Short Fuse
    © 1992/2016 by K Pelle

Chapter 13

I didn't fall asleep right away, but I was sure that Dave did.  Even with my body lying right on top of his, his breathing changed and he seemed to lose the tenseness that I'd felt previously.  I sighed in satisfaction, as I shifted slowly to the side.  I didn't want to wake him but I needed to go to the bathroom, very badly!

Once I was out of bed, I moved slowly to the bathroom.  Yeah, I said slowly.  I was okay and I knew that I hadn't been injured, but at the moment I wasn't walking normally either.  I'd been honest with Dave, I hadn't made love to a man in eight years, and I'll swear, if a person's body could return to an almost virgin state, then mine had.  On top of that Dave was most certainly the most well endowed man I'd ever seen, let alone made love to.

I know!  I've read that a full-grown woman who has had a child can easily accommodate any man.  All the doctors say so.  I can tell you from first hand experience that they don't really know diddly squat and the word 'easily' certainly is not always true.  Perhaps mine was a special case, but I can truthfully say that I wasn't at all comfortable.

Okay, that's a lie.  I was happy.  No, I was elated that Dave and I had finally made love, but that was just my mental state.  Physically, my body was telling me a different story.  Every muscle in my pelvic area felt like it had been stressed and was now complaining.

But oh my, it had felt good while we had been together!

I closed the bathroom door and flipped on the light, catching a look at my face in the mirror.  I hadn't even realized that I had a smug grin on my face before I saw my reflection.

"Silly Bitch!" I whispered.  "You look like the cat who ate the canary."

Still grinning like a Cheshire cat, I cleaned up a bit.  I don't care what anyone says, sex is messy, at least for someone who gets as excited as I do, especially when she is involved with someone who is as 'bountiful' as Dave is.  When I got done cleaning myself, I thought about how meticulous Dave was about going to bed clean and I wet a face cloth with warm water, then slipped slowly back into the bedroom.  I knew how I felt the few times I hadn't cleaned up after sex before going to sleep.  I truly disliked that 'crusty' feeling in the morning and I thought I'd just clean him up a bit.  I was almost done when I felt him tense and then awaken

"Wow, that's something I've never had anyone do for me," he sighed, gently reaching out to touch my hair, then allowing his hand to caress down along my cheek.  "Thank you."

"I was being selfish," I whispered, then I twisted my head and kissed his palm while his fingers caressed my cheek.  "It's been a long time, but I do remember what the next morning feels like if you don't clean up.  I want you to feel great, so we can have a return match sometime soon."

"Umm, you might want to stop what you're doing, unless you're thinking about that time being very, very soon," he sighed.  "I'm finding your fingers extremely arousing, but since I'm a touch tender right now . . ."

"Oops, sorry," I giggled as I lifted my hand.  "I thought I was the only one who was tender.  I didn't realize that you might be a bit sensitive too."

"Unh uh," he grumbled with a grin.  "I loved it, but I didn't get off scot free.  You were right about being quite small, but I don't think I suffered any permanent damage.  Now can I possibly have that cuddle you promised me?"

I'm not sure where the wet cloth went, but an instant after he spoke, I was stretched on top of him and snuggled tight, then his lips found mine.

Oh can that man kiss!  We smooched for a few minutes and I delighted in the feel of his hands as he gently caressed me.  Then we settled into a gentle hug, so I shifted in order to snuggle against his side.

I found myself lying there, waiting for him to completely relax, resisting sleep myself in order to be able to feel his body drift off into slumber again.  Somehow I found that extremely satisfying and when he did, I allowed myself to sleep as well.

For the first time in a long time, I slept all night and had wonderful dreams.  I had a man who loved me, who wanted me, and in turn, I wanted him.  He was a man who could hold me, a man who could love me, a man who could satisfy me.  I'd made up my mind.  I was in love.

When I awoke in the morning, I was still wrapped in one of his arms and held gently against his chest.  I lay in bed and relished the bliss of being cared for.


I opened my eyes and Arlene was smiling at me.  Something about seeing her clear blue eyes staring into mine brought a smile to my face.

"Good morning," I whispered.

"Hi lover," she murmured.

Those words triggered something, I felt a flash of guilt and then a roaring tide of elation that washed the guilt away.  I rolled her into a tight hug, then a gentle kiss, before I sighed softly.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go visit the little boy's room," I grinned shyly.  "It's usually the first thing I do after waking every morning.

