Life Changers Ch. 04

"It won't."

"Were they abused?"

"Not in the least. The twins were together with a couple who they still visit occasionally."

"Connor?"

"Who could tell? He ran away so many times that he never gave them a chance."

Ella smiled at the thought of Connor being a runaway. Somehow, she was unable to reconcile the image of the boy Margie described to the man she knew or was trying to know.

"Did he always run back to you?"

"He never ran back to me," Margie said with a smirk. "Well, one time, he showed up at my job. I was a housekeeper at the motel up the road, and he asked, no he demanded to know...everything. You cannot imagine what that was like for me. Every lie I told him, he would counter with a reason it could not be true. Nine years old and telling me why something couldn't possibly be correct."

"So what happened?"

"I told him. He's the only one that knows everything and, in the long run, he saved us."

Questions flooded Ella's mind as she heard the last three words. How? When? Who helped? While she contemplated where to start, Jack walked in with the boys. Glancing at the clock, she cringed. Too much time had been spent in conversation instead of cooking.

"So much for my first night preparing dinner," she said with a groan. "God help me to find something besides mac and cheese. Connor will never let me forget it."

"We're simple people, Ella," Margie said. "Let's raid the pantry, pick something quick and you can tell me how I can assist."

Ella searched, grumbled, complained, substituted, sighed, and finally noticed that Margie was outright laughing at her. Carrying her supplies to the kitchen, Ella dismissed her assistant to play with the kids then proceeded to make a basic dinner of spaghetti with marinara sauce. She frowned as she poured the commercial sauce into the pot. With a pantry like theirs, she should have had a better selection of ingredients. She was no gardener, so homegrown tomatoes were out, but she was definitely able to prepare a sauce that had more appeal than this mixture of ketchup and oregano.

"Is snarling at the pot one of your secret techniques?" Connor asked from the doorway.

Surprised at his presence, she wondered how long he had been watching her. If more than a minute, he had probably heard words that could be referred to as a curse being muttered over her cauldron.

"It's a little-known fact that country girls have a way with words," she replied with a shrug.

She was relieved when he smiled and moved closer to her. Before he could press her back against his chest again, she twisted around and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I know a country girl who has a way with a lot of things," he murmured against her lips.

Resisting the urge to melt against him, she broke their kiss and leaned back until she could see his face. It was a façade, but at least he was in trying to be pleasant. Moving her hand to his cheek, she gently stroked the worry lines around his eyes and mouth.

"Well, I don't know about her, but this country girl is ready to start learning some new ways."

She watched confusion add to the worry, so she scrambled to lighten the mood.

"I'm certain about this Connor. I've never been more certain in my life about anything else. So...starting tomorrow, I'm finding a grocery store and fixing this travesty known as dinner."

"It works for us," he said, leaning around her body to look at the pot. "Looks pretty good to me."

"There are better solutions," she replied as she turned to face the food, "And unless I'm expected to paint the interior of this house or some other huge project, I'm going to implement them."

"What happens if you're not here and we have to fend for ourselves?"

"Where would I be?"

"I don't know." He rested his face against her hair. "Locked in my room?"

"Then we'll implement Plan B."

"Plan B?"

"I'll have meals like lasagna prepared and frozen and I'll include labels and directions that anybody could follow."

"Plan B," he repeated. "I like it. I like it a lot. And I really like you."

"And I really like you too which is a good thing considering..."

"The wicked things I want to do to you."

"With me and I want to do with your brothers. What time do they get home?"

Connor chuckled against her back, placed a kiss on her head, and moved away. Moving through the kitchen, he collected plates, glasses, and flatware as he responded to her question.

"Scott will be here sometime late morning or early afternoon but Ryan..." he stopped with a chuckle.

"Ryan?"

"Ryan's flight was canceled and yes, we do have a second jet that we could send to rescue him but I think, and he agrees, that distance is exactly what we need right now."

"Distance from me?"

"Distance from you is the only thing stopping him from leaving the country."

"You're that angry with him?"

"Disappointed. He's angry at himself."

"Can you fix it? Is it really that bad?"

"Maybe, but it will take time. For now, our finances have been compromised and for the future, our reputation could be damaged."

"Was that the goal?"

Connor smiled although he kept his eyes averted from hers.

"Destruction would be the goal, I would guess," he answered quietly, and then cast a grin at her, "But then I have a reputation for derailing more than a few of those."

"So how long will Ryan be in exile? Should I keep an overnight bag for conjugal visits?"

"Worst case, he'll have to wait it out in a four star and be home on Saturday. But Ella?" he said, pausing as he carried dinnerware to the dining room, "Don't underestimate him when it comes to finding a way to reach you."

Dinner progressed better than she could have imagined. Everyone was so pleased with the meager offering that Ella hoped her introduction of homemade food would be received as well. Conversation lacked the humor that obviously Ryan or stories about Ryan had presented so far, but it was fluid and interesting as she learned more about the people she would now call family.

Whenever a person or business in town was mentioned, someone would quickly explain who they were and how they were related to the family, or friends of the family. After dinner, Ella wished she had recorded the conversation because, although she had participated, somewhere along the way she had lost track of who was who.

