Affairs of the Heart (4 page)

Royal took his eyes off
Emma long enough to reach for Kate’s hand in reassurance. “Kate,
just calm down. Take a deep breath and go on.”

Royal kept one eye on
Emma and another on Kate. Seeing Kate’s body relax, he returned his
full attention to the woman lying on his great-great-grandparents’
bed as if she belonged there as well.

What was it about her
that made him believe she belonged everywhere in this house? It was
as if she’d been there before, long before his time.

“
Okay. She
didn’t really have much to say as we were going through the house,
but I have the feeling she’s found what she’s been looking
for.

“
If you could
have seen her, Royal, you’d know what I mean. She took in every
crevice with love in her eyes, almost as if she was home again.
There’s a deep passion in her for the soul of this
place.”

“
And what
about the soul of the house? Has anything out of the ordinary
happened?”

“
Not really.
She shivered once on the stairs right after I mentioned something
about ghosts. Other than that, there’s been no activity. At least
none that I could detect.”

Royal succumbed to the
unmanageable pull of the fireplace and looked up at the painting of
Samuel Kinsman. The same eyes met each other and a smile played at
the corners of Royal’s mouth. So much alike and yet so different.
Royal had his great-great-grandfather’s rugged, handsome looks, but
not the happiness Samuel had found, contrary to the legend that
went through the pages of the Kinsman family history.

Royal found
himself drawn further into his great-great-grandfather’s hypnotic
gaze.
You always seem to have
that look on your face when our eyes meet. What’s it all about,
Samuel? What’s the secret to the happiness you found?

“
It’s so
difficult looking like you, Samuel,” Royal told the painting.
“We’ve gone and scared that young lady into fainting. So what do we
do about it anyway?”

“
Royal, must
you always talk to that piece of canvas as if it was alive? It’s
one of the reasons why you left, remember?” Kate commented. A
trembling hand fell upon Royal’s shoulder.

“
It’s always
been like looking into a mirror, Kate. Sometimes I feel like I’m
talking to myself, yet I know that’s impossible.”

Royal looked down into
the caring eyes of the woman who knew his family almost as well as
he did. He knew she understood what he felt every time he stepped
foot in “their” room.

“
You of all
people should understand. You’ve been here through it all,
Kate.

“
It’s like a
madness handed down through the years. If not a male likeness to
him, then the female likeness to her. Few have been lucky and found
that eternal love and happiness with their mate. I remember the
stories told in the library. I may have been too young to
understand them then, but no longer.”

Royal knew his eyes were
filled with tears and about ready to spill over. He could feel it.
The legacy left by his great-great-grandparents had been bestowed
upon a chosen few. Uncles, aunts, cousins, and now himself, the
last of the Kinsman line.

“
We have Emma
to think about right now,” Kate said.

A slight stirring from
the bed brought Royal back to Emma’s side. He gently held her
small, delicate hand in his while he sat on the edge of the
bed.

He knew that
she would open those thickly lashed eyes and witness the
uncontroll
able want in the
depths of his own. In an attempt to take control of those animal
urges, he closed his eyes to refocus on the situation at hand―being
in command of himself when she surfaced from the darkness into the
light.

He opened his
eyes and her lips
parted. The
simple, unconscious act sent surges of electric desire through
Royal again. The lust this woman stirred in him would become
overpowering if he didn’t put a leash on it and soon.

Royal succumbed to the unmanageable pull of
the fireplace and looked up at the painting of Samuel Kinsman. The
same eyes met each other and a smile played at the corners of
Royal’s mouth. So much alike and yet so different. Royal had his
great-great-grandfather’s rugged, handsome looks, but not the
happiness Samuel had found, contrary to the legend that went
through the pages of the Kinsman family history.

Royal found himself drawn
further into his great-great-grandfather’s hypnotic gaze.
You always seem to have that look on your face
when our eyes meet. What’s it all about, Samuel? What’s the secret
to the happiness you found?

“
It’s so difficult looking
like you, Samuel,” Royal told the painting. “We’ve gone and scared
that young lady into fainting. So what do we do about it
anyway?”

“
Royal, must you always
talk to that piece of canvas as if it was alive? It’s one of the
reasons why you left, remember?” Kate commented. A trembling hand
fell upon Royal’s shoulder.

“
It’s always been like
looking into a mirror, Kate. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to
myself, yet I know that’s impossible.”

Royal looked down into the caring eyes of
the woman who knew his family almost as well as he did. He knew she
understood what he felt every time he stepped foot in “their”
room.

“
You of all people should
understand. You’ve been here through it all, Kate.

“
It’s like a madness
handed down through the years. If not a male likeness to him, then
the female likeness to her. Few have been lucky and found that
eternal love and happiness with their mate. I remember the stories
told in the library. I may have been too young to understand them
then, but no longer.”

