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Howard was so depressed that he didn’t think it could get any worse. His firstborn, his daughter, wanted him to kill his family and then allow the police to kill him for attention for her. It has always been about her, he’d only just realized, and he should have done something about it back when she was younger, he knew now.

“Dad, it’s going to be fine. She’s not going to get out.” He looked at his son and wanted to cry all over again. “I’m trying to think of positive things about her, to be honest, and I can’t get over the fact that she killed Maggie and Howard the third. Why would she do anything like that to me? I thought that we were close. I was no competition to her at all.”

That was all it took for him to start to cry again. His grandson was gone because, according to Cynthia, he was in the way. An innocent child who hadn’t even taken his first breath was gone because of his daughter. When Howie had come to sit with him, the two of them clung to one another, sobbing about the fairness of her getting to live while others around her had not.

Howie was grieving all over again for the loss of something so profound as his son and wife. And there was nothing he could do about it. Just hold onto him like before, telling him that it was the will of some higher power than them that had made the decision to end the life of two of the people that he’d come to love. He thought that was better than saying that his bitch of a sister had done it and he was sorry.

None of them were doing well tonight. Elizabeth had gotten in touch with her doctor and told him she needed something to calm her nerves. He ended up leaving something for him, too. The stress wasn’t good for his head. Howard got up from the couch and went in search of Conri. The man had a calming effect on him like he’d never felt before. He found him and Cass in the kitchen having tea.

“May I have some?” Conri said that he’d make it, and when he stood up to do so, he kissed Cass on the mouth. Usually, it bothered him when they would do that, but tonight, it was wonderful to see them enjoying each other like nothing was going on. “You have become the balm that I needed all day. I can’t believe that it was only just this morning that I had a talk with Cynthia. It seems so long ago now. Like I’ve been grieving for what she’s done all my life.”

“I’m not saying that what she’s done is all right, but you do know that you’re giving her just what she wanted in telling you that.” He asked Conri what he meant. “She’s the center of your life right now. Getting the attention that she wants.”

Howard sat there sipping his tea and thought about what Conri was saying. He was right, of course. If she were here now, she’d be loving that they’re all thinking about her. Really making her a large part of their life right now. When he was given some cookies to go with his tea, he started to turn them away, but he thought once again about giving her attention. After taking three of them and eating them with his tea, he did feel better than he had before coming into the kitchen.

“It’s hard not to think about what she’s done, but I believe you’re right in letting her ruin our day. We need to move on, think about how we’re going to build a new house, not dwell on the fact that she’s the one who blew up the house in the first place.” He finished his tea. “Yes, you’re right. We need to focus on the things we need to in order to not give her anything that she wants. Thank you, Conri. Thank you so very much.”

When he went back to the living room, he asked Elizabeth if she wanted to take a ride with him. One of the houses that they’d looked at to build was right here in town. They could go there, have a look at it, and make a decision as to whether they like it or not. Then, perhaps, go out to the building site and try to imagine what the house was going to look like with the place they’d picked out on the ranch.

They’d decided not to build in the same place. The house was going to be more friendly to them in their golden age, with a one-floor plan that would keep them from having to climb stairs. He wasn’t thinking of dying either. He and Elizabeth had decided that he had forever to live out the rest of his life with her. And damn the person who thought to take that away from them. She asked him if they could do it later, and he lifted her up off the couch and kissed her.

“No, we have to do this now. We’re not going to talk about Cindy—what I’ve decided to call her today. We’re not even going to think about her. Today is for making new memories and having fun. She’s gone, done what she’s done to us, and we’re going to move on before we’re nothing but a bag of old bones. Understand?”

She smiled at him. It was a watery smile, but he was going to take what he could get today. But tomorrow and all the tomorrows they had left, he was going to live each day like it was his last. Because it might well be for him.

