Lee unlocked the front door and swung it open. He hadn’t been back to his house since the shooting. Marella followed him inside and they both stood in the living room not saying a word. Lee took her hand and pulled her toward him.“If you don’t want to be here we can go back to Kelley’s house, sell it or demolish it. I’ll buy us a new house,” Lee said.“This is our home, the one we chose together and the house we furnished and restored. I love this house,” Marella replied.“I know but it’s just a house. I care more about what you’re feeling right now.”Marella squeezed his hand. “We’re staying.”She led Lee up the stairs and switched the lights on. The carpet in their bedroom had been replaced and everything was in its place. “Kelley,” Lee murmured as he sat down on the bed.Marella switched the lamp on the nightstand on and closed their bedroom door before switching the main light off. Lee pulled his shirt over his head and stood up to discard his shoes and jeans. He lay back on the
Mason leaned against the doorframe and stared at a sleeping Grace. He’d done the same thing every single night for the past week, since the day Kelley had brought her back and they’d come home. His little girl was home.He hadn’t slept the first night, too afraid that he’d wake up and realize that everything had been a dream. He didn’t care about biology, Grace was his daughter and now, thanks to Kelley, nobody could ever take her away again.“Mason …”Mason turned to find Carey at the end of the hall near the stairs and she motioned for him to join her. He looked back at Grace one more time before following his mother down the stairs and into the living room.Carey sat on the couch with two cups of coffee on the table and looked expectantly at him. “Sit down.”“What’s going on, Mom?”“I want to talk to you about Andrea,” Carey said carefully.Mason sighed and leaned back against the couch. He’d known this day was coming but he didn’t want to talk about Andrea right now. She was still
Two months later …“Every single time I’ve asked you why, you say that it’s time for a new regime,” Arlo said as they sat in a coffee shop in Yorkdare Bay.“Arlo, please, you know that this change was needed. You being sworn in as mayor tomorrow is the best thing I could have hoped for,” Kelley said.“And your financial backing and all you’re A-list friends that have attended my fundraisers … what do you get out of this? I’m not ungrateful, Kelley, but I have to wonder what you want out of this,” Arlo said.“The former mayor was in the Elite’s pockets. I want truth and justice to be just that, truth and justice no matter who the person is. I’m tired of corruption in the places where the people are supposed to be honourable. I don’t want anything from you, not even a favour,” Kelley said.“Not even getting out of unpaid parking tickets?” Arlo joked.Kelley smiled and emptied his coffee cup. “Not even that. I’m your friend, Arlo, and this is business, your business now. I just want thin
Their table was semi-private but Sylvie could see the layout of the restaurant. She had definitely noticed how other people noticed Kelley. They seemed to want him to look at them or to acknowledge them in some manner but he never did.Kelley spoke in fluent Italian to the waiter and moments later the chef himself appeared. Kelley stood up and both men hugged and slapped each other on the back as men often did. “Guillermo, this is Sylvie,” Kelley introduced them.Guillermo kissed the back of her hand and patted Kelley on the shoulder again. They switched back to Italian and Sylvie could only stare at Kelley’s face. He seemed so at ease and people tended to drift toward him, even she had.Guillermo nodded his head enough times that Sylvie thought he’d get a sprain. After ten minutes of intense discussion, he left their table and Kelley turned his attention back on her. “I apologize for that,” Kelley said.“No, it’s fine,” Sylvie said.“Not really. It’s rude to speak in another language
Kelley spent two hours on the conference call, securing the land he wanted to buy and put up another hotel. The deal was a lucrative one, for both sides, and they were basically just dotting the i’s and crossing their t’s.“Thank you, Phillipe, we’ll talk again once the plans have been accepted by the municipality,” Kelley said and ended the call.He sat back down on his chair and winced slightly. Sylvie had really gone all out on his back. He didn’t regret it though. She had blown his mind, in more ways than one. She wasn’t petite like Milana and he hadn’t been afraid that he’d hurt her, well not as afraid.He should get Blaire to trace Milana’s whereabouts, talk about a financial settlement and get divorce proceedings underway. He hated to do it, he didn’t believe in divorce but there was no other way around it.He and Milana were history and Sylvie could possibly play a big part in his future. He liked her, knew that she liked him too. She wasn’t overly shy, never looked down and s
Three months later …Milana looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes looked hollow, her cheeks sunken in. Her hair had lost its luster and her stomach was so big she couldn’t even see her feet. The last five months had not been easy.She still worked for Clean and Shine and she still had the weekend shifts. Her utilities were expensive and for the last three months she went without electricity for the last four days of the month. She’d tried to be careful with her money but her well had dried up two months ago.In the beginning she’s supplemented her income by waitressing during the day but they had let her go last month. Her lethargic state of mind, the size of her pregnant belly and the fact that she struggled to carry the heavy trays had all counted against her.She took all the coupon pages from the newspapers in the office building she cleaned but even with all those coupons her budget was limited. She realized with a start that she wasn’t ready for this baby, didn’t have nearly
