Authors: S.C. Stephens
“I never thought I’d say this, but thank you for coming here and talking to me,” Kai said as he walked Mason to the front door.
Mason let out a noise that was half amusement, half disbelief. “It was something I never imagined myself doing it…but I’m glad I did. You’re an amazing young man, Kai, and I’m happy that you’re giving me a chance to get to know you. It begs the question though…will you be staying with us?”
While Kai was a bit flustered by a person he’d always assumed hated him suddenly calling him amazing, the thought of what his future held now made him smile. “Yes, I’m going to stay here…in Denver.” His gaze drifted to Jessie’s bedroom, where the girl of his dreams was waiting for him. When he returned his eyes to Mason’s, there was happiness and curiosity on the man’s face, but no disgust. He knew about Kai and Jessie, and he didn’t care. Kai hoped it went as easily with the rest of their family. “This is home now, and so is the center. I’d be honored to keep working with you and the team.”
Even though Kai was fairly certain Mason wouldn’t turn him down, nerves still flashed up his spine. He really hadn’t wanted to give up his job. He loved the work, and he’d never really wanted to leave. Mason’s expression instantly proclaimed his answer, even before he said it. Smiling brightly, he nodded, “Good. You would have been impossible to replace.”
The warmth of Mason’s praise swept over Kai. He wasn’t at a point where he needed to impress the man as a son, but as an employee, it was extremely gratifying to have his hard work acknowledged. Kai immediately relaxed. He still had Jessie; he still had his job. It almost seemed too good to be true. He wasn’t about to complain though. Suddenly remembering what he needed to do made Kai cringe. “I hope you don’t mind, but I need a little more time off. I need to see my parents.” The thought of having those conversations filled him with dread again.
The expression on Mason’s face turned sympathetic. “Yes, I suppose you do. Go easy on your mother, Kai. She had her reasons for keeping you in the dark.” Mason suddenly seemed thoughtful, like he was surprised he would say something so forgiving about Kai’s mother. Kai figured that Mason still had deep feelings for Leilani, no matter what had happened between them.
Hoping he could be as accepting as Mason was, Kai nodded. The least he could do was try and understand his mother. A feeling flickered over Mason’s face, and before Kai knew what was happening, the man was wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. The unexpected contact made Kai’s muscles tense, but he forced himself to relax and loosely return the gesture. When Mason pulled away, it was clear he was embarrassed over the show of affection. “Well, yes, take all the time you need,’ he said, clearing his throat. “Getting tickets on such short notice can be pricey. I’ll make arrangements.”
Kai knew that, and he was floored that Mason would make such an offer. “You don’t have to…but thank you. Very much.” Mason smiled and turned to open the door. As he did, Kai added, “I’ll call you when I get there. So you know I arrived safely. So you won’t…worry.”
Mason looked back at him, clearly touched. Seeming too emotional to say anything, he merely nodded at Kai before walking away. Feeling an odd sort of uncomfortable happiness, Kai gave Mason one last wave before shutting the door.
As Kai walked down the hallway to Jessie’s room, he thought about his impromptu sit-down with Mason…his father. It had gone much differently than he’d ever pictured something like that would. Not that he’d ever truly given much thought to having a conversation like that before a few days ago.
During Kai’s twenty-three years on this earth, it had never entered his head that the man who’d raised him, wasn’t related to him. But why would he ever think that? As a child, he was told a fact and he’d clung to it as truth, as any child would. His parents were his parents. His family was his family. It was the foundation every life was based upon. And having that yanked away…Kai almost felt like one of those people on daytime TV, the ones who find out late in life that they were adopted, that the family they’d assumed was their blood, wasn’t.
As Kai opened the door to Jessie’s bedroom, a brief moment of sadness washed over him. He almost wished that was the case for him. As he stepped through the door, he thought about Mason describing Kai’s mother, the look on his face when he’d defended her. He’d obviously deeply loved her. Probably still did. And then there was the man who’d raised Kai. The heartbreaking divorce that had split their family in half had obviously shattered him as well as Mason. Even Kai’s mother—torn between two loves, only to lose them both—had suffered. No. All in all, if Kai’s family secret had just been that he was adopted, it would have been a lot less painful, for a lot more people.
