Donahue: Foster’s Pride – Lion Shapeshifter Romance (Foster's Pride Book 2) Read online

  “I would.” Don asked her why. “Because he involved her when he blackmailed you into taking the job. Or not taking it, I guess you could say. I’d tell her simply because the decision for her to donate or not is up to her. Not you and your job.”

  “I suppose.” He loved teaching, but not at the risk of pissing off Brook. “I’ll talk to her now. She might have a different opinion than I do about how this went down. I think, as you said, it’s straight-up blackmailing, but I might just be reading too much into it.”

  “No, you’re not, and you know it.” He did. Don thought that was what had hurt him so much about this. He would have willingly taught both classes and worked with the football team. But now it seemed dirty somehow. “Let your sister know. Brook will not only take care of the jerk, but you might also be the coach when that dumbass is fired.”

  He decided she was right. Pulling out his phone again, he put it on speaker so Parker could hear Brook’s end of the conversation. As soon as Don told her everything that was going on, she started cursing. Don was hard-pressed not to join Parker in laughing at her.

  “You mean that son of a bitch blackmailed you? I’m telling you right now, Don, if he even— Christ, I want to go there and beat the shit out of him.” Don laughed. “This isn’t funny. I swear to you, I’m going to make sure everyone understands what he’s done today.”

  “But it will be his word against mine. And we both know I don’t have nearly the amount of support he does.” Brook asked him why he’d think that. “I’m nothing but a teacher, while he’s been my boss for all these years. He could, and it’s happened before, say he’s been covering for me for all my career—something along the lines of child pornography material on my computer. Or I’ve been caught with some of the team, and that’s why I’m not good enough to be their coach. He could and will ruin me.”

  “I would never let that happen.” He told Brook she might not be able to stop it. “I’m going to work on this. I have to take care that he doesn’t get away with something like this again. Or, for that matter, if he has been doing this all along, and you’re the first person to come forward with it.”

  “I don’t know. But you might want to start with the girls’ softball team. It only just occurred to me that they didn’t have a coach until a week before school started last year. They also got new uniforms.” Brook asked him if he knew her name. “Yes. Mildred Angler. She’s from town, I believe. I don’t see her much. She’s also carrying a huge load of classes she teaches, as well as going to college herself. The last time I did get to speak to her, she wondered how she was going to be a good doctor if she couldn’t handle a few hard days. It would be a shame to lose her to teaching when she might be the next person to cure something like cancer. Don’t you think?” Brook said she’d get back to him.

  After putting his phone away, he asked Parker how things were going. When she sat down and put her feet up on his lap, he pulled her sandals off and massaged her ankles. She moaned, and he did as well.

  “I’m betting that if I were to moan three or four times a minute, you’d be stone-hard all the time.” He told her it wouldn’t even take that much. “Why? Are you telling me you’re hard all the time or something different?”

  “I’m hard from the time I wake in the morning until I sleep at night. Hell, for all I know, I’m hard while I’m sleeping.” When she laughed, Don smiled at her. “You want to tell me what it is you’re avoiding telling me? I have a feeling it’s not good, whatever it is.”

  “I don’t want my mom to die. I’ve missed a great deal by being apart from her, and I’m not ready for her to leave me because of Park.” Don asked her what she was going to do. “I don’t know for certain right now. She wants me to kill her, so it will kill him. Jasper has gone to get the books she hid away from Park, as well as the ones he’d been using. Also, I’ve contacted my biological grandfather, and he wants nothing to do with me. He claims, and there isn’t any reason for him not to believe that I’ve sullied his name and that of his family by being arrested for murder. No amount of talking to him will change his mind.”

  “I will.” She told him he didn’t have to do that. “Oh, but I do. I have to be your knight in shining armor on something. You’re my life, and I want to do this for you.”

  “You just think you’re going to get laid if you talk him into it.” Don smiled at her. “You’re not as cute and sexy as you think you are. Just putting that out there.”

  “Perhaps not, but I can make you scream better than anything on this earth. And you do that so well too.” Sticking her tongue out at him only had him moaning again. “You keep that up, and your mom is going to have a first-hand view of what I do to you to make you come. She’s coming out here now.”

  Parker looked up at her mom when she came out onto the deck with them. He didn’t stop massaging her feet and laughed when Meggie told him she’d give anything for someone to have done that for her. Offering his services had her turning him down, which was what he expected. Parker asked her if she needed anything.

  “Yes. I was wondering if you have a car I can borrow, or even that limo for a few hours. I want to get some things cleared away while Park is not bothering me. I need to sell my house, and I have some things at the house I’d like for you to have. They were your father’s.” Parker said she could take her. “I think I’d like that. I would. Do you mind if I borrow Parker for a few hours?”

  “Not at all. I have some things I have to take care of as well today.” He stood up when Parker put her feet down on the deck. “As you can see, I’ve been dismissed from being helpful here.”

  They were both still giggling as they entered the house. Don turned and looked behind him when he heard a familiar sound. He knew it was one of his brothers standing just in the tree line, but from here, he couldn’t tell which one of them it was. Moving to the side of the house where he couldn’t be seen by Meggie, he let his lion take him.