The drive out to the house was quiet, but then, they weren’t the type of people to chatter on about things. As soon as they got to the house, they decided that it wasn’t for them. The blueprints showed a grand window in the front, and this house had it, too. But the sun glaring off the window had to have shades drawn, and he didn’t think he’d like that. On their way to the ranch, they stopped and got some lunch at the Dari Q.

“I’m going to have me a hot chicken sammich. And some fries. Plus a milkshake. We’re living for the day today, love. Get whatever you want. My treat.” She laughed hard, and he squeezed her hand slightly. After she ordered the same thing, they sat on one of the benches and waited, enjoying the children coming up from the ball field after a game. “Did you win or lose?”

The boy and girl said that they’d both won their games. Feeling like he needed a little boost today, he offered to buy them lunch and ice cream. Well received, they laughed when the girl got herself two burgers and the boy only the one. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

“Howard, let’s not build a house out there. I want to be in town. Closer to Conri and Cass.” He had been thinking the same thing and told her that. “I want to be around people too. Coming here, this was a perfect idea. We could do this more often. Not just having lunch but going to ball games and hanging out with the kids. Remember when Cass was forever selling something? We could be one of the people who will buy those candy bars or wrapping paper and fund their trips to wherever. She cried just a little until their food was brought to them. Then she looked at him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You’ll be fine, my love.” He had to look away a moment so he’d not join her crying, and they scared the kids. “You’ve no idea how much I’m going to miss you. How I’m going to…oh love, I’m going to miss you so much.” He took out his hanky and blew his nose before he got out of hand. “Let’s not talk about it today, love. I need today as much as you do.” She nodded, her eyes full of tears, and when she reached for his hand, he took it. She was the best part of their marriage.

“Now, let’s have our meal and then go and look for houses. I still want one floor, don’t you?” They talked about anything and everything but his impending death. How they had to start over with everything. “One thing that I’ve learned over the years is getting really good towels if you want them to last as long as possible.”

House hunting was hit or miss. They’d find one that they liked, but it was too far from where they wanted to be. Or they’d find one that was in the perfect spot, but the house wasn’t for sale. They finally decided that they’d put an offer in on the house that was close to where they would be close to the kids, and while it wasn’t perfect for them, it would serve as a good home for the future. The one without—no, he told himself, he wasn’t going to think about leaving his family today.

It was late when they got home. There were sandwiches in the fridge they’d been told, the note even saying that they were going to cook out tomorrow night, and they got them two each and took them to their room. They honestly loved living here; they were on the first floor and had their family right here, but they didn’t want to intrude on things going on between Conri and Cass. They were just newlyweds.

After Elizabeth was asleep, he got up and went to find his laptop. It had been at Conri’s place, so it didn’t suffer any damage. Pulling up an email to send to his attorney, he decided it was high time that he changed his will. After talking to his son, he was ready for what he’d been thinking about since Cass met Conri. He wanted to leave him part of his estate as well.

While he knew that he didn’t need the money, the man had been saving all his life, and he’d had a very long one. He wanted some of his things to go to the man. He didn’t have any treasures that he could hand down. However, he did have things that came from his heart that he wanted to say to him. Also, he wanted to leave Elizabeth in good hands. Knowing the other man as well as he thought that he could, he knew that even without asking, he’d be a good person for his wife to lean on when the time came for him to die. That was another thing that he only just then remembered. He didn’t want to linger in a vegetative state. When he was gone, he wanted to be gone. He and Elizabeth had talked about it, but he was worried that she’d not want to pull the plug when the time was right.

Then there was the matter of Cindy. What to do about her. He didn’t want to even mention her, but he had a friend who hadn’t mentioned his son in his will, and the son had sued the estate. It had made the process drawn out for years and years. While the other members of the family that he’d left things to—money and stocks and bonds his business failed because there was no one to run it. He didn’t know if she’d get the chance to sue the estate for a part, but he didn’t want to take the chance.

