Page 1 of Edmond

Chapter 1

Edmond kept pulling out the envelope he’d been given not ten minutes ago. He couldn’t stop counting the number of zeros on the check that had been inside. He, along with is other brothers, had been paid for working for Lica and Brandy, his brother and his wife, for the last several weeks without pay. They would have continued to do so, not worrying about getting money just for the simple pleasure of being able to help out their newest family member.

Putting it back in the envelope and then into his pocket again, he looked around at the table they’d been sitting at before the couple had left them. The five of them had been meeting for lunch weekly since, well, since their father had been murdered by their mother and she was put into prison for doing it. Lica used to join them but with all the things going on with the pack right now, mostly it was people whining about their supposed woes, he’d been entirely too busy. He loved his family.

“What’s the first thing you’re going to do with your money?” He asked Ayden what he meant. “I only wanted a newer car or truck when I asked Brandy to go with me to the bank to get a loan. Now I have enough money to get me something brand new. Hell, several brand-new cars. I’m not going to do that but it’s amazing having money, don’t you think?”

“We had money in our accounts before this, Ayden. Why didn’t you go then? What did you do about that?” He told him the same thing that he’d been thinking, that it wasn’t going to come to him without strings attached. If he had to do it over, he would have believed that Brandy was as good about her word as his brother was. “I’m still not sure that I’m comfortable with having a lot of money. I’ve noticed that Lica is the same way about spending as if he’s afraid that, I don’t know, it’s a joke or something.”

“Did you hear that they bought the Apple Estate? They’re going to be moving in this weekend. I asked him if he needed help, and he said that they were having movers come and do it. Not that he has all that much stuff anyway. But the first house they were living in had some things in it that they wanted, and they’re going to leave the rest for you. If you don’t mind me asking, did you get a good deal on the place?” He told him what kind of deal they made with him. “Christ, Edmond. If you want to sell it, that would all be profit for you.”

“I’m not selling it. Once the windows are replaced and the heating and cooling done, I’m going to make it my forever home.” Ayden asked him what he’d do if his mate didn’t like it. “I don’t know, now that you mention it. I just assumed that, like Brandy and Lica do, she’d want to talk about it before flat-out telling me no.”

“I don’t know if I want a mate like Brandy if you want the truth. She scares the shit out of me.” All of them laughed with Guy when he said that. “There are a few things that I was going to go and get tomorrow if you guys want to hang out with me. I’ve decided that I want a matching set of dishes. You guys can use them with me, but I think that…when I eat with Lica at his house, it’s kind of cool to have all the dishes matching and enough silverware to go around to everyone. Last week, when we had dinner at the house, I had to use a spoon to eat my pasta.”

They talked about the things that they were going to get. All of them, since they’d been boys, made notes on everything. Edmond still used the notepad that he’d had while in college, never tearing the pages out but just going to a different one when something else would need to be written down. He could, if he wanted, go back and tell someone about each test he’d had at the end of the semester that got him on the honor roll there.

The five of them decided that their lists were too extensive to be able to get in town. While there were a couple of places in the town over, they decided, unanimously to not be cheap on the things that they were going to use daily. Mostly, they talked about towels and washcloths but he really did want to get himself something new for his house. Edmond loved the way that sounded. His house. They were just getting up to leave, having made plans for the next morning to go into Columbus, when their big brother came into the restaurant again.

“What are you grinning about? You looked sappy, too. Has anyone ever told you that before?” Lica told him it was a good feeling being in love. “Now you’re going to make me ill. Are you going to start joining us again? I think that would be wonderful. I know the others would like it, too. So long as you’re not too sappy, that is. But each of us would understand if you were too busy. I’m guessing you and Brandy have a great deal of other things that—”

“Nothing is more important to me than my family. I’m going to come here with you guys. Brandy wants me to make sure that I get with you guys like we used to. She said that just because she’s in the family now doesn’t mean that we can’t sit around and bullshit like we usually do. Anyway, I have something for each of you.” He handed out envelopes again but didn’t leave like he had before. “Before you open them, know that Brandy told me if you don’t take this, she’s going to brain you. I think she will, too. She’s been very vocal, you might say in keeping you guys safe and happy. You’ve no idea how bad she feels about you guys not being paid from the very beginning.”

“Did you tell her that it’s all fine and dandy? I mean, we were just talking about what we’re going to get tomorrow when we go—hey, did you want to go with us? Both of you? We can have some real fun that way.” Lica said that he’d have to see what Brandy had going on, but he could go for sure. “Great. All right. What’s this about?”