She giggled and slipped her arms from around my neck, letting me hop out of bed and run to the bathroom.  I wasn't in there long, just long enough to handle essentials, then quickly brush my teeth and rinse, then dry my hands.  When I got back, she was sitting up and smiling at me, then her legs swung out of the bed and she was moving into my arms.

"I feel much better this morning," she whispered as she lifted her arms for another hug.  "Mmm, you brushed your teeth again, I can smell it."

"Habit," I grinned, bending down to kiss her.

"Unh uh, morning breath," she argued, wriggling out of my arms.  "Get back in bed, it's still early and I want a snuggle."

"But . . ." I started to protest.

"Please?" she responded as she slipped out the door.

When she got back, I was laying in bed with the covers pulled above my waist and I noticed her grin as she carefully pulled the door closed behind her.

"I wasn't arguing about the idea of a cuddle you know," I grinned back at her.  "I was just arguing about you having morning breath.  You didn't have it."

"My mouth felt like it.  I had fur on my teeth," she sighed as she slipped into bed and let me wrap her in my arms.  "Besides, now that I've finally got you in my bed the way I want you, I don't want to take any chances of you being upset about the way I treat you."

"Mmm, that sounds great, as long as I can return the favour," I pulled her close and ran my hand down her back to cup one cheek of her bottom.

She shifted and pressed herself against me as our lips met.  Things were heating up rapidly and I didn't mind one bit.  There's something exceptionally arousing about kissing a woman while she is grinding her body against yours and Arlene was certainly doing that.  I could feel her whole crotch, rolling and pressing against the bone of my hip as her tongue danced with mine.

She moaned softly as my hands roamed over her back.  I could feel her tense, then sigh as I let one hand slip down and teased my fingers downward along the inner flesh of her thigh.  Her leg shifted, letting them move inward and upward . . .

Just then the telephone rang.

Both Arlene and I jumped, and she growled as she reached for it, but then I suppose answering the phone as quickly as possible is an automatic thing for a cop.  I think I'd have let it ring at that moment, especially considering the time of day, as well as the circumstances.

"Hello?" she said and then frowned.  "Pardon me? Who did you say you were looking for?"

She held her finger in front of her lips, warning me to be quiet.

"I'm sorry.  This is a private residence, not a motel," she sounded quite grouchy and her voice had dropped into a menacing tone as her frown deepened.  "At least I imagine that's where he is, since his house was damaged by arson."

"Well, yes I did, but that was a police matter.  Since I'm on holidays, I have no access to any additional information at this time.  I'm afraid you'll have to go through regular channels," her frown had deepened into a scowl.

"No, I'm certain I can't help you.  I believe it was Detective Edmunds who was assigned to carry on with that case," she looked at me, smiled for an instant, then shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Oh?  Are you sure?  If that's what he said, then I'm certain that he was sending you on a wild goose chase and leaving you grasping at straws," she sighed deeply.  "Look, I'm on holidays and I have absolutely no way of knowing what's going on with that case.  Besides, you're certainly not making yourself a friend by waking me up at this time of day."

"Fine.  You do that.  Goodbye," she snapped and hung up the phone, then turned to me.

"That was Charles Hawkins from the Clarion.  The first thing he asked me was if he could please talk to Mr. David Gamble.  It seems he got the info that you were here from Edmunds," she growled.

"Dammit, I knew we shouldn't have stayed here," I sat up and reached for my shorts.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded as she jumped in front of me.

"Well, I was going to go out into your kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee, then I was going to call Jaro and tell him about that phone call," I smiled at her.  "If you don't mind that is?  I do think a lot better if I have a cup of coffee under my belt."

"Oh," she said quietly and then smiled.  "I thought you were going to go jump in your car and take off in some vain attempt to protect me."

"No.  I think we might be better off protecting each other at this point.  Both of us are in this a bit too deep to act on our own."

That brought a smile to her face as she stood on tip toes to kiss me, then she grabbed the phone again.

"Who are you calling?" I asked.

"Dick Fairchild.  I want him to know that Edmunds gave my name to the press.  Later, once the chief gets into his office, I plan on telling him too.  I want Edmunds' balls for bookends, because that was a dirty stunt and completely against regulations."