It took him four tries, but he finally got it right, he thought. He mentioned how she’d taken their house from them and other things that she’d destroyed in the process. Then he went on to say that she’d been locked up in the asylum for the rest of her life, and since it was being handled by the state, he didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Not even when she died.

Going back to bed, he wrapped himself around his wife. She was a comfort to him in ways that she’d never understand, nor could he explain it to her. He was going to miss her but hoped that when the time came, she’d be brave. Elizabeth was the strongest person he knew, and he was ever so thankful that he’d gotten to share the last forty-six years with her.

~*~

Conri didn’t know what to do when Cass came out of the bathroom. He loved her pajamas. They were white and had bright pink flamingos all over them. Even her slippers were the same bright pink color.

She climbed into bed with him, and he held her. She looked up at him from her back position and smiled. It didn’t look happy, but something akin to fear on her face. He assured her that he’d never hurt her.

“I know that. I really do. But as I said before, I’ve had sex before, and while it was all right, I know that it’s going to be nothing like it will be with you.” He told her that he’d have to bite her and that she could bite him back. “I don’t know about that. I don’t know that I could bite anyone and draw blood. I’m assuming that’s required of you.”

“Yes. It’s quite enjoyable from what I’ve heard.” She smacked him on the chest, and he laughed. “I won’t do it if you don’t want, love. I’ll just lick your throat and let you feel how good that feels. Trust me, it feels great. Tell me you’ll do it for me.”

“You’re very needy. Or are you like this all the time?” He said just when he was about to make love to his mate. “And how many mates have you had over your long life?”

“You’re the second one, but you mean so much more to me than she ever did. There had always been something so terribly off about her that I realize now that I never fully accepted her nor trusted her.” She just stared at him. “She betrayed me with my father. They stole a great deal of money from not just myself but the pack as well. It was terrible.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Conri told her that it was all right that he was finally over it all. “Are you sure that you’re over her? And…that’s why you didn’t trust me at first. You never fully recovered from what she’d done to you. Do you trust me now?”

“I do. I love you like I never loved her. And once we bond, we’ll have the life that we wanted and that I’ve never gotten before. I love you, Cass.” He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. “I will love you forever and a day.”

Nuzzling her neck, he could feel her pulse there just below her ear. It was pounding so hard that when he paused for a moment, he could hear her blood racing through her veins. Hearing her sharp intake of breath had his teeth shifting and sharpening. So as not to cause her too much pain but allow her to lick his own throat, he paused a moment. Licking her again, feeling the pulse pounding against his tongue, Conri bit her there. His teeth sank into her muscle so hard that she cried out with it. Her release permeated the air around them. He made his way down her body, nipping and kissing her body as he went. Then he got to the apex of her thighs and inhaled deeply of her scent. Cass was so wet she told him that she was embarrassed by it.

“I need to taste you, Cass. I want to see if you taste as wonderful as you smell.” He jerked the pants and panties off her, and she cried out again when he nipped at her thigh. “I want to feel you come down my throat.”

Her body was responding to him before her mind could come up with a reason why this was a bad idea. And that was the way that he wanted it. Conri was between her legs, which he’d put on either side of his head before she could protest if she was ever going to. As soon as he pulled her clit into his mouth, she cried out his name and came. Never had anything made him feel this way about anyone else.

He ate her like he was never going to stop, which was just as well as he didn’t plan on it. The more he took from her, the more she gave him, the more she got. Every time he bit down on her, she came crying out his name. Every time he slid his tongue into her sheath, he knew that she was going to come again and again. Her juices were soaking him. When he slid his fingers into her, she rode his hand, her hips coming up off the bed like he was fucking her, and he realized that she wanted him to.

“Come for me again. Come and let me drink from you again.” She laid back, her body so taunt with need that when he sucked her clit into his mouth as he stretched her with his fingers, she bowed up off the bed and screamed. He never stopped taking her, even when he begged him to stop.

