This story is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to person's living or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental.
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Mark Stevens
I would like to welcome my previous as well as hopefully new readers back to enjoy this story. However, should you have not read any of the Porterville books before you should do so
- Porterville 2. Murder in Porterville 3. Silver Candlesticks
All three stories are stand alone, however, a lot of the same characters from the first book return for more adventures.
To my old readers: Welcome back. To my new ones, welcome aboard.
Please feel free to write me with any thought you might have. Please keep comments positive. I already have an editor that keeps me walking the line. Ha ha. You can email me at:
jetdesk2@yahoo.com
Chapter Two
The next morning Britt and Devon were sitting at the table enjoying their morning coffee. Britt set his cup down and looked at the man across from him. His heart filled with love as he remembered the night before.
Seeing the look on Britt's face, Devon asked, "What's that look for? What did I do now?"
"Thinking about last night."
A grin appeared on Devon's face. "Are you referring to the hot sex we shared?"
"Oh, that. Sex with you is always hot," Britt assured him.
The grin disappeared on Devon's face. "Then what?"
"I certainly hope it wasn't just a dream I had."
"A dream? What sort of dream was it, Britt?"
Britt picked up a section of the newspaper. "That's okay. If it was just a dream it really doesn't matter."
Devon pushed his chair away from the table and stood to his feet. He walked to Britt's chair and pulled the paper out of the man's hand. He pulled Britt to his feet.
"It was definitely not a dream, Babe," he whispered. "I asked you to marry me, and I meant what I said. I can't think of anything else I would rather do than share my life with you. I love you with all my heart, Britt Williams."
Britt leaned over and kissed Devon on the lips. Then pulling back, he said, "I love you. I can't even picture my life without you in it."
"As much as I would love staying here with you, duty calls," Devon said. "I have a meeting in an hour. I need to get to the plant early and make sure I have everything I need. What are your plans today?"
Britt shrugged his shoulders. "Mainly to work on the outline of my new book."
Devon carried his cup to the sink. "How's that coming along?" he asked.
"Very slow. It's not falling into place the way it usually does."
"Take a break," Devon advised. "That might help you get started."
"What? Have the good people of Porterville say I'm not carrying my share of the load? I think not."
Devon stopped in his tracks. "Don't ever let me hear you say anything like that again. What I have belongs to you the same way it belongs to me. Besides," he added with a grin, "you always carry your load. Same as I carry yours."
Britt kissed his lover and watched him leave the room. He stood in front of the window over the sink and watched as Devon drove off in his car. As he turned away from the window, he saw Edna and Wallace coming up the stairs from their living quarters. The couple had showed their loyalty by moving with Devon and Britt to the cabin.
"Good morning, Edna. Wallace," he greeted.
Britt hurried out of the room and headed up the stairs. One of the large bedrooms had been turned into an office shared by both him and Devon. Britt sat down at his desk and opened up his laptop. He had managed to write a partial outline early on. He read the words, his fingers tapping at the keys lightly, but nothing came to him. No matter how hard he concentrated, his mind remained blank.
Britt finally closed the computer. Devon's words echoed in his mind.
"Take a break," Devon had said. "That might help you get started."
Britt stood to his feet. Maybe Devon was right. Perhaps a break would help. He decided to call and invite Alice out for lunch. However, when he made the call, Alice didn't answer. When he heard her voicemail greeting, Britt ended the call.
Unable to reach Alice, Britt decided to drive into town and see his mother. If she wasn't busy, he would take her to lunch.
When Britt pulled into his mother's driveway, he saw Alice's car parked at the curb. He hurried up to the door and stuck his head inside.
"Hello," he called. "Anyone home?"
He found his mother and Alice sitting at the table in Catherine's kitchen.
He greeted them both with a smile.
"What are the two of you up to?" Britt asked.
Catherine looked over the top of her reading glasses. "Contrary to what you may think, I do share my recipes. Especially with people that I love," she added giving Alice's arm a pat.
"I stand corrected," Britt replied.
"What's up with you?" Alice asked. "I thought you would be working on your new book."
Britt pulled a chair out and joined the two. "I'm having a hard time putting things in place. Devon suggested that I take a break, and I'm taking him up on it. If you two don't have any plans for lunch, I'd like to take you out for a meal."
His mother looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall. "You do realize that it's not even ten o'clock yet?"
"I know," her son answered with a nod. "I wanted to invite you before you had time to make other plans."
"Recipes are the only thing on our agenda today," Catherine Williams said. "You might want to find something to do for a couple hours."
"I might. Or I could just sit here watching the two of you sift through all those note cards," he decided.
Catherine handed another card for Alice to type on her laptop. Looking at her son, she said, "The whole town is still buzzing over Devon's decision to turn his family home over to the city of Porterville. That was such a generous gift to the city."