I didn't think I could add anything to her conversation.  Instead I went out to find my cell phone in order to leave a message at Jaro's office, then I wanted to make myself that coffee I'd mentioned.  When I'd completed the call to Jaro and prepared the coffee pot, I decided I'd step out in the back yard for a bit of fresh air instead of just standing there, listening to the coffee perking.  To my surprise Arlene's mom was already sitting out on the back deck.

"Well, good morning Emily," I said quietly.

"Hi Dave.  It's going to be a hot one later, I thought I'd get some fresh air before it got too warm," she turned to face me.  "You're up and around early."

"Yeah, we got woken by the telephone," I sighed.  "It was a reporter, so I guess we may be bringing publicity down on you."

"Oh, I fully expected that when Arlene brought you home," she smiled at me.  "Now the important question is, how long are you planning on waiting before you, Arlene and the girls run off to hide out?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, it seems to me that there isn't much you can do here, particularly while the press is up in the air over everything that's happened.  I realize that you have a couple of funerals that you need to attend, but other than that, it would seem to me that leaving town for a few days would be wise."

"Well, we could, but like you said there are the funerals, and I don't know if either Shannon or I would really be comfortable with the idea of running away from things."

"Actually, Shannon was the one who spoke of it yesterday.  She was talking to us about that before she broke down and started crying."

"Oh and what did she say?"

"More or less that she wished she could go somewhere with Arlene, Cindy, and you.  Somewhere that no one would bother you, so she could walk around without the fear of being the center of attention," she said quietly.  "I think she's feeling hemmed in right now."

"Actually, she's not the only one, but at the same time I have the feeling that I should be here to handle problems."

"What would you think of going to stay in a log cabin which sits on several acres of fenced property and overlooks a small river?  It's very private, but it's also within an hour's drive of here, just in case you need to come back."

"What are you talking about Mom?" Arlene said from behind me as she came outside.  "Are you suggesting that we try to borrow Uncle Charlie's cabin?"

"No, you don't have to try.  It's a done deal, if you want to use it," her mom turned and gave her a big smile.  "He's letting you use it for the rest of the month.  I called him last night."

"But Mom, what about the girls?"

"It's because of the girls that I phoned Charlie.  Both of them like being free to go outside and do things.  They've been stuck here in the house for almost three days and they're getting cabin happy.  I don't blame them," Emily sighed.  "Whether you take Charlie's offer of using his cabin or not, they need to get out of the house."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's up to Shannon.  The only problem I can see would be the funerals for Claire and Granny Leech," I sighed.  "Of course, the police might not want us leaving town either."

"I don't think they would be at all bothered, in fact it might make life easier for the Chief," Arlene said quietly.  "If we do go I'd suggest that we let Dick Fairchild know how to get hold of us, just in case someone needs to talk to you."

"Well, whatever you do, I think you need to make up your mind fairly soon," Emily added.  "The later in the day you leave things, the more vultures will be gathered around you."

"Vultures?" I frowned.

"Reporters," Arlene said quietly.  "When Dad died, they nearly drove us crazy."

Emily stood up slowly and looked down at me, then sighed softly.  "They try to glorify themselves by saying they're members of the fifth estate, but I have no love for any of them, to me, they're scavengers and less honourable than garbage collectors.  I had them lie and cheat to interview me by invading my privacy, then they damn near ruined the funeral ceremony held for my husband.  All of that while I was mourning a man I loved dearly.  If I can help you to stump them when they try getting at you, I will."

I could see that she was close to tears as she turned away and went up the back steps of the house to go inside.  Arlene watched her go and shook her head slowly, while I felt worse than ever.  I'd brought my troubles to their doorstep by agreeing to stay here.  Yet as I thought about it, I was staying because Arlene wanted me there.

"I think we need to plan exactly what we're going to do," I said quietly.  "Now I plan better if I'm wide awake and I put the coffee on before I came outside.  I want a cup of that to wake up on and then I think we . . ."

I didn't get a chance to say more because I was disturbed by a load thump and a squawk outside the high gate to the back yard.  Arlene was on her feet and heading that direction instantly.

"Get inside!" she said quietly, but firmly and waved toward the door as she ran.

I missed whatever happened next because I was following Arlene's orders for once.  It was frustrating as hell to me.  I could hear sounds through the door to the driveway, but I couldn't see what was going on.  There were no windows on the side of the basement toward the driveway.

