Chapter 452

At the Denver airport, Mike stood anxiously awaiting his fiancée. Finally, he saw her with her head up and obviously searching for him as she pulled her rolling case behind her.

When the crowd cleared and she saw him, she let out a little yelp, her face lit up and she doubled her pace. As they met, she dropped the pull handle and jumped into his arms, her mouth seeking his.

A man walked by saying under his breath, “Lucky bastard.”

Mike had to agree. Marie was a little doll and she had an equally beautiful personality. I am a lucky bastard, he thought as he hugged his baby to him.

“It’s been too long,” she whispered into his ear as she deliberately pushed her breasts hard against his chest.

“Yes,” he hissed into her ear.

Finally, he set her on her feet. “Let’s get your things and get out of this madhouse.”

“I brought a lot and had to pay extra,” she advised.

“Who cares? You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

As they put everything in the Escalade, Marie turned to Mike. “Baby,” she said, nodding to the Escalade, “A Cadillac. I really appreciate the nice ride, but it have must cost a bundle to rent...”

“It isn’t rented, Hon...”

For a second, she thought he had bought it. “Oh, my...” she started before he went on.

“It belongs to the Matthews. Marie, these are wealthy people. Remember, they’re building a fortress in solid rock, and they live in this ... beautiful building they call the Retreat.”

With her safely inside the Escalade, he hurried around to get in, then leaned across the console to kiss her again, but didn’t immediately start the vehicle. When they broke the kiss, “Baby, we need to discuss a few things before we get there.”

Thinking she knew what he was going to say, “Mike, I’ll live wherever you wind up. Don’t worry about it. I told you I would go wherever you go.”

“Thanks, Sweetie, but that’s not what I meant. You see, these people, these Matthews, well they’re ... different. I mean ... Look, I’ll just say it, but please let me finish before you make a decision. Okay?”

Squeezing his hand, she stared into his face. “Mike, you’re beginning to worry me.”

“Oh, it doesn’t affect us, but you see, this Jeff person, the one who risked his own life to save Carlson and is getting me the job, well ... he has a ... number of wives, about, fifteen of them, I think.”

Marie just stared at him with a bit of a grin on her face as if she didn’t quite understand the joke. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Shaking his head, “Unh uh. You talked to his ... first wife, I think. The Clan Queen as they call her.”

“Diana,” she filled in.

“Yeah, but there’s something else, she has to be much older than she looks, and I’m almost certain that one of the women is her mother, and she looks young, too. Then there’s another young woman, Arlene, I think her name is, who looks about sixteen or seventeen, and ... she’s Diana’s daughter. Marie, uh, they’re all married to Mr. Matthews.”

Marie sat silently for a moment. “Baby,” she quietly said, “what have you gotten us into?” Then, before he could answer, “Let me get this straight. This person, this Mr. Matthews, is married to something like fifteen women, and not only that, he’s married to his mother-in-law and his own daughter? That’s ... I don’t even have a word for it. Mike, I’m not so sure I want...”

Hall squeezed her hand to get her to stop. “Please, Honey. Please, just hush. Don’t even say it. Frank Wainwright, the billionaire we hear so much about on the news, is going to give me a job, and he’s ... friends, whatever, with Jeff Matthews. Mr. Matthews has guaranteed me a job that pays more and has better benefits than the boring company job did. And ... the Matthews have offered this beautiful building for our wedding. Oh, Baby, you’re gonna love the living room where they plan to have the wedding. And ... Diana is supposed to take you to get your wedding dress first thing in the morning.”

“I know. We talked about it, but Mike, I don’t want to spend all that money ... And I’m not comfortable with what you just described.”

“They promised the wedding wasn’t going to cost us a dime,” he offered.

Marie was shaking her head and frowning. “It just doesn’t make sense. Why would they spend all that money on total strangers? Are you sure there isn’t a catch somewhere? Is this some type of commune? Are they trying to get us to take part...”

Hall was ready to panic. “No. No, Baby. Nothing like that. Look, I guess I got it in smaller doses, and a lot of other things were going on when I first realized that all those women were acting like his wives, but I promise you that once you get to know them, it won’t seem as strange. Look, didn’t you get along just fine with Diana when you talked to her on the phone?”

Marie hesitated for a second. “Well, sure, but I had no idea...”

“Please ... Just withhold judgment until you know them. Marie, they certainly seem to be caring people. And your comment about a commune, well, I guarantee that isn’t so. And you’ll agree with me once you see how they act around each other. Oh, there are other men and women at the Retreat, but Mr. Matthews’ wives are his wives, and that becomes blatantly obvious when you see how they interact. Please, for me, just wait to make up your mind until you talk to Diana and the others in person.”

Reaching over, he hugged Marie before continuing. “Let’s put this conversation on hold until we’re alone later tonight. There is some beautiful scenery to see on the way back to Matthews Mountain, so why not enjoy it while we can?”

Marie sighed, pulled him toward her and, despite the console, managed to lay her head on his shoulder for a moment.