When he stood up over her, she could see that he’d released his cock. The thought of him taking her, his thick cock entering Cass, he knew that it was going to hurt. But instead of sliding into her like they both wanted, he fisted his cock until long streams of his precum fell onto her.

“I’m not going to take you the first time where I might well hurt you. I’m going to be soft and as gentle as I can be.” He moaned when she reached for him. “Honey, you touch me, and it’s going to be over right now. I want to come all over you. Have my cum spray all over your pretty pussy until you come again. Tell me you want it. Tell me, Cass, tell me you want me.”

“Please.” He leaned over her and took her mouth. She could feel the head of his cock just at her entrance. When he bowed back, lifting his head from her, he roared out as he filled her, his cock slamming into her until she screamed with the pain. Over and over, he took her hard, and she hurt. Hurt so badly that she wanted him to stop.

Conri dropped over her and held her. His cock was still inside of her, and he was afraid to move. He had no idea if she’d arouse him again so that he’d want to do it again, so he laid very still. When he lifted his head and looked down at her, she turned her face away.

“Look at me, please.” She didn’t, and he repeated her name. “Cass, look at me so I can see how badly I hurt you.”

“I’m embarrassed if you want to know the truth. I’ve never been so wanton before ever. It felt so good, but I’m going to be sore too.” She finally looked at him. “I loved that. Even the end where you came inside of me. And I swear to you that I could feel it, too. All of you as you came inside of me.”

He moved gently inside of her, causing her to moan again. “I love you so much, Cass. I don’t know what I’d do if not for you being with me right now.” He held her to him.

Conri woke up holding onto Cass. Rolling to his back, taking her with him, he held her tightly to his chest while she slept on. Running his finger up and down her back, he told her how much he enjoyed making love to her while she slept. He felt like he’d been given the world and the sun, too, when she turned and kissed him on his chest. Holding her firmly, he asked her if she was all right.

“I am, actually. I feel better now that I’ve had a nap. I could sleep more if you don’t mind.” He said that he thought he could sleep as well and pulled the blanket up and over the two of them. After telling her that he could as well, the two of them snuggled down into the comforter and held onto each other.

It was nearly sunrise when he opened his eyes. Unlike before, he was alone in the big bed, but he didn’t have to worry. She was just coming out of the bathroom in one of his shirts that hung to her thighs and hurried across the floor. As soon as she was in the bed, he pulled her close even though her body was cold and rubbed her back and arms. She’d gotten chilly while running to the bathroom.

“I have so much to do today. Mom and Dad want me to go and see this house they want to move into. I’d rather they just stay here, but I don’t know how to make them believe that that’s what I really want.” He said to just tell them. “Mom thinks that we’re still on some kind of honeymoon and don’t want them around. I think we just proved that they don’t need to be gone from here for us to have fun.” She finally got up, and he did as well. “I think I need a long hot shower and then maybe another nap.”

“I can talk to them if you want. I think that in the long run, it’ll be better for your mom to live here when your dad dies. I’m sorry to bring that up, but most of his year is still out there, and they need to make arrangements. What are they going to do with the ranch if they’re going to live in a house in town?” She told him what her mom had said to her, that they were going to leave it to him. “I would think that Howie would want it.”

“He’s never liked the horses. Never had anything to do with the ranch either. I think that he’s planning on selling the house that he’s in now because of the memories that are now associated with it. Like it’s tainted now that he knows that Cynthia killed Margaret and his son.” She turned on the water and stood waiting for it to warm up. “I can’t say that I blame him. He has gone through a great deal since Cynthia confessed. I feel so sorry for him right now.”

“I do as well. To find out after all this time that his wife was killed by his sister would be a terrible blow to his heart. I’m betting that it takes him longer to get over this than it did when they were first killed.” She said she thought so as well. “Poor guy. I really do like him. Maybe we can get together soon and just have a brothers’ night out with my brothers, too.”

