Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas: O'Reilly Fight Club Book Four, page 39
“Auntie Trish, this is Travis Donavon.” I look up at him for a moment and smile. “He’s my daddy.”
Travis’s smile turns into a proud grin as he tugs me to him and kisses me hard on the lips.
“Yes, I am.”
“Oh, you lucky thing, I always wanted a daddy.” The smile slips from her face slightly. “Henry won’t be too happy.”
“He’s dead.” The words are out of my mouth before I have a chance to think them through. My Auntie looks at me shocked for a moment before stepping back and sitting on the edge of her bed.
“When?”
“A few days ago.” I take a deep breath. I walk over to the bed and sit beside her. “He upset the wrong people, and they say he had a heart attack whilst he was … under their care,” I explain as I try to think of describe it.
“I’m so sorry, my sweet girl.”
“Don’t be; he was planning to marry me off to some guy so he could keep my money to himself.” The air turns a shade of blue as my auntie calls my father every name under the sun, as well as some I have never heard before.
I take my aunties hands in mine and make sure she is looking me in the eye.
“We know it’s because of him you are in here. I’m going to get you out. We found the real diagnosis paperwork and know what he’s been doing. I won’t stop until you are home.”
Trish lifts her hand and places it on my cheek.
“There is so much you don’t know, Jellybean. So many things that have been kept from you.”
“We know everything, Trisha.” Travis steps beside me and places a hand on my shoulder. “We know he's not her real father. We also know about the drugs and the money. We know about it all except who her real father is.”
Travis retrieves the bag he placed down by the door and pulls out the small safe.
“Oh my god. Where did you find it?” She takes it from his hand and places it on the bed beside her.
“He had hidden it in a larger one in the basement where we used to dance,” I reply, watching as she runs her hands over it like it’s the most precious thing in the world to her.
“I never thought I would see it again.” She wipes a tear from her cheek as she stands from the bed and walks over to her wardrobe.
“When they put me in here, your father, well, Henry, asked me where the key was. I told him he would never find it.” She looks over her shoulder at me and grins. “He hated not being in control; that’s why he made sure I had the accident. He found out what I was up to and that I knew the truth.”
“What were you up to?” Travis asks.
“Finding out why the guys really left Miriam.” She reaches to the back of her wardrobe and pulls out a shoe box. Carrying it over to me, she holds it out. “The key is in here.”
Travis’s hand on my shoulder squeezes slightly as I take a deep breath. I know once I find out what’s in that safe, then there is no pretending it hasn’t happened any more.
“You don’t have to do anything yet, you know that.”
My auntie looks at Travis beside me and smiles before looking back at me.
“He’s right. You could take the key and the safe and deal with this when you are ready. It sounds like you have had to deal with a lot recently.”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” Travis laughs beside me. “But she has handled it so well, and we are all very proud of her for it.” he gives me that looks the tells me he is proud of me, and I feel my heart warm.
“Okay, give me the key,” I say, looking at my Auntie, who grins at me, opens the box, grabs a slipper, and holds it out towards me. My heart sinks as I realise she must have had her medication, or she really is slightly mad.
“Don’t look at me like that; take the damn slipper and look under the sole.”
Travis laughs as my auntie winks at him. “Well, I am the crazy aunt,” she laughs before dropping the box and shoving her hand into the slipper.
“Do you remember my friend Susanne?” When I nod, she continues. “Well, I had given her this key for safekeeping. The first time she came to see me she asked if I wanted it back and I said yes. But I knew your dad was after it too, so I shoved it in here and never took it out again.” When she removes her hand from the slipper, I realise she has the key she holds out for me. “Go on, take it. Everything that’s in there is yours now anyway.” Lifting the key from her hand, I look at the safe and take a deep breath before opening it.
Inside, I see two notebooks and all kinds of papers and documents.
“I don’t know where to begin,” I admit, looking up at my auntie who sits beside me. She reaches into the safe and pulls out the top notebook.
“This was Henry’s. I found it about a month after your mum died. It explains how he came to be there that day and why he was so obsessed over her.” Trish places it on her knee and pulls out another notebook.
“This holds the last known addresses I have for the guys who were in a relationship with your mum. One has moved on and married, and have kids of their own. The other never got over Miriam and has spent his life travelling. But I know each of them would welcome you with open arms if they were your father.” She places that notebook on top of the other and pulls out a hand full of papers, envelops and pictures. She flicks through them for a moment before stopping to look at a picture with a huge smile on her face.
“This is your mum with the two guys.” She turns the picture around so I can see it. It's slightly discoloured with age, but there is my mum. Her long blonde hair hung loosely in waves over her shoulders. She stands between two men. She looks so tiny next to them, but all three have the biggest smile on their faces.
“The guy there on your mums right, with the black hair is Jerry. He was the first one she was with, they met at a fair and they fell head over heels for each other. Miriam couldn’t wait to introduce him to me, and I knew they were meant to be.