  Running in the direction his brother Quin had gone, he was glad for the distraction. He’d not been on a good run since meeting Parker. As soon as he spotted his brother, the two of them ran full out as they dodged fallen and standing trees. It was better than he thought it would be, getting his head cleared out before he had to tackle Mr. Windchaser. Then, no doubt, the school board when the shit hit the fan with Mr. Martin. He told Quin about the two things he had on his plate when they sat down by the river and rested.

  You’re not going to allow them to run you off, are you? He said he didn’t know what he was going to do. The ball was sort of in Brook’s park. Yeah, well, that’s scarier than anything I could have thought of to get someone to straighten up. Can you imagine what she’ll be like when their kids are born? I’d hate to be one of her kids’ teachers. You might want to think about retiring before then. She’ll kick your ass even if her kid is the one at fault.

  I think her kids would be wonderfully calming for her. Quin snorted. They might be. Or, and this is more along the lines of what you were saying, they might be holy terrors that come to school armed and dangerous. I think you’re right. I’m going to retire before I have to teach any of her children.

  The two of them sat there for a couple of hours, bantering back and forth on what sort of children each of them would have. By far, they both thought that they’d not want to deal with Brook or her kids. Even Ronan would be hard to deal with if they were hooligans.

  He might be one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. But mess with his kids, then he’d be the king lion that he is. Quin agreed with him. Christ, I just had a thought. What will happen when I’m a father?

  Every time Quin glanced in his direction, he would start laughing. Don wished he’d not voiced his concern in such a tone, nor as loudly as he had. It was a frightening thought for him to be a dad. Something else he thought of but kept to himself, what if his kid was more magical than either he or Parker? It bore thinking about.

 
Chapter 5

  Peter had a daily routine. It wasn’t a habit, as his wife used to tell him, but a routine. He would come down after he’d showered and dressed for the day and drink a cup of hot English tea while he read the newspaper. After that, he’d have a coddled egg with a single piece of buttered rye toast. He didn’t want to be bothered by anyone or anything while he was doing his routine, either. But he did admit, only to himself, he certainly missed his wife fussing at him all the time.

  “Mr. Windchaser?” He looked at his long time butler and hoped he would see the anger in his face and go away. “Sir, there is a phone call for you. The man said it’s important that he speak to you now. It’s a life or death emergency.”

  “I don’t care what it’s about. I don’t like to have my morning start off in this manner, Jacob. Did you tell him that? That I hate being interrupted like this?” Jacob said he had, several times as a matter of fact. “Yet he’s still going to do it. I’ll tell you right now if this is a hoax to get me to donate to some cause, I’m going to own it by the end of the day, and then I’m going to close it down. See if I don’t. Bring me the blasted phone.”

  Shoving his cup of tea and paper out of the way, he knew he’d not be in the mood to read it or to enjoy his tea. Damned people. Didn’t they listen anymore? It was more than likely some person wanting him to endorse them on some hairbrained idea.

  When the phone was handed to him, Peter barked into the thing, telling the person to get on with what they had to say to him.

  “I know who killed your son. Also, the reason behind it.” Whatever he thought the person might have said to him, that certainly hadn’t ever entered his mind. “My name is Donahue Foster. Everyone just calls me Don. I’m a local teacher. The man who killed your son is Park Carter. You might know him as well.”

  “Who is this?” The man repeated his name without sounding the least bit sorry for making him upset. “Why are you calling me now? My son has been gone for several years now. I don’t think they have ever caught the man who killed him. Yet here you are, after all the police and agents I had working on it, telling me not only that you know who it was, but you know his name as well. Why would you do that? Bring this up now. After all these years.”

  “I’m married to your granddaughter. Her name is Parker Foster.” He said he wasn’t related to that person. “Are you sure, Mr. Windchaser? To look at her, I’d say she’s the spitting image of you and your late wife. I’m sorry for your loss, but Parker could have been her twin when she was younger. She also has your wife’s eye color. She’s beautiful.”

  “I’m guessing you want me to claim this so-called twin of mine so you can get all my money when I pass on. Are you going to kill me too? I wouldn’t put it past anyone that would call at this time of the morning.” The man started to speak again, but Peter cut him off. “No. I won’t put up with this. This is the same thing that killed my poor wife, Peggy. It cut her to the quick to know someone out there had killed our only child and then got away with it. Do you think you’re the first person to have tried this? You’re not. More than likely, you won’t be the last in my lifetime, either.”

  “Parker is magical. An extraordinarily strong witch who has powers that haven’t been seen in decades. She can not only see the future, Mr. Windchaser, but she can also give a person immortality. Your son could do that. Couldn’t he?” Peter didn’t dignify his question with an answer. “His wife to be, Meggie Steward, was a victim as much as you and your wife were. She not only witnessed her only love’s death but bore him a child that inherited all his magic.”

