Chapter 8: The Shaws
I cried myself to sleep. It wasn’t the first time in my life, but it was the first time my tears were over a man.
My feelings had been crushed when Grey sent me back to my own bed. But I suspected the reason for his actions had to do with the secret he was keeping from me, his vow to my father, and Grey’s enormous sense of honor.
It felt so right to be in his arms, as if we were two halves of something magical that was now being brought back together. I couldn’t let him just throw away something so beautiful, not without a fight.
When I woke up the next morning, I made my own vow.
Grey cared about me. He felt the same attraction toward me that I felt for him. I would discover the secret that was tormenting him and help him overcome whatever was keeping us apart.
It was after ten o’clock when I entered the kitchen. I heard a vacuum cleaner somewhere on the first floor of the house and knew Lily was hard at work. After grabbing a glass of orange juice, I followed the sound.
I found her in the library, vacuuming the carpet. She saw me and switched the machine off.
“Good morning, Emma,” she chirped. The girl was perpetually cheerful. If I didn’t like her so much, it would be annoying.
“Good morning, Lily,” I said with more zest than I felt.
I looked up at a portrait mounted over the fireplace. The artist had captured the images of an attractive couple, standing in front of a fireplace that looked much like the one below their portrait.
The couple were holding hands and laughing into each other’s eyes. From their clothing and hairstyles, I’d guess it was painted sometime in the 1950’s.
“Is that my grandparents?”
“Yep, that’s them: Charles and Donna Taylor. They died before I was born. I think sometime in the early nineties. But I’ve heard such nice things about them from my mom.” Lily looked at me and then at the portrait. “Your aunt was right about you looking like your grandma.”
I studied the portrait and realized it was true. I bore a striking resemblance to the woman in the painting. It was a little eerie to see someone long dead who looked just like me.
“Grey stopped in for coffee this morning,” Lily said. “He asked about you.”
“I was tired and slept in,” I said and sipped my juice. “That bed is so comfortable.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Lily plumped the pillows on a plush, velvet couch. “Anyhow, I told Grey I was going to be too busy to give you your swimming lesson today. So, he said to tell you he would be glad to do it if you can be at the pool by one o’clock.”
“That’s great, thanks,” I told her.
I was excited at the thought of spending time with Grey. But the tankini I wore yesterday to swim with Lily wouldn’t do today. Yet, I didn’t want Grey to know I was fretting over my appearance for a swim lesson.
“Hey, Lily,” I said. “Would you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Lily agreed with a smile.
“I’d like a different swimsuit to wear today. Could you grab me a few from the pool house to try on?”
Lily came back from the pool house without Grey catching her and handed me a stack of swimming suits that looked as if they would fit me. I wanted to try them on in my bedroom and choose the one that looked the best.
After eating a sandwich to quiet my noisy stomach, I tried on several suits before settling on an aqua bikini. I covered it with a huge t-shirt, slipped my feet into sandals, and went outside to wait on the patio until Grey showed up at the pool.
He came out of his cabin a few minutes early. I watched him walk to the pool, admiring his incredible body in blue swimming trunks. He gave me a wave and I joined him at the gate to the pool area.
“Ready to swim?” he asked and opened the gate for me. He studied my expression as I passed by without giving him a glance.
“Emma.” He sighed and rubbed the beard stubble on his chin. “Look … I’m sorry about last night. It wouldn’t be right for me to take advantage of you. We became reacquainted only a few days ago.”
I sauntered over to a lounge chair and pulled the t-shirt over my head.
“Forget about it,” I told him and made a show of tying my hair in a high ponytail before flashing him a smile. “I’m ready,” I said.
The look of admiration on his face made my smile grow even wider.
Grey got into the water with me at the shallow end of the pool. His hands on my body were a pleasant distraction as he held me afloat while I practiced the different swimming strokes he suggested.
Even with my level of inexperience, I could tell by the tone of his voice and the way his hands glided over my body that he was enjoying the lesson as much as I was.
Then he pulled me to the deeper end of the pool to show me how to tread water. But I kept sinking.
Each time he pulled my head above the surface, we would laugh at my inability to stay afloat.