“The guy on the other side of her with the light brown hair is Dave. He was an old friend of Jerry’s. He came to visit one weekend and she fell for him as hard as she did for Jerry and the three of them decided they would try a polygamous relationship. They were so happy together.”
I look at Dave and see that he has the lightest hair out of the men. There is also something familiar about him.
“Where is Dave now?” I ask. Auntie Trish takes the picture from me and smiles at it.
“He is the one who was travelling. He never got over Miriam and even tried to visit her when he heard she was pregnant and again when she was dying.”
Auntie Trish looks at the picture and lets out a sigh.
“When your mum was dying, your father hired the best nurses for her. We thought it was because he loved her so much, but it was also about control. He wanted to be sure no one visited her when he wasn’t there. So that she wouldn’t find out the truth.” She places the picture on the bed beside her and starts flicking through the papers as if looking for something.
“You were probably too young to remember. But, when your mum was on bed care, there were nurses with her whenever you or I were in the room with her. She wasn’t allowed visitors without someone being there to ensure she didn’t let anything slip, like the fact he wasn’t your dad or that we were extremely rich. That was a big thing for Henry when he realised she wasn’t going to survive. He didn’t want you knowing about the money as he was worried you would think it hadn’t been enough to safe her, or some bullshit like that.”
“It was so he could hide from her the money and keep it for himself. The bastard had hidden it all away, and she has less than a quarter of what she should have.” Travis says behind me as my auntie shakes her head.
“I dread to think what my finances look like; he has had full power for years.”
“Don’t worry about that, we will sort it. I’m an accountant and know every trick in the book,” he winks at her, causing her to blush. I can see her looking him up and down, checking him out.
“You are obviously okay with multiple partners. Fancy another woman on your arm?” she smiles at him.
“Hey, get your own Daddy! This one’s all mine!” I protest leaning into Travis as he laughs out loud whilst wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“Sorry, but I’m a one-woman man,” he smirks at my auntie. “She’s allowed me and my brothers, and that’s it. We just have her, and that’s the way it’s going to stay.” He leans down and presses a kiss to my lips, causing me to blush just like my auntie.
“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” my auntie grins before pulling out an envelope which is bulging.
“Anyway, as I was saying, we weren’t allowed to be alone together, so we came up with our own way of communicating. We wrote letters to each other. Your mum would read them when everyone was in bed and reply to them. We had both noticed things we needed to share, and this was the safest way to do it.”
She holds out the letters, and I take them.
“They are in order; read them that way so they make sense. But the main thing that’s mentioned is that Henry was blocking Miriam from people. They would come to the house, and she would hear them talking from outside. They wanted to see her and you, but Henry’s staff would refuse them access. Dave was one of the people she heard outside. He was demanding to see her, but the nurse kept telling him he wasn’t allowed, that she was too ill, and any upset caused her pain. It was when she asked me to find out why the guys had really left. She wanted to hear the truth from them and didn’t trust anyone else to do it.
“Dave came to the funeral; he stood at the back of the church and watched in silence. I tried to catch him before he left, but he was gone as quickly as he arrived. Henry was furious that he had been there. He told me that if he ever saw him again, he would kill him. But I never managed to get contact with him direct. One of his friends told me he travelled, and that was all I could get out of them.”
“If he loved her so much, why did he leave?” Travis asks.
“Henry, of course,” she answers.
“But Mum's letter said he came into the picture a month after everyone left,” I point out. Trisha nods and lifts up the journal.
“But he had been watching her for longer.”
“Henry was stalking her?” Travis asks.
“Yep. He was obsessed with her and wanted her for himself. He had no intentions of sharing her with the other guys so one by one he made them leave her. He used his connections to scare them away. None of them would have left willingly. They really did love your mum.” She places the book on my lap and taps it.
“He watched them for months and picked them off one by one. Dave was the last one to break, he refused to leave and Henry got physical with him. Some guys dragged him from the house and kidnapped him. They threatened the one thing he would do anything to save your mum. They told him they would make sure she suffered if she ever saw him again. He didn’t want to risk it and when he went to the police they didn’t do anything. So he left and tried to do the right thing. But he never recovered from it. He comes back now and again to check on you.”
I look down at the picture and know why he looks familiar.
“I’ve met him,” I whisper, looking into his eyes as I lift the picture from the bed and look at it closer. “He has been at the theatre a few times. He said his wife loved to dance, and he still watches performances as they remind him of her. He’s known for going to a handful of performances each time, and everyone knows him, but not his name.” I look at the picture and smile. “All the times I performed pretending someone was in the audience watching me, cheering me on, and he might have been there.”
“He is the one who is most likely your dad. You have his eyes and smile. You might look just like your mum, but there have been times you have reminded me of him. Your mum believed you were his too but never wanted to say in case she was wrong.”
There is so much to take in, so much to read through and examine to try and decide how to process it all and how much I really want to know. I can feel myself getting overwhelmed by it all.
“Sweetheart, you know I won’t stop you from doing anything, but I think you need to take a break for now.” Travis places his hand on my shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. When I look up at him, I can see the concern in his eyes. I can’t bring myself to answer, so I nod and look at all the stuff now spread out between my auntie and me.
