Page 13 of Falkner
It was an enjoyable evening for the three of them.They didn’t talk about what had made Doone cry, and he was proud of Cullen for not asking.He could tell that he was equally upset that he couldn’t help but Falkner had a feeling that before this thing ended with Doone’s mother, it was going to take all their help to see her out of the trouble she was having.
After Cullen left, he and Doone went to the living room to just chill out.There was a fire in the fireplace that took the chill off the room, and he was glad for it.He had a lot of fond memories of this room and having the family around.He couldn’t wait until the next holiday so that he could do what his mother did when she lived here and decorate with pure abandonment.She would do every room in the house, including the bathrooms, so the joy of whatever holiday it was could be felt by all whoentered.
When she said she was going up to bed, he decided that he’d wait a bit before going.Now that he was armed with her father’s name, he was going to see what he could find out about him.Robert McFarlen wasn’t going to hurt his mate any more than he could help it.There might be a lot of unmarked graves in their backyard if things progressed as they were.He didn’t care who he had to murder in order to have her happy again.
There were several Roberts on the internet.He didn’t have any idea which one it was, so he looked at all of them.He couldn’t even narrow it down, either, since he knew nothing about the man, not even what he looked like.Tomorrow evening, he was going to be armed with just enough information to be able to see what the man was made of when they had dinner together.He did wonder what Meggie would say to Doone if she knew that she had contacted her father about her.He had a feeling that the shit would hit the fan so badly that everyone would be covered in the mess.
Going up to bed, he was glad for his laundry to have been done.It was something that his mom had done for him when he’d been studying all the time.She’d pick up after him, too, he remembered.They did all kinds of things for him while he was studying, so he’d not have to look up from his books unless he needed to.He would never be able to thank his parents enough for all that they did for him while he’d been in college.Never in a million years.
He was getting into bed when he thought of something.He’d been keeping an eye on Mulkeen since he’d been fired and hadn’t checked in with his friend on where the man was.It wasn’t so late that he felt bad for messaging him, so he did so then.It was only a few seconds for him to get back a message that told him that he was still at his residence and not making a peep of a sound.
Good.He had a feeling that it was only the calm before the storm; he’d not be giving up so easily after the way he’d gone after he and Doone, but he was willing to bet that he’d come out on top when push came to shove.And as a gorilla, he could shove back in ways that Mulkeen couldn’t have realized.
Finally getting into bed, he had a list of things he was going to be doing tomorrow on his day off.With Doone gone to work, he had become good at finding things to do.Just over the weekend, he’d cleaned out his old bedroom and had thrown a lot of things away.Next, he had to do the same to the other bedrooms to get rid of the things that his brothers had left behind.
It wasn’t all that much, but enough that he thought he’d be better off getting one of those dumpsters to use.That way, he could dump all of the other rooms’ leftovers and be done with it.It had been a great idea that his parents had had in leaving him the house.To let all of them go through their old bedrooms, take what they wanted, and leave the rest.The one room that he was having difficulty going through was Cullens.It looked as if he’d not taken a thing out of his room, and he wanted to make sure that he’d done it.He’d hate to toss something out only to find out later that it was something that he treasured.There were a lot of posters on the walls as well.Most of them had to do with military movies, but he wasn’t sure what to do with them all.
Tomorrow, he thought, and put that on his mental list to get a large dumpster.He’d get all the rooms cleaned out and go from there.Falkner didn’t know what he’d do once the rooms were cleaned out.He was going to be bored out of his mind when Doone went to work, and he was left to his own self.
Chapter 6
Doone was having a good day.She had been at work since seven, and things, so far, had gone really well.They’d been really busy for a Monday, and she was happy that she was at work instead of home worrying about what her mother was up to.She hadn’t turned on her phone for fear of getting into it with her at work.Yes, she thought, it was a wonderful day.
“Doonie, there’s a phone call for you.”She felt her steps falter a little bit and asked who it was.“She said she’s your mother.And that she’s not at all happy with you.I thought by the tone of her voice that was an understatement.”
“I’ll take it.”She dreaded every step she took toward the nurses’ station and picked up the phone with a bark of her last name.That would piss her off, too, and at this point, she wasn’t really concerned with how it would affect her.“What do you want?I’m working and I told you that.”
“You didn’t come and get me to take me to the grocery store.Now I’m out of some things, and it’s all your fault.Tell me when you’re coming here so that I can be ready.And don’t think that just because I’m allowing you to take me means that I’m not upset with you still.You know how much I hate to go to the store after noon.There are more welfare people out and about then, and I don’t like them.”
“You’re a welfare person now, Mom, so I don’t know what your beef can be about them.”Mom sputtered a bit, and Doone felt empowered a little.“I told you to drive yourself.I’ve spent enough time at the DMV for you to have your license; you should use it.”
