Destined for Power (21 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Reid reached over and took Mallory’s hand. They walked up his mother’s sidewalk hand in hand and smiled at each other. They had locked the door, put a chair under the handle, and hadn’t left the bed all day. Well, until the shower.

The front door opened and Margaret clapped her hands excitedly before grabbing Mallory and pulling her in for a hug. “Finally I can officially introduce you as my daughter. Oh, Reid, you made a wonderful choice for a bride.”

Reid grinned as Mallory blushed. “I think I did, too.”

“Now, dear, the women are all in the kitchen with wedding ideas. Narrow them down before we ask Reid’s opinion. We learned that after Logan's little meltdown.” Margaret stepped out of the doorway and let Mallory go inside. Reid tried to follow, but Margaret pushed him back outside.

“What is it, Mom?” Reid asked after she quietly shut the front door.

“You love her so much, don’t you?” She smiled up and ran her hand over the stubble on his face.

“More than anything in this world.”

“You two remind me so much of your father and me.” Tears started to pool, and Reid felt his heart clench. His mother had been so alone these past years without their father. “Well, except for that international secret agent stuff. Your father and I also took a little while to get together. When we did, my heart was full. And then to be blessed with all these wonderful additions to my family—I have been truly blessed.”

Reid reached over and wrapped his arms around his mother. She rested her head against his chest, and he rubbed her back gently. “We are the blessed ones, Mom.”

Margaret pulled back and looked at the tiny chip of a diamond on her ring finger. “When your father and I fell in love, we knew it was forever. No matter how hard it was at times, we were happy because we had each other. Even through the long absences while he was away at work, just like you and Mallory have had, our love only grew. I want you and Mallory to know that love. Now, I know it’s not much,” she said as she wiggled the ring from her finger, “and I know it’s nothing compared to those honkers your sisters are wearing, but if you want it, it’s yours to give to Mallory. To bring you the happiness your father and I had.”

Reid felt his throat constrict as he reached out to take the small gold ring in between his fingers. “It’s perfect, but won’t you miss it?”

His mother patted her heart. “I have your father right here. And in all of you. It will feel strange not to have it on my finger, but it will give me, and him, such joy seeing Mallory wear it. Besides, maybe it’s time for me to take it off.”

“What do you mean?” Reid asked. Was his mother ready to start dating again? The thought had him slightly nauseous. He’d just made sure his sisters married men who deserved them; what would he do with his mother? He was going to break out in hives at the thought of it, but the sound of a honking horn prevented her from answering him.

“What in Sam Hill?” His mother’s eyes went wide, and he turned to see what had surprised her.

Feng parked his car half on the sidewalk and half in the street. Shirley and he were necking. They were accidently hitting the horn over and over again. “They must not have their hearing aids turned on.”

“Oh, that’s just not right!” Margaret covered her eyes and hurried down the sidewalk.

Reid opened the door and called to his family. “Y’all have to see this. Mom’s about to bust Shirley!”

Everyone rushed outside, including Finn who pushed Troy in a wheelchair. Reid saw their pilot and patted his shoulder. His face was still bruised and his leg was in a cast, but he was alive, and that was all that mattered.

“It’s good to see you, Troy. You had us worried.”

“It’s good to be here, thanks to you and Mallory. And, of course, your mother, who has been taking care of me this week. She stayed with me at the hospital, nursing me back to health. Now that’s a good woman and more than this old flyboy deserves,” Troy said as he shook his head. “Did Shirley just . . .?”

“Sweet magnolia,” Allegra whispered as they all took in the sight of the windows fogging up.

“Is your mother . . .?” Logan started. “Yep, she’s really going to interrupt them.”

“I need my camera.” Bree laughed as she reached into her pocket.

“Eww. Do you really want this on your camera?” Elle asked.

“She has enough to blackmail us; it’s only fair,” Finn said as he shuddered.

“It’s okay, babe. I saw the picture she took, and you couldn’t see a thing,” Allegra cooed.

Mallory shot her a look, and from behind Finn’s back, Allegra shook her head and used her hands to demonstrate that the picture showed a whole lot more than nothing.

“Oh no, here we go.” Drake snickered as Margaret rapped her knuckles on the passenger window.

“Shirley Louise, you stop that this instant!” Margaret shrilled out in her best mom voice. The window rolled down slowly, and Shirley’s tussled hair came into view.

“Margaret, the well has not runneth dry, and I plan on haulin’ water as long as the pipe is working.”

“I don’t need to know that,” Margret groaned.

“I think you do. You need to prime your pump and have some plumbing done.”

Reid and his family all looked at each other and made gagging noises—all except Troy who just smiled.

“What kind of example are you setting? Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?”

Shirley laughed and held up her hand. “I’m not free. We got married this afternoon. After seeing Mallory and Reid, and how happy they were, we decided to stop wasting time.”

“Married?” the group on the stoop all asked at once.

“Yes, married. Now, stop interrupting the honeymoon!” Shirley rolled up the window and Margaret turned, stunned as the horn began to honk again.

“I have a bottle of bourbon behind my
Southern Lifestyle
cookbook. Reid, be a dear and grab it. I think we all need a shot after that.”

Mallory couldn’t stop laughing as she and the girls took shots of bourbon and picked wedding dresses out of magazines. She and Reid decided they would marry next Saturday at the hotel. Reid had called Evelyn, who was gracious enough to be happy for them both and was now busy calling all their contacts for flowers and food.

The men were clustered around the television, watching sports and initiating Feng into the family. Mallory picked up a picture of a beautiful dress and smiled. It was simple, understated, and elegant. It would be perfect with her wild, five-inch red heels. “This one. It’s perfect.”

