“Sir, the doctor sent me to perform the cheek swabs. If you and the boy will sit here, we’ll finish in no time.” A nurse entered with a small plastic tray in her hands. True to form, she efficiently finished her task. She left with an officer following her. Heath found it odd, but he assumed they wanted to ensure that no one tampered with the results. Which only helped him out in the long run with his case to have his name added to Geoffrey’s birth certificate. “Heath, could they have a secondary reason for taking a sample?” Parker pulled Heath aside. He watched Heath with an odd look in his eyes. Heath asked Parker, "What could that be?" He frowned. Everyone’s appearance looked as they felt. Tired. "To eliminate you as a suspect?" Parker said to Heath. Where Geoff couldn’t hear. “Well, that should be simple. I’ve done nothing illegal.” Heath said to Parker. Before he scoffed at this thought. However, it occupied
“Dad?” Geoff sat at the breakfast table as Heath put his breakfast down before him. In the last week, his father, Kathy, and Parker had made sure he’d had everything he needed. Except his mom. His mom was in the hospital and Geoff wanted her home. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one. His dad wanted her home. He didn’t seem happy with her there. “What’s up, bud?” Geoff started in on the eggs and toast his dad gave him. “I know you said we’d wait for mom to come home to celebrate my birthday. Can we celebrate it and her coming home at the same time? I don’t want any party. His dad sat down beside him once he poured himself a coffee. Over breakfast, thoughts of his new life filled Geoff with curiosity. It looked so different from what he’d ever seen. The house his dad said was his new home looked larger than his school and he worried he might lose his way in it. “Well, if we kept it small, we could easily do that. Your mom can’t be g
“So, like a doctor. They spend a significant amount of time in school to learn their craft. His dad had fixated a conversation topic again. He hated anyone not understanding him. So, Geoff listened to him explaining something to him that made little sense now. Geoff doubted the usefulness of the information to him. But he’d listen because he’d learned how his dad thought and what he felt was important. Geoff wanted to be like him. Wasn’t he supposed to be like his father and grandfather? Rage consumed him as he dwelled on his father’s dissatisfaction with his grandparents. “Unfortunately, society frowns upon those who work in food service, waste disposal, and toilet cleaning roles. Yet, if they didn’t. Imagine the consequences for the world.” Geoff saw his dad deep in thought. Geoff empathized with his dad’s dissatisfaction and understood the pain of experiencing bulling. He ensured he didn’t reciprocate the same favor to someone who helped the family with task
“Then we deal with it. We fix or learn from mistakes. Otherwise, they might need to seek employment elsewhere. It’s not nice, but it sometimes happens. But that’s a matter for your mom or me to deal with. You never threaten to let someone go from their job. Their job isn’t something you should use to blackmail them with. Oh, and another thing. Never kiss the help. No matter how much you want to, or they ask you to. It’s wrong. If they choose you, they can’t work for us. It’s too easy for someone to see it as you’re taking advantage of your position, and it can look terrible in the eyes of the law. The person may manipulate the relationship to extort money or favors from you. Either way, it’s wrong and we don’t do it.” “Okay, so don’t kiss the cute maid cleaning your office. Got it.” Geoff made a gagging sound at the thought of kissing a girl. Heath laughed. He’d forgotten about that part of his life then. Girls were icky. Perhaps he had several years before nee
“Your mom specializes in cleaning and restoring things like ancient vases, paintings, books, and artifacts. We can’t buy these in just any store because the artists who created them died a long time ago. She tries her best to return them to the way they looked when they were new, but it’s hard to do. If someone who’s not trained tries to do it, they’ll probably ruin the item. That item might be the only piece of evidence proving something happened in history. So, we lose it’s historical or cultural importance when it’s gone. Your mom works on paintings, which the air, time, and dust darken, changing the colors within the painting. She’s the one who restores the paintings to their original appearance., she has people on staff who fix the damaged books they incur from time. Some old books need to be sewn or glued back together. If they used the wrong thread or glue, the book’s value would fall. Bugs, water, and other issues plague everything. Your mom can assess whether some
Ivy noticed Heath’s first disapproval. “Can’t we do that later, away from Geoff, at the hospital? Can it wait until later?” “Heath, no. Geoff will learn that your family, his family, is far from perfect. I want him to know what he’s entering.” “Ivy, he’s an eight-year-old boy.” “My point. I don’t want him to go into your family only to learn he’s considered less than.” “Ivy, that’s outrageous. That would never happen.” Elizabeth said. Her outrage was clear in her words and tone. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and she found it difficult to close her lips. “Really, Mrs. Allan? I wasn’t good enough. Why would I think you’d feel that my son was?” “Mistake made, now in the past. Can’t we please move past that?” “Mom. What are you saying? You are great. The best mom ever.” “Sadly, not everyone thinks so, bud. Several people here don’t believe I’m good enough for your dad and I want