The envelope was heavy. At least his was. When Ayden and the others opened theirs, he watched their faces as happiness and then fear washed over their faces. He opened his own up to find it was filled with money. A great deal of it, as a matter of fact. Edmond asked Lica what was going on.

“Each of you now has enough money to pay cash for a home of your own. With the exception of you. Since you have your own home already, she gave you money to do any repairs and whatever else that you need to get done.” Each of them put the envelope full of money in front of their older brother and didn’t say anything as they left him standing there. He didn’t either. “What? What’s the matter? You like living all crunched up in one house? She’s giving you an opportunity to—”

“She’s buying us.” Lica asked him what he meant. “All right. I don’t want even the house now that I’ve had time to think about it. This seems…we didn’t earn this. At least that’s the way I feel about it.”

The others nodded and told Lica the same thing. Edmond cleared his throat and told him that they didn’t want to be bought just so they could feel better about having such poor family members. He could see the anger on Lica’s face as soon as he told him his feelings.

“She’s not doing that,” Edmond asked how he would feel if suddenly one of them had a great deal of money like he did and someone was pulling the strings on where they lived. What they wore. “We all needed a hand up. That’s all she’s doing. Take the money, damn it, before I have to pound your heads in.”

“So now you’re going to force us to be rich like you?” Edmond stood up when Lica did. His anger was palatable now. The large vein in his head was beating hard. “I’m not going to take anything from you two unless I earn it. And for whatever reason, it feels like you’ve cheapened our plans to get us new things for the house.”

The others left. One by one, they told Lica that they agreed, that they’d not earned the right to be having a new home, and whatever Brandy said, they’d take the punishment when she came after them. Edmond was still standing there when Lica looked at him.

“I’ve not moved into the house as yet because of the construction. But I’m sure once that’s done, she can get enough money for the house to—” Lica told him, actually shouted at him that they didn’t need the money. Nodding, thinking about how hurt he was that the money for Lica meant so little to him that he wanted to toss it at his brother. Edmond made his way to the ranch house. Before he pulled into the drive, he headed out of town.

Edmond was nearly to Cleveland when he pulled off the road into the parking lot of a little diner. He realized that he’d not eaten anything since lunch with his brothers and thought that he needed to eat before his wolf thought that he was neglecting him, too. He thought eating was better than to keep driving.

The place was busy when he opened the door. The little bell over the door alerted everyone that someone had come in. Once they all had a look at him, they turned back to their meals or conversation and he’d bet not give him another thought. A couple was leaving just as he decided that he didn’t want to eat at the crowded bar and sat in the place they had vacated. Edmond was stacking up the dirty dishes when an older woman came to take care of the table for him.

“We got meatloaf for the special tonight. Mashed-up taters and a side if you want it. There is soup, too. Bean soup with cornbread muffins goes with that. There is also some pulled pork, too, if there is any left after the Damon boys get their fill. They’re mighty tough to fill up now that they’re playing football again.” He laughed a little. “You might laugh harder when you see their momma. She’s a little bitty thing that don’t have an ounce of fat on her. Whatcha want to drink, feller?”

“What sort of tea do you have?” She just cocked a brow at him, and he ordered a tall glass of sweet, iced tea. “Also, if there is any left, I’ll have the pulled pork. If not, then I’ll have the meatloaf.”

“Mashed-up taters comes with it, but I can be swayed to give you some corn if you want or some just plain old, boiled taters.” He said that he’d take the corn and mashed. “Good choice. I’m thinking that you got enough to pay for this? Your truck there seems to be on its last legs, but you have on good, clean clothing.”

“I assure you that I have enough to pay.” He still had the money left over from his first and only check. Then touched his wallet in his back pocket to make sure. “Yes, I can cover the bill, I swear.”

Nodding, Thelma, the woman who told him her name, walked off. She looked like she could have been the mother of the Riley boys by the way she described their mother. As soon as he was handed a basket of warm rolls along with a crockery, just one from the grocery store that proclaimed it tasted like butter, he ate one of the rolls while he looked around the place.

The seats to the booths looked like they could use a bit of stuffing to make them softer. The tables, all of them mismatched in front of them, looked like they’d been loved well by a heavy hand, wet rag with some soap on it. Even the windows that looked out over the parking lot looked like someone had washed them recently, and he was thrilled to see that in addition to the paper napkins that were on the table when he’d gotten his table cleaned, there was a loaded roll of paper towels there to be used as well.

That’s all they used at the ranch house when…he wasn’t going to think about home just now. He was going to enjoy his meal and find a cheap hotel before heading back home in the morning to face the music. He well deserved whatever Lica and Brandy did to him, with the way that they’d all disrespected their alpha and his bitch.