Grant Brothers: Jamie Part 13

"Yes. Much better. Thank you, Damon. I don't...you have been so...I'm sorry."

"Don't be, sweetheart. Listen, I have to talk to you after this is over. It's nothing major, but I need to speak with you about a medical issue. You can talk it over with Jamie if you want him here or not. It affects both of you anyway. I'll be in when the rest leave." Dane was suddenly afraid and Jamie must have felt it because he wheeled over to her and held her hand. His smile was a forced bright, but she was glad for it. Devin, Cait, and Agent Brownville walked it as Damon went out.

"h.e.l.lo, dollface," Devin said with a wink. "How's it going? You look a little pale. If you want to put this off for later, I'm sure the agent will understand. He heard your scream of pain so he probably knows you're hurt."

That explains why he's pale, she thought, and shook her head. "No, I'd like to get this over with. I have a new house to see to and I want to set up my practice." She started off telling him how long she'd known Market, AKA Markus, AKA Lionel, and a host of other names. Yes, she knew him from when she lived in China. No, she didn't know he was charging people tens of thousands of dollars for her help. No, she never charged anyone for anything.

"We think you might know this man." He handed her a picture. "His name is Carl Winchester. He and Market have been friends for about as long as you've know him. He was also acquainted with your mother."

"Yes. Markus told me that he had contacted my mother at some point after I fled to China.

You do realize that I was estranged from my mother for a very long time, right?" Dane handed him back the picture and had an overwhelming need to wash her hand.

"Yes. We don't know the whys, of course, but we know you have been in contact with only your maternal grandmother for the past nine and a half years until her recent death. Dr. Wallace, were you aware that Winchester was your uncle? He was your mother's brother." Shocked, Dane looked over at James. "No. I did...he said that he knew me and that I was a willful child, but I thought he meant from the last time I saw him. He was the one who...he used the whip on me both times."

"We think Market killed him. Of course we'll never know why, but we think it had to do with the...the state in which we found you in. There was no waking you and we think that Market was mad about that. We believe he had been burying the body when the chopper landed to take you here. He was surprised and when he saw you being taken away, he shot at young Grant here. Detective Grant then shot and killed him. She saved two of my men because of her quick thinking."

"I owe her a great deal myself. I don't think I'd be alive if she hadn't contacted my grandmother all those years ago. If she hadn't have intervened, my mother would have had me put away and probably eventually killed. My mother wasn't thrilled to have me as a daughter."

"Can't understand that, you know? Children are the way of the world. Have seven of my own. Well, Dr. Wallace, I don't have anything else unless you want to tell me why Market kidnapped you in the first place. Mr. Grant here, your attorney, told me his theory. Now why don't you tell me yours?"

Dane looked at Devin and at his small nod, she reached into his mind. It was right here in the front for her to see and she took it. But the small little detail that had been bothering her was there too. She burst out laughing.

"Ma'am?" The agent looked perplexed, and she smiled at him.

"I have just inherited a great deal of money and I think he might have heard about it. I had told Markus, or Market, that I was quitting and he may have taken it hard. I was helping him figure out some missing children cases and he a.s.sumed I would continue."

"And that's funny to you? I'm sorry, I don't understand." She could see that he didn't. "We know he threatened you about coming to help him, but what made you so important?"

"I think he had it in his head that I was some sort of mind reader, if you can believe that.

Some people will believe anything, won't they? Even going so far as to put babies all over someone so that they can have good touches to make them feel better. Isn't that right, Caitlynne?"

"Worked, didn't it?" Cait mumbled. Devin burst out laughing and James was crus.h.i.+ng a pillow in his face to hide whatever he was doing. Shaking his head, the agent left.

Cait helped Dane stand up for her ten minutes and they hugged. Careful of the fresh wounds, the women held each other very tightly and cried softly. Devin pulled out his cell phone and snapped a picture.

"No one believes you have a heart down at the station, Cait. This way, I can charge them to see that you do. I bet they still won't believe it, but I can make a quick buck." Laughing, he avoided her slap and reached for her briefcase. "I've been busy, little miss billionaire. I've opened all the accounts in your name and I've had all the utilities switched over to both yours and Jamie's names. I hope that is all right. I have credit cards for you to use and I also went ahead and put Pi's name on one."

"Good, she'll need it. And the other thing, you have it done too?" Dane had called Devin from the mall right before she had been taken.

"Yes. Here, Jamie. It's a pre-nup. It basically says that everything she has is now yours. The house, the money, everything that you purchase as a couple, and everything you purchase separately is now half yours."

Jamie looked at the paper and then at Dane. "You can't do this. This isn't right. This is your money."

