Chapter 1 A Peek into the Past
"You seem lost in thought, at least a million miles away."
Laci smiled at Marian's statement. "Yes to lost in thought and no to the million miles. Only a few yards actually. I'm thinking about Donovan."
"Where is my cousin? Working as usual? Victor took the boys to the park and asked Donny to go but he said he had work to do. I suppose I'm not the one to talk but there is more to life than working. Victor has taught me that. I think you and Matthew have also taught Donny that although he seems to forget sometimes."
They were sitting in Marian and Victor's comfortable living room. One of Laci's feet was propped on an ottoman in front of the chair, her ankle wrapped with an ace bandage.
"He's getting caught up on everything he didn't do while you and Victor were on Kalake. Neither of us expected that I was going to trip over Virgil and sprain my ankle. Donovan had his hands full between taking care of Matthew and Jeremy plus looking after me and not asking for help for any of it. I am incredibly proud of him. Not long ago he wouldn't have known where or how to start and he would have been on the phone demanding help. Instead he just did what had to be done without thinking twice. He was quite remarkable."
"How is your ankle?" Marian asked.
"Much better, almost 100%, although Donovan still isn't letting me do anything. I'm hoping he'll take some time to rest now that you and Victor are back. I don't think I've ever seen him so tired."
Marian settled in the chair across from Laci. "I'm not sure my cousin knows how to rest. He teases you about never learning the meaning of the word submissive but he's just as bad when it comes to taking time off, resting, relaxing. Those words don't have a very large place in his vocabulary. I think our family background is largely responsible for both of us turning into extreme workaholics."
"Donovan doesn't talk about the past. He's told me quite a lot about his time in college, when he started his business, wanting to become a Dominant, but the times before that he almost never talks about. I keep thinking there are things he doesn't want to recall."
Marian considered Laci's statement. "I can't say that either of us don't want to remember. It's more that there isn't much worth remembering. Neither of us had siblings but it wasn't as if we were neglected or unloved and it certainly wasn't anything like you experienced with your parents. It was all very commonplace, very mundane. If you can call having enough money to fund a small nation mundane."
"He also doesn't talk very much about money, not the family money or his own."
"Probably because he saw what happened over time. The Corbetts started making money during the mid-1800's. The ancestors were in the right place, at the right time, and were able to start several industries that were more than lucrative. For the next hundred or so years the Corbetts worked hard and earned a huge amount of money. Somewhere during the mid-1900's they decided to work less and start spending their hard earned money. The problem was, as time went on, it all became very excessive."
"Donovan has said he never wanted for anything when he was younger. He's torn between giving anything and everything to Matthew and making sure he's not spoiled."
"He saw what having anything and everything did to his parents and mine and the rest of the family. Excessive might not have been a strong enough way to describe it. The family businesses will always make money but at some point the spending became exorbitant. Eventually it all became almost unconscionable. It wasn't just living the good life. It was destructive. Drinking. Drugs. Promiscuity. Gambling. Taking risks, almost suicidal chances. From what I know, there were times when the lifestyle of the Corbetts skirted hedonism. Donny and I lived it too, mostly because it was all we knew, although we never took it quite to the extreme as other members of the family."
"Donovan never described it quite so strongly."
"Donny's father and my father were brothers. They both worked for a time in the family businesses but they both spent money the way other people drink water. Our city homes were big enough but the country estates were massive. No joke, I had a closet about as big as the average home. My parents gave me everything. Donny's were just as bad. He had three cars before he was old enough to drive."
"Three cars? No wonder Donovan doesn't want to spoil Matthew."