"Several reasons, Mom. First of all, Devon doesn't have many good memories living there. Another thing, why should two people live in such a mansion when there are so many uses for it and for the town?"
Looking up from her laptop, Alice said, "It takes a fortune to keep the place up. I am really proud of my brother, not only for donating the mansion, but also for providing for its upkeep. The trust he set up should always be enough to meet the expenses. That and the fee the city is going to charge to hold events there," she added.
"Your brother is such a sweet man," Catherine remarked.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Mom," Britt said.
Catherine wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm so thankful that our little family is growing." Looking at Alice, she said, "I consider you and Devon my children, and I love you both. And I feel the same way toward Brian as well," she added.
Britt stood up from the table. He walked around the room and gave both of them a kiss on the cheek.
"I think everyone knows how I feel." Looking at the watch on his wrist, he said, "I think I'll leave the two of you to work on your project for now. I'll be back around noon and pick you up for lunch."
Britt backed out of his mother's drive and slowly made his way downtown. He had no idea where he was headed. He had a couple of hours to kill, and he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to accomplish that.
As he reached the town square, his cell phone rang. Britt pulled into a parking space and answered the call.
It was Alice.
"Where are you?" she asked.
He told her, and she asked, "Can you do me a favor?"
"What's up?"
"Kathy Applebee called. She wants me to meet her at the mansion. Something about the reception. I don't have my key with me. Do you?"
"I do. Why don't I come pick up you and Mom? We can meet her in a few moments."
Britt ended his call and backed his car away from the curb. It seemed his need to kill a little time had been taken care of. Alice and his mother were waiting outside and walked to the car as he stopped in the drive.
"Sorry about this, Britt," Alice apologized. "If I had known, I would have made sure to have my key with me."
"Don't mind at all. This should keep us busy until lunch time," Britt said as he backed out of his mother's driveway and took off down the street.
When Britt came to the entrance of the McKenzie mansion, he turned off the highway and made his way slowly toward the home he had shared with Devon for the last year or so. It had never really seemed like home to him, and as he saw it appear in front of him, he realized how happy he was living with Devon in the cabin out near Porterville Lake.
As if reading his mind, Alice asked, "Do you miss living here, Britt?"
"Probably about as much as you do," he answered.
"Oh, I'm very glad to be back in my own bedroom, living in the house where I grew up," Alice assured him.
Britt pulled into the circle drive and parked beside another car. The vehicle belonged to Kathy Applebee, the woman who was in charge of Alice and Brian's wedding reception.
As they got out of the car, it was Catherine who greeted the woman standing beside the second car.
"Hello, Kathy."
"Hi, Catherine." The woman turned to Alice and said, "I am so sorry to be such a bother, Alice. It's just that we're getting really close to your wedding date, and I've yet to see where you are having your reception."
"It's no bother, Miss Applebee. Catherine was just sharing some of her recipes with me."
"Good for you. Catherine is the best cook in Porterville," Kathy Applebee praised.
Catherine was a little embarrassed. "Nonsense. You're the best cook around. Just ask anybody in town. Especially the church people," she added.
"And please, call me `Kathy'." This was directed toward Alice.
"Shall we go inside?" Britt pulled a key ring from his pocket.
He unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow the women to enter.
Kathy took in the surroundings around her. "I don't think I have ever been inside this place. Alice, I can already tell this is going to be a beautiful location to hold your reception. It's absolutely gorgeous."
Alice led the way to the drawing room, now identified as "The Great Hall" by a sign over the door.
"I see that the mayor and his council people have already made some changes," Britt said pointing to the sign.
"I can't believe that your partner just turned all of this over to the city of Porterville," Kathy remarked.
"That's just Devon being Devon," Catherine spoke up.
"My brother is something else," Alice praised.
"And what a story the two of you have," Kathy said. "I remember when the town discovered that you and he were actually siblings. That was quite a story."
"We owe everything to Britt," Alice said.
"Yes. Well, shall we look around and see what we have? I don't want to take up any more of your time than I have to."
Kathy Applebee suddenly become all about business and dropped the small talk. They were in the "Great Room", and she began piecing things together in her mind, giving suggestions to Alice.
Britt left the women to their "thing" and went through some of the other rooms. He discovered several more changes that the city had made, and he was glad. He loved Devon with all his heart, but he had never been comfortable living behind these walls. One reason was that Britt didn't like the idea of living in the place where he had discovered the body of Devon's mother. Elaine McKenzie had been in full control of everything concerning the McKenzie family, including Devon, for years. When Britt had come into Devon's life, the woman had tried her best to come between the two men. However, the love Devon began feeling for Britt Williams was strong enough to help him pull away and start a life of his own. The McKenzie relationship had gone only downhill after that.