"Dave?  Are you inside?" Emily's voice came softly from the stairway.

"Yes."

"Come upstairs if you would, please."

I hurried to go up to her and she smiled as she met me at the top of the stairs.

"I've just reported a prowler and the police have him in custody," she sounded proud of herself.

"Pardon me?"

"When I came upstairs, I walked into my bedroom and I happened to look out my window.  That's when I saw a scruffy looking man sneaking down the driveway.  I called the police and reported a prowler," she smiled.  "I think there must have been a squad car in the neighbourhood.  They came up behind him as he was reaching way above his head with a camera in his hand and taking pictures over the privacy gate."

"Oh, but . . ."

She held up a hand.  "Now Arlene is out there with them, but I'd like you to keep an eye on what's happening from behind the curtains in my room, while I go out and swear out a complaint against him."

"Why?"

"First off, I want a witness.  Secondly, I want you to be ready in case something else happens and you need to call for more help," she grinned widely.  "Besides, I thought you'd like to see what was going on."

So I moved to the window and looked out through the thin curtains.  A policeman had a scruffy looking man off to one side and was obviously ignoring the man's protests as he held the guy against the neighbour's fence.  Arlene was speaking loudly to another policeman about the fact that she was being harassed and that she wanted it to stop.

Then Emily came outside.  She had changed her appearance in the few seconds since I'd seen her in the hall.  Her hair wasn't as neat, and it was now obvious that she was only wearing a nightgown over a pair of panties.  In fact it looked like she had just hurried out of bed to be there when the man was caught.

"That's the guy.  That's the peeping tom," she screamed.  "I'll bet he's been taking pictures of my fourteen year old granddaughter when she sunbathes and I bet he's posting them on the Internet."

Things happened really fast after that.  Arlene moved toward her mom as if to calm her down, the cop holding the guy against the fence suddenly had handcuffs in his hand, and the cop who had been talking to Arlene was suddenly helping to hold the protesting photographer.

In only minutes, the snoopy photographer was being thrown into the back of a patrol car to be taken away and Emily was signing a complaint against him.  Then the cell phone in my pocket rang and I lost track of the happenings outside the window.

"Hello?"

"Hello Dave, this is Santos.  You called."

"Hey Jaro, yeah, I called to let you know what's going on.  The relief from those bank robbers didn't last long," I went on to explain about the early morning phone call to Arlene, then told him about the arrest of the photographer in the driveway.

"She had him arrested for trying to get photos of a sunbather and he was taking the photos at this time of day?" he asked.

"Yeah, but that's not to whole story.  Arlene's daughter, Cindy is only fourteen and they have a seven or eight-foot high privacy fence all around the back yard, there's even a small warning about nudity posted on the gate.  The guy was holding the camera way over his head and shooting pictures blind I guess."

"Tell the lady if she needs a lawyer to represent her, I'm interested.  If she'd prefer a woman lawyer, I can recommend one or two who would love to take the case," Jaro chuckled softly.  "Now, what would you like me to do for you today?"

"Well, to start with, I'd like to find out if I'm expected to do anything about the funerals and interments for Claire and Mrs. Leech, or if everything was prearranged?" I sighed.

"Ah, I already know that both wills gave instructions on burial details, but I think an actual funeral or memorial service could be held at any time."Jaro said quietly.  "In your case, I've assumed that you're unwilling to have much to do with a funeral and since both bodies are already at the funeral home, I could ask if you and Shannon could have a private viewing, prior to any service.  That is if that's what you want?"

"That might be an idea.  I think Shannon probably needs some form of closure.  But we need to know when it's going to happen."

"Most people do need closure and I can certainly find out when the funerals and ready of the wills are planned.  Now is there anything else I can do?"

"Actually I'd like to have you do something about the newspaper and tv crap too, but I suppose it would be better if we just let that die, if it will."

"Oh, the life span of a hot news story is less than a week, unless something happens to call attention to it again."

"I see.  Well, Arlene and her mother are suggesting that we might be better off if we got out of town for a few days.  I left my new cell phone number with your secretary and I'm sure you can reach us on that, we'd only be going about an hour's drive away."

"Well, if you're going to be that close, I'll see if I can arrange for you to have an evening visitation at the funeral home.  It might even be possible to do it this evening, but I don't know that for sure.  If that was the case, you could view the bodies today, then you wouldn't need to come back to town for several days, unless something extraordinary comes up.  Would that suit you?"