Marie was thrilled by the scenery, but a little apprehensive on some of the curves on Highway 40 between the Interstate and Winter Park, but she was looking forward to exploring the Rockies while they were here. Not long after leaving Winter Park, they turned onto another road, then, a short time later, passed a restaurant.

“Oh, that place is nice,” Marie said as she stared out her window while they were passing.

“Jeff, uh, Mr. Matthews, apparently knows the owner. He encouraged me to take you there.”

“The sign says, ‘Martha’s Restaurant’. Not a very original name for such a nice building.”

“Who knows? We’ll give it a try if you’re game?”

They were quiet for a few moments, then, he asked, “Baby, you are going to marry me, aren’t you? I mean, you haven’t changed your mind or anything?”

She reached over and put her hand on his groin as they turned onto a smaller road. “Hush, Lover. I’m more than ready, and you should know that by now,” she replied, but just then noticed the drop-off as the road began to wind its way upward. Worried that she might distract Mike from his driving, she quickly moved her hand back to her own lap.

“I don’t like this,” she hissed while staring out the window as they negotiated yet another hairpin turn.

“Oh, Baby, you haven’t seen anything yet,” he said with a chuckle. “This is nothing. Wait until we get to their driveway.”

She made a noise, but turned to look out the window.

Finally, they were at the bottom of the drive and stopped at the gate. As Hall fumbled for his ID, the helmeted guard retracted his faceplate. “You and your fiancée are clear to go up, Mr. Hall. Have a nice night, Sir, and you too, Ma’am.”

Neither Mike nor Marie had any idea how thoroughly they and their vehicle had been scanned. As the guard stepped back, the bar rose.

The sun was hanging low over the mountains, but, nevertheless, Marie had an excellent view of what Mike had called a driveway. As the Escalade began the climb, she unconsciously shook her head.

Hall, having worked on the mountain for some time, was used to the vista, although he had only used the driveway as he left to go pick up Marie. “Don’t look down,” he advised as they came to the first switchback.

Marie had already figured that out. “Just get us there,” she hissed as she desperately tried to focus on something other than the drop into nothingness that seemed to hover far too near. She closed her eyes, but, unfortunately, she could feel the difference as the incline steepened to the accompaniment of louder sounds from the big engine as it began to fight the pull of gravity in earnest. Pulling her seatbelt tighter, she thought about praying.

“I don’t like this,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “I really don’t like this.”

“You can open your eyes now.”

Opening them, the first thing she saw was the building. It had to be the Retreat he had been almost raving about. As she sat erect, staring, he swung into the circular drive in the front so she could have a better view. Instead of stopping, though, he made the loop and turned to go on around to the back.

“We’re headed to the servant’s entrance, I assume?”

Hall chuckled. “If you’re expecting to be treated like a servant, you have a shock coming. Believe it or not, they all use the back door – at least that’s what Jeff told me. And we’re going to park inside the building in what they call the inside garage.” By then, they had climbed the short distance to the level of the back parking area. “Look there,” he said as they passed a long building on the outside of the parking lot, “They have other vehicles in there, no doubt.”

“Is that where you used to work?” Marie asked as she nodded to the fenced-in area containing the boring company trailers and equipment.

“Yeah,” he agreed, “but that’s a thing of the past, now,” he responded with a hint of bitterness in his voice. A moment later when they stopped in front of the inside garage to allow the door to finish rising, he went on about the Matthews. “They don’t have any servants. At least that’s what Jeff tells me, and according to him, they cook their own food and do all their own cleaning, too.”

“If the outside is any indication, this place is big,” Marie agreed. “Keeping it clean must be one heck of a job,” she quietly said as he parked and the garage door slid down.

After hitting the trunk release, Mike jumped out to hurry around to open Marie’s door, but she was out and met him at the back of the Escalade. As they gathered up their cases, Marie noticed a beautiful young woman hurrying down the stairs to greet them.

“Well, Mike,” Diana said as she stopped in front of Marie, “she’s every bit as beautiful as you said.” Then to Marie. “I’m Diana. Welcome to our home. Mike has been talking about you since he walked in the door, and I can see why.”

Marie put out her hand expecting to shake, but suddenly found herself being hugged, and, somehow, it felt ... right.

Diana released the smaller woman and grabbed one of the bags from Mike before saying, “You two haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Mike shook his head. “You said you would wait dinner on us. We did pick up a snack at a gas station to tide us over, but that’s all.”

“Good. We’ll drop your things off at your suite and go eat, then.”

At the top of the short stairs, Mike held the door open for the women to enter the hallway in front of him. He had told Marie how beautiful the place was, and the outside was, indeed, impressive, but, she soon realized that even the hallway was elegant.

If the hall is this grand, what will the rest of the place be?

As they dropped the suitcases off in Mike’s suite, Diana commented, “Supper is ready. My family elected to wait to eat with you two,” she told them. Then before Marie quite realized it, Diana was hugging her again while saying, “You’re welcome here – really welcome – so feel at home.”

Startled, Marie seemed to somehow sense Diana’s sincerity just as she had while talking to her on the phone.