“That would be wonderful. He’d like that too.” She got into the shower, and he joined her. No hankie panky, she told him, as she was still very sore, but he could scrub her back. Not only did he do that for her, but he also scrubbed her hair too. He loved the feeling of the rich silkiness of it as he rinsed it for her, too.

When she left, he sat in his office and started working on the pack things. There was plenty for him to do, but when Howie called him to ask a favor, he leapt at the chance to hang out with him.

“There is this house that I’ve been looking at before I settled on this one. Margaret never liked it, which, at the time, I could understand it. There are only two bedrooms. But this house is too large for me. I’ve had enough of trying to keep it up and also the lawn.” He asked him the address of the house. After telling him, Conri laughed. “I own that. If you want to move into it just for something temporary, that’s fine with me, too. Or forever. When I purchased it, it was part of a group of homes that I got from the city. It’s been completely remodeled, and the yard has been cleaned up, but you can have it. If you have dinner with me and my brothers some night soon. We try to get together weekly, and I’d love for you to come with us.”

“I would love that. What will your brothers think of me coming along?” He told him that they’d be upset that they didn’t think of it before him. “Thanks, Conri. You have no idea how much I’d enjoy that with you guys.”

“We’ll go tonight. We’ve been working hard on things around here and deserve a break. Your sister is hanging out with your parents tonight, and we’ll have some fun.” He reached out to talk to his brothers and was thrilled that they were all able to make it. He told Howie. “We usually go to someplace where we can have a couple of beers. We don’t normally drink as it doesn’t have much effect on us, but we’ll have some dinner and a couple of them.”

He made plans with the younger man. After telling Cass what they were doing, she decided to have dinner with her own parents. It would be fun for them as well after looking at houses all day. After hanging up with her, he was surprised when she called him back a few seconds later.

“I’ve convinced them that they don’t have to buy a home but can live with us. We’re still going to keep looking in case they find something that they really want. I doubt it. They had a list of things that they want, and there aren’t too many houses out there for the price they want to pay.” He told her that he owned a lot of houses in town to let him know where they were, and they could have them if they wanted to live there. He’d even sign it over to the two of them if they wanted to go that route. “I’ll get the list together, and we can look it over tonight. What a wonderful husband you’ve turned out to be. I’ll let them know.”

He laughed. “I’m trying my best to be about as wonderful as I can be. It’s easy when you have the best wife in the world. And you are, too.” She told him thanks and hung up. After getting ready, wearing a nice pair of jeans and a polo shirt, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to find that his brothers were all dressed the same way as was Howie. The man did look beaten, however.

“I heard from the insurance company. They were notified by the police and my attorney that my wife was killed by my sister. I’m not sure why they have to exhume hers and Howard’s bodies, but he said it could be a bigger payout. I’m not really worried about that. It was an accident before, and I don’t know that that would change anything.” He told him. “Yes, I suppose that could be called a homicide now. I didn’t think about that. I should have. I can’t believe it when I think about it that she killed them. Some days are worse than others when I get all depressed about it.”

“I don’t know how you’re standing upright, Howie. I don’t know how you’re being so brave.” He said he had to be for his parents. “That’s as good a reason as any. I hurt for you and your family. Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do with all the furniture that you have in the bigger house? Your parents are looking at homes too to purchase.”

“Dad told me last night. He said that he wants to make sure that Mom is settled before he passes. It’s hard to talk to him when he gets like that. Sharing information. All I want to do is for him to stop talking about it. It’s coming faster than I’d like to think about.”

“I understand that. I just met him and am hurting at his soon departure. I’m still waiting to hear from my king on making them immortal as well. Along with you.” He said he didn’t know if he wanted it just now. “I understand that too. You’ve had a lot to think over. A lot of changes that you weren’t expecting.

When they got to the restaurant, his brothers were already there. They had a table made up for them in a private area of the place where they could talk about anything that they wanted and about as loud as they needed. And they were loud when they were all together, and that was what made them get along so well. They were big men with big ideas, his mom would say often about them. He was going to have to make time for her too soon.