Ms Demeanor

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“That sounds really special,” Laura said, not quite sure if she should interrupt his reminiscing.

He nodded, but she could tell from the distant look on his face that his mind was in the past.

“It really was.” He turned to face her, and she could see a glistening in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I just can’t believe that I’m at risk of losing them all again.”

Oh, so that was what this was—some veiled attempt to pull at her heartstrings in order to make sure she wasn’t tempted to change her mind about his fate. She wouldn’t let him play that game, either.

“You have it all wrong if you think you can make me your mark,” she said, taking two steps back from him.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” he asked.

“You can’t try and manipulate me to get what you want. I know all about your kind.”

“My kind?” He spat the words. “You mean convict, or do you mean orphans?”

He was trying to pick a fight. It was a good diversionary tactic from the real issue at hand, but she wasn’t going to let him pull that one over on her, either.

“I’m just saying that you’re not the first ex-con to think he’s smarter than me.”

Or hardly the first man who thought himself smarter than me, either, but she bit her tongue before she let the words slip from her. She didn’t want to come off like some scorned woman. She wasn’t anything of the sort, but Rainier needed to remember his place—and his place, right now, was under her thumb.

“If I was smart, the last place I’d be right now is here.” He stared at her.

“If push came to shove, if a deputy found out I’d lied for you, I would likely be charged with accessory after the fact,” she whispered, just loudly enough for him, but not the women in the kitchen, to hear. “That would mean we would both be headed to prison. Have you thought about that?”

“I know what you did back there was a gamble,” he said, tipping his chin toward the barn outside. “Your sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed. You can trust me when I tell you that I had nothing to do with that body.”

He moved toward her, and she carefully stepped back until her legs pressed against Mrs. Fitzgerald’s ’80s model velveteen sofa. The little hairs of the couch upholstery jabbed into the back of her calves, but it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as Rainier was making her when he looked at her like he was now...a look of compassion, respect and maybe something more.

“You have to know that I would never compromise you like that,” he added. “Though I’ve only known you...what? A couple of hours? I believe you’re a good person. You’re not the kind of woman who would risk everything if she didn’t think a person was telling the truth.”

The little zing she had felt for him returned, making her wonder if she would ever be able to control her body’s responses whenever Rainier said something that made her want to smile.

He moved so close that the only way she could get away from him was by sitting on the sofa, so she plopped down in a most unladylike fashion—complete with a little oomph as the air rushed from her lungs.

“I’ve been wrong before, Rainier,” Laura said, gripping her hands in her lap so as to not reach out and touch him.

Thankfully, he stopped his advance and glanced back at the tree. “We all make mistakes, Laura. No one more than me.”

“So you agree that what you did to your father was wrong?”

“It wasn’t wrong to do what I did. My biological mother and father may have been the worst parents on the planet. I don’t even know how I made it out of there alive.” He sighed. “How much do you know about my real parents?”

She had done her research on Rainier Fitzgerald, but it seemed that all his records had started when he’d been about sixteen and had gotten his first speeding ticket. His file had been dotted with a few misdemeanors, just the odd fine here and there that often came with a rambunctious teenager; that was, until the assault on his biological father in some low-end beer joint on the south end of town.

“Not much,” she said, shaking her head.

“That night in the bar, when the assault happened, it had been a long time coming.” Rainier turned away from her and went back to studying the tree. “My birth father was an evil man. He did things that should have sent him to prison and kept him there until his dying day, but instead, he got off scot-free... And in the end, I was the one sent away. Life has a wicked sense of humor.”

She wanted to ask what exactly his father had done, but before she could, there was a knock on the door.

Mrs. Fitzgerald came shuffling out of the kitchen, a white apron tied around her waist and what looked to be fresh flour on her hands. She smiled at them as more knocking reverberated through the room.

“Be right with you,” she called, wiping her hands on her apron. “I don’t know why they bother knocking. If the police are done, I would hope that Wyatt would know to just come right on in,” she said, more to herself than to them.

She opened the door and her hands dropped to her sides and she stumbled backward. “What are you doing here, William?”

There, standing in the doorway, was a sour-faced man in a business suit. As he looked inside, he smiled, and the action was as crisp and polished as the rest of his exterior.

“I thought it was high time that I stopped by the ranch and said hello,” William Poe said. He nodded toward Laura. “How goes it, Ms. Blade? Your father mentioned that you were going to be poking your head in at the ranch from time to time, thanks to the family jailbird. You know, if it were up to me there would be more than one Fitzgerald prison bound.”