"Can I get back to you on that? I'd like to pass it by Arlene and Shannon before I say anything, one way or another."

"I thought you might, but would you try to make it before too long? I imagine the funeral home could use a bit of a warning before you appear on their doorstep."

"No problem, I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone and glanced out the window again.  Arlene and her mom were picking up something out of one of the flower beds, then they went inside through the basement door.  I hurried downstairs to meet them.

"I wonder if that will serve as a warning?" Emily was saying quietly.

"For some of the less scrupulous it might almost be a challenge, Mother," Arlene didn't sound happy.

"What might be a challenge?" I asked.

"I told the cops that the guy was a prowler and that I had a fourteen-year-old grand daughter who liked to sunbathe in the nude in the back yard," Emily squared her shoulders.  "Arlene thinks most men are creeps and she thinks that I issued a challenge by saying that."

"Actually from what I saw, you slapped an idiot upside the head," I grinned as I poured a cup of coffee and sat at the table.  "I'd say you gave all the news hounds a wake-up call."

"That's just it.  She drew attention here," Arlene snapped.  "Up until now, that guy may have been the only person who had any idea of coming here to take pictures.  As it is now, while they may not be willing to risk taking pictures over the fence, they might park on the street and take pictures of anyone coming and going."

"So, why don't we arrange to draw attention somewhere else?" I smiled.  "I'm sure between the five of us we can come up with some ideas that might work."

"Actually, I'd rather that attention was drawn here and the four of you were somewhere else," Emily smiled.

"That's not a bad idea either.  Besides, that's something we can do, if we work it right," I said quietly

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Arlene snapped.  "If the news hounds are watching this place, they'll just follow us when we leave here."

"Ah, but do they have to know?" I smiled.  "If there were a lot of people around, coming and going, they'd have a hard time."

"And just how would we do that?"

"Oh, we'd need the help of some friends, but first, I want to be sure that getting out of here would be a good idea."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first thing I want to do is to ask Shannon if she really does want to go somewhere else for the time being.  Secondly, I want to find out if she wants to go to the funerals or if she wants to say goodbye at the funeral home.  Jaro thinks he could get us a viewing if we wanted that and I need to ask her how she wants to do things."

"I think viewing the body is a morbid thing.  I can't see her doing that."

"I agree, but it's her choice,"  I shrugged my shoulders.  "She's old enough to make that kind of decision on her own."

"Do you really think so?" Arlene frowned at me.

"She's old enough to decide a lot of things," I sighed.  "If she's old enough to decide whether she needs birth control pills or not, then I think she's old enough to decide a lot more about her life.  I'm certainly going to advise her, but she's mature enough to make a lot of her own decisions."

"Aren't you adding a lot of pressure to her life very quickly?  Her mother is barely cold and now she's having to decide things for herself.  That sounds hard hearted to me, somehow."

"Arlene, she's already been making a lot of those decisions for herself; she just hasn't been doing it with parental approval," I frowned.  "Do you expect Cindy to ask you about small things before she does them?"

"Well, no, not actually.  The difference is that I've been doing that for a while."

"I think Shannon has been making the same sort of decisions, but the difference is that she wasn't coming to either her mother or me for advice.  I think it's a toss up as to which one is the more independent of the two."

Emily snorted and Arlene frowned.

"Mom, are you taking his side?"

"Honey, this isn't about taking sides, but I've seen those two together probably more than you have and I have to agree with Dave.  Shannon was forced into being independent by a combination of peer pressure and lack of parental guidance," Emily sighed softly.  "Her mother just wasn't there for her and although she told me that she talked to Dave and her aunt about her questions, they're not the kind to make a decision without asking for her input.  She's learned to ask for advice and then to make up her own mind.  I think we make more decisions for Cindy than anyone makes for Shannon."

"Do you think we've been too hard on Cindy then, by making decisions are we pressuring her in some way?" Arlene frowned.

"Dear, that isn't what we were discussing," Emily smiled.  " And no, I don't think you're being hard on Cindy.  The two girls have been raised slightly differently is all that I'm saying.  They really aren't all that different, it's almost as if Shannon has had her father to lean on and Cindy has had you to lean on.  In fact, it's almost like they are both children of single parents.  Yet at the same time, Shannon has learned to be more secretive, but only because of the way her mother treated her."

