Sudden Legacy Read Online Free Page B

answer but no words came out. Instead he looked to me for guidance. I just stood there staring back at him like an idiot. Realizing no help was forthcoming, he looked back to Alex and gave him a warm smile. “I’m Julien.” Was all he said.
    A quiet, dull tone sounded in the entryway. It was the motion sensor from the opening of our driveway, signaling a vehicle entering our property. I locked eyes with Julien, my heart thumping in panic. “What’s that?” he asked, unable to hide the urgency in his voice, no doubt as a result of what my face must have looked like.
    “It’s an alarm of sorts. It signals that a car has entered our driveway. Someone is coming.”

Julien’s expression was a convincing enough motivator for Pops to hurry into his study. I knew he was heading for the gun cabinet, and my assumption was confirmed when he returned moments later with a shotgun. Alex perked right up when he saw it.
    “We go hunting?” he asked.
    I scooped him up, holding him tightly to me until he squirmed in discomfort. “No Mama, too tight!” I eased up, but wouldn’t put him down. “Shhh, baby. Let’s play a quiet game.”
    Pops and Julien positioned themselves at either side of the front door. They had their faces pressed against the wall in order to see the approaching car as early as possible. I could hear the sound of tires on the gravel drive. From my position near the table I couldn’t see clearly out the window. Instead I watched Pops and Julien for reactions. A car door closed and Julien sagged with relief.
    “Meno male,” Julien mumbled under his breath. “It’s ok, it’s ok, I know this man.” Julien looked to Pops, asking silent permission to open the door. Pops gave a short nod, but didn’t move from his position by the door.
    Julien met the mystery man on the porch, closing the door half way. I could hear their muffled greeting to each other. They spoke in a pidgin language that sounded like a combination of French, Italian and was that Farsi ? I had no idea. Regardless, an argument sounds much the same in any language. Julien sounded exasperated. I took courage from that, because if he were in serious danger I doubted he would take the time to throw a tantrum.
    The sound of their footsteps heading back towards the car brought me to the window. Mystery Man was opening his trunk. He didn’t look goonish or scary. Quite the opposite, in fact. He looked to be somewhere in his late forties to early fifties. He was wearing a well-tailored black suit, and carried himself with certain elegance. “There’s a man,” said Alex. He had a knack for reporting the obvious.
    “Yes, baby. There’s a man.”
    Nan joined me at the window. Together we watched as Mystery Man fished around in his trunk, eventually producing a small gadget that he handed to Julien. Julien looked it over carefully. He was not pleased. He handed the device back to Mystery Man, and put his foot up on the bumper of the car, raising his pant leg and exposing a well-formed calf muscle. Nan hummed in appreciation, forcing me to hide my amused smile. You think the calf is nice - you should see the rest of him.
    Mystery Man then attached the device to Julien’s ankle, and the two men made their way back to the house.
    Pops opened the door fully as they ascended the two steps to the porch. He was still holding his shotgun. “ Signore Divoll, may I present my associate, Signore Donald Martin.”
    Pops fixed Martin with a steely glare. “What might your business be on my property, Mr. Martin?”
    Martin didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by Pops. “I came in the best interest of our mutual friend, here.” Martin nodded toward Julien, offering his hand to Pops. “I also wanted to assuage any concerns you folks may have had about the incident at your grandson’s child care facility.” He was American. After hearing his pidgin debate with Julien I had expected him to speak with an accent of some sort.
    Pops took the proffered hand