“I don’t want to drive.I’ve told you this before.”She asked her why she needed her driver’s license.“Because I deserve to have it since I’ve worked so hard to getting it.Listen to me, young lady, I’m sick of you being this person that I don’t like.You’d better start treating me the way I deserve, or I’ll have to tell that boyfriend of yours some stories about you to have him back off.I might do that anyway.Did he tell you that he threatened me?”
“He did, and I’m happy for him to have done it.”She waited until her mother started to talk again and cut her off.“I called dad.I’m having dinner with him tonight.He seems to think he has a great deal to tell me.”
“You did not call that man.”She said that she had and was glad that he’d taken her call.“You’ll cancel that dinner date with him right now.I’ll not have you going behind my back and talking to him.He has nothing to tell you.”
“Is this something else that you deserve, Mom?Something about dad that you don’t want him to tell me, too?I’m going to have dinner with him and find out if it’s just been me you’ve been manipulating all these years, or have you done it to us both?”She said she was very angry with her.“I’m angry with you, so I guess we’ll both be pissed off.I have to go.I told you that I didn’t have time to talk to you today, and I don’t.So you have fun at the grocery store with people of your kind and leave me alone.”
Gently putting the handle on the base, she walked deeper into the nurses’ break room and leaned against the wall.She loved that she was able to stand up to her mother now, but it still hurt her heart when she had to do it.And as if she had reached out to him and told him how she was feeling, she heard from Falkner.
“I’m guessing that you’ve just spoken to your mom.”She said that she had.“I’m sorry.I should have guessed that she’d call you at work, but she’s kind of hard to judge when it comes to things that she’ll do.Do you need me to do anything for you?”
“I’m all right for now.I just told her that I was seeing Dad, and you can imagine her reaction.”He said that he could and thought it was funny.“Why is that funny?”
“Because she’s losing control over you in a way that makes her afraid for you to be talking to your dad.She might know what he’s going to tell you and is pissed off because you’re doing something that she doesn’t want you to do.”She said that she could see that happening too.“I’m sure that you can.You had a picture painted of him that your mom gave you, and I bet that you find out he was just as much a victim as you were.Still are for the most part.”
“I’m going to try very hard not to let her do this to me anymore.It’s been a long time in coming, but I’m not going to give up.”He said that he didn’t blame her and that it would be hard on her.“I don’t doubt that at all.But you know, having you right there helps me in a way that I never dreamed of when you told me that I was your mate.Just knowing that I can reach out to you and talk to you helps me a great deal.”
“Good.I’m not having fun, not as much as I thought that I would.I thought that I’d just come into the bedrooms and start tossing things out that they left behind.But it’s been hard because I remember some of the items that they’ve left, like a helmet from when Dallas played ball in college.I thought he’d want it back, and he said that he didn’t.He told me that he’s making new memories with his wife and daughter.”She said that was sweet.“Yes, it is, but I wanted him to hold onto these memories, and they’ll all moving on.I guess, as one of the youngest, I’m having trouble letting go of things that I’ve had since I was a kid.I’m sure as we make more memories of our own, we can easily shed the things from our childhood, but—I’m sorry.I forgot about your memories that are all gone, and you have nothing tangible anymore.I’m sorry, love.”
“It’s all right.I kind of feel all right about losing everything that I had.Oh, don’t get me wrong, because I do find that I miss some of the things that I owned, but it’s getting easier to let some of it go now that I’m, like you, making new memories.I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when I handed her the keys to my old car.I wonder if she’s set it on fire yet?”She laughed, and it felt good.“I should get back to work.And to think I thought that I was having a great day so far.I guess it goes to show you that things can change before you realize it.”
For the rest of the day, she thought only of Falkner and what he might be doing right then.Oh, her mother would intrude once in a while, especially with the look that she’d had on her face when they told her that they were getting married.She thought that she might find that funny for the rest of her life.But then she’d think of Falkner again and him telling her that he loved her.That was the sweetest thing that anyone had ever said to her in such a long time.
At the end of her shift, she was ready to go home.She didn’t have a lot to do tonight but to help out Falkner with his project, but since she had to work tomorrow, she knew that she’d have to go to bed early enough to be able to get up at five in the morning; she knew it was going to be a short night for her.But then she remembered her dad and him meeting them for dinner, and her belly would churn up a little.She wondered what he’d have to say about her mother and him leaving them when he did.
Her mother was in the parking lot when she came out of the building.Avoiding her was going to be hard, but she was going to do it if she could.Circling around to exit out the emergency room doors, she was in her car and on her way home before she let herself realize how pissed off her mom was going to be when she figured out that she’d missed her.Since she’d not seen her old car there, she did wonder how she’d gotten there and was sad for her mom in that moment.