That brought a frown to my face and I was going to ask about it, but Emily looked up at me and smiled.

"Don't blame yourself Dave.  Shannon will always be open with you, just like she always has been.  She kept secrets from her mother, not from you."

We'd been talking quietly and I was facing the garden, so it was Arlene who saw the two girls come out of the bedroom.  I realized it when I saw her eyes swing toward them and saw both girls, dressed in bathrobes and coming toward us.

"Well, good morning you two," Arlene smiled.  "We were just talking about you."

"Morning Mom, I thought I heard my name and Shannon's too,"  Cindy almost danced across the floor and into her mom's arms.

Shannon just smiled almost shyly as she slipped into my arms and crawled into my lap.  That surprised me because although we hugged often, I couldn't remember when I'd last held her on my lap when she awakened.

"Hi Daddy," she murmured, then her head was buried in my shoulder.

I was a bit surprised, but I certainly didn't mind that she wanted a snuggle, so I just wrapped my arms around her and hugged her gently.  I don't think either of us moved for several minutes, then she lifted her head and looked at me very soberly for a few seconds.

"We sorta heard what you were talking about," she whispered finally.  "I heard you say something about seeing Mom and Granny's bodies?  I really don't want to do that, it just isn't something I'd like at all, not with them dead and gone.  I think that would be creepy."

"Okay, I can pass that on to our lawyer," I nodded.

"We're still going to have to spread their ashes though," she added.

"What?"

"Well, I know Mom wanted to be cremated and I saw Granny's will.  She asked me if I'd spread her ashes at the burial park when she died, then I think she wrote it into her will," she frowned.  "I thought she and Mom agreed on that, but maybe you could check."

"Honey, I don't know anything about that at all," I said flatly.  "I think that's one question we have to ask our lawyer. When he talked to me before I think he mentioned burial."

"Oh, I know Granny didn't want that, and neither did Mom.  Don't you remember how much they hated bugs and worms and creepy-crawly things?" she slipped off my lap and handed me my cell phone.  "You'd better call the lawyer and make sure, because I know they didn't want to be buried."

The look on her face told me that somehow this was important to her and if it was important to her right now, then I was going to do something about it.

I dialled the phone to talk to Jaro.

"Jaro, Dave here again.  Look, I was just talking to Shannon and she saw Mrs. Leech's will and talked to her mother too.  Both of them hated worms and bugs, so they wanted to be cremated.  She's sure it would have been mentioned in both wills."

"Are you sure of that? The lawyer that I spoke to mentioned interment, I'm sure of that," I could hear the disbelief in his voice.

"Look, would you check please.  Oh, and Shannon doesn't want to bother with that viewing, neither do I," I sighed softly.  "Shannon thinks she heard Granny Leech say she wanted her ashes spread in a specific area."

"Okay.  If they are to be cremated, I could pick up the ashes afterward and pass them on to you.  Would you like that?"

"That's not a problem for you?"

"Not at all.  By the way, if you are planning on going out of town, the reading of the two wills is scheduled for next Monday morning.  You and Shannon should both be there."

"But . . ."

"Dave, don't argue.  I could represent you, but it would be much better if are you actually present, both you and Shannon.  I do know that you are both mentioned in some way, but that's all I do know," he sighed.  "Now unless you have anything else for me, I have work to do."

"No, I'll talk to you later."

I was frowning as I hung up the phone because I was puzzled.  Why did I need to be at the reading of either will? I would be there anyway, just to provide support for Shannon, but what reason could there possibly be for either woman to specify that I attend the readings of those wills?  I certainly didn't expect to be a benefactor in Granny Leach's will in any way and Claire had distinctly said that she was cutting me out of her will, so why would either of them insist that I had to be present?

Dammit, now I had one more puzzle to mull over.  Had either one of them felt so bitter that they had written a statement in their will that might create problems of some sort for either Shannon or I?  Had they come up with some form of slander or a perceived slight that might cause trouble for us in some way?  Or did they just want me to wonder about what they might say, so they could cause troubles one last time, one last feeble attempt to cause me to feel a sense of unease?

Why, oh why had I ever gotten involved with that woman in the first place?  Right at the moment I couldn't think of one good reason.

Chapter 14