Page 33 of Nick: His to Claim

“I’m not sure that would be such a bad thing at this point. I’ve never liked you working at isolated sites until well after dark with God knows who. And apparently, you are often the last to leave as you were several times in this case.

“Christ, Maggie, do you ever watch the news? Read a paper?” he demanded, getting up to pace as he ran his hand through his hair. “You have absolutely no concept of the kind of things that can happen to a woman. I’ve seen… well never mind what I’ve seen,” he growled so frustrated he could barely keep from yelling. “I just don’t want to find your body in a drainage ditch somewhere.”

Maggie shivered, wrapping her arms around her body. She really didn’t want to hear this. And she was sorry. Sorry she hadn’t run a check on Jack. Sorry she’d kept quiet about the attack. And sorry she came to Sunday dinner. This wasn’t going to turn out well, she could see that now. There was no way in hell she would be able to keep this buried, not in this family. It was an absolute miracle she’d been able to keep the one secret she had been able to keep. Jason.

If Rory was this upset with her, she could just imagine how her Da was going to react, not to mention Patrick and Noah and of course the bossy Kord brothers.

Good grief, she’d forgotten about Molly; she probably knew everything already, had probably seen it. She had to get to her and beg her not to tell anyone.

“Rory, please, I promise. I’ll be much more careful. I’ll make sure I do a check on every new hire. I’ll even make sure my cell phone is charged… if I can find it.”

“What!? Cupcake, for God’s sake, tell me you’re kidding,” he pleaded, grabbing her arms and pulling her up off the sofa.

“Sure, sure, I’m kidding. I know right where it is, and I’m going to go home and charge the hell out of it.”

Rory sighed. He knew what he should do, but he didn’t know if he could do it. Maggie had three kids to support, and as much as he hated the whole situation, he knew she had to work. There weren’t many places where she could make the kind of money she did, and he got that. But if he couldn’t impress on her how serious he was, it wouldn’t leave him much choice.

“All right, I’ll try to keep this between us,” he told her pointing his finger right at her and pinning her with his icy blue eyes. “But you better hear me. You’re going to have to testify in court, and I can’t help you there. It will be open to the public, so you need to be prepared if it gets out.

“Keep that fucking phone charged and on you at all times. If I call you, and I will, and it goes right to voicemail, I’ll know it’s dead or off, and I will come looking for you and drag your ass right into Mason’s office. If he’s not available, I’m pretty sure I can hunt down Nick. Either way, I can almost guarantee you won’t like the consequences. And, get yourself a can of pepper spray, like every other damn woman in America!”

“I will, Rory. I’ll do all those things. Just don’t tell Nick about the background check… or the phone… or well, anything that we discussed. Thanks,” she continued, backing to the door as Rory slumped onto the sofa.

“And Cupcake, why the hell don’t you get married again? It would sure save me a lot of worry, not to mention ulcer medication.”

“Um… about that… probably not going to happen,” she told him as she got to the door. “For some reason, I can’t seem to find anyone as easy going as Jim.”

“No, I’m sure you can’t,” he replied somewhat sarcastically. “Just remember, sometimes what we think we want isn’t necessarily what’s best for us. I know you think Jim was a good husband, and in some ways I agree with you. But he wasn’t what you needed, and from the looks of things, what you still need.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her head cocked to one side as she waited for his reply.

“Never mind. Just don’t forget what you promised and know I’m going to hold you to it. Now go see if Ma needs any help. I’ll be out in a few minutes after I try to get rid of this headache.”

Chapter Eleven

Molly was waiting for her when she slid the study door closed behind her.

“Come with me, Maggie,” she softly ordered as she twirled in the direction of the front porch.

Maggie followed without question as Molly knew she would. The girls had apparently given up their tea party, and not a soul was around. Seating herself on the swing at the far end of the porch, Molly patted the seat beside her.

Maggie sat, and Molly started the swing in motion. Effortlessly they swayed together as a gentle breeze floated around them. The sweet scent of the lilac tree soothed them, and Maggie finally let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding. Resting her head back on the thick cushion, she finally began to relax as she closed her eyes.

“Better?” asked Molly.

Her musical voice seemed to tinkle like the wind chimes, and Maggie smiled at her fanciful imagination.

“Yes, much,” she replied. “I don’t know how or why I get myself into these situations.”

Molly smiled. “I do, but that’s neither here nor there. I brought you out here because I wanted to tell you a couple of things.”

“Oh?” Maggie questioned as she lifted her head and looked at Molly. She wasn’t concerned. Molly had always been an ally, a voice of reason in this sometimes unreasonable family. Everyone had an opinion and had no problem expressing it, loudly. As children it had always been a great accomplishment if you could sway the others to your way of thinking, especially if it was likely to get them all in trouble.

“First of all, I want to tell youI know,” she stated quietly and matter-of-factly.

“Know what?” Maggie felt a tingle of fear slip up her spine.

“Know everything,” Molly replied.