“That’s exactly right, Pfeiffer. She does calm me.” When Don put his hand on top of CJ’s, the colors for them both changed. The white was gone, this time turning a lovely shade of lavender. They were in love. “Yes to that as well. I am in love with CJ. And she with me. As soon as we can, we’re going to get married and live a long and happy life.”
She knew they would too. They were made for each other. She was going to have to make some changes in her plans, she thought. Not just for the couple in her kitchen, but for life in general. Pfeiffer wouldn’t have to worry about her daughters soon either. There wasn’t any way for either of them to leave her. It was selfish, she knew that, but she thought it was perfect. It was, she thought, about time things started to fall into place for her.
“I’ll take whatever you give me in the way of support. I’m not stupid enough to think I could do this on my own. However, when I sell our parents’ home, I’ll make sure you get half of it.” Don told her they had plenty of money for several lifetimes. “Then I’ll put it away for my lifetimes. And I’m going to have a life now. No more taking life one day at a time, damn it. I’m going to hit it head-on and have some fun.”
Don laughed. It was a good laugh and one that she’d bet he didn’t share often. Pfeiffer was going to do that as well. Laugh. At herself or something else, but she was no longer going to be sitting back and waiting for things to happen. She was going to make things happen.
Chapter 4
Josh wasn’t sure why he’d been arrested last night. They had entered the place he was staying and dragged him out. It had taken him some fast talking to get a nice room, and the police had screwed it up. Josh had been so happy to have been put into a nice bed and a breakfast, despite there being regular coffee with a packet of dried-up creamer. It had been like a taste of heaven to him. Even the shower had put him in a great mood.
However, today while he was sitting here in a jail cell thinking about his plan, he realized he’d have to modify things a little to get what he wanted. Money. That was it, just money so he could live the life he thought he deserved. And Josh did deserve a very full life of leisure. If only Lizzy had married him like she was supposed to.
She had a great deal of money, more than he’d thought she had when he decided that marrying him was her only option. His only one too. After they were wed, he’d planned on keeping her around for a little while, then hiring someone to kill her off. This was after he got himself set up well. Then she’d disappeared. For over a year, she’d been gone, and he’d tried to collect on the insurance policies he’d already taken out on her. Using her money to pay for them was a little funny to him. Fat lot of good it had done him. She’d been contacting her attorney all along, and they wouldn’t pay him. Her being alive had fucked him up royally, he thought.
His lunch was coming—he could smell it. Josh hadn’t had much to say about his food given to him last night, but today he wanted something nice. Something they’d get from a restaurant, not whatever the cook dreamed up with leftovers. Leaning back on his bed with his hands where they could be seen, his lunch tray was sent into his cell. Getting up, he was dismayed to find that no one had taken his needs seriously when he told him what he’d wanted.
“Hey? I thought that I ordered a steak sandwich with cheese and French fries. Also, this isn’t wine.” The man delivering his food told him it hadn’t been on the menu he’d ordered from last night. “Sure it was. I wrote it on there when the things that were there didn’t appeal to me. Can I get a better meal? I mean, come on. This isn’t going to cut it with me.”
“Isn’t that just too bad for you? Eat it or don’t. I don’t care. But that is the meal you’re getting since you thought that writing in what you wanted was going to get you anywhere. This is a jail, not a five-star hotel.” The man walked away, then returned. “Are you eating it or not? Like I said, no sweat off my balls if you don’t.”
“I’ll eat it, but I’m doing it under protest.” He opened the lid and found a bologna sandwich like the one he’d had last night, a bag of chips, as well as a dish of pudding of some kind. It was green already, so he wasn’t touching that shit. “You guys are going to kill me with this. I hope you know that.”
The man only walked away. He’d bet that no one called Lizzy for him either. It was entirely her fault he was in here. While he didn’t know what he’d done to get here, he was sure she’d done it.
Josh had been set up nicely by telling Lizzy she needed to marry him. Then she’d sat him down, telling him that in order for her to marry him, he had to have a job. Full time. He had asked her about him getting some of her money so he’d