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Blood Ties © 2013 by Maxine Douglas

MuseItUp Publishing

14878 James, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada, H9H
1P5

rings of paradise

A Contemporary Romance Novel by Maxine Douglas

Shadoe Donovan stood in
front of the large office window overlooking the bay of Lake
Monona. His six-foot, two-inch muscular frame cast a shadow over
the thirty-something man sitting behind a weathered oak
desk.

“
When did all
this happen?” The man’s voice came from behind him.

“
Officially,
the deal was signed last night.” Shadoe smiled, feeling a bit of
pity for the man.
Hell, if
someone suddenly walked in off the street telling me he’d just
bought the company I worked years for, I’d be a bit pissed off, as
well.

“
Why this
magazine?”

“
It’s small,
virtually unknown...exactly what I was looking for.” Watching the
local ski team practice their routine to perfection, he felt their
aches and pains as they worked to hone each move with precision. He
felt his own aching muscles spasm in response.

“
For what? A
tax write-off after you’ve driven it further into the ground?” The
voice came again, edged with sarcasm and irritation.

“
Look here,
Scott—”

“
My name is
Ric, damn it!”

Shadoe turned from the
window as one of the skiers completed a jump. “Right now, all I’m
looking for is someone to write a story. I want a fresh, unbiased
unknown for this. Someone with the drive and desire to tell the
truth as they see it, who’s not afraid of a little bit of
controversy.”

“
Controversy?” Ric Scott turned away from the files he’d been
asked to get. “Just what the hell is this story about,
anyway?”

Shadoe observed the man a
bit closer. Ric Scott was going to be just the person he needed to
keep things under control while he was away on other business. He
had a reputation for being dynamic in his profession. So far,
everything Shadoe had heard about the editor-in-chief was right on
the money, including the shooting-straight-from-the-hip
warning.

“
Pro
wrestling.” Shadoe smiled, watching closely for the normal reaction
to the game he loved so much, a profession many people considered a
circus of highly paid performers. He supposed they could be right
about the circus part. In the past few years, he’d been asked to
wear costumes his father wouldn’t have put on for any amount of
money.

“
Are you
nuts? Controversy is right.” Tossing down a pencil, Ric pushed away
from his desk.

“
I’ll be
damned if I’ll let you bring this magazine down with that kind of
cover-up story,” he continued. “We write the truth, not some
sugar-coated soap! Our readers aren’t a bunch of hicks; they’re
intelligent, well-educated members of society.”

“
Take it
easy, Scott.” Shadoe walked to the front of the desk. “I’m not
about to change the format. I just want a writer to do this exposé,
is all.”

Standing over the man,
Shadoe knew under usual circumstances his size and attitude could
be intimidating, but this wasn’t the case here. Even at a less
imposing five-foot-eight, Ric Scott wasn’t about to back down from
him, and he liked that fact very much.

“
I have a
plane to catch. I don’t have time to pull rank with you. Let’s see
who’s on staff and go from there.” Shadoe pulled up one of the
large winged-back leather chairs.

Shadoe listened to Ric as
he read each staff member’s credentials. Sitting back in the chair,
he knew halfway through the files not one of the staff would fit
what he was looking for.

“
Look,
Scott,” he began, sitting forward. “Everyone so far has experience.
If the rest of them do, too, I can’t use them for this
assignment.”

“
All right,
Donovan, just why do you want a virtual unknown?” Scott sighed.
“Unless you’re ready for a lawsuit, which, by the way, would
destroy the magazine, an experienced journalist would be
best.”

“
As for the
legal and financial condition of this magazine, it’s of no concern
to you.” Shadoe liked the directness and aggression of Scott. The
fact that this man was so protective of the magazine and its staff
was a welcome relief, but he wasn’t about to play nursemaid to the
man.

“
This company
can handle anything thrown at it from now on. As for the why, it’s
time for the fans to know how hard pro wrestlers train every day of
the year, how difficult it is on their families when they’re on the
road ninety percent of the time,” he continued, walking back over
to the window, gazing at the lake and the lone boater drifting out
on the water. He felt much of his life was like that boat, just
going with the flow, never really coming to rest for a long
time.

“
Besides, I’m
the boss, and I said so.” Returning to the desk, he once again
stood with authority over Scott. “Because it’s the sport that’s
enabled me to follow the career I love and cherish more than
anything or anyone. I owe it to the wrestlers who have been
disabled for life or even given their life in the ring for the love
of the game.”

Shadoe watched the
reasoning register deep in Scott’s mind as he let him think. He
glanced at his watch. His plane was due to leave in less than two
hours. If things didn’t progress right now, he’d never get through
security and would miss his flight to Hawaii. The cocky posture
diminished slightly with each passing moment until at last Scott
exhaled in a small surrender.