly of course. We’re very close to the Chase family, you know,” Stefanie snapped.
“Oh really? Funny, no one’s ever mentioned you.”
“Lyndsay is close to the Chase family, or at least one of them in particular.”
Maggie snorted and nearly jumped out of her skin when Polly came into the hallway, in her bare stocking feet. She turned and gestured to Lyndsay and Stefanie. “Apparently, they wanted to be
neighborly
and bring over a pie.”
“Why would we want their pie when yours were so good?” Polly said with a smile that slid into a glare when she turned her gaze at Stefanie and Lyndsay. “Cut the crap, girls. What are you really doing here?”
“Hello, Mrs. Chase. How are you today? Momma just had an extra pie and wanted me to bring it over,” Lyndsay cooed. Maggie had to admire the girl’s steel for not quailing in the face of Polly’s scorn.
Polly took the pie, looked at it and handed it back. She just stared at Lyndsay for some moments before speaking. “You say your momma made that pie?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“She working over at Kroger’s bakery these days?” Polly jerked her head, indicating the Kroger’s stamp on the bottom of the pie tin.
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Lyndsay’s face colored and then she brightened. Kyle walked into the hall and approached, putting an arm around his mother and Maggie.
“What’s going on here?”
“Apparently, Kyle, Lyndsay’s momma is working at Kroger’s bakery now and wanted her to bring over a pie. Also, Stefanie thought she’d come by as well, to be neighborly and all,” Maggie said sounding quite dangerous.
Polly, hearing a tone similar to her own in Maggie smiled in her own dangerous way. “Apparently, honey, she forgot to wear a bra, too.” Maggie burst out laughing and Kyle smiled down at his mother and then looked at Lyndsay—from the neck up, he wasn’t a fool. “You two need to go on home. My family is having a nice day and I don’t want you to ruin it.”
“She’s not your family,” Lyndsay said.
“Of course she is. You see, family is about more than genetics. It’s about love,” Polly said, taking Maggie’s hand.
“And I love Maggie very much, as does the rest of my family,” Kyle added.
“Yeah, well she’s a home wrecker! You’ll see! She doesn’t deserve you!” Lyndsay spat out venomously.
“Go home, Lyndsay. You’re embarrassing yourself. Kyle. Isn’t.
Interested.” Maggie sounded bored but still looked dangerous.
“How do you know that? If he’s not interested, where was he last night?” Lyndsay tossed that out with a smirk.
Maggie met that with a smug smirk of her own and leaned in close to the other woman. “With me. All night. Where he is
every
night. Believe me when I tell you he’d have been too tired to go anywhere else.” Kyle chuckled. “Very true, sugar.”
“You broke up your own parents’ marriage!” She looked around Maggie to Polly, who’d moved back a bit to lean against the doorjamb.
“On top of that, do you know, Mrs. Chase, that she went out with Shane
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and dumped him to go out with Kyle? Kyle and I were in a relationship before she came along and wrecked it.”
Kyle burst out laughing. “A what? I shared an ice cream cone with you. I kissed you a few times. That’s not a relationship. As for the Wrights’ marriage, the blame for that mess of a family lies at the feet of Cecelia and Tom. Lastly, I’d be pretty flattered if Maggie here dumped Shane for me but that’s not what happened, not that it’s any of your business. Now, Maggie is right, you’re embarrassing yourself, go home and leave us alone.”
Maggie waggled her fingers at them and Kyle slammed the door in their faces.
“You’re perfect for this family, Maggie.” Polly chuckled and walked into the living room.
“I’m really sorry about Lyndsay, sugar. Honestly, I never even took the girl out. I don’t know what her deal is.” Maggie pulled him to her by the waist of his chinos. “Her deal is that you’re the sexiest, most handsome man around and she lost her chance and can’t deal. Too bad, ‘cause I’m not letting you get away.”
“Good.” He kissed her quickly before anyone could come out.
By the time Christmas approached, Maggie had pretty much moved into Kyle’s condo. Her house meant a lot to her but also held a lot of ugly childhood memories. The less time there, the easier it was to deal with the fact that her mother had pretty much never wanted her. She’d bought the place, thinking if she’d made it hers, she could finally put the memories in perspective. But she realized now she had to jettison that house and move forward, making new memories and accepting her childhood for what it was.
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Thankfully, she slowly built a relationship with her father. They had dinner every once in a while and spoke on the phone often.
She’d become a regular in the Chase household. They treated her like one of their own and she truly felt like it. Winter had brought a bit of a lull in Kyle’s business and Maggie was off school for winter break so they had a lot time to spend together.
Kyle woke up one morning about two weeks before Christmas in a hyper mood. “Let’s go and get a tree today,” he begged. Maggie had decorated the condo but they’d held back on a tree until they both had the time off.
She stretched and pulled him back down to her. “Convince me.”
“Gladly,” he murmured and with a grin, disappeared beneath the covers.
“Oh, yes, that’s the way to convince a girl of just about anything.” He chuckled as his mouth descended and sent shivers over her flesh.
They went to the Christmas tree farm and chose a nice noble fir for the living room. She made mulled cider while he put the tree up and got it watered. Afterward, they decorated it with ornaments of their own and a few they’d bought together.
When they finished, they sat on the couch together and watched the lights on the tree, drinking the cider. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” Maggie said with a satisfied sigh.
“Me too, Red.” He loved the way they were building a life together.
Loved to watch her in his kitchen—
their
kitchen. Loved to see her shampoo in the bathroom. Loved the way that her side of the bed smelled of oranges. He’d always thought having a relationship would be another person taking up his life, taking away space from him. Instead she added to his life, made it bigger, brighter.
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“I need to finish my shopping. I’m not quite done. I’m going to meet Dee at three and we’re actually going to brave the mall in Crawford. I’ll meet you at your parents’ for dinner tonight.” He nodded and kissed her as she got up to leave. “I told Daddy that I’d help with the tree in the side yard. Not that he’s old or anything but I don’t want him up in a ladder with a saw. Shall I take the presents in the hall closet over with me?”
They were going to have Christmas at the Chase household. They’d spend Christmas Eve there with the rest of the family and then open presents the next day. Her father was even going to come over for the gift exchange. He and Edward had become fast friends since Tom was using Edward’s firm to represent him in the divorce with Cecelia.
She hugged him and bit his ear gently. “Thanks, hon, I’d appreciate that.”
Kyle and Matt worked in the yard, dealing with the tree together and laughing. Kyle felt so relaxed. More than he’d ever felt. He’d always had a good relationship with his family but having Maggie in his life made him feel settled in a way he’d never imagined.
“You pick up the ring yet?” Matt asked as they put away the tools in the shed out back.
Kyle had decided to ask Maggie to marry him on Christmas Day. He’d have the ring wrapped up and waiting for her under the tree. “Yep. It’s in Mom’s jewelry box. She’s going to wrap it and put it in a larger box. I wrote out the card for the inside already.”
“I can’t believe you’re going to ask someone to marry you. Not that Maggie isn’t great—she really is and the two of you give me hope that someday I’ll meet someone who I fall that hard for. But still, this is big, Kyle. Forever and ever big.”
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“She’s my whole life, Matt,” Kyle answered simply.
From his spot across the road and behind a hedge, Alex ground his teeth. Of course the bastard was laughing, he’d stolen Maggie right from under Alex’s nose. This should have been
his
Christmas with Maggie. It was their tree that should have been decorated and presents piled beneath.
Instead, all he had was an empty house and his memories of their time together. But that was about to change.