Huntsman and Eve: Joining Forces Security Book 1 Read online

  CONTENTS

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Teaser

  About the Author

  ** Cover photo credit: Jenn LeBlanc / Illustrated Romance

  *Cover design: Barb VanderWagon

  Edited by: Melissa Jackson

  © Annette Stephenson All Rights Reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Thank you

  Thank you Reader, for picking up this book and giving it a try. Thank you to my friends and co-workers who got to hear my word counts. Who also got to be sounding boards for ideas as they would pop in my head. Thank you Bets, your support and encouragement means the world. Lastly, thank you Keith, my wonderful husband. Your thoughts and ideas are always helpful. Your go for it, you can do this cheering on means so much. I love you.

  Chapter 1

  Eve

  “How could you not know?” he asked.

  “Why would you do this? You’re such an embarrassment! Don’t tell me you had no clue; you can’t be that stupid!” she said.

  “I didn’t know. He never did any of this around me,” I said, getting angrier.

  “You were together for ten years. You lived together for ten years. How does a husband hide something like this for ten years from a wife?” she spewed.

  “I don’t know. I’m done talking about this. We’re never going to get anywhere if you blame only me for his indiscretion.” I was sitting at my husband’s grave-site service. They were standing to my left. I didn’t need this. Why they had chosen to do this now, as the coffin was being lowered, I had no idea. Everyone who came was looking on, staring at this drama unfolding. I was sick of it. “Dad, I love you. I’ve no answers. I’m sorry.” I turned to his wife. “Stacy, I’ll never understand what my father sees in you. All you care about is you. How you look and what your status is—that’s all that matters to you. I’m done listening to you. My husband was killed. Murdered. You all care about how that makes you look. The police say it was a drug deal gone bad, yet all you care about is whether or not I knew about my husband’s drug habits. As far as I know, he didn’t do drugs. That’s all I can give you. But this should make you happy. I’m leaving. I’ve decided what I’m going to do, and I’ll no longer be around to embarrass you. I won’t contact you for anything, so please return that courtesy and don’t contact me. In fact, erase me from your life so I no longer bring you down.” I leaned back and looked at my dad’s sad face. “Dad, I’ll contact you when I can. Sorry I couldn’t be a better daughter to you—especially since I’m your only one.” I turned back to the open grave. “Now leave me in peace.”

  My dad turned and tried to get Stacy moving.

  “You’re such a bitch. I’ll be so happy not to have to deal with you ever again.” Stacy stuck her finger in my face. I wanted to break it.

  “Goodbye, Dad. I’m sorry you have to live with that horrible excuse for a human. And for all the fallout from tonight and the past month.” I still sat in my chair. I turned to Stacy. “Fuck off, Stacy. You’re a gold-digging cunt and will always be a gold-digging cunt.”

  She screamed and my dad started pulling her away. Oh, my poor dad. I said a prayer for him to have the strength to put up with her. I watched him put her in their car and drive off.

  I didn’t know why they had come. While my dad loved me and wanted to support me, his wife was another story. Stacy was my dad’s second wife. She was a socialite and couldn’t understand love and caring. My grief was beneath her. She loved being better than everyone else. She would rather I didn’t exist. I was glad they were gone.

  My husband’s boss had come with his assistant. A few of my coworkers had come. My two best friends had come; they were all I needed at this point. I was sitting in the cemetery looking on as the workers shoveled dirt over him. My best friends sat a few rows away. They would wait for me until I was ready.

  “Eve, you look beautiful today,” Mr. Durando said. His assistant had pushed him up to take the place my dad and his wife had just left. He was in a wheelchair; he looked very weak and sick.

  “Thank you, Mr. Durando. Thank you for coming today. I know you’re not feeling very well, but Danny would have appreciated you being here.” I had never liked Danny’s boss all that much, but I didn’t need any more ugliness today.

  “Oh, I could hardly stay away.” His eyes roamed my body.

  Was he really ogling me right now? I had wanted to sit for a while, thinking about all the good memories I had with Danny. That was not going to happen with him there.

  “Well, thank you for coming. I must be leaving now,” I said, turning to Charlotte and Izzy. I signaled it was time to go home.

  “Eve …” he called as I walked away.

  “Bye, Mr. Durando. Feel better.” We got into the car and Izzy drove us away. Between my grief, Stacy, and now Mr. Durando, I couldn’t concentrate enough to drive.

  I needed time to think about what I was doing next. I was ready to leave. My life as I knew it was done. I had to get my things in order, pack, and get out of my town before I lost what little sanity I had left. I needed time to think about what I was doing next. I was ready to leave. My life as I knew it was done. I had to get my things in order, pack, and get out of my town before I lost what little sanity I had left. My dad and his wife were not the only ones to ask how I didn’t know. They weren’t the only ones talking about what my husband had done. I couldn’t take it anymore. Whatever he had done, he had given me the best ten years of my life, and I was grieving and mourning that. Not looking at the rest of it. It was too much, too overwhelming, too crazy, too outlandish to even consider seriously.

