Obsessive Compulsion (25 page)

That makes John smile, and I smile with him
as I keep talking. “Emma was like this bright flash of color who
helped Brandon at the same time she was bringing all of us back
together. She gave us a reason to pull in close again when we
hadn’t even realized how far apart we had begun to drift. Then
Charlotte…”

A snort follows my memory. “Charlotte flew
into Brandon’s office with her red hair blazing behind her, knocked
the man on his ass and I knew
right then
. It was like my
whole world found a focus. A reason to get over these damn
roadblocks I put in front of myself. She’s incredible, John. Just…
incredible.”

I square up, inhale and look him in the eyes
again. “Charlotte makes me want to be a better man. She makes me
believe
I can be a better man - the man she deserves. If you
think I’m that man… I… Sir, I’m asking for your permission to marry
your daughter.”

A quiet falls over the barn. One breath
passes as white smoke then another. Twitch bleats from the pen
while I await judgment.

Slowly, one corner of John’s mouth raises
into a causal smirk. “Shoot. You Texas boys don’t waste much time,
do you?”

I have to snort at that. Brandon and Emma
tied the knot at a surprise ceremony, and now I’m asking for
Charlotte’s hand after less than three months. “Well, sir, we don’t
really see the point in wasting time. If you don’t take the bull by
the horns when you get the chance, you may never get another.”

He laughs lightly with a nod in
understanding, then I say the last thing I need to and hope he
agrees. “I
love
your daughter, and for some crazy reason
that I’ve stopped trying to figure out, she loves me. In this world
where things don’t make much sense as it is, that’s all I need to
commit the rest of my life to her and her happiness.”

Standing away from the rail, he crosses his
arms over his chest. “And what if I say no?”

For a moment, the world comes out from under
my boots, but I hold off the anxiety. I fight back for Charlotte,
because she deserves a man who would fight for her. “Well, sir, as
much as I respect you, I’d marry her anyway, if she’ll have
me.”

With a step forward, his big hand claps my
shoulder. “Right answer, son. You’ve got my blessing, and I’m
pretty sure Carol’s already pickin’ out fabric for the crib she
asked me to start buildin’ this mornin’.”

“And I thought Texans didn’t waste time,” I
laugh past my relieved nerves. “Carol was just telling Charlotte
she expects two grandkids sooner than later.”

“Two?” John scoffs. “Now, I’m not a greedy
man, but I think four sounds like a nice number. Then again, I was
one of six, and my momma said it was a perfect count.”

“S-s-six,” I stutter because my brain is
throwing a damn party and John is laughing hard along with the
goats.

“Shoot, son, breathe!” The man is doubled
over, slapping his knee with one hand while he taps my back with
the other. “C’mon, son. Let’s get inside before those three girls
corner Brandon with the adoption pamphlets Carol picked up last
week.”

“Seriously?” I suck in a breath as we head
back to the house.

Emma can’t have kids the natural way and
Brandon has hinted at adoption, but I don’t know if the man is
actually ready. Then again, who is? I’m also not sure how kids
would fit into our
lifestyle
, but I guess that’s something
we’re all going to have to figure out eventually, especially since
Carol seems to be on the warpath for grandkids, one way or
another.

“No joke,” John confirms as we step into the
kitchen. “The woman is on a mission, and when she gets something in
her head, their aint no stoppin’ her.”

“Sounds familiar,” I quip then stop short as
Brandon jogs down the stairs with the girls close on his heels.

“We’ve got a problem,” he looks to me. “They
found Saul. He’s at Dallas General with two bruised ribs and a
concussion.”

“The hell?” I glance between him and
Charlotte. “What happened?”

“Forester,” Brandon growls. The man actually
growls
out the name, his hand clenching around his
cellphone. “Saul aint pressing charges due to a lack of witnesses,
but he recognized two of Forester’s crew in the crowd that corned
him outside of the Desert Rose.”

“Shit,” I curse. “What the heck was he doing
in a dump like that, after we’ve been looking for him for three
damn days.”

“That isn’t the only problem,” Charlotte
cuts in. She has Emma in her arms and they both look worried.
“Austin’s gone huntin’ after Forester.”