An hour or so later, Alice and Catherine found him wandering around in the library. He had grown tired of walking through the rooms in the mansion and had settled in the one room where he actually was comfortable. The library had shelves on two sides of the large room. Books went from the ceiling all the way to the floor on each section.
Britt returned a book to the shelf. "Let's go eat," he said.
It was while they were eating at one of the favorite places on the square that Britt's cell phone rang for the second time that day. This time, his caller was Brian Poteet.
"Hey, Brian, what's up?" Britt greeted.
"Where are you now?" Brian asked.
"Actually I am enjoying a date with two very beautiful women. My mother being one. Your fiancé is the other."
"Should I be jealous? I don't have anything to worry about, do I?"
A grin appeared on Britt' face. "Did I switch teams and not know it?"
He heard Brian's laugh on the other end. "You're a turd, Britt Williams."
"Well, I was just wondering. That's all."
"I really don't think you have any worries, my friend," Britt added.
"Say, Britt, do you have a moment to drop by my office sometime this afternoon? There's something I want to run by you."
"I can definitely do that. When we're done here, I'll drop the ladies off and come see you."
"That would be great. Now, if you please, may I speak with Alice."
Britt handed his telephone across the table to Alice. "Somebody with the last name of Poteet would like to speak with you."
When they finished their meal, Britt paid for it and drove his mother and Alice back to the Williams home.
"Are you coming in?" his mother asked as the car came to a stop.
"Nope. I have another appointment. Brian asked that I come by and see him about something.
Catherine Williams looked hard at her only son. "You're not getting mixed up in anything are you?"
"Not to my knowledge," he answered his mother.
"I know how you are," she pressed on.
"That I love you? Of course I do, Mom. I'll see you women later. Thanks for the company."
"Thank you for driving us out to the mansion," Alice said.
"No problem. Goodbye, ladies."
Britt backed out in the street once more, this time heading for the Porterville police station. He parked in front of the building and hurried inside.
A woman Britt had never seen before rose from a desk behind the counter and greeted him.
"May I help you?"
"I'm here to see Brian Poteet," he answered.
"One moment please. I—"
Brian Poteet walked up to the counter. "Thanks for coming, Britt. Let's step into my office."
A moment later Britt found himself standing in Brian's new office. Looking around the room, he said, "I don't think I've ever been in here before."
Brian told him to have a seat. "Maybe that's because I wasn't chief of police the last time you were in this building," Brian pointed out.
"On that topic—sort of—I want you to know when Mom found out I was coming to see you, she gave me the third degree. It seems she thinks you might be involving me in something dangerous."
"Oh, I have a very dangerous favor to ask of you," Brain said as he perched on one corner of his desk.
"I'm all ears." Britt leaned forward in his chair.
"Well, Britt, it's like this. I need a big favor. It seems that something is going on in town the weekend that Alice and I are going to be married. My dad has checked both motels, and there are no rooms available. Could I possibly impose on you and Devon by asking if he could stay in your guest room? I hate to ask, but I don't have any choice. He's coming from Little Rock. My apartment is hardly big enough for me, let alone two people.
"Brian, it would be no imposition at all. Your father is more than welcome to stay with us. God knows we have plenty of room."
"You do remember that you no longer live in the McKenzie mansion, right?"
"I remember. Still, we have plenty of room. When will your dad be arriving?"
"The day before the wedding. That Friday, to be exact."
"That'll be good. You remember that Devon and I are hosting a rehearsal dinner that evening, right? It will give us a chance to spend some time with him."
"I anxious for you guys to get to know him."
Britt was thoughtful a moment as he looked down at the floor. "Isn't your dad with the police department in Little Rock?"
"He was. He retired last year. I think he does a little detective work now and then. Mostly, however, he's retired. He does a lot of fishing."
Britt did have one concern about his house guest. "Brian, I don't want to offend you, but I have to ask. Not knowing the man, will your dad be comfortable staying with Devon and me?"
"Because you're so rich?"
"First of all, I am not rich in any way. You know what I'm referring to."
Brian stood to his feet. "Britt, you have no worries where Dad is concerned. He already knows about you and Devon. I've told him how much the two of you love each other. You will have no problem with him, I can assure you."
"Like I said, not to offend you. I just wanted to make sure he knew what sort of situation he was getting into."
The telephone on Brian's desk rang, and he reached for it.
"Brian Poteet," he said into the mouthpiece. He paused and then said, "I need to take this, Britt. Thanks for stopping by. I'll give Dad a call this evening and fill him in on the plans."
"Catch you later, Brian. Good talking with you."
Britt left the police station and drove back to his mother's home. He was going to make sure she knew Brian hadn't involved her son in anything dangerous. Other than having a retired police officer in his home for the weekend, that is.