Mabe's Burden (16 page)

He laughed and settled back onto the
pillow. “Um, you’re going to have to give me a few minutes.” He
turned his head to face her. What was that expression? Smug
satisfaction? He really didn’t care, he felt so damn
good.

Mabe smiled, staring at the sculptured
white ceiling. “This is a cozy room. I hadn’t seen this one since
Jake remodeled it. He did a good job up here. Hope should be
proud.”

Still panting slightly, Aaron agreed.
“She runs a nice inn. I really like it here.”

“
I’ve always wondered what
all the rooms looked like. I’ve never had a tour of the entire
place. The tower room is especially intriguing.”

“
Yeah, it’s pretty neat.
It’s a sitting room, but no one goes up there because it gets too
hot. She should get one of those small units you can mount on the
ceiling.”

She laughed.

“
What?”

“
We’ve just had the hottest
sex two people can have, and you’re talking about air conditioning
units.”

“
You started it,” he said,
rolling over to tickle her again.

They made love three more times before
dawn, each time better than the last. When the sun peeked through
the blinds the following morning, he drifted into a satisfied sleep
holding the gorgeous red-head in his arms.

Chapter
Thirteen

Mara hung up the phone and tapped her
long nails on the kitchen table. Reaching for her laptop, she spun
the device around, opening her web browser.

“
What’s going on?” Meg asked
coming in from the hall.

She glanced at her sister briefly, a
fresh flood of worry rushing over her. Meg looked paler by the day.
How she would support her sister through this terrible ordeal with
ovarian cancer she couldn’t fathom. She couldn’t stay in Monticello
forever. Jacques expected her back in New York any day. He had
restaurants for her to run, plus she was sure he missed her,
too.

She wished she could return his
affection with his same vigor, but she just didn’t feel it. She’d
tried, but the chemistry had never gelled for her—not that she was
ready to call it quits yet. She owed him everything. If it weren’t
for Jacques finding her in that diner ten years ago, she’d probably
be living on the streets of New York in a cardboard box.

“
How’re you feeling?” she
asked as her sister settled into a chair with a cup of
coffee.

“
I’m in some pain, but I’m
okay. This stomach bloating thing is for the birds. None of my
clothes fit.” She patted her tummy. “I talked to my doctor
yesterday. They want to go ahead and schedule the surgery soon, but
I want to at least get all our stuff moved out here first. I know
Mabe mentioned I could stay with her, but I’d feel better if I knew
all my stuff was with me. I’ll have to put some in storage of
course.”

“
Take a breath. If you’d
like, I can hire a moving company to pick up your stuff. We’ll have
whatever you want hauled to Florida along with putting the rest in
storage for you. It’s not a big deal. Do you have a house or
something in Arkansas?”

She nodded. “It’s a small place, more
of a cottage than a house, but it suited us.” Suddenly, she reached
out. She grabbed Mara’s hand squeezing it hard enough to make her
wince.

“
What’s wrong, Meggy Wegs?”
Mara asked, using the childhood nickname.

Tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m
scared, Mara Bear. I don’t know how far the cancer has gone. I’m
scared chemo won’t work. I’m scared of the treatments. But most of
all I’m scared of leaving my baby alone.”

Mara stood, pulling her sister into her
arms to let her cry. She’d been scared of all those things too, but
refused to dwell on them. They’d been separated too long because of
their father, but now she planned to stick to her family like glue.
Both sisters needed her. How she’d manage to commute back and forth
to New York remained a mystery, but she would figure something
out.

She pulled gently away and grabbed a
napkin from the table. She dabbed at her sister’s face. “Listen,
girlie. You are going to beat this thing. The O’Banyon sisters are
one tough lot. Nothing gets the better of us. We’ll watch over Emma
while you’re going through this. She’s a great kid. You’ve done a
phenomenal job with her. She’s going to need support, too, so we’ll
take care of her. I promise you that. All you have to worry about
is healing.”

Meg took the napkin. She blew her nose
and threw the napkin in the trash. She sat back down. “Thanks. But
you’ve got to go back to New York soon. You’ve got fancy
restaurants to run with hungry rich people to feed.”

Mara laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I
may have to go back for a little while, but I’ll return. I can’t
believe I’m actually going to say this, but I’ve missed
Monticello.”

Meg laughed. “You?”

“
I know, hard to believe,
huh?”

Meg looked around the kitchen then
sipped her coffee. “Where’s our little sister? She’s not in her
room. Surely she didn’t go running with her arm in a
cast.”

Mara raised both eyebrows. “She didn’t
come home last night.”

Meg slapped a hand over her mouth,
offering a muffled, “What?”

“
I know. I think she must
have shared the night with Mr. Shaw.”

“
Surely not. I mean he’s
beyond adorable, but on the first date?”

“
Perhaps she has become a
bit of a slut.”

They laughed, enjoying the mutual
joke.

“
Good for her,” Meg
commented. “He’s definitely a hottie, and she could use a little
lovin’ in her life right now. It’s bound to have been so hard
putting up with Da the way she has all these years.”

“
He sure left her in a fix,”
Mara replied. “I always knew his drinking and gambling would put us
all in a major fix one of these days. I was right.”

“
We shouldn’t have left
her.” Meg glanced down at her coffee mug. “I should’ve had the guts
to stay after I found out I was pregnant.”

“
You might not have had Emma
if Da had known about it. He’d have probably beaten you silly and
gone after Rod. I think all in all you did the right thing. Mabe’s
tough, plus she was always his favorite.”

Meg started to protest, but her sister
held up her hand.

“
I shouldn’t have left
either, I know. But I’d have killed Da if I’d stayed. I promise
you.”

Her sister’s eyes widened. “Would you
really?”

Mara nodded soberly. “I would. You
don’t know the number of nights I walked into his bedroom with a
ball-peen hammer ready to do the deed.”

