Ivory let out a belly laugh. “The ornery one. Yes well, he’s an acquired taste.” She extended her hand. “Ivory Steck, I’m the housekeeper here, and you are?”
Taking her hand, I replied, “Meg, Meg Embry.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Embry?” Turning her attention to Con, she asked, “Is your grandfather expecting you... better yet, is your grandfather expecting her?”
Offering a mischievous smile, Con answered, “I thought we’d surprise him.”
Shaking her head, she motioned us in and said, “Oh, you will. The man’s over seventy-years-old, you may just be dishing up his last surprise.”
I found her remark disturbing and turned to Con for reassurance. He smiled and shook his head at Ivory.
“Mom used to say there wasn’t enough arsenic in the world to kill him off so I wouldn’t worry about this fazing him.”
Ivory let out another full-belly laugh, causing her large chest to vibrate and then led us from the foyer, down a long hall.
The house was enormous with pressed tin ceilings that had to be at least twelve feet high, an open staircase that was a solid six feet wide and plank flooring covered with enough lacquer to reflect the light that streamed through the floor to ceiling windows. Carved in intricate detail, the woodwork was commonplace in a house built over a century ago. Antique furniture filled every corner of every room and framed artwork hung on the walls.
The hallway ended at a set of French doors, the glass panes covered by white lace curtains. Ivory stopped in front of the doors, turned toward us, and said, “Good luck,” as she knocked twice.
From the other side of the door, I heard, “What is it?” barked out in an annoyed tone.
Ivory appeared unaffected by his rudeness. “Your grandson is here to visit. Shall I send him in?”
“Grandson? It’s been so damn long since I’ve seen the boy; I almost forgot I had one. Yeah, get him on in here.”
Ivory opened the door, offering a sympathetic smile.
Con patted her arm, and whispered, “Don’t worry Ivory; I’ll get her out before he hurts her.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat. What had I gotten myself in to? I looked up in time to catch the wink he gave Ivory and let out the breath I had been holding.
Twenty-Two
...I searched his eyes for a better answer, but couldn’t find one. As he closed the gap between us, I found myself lost, lost in a sea of desire with the only man who could save me...
Con walked into the room first, while I followed about three feet behind him. His grandfather was sitting in a high backed chair faced toward the open windows. Con motioned for me to sit in one of the tapestry chairs on the front side of the large antique desk, as he sat in the other one.
Without turning to face us, Joker bellowed, “It’s about good goddamn time you came to see me, boy.”
“It’s been less than two weeks.”
He retaliated, “At my age that’s a long goddamn time,” and spun his chair around to face us.
I don’t know who was more surprised, him to see a stranger sitting beside his grandson, or me, who was expecting him to look completely different.
Somehow, I had imagined a large, angry-looking man. I pictured a heavy man sitting alone in his smoke-filled study, barking orders at the world, but there was no resemblance to the man I imagined.
He was a be-speckled man with a smaller frame and a receded hairline, who looked like he could have been one of the friendly ushers at church. He had an intelligent look about him and his eyes were hard to read.
He looked at me briefly and turned his attention to Con. “Who in the hell is that? You know I don’t like uninvited guests.”
“This is a friend of mine.”
“Well, you brought her, didn’t you? So I would have assumed that,” he scoffed. “Who is she?”
I found myself amazed at the level of calmness that Con displayed in the presence of such an ill-tempered person.
“Her name is Meg, she’s my girlfriend.”
Joker displayed no emotion, as he mocked, “How sweet. What’s she doing here?”
“I brought her here to meet you, so could you be just a little more hospitable?”
Closing the open file on his desk, he replied, “I’m not in her home, she’s in mine. You hear what I’m saying? I don’t owe her hospitality and if she doesn’t like that—she can make her way to the goddam door!”
I felt the heat rush to my face in a fury. My first instinct was to cry, but his total lack of respect and class had ensured that he would not see tears. Instead, my anger took control of me.
“Grandpa, that’s enough.” Con spoke firmly and with resentment.