|
 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 Well, for once he hasn’t withdrawn into his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.” |
