With These Four Rings - Book Five: Wedding Bonus (Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls 5) (16 page)

“Well, you do have the authority to do with it as you please.” Adam placed his elbows on the table and made a bridge for his chin. “You can start a charitable foundation in your mother’s name. It’s a lot of money and it will go a very long way to help other victims of white-collar crimes.”

“Or single mothers like my mom.” Tashi sat back in her chair and looked at her family. Alessandro looked a bit disappointed that he’d be denied the opportunity to show her his financial expertise. Arabella seemed pleased with her train of thought, and her father had tears of pride and gratitude in his eyes.

“What are you suggesting, Tashi?” her father asked.

“I want to give half of it to Carol Sweeney.”

“What?” Alessandro sat up straight. “You want to give all that money to your mother’s former friend?”

“Well, not to her directly. You know my mom started a single mothers support group when she was pregnant with me.”

They all nodded.

“Well Carol—my godmother,” she correct herself with a tender smile, “kept the shelter going. They meet in downtown Cleveland, and collect donations from people. Sometimes those mothers don’t even have a place to live. I want them to have a safe place to go, and far more than someone else’s hand-me-downs. I want to build the Evelyn Holland Haven for Single Mothers, and start a college scholarship fund for their children.”

“And the other half?” Adam asked.

“I’d like to start some kind of foundation for victims of human trafficking. Not many of the young women were as lucky as I was. If I could make even a small difference, then it’s worth it.”

Paul left his seat and enveloped her in his arms. “Your mother would be so proud of you, my daughter.”

“This calls for a toast.” Adam stood to his feet and motioned for everyone to do the same.

“Definitely.” Paul grabbed his liqueur and retuned to Tashi’s side.

She leaned into the comfort of his arms as everyone raised their glasses.

“To Evelyn Grace Holland, and to her College Scholarship Fund, and her Haven for Single Mothers and Victims of Human Trafficking,” Adam said. “May she rest in blessed peace!”

“
Salute
!”

* * *

LaCrosse Estate – same day, earlier that evening…

With Fiona on her hip, Michelle watched Precious, Little Erik, Tiffany, and Jason play tag bunny on the lawn below the balcony of the second-floor playroom. Catherine sat in a lounge chair nearby, her eyes darting occasionally from her eReader to the children. Mrs. Hayes was at the library with Azi and a few other grandmothers for their weekly knitting group, so when Michelle had suggested ordering pizza and a salad for dinner, Precious had asked if she could invite Jason over.

Now Michelle wished she hadn’t.

“Aha!” Fiona crooned, kicking her little legs against Michelle’s thighs and banging her arms on the screen, as she too watched her siblings having fun.

“Soon,” she said to her seven-month-old daughter who’d begun crawling weeks ago. “Soon you’ll be running around and playing tag bunny with your sisters and brother.” She held her high in the air and pressed kisses on her belly over and over again until Fiona squeaked to her heart’s content.

When Fiona began to hiccup from too much laughter, Michelle set her back on her hip and returned her attention to the children on the lawn. She recalled the first time she’d played tag bunny with Precious and her father when they’d stopped at the picnic area by the pond on her first trip to Granite Falls. It was on a sunny summer day, much like today. She’d only been working as Precious’ nanny for a few weeks but she’d already fallen in love with the darling little girl, and her father, too. Later that day, just a few yards away from the balcony where she was now standing, Michelle had told Erik that she loved him. Her face burned with the memories.

Despite the insurmountable problems and heartaches that had ensued from that first declaration, her love for him had never waned, but had grown abundantly over the years. Every morning since they reconciled, she woke up happier than the day before, and every night she went to sleep wondering how it was possible that she’d been happier that day than she’d been the previous one. God had truly blessed her. She prayed that God would grant her children the same favor he’d granted her—sooner for Precious who was deep in puppy love with Jason.

Michelle sighed as she sat in a club chair and arranged Fiona on her lap. Erik was due home on Friday, but her excitement at seeing him was tainted by the news of Sarah’s death, and the fact that she had to keep a secret from him—Precious’ secret.

After dinner, Michelle and Catherine had taken Little Erik, Tiffany, and Fiona into the nursery to wash up, and when she’d returned to the kitchen—obviously too soon—she found Precious and Jason embracing with their lips locked. They’d jumped apart at her gasp. They had assured Michelle that it was the first time they’d kissed and begged her not to tell their parents.

If she were Precious’ biological mother, Michelle would have kept her secret, but since she didn’t want to actually say those exact words to her, she’d given them a time frame and the option of telling their parents themselves. She’d also assured them that there was nothing wrong with kissing each other, but their parents needed to be aware of the change in their relationship.

It seemed like only yesterday that Michelle was giving Precious a bath and reading her bedtime stories. She was almost thirteen now, taking her own baths, and kissing boys. She’d given her the sex talk years ago when Precious had come to her with questions. Michelle had first cleared it with Erik, who was glad that he didn’t have to do it.

To make the milestone more memorable for Precious, Michelle had made it a Mother and Daughter day at the country club where they had lunch and then massages, pedicures, manicures, and facials. Afterward, they’d enjoyed a delicious dinner at Ristorante Andreas and then checked into a penthouse suite at Hotel Andreas for the night. Michelle grinned as she remembered Precious’ reaction when she learned what really happened during coitus. Not at all what she’d expected, especially when Michelle took great care to paint a pretty picture about the delicate dance of lovemaking.

“Yuck!” she’d screamed with a convulsive shake of her body. “That’s disgusting! My mom and dad did that? You and Daddy…Eww!”

“We do, Precious. Sex is a beautiful act when it’s shared between two people who love each other. It’s the ultimate expression of love and commitment two people can enjoy.”