Kelley sat on the couch in his hotel room and looked out of the window. It was destiny hearing from Milana now. Lee had drawn up the divorce papers for him months earlier but he hadn’t actively been looking for her.His mind had been on other things, Sylvie mostly. He’d taken her to Maisina with him for the ground breaking ceremony and they’d spent a week there, having a little vacation of their own. He’d spent time with her, getting to know her and he liked her, a lot.The settlement he’d agreed to with Lee was a generous one, one he thought Milana would take in a heartbeat. The monetary offer was a good one with the exception that she needed to sign a non-disclosure agreement and change her name back to her maiden name and relinquish her rights on those twenty percent shares of the hotel in exchange for ten million dollars.Kelley had concluded his business in the city and would be checking out today. Her call had come at a good time. He could stop by her place, discuss the divorce
“Mr Alexander?”Kelley looked up at the man in scrubs that stood in front of him. He hadn’t heard the doors open or the man’s footsteps. He stood up and raked a hand over his face. It felt like hours that he’d been waiting for news, any news.“Yes. How’s Milana … my baby?”“You have a healthy baby boy, the nurses have taken him to be cleaned and dressed and he’ll be brought to Milana’s room in about twenty minutes.”“Milana’s okay?” Kelley asked as relief surged through him.“She lost a lot of blood and I’d like to keep her for another two days or so, just to monitor her. She was underweight for a pregnant woman and the baby’s a bit underweight as well. Her blood sugar is too low and she was dehydrated.”Anger started flowing through his veins. She hadn’t been taking care of herself and some of that was his fault. “But she’ll be fine?”“I expect so. Good food, lots of rest and no heavy lifting for the next four weeks and she’ll be fine. I assume you can take the baby home, there’s no
It was a week later when Jesse called him. It was a go. Nobody talked about his little meltdown, instead they walked on eggshells around him. Lee and Mason hovered, worked out of his study and at night Milana occupied his mind with sex. It wasn’t a bad deal, except that they all watched him, constantly.Nobody told her that it was Ernesto that he had killed and neither did he. He kept quiet and he waited. He tried to be himself, it was hard, but he tried. It didn’t fool his brothers though. They knew something was up and Connor finally broke the ice.“I can’t really decide who’s the crazier motherfucker, you or Lee.”Kelley looked up from his laptop and Lee huffed out a laugh. “Kelley. Definitely Kelley.”“You stabbed your father over thirty times, how am I crazier than you?”Mason leaned back against the sofa and took turns to look at them. “Did you see that guy’s face? You caved his skull in with your bare hands!”“Soft in the head just took on a whole new meaning for me,” Kelley sa
The front door opened as Kelley walked up the two wide stone steps. “Welcome to Meadow Lake, Kelley.”“Ernesto.”Kelley followed him to his office and they sat down on the two sofas facing each other. Ernesto poured them each a drink, assuming that Kelley would want one. He didn’t really but he took it and emptied the glass.“So what brings you to my little town?” Ernesto looked smug and Kelley fought to keep the sneer from his face.“I want to know where Milana’s mother is,” Kelley said.“I see.”Kelley’s expression remained stoic and he could see Ernesto was thinking about his answer. It wouldn’t be a good answer, Kelley knew that too. Kelley shifted slightly and pulled the pistol from under his jacket.Ernesto’s eyes followed the movement and his left eye twitched as the pistol came to rest on Kelley’s thigh. “Where is she?”“She’s dead. She killed herself four years ago,” Ernesto said calmly.“You didn’t think to share that news with her daughter?”Ernesto shifted and Kelley’s han
Kelley walked into his study with a grin on his face. He’d barely slept the previous night, despite his exhaustion. Once hadn’t been enough and he’d reached for Milana a few times until the sun rose and he’d gotten up for Kyzer.He walked over to the couch area and moved the one he and Milana had been on back to its original place. His tie was on the back of the other couch and it slipped to the floor against the wall just as he reached for it.Kelley moved the couch away from the wall and bent down to retrieve his tie. The wooden part of the skirting lay on the floor and he pushed the couch further away and picked it up. He looked at the piece in his hand, the edges a little jagged, like it had been cut out.He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight app on and directed the light into the hole that had been hidden by the skirting piece. He lay flat on his stomach as he moved his phone and something caught his eye.Kelley stuck his fingers inside and it gripped the