"You'll remember the ones that matter, Ella," Jack explained. "There are still some Montgomerys I can't remember. Family reunions are a pain in the ass."

"You go to the Montgomery family reunions?"

"I'm dragged to them," he said cutting his eyes toward his wife.

"I think Ella might be confused on our last names since we explained a little about our history but not all of it," Connor explained. "Jack is, in fact, a Montgomery; The Montgomery of us Montgomerys."

"What?"

"He adopted us after he married Mom,"

"Oh, so your father," she paused when Connor growled at the word, "was not."

"No," Margie explained. "My first husband was Bennett Landrum. When he passed away..."

"Passed away?" Connor interrupted with a grumble.

"Shh," Ella snapped with a wave of her hand. "Go ahead, Margie."

"Landrum was not a well received name so...well, here we are."

Something about the names and changes prompted a question in Ella's mind. She struggled as she tried to remember the detail and then it clicked. Yesterday, in the library, she had found the nameplate in the book.

"So that's why the books have the name Montgomery instead of...wait, they should have been your maiden name, right?"

"It was Richards," Margie answered without addressing the actual question.

Pursing her lips, Ella checked her glass and verified she had been drinking water instead of wine. She looked at Margie again but noticed the older woman staring at her son seeking his help.

"See that?" Connor asked with a smirk. "She tries to make a saint out of a mother fucker and then looks at me when the lies become a twisted mess."

"It's not all lies," Margie murmured and received a grumble from her son.

Ella chuckled when she realized that Jack and she were moving their heads from Connor to Margie as each spoke. Spectators at Wimbledon could not have performed better. Catching Jack's gaze, she quirked her mouth and then ventured forward.

"So is there a simple answer or is the choice limited to lies or ugly reality?"

"Simple truth is that my family owned this home and the property for generations. They lost it due to changes in the economy, ignorance, bad management..."

"It was stolen," Connor added. "Even Mom won't argue with that."

"Foreclosed," Margie corrected with a grin to her son.

"By the bank that your father owned? No, wait, by the bank..."

"That Bennett's father owned," Jack supplied with a laugh that seemed genuine. "Can you imagine that?"

"Oh," Ella whispered. "Oh...wow. Wow!"

"And it only gets worse, sweet Ella, so could we please change the conversation?" Connor asked with a wry grin.

Jack jumped in and saved her from responding with a comment about basketball. The only thing Ella understood about the sport was that a ball was bounced, aimed at a hoop and if it went in then the shooter's team got two points, maybe three, and that was where the confusion started. Taking the opportunity to be excused, she opted to clear the table and load the dishwasher. After a few minutes, she heard Margie and Jack bid their grandchildren goodnight and prepare to leave.

"Remember, Ella," Margie said as she hugged her, "I get the kids tomorrow. You just can't expect me to go cold turkey and give them up without a little fight."

Ella nodded and blushed. They both knew that the boys would be with their grandparents tomorrow because she would be with Scott. Fortunately, nothing else was said to make the moment any more awkward.

After the grandparents left, Connor suggested that he take the boys upstairs to play before bedtime and she take advantage of having some time alone. She agreed only after he promised to inform her when the boys were ready for bed. Standing in the middle of the kitchen, she looked around, mentally noting what chores she needed to do.

Within an hour, everything had been wiped down and stored away. The intercom came to life with an electrical hum that was followed by the sounds of excited children trying to communicate all at once.

"Mama!" Danny squealed.

"Bedtime," Josh added, with a series of other words she was unable to grasp.

With a slightly different routine from naptime, Ella managed to grasp the steps and help Connor put his sons to bed for the night. Standing outside their room, she waited as he checked the intercom system before leaving them alone.

"Should I be able to hear them in my room?" she whispered when he joined her.

"Not yet. Believe it or not, we were trying to give you time to adjust," he answered as he led her down the stairs. "I'll fix it tomorrow so you can monitor them as well."

When they reached the first floor, Connor hesitated before speaking.

"I hate to leave you alone but I really need to get back to work. I'll be in the office here if you need me. It's just behind the library so if..."

"Connor," she interrupted with a smile, "You don't need to entertain me or worry about leaving me alone for a few minutes. Besides, I still have clothes to hang in the closet and I need to move all of those boxes somewhere."

"Put them outside your door and I'll take them to the recycling center."

"Thank you," she replied. "Then I'll go do that and I might soak in the tub afterward. Are you sure I can't change your mind about joining me?"

"No, not really, so keep trying" he answered pulling her into his arms. "But I have it on good authority that you might not have time for a bath tonight so you may want to choose a quick shower instead."

When she frowned at him, he placed a kiss to her lips and stepped away from her.

"Oh, Ella, keep your phone with you," he said with a wink and turned away from her. "And you might want to make sure it's fully charged."

Convinced that she was doomed to a life of confusion, Ella tackled her closet and then took a shower, still unsure about Connor's advice to keep her phone close and charged. His wink had told her that it was for more than keeping an eye on her whereabouts.

Slipping into a short silk gown, obviously from the Ryan collection, she turned back the bedding and was surprised by the sound of her phone ringing. As she reached for it, she read the name of the caller and smiled.

Her confusion evaporated as Ryan introduced her to the sensual world of video chatting.