“You live here?” He told her with a laugh that his grandson did. “My goodness, Sheppard, this is a mansion. Do the others live like this?”
“Yes. They all have big houses. They need to get into gear and fill them up for me with babies, but I’m loving the ones I have now. Little Dru, you’ll just love him to pieces.” He got out of the car and was still talking as he went up to the front. “That there is my grandson, Rodney. That’s his mate, Rebel. You’d not believe it, but she’s—”
“You’re Sheppard Marshall, aren’t you?” He nodded at her and asked if that was a problem. “No. I mean, it’s not a problem. But you’re a very wealthy family. Like the richest in the entire world.”
“That don’t mean that we’re any different than most people.” Only the richest family in the world would think something like that. “You’re going to come in, aren’t you, child? I’d hate to have to send Rebel after you. She’s a little bit of a mouthy thing, but I love her to pieces.”
Shannon really didn’t think she had a choice in the matter. When the couple came down the steps toward them, she thought she could make it to the car before they got to her. However, she didn’t count on Sheppard taking her hand into his and dragging her toward them.
“I think there has been a little confusion.” Rebel asked her what she thought was confusing. “I thought Sheppard here was going to let me bunk in his home, and it would be a normal home.”
“You’re going to find out, I think, that no one in this family is even remotely normal. Come on now, I have some tea for you or strong whiskey should you need that too. Later, the two of us will talk about what your future is and have a good time.” She started to ask what her future had to do with anything, but she was in the most beautiful home she’d ever seen. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? I love it here.”
Shannon felt like the rabbit falling down the rabbit hole. As soon as she was able, she was going to smack herself in the head for being so trusting and then go back home. No one, not anyone she knew that had funds out the ass, was this nice—this generous. As soon as she could, Shannon kept telling herself, she was going to go to a hotel.
Chapter 7
Rodney was looking over the plans when Trenton joined him. The two of them had tried to get together twice now, and something had come up. He’d never realized how money could be so time consuming. Today he’d told his brother that he had to get the work started before fall and asked if he was able to meet him out there by the gazebo.
“I’ve been looking over paint colors. Not that I was going to have it painted any other color but white, but I’m telling you now, Rodney, there must be two thousand colors of white.” They both laughed. “Not that many, but too many for me to just go in and pick a color. Because there are things like flat white, semi-gloss white, and so on. Christ, I just wanted to get a good color. Not have to be stressed out over it.”
“I’ve been looking at the original plans for this place. Someone sometime in the past has enlarged it. The thing is only supposed to be ten feet wide. But it’s about twenty now. Do you suppose that will matter to the women?” Counting off his steps, Trenton told him it was about twenty-five. “I can see that it would be wonderful to have it larger. Especially since Lach was talking about wedding pictures and such. But now that I see this, I’m thinking even that extra few feet might not fit the bill either.”
“I was thinking the same thing. She wants benches up here too. As well as a band in the summer months. I can see it with ferns hanging from the loops here, but even that will take up more room than I think she’s thinking she’ll have.” Trenton told him he’d contact her. “That way, she can make the decision as to how wide she wants it.”
Rodney looked at the area they were allotted to work in. There used to be all kinds of pretty flowers around here—roses, if he didn’t miss his bet. Now there was a great deal of trash lying around, as well as things on the floor of the gazebo that he didn’t want to investigate too hard. As he was thinking of how it was going to look, he saw Grandda coming toward them.
“I saw the two of you making your way here. Whatcha doing out this late?” He told him they’d meant to get here earlier, but life got in the way. “I know that. I had me a hankering to go to get me a piece of pie today at the hospital cafeteria and met up with a little girl that lost her momma when we were talking. Poor thing. They were headed on a vacation, just the two of them. She’s at your house now, Rodney.”
“I met her. She’s a very nice woman. A little overwhelmed, but very nice.” Grandda said he’d be that way too. “I looked over her mom’s notes, and she was very lucky to have been able to say goodbye to her family. She was riddled with cancer all over her body.”
“Nasty stuff, that cancer.” Rodney nodded and looked at his watch when Grandda told them he