The man looked as out of place at Dunrovin as a fox in a henhouse, and just as predatory.

“What are you really doing here, William?” she asked, getting up from the couch. As she did so she made sure to pull her skirt just a bit lower on her knees. The man had a reputation, and she didn’t want him leering at her.

He opened his jacket and withdrew a letter. On the front, in big bold red letters, were the words Final Notice.

“Something was incorrectly sent to my house. I think it belongs to you all.” He flipped the letter toward Mrs. Fitzgerald, but she didn’t bother to try and catch it, and it fell to the floor at her feet.

“Why would you be getting our mail, Mr. Poe?” Eloise asked, her voice taking on a dangerous edge that Laura wouldn’t have imagined the woman capable of unless she had heard it for herself.

“Well, Mrs. Fitzgerald, I would hardly know,” William said, a sleazy smile spreading over his face. “But from that note on the front, I thought it better make its way into your hands.” He nudged the envelope with his shoe, leaving tread marks on the paper. “I’d hate to stand in the way of justice being served. You know me. I’ve always tried to be helpful.”

“We know you to be a thorn in our side,” Mrs. Fitzgerald retorted.

Rainier walked over to the man. “Why don’t you just get the hell out of here?” he said, pushing him back out the door.

“How dare you touch me,” William said, his tone filled with hatred.

“What was that old commercial... Reach out and touch someone?” Rainier asked with a wicked laugh. “You’re lucky all I did was touch you. The next time you set foot on this ranch, you are going to wish that all I did was touch you.”

“You are going to wish that you never laid your hands on me.” William readjusted his suit jacket in what Laura assumed was his best attempt to save his ego. “I’d threaten to sue, but based on what you’re about to learn, we both know that you and your family wouldn’t have the money to pay me if I won, anyway.” He laughed, the room filling with the foul sound.

William turned toward Laura. “You know, if you were like your father, you would save yourself some time and just arrest Rainier now.”

Her stomach clenched. Had he seen something? Had he witnessed her lying for Rainier?

“There’s no way that man is going to stay out of trouble. In fact, I bet that’s why the police are outside, isn’t it? Are they just waiting to arrest him?” William continued on, seemingly unaware of the questions raging through her. “It wouldn’t surprise me. This family is nothing but trash.”

“You know what, William? I think Rainier was right,” Laura said, as she walked over to the doorway. “You need to get gone and stay gone.” She slammed the door in the man’s face.

As she did, she knew it would come back to haunt her. But right now she didn’t need anyone to tell her who or what the Fitzgeralds were. To her, they were just another family that needed her help.

Chapter Six (#u8b1c643f-43c6-51d6-a81a-0335a37c4e91)

The affection Rainier felt for Laura had grown tenfold in a matter of seconds. The last thing he had expected was for her to stand up to William Poe, his family’s arch nemesis.

He watched as she leaned over and picked up the envelope from the floor, her skirt pulling tight as she moved, making him want her just that much more.

He forced himself to look away. His family didn’t need any more drama right now. Since he’d gotten home today they’d found a body, he’d nearly been sent to prison and now William. Rainier hated to imagine what was coming just around the corner. Though, admittedly, if it somehow turned into having Laura in his bed, he wasn’t sure that he would mind so much...as long as no one found out. If his mother ever discovered that they were sleeping together, it would probably be the thing that would push her over the edge.

She walked back to Eloise and handed her the letter.

His mom stood still, staring at the door as if she was just waiting for it to open and William to come strutting back inside. The letter in her hands trembled.

“Mom,” he said gently. “Mom, why don’t you sit down?” He walked over to her and, taking her by the arm, led her to the couch and helped her settle there.

Her gaze never moved from the door.

“Do you mind if I take a look at the letter?” he asked.

She lifted her hand, motioning for him to take it, but said nothing.

He’d never seen her like this, at least not since the day he’d been sentenced. The memory of her sitting in the wooden stands of the courthouse made shivers run down his spine. He’d vowed he would never make her feel like that again, yet here they were...although this time he wasn’t entirely sure it was his fault. William’s appearance at his family’s home had to simply be a coincidence—at least he hoped so.

On the other hand, William had mentioned that he’d known Rainier was being released. Maybe he had planned his arrival to coincide in hopes that his homecoming could be ruined. Maybe it was William’s hope that they’d never be happy again. Little had he known that their day had already been ruined.

