damn
sure that everyone knew it. Not that anyone believed her, they
didn't, but that hadn't stopped Janice O'Neil from bitching about
Rory since the first time Rory and Connor came to blows.
The only thing that had saved Connor from a
broken nose for all the trouble his mother caused her was the fact
that he seemed embarrassed by his mother. Again, not that she could
blame him. The woman gushed over him and treated him like a baby up
until about five years ago when she passed away. It had always been
that way. She knew it embarrassed Connor when his mother showed up
at school or at one of his games and fussed over him, making a huge
scene if someone got too close to her son on the football field. So
of course Rory made sure that his lovely mother had a front seat at
all of his games and then sat back and laughed her ass off at
him.
She turned on her flashlight and opened the
thick oak door leading to the large basement. She closed the door
behind her as she carefully navigated the old stone stairway. The
stairs were in pretty good shape, but like the rest of the house it
had been damaged over the years by wear and tear and needed a
little TLC. She was reminded of that fact several times as her foot
landed in ruts where rocks were supposed to be and she almost went
flying on her ass.
Thankfully, the designers of this basement
had the foresight to add plenty of windows so that the area wasn't
pitch black, but she still needed her flashlight to get around.
Although she knew the measurements of the entire manor by heart as
well as the layout, she still needed to look around the large
basement rooms to get a better idea of how she was going to work a
much larger state of the art wine cellar into the plans.
A half hour later she still wasn't sure how
she was going to do this without causing some serious damage to the
foundation. She looked over at the cracked plank door of what she
assumed was used as a storage room since it still had a wall lined
with old crates. Maybe she could break through that room and keep
the original spot she had planned for the wine cellar, but that all
depended on what was behind those crates. If it was stone then
she'd have to come up with something else, but if it was wood then
she'd have the space that she needed and could go up and help the
guys with the roof. She'd change the plans later tonight.
Eager to get this over with and help the
guys with the roof, she made her way over to the crooked door and
pushed it open with her shoulder. She swung her flashlight around
the damp dark room, praying that she wasn't about to have a run in
with some furry little friends or some of the eight legged variety.
When nothing came running out or dropped from the ceiling she
focused her flashlight and attention on the wood crates stacked
against what she was hoping was a wall constructed of wood.
She placed her flashlight on the floor
against the opposite wall with the beam of light pointed on the
crates. With a resigned sigh, she set to work moving the top crates
first. The crates were empty and she was able to move them quickly
and stack them on the other side of the room. When she had the
crates cleared at chest level she squinted her eyes, trying to see
what she was dealing with. She was almost positive that it was-
"This ends now," Connor suddenly said,
scaring the living hell out of her.
Rory whirled around, hand to chest, heart
pounding violently as she fought to calm her breathing. "What in
the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded, taking a deep breath to
calm herself as she looked at Connor.
The man stood in the doorway with a
flashlight in his hand and even in the dim light she could tell
that he was having a hell of a time stopping himself from crossing
the small room and throttling her. She had to give him credit,
because if she was in his place there would be no stopping the ass
whooping that he would have had coming.
"You went over the line today with that
bullshit, Rory," he said, taking a
sure that everyone knew it. Not that anyone believed her, they
didn't, but that hadn't stopped Janice O'Neil from bitching about
Rory since the first time Rory and Connor came to blows.
The only thing that had saved Connor from a
broken nose for all the trouble his mother caused her was the fact
that he seemed embarrassed by his mother. Again, not that she could
blame him. The woman gushed over him and treated him like a baby up
until about five years ago when she passed away. It had always been
that way. She knew it embarrassed Connor when his mother showed up
at school or at one of his games and fussed over him, making a huge
scene if someone got too close to her son on the football field. So
of course Rory made sure that his lovely mother had a front seat at
all of his games and then sat back and laughed her ass off at
him.
She turned on her flashlight and opened the
thick oak door leading to the large basement. She closed the door
behind her as she carefully navigated the old stone stairway. The
stairs were in pretty good shape, but like the rest of the house it
had been damaged over the years by wear and tear and needed a
little TLC. She was reminded of that fact several times as her foot
landed in ruts where rocks were supposed to be and she almost went
flying on her ass.
Thankfully, the designers of this basement
had the foresight to add plenty of windows so that the area wasn't
pitch black, but she still needed her flashlight to get around.
Although she knew the measurements of the entire manor by heart as
well as the layout, she still needed to look around the large
basement rooms to get a better idea of how she was going to work a
much larger state of the art wine cellar into the plans.
A half hour later she still wasn't sure how
she was going to do this without causing some serious damage to the
foundation. She looked over at the cracked plank door of what she
assumed was used as a storage room since it still had a wall lined
with old crates. Maybe she could break through that room and keep
the original spot she had planned for the wine cellar, but that all
depended on what was behind those crates. If it was stone then
she'd have to come up with something else, but if it was wood then
she'd have the space that she needed and could go up and help the
guys with the roof. She'd change the plans later tonight.
Eager to get this over with and help the
guys with the roof, she made her way over to the crooked door and
pushed it open with her shoulder. She swung her flashlight around
the damp dark room, praying that she wasn't about to have a run in
with some furry little friends or some of the eight legged variety.
When nothing came running out or dropped from the ceiling she
focused her flashlight and attention on the wood crates stacked
against what she was hoping was a wall constructed of wood.
She placed her flashlight on the floor
against the opposite wall with the beam of light pointed on the
crates. With a resigned sigh, she set to work moving the top crates
first. The crates were empty and she was able to move them quickly
and stack them on the other side of the room. When she had the
crates cleared at chest level she squinted her eyes, trying to see
what she was dealing with. She was almost positive that it was-
"This ends now," Connor suddenly said,
scaring the living hell out of her.
Rory whirled around, hand to chest, heart
pounding violently as she fought to calm her breathing. "What in
the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded, taking a deep breath to
calm herself as she looked at Connor.
The man stood in the doorway with a
flashlight in his hand and even in the dim light she could tell
that he was having a hell of a time stopping himself from crossing
the small room and throttling her. She had to give him credit,
because if she was in his place there would be no stopping the ass
whooping that he would have had coming.
"You went over the line today with that
bullshit, Rory," he said, taking a
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