"No, it's ours. You take me, you take all of me. Including Pi." She smiled at him. "She's part of the deal too. We are a pair. Can you deal with that?"

"Yes, but this isn't necessary. You could have just said it. There was no need to draw up any kind of paperwork."

"Actually, there is. If anyone ever comes along to contest her grandmother's will, you will be someone else they'll have to argue with. This makes good business sense. And it gives you shared responsibility too. How you two work it out behind closed doors is fine, but this is legal.

That's all I have for now. I have some other things we'll need to go over later when you're feeling better. And after you're married, there'll be a few more things, but for now, you're okay."

Devin got up to leave after Jamie signed the doc.u.ment. Cait helped Dane stand again and then she left too. Jamie still looked shocked, but he seemed okay with it. Damon walked in a minute or two later.

"Okay. I called your doctor in China. Dr. Carlton, do you remember him?" She did, but not all that well. "He was out of Beijing. Pi was almost helpful in finding him. She kept calling him 'Cutty-town.' Took me forever to figure it out. Anyway, I called him after you were brought in.

He sent me your records." He flopped down on her bed as he spoke.

"He was the doctor that I saw when Nathan and I got married. He did a physical on us both.

Mrs. Wallace, Nathan's mother, said it was to make sure I wasn't bringing any diseases to her son."

"Right." Damon grinned. "That's what he said too. Did you ever get in touch with him afterwards or even after the divorce?"

"No. I...we went forward with the wedding, so I figured everything was all right. I didn't see any reason to contact him. Why?" She didn't like his look. He looked like he was going to impart some news, and she was sure she didn't want to hear it.

"Here, read this. It was part of the file he sent over." She took the paper and started reading.

It was in Chinese so she didn't read it out loud.

"I don't understand why I would care about how I could adopt now. Nathan and I aren't even married anymore. Why are you doing this?"

"Oh dear. Wrong section." He s.h.i.+fted through the file and handed her another sheet. "I meant to give you this one."

Dane read it and looked up sharply at Damon. "Is this true?" Then she looked at Jamie.

"Yes. He was surprised when he read it in the paper after your very public divorce and had tried to reach you, but you had moved without a forwarding number. He said he mailed you several letters, but I'm thinking maybe your ex-husband waylaid them." Damon smiled at her.

"Honey? What is it? What's it say?" She handed Jamie the paper. It didn't occur to her that he couldn't read it until he said so.

"It says that Nathan is sterile." Dane looked down at the sheet of paper again. "That due to an infection as a child that left him with a very high temperature, his sperm count is zero. He couldn't get me pregnant, not that I couldn't get pregnant. He told me I was sterile. That I couldn't get pregnant. Nathan never told me it was because of him." Jamie looked confused. She was sure it would come to him soon. And when it did, he hurt himself trying to get up from the chair.

"Then we can have a baby? Our own? That's wonderful news, isn't it?" She smiled at him and nodded her head. Neither of them could move together much, so they held hands and kissed.

"Well, that's not technically true." Damon told him with a laugh. "You see when you came in, they did a battery of tests. I didn't want to take the chance that he shot you up with something and not find out until you were in the operating room. Good thing too. We could keep the more dangerous meds out of your system. Congratulations, you're going to have a baby. I'd say from the size of your uterus, you're about four weeks gone. Gives you a due date the same as Morgan."

"Holy cow, a baby. We're having a baby. We have to get married right away," Jamie said with a smile.

"I'd say so, yes." Damon didn't move, but still looked odd. He still looked like he had something important to say. Or something he wanted Jamie to say.

Jamie sobered quickly. "Holy s.h.i.+t, Mom is going to kill me."

"Oh yeah. That's a definite." Then Damon burst out laughing.

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About the Author.

I woke up one morning and decided to give play time to the people in my head who were keeping me awake. Little did I know that they would be so relentless and want their time right now! I wrote for the pure joy of it and to entertain my family and friends. But mostly it was to get more than an hour of sleep without a story playing out. Of course, the more I write, the more they want. So...well, as a result of sleepless days (I work through the night as a gun toting grandma nope not a vigilantly but an armed security guard) I have lots of stories written.

h.e.l.lo! My name is Kathi Barton and I'm an author. I have been married to my very best friend Sonny for at times seems several lifetimes in a good way, honey. And together we have three wonderful children and then the ones we brought into the world - Paul and Dale Barton, Jason and Wendy Barton and Danielle and Ben Conklin. They have given us seven of the greatest treasures on Earth. They don't live at home seven days a week! No, seriously, seven grandchildren Gavin, Spring, Ben, Trinity, Sarah, Kelly and Kian.

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