“Eww…” she’d said again, her face twisted in repulsion. She’d inched away from Michelle as if she had the plague. “I don’t care how much he says he loves me, I would never let any boy do that to me. Ugh!” She’d shivered again.

As she’d drifted off to sleep that night, Michelle had the feeling that Precious wished she still believed that babies came from kissing. When Michelle had shared Precious’ reaction to their sex talk with Erik, he’d jumped up and down, shouting, “That’s my baby girl! That’s my Little Muffin!”

Precious had avoided eye contact with both of them for a long time. In fact, she’d gone out of her way not be alone with them together, except during mandated family activities which included meals and the drive to and from church on Sundays.

It seemed that her prepubescent hormones had kicked in overnight and brought along the curiosity about intimacy with them. Michelle had to admit that she was a little hesitant to tell Erik that his Little Muffin was growing up, and that she might no longer think of sex as a gross act. She feared for Jason, too, and hoped that Erik would remember that he was the fourteen-year-old son of one of his closest and dearest friends.

“Dada. Mama,” Fiona chanted as she stretched her hand toward the table.

Michelle smiled down at her baby. “Oh, Fiona. It’s your story time, isn’t it, darling? And Mommy has been preoccupied. Okay, here we go.” She randomly picked a book from the pile of soft cloth interactive storybooks on the table, and began to read to her baby.

She was on her sixth book when a maid appeared in the doorway. Michelle gave her a fleeting glance and continued reading to her daughter. The household staff knew that when Michelle was spending quality time with her children, she was to be disturbed only if the house was on fire, and right now, she didn’t smell any smoke.

She gave a lot of attention to other people’s kids—those at her foundation in Evergreen, those in Manchester, and elsewhere—and so she had made it a rule that certain hours during the evenings belonged to her own children, especially since Erik was away from home so much. They missed their daddy and asked for him a lot—especially Little Erik. Michelle had grown up with one parent who ignored her, so she tried hard to make up for Erik’s absence. She never wanted her children to feel neglected or less important than the ones she helped, and she always turned off her cell phone during quality time with them.

Nettie was young and new to the household, and Michelle was certain that the seasoned maids had passed on the daunting task to the poor girl. Michelle could only imagine the trepidation she must feel. She finished reading the story about the Three Bears to Fiona then looked toward the door. “What is it, Nettie?” she asked, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. LaCrosse.” Nettie pulled her hand from behind her and held up the receiver to the house phone. “But a Desire Summers keeps calling. She says she’s been calling your cell phone unsuccessfully, and it’s urgent that she speaks to you.”

If it were anyone else, Michelle would refuse the call. She motioned for Nettie to place the receiver on the table.

“Would you like me to take Fiona while you talk to Miss Summers?” Nettie held out her arms.

“No, I’m still on baby time. Thanks. You may go.” Michelle tightened one arm around her baby, and coaxed her to hold on to the storybook she’d been reading to her. When Fiona nestled into her arms and began babbling away as she pretended to mimic her mother, Michelle took a deep breath and placed the receiver to her ear. “Hello, Desire. How are you?”

“I’m great, Michelle. And you?”

“Super.” Knowing why she’d called, Michelle got right to it. “I don’t have an answer for you, Desire. We’re not trying to avoid you. We’re still waiting.”

“I realize that. It’s just that we only have a few weeks to implement all the changes and make sure that everything runs smoothly. With the national attention this wedding is receiving, I can’t afford for anything to go wrong. My reputation is at stake here. Should we plan on pushing the date back at this point, or maybe you should begin looking around for another planner? Do you have suggestions, alternatives? I was supposed to hear back from you two days ago.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Desire, but Bryce was away on business for a couple days. He just returned home this evening. I’m sure Kaya will have an answer for you first thing in the morning.”

Michelle knew it wouldn’t be tonight. She’d called Kaya’s cell phone earlier, but each call had gone straight to voicemail. When she’d called the household line, she’d been informed that Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine weren’t available. She knew exactly what that meant, and had hung up, hoping that her friend’s seductive persuasions would work in their favor.

“If I don’t hear from her tomorrow, I’m afraid that I’ll have to back out of this contract and focus on the other two weddings I’m planning,” Desire said.

“I’m sure it won’t get to that. And even if Bryce doesn’t approve, you can keep the deposit. You’ve spent valuable time with us already, and it won’t be your fault. We probably should have consulted with Bryce before we hired you.”

“I probably should have waited until after you spoke with him before accepting the job.”

“I guess the excitement about the wedding blinded us to the huge elephant in the room.”

Desire sighed. “It’s an elephant that should have been addressed a long time ago. I spoke with my parents and they want to mend the rift between the Fontaines and us. They just never knew how to approach Bryce.”

“Even if Bryce says no, you should still pursue healing for both your families. The door is opened, so you may as well walk through it and take advantage of the opportunity.”

“You’re right. Seeing that my dad was once the mayor of Granite Falls and is still active in the city’s House of Representatives, and Bryce is one of its most influential citizens, they should get along, or at least be on speaking terms. I want to put this conflict behind us.”

After she hung up the phone, Michelle thought of her conversation with Kaya a couple days ago when they’d talked about the far-reaching benefits of the wedding. It wasn’t just about the four couples renewing their vows and committing themselves to each other as families and friends. It was about Granite Falls—a town coming together for healing.

She’d heard so many stories of people not speaking to each other for one reason or the other—some as stupid as leaves from a tree falling into the neighboring yard, the noise from a motorcycle waking someone up at midnight, or the honking of pet peacocks at dawn, and countless others. Some of those nuisances happened years ago, but the quarrels had been passed on to the younger generations.

If I could just find a way to bring everyone together
, Michelle thought…

CHAPTER TEN

LaCrosse Jet and LaCrosse Estate – Early Thursday morning…