“Your Daddy is right. I know you haven’t even told me half the stuff that’s been going on with you, and there is a lot to process here alone.” She starts gathering things and places them all back into the safe. “Everything in here is yours. Take your time and go through it all a bit at a time.” She looks up to Travis and gives him her serious look.
“It may be best if you read the prick’s journal first. There are a few bits in there that are a little graphic and I would rather you told her the basics than her reading it first-hand.”
“Of course, anything else I need to be aware of?” Travis asks as he helps her to place the safe back in the bag he brought it in. Trish shakes her head and turns her attention back to me.
“I am so sorry I couldn’t protect you. I tried so hard, but no one would listen to me, and the more I tried to tell you, the less you came. I knew the best thing to do was be quiet and watch from the sidelines. At least that way, you were still coming, and I could see for myself that you were okay.”
I know that must have been so hard for her. She did try to tell me so many things over the years, but I truly believed she was paranoid and suffering a brain injury. I never questioned it because I believed the doctor and my dad.
“We will get you out of here,” I promise as I hug her. “We will come up with a plan of action and get you out as quickly as possible.”
“Concentrate on getting your head around everything. I’m okay for the time being. I have it easy here now I stopped fighting them. Are you staying at the house?”
I shake my head as Travis tells her we are at his but will be looking for a house together.
“Take the house; it’s yours anyway. Your mum and her men built that house for them. She wanted it to be their forever home, so make it yours. It has everything you could need, including a room each.”
I promise her I will think about it as we all stand and say our goodbyes, knowing that the visiting times will be over soon.
Walking out of the room Travis places his arm around my shoulder and guides me out of the building, and towards the car.
“You okay, Sweetheart?” he asks as he opens my door for me. I nod as I lean up against him. He places the bag on the floor before wrapping me in his arms. “Do you want to go home or for a drive? Whatever you want, I’m here for it.”
“I want to go home. I’m tired, and my head hurts.” I admit as my head pounds from all the information my auntie has just added to the ever-growing pile of shit my father has left me to deal with. Travis kisses my head before stepping back from me.
“Let’s get you back to the guys. I need to check they haven’t burnt the house down whilst we’ve been gone,” he smiles as he closes the door once I’m safely inside. I watch as he walks to the trunk and places the bag in it before jumping behind the wheel.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I watch him putting his seatbelt on.
“What for?” he asks, frowning.
“For loving me,” I reply. Travis takes my hand and presses a kiss to my knuckles.
“Falling in love with you was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I promise I will never leave you like the guys left your mum. You are stuck with me forever, if you like it or not,” he winks at me as I laugh.
“I like that, a lot.” I reply as I kiss him once. “And I’m not going anywhere either.”
71
Travis
A knocking at my bedroom door, pulls me out of Henrys journal.
“What?” I know it will be one of my brothers, as Verity doesn’t knock before entering anywhere.
“Thought I would let you know dinner is nearly ready,” Ryan answers as he walks in. “How’s it going?” he asks, nodding to the diary in my hand.
“Trish wasn’t lying when she said it was best for Verity not to read this first. That man had a dark side to him. Listen to this.
“Today, she almost caught me. I waited for them all to go out to work and snuck into the house like I always do, knowing she would be in the dance studio she built herself. Watching her move through the hole I created in the wall isn’t enough anymore. I need to be able to watch her from all angles. She moves like a goddess; calling her anything else would be an insult. Today she wore a long flowing white dress which only heightened her angelic appearance. She moves with such grace and poise, it makes it impossible not to want her. Just being within a short distance of her I’m hard as a rock. I couldn’t stop myself from taking myself in my hand and pleasuring myself as I watched her move around the studio. The more she moved, the faster I pumped my cock, wishing it was the heaven between her legs I was fucking and not my hand.”
“Wow! Okay, I can’t listen to it anymore. What the fuck was wrong with him?” Ryan curses as he scrunches up his face.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t make any sense. He really was obsessed with her, and when he wasn’t in the States he was stalking her constantly. He kept a note of everything she did. Some pages are just him tracking her. ‘She went to the shops and brought bread and milk. Then met with her sister for a walk around the park before going home and cooking some exotic dish.’ I don’t think this is the only notebook, because it’s full and I can’t imagine he just stopped once he got rid of the others.” I rub my face as I’m tired, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks and tomorrow I really do plan on just trying to relax, even for just a little bit.
“If he was so obsessed with her, why did he keep going back to the States when he finally had her?” Ryan asks the big question that’s been burning on my mind too. Which is why I want to find the other journals.
“The only thing I can think of without asking Nicholson straight is that he was in some kind of deal with him that meant he had to go. From what I’ve read of the notes Trish and Miriam passed to each other and what Verity has told me, he didn’t use to go for long. It wasn’t until Verity started getting older and Miriam became ill that he started going for a couple of weeks at a time. Before then, it was a week there and three weeks here. By the time she died it was two weeks there two here.”
