Bloodlines Read Free

he and Olivia had been on the last plane to land at DFW airport. It was after midnight by the time they arrived at the estate. Exhausted from the long overseas flight, they’d ignored a stack of phone messages, a huge pile of mail and suitcases needing to be unpacked, and headed for the comfort of their beds.
    The trip had been Olivia’s gift to him for his seventieth birthday, and they’d had a ball. They’d laughed and partied all the way across Europe, and made memories he would take to his grave. This morning, as he was dressing, he’d kept thinking of how much fun they’d had and what Olivia meant to him. After his son, Michael, and daughter-in-law, Kay, had beenmurdered years ago, he’d held his only grandchild far too close to his heart. He knew that he’d sheltered her more than he should have, but it seemed impossible to be any less protective. She was all the family he had left, and if anything ever happened to her, it would be the end of him, too.
    His musing ended when he heard footsteps and then saw a flash of yellow. Moments later, Olivia came out of the kitchen.
    â€œGrampy! I didn’t know you were already downstairs. After that flight, I thought surely you’d sleep in.”
    Marcus smiled and kissed Olivia on the cheek as she threw herself into his arms.
    â€œYou didn’t,” he said.
    â€œI know, but it’s so good to be home,” she said, then added, “You smell good. Calvin Klein’s Obsession, isn’t it?”
    â€œYes, and you smell pretty darn good yourself. Oscar Meyer bacon, right?”
    As always, her laughter rocked his world. He slipped an arm over her shoulder as he led her to the breakfast room.
    â€œDid you leave any bacon for me?” he asked as he seated her at the table.
    Olivia made a face. “Why, Grampy…surely you’re not suggesting that I’m a pig?”
    â€œOh no…only that you like eating them.”
    He grinned as Rose carried in a platter of bacon in one hand and a bowl of scrambled eggs in another. The basket of hot biscuits was already on the table besidea pot of honey and a glass compote of strawberry jam. Even though there were only Marcus and Olivia to share the meal, he always insisted their meals be served in an old-fashioned, home-style manner. Despite the vastness of his wealth, the simple bowls of food reminded him of his own childhood and humble beginnings.
    â€œRose, as always, it looks marvelous and smells delicious,” Marcus said as the housekeeper poured hot coffee into their cups.
    Rose Kopecnick smiled and winked at Olivia. “Tastes good, too, doesn’t it, honey girl?”
    â€œI plead the Fifth and please pass the bacon,” Olivia said.
    â€œIf you don’t mind, I’ll help myself first,” Marcus said. “After that, it’s all yours.”
    â€œWorks for me,” Olivia said, and served herself a healthy helping of fluffy scrambled eggs while keeping a watchful eye on the bacon Marcus was putting on his plate.
    The meal progressed in silence as the first pangs of hunger were appeased, interspersed with bits of conversation later as it drew to an end.
    â€œWhat are you going to do today?” Marcus asked as he laid his napkin beside his plate.
    Olivia swallowed her last sip of coffee, then leaned back in her chair.
    â€œUnpack.”
    He smiled. “And after that?”
    â€œReturn some phone calls and sleep through jet lag. You should do the same.”
    â€œI’ll nap in the daytime when I’m too old to do anything else,” Marcus said.
    Olivia rolled her eyes. “Oh, Grampy, you’ll never be old.”
    He thought of the seventy years that were behind him while refusing to dwell on the dwindling few he had left.
    â€œMaybe not in my head, but we’ll see what my body has to say about that.”
    Olivia leaned forward and threaded her fingers through Marcus’s. Before she could speak, the