  Charlotte sat in back with me and held my hand. We didn’t talk; we didn’t need to. They knew my life was changing. They supported me. The sun was setting. It was my favorite time of day. The golden hues were shining on everything the sun could touch. The foggy mist was rolling in over the fields, bringing the fresh smell of earth. I would really miss sunsets over the farm fields. I lived in a small farming town outside of Chicago. I preferred the small-town life I had. But after what had happened to my husband, I was the talk of the town. I heard whispers wherever I went. The post office, the grocery store, the gas station—everywhere. I couldn’t take it anymore. I lost all but two of my friends. And I had no idea what had even happened, besides what the police told me.

  Izzy dropped me off at home. Both she and Charlotte offered to stay with me, but they had families and needed to be home with them. I went inside and locked the door. I was so wound up from fighting with Stacy, I needed to work the energy off. I put my purse and keys on the kitchen table and tried to decide whe
re to start. I had a three-bedroom house to pack up and sell. I’d start in the guest bedroom. It had the least amount of stuff and everything in there was going to be donated. I went through the drawers in the nightstand and dresser. I threw out things I would never need again and started piling clothes for donation on the bed. I emptied the closet of Christmas items and wrapping paper. I needed to get a storage unit. I didn’t want to get rid of my Christmas decorations, but they weren’t going to go with me.

  I took the items to his office. It was filled with his collectables. I was going to ask one of his friends to help me pack his collectables so they would not be damaged. Yep, definitely needed to get a unit. I went through his desk. I found all the paperwork for our house and set it aside. I got more garbage bags and threw out the junk that he accumulated. Why did he need broken thumbtacks? Ugh, it made me laugh that he would hold onto stuff that just didn’t matter.

  It was nearing three in the morning before I finally had enough. I went to the couch and lay down. I couldn’t sleep in our bed; I just missed him too much. As soon as I got comfortable, Ollie, my orange tabby, came and laid next to me. His brother, Mouse, a light gray tabby, laid down on the floor next to the couch. I drifted off, wondering how they’d like living in a motor home.

  By the end of that week, I had the house ready to sell. The realtor said I should leave the furniture I was going to donate until the house was sold; that way it was staged and looked inviting to the potential buyers. And who knew: the buyer might even want it. I packed up my car with the cats and their stuff. My friends were coming with a truck for the rest of it. I was going to stay with Charlotte until I found my motorhome and was ready to leave. Charlotte was four years younger than my thirty-four years. She was one of the administrators at the hospital where we worked. I was a part-time clerk. I filed whatever was placed in front of me and delivered mail. Charlotte managed everyone around her. She was amazing at it, but I knew she was looking for a way to stay home with her girls. She lived about a half hour away from me. She’d never married but had two daughters. They were amazing girls and loved me like an aunt. Then again, I treated them like my own nieces.

  Izzy was our other friend. She and her husband Jack lived in the same subdivision as Charlotte. They were about ten years older than me and had three boys. Two were away at school, and one was learning to be a plumber. Izzy did my job on the days I wasn’t there.

  Jack and Izzy pulled into my driveway with their youngest son, the future plumber, in a small moving truck.

  “Hey, Eve! You ready to do this?” Izzy called as she got out of the cab. She was a tiny woman with a cute blonde bob haircut. She always seemed to bounce wherever she went.

  “Yep, I got everything right at the door. The cats are in my car already, so we don’t have to worry about them. Thanks for helping today, Jack and Chuck. I know Izzy forced you, but it really does help,” I said to the guys as they started to come up to the house to grab my boxes of stuff. I had my clothes, toiletries, some crafting items, kitchen items, pillows and linens, and a few odds and ends. Everything else I was keeping was in a storage unit near Charlotte’s house. She’d helped me organize it so she could get to anything that I might send for.

  “It’s okay. Mom promised you would make some homemade noodles for dinner, so I couldn’t pass that up.” Chuck loved pasta. I had no problem making him some pasta for dinner.

  “Oh, I see. Izzy, you’re cleaning up after dinner!” I laughed. I watched as we made quick work of loading my boxes and totes in the little truck. Just as we were finishing, the realtor came walking up the drive.

  “Hello, Eve. I wanted to bring the lockbox over so you didn’t have to drop the key off and take the pictures,” she said.

  “Oh thanks, that was very nice. We’re almost done. I just wanted to walk through once more to make sure I got everything,” I told her.

  “Sure, let’s go ahead.” She walked into the house. I followed with Izzy behind me. I walked through every room while the realtor checked the cabinets in the kitchen. Izzy checked in the guest bath. I tried to walk into the master bedroom, but I couldn’t—it was just too sad.