  “Listen here, Mr. Foster. You’re going to have to do better than that to get me to believe this child is my granddaughter. As I said, I’ve had this done to us before.” He thought of his delicate wife and how it had destroyed her when one after the other crackpots came to say they had information on their son. “You come up with a better plan about this, and I might grant you a few minutes of my time. As it is right now, I’ve—”

  “Parker has a mark on her back, on the left side just below the ribs. It’s a mark of magic. Also, a mark that your family has handed down to generation after generation of Windchaser magical holding members.” Before he could stop himself from speaking the words flowing in his mind, his mouth asked the younger man what it looked like. “It’s a broom. There is a cat beneath it that is as white as snow. I’m to understand that if a member of the family is born with a black cat or any other dark color of a cat, they’re shunned from the family and aren’t heard of again.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Don told him it mattered little to him if he did or didn’t, but the facts were clear. “What is it you want from me? Money? I’m not so easily separated from my money or anything else I own.”

  “I don’t need or want your money, Mr. Windchaser. If you were near a computer, I could send you a picture of the mark if you’d like.” Peter asked him what price he put on him knowing this. “You mean you think I’m going to charge you for a chance to get to know the only other living person that is related to you? No, I’m not. Money isn’t a problem for either me or Parker. I’d like to think I’m a better man than that. I’d do this for you even if I didn’t have two cents to rub together. Family is important to me. I’m putting this on you so you can make your own decisions about whether or not you wish to be a family with Parker. Also, any children we will have.”

  “Come now. You can’t expect me to believe you have all the money in the world at your fingertips, do you? Even I, as wealthy as I am, still look for a good deal. What makes you so special that you think you’re above making a profit off maybe showing me my granddaughter?”

  Peter was laughing when the man spoke. He wasn’t quite sure he heard him right and asked him to repeat it.

  “I said, my brother, is married to someone you know. Brook Garrett Foster. She asked me to remind you of the beautiful design she did for your offices not long ago. And how you made the front page of all the newspapers in the world for being such a forward thinking man. Also, she said your business tripled because of it. Brook said she never took credit for it or would ever do that to you. You’re a good man, she told me.” Peter stood up and made his way to his computer. Telling the man what his email address was, he was logging into the Internet when his watch told him he had an email. “Mr. Windchaser, I don’t want you to think I don’t need anything from you since we’ve gotten this far. But I have a magical issue that I believe you can help me with. It’s how to rid someone of a specter that has taken over a living body. Without permission, I might add.”

  The picture was as clear as if the woman baring her back to the camera was right there in the room with him. Touching his fingers to the sigil on her, he thought of his son and the exact same mark on him. Peter wondered for a moment if the young man speaking to him had any idea what it meant to be marked like this. More than likely not, he thought, or he would have told him. The mark was his son’s. Peter had no doubt about that now.

  “You’ve my address, I’m assuming.” Don told him he was near enough to see his home. “You might as well come in then. I think we have a great deal to speak about. Is she with you? Parker, I think you called her. Is she with you right now?”

  “She can be. Right now, she’s taking care of another issue with the school board that’s blackmailing me.” Peter laughed. It startled him, his own laughter. He’d not heard it in so long he’d forgotten what a terrible sound it made. But right now, he just didn’t care. A granddaughter. She was out there, and he was going to get to meet her. “You come on in, Mr. Foster. I’m willing to see you. But I swear to you, if this is a joke, I’m going to be highly upset with you. And don’t think I won’t take action against you either. You tell that sister-in-law of yours that too.”

  Peter made his way to the door. Opening it before the man could touch the doorbell, he stood there staring at the man and woman standing there. If he lived to be a hundred years
old, he’d still remember this day more than anything else in his life. It was as if his wife, the day he asked her to marry him, was standing in front of him again.

  “You look like my Peggy.” The woman smiled at him, and he could see she’d gotten her smile from him. “I miss her more and more every day. But if she were here right now, with the two of you, you can bet she’d be telling me I told you so. She said she felt a child of Peter’s was alive and well someplace. You’re my granddaughter, aren’t you, honey?”

  “I think so. You’re nothing like I expected. I thought you’d be an old man with a rod up your ass and no compassion at all.” Peter wasn’t sure if she was joking or not, so just stared at her. “I am kidding. I just wanted to test your sense of humor.”

  “I have none. I used to, but people took that right out of me.” She asked him if he was going to invite them in. “I don’t know. Are you planning to be a smart ass the entire time you’re here?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. Are you going to be an old bastard while I’m trying to get you to laugh?” He told her more than likely. “Oh well. I guess we can’t pick who we’re related to. Can we? Hello, Grandda. I’m so awfully glad to meet you.”

  And just like that, he fell in love with her. Not only that, but Peter drew her to him and hugged her like she was his only lifeline in the world. Christ, his baby had a baby. And here she stood. As beautiful as anything he’d ever had the pleasure of looking at before.

  “I’m sorry. I’m never this emotional.” Parker said he was leaking too. “I most certainly am not leaking. Darn it, girl, have you no respect for your elders?”

  “Not in the least bit. What you see is what you get with me.” She made him laugh again, and he thought he was getting better at it. “You really aren’t anything I thought you’d be. When we found that you lived in this big house, my first thought was that you’d turn me away for just the reasons you told Don. That you’d been fucked with before and had no intention of opening your heart up to anyone again. This is a stuffy house, you know.”