Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,42

I’ve been taking care of myself long before you came along.” She paced some more before she continued. “And as for where you’re sleeping, it will not be in my bed. Cain will have a fit and I, for once, agree with him.”

He had learned last night that there was no reasoning with her when she was on a roll. If he just let her run down then he could convince her his way was the best and she’d go along. Well, that had worked in theory. He smiled when he thought about the trip to the airport and her thinking all the way there they were simply dropping her off and not going with her.

“Grace, don’t you want us to come and meet your family?” Trace said from his position on the floor. “I can’t wait to meet them all. Especially Sin. She sounds like she is so cool. Do you think she’ll let me shoot her gun?”

When both Grace and Michael answered “no” at the same time Trace rolled on the floor laughing. He’d gotten them both and Michael laughed when Grace got down on the floor and started tickling him. He thought his son was the smartest person he knew. Still laughing, he pulled out his cell phone when it rang.

“I have a car waiting to pick you up at the airport. Someone will meet you in the terminal,” Payton told him as soon as he answered. “Did you have any problems convincing her that you should come with her?”

“I didn’t tell her until we got there. It seemed the best way to go under the circumstances. She’s a little ticked off at me right now.” Payton laughed as Michael continued. “She’s going on about where I’m sleeping. I think I might stay in a hotel just to piss her off.” He heard her snort and knew that she was listening to him. “Then again, I might want to find myself someone else to have a good time with, one that isn’t such a prude.”

“You’re playing with fire, my man. Sin, my wife, and you will have a lot in common. You both can scare the shit out of a grown man from fifty paces. Don’t fuck with one or you fuck with them all. Learned that the hard way,” Payton said with a laugh. “And Alyssa. Damn, that girl can peel the hide off a man with just her voice. She’s fucking scary.”

“I knew her father. Now there was a scary man. He could have you convinced that whatever he wanted had been your idea all along and you’d not know he’d taken you until you were sitting in your car. I loved doing business with the man.” Michael laughed at the memory. “I’m hoping the daughter is much like the man. If she is, then she’ll be a worthy adversary.”

“You’ve no idea. That woman can turn a dime into a million with just her smile. And a fundraiser? She’s brutal. Last month during a board meeting she challenged each one of her department heads to a basketball game. The winner, if you want to call it that, got a month off with pay. The fine print got the guy. His month off was him working in the shelter and, at the end of his month, she gave him a fat bonus for being such a good sport about it.” Payton snorted as he continued. “Damned if the man didn’t think that the whole challenge had been his idea.”

Michael was looking forward to meeting them all. Especially Cain. Cain had kept his family together for his entire life and still did when necessary. Plus, he wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings about him being in Grace’s bedroom the last time he’d called. Not that he was going to deny why he was there, but he did want the man to know that his intentions were honorable. Michael heard the pilot say they were about twenty minutes from the airport. He told Payton.

“A man by the name of Winston will be picking you up. I just sent a picture to your phone so you’ll know what he looks like. We’ll talk more when you get here. Oh, there’s a dinner thing tonight. A sort of meet and greet for you and the kid.” Michael heard Payton talking to someone else. “Sin said to tell you that she’s booked you time at the gun range for Sunday. I think she wants to see if you’re