  “Izzy, can you check my room and bath next?” I called down the hall while I checked the other bedrooms.

  “No problem, Eve,” she said, passing me to go in there. How I had gotten my clothes out, I didn’t know. Charlotte might have helped with that.

  I walked back to the living room and found a cat toy that I’d missed under the couch. “I only found one thing. Did either of you find anything?” I asked as I righted myself.

  “Nope. Nothing,” they answered.

  I walked over to the realtor and handed her the key. “I think that’s it then. We’ll get out of your hair so you can take the pictures. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”

  “Okay. Thanks. And you will. I’m going to do an open house on Sunday and see what I get. This is such a popular area of town; it should sell fast and for top dollar. Especially with all your really nice updates,” she said.

  “Great. And thank you for noticing. I enjoyed the work.” I was very proud of my updates. I had done them all myself. My husband hadn’t been handy. Sure, he could mow the lawn, but that was about it. He’d worked at an accounting firm. He could balance the checkbook, save all kinds of money, but ask him for a flathead screwdriver and you’d get a Philips. I missed him. “Keep in touch. We’ll talk soon, I’m sure,” I said as Izzy and I walked to the door and let ourselves out. Jack and Chuck were waiting in the pickup, and my boys were waiting in the car. “Let’s go to Charlotte’s,” I said as I hopped in my car.

  About thirty minutes later, we pulled into Charlotte’s driveway. She was giving me her basement that had a guest room so I could let my boys roam without fear they would get out. Her girls had never had pets and might accidentally let my cats out. This would work for now, until the house sold and I found the motorhome I wanted. I left the boys in the car and started helping Jack, Chuck, and Izzy unload the truck and take my things to the basement. “Charlotte, Izzy promised Chuck I would homemade noodles. Can I mess up your kitchen in a little bit?” I asked her as I joined the unloading of the truck.

  “I don’t know. Were you going to make enough for everyone?” A smile lit her face. I bet she would be happy getting out of cooking a meal for a change. She was around five seven, had soft auburn hair, and piercing blue eyes. She was still slim for having two kids. When she smiled, her face could light a room. She was always immaculate and ready to manage.

  “Yes. While I don’t have any homemade sauce, I’m sure you’ve got a jar or two in your pantry?” When I made sauce, I made enough to can for all three of us.

  “I’ve got three. I’m going to miss all the goodies you make. But I’m so excited for you to go and do this,” Charlotte said. I could tell she was getting teary-eyed. It was going to be hard not to see her every couple of days, but I couldn’t stay.

  “Great. Let’s get the boys and me settled, then I’ll start dinner.” I wanted to get dinner going. I was getting hungry.

  3 weeks later

  “I found it!” I screamed. Ollie looked at me, totally offended. “Ollie, Mouse, I found our new home!” They didn’t care. They laid on the foot of the bed, trying to get back to sleep.

  I couldn’t help it. After the sale of the house, our cars, and his life insurance payout, I had more than enough to be very comfortable for a long time. How I got the life insurance payout, I’ll never know. That was something my husband had taken care of, and he must have gotten a great policy to get what I did after he was killed. I’d been looking for a motorhome that had all kinds of amenities, a range, oven, fridge, TVs, satellite, more storage than I needed, a carrier for my future scooter, heat and air conditioning, solar panels, a bed, a bath—all fitted into a twenty-four-foot motorhome. That was going to be my home. I needed the boys and myself to be comfortable for however long I was going to do this. I needed the space to cook and bake, relax and work until I figur
ed out what I wanted to do. The motorhome I’d just found had everything I wanted, and a bunk over the cab that I could catify for the boys so they would be comfortable too. I made the appointment to test drive it in an hour. Charlotte was letting me use her car as long as I dropped her off and picked her up from work. I got ready and grabbed my checkbook. I wasn’t going to let this slip away.

  “Okay, what happened?” Charlotte asked as she slid into the passenger seat of her car. She had looked at the huge smile on my face and knew something was up.

  “I made a purchase today,” I said, my smile somehow getting bigger.

  “Oh, does it have everything on your super-long list?” she asked, obviously skeptical that I would find something that would check my boxes.

  “Yes and more. All I have to do is catify and pack it, get a scooter, and stock it with food and necessities. Then off I go. It’s only the beginning of May. I’ve got plenty of time to get to Mt. Rushmore and then Yellowstone before winter thinks about coming.” I was really excited. I was going to go look at scooters tomorrow. I could pick up my new motorhome on Friday—three days from now. And within a week, I was hoping to be on the road. I was ready to go. Not that I didn’t love staying with Charlotte and her girls. I was just ready to get away from everything that was a reminder of a life I wasn’t living anymore.