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 Blood's Burden
Chapter One
“You
can’t just leave!” Bryce looked at Kit across the dining room table.
“Sweetie,
I hate to tell you, but I can do anything I want.” The young
woman inserted a small bite of the lasagna Bryce had made into her
darkly outlined mouth.
“Two
days ago I checked to make sure your calendar was clear. I mean, after
all, the whole idea of this dinner was for you to meet my parents.”
Parents,
Cassidy McCabe thought, a lump rising in her throat. Never
thought I’d hear that word fall from Bryce’s lips. At least not in
regard to Zach and me.
“I
told you I have a rehearsal tonight,” Kit said in a playful tone. “You
must’ve forgotten. Here you are—only a sophomore in college—and your
mind’s going already.”
“No
you didn’t!” Bryce jabbed his finger at her. “You promised you’d come
home early and help me cook. Instead, you waltz in just about the time
we’re ready to sit down at the table, then five minutes into dinner you
spring this rehearsal on me. Which you never mentioned before.”
“The
lasagna’s really good, sweetie.” Kit turned toward Cassidy. “Don’t you
think it’s good?”
If
you say “yes,” it’ll look like you condone her bad behavior.
“Everything’s
delicious,” Cassidy replied. “But it’s too bad you’re
going to disappoint Bryce by leaving early.”
No,
that was wrong too. Sounds like you’re trying to rescue him. Like
you don’t think he can handle Kit on his own.
Cassidy
twisted her wineglass on the linen placemat. She didn’t mind
couples slicing and dicing each other in her therapy office, a place
where she had the power to stop them. But she felt uneasy being thrust
into the role of spectator while Kit and Bryce went at each other in
his townhouse. Cassidy had no authority here at all. She glanced at
Zach, who was watching the exchange with a frown on his face. Well,
for once he hasn’t withdrawn into his detached-journalist-bystander
persona.
“Goddammit,
Kit, if you’re going to leave, just do it,” Bryce said.
“I’ve
still got five minutes. And besides, it’s fun getting to know your
parents.” Turning to Zach, she said, “One thing I don’t understand is
why you’re not helping Bryce with his college expenses. I hardly speak
to my folks and they shell out all the money I want.”
Zach
said amiably, “I can’t think of any reason to discuss this with you,
Kit.”
Bryce
banged his water glass on the table. “Kit! You know I’ve never wanted
to take money from Zach. Why should I? I have a trust fund of my own.”
Kit
continued as if Bryce hadn’t spoken. “I don’t think Bryce should have
to spend down his trust when he has a family that’s perfectly capable
of helping him out.”
Actually,
we’re not. Not since we started rehabbing the house.
“What
the fuck’s the matter with you?” Bryce demanded, a vein starting to
pulse along the side of his rough-hewn face. “First you say you told me
about the rehearsal when you didn’t, and now you’re hassling Zach. When
you get into one of these moods, I don’t even like to be around you.”
Kit’s
lips curved into an icy smile. “Well, sweetie, if being with me is too
hard on you, I can always find someone else to shack up with.”
A
slight shiver ran down Cassidy’s arms. Using threats to keep Bryce
in line. To throw him off balance and make him insecure so he always
gives in to her. It reminded Cassidy of what life had been like
with her first husband.
“Kit,
I believe you said you have a rehearsal to go to,” Zach said.
Cassidy
felt a tic of annoyance. You’re the one who’s supposed to
be the expert at people problems. Zach’s stealing your thunder.
“Yeah,
just go on—get out of here.” Bryce sat tall, his body rigid with anger.
A
contrite look suddenly appeared on Kit’s finely contoured face. Leaning
closer, she laid her hand on Bryce’s arm. “I’m sorry—I realize how much
this evening meant to you and now I’ve spoiled it. Sometimes things
come out of my mouth and I don’t even know why I’m saying them.”
“Just
go to the damn rehearsal.”
Kit
stood up, her gaze fixed on Bryce. She was a tall, trim woman with
close-cropped hair—dyed black—heavy black makeup, and long black nails.
She wore a sheer blouse, only two buttons fastened, and her small,
uncontained breasts were visible through the fabric. It looked as if
she’d taken a scissors to the bottom hem, cropping it to reveal as much
skin as the law would allow.
A
vampirish femme fatale who sucks Bryce’s blood for the fun of it.
Dragging
her feet, Kit went into the entryway and started up the stairs.