Finally, he towed me to the side of the pool, and we clung to a ladder to talk.
“You’re doing well,” he told me. “You just need more practice.”
“I swim really well under the water,” I said. “I made it ten feet and found the pool’s edge the last time.”
He let out a hoot of laughter. “Swimming underwater won’t keep you from drowning, sweetheart.”
“Sweetheart,” I repeated and let go of the edge of the pool.
Grey pulled me back to the surface, and I clung to his broad shoulders. Our eyes locked a moment before our lips met in a gentle kiss that quickly turned passionate.
The rest of the world faded away as his tongue began to explore my mouth and his hands roamed my body.
But we weren’t going to be allowed to enjoy each other in peace.
“Hey there, Grey,” a man’s voice boomed through the air. “Who’s your friend?”
“She’s awful pretty,” another man said with a snicker.
Grey spun in a circle to size up the intruders and pulled me against his chest. “What are you boys doing here?”
“Awww, now, that ain’t a nice way to talk to guests,” another man said.
I wiped water from my eyes and saw four men dressed in ragged jeans, standing on the cement skirt on each side of the swimming pool. They appeared to be around the same age as us, but they looked rough. They all needed a shave, a hairbrush, and a bath.
“Yeah, Grey,” the fourth man added. “Ain’t you gonna introduce us to your new girlfriend?”
“Nope,” Grey replied. He put two fingers to his lips and let out a long, loud whistle.
Within seconds, five other shirtless young men emerged from the woods. They moved quickly to surround the pool outside of the fence. They were all in better physical shape and had better hygiene than the other four men. But why had they been hanging around in the woods, waiting for Grey’s signal? I hated all these secrets!
“Yeah, we’ll go,” the first man snapped. He pointed a dirty finger at me. “But first I wanna tell her something.”
The intruder’s black eyes glared at me with a hatred I never saw in anyone before. Yet his eyes were strangely familiar. I’d seen eyes exactly like his before. They made me shiver with fear.
“Your mama caused a lot of problems around here in her day, and we won’t put up with any more from the likes of some half-breed b*tch. You’d be real smart to leave this place and take your boyfriend with you.”
Grey climbed the ladder, pulling me from the water with him. He rushed me to the pool house and pushed me inside. “Lock yourself in,” he commanded.
My hands shook as I turned the deadbolt on the door.
Immediately, my legs began shaking and there didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the room. My head spun, and I fell to the floor as I heard the terrified screaming of a woman once again.
That’s where Grey found me a few minutes later.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the house. When I peeked over his shoulder at the pool area, I saw all the men were gone.
“Who were they?” I asked as Grey put me down and helped me into a chair. “I’ve seen black eyes like his before.”
“That was Alec, Zane, Knox, and Axel Shaw,” Grey replied. “They have a crazy father named Wade who thinks he should oversee things around here. But he’s too cruel and stupid to be in charge of anything.”
“Why do they hate me?” I took the towel Lily offered me. I was shivering.
“It springs from jealousy that their father felt toward yours.” Grey draped the towel over my shoulders. “They’ve been taught nothing but hate, especially, for your parents since they were old enough to walk.”
Grey rubbed my back. “Wade Shaw, is a mean and petty old man who was jealous of your father and everything he had. His odious offspring are carrying on that tradition into this generation.”
“What did they mean when they called me a half-breed?” It made me sound like a dog.
“They’re just mean and spiteful, Emma,” Grey said. “They enjoy spewing hateful names at people. Those type of words are a big part of their vocabulary.”
“You knew they would come after me, didn’t you?” I wrapped the towel more tightly around me. “The Shaws are what has been in the woods that you’ve been worried about.”
“Yes,” Grey admitted. “They’ve been watching Denhurst, watching you. That’s why I’ve been keeping my … um, friends close by. I knew the Shaws would pull something soon.”
He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace the room. “But they’re right, Emma. You would be a lot safer somewhere else. I couldn’t handle it if anything happened to you.”
I stood and wrapped my arms around Grey's neck and pressed my body to his. “I’m not afraid of them. They’re just bullies, and I refuse to let them win. Denhurst is now my home, and I’m not going anywhere.”