Heath had his hands full with work, Geoff, the move, and Ivy. She healed so well that the doctor wanted to send her home early. Heath extended his time off from work. He didn’t need to explain the chaos didn’t to be anyone. His mother did the talking. She’s spoken to several of the board members’ wives, and they understood why he wouldn’t be there every day. Heath suspected by the time she finished working on the wives, they returned the favor and gave their husbands an earful of what they thought of the situation. He’d found out that of another over the years, the board members’ wives had in fact met his son and Geoff endeared himself to everyone of them. The women were on Ivy’s side. One day one, Heath moved in and received gifts for Ivy and Geoff from women. Thankfully, he’d used the full-service movers, and they were doing the full unpacking with his house staff, helping with directions on where everything went. They’d sleep in the new house ton
Kathy was unpacking boxes in her apartment. Heck, the place wasn’t an apartment. It seemed like a mansion compared to her earlier home. She’d never had rooms this large. Kathy loved the large airy feel of the space, with its large windows, exposed brick, and barn wood floors. Heath called it the carriage house and she could see carriages stored in this building ages ago. It made her creative juices flow as she set up her workroom. A room dedicated for her work. She didn’t have to sleep in the ink-scented, printer-filled room. Parker didn’t understand her glee. She’d seen his condo. The man lived in his own condo. Now he lived next to her. She’d see his slick form every day. Gad, she’d been there while he unpacked some of his things. Kathy had to leave when he started unpacking his clothes. Did she not notice the appeal of a man wearing a corset? Or that they made them for men. Parker’s corset looked like a structured suit vest. Kathy didn’t know they made corse
In the school cafeteria, Jimmie Marks cornered Geoff to taunt him with the information he got over the last few weeks about him. Jimmie was told that Geoff was poor and his mother married his dad for his money. “So, you got a stepdad. It still doesn’t count. Your dad didn’t want your mom or you.” Jimmie tried to mess with Geoff and embarrass him in front of everyone who heard him. He’d heard from his housekeeper’s son all about Geoff because he’d gone to school with him. Maybe he was a little jealous because his family hadn’t been invited to the Allerfords summer house for their yearly party. “He’s my real dad not my stepdad. It wasn’t that he didn’t want me or my mom. Don’t you read or listen to the news? You’re so stupid. My ex-stepmom lied to my dad and made him think my mom didn’t want him. She then made it, so my mom had to leave. My mom had enough of the nonsense and left. When she did that, she didn’t tell my dad where she went. His mom and dad made him marry my ex
“Wait, is Alice dating him?” Heath missed a lot because he wasn’t in the trenches like Ivy. It didn’t surprise her he was unaware of Ed’s search for a wife among the female staff. Ivy kept brushing him off, knowing if he chased her, then he wouldn’t chase any other woman. He was a nice guy if the woman wasn’t his wife. Or at least that’s how Ivy saw it. “He’s trying to make his moves on her, that’s obvious. I don’t think he’ll fool her. Maybe she can fix his mistaken beliefs. I lacked the time or interest to try. So, all the power to her if she tries. Though I think she’d be wasting her time.” Ivy leaned back in her seat and explained. She tried to act like she didn’t feel the tension coming from Heath. Ivy couldn’t believe he felt so threatened by what she’d just said. His concern for Alice was decent, she guessed, because Alice was her friend and co-worker. “I’m glad to hear you say that. You had me worried there that you thought I didn’t apprecia
Ivy settled in the limo’s backseat, heading home. What a change to taking the train. It didn’t matter that she didn’t go home at once. It was nice to have someone drive her in comfort. The dark interior and gentle lighting somehow made everything easier. Heath liked them to pick him up as well. The three of them would go home. Kathy didn’t use her beat up old car anymore, because Heath insisted, she use the car he’d bought as a family car to transport Geoff safely. With Parker’s help, Heath had Kathy using a member of their security team to mail her packages and pick up her packages from her post office box. Ivy had to admit Parker played dirty by sending her a glitter bomb she’d opened after she got back to her studio. She called Ivy furious claiming Parker admitted to sending it to prove to her that anyone could send her a bomb. Kathy still felt outraged, even though she understood the point. Ivy could understand her outrage, even though the point