“
Oh my God, are you
serious?”

She nodded again.

“
What stopped
you?”

“
You two. I’d go to jail,
and you two would be left alone in foster care. After I thought
about it for a long time, I decided the best thing to do was just
leave. You were better off with a drunkard than alone and
separated. At least you could take care of each other.”

Meg reached for her sister’s hand
again.

She sighed. “That’s why I’ve got to do
something. We’ve got to get this mafia loan shark off our tail and
save the pub for Mabe. She’s worked so hard building it into what
it is today.”

“
It’s good, isn’t it? She’s
done a great job.”

“
It could use some updates,
a better menu, but yeah…she’s done a hell of a job,” Mara
mused.

Meg went to the fridge. “I’m starving,
plus I think better on a full stomach. Want some breakfast? We can
talk while I cook.”

“
Sure. You get the bacon.
I’ll do the eggs.”

Meg gathered the items from the top
shelf. “So do you have a plan?”

Mara got a bowl, grabbed the whisk from
a kitchen drawer. Not much had changed in the kitchen since her
mother’s death. Mabe had kept everything just as it had been when
she was a girl. Comforting.

“
I don’t really. I’ve only
got about seventy-five grand saved. I thought maybe if we offered
that goon fifty of it, he’d take it until we could figure out what
else we could do. I plan on calling Gavin today to talk to him a
little more.”

Meg laid strips of bacon into an iron
skillet. “What about selling to Aaron? I know we don’t want to, but
if he’d let her still run the place, she could eventually buy him
out.”

“
I thought the same thing,
but something smells a little fishy there. He seems trustworthy
enough, but I’ve seen enough restaurants re-habilitated to know his
offer is way high. What’s his motivation? I know he’s got the hots
for her, but you don’t just show up one day with that kind of
offer. I’d like to find out what else Gavin knows about him.
Especially if she’s sleeping with him.”

“
Good point,” Meg replied.
“Want some French toast instead of eggs?”

“
Oooh yeah, sounds good. I
make killer French toast.”

“
I was hoping you’d say
that. Ems loves it too.” Meg pulled a loaf of bread from the
pantry, offering it to her sister. “I don’t get the vibe he’s a
shyster, but you never know. Probably doesn’t hurt to be
cautious.”

“
Me either, but I also have
a gut feeling there’s more to this story.”

“
Maybe Gavin is telling the
truth. Maybe he’s done business with him before. He obviously
thought it would be a quick solution.”

Mara whisked the egg batter for the
French toast, adding cinnamon with a few other ingredients she kept
only to herself. Trade secrets shouldn’t be shared—even among
family. She smiled. New York had made her cynical. Go
figure.

“
When you came in, I was
just getting ready to Google our new friend, and see what I can
find out about him. We owe our sister that much. I’m sure she
wouldn’t want us snooping, but what are big sisters
for?”

Meg grabbed a second iron skillet. She
opened the fridge, held up a stick of butter. Mara nodded, so she
cut some, dropping it into the skillet. The kitchen filled with the
aromas of coffee, frying bacon, and the sweet, cinnamony scent of
French toast.

“
If this doesn’t rouse Emma,
she’s dead.”

Mara laughed. “I agree.” She placed two
battered pieces of thick bread into the skillet. “I took Ma’s
recipe, doctored it a bit. I know you’ll love it.”

Meg placed the strips of bacon on a
paper towel to drain. “I’m sure I will. You always were the best
cook of the three of us. I’m happy you’re doing it for a
living.”

Mara smiled at her sister. “Me,
too.”

She set the full plates on the table.
Meg joined her. She pulled the laptop over. After her first bite of
French toast, she typed Aaron Shaw’s name into the computer then
clicked on images. A series of pictures formed on the screen. “He’s
very photogenic.” She popped a piece of bacon into her
mouth.

Meg peered at the screen. “He is. I’m
telling you, he’s downright irresistible. Who’s the older woman
there next to him?”

“
I’m guessing his mom. Looks
like some event he attended with her in Las Vegas.” She clicked on
the picture. A website for a local news station in Vegas loaded on
her screen. She read the caption under the photo.

“
New Jersey transplant and
high society matron, Evelyn Toreni Shaw with her son Aaron held
another successful—”

“
Wait,” Meg interrupted.
“Did you say Toreni?”

Mara glanced up at her sister,
recognition dawning on her face. “Oh, shit. That’s the name of the
mobster Da owes money to.” She dropped her bacon.

“
Let’s not jump to
conclusions. We don’t know enough yet,” Meg urged, breathing
faster.

Anger spread through her entire being.
“We know he is related to the Toreni mob family.”

“
Oh shit. Do you think
Mabe’s in trouble?” She stood, running to retrieve her purse from
the counter. She grabbed her cell phone, punching in a number on
her return to the table.

“
Don’t tell her anything
yet,” Mara cautioned. “Make sure she’s okay, but we really don’t
know enough yet to risk freaking her out.”

A sleepy, very hoarse voice answered
the phone. “Hello?”

“
Sorry to wake you, sis, but
when you didn’t come home last night, we were worried.”

“
I’m sorry. I should’ve
texted.” She lowered her voice. “I’m with him.”

“
Him, meaning Aaron
Shaw?”

“
Mmm hmm. He’s still
sleeping.”

Meg pressed the mute button.
“You were right. She’s in bed with
him
.”

“
At least she had some fun.
Like I said, don’t tell her what we found out. Let me talk to Gavin
first.”

“
You think that’s wise? You
think she’s safe?”

“
For now I do. I don’t know
why, but I just don’t get the feeling he’d do anything sinister. We
should wait.”

Meg pressed the mute button again.
“Okay, honey. Have fun. We just wanted to check on you.”