“John, Carol,” Brandon’s talking as he’s
putting his jacket back on. “I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta get back
down to Dallas and try to take care of this mess before more of my
friends get hurt.”

“Go with him, sweetie,” Charlotte’s pushed
through and is zipping my jacket up. “Keep him outta trouble for
Emma, okay? And make sure that fool Austin doesn’t land himself
back in jail.”

“Okay,” I don’t want to leave her, but
Brandon and the others need me. Her eyes tell me she understands my
conflict. After kissing her, I glance apologetically to Carol and
John then kiss Charlotte again. And again. And again. “I’ll try and
be back by Midnight Mass tomorrow.”

“Be careful.” She kisses me twice more,
putting me more at ease. “I love you.”

“I love you,” I finger her hair then follow
Brandon out the door, both of us cursing Forester under our breaths
as we get into his car. “If you get tired, let me drive. I’ve been
asleep with Charlotte most of today.”

“You look like John just took you through
the ringer.”

“Six.”

“Hmm?” Brandon glances over at me.

“Six kids. That was John’s suggestion.”

“Holy shit! You got his blessing?” He’s
grinning again despite the shit storm we’re about to drive into.
“Congrats, man. So, when are you gonna ask her?”

“Well, tonight
had
been a
possibility,” I grouse. Fucking Forester. When I find him…

“Sorry,” Brandon sighs heavily while
flipping on the defroster. “I feel like this is all my fault,
including Charlie losing her job.”

“It’s not. Forester is an egotistical prick.
I figured there would be some backlash over losing that factory and
the investigation into his brother at County. Going after
Charlotte, though… and now Saul?”

“The man’s asking for a body cast,” Brandon
glares at the road. He’s not a violent man, but he could easily
take on Forester. I think he’s reaching the end of his ‘nice guy’
patience, too. His hands hit against the steering wheel. “He’s
threatened my business, my club, and now my family.”

“The guy thinks he owns Dallas. Bribery,
undercutting the jobs, blackmail.” The more I think about it, the
more worried I get. “And now he’s become violent.”

“Stupid is more like it,” Brandon mutters.
“Which makes him dangerous.”

The road passes under us on the long stretch
of highway, dark cattle pastures and cut wheat fields blurring by.
My brain is counting the white, reflective mile markers while my
heart focuses on how each one is taking me farther away from
Charlotte. I wonder what her parents make of all this. What kind of
man am I for their daughter who is involved in this kind of
bullshit?

Brandon has always run a clean constructions
business. No grey lines when it comes to legality, no cutting
corners and no poaching or threatening the other crews. Anyone
knows that a prosperous construction company in a big city like
Dallas is going to raise some greedy eyebrows, but Brandon’s
company has also gained respect. Respect isn’t a concept Forester
seems to understand.

Maybe it’s time we schooled the man in
proper business ethics.

“I have an idea, boss.” I keep counting the
mile markers, knowing Brandon and I are about to have an argument.
“But you aren’t going to like it.”

As soon as Ian’s gone, I feel the cold
creeping back in. My hands rub my arms as a chill shimmies up my
spine. Glancing over at my dad’s questioning eyes, the chill
freezes into frostbite.

“What’s all this about?” he asks, looking
between me and Emma. “A man getting beat up? Another boy might be
going
back
to jail? Are Ian and Brandon in some kina
trouble?”

“Daddy,” I start, not sure how to
finish.

Emma gives my arm a squeeze and nods. My
parents offered me honesty this morning. Perhaps I owe them some
honesty of my own. I’m afraid it will change how they feel about
Ian and Brandon, but all I can do is hope my parents are as
understanding as they’ve raised me to be.

I motion towards the couch and chairs that
face each other and we all take a seat. “Brandon’s construction
company is doing really well and has been getting a lot of big
contracts. Michael Forester is one of Brandon’s competitors, and he
don’t play by the rules.”

“He doesn’t like that we got Shoe Village
back,” Emma adds.

“That development you emailed me those
pictures of, sweetie?” Momma asks and Emma nods.

“It’s our dream,” Emma smiles, giving a tiny
flicker of light back to the room as her reply is whispered with
the caress of love. “Mine and Brandon’s. Forester tried to steal
it, but Kyle and Ian saved it.”

