Page 123 of Possession

Actually, we hadn’t even had a real date yet. Our one attempt had ended in a break-in and truly spectacular sex in my four-seasons room.

That probably counted as our version of romance, all things considered.

“I’m just saying it’s a consideration down the line. I’m not getting any younger, Blake. Give an old woman something to look forward to in her declining years.”

I fumbled in my desk drawer for my ubiquitous bottle of aspirin. “And that consists of my engaging in a marital union and reproducing?”

“I didn’t get to spend much time with you when you were little. You remember how much I had to work back then.”

“Yes, I do.” I popped the top on the bottle and shook out three pills. On second thought, four would be good.

This headache wouldn’t be vanquished easily, I could just bet.

“So, I’d like a chance to do better with the next generation. Maybe do a bit of spoiling. Brant has some money put aside, and we can live as we choose to now.”

“You don’t need his money. You have mine.” There was no keeping the hard edge out of my voice, even if Brant had been on a ship and not sorting through my personal belongings.

Someonehad been.

That he hadn’t physically been on the premises knocked down his possibilities of being involved, assuming he wasn’t working with a partner. Two people working together could always accomplish more than one, though of course, then you had to trust them not to spill the beans through malice or sheer ineptitude.

I dry-swallowed the pills and replaced the bottle in the drawer. Hmm. Two people was an option we hadn’t really considered. We’d always imagined a lone wolf working alone, but two people could definitely go places where one on his own could not.

That was an angle we’d definitely have to pursue, if I ever got off the phone.

“I don’t want to rely on my son, and I don’t want to rely on Brant, either. I was a careful saver, and I do have a little of my own. But I like that girl, Blake. She’s good for you. And she’d make beautiful babies, so don’t chase her away with your growling and snarling.”

“She happens to like my growling and snarling, and babies are not a concern of either of ours. I’ll let you know about Christmas.” After a moment, I gripped the phone tighter. “We’ll try to stop by, at least for dinner and gifts.”

Gifts. I needed a gift.

Lavish or not, right now I had nothing for my mother. Or Grace, dammit. And Grace for sure wouldn’t be interested in the jelly of the month club I’d bought my mother three years running, along with other assorted things I’d boxed up and sent over.

Truthfully, my assistant at the time had boxed them up and sent them over, but there had been no time for that this year.

So much for me being prepared.

My mother tut-tutted and made noises about being so excited to see us, and about wanting to have a “girls’ night” with Grace to do their hair and makeup and trash men. I guess that meant I wasn’t to chase the beautiful baby-maker Grace away, so that my mother could do the honors for me.

Whatever. I had bigger concerns at the moment.

As soon as I hung up, I called the Hawthorne Hotel in nearby Salem to book their best room for New Year’s Eve. Shockingly, this was not available until I offered to up my compensation dramatically, and suddenly, within a few moments, a cancellation had been found. I figured that would do in a pinch as far as holiday gifts went. I’d tell Grace I’d booked us a romantic hotel suite and we could dance the night away with a bunch of other besotted drunken fools.

Revelers. I meant revelers.

My next step was to go on Amazon, where I bought my mother a bunch of the things she had on her wishlist. I had them gift-wrapped and sent via Prime, then added in a few more things for Grace, as well. Some artist’s tools she might enjoy, and a scarf in the exact blue-green shade as her eyes. I’d failed on the lavish score this year, but I still had a day or two left to shop. At least this way I wouldn’t be empty-handed. What online shopping lacked in personality it made up for in convenience, and I took advantage of it gladly.

Especially since a metric ton of data was still waiting for me.

I was wading through more of it, cross-checking with the list of addresses I had running on my second screen, when the door behind me banged open. Instead of jumping to my feet to face the threat, I calmly eased open the keyboard tray where I’d stashed my gun that morning.

And turned to find Grace cradling my clock with murder in her eyes.

Her gaze dropped to my hand, and she huffed out a breath. “Is that how you greet people now, Blake? Gun in hand?”

“Obviously, I didn’t know it was you.”

As discreetly as possible, I tucked the gun into the back of my waistband. I had a feeling opening a drawer would incense her even more.

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