Geoff enter his new school. He realized his insignificance among the other kids in school, but this time, he wasn’t alone. Three kids he met at the cottage a few weeks back were with him. They were his friends; they said to him. He’d accept it because his dad said he needed to make friends to learn to be like him. “Thanks for bringing me, Kathy. We know where we’re going.” Kathy blinked at Geoff in surprise. Geoff desired to appear as a helpless child, needing help to navigate the school corridors. “Okay, quick check then. Have you got your bag, water bottle, lunch, phone, and hat?” “Yup.” Geoff said. He insisted on wearing a fedora he found as his dad unpacked a box of old clothes. “Okay, then go seize the day and try to avoid getting in trouble. Don’t forget your security is in the parking lot. No leaving the school grounds without them and they’ll bring you home. Parker is with your dad today and I’m getting my workroom se
Heath watched Ivy lose her confrontational nature, and that sexy hidden kitten came out to play. He loved it, because when this happened, she had no limits. He panted as she opened her blouse to reveal she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her hands moved to his waistband and Ivy had the air kissing his cock in moments before she was kneeling between his thighs, sucking on him like he remembered she used to do. His eyes devoured the sight of Ivy’s glistening lips bobbing on his hardening shaft. “Babe, slow down or the enjoyment will end too soon. You know I’ll want a good long taste of you too. God, you remember how good that is,” Heath said. He felt himself gasped as her small teeth nipped at his foreskin. His thighs shook a little. She’d barely gone down on him, and he wanted to lose himself. “Enough. I hope you have got no panties on either, or I’ll rip them apart to get to your cream.” Ivy resisted when he tried to pull from her mouth. She teased him by hol
Ivy and the other wives could head off for several potential disasters. Finally, she witnessed Heath’s efforts to make the day of a dream come true. Thankfully, the wedding planner realized how dated and difficult achieving this was to arrange. In the end, Heath got what he wanted, and Ivy understood him better. He’d kept a storage space of things he couldn’t part with that she’d left behind when she’d left. One of which was a dream book all about her dream wedding. She’d made the book about a decade before she met Heath in her teens, like many girls. So, it was out of date by the time she’d met him. The only reason he’d known about the book was she’d found it one day and told him about it. But she’d forgotten about it. With help from her new friends and the planner, they could achieve their goals. Ivy got stronger and walking became easier. She returned to work and life continued. Geoff now seemed content with his two reliable parents.
The weekend had been going well. The men didn’t disappear, as Ivy believed. They’d stayed close to the house and the kids. Ivy learned that this was normal. The men in Alec’s circle tended toward wanting to foster family bonds and friendships with people who had similar interests. The men all found they disliked how their parents raised them, and this was their answer to their problem. “You don’t know how glad we are. It’s you here and not her. Is it okay if we mention her? I don’t want to make you feel awkward.” Ivy sat outside on the patio after a rather enjoyable dinner. Heath had stayed true to his word, and the men were watching the kids play beside the lake. “It’s fine, I guess. Some argue I don’t consider her as much as she considers me. So, please understand, I probably won’t have much to say about her.” “You’re not angry at her for messing up your life?” “I’m sorry? Messing up my life. How? Everyone has r
Ivy couldn’t believe how present Heath became. Present for Geoffrey and herself, that is. He’d planned everything and stunned her when he revealed how he’d remembered her dream wedding one evening. He’s changed from the man who only cared about marriage paperwork. But what had Ivy scratching her head was he’d written it all down and he wanted her to review it to ensure her wishes hadn’t changed. Or she preferred a newer style. Her preferences and opinions now took a precedence they never had before. Heath ensured that she and Geoff enjoyed the best at the Allerfords’ beachfront event. Heath went with Geoffrey shopping for clothes, as well as for school supplies. Geoff looked like an entirely different child, right down to his expensive new haircut and running shoes. Ivy initially dismissed it, as Geoff naturally outgrows clothes and requires haircuts. That happened to boys his age. She’d finish but clothing in one size to buy
“Really?” Geoff was sure his dad would have limits. Geoff just needed to figure out what they were. His dad would surely appreciate his lack of tantrums and materialistic desires. At least not yet, anyway. Perhaps when he discovered what other children possessed. But right now, he enjoyed having his own gaming space and a lot of rooms to himself. Stop using the dining table for art and having to clean up before and after meals. “In the past, I used to dictate and control you and your mother’s actions and choices. Now is different and your mom and I decide together. But I have the connections and influence, so I’m the one that makes things happen. The young man will prioritize school, grades, and friendships. Learn from me to network and build connections for your family’s future. Remember the job I’m taking over from your grandfather?” They both wrinkled their noses when a member of the hospital staff pushed a cart by them with something smelly in it.