I share Emma’s smile, thinking about the
work Ian has done to help make the dream a reality, then turn back
to my parents. “Michael had a brother, Matt, who worked for Dallas
County. Matt used to pull favors, slip work through unapproved and
basically ensure Michael got dibs on properties without having to
even file the paperwork. He got Forester the old shoe factory
property unfairly, but Ian helped Brandon get it back.”

I can hear the pride for Ian on my voice as
I share the details I’ve gathered over the months. “Ian works part
time for the city as a code inspector and claims investigator. He
went through all the old bids from Forester and found
discrepancies, faked reports, invalid inspections and accounting
practices that didn’t make any sense. Now Michael’s brother at the
County office has been put on leave and under investigation for
fraud. Needless to say, Michael aint too pleased with Brandon or
Ian.”

“So he’s beating people up?” my dad is
rubbing his chin, and I can see he’s not happy his little girls
might be mixed up in some sort of trouble.

“And getting people fired,” I grumble, then
curse my big mouth as my momma asks what I mean. “Forester’s been
following Brandon’s people, including Ian. Ian thinks Forester told
the University some information that led to my dismissal.”

“That’s outrageous!” My mom shakes her head.
“You have to fight that, since it’s obviously all lies.”

I look away from my momma’s eyes to try and
hide my guilt. “An attorney friend of theirs is already working on
it for me.”

“Well,” my daddy’s stare continues to bore
into my soul. “If you’re sure it’s this Forester, why doesn’t that
boy… Saul, was it? Why doesn’t he press charges, then?”

“It’s a little complicated,” I squirm into
the couch cushion.

“Charlotte Susanna,” Daddy warns in fatherly
worry, “you best be comin’ clean about whatever’s got your rear on
fire.”

“Yes, sir,” I bit my bottom lip. “Saul is
trying to protect Brandon, because Forester is blackmailing
him.”

“Blackmail?” my mom gasps. “Is Brandon doing
something illegal? Is that why Austin was in jail?”

“No,” Emma answers first, her chin raised
defiantly. “Brandon does nothing illegal. He helps people,
including Austin, who was put in jail for stealing from him.”

That’s news to me and I blink at Emma in
surprise. “Really?”

“Austin was in a gang, but only because he
was stupid.” Her bluntness isn’t surprising. That’s just the way
Emma is.

“One night,” she continues, “the gang came
across Brandon in a parking garage and decided to steal his car.
Brandon fought back, and they started beating Brandon with bats.
Austin tried to stop it, then they got caught. Brandon asked the
judge to give Austin leniency, and now Austin is on probation under
Brandon’s guardianship. Austin is good like Brandon. He just made
some stupid choices that he’s trying to set right.”

I take up as Emma stops talking, trying to
ease the worry in my parent’s eyes for the type of men Emma is
living with. “Austin really is a good guy. He’s been taking care of
Emma as if she were his sister. I can’t picture that boy hurting
anyone, especially not Emma. He’s completely devoted to Brandon and
the club.”

“The club?” Daddy’s eyebrow quirks up.

Shit.
Well, it had to come out
eventually. Though, having a talk about BDSM with my parents was
never on my to-do list. “Yeah. See, Brandon has two businesses –
his construction company and a private members’ club he runs on
weekends from his estate. Forester is threatening the construction
company by blackmailing Brandon about the club. Forester is
threatening to make the club public.”

“A private, members only club,” my dad
slowly states and I can see the gears in his head turning. “What
kina club could have Brandon afraid to go public? Is it like a
gentleman’s club?”

“Not exactly,” I bit my bottom lip
again.

“There are no paid women,” Emma jumps in as
I fidget under my dad’s stare. “No prostitution. No gambling.
Nothing illegal. It’s all mutual participation.”

“Mutual participation?” my momma repeats,
looking lost.

Our parents share confused glances, so I cut
right to it. “It’s a BDSM lifestyle club. You know, bondage and…
domination, submission… and…” I cough at the end through the word
‘masochism’.

“Charlotte Susanna!” my mother claps her
hands over her mouth as my full name is used yet again.

Wonderful, I’m on a roll today. Jobless.
Sexual deviant. Murderer.

No. I didn’t kill Mary Lynn, and losing my
job was not my fault!