The dining room remained quiet for exactly twenty seconds when Kelley walked out before everyone started talking at the same time.“That was intense,” Sylvie breathed.“You!” Marley stood up and pointed her finger at Sylvie. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off him the entire time. Get over it, he’ll never love you. He loves her!” Marley pointed at Milana and sat back down.“Shut up, Marley,” Jesse said softly.“Is that true?” Mason asked. “Are you still in love with Kelley?”“I should go talk to him,” Lee said.“No!” Milana said fiercely. “I’ll go talk to him, if any of you go up there now he’ll probably kill you. He won’t hurt me.”“Says the one that tried to kill him,” Marley muttered.“You created this whole mess, Marley. You should listen to Jesse and shut the fuck up,” Milana hissed and walked out of the dining room.Nobody moved and then Jeannie stood up and glared at all of them. “This is all levels of fucked up but Kelley’s right about one thing. You all want to get angry and gla
The weeks sped by and Kelley became broodier and quieter than ever before. He spent more and more time in his study catching up on work and spreading their business further, moving across continents and into other markets.He went to sleep each night with his back turned towards Milana but they always woke up attached to each other in some way. Today would be a test for all of them. They were planning a family dinner and Kyzer was already three months old.He rubbed his temples, wishing the headache would go away. It was the one constant ever since the coma. He had one every night and probably would for the rest of his life. He had an hour before everyone would knock down his front door.Milana walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body as Kelley closed the bedroom door behind him. She didn’t look at him but rather looked past him. His grip on her arm made her waver because he hadn’t hurt her, not once since that night he gave his ultimatum.“Mila …”“I need to get re
Kelley was standing by the crib when Kyzer’s face scrunched up and he picked him up before he had the chance to scream. He changed him and then sat in the rocking chair as he fed him the bottle he’d made. He didn’t feel like he’d missed anything but Kyzer was bigger and heavier and his face had changed a little.The door opened and Kelley looked up just as he pulled the empty bottle from Kyzer’s mouth. He placed the bottle on the table next to the rocking chair and lifted Kyzer to his shoulder. Three burps later and Kyzer was already half asleep.Milana had remained standing in the doorway, leaning against it. Tears were running down her cheeks and she hadn’t bothered to wipe them away. Kelley tucked Kyzer in, sighing softly in his sleep, before he turned to face Milana.He gripped her hand in his as he walked past her and pulled her behind him towards their bedroom. His bedroom, since none of her things had been in the dressing room when he’d changed earlier. He waited until she was
Kelley’s eyelids fluttered and he blinked a few times before the ceiling came into focus. He tried to swallow and felt the nausea rising. Kelley’s hand rose to his face and he felt the tube going down his nose.He started pulling, slowly and swallowed the nausea down. The pipe seemed never ending and when the last bit popped out of his nose, he gagged. The beeping was low in his ears but irritatingly there. Kelley turned to look at it with a frown and then he switched it off.He ripped the patches off his chest and stumbled to the bathroom. His hand was against the wall because his balance was up to shit. Something was trailing on the floor behind him and he felt for the light switch and stepped back as his reflection appeared in the mirror.“What the fuck,” Kelley whispered.He looked down and saw the bag half-filled with urine. ‘Why the hell do I have a catheter?’ he thought to himself as he picked it up and placed the bag on the counter. His head felt fuzzy but he wasn’t in pain at
Five weeks later …Mason looked at his phone for the hundredth time. It wasn’t going to magically ring. He rubbed his hands over his face and walked out of his office at the warehouse. His calm veneer was cracking, his soul was splitting off piece by piece.Their family was breaking and he had no idea how to fix it or even if he wanted to try and fix it. Carey wasn’t talking to him, Marella wasn’t talking to Lee and Connor was like a bear with a sore tooth. Grace had been with Carey for two days now, she’d taken her for the weekend.Marley was the only woman that was talking to them. Steel had drifted to the other side, he’d had no choice. Milana was his detail and he stuck to her side. Connor had lost his shit, broken three chairs and Steel had had to drag him away from Milana.Kelley had survived brain surgery, even though the odds had been stacked heavily against him. There had been swelling, another brain bleed and another surgery, he’d survived that as well, even though his docto
Two weeks passed and they’d fallen into a routine with Kyzer. Kelley did most of the heavy lifting, bringing Kyzer to their bed so Milana could feed him. The doctor’s timeline had been four weeks and Kelley made sure she stuck to it.She looked healthier, her hair shining again although she hadn’t gained any considerable weight yet, though Kyzer had. His pediatrician was happy with everything and Kelley felt like he could breathe easier.He hadn’t heard from Sylvie and he doubted he would and as the days passed he felt more comfortable. Mila looked more and more like herself again and at night she slept in his arms, her head on his chest like they’d always done.Kelley opened his eyes and gripped his erection through his pajama pants. He hated sex dreams, especially now. It was still early, not even six am yet. Milana’s side of the bed was empty and his cock twitched at the thought of her.Kelley closed his eyes again and tried to adjust himself in the loose pants. “Do you need help w