"Exactly, but we thought everyone lived the same way. We didn't know any differently until we got older and wiser and started looking beyond the money. I'm making it sound terrible but it really wasn't. Our parents were there for every Christmas but the trees were decorated by professional decorators and it took about three days to open all the gifts that were purchased by personal shoppers and wrapped by some minion in some store. By the time we finished opening the last few gifts, we couldn't remember what the first few gifts were. It was the same with birthdays. They were never, ever forgotten and there was always a huge cake and far too many gifts to really mean anything. Donny had a good relationship with his parents but he was almost closer to my father than to his own. I had a good relationship with my parents but I spent hours with Donny's mom. It's a shame none of them lived long enough to see their children grow up or meet their grandchildren. As for the other relatives, the aunts, uncles and cousins, they just keep repeating the same mistakes, never earning anything, spending as much money as they can, drinking more than is necessary, everything excessively."
"So, I guess there aren't any relatives Donovan would want to be reunited with, the way he reunited me with my father."
"Not one. It sounds a little cold, but he probably mourned my father more than his own. My dad loved gambling and horseracing and his stables. He owned some incredible horses and he and Donny would ride on the estate. The place was so massive they'd be gone all day. Donny used to ride a huge white stallion named Wycliff. Usually white horses aren't completely white, but Wycliff was pure, snow white. He seemed to lose interest after dad died which is probably why he doesn't like the ranch, although the estate was all wide open meadows, miles of emerald green grass and groomed riding paths. None of it was dirty or dusty. Dad and Donny would race across one of the meadows, their hair blowing in every direction. Donny was always a serious kid but that was about the only time he looked carefree. He looked carefree when he was riding or driving his little roadster. I have some pictures." Marian got up and went over to a cupboard and pulled out a photo album, flipping through the pages. "Here." She handed it to Laci. "His pride and joy. An antique Jaguar. He loved that car until just before he graduated college and decided he needed to be serious and responsible. Also about the same time he became a Dominant. In his own way, Donny emulated what he grew up with. He wanted and needed control but he took it to the extreme."
Laci flipped through the photographs. "I've never seen pictures. If Donovan has any, he's got them locked away somewhere. I'm surprised he liked riding. He never wants to ride when I invite him."
"He did like riding Wycliff. Dad died a few months after Donny went off to school and my mother had no interest so she sold all the horses and closed up the stables. He was sorry to lose Wycliff but Donny never seemed interested in riding after that. He sold the car to a collector just before he graduated and got a small fortune for it. Then he devoted all of his time to building his business. We both wanted companies that weren't part of the family heritage. If the parasite relatives were going to live off the company money, it wasn't going to be money we made for them. We made our own. I used some of my trust fund when I started the magazine but I don't think Donny's ever broken into his. One day Matthew is going to inherit a substantial sum."
"I can't believe Donovan never told me any of this. It's as if that part of his life didn't happen. He never mentioned riding with your father or the horse. Not that I'm surprised. Horses aren't the safest topic of discussion. Especially growling horses."
"Wycliff didn't growl. At least, I don't remember him growling. And as long as there's dirt or dust, he'll find every excuse not to ride. Donny always hated getting dirty. Even when he was Matthew's age. He's always been tidy and almost compulsive about his clothes and appearance. I nearly fainted the first time I saw him wearing jeans. Whenever I saw him riding, he was wearing very proper equestrian apparel and attire. Never jeans." Marian smiled at Laci. "You've made such a huge difference in his life."
Laci smiled back. "He's made an even bigger difference in mine. I often think back to the hours I used to spend mucking out stables and never believing I'd have my own son, a beautiful home and a very loving husband who has been responsible for all of it. I'm glad you told me all of this. Makes it easier to understand why Donovan implodes when he feels like he's losing control."
"Don't you ever resent it?" Marian asked. "Don't you resent the Dominant thing?"
Laci considered for a moment. "At first I was very intimidated by it and by Master Donovan. I wasn't sure what he was going to expect from me and I knew submission wasn't something I needed or wanted. Eventually I started to understand what he got from training and he's managed to keep his two worlds very separate which I find amazing. Now the only thing I resent is when he goes out of town and is gone for so long but that's because I miss him. He's very special."