The
others sat in silence waiting for her to leave. The evening’s not
a total bust. After all, this is the first time Bryce has ever wanted
to introduce any girlfriends or show off any townhouses. And he’s being
downright friendly to Zach.
When
Bryce first arrived at their door a couple of years earlier he was a
boy, filled with hatred toward the father he’d never met; a hatred
instilled by his mother. Later, Bryce came to understand that his
mother’s stories were untrue, though old habits die hard and his
hostility toward his father had never entirely gone away.
Kit
came downstairs and stood in the entryway facing the dining room. “I’m
sorry I screwed things up for all of you.” Blowing a kiss to Bryce, she
left.
“Well,”
Cassidy said, letting out a breath, “that was fun.”
“God,
I feel stupid.” Bryce propped his elbows on the table and pressed the
fingers of both hands against the sides of his face.
“I
guess we’re done.” Zach got to his feet and opened the second bottle of
wine he’d brought. Refilling their glasses, he said, “Let’s go sit in
the living room.”
Zach’s
doing good. Getting us away from the scene of the crime.
Cassidy
and Bryce followed Zach across the entryway. Zach was just
under six foot, broad-shouldered, with a waist that had thickened
slightly in the years Cassidy had known him. Bryce was three inches
taller, with a lean, flexible build. The only resemblance between the
two lay in their bronze-toned skin and straight dark hair.
In
the living room a black sofa stood against the far wall, with two black
and white plaid chairs facing it at angles. Bryce had painted one wall
black, and hung it with large primitive masks. The other three walls
were a deep red. Cassidy liked the drama but was repelled by the
menacing expressions of the masks.
The
boy flopped down on the sofa. Cassidy and Zach opted for the chairs.
“Do
you and Kit get into fights like this very often?” Cassidy asked, her
therapist part coming to the fore.
“Not
that much.” He paused. “I suppose you think I’m nuts for having
anything to do with her.”
I
think anyone who’d get involved with that drama queen should be
required to take hormone suppressants.
“No,
of course not.”
Zach
laced his fingertips together on his wide chest. “I have a little
trouble understanding the appeal. Maybe that’s because I’ve never been
attracted to women who go around PMSing all the time.”
Cassidy threw him a dirty look. As if once-a-month moodiness was
worse that testosterone-driven violence.
“You
don’t understand,” Bryce said fiercely. “Most of the time she’s really
sweet. She leaves little love notes around the house. She makes me
laugh and cheers me up when I’m down. It’s just that she has these
anxiety spells. And she can’t stand it if she feels like I’m
controlling things. I think that’s what set her off tonight. She felt
like I was forcing her to meet my family.”
“A
lot of relationships get off to a rocky start,” Cassidy said. “Zach and
I had a terrible time at the beginning.”
Zach
shot her a look of surprise.
He
always forgets what that first year was like.
“How
long have you and Kit been together?” Cassidy asked.
“About
three months. When I first met her, she was camping out in her
girlfriend’s studio apartment. Her family has this humongous house in
Winnetka, but she refused to stay there and didn’t have any place of
her own.”
“When
you fight,” Cassidy said, “does it ever turn physical?”
Bryce
raked his fingers through his dark crewcut. “Sometimes she comes flying
at me with her fists, but she’s never hurt me or anything.”
“Have
you ever hit her?” Zach’s voice was gentle.
A
long silence. “Just once. It was late at night and I was tired and she
wouldn’t let up.” He gazed at the floor. “I slapped her. I didn’t even
see it coming—I just did it.”
Yeah,
but if a person gets pushed far enough, it’s likely that person
will lash back. Bryce couldn’t possibly have the resources to handle
someone like Kit.
Zach
said, “You know there was that one time in my life when I got out of
control and got physical with your mother.” Xandra had been pregnant
with Bryce when it happened, although Zach hadn’t realized he’d
fathered a child until more than seventeen years later. “Ever since
then, whenever I start to get too angry, I walk away.”
Hate
it when he does it to you but you know he’s right.
A
defiant look came over Bryce’s face. “You think I should break up with
her, don’t you?”
Cassidy
jumped in quickly before Zach could endorse the idea. “You’re
the only one who knows what’s best for you. No one else can tell you
what to do.”
The
boy flashed her a grateful smile. “You’ve only seen her bad side. Most
of the time she’s really cool. And I love her. I’ve never loved anyone
as much as I love Kit.”
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