Now it was up to Rainier to fix what he could, and help them all to move past what they couldn’t.

He took the envelope from his mother. It was addressed to the ranch, care of his parents. When he tore it open, a letter fell out, with the same red lettering as on the envelope. It read Final Notice.

He pulled open the letter and saw it was from the county. As he read the words on the page, they seemed to blend together into a jumbled mess of lines and swirls as he tried to understand how “back taxes” and “working ranch taxation rates” had resulted in “Payment due on or before December 31. If not paid in full, a lien will be placed against the property for $150,489.”

The number rolled around on his tongue like a sour grape. His family couldn’t owe that much. There had to be some kind of mistake. Where would they get that kind of money?

According to his mother’s letters over the last few months, they had been barely scraping by, and it was only because of the Yule Night festival that they had managed to pay their bills for the month. Now this?

He looked to his mom, who was still staring at the door.

Was it possible that she had known what was in the letter? Had she known this day was coming, and that was why she had turned in on herself as she had?

He glanced back down at the page. There had to be a way to file for an extension—something, anything they could do to give themselves more time.

The taste in his mouth grew more putrid as he read the last line of the body of the letter:

“...an auction will occur if owners fail to remit all sums due by above date.”

“What does it say?” Gwen asked, leaning against the doorjamb that led from the living room from the kitchen.

Rainier wasn’t sure how he should handle things, but somehow telling Gwen the truth didn’t seem like the best option. In fact, telling anyone what he had just read seemed about as much fun as chewing off his own hand.

“Do you mind taking care of Mother, Gwen?” he asked, motioning toward the couch. “Mom, do you want a cup of tea or something?”

She nodded, finally pulling her gaze away from the door. “Earl Grey, please, Gwen.” She gave a half smile as she returned to the land of the living and false strength.

“I’ll give her a hand in there,” Laura said, taking Gwen by the arm as they made their way into the kitchen. “That way you two can have a moment.”

He gave her an acknowledging tip of the head and sat down beside his mother on the couch. He moved the letter so she could see it. “Did you know about this?”

She took it from his hands and, opening the reading glasses that hung from a cord around her neck, she slid them on and started to read.

Eventually she tried to speak, but the words came out in a smattering of syllables and garbled sounds, until she finally stopped struggling and simply shook her head.

“What about Dad?”

She shook her head again.

“Is this even real? How could you be getting a final notice of something due next week if you didn’t even know about this?”

“I’m sure it’s real,” she said, her voice filled with cold resignation. “If I’ve learned anything about William Poe, it’s that he’s capable of whatever he wishes. He has and will do everything in his power to try to tear the family and this place apart. He’s not going to stop until he succeeds.”

Rainier pointed to the letter. “But something like this had to be in the works for months. Why now? Why is he coming after us with this?”

“He’s never been a fan of ours, but I don’t know why. For the last few years we managed to keep him at bay, but once he became the county tax appraiser, we knew that our days might be numbered. Then with everything that’s happened...it’s only gotten worse. I told you about his brother, Daryl, and the fire in my letters, yes?”

He nodded.

William had to have some kind of vendetta—something that must have gone deeper than his wife dying at the hands of his crazed former sister-in-law, but Rainier could only guess what was behind it.

“I have to put a stop to this, to him.” He stood up and made his way to the door.

“No, Rainier, you’re not going to do or say anything that will stop him. William is like a dog with a bone right now. All we can do is hope...”

“And get a goddamned good lawyer, someone who isn’t afraid to take the bastard down,” he said.

“I’m sure we’ll try. But Rainier...you have to know that this may be the end of Dunrovin. We are all getting so tired of fighting. Maybe this is just the world’s way of letting us know that it’s time to move on. To get a new dream.”

“No, Mom, don’t talk like that. You just have some asshat who thinks he can do and say what he wants without repercussions.” He opened the door. William was standing beside his Mercedes, talking to Penny.

“Officer Marshall, I hope you are planning on escorting that man from our property,” Rainier said, charging toward the two as Wyatt and his father made their way back from behind the barn.

“Actually, Rainier, Mr. Poe was just asking me a few questions about my job.”

“Nothing about why you are here?”

Penny slid William a look that made it clear that was exactly what he had been pressing her about. And knowing about the kind of man William was, Rainier was sure that he was making a solid effort at making a pass on the twenty-something woman, as well.

“Something going on here?” Wyatt asked, coming closer and sensing the tension in the air.