“We will go to the boutique tomorrow. I already called them and the designer and everyone will be there to find you
the
dress,” Allegra told her as she handed her another magazine.

“What’s going on in there? It suddenly got quiet,” Bree said as she leaned forward to look into the living room.

“Mallory, I think you’ll want to see this,” Reid called out.

The women stood and hurried into the living room. On the television she looked at President Nelson standing next to King Dirar.

President Nelson stepped forward and spoke into the camera. “We are all saddened by the tragic loss of King Liam Vidmar Markovic. King Dirar of Rahmi was in the United States visiting family when the news broke that King Markovic’s plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean upon its return from a charity event last night. This is a sad day for Stromia and her people, having lost two kings in just two days. We, the American people, grieve with you. And we promise to stand by you and assist the new king in any way necessary.”

President Nelson stepped back and King Dirar stepped to the podium. “Such loss of life is tragic. It is widely known that King Liam and I did not get along, but that does not change the fact that I wish only the best for Stromia, a small country so much like Rahmi. I have already talked with the new king and have pledged Rahmi’s full support.”

The television panned back to the reporter who looked sadly into the screen. “This tragedy follows on the heels of vice presidential candidate Ambrose Childs’s arrest in a bizarre assassination attempt on his running mate. It has been leaked by an unnamed source from within the FBI that this assassination may have been orchestrated by King Liam, who they say was actually fleeing the country before he could be arrested. In an unprecedented move, Senator Westin made the following comment earlier today about the assassination attempt made against him.”

Mallory bit her lip as she saw her father and mother come on the screen. Reid stood up and hurried to her side. He wrapped his arm around her as they watched her father speak to the camera.

“I still have not processed Ambrose’s betrayal. This has given me the wake-up call I needed, though. In any case, where there is such darkness, you must search for the light. The light I’m clinging to is my family. My daughter, Mallory Westin, is newly engaged to Reid Simpson of Simpson Global—the same man who saved my life. I plan to take the next few weeks off from campaigning and help my daughter with her wedding. I am so proud of all she and her fiancé have accomplished in their short lives. Their enduring love and never-give-up attitude are truly inspiring. After discussing it with my family, I will decide how and if I should continue with my campaign. Thank you, the American people, for your outpouring of support as I strive to never let you down.”

Mallory felt tears running down her cheeks. Reid pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. Margaret sniffled, and Troy reached up to hold her hand. The sound of the doorbell startled the quiet room.

“I’ll get it,” Shirley said as she moved to the door with her walker. Her
Just Married
banner made Mallory smile. Shirley opened the door and hissed, “What are you doing here? You think some fancy words on television will make up for all the years you neglected your daughter and threatened my family?” Shirley shoved her walker forward and smacked Senator Westin in the shins. He cursed and hopped away as Mrs. Westin stared in astonishment. “Don’t get me started on you, missy. You stand by while your husband threatens to bankrupt us and send us to jail all because Mallory was in love with Reid. They were young. You were supposed to support them, not shove aside your daughter’s happiness.”

Mallory and the rest of the room stared open-mouthed as Shirley railed against her parents. Fresh tears poured down Mallory’s face. As she wiped them away, she came up behind Shirley and hugged her.

“Thank you, Shirley, for all you’ve ever done for me. I think my grandmother sent you to be my angel.”

“Devil is more like it. Your grandmother was a spitfire just like Shirley here . . . and you,” her father said as he kept a wary eye on Shirley.

“Look, Dad, I don’t know what you are doing here. But if you think one pretty speech changes what you did, then you’re wrong,” Mallory said, putting her hands on her hips and staring her father down. She wasn’t a meek teenager anymore.

Reid stepped up beside her to offer silent support while Margaret stormed forward to give her two cents’ worth. “Senator Westin, you and your wife are despicable. How could you not see how happy our kids were together? Instead, you banished them to years of pain. We could have been happily sitting together bouncing babies on our knees by now. But, you only cared about yourself and your status. You never had faith in your daughter or my son. And I want you to know one thing,” Margaret stepped forward and wagged her finger in their faces. “If you ever threaten my family again, I will destroy you. No one threatens my family, bless their hearts, and lives to tell about it. I don’t care who you
think
you are. I will make your life a living hell if you so much as say a cross word to my son. And why should you listen to me? Because I cherish family above all else, and I will walk through fire to protect them—something you know nothing about. As for living on the wrong side of the tracks, you’re damn right I did. And I learned just where to hide the bodies. Don't you
ever
mess with my family again.”

Reid and Mallory looked at each other with astonishment. They had never heard Margaret say anything mean, much less go into a full rage. Her red hair flared, her eyes were sparking, and Mallory's parents could only turn paler.

“Mrs. Simpson, you are right,” Mallory’s father said slowly. “I was wrong then, but we’ve come here to ask for a second chance. I don’t want to miss those moments you were talking about. I want to see her and your son madly in love. I want to be there to spoil our grandchildren rotten. I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and eat Sunday dinners together. I’m here to see if that’s still possible. But first, I must apologize to all of you. I wronged each and every one of you with my attempt to control everything. And look at what it got me,” her father shook his head. “A person I thought of as a son tried to kill me. To say I’m looking at the world differently is an understatement.”

Margaret crossed her arms and stared him down. “I’ve said my piece. The rest is up to Mallory. If she can forgive you, then so can we. If she can’t, then I’ll help her bury you beneath a mountain of future happy memories.”

Mallory looked behind her at her adopted family. Elle and Drake glared at her parents. Bree and Logan had their arms similarly crossed. Allegra and Finn had their jaws tight and fingers fisted. They would all defend her if she just asked. One week ago, she would have taken them up on the offer. But not anymore.