Kai’s creation had cleaved a path of destruction through so many lives. Kai paused as he shut Jessie’s door behind him. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Guilt, grief, sympathy…indifference? It was enough to send a person spiraling into a vicious cycle of self-pity. But staring at Jessie asleep on the bed, clutching Kai’s pillow to her chest like she was holding onto him, Kai smiled…and let it go. Whatever torment his existence had created wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t asked to be born, hadn’t requested the drama surrounding his birth, and couldn’t have possibly altered the way he was conceived. Nobody could. And besides, any changes to his parents’ troubled past would have resulted in a different child being born into the world, not Kai. Anything being modified anywhere, would have led to a future where Kai wasn’t in this bedroom, listening to his soulmate lightly breathe through barely parted lips. And at this moment in time, Kai loved where he was. He didn’t want anything to change.
Kai smiled softly as he climbed into the bed behind her. Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he buried his head into her shoulder. Inhaling the calming scent of her, the loose strands of her curls tickling his cheeks, he laced his fingers through hers. She stirred under his touch, snuggling her back into his chest, like she wished they were even closer.
“Hey,” she said sleepily. “Did your dad leave?”
Exhaling a soft breath, Kai kissed her ear. “Mason left, yes.”
Jessie stretched the sleep out of her body and twisted to look at him. “And how are you doing?”
Kai propped himself up on his elbow and looked down on her. Warm, compassionate eyes were staring back up at him, just a hint of desire in the dark depths. Shaking his head at her never-ending concern and love, he shifted her until she was on her back. “I’m fine.”
She ran her fingers along his shoulder, unconsciously tracing the curve of his tattoo under his shirt. “Are you sure?”
Kai leaned down for a long, slow kiss, only answering her when he was satisfied. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m fine.” Kai sighed as he brushed a stray strand of hair off her cheek. “We should go see Gran though. She’s probably worried about me.”
Jessie nodded as her arms laced around his neck, pulling him back to her lips. “Yeah, okay…in a minute,” she muttered between their mouths.
Kai laughed, but deepened their kiss, angling his head to feel more of her mouth on his. Between the softness of her lips and the teasing flicks of her tongue, Kai began to wonder if he would ever get used to making love to her. He didn’t think so. The fire she ignited in him, even with just a simple swish of her hips when she walked past him, was beyond anything he’d ever felt before. Every time with her felt like the first time. He wasn’t sure if that was because the love he felt for her was so intense, or if it was because he’d been so sure he’d never truly get to have her. As he lost himself to her soft moans and pleas for more, his hands running over the wondrous curves of her body, he decided that was one mystery that he could be content with never knowing the answer to.
When they finally dragged themselves out of bed and out the front door, Kai blinked in the bright daylight. Laughing to himself, he thought maybe they’d been sequestered in Jessie’s relatively dark bedroom for too long. As he turned to watch Jessie shade her eyes from the sun, he thought she might agree.
Smiling, Jessie grabbed his hand and walked with him to her truck. As she started it, butterflies flared to life in Kai’s belly. Speaking with his newfound father was one thing, he’d only just met the man, but speaking with his grandmother, the woman who had loved him his entire life, even though she’d had no biological reason to care for him, was making Kai anxious. He wiped his palms on his jeans. For once, he was incredibly warm.
Without a word, Jessie placed her hand over his; it was cool, she was calm. Kai clenched it back, grateful for the strength her presence gave him. She gave him an encouraging nod, and he nodded back. Neither one of them needed to verbalize the moment.
Kai wondered what he would say to the woman he’d known his entire life to be his grandmother. He was nothing to her, really, just her son’s ex-wife’s bastard baby. He could definitely see why Gran did not like his mom now. Regardless of the torturous situation Kai’s mother had found herself in, ultimately she’d hurt Nate. As a mother, that level of betrayal was probably unforgivable to Gran.
Kai was absorbed in these thoughts as Jessie made her way through the frozen streets of Denver. He was only distracted when the squeals of sirens and the flashing of swirling lights broke his concentration. Jessie pulled over so a fire truck and police car could race past her from behind; the speed of the vehicles made her truck shake. Jessie looked over at Kai as the emergency vehicles sped by. Her face was drawn in concern for whatever poor soul needed assistance on this chilly day.
Kai glanced at her, then shifted his attention to the rescue vehicles. As Jessie merged with traffic, he watched the mammoth fire engine pull onto a familiar street. “Jessie,” he whispered, ice flooding his veins.
He heard her gasp, but he couldn’t pull his gaze from the disappearing end of the police car to look at her. As Jessie’s truck surged ahead though, he knew that she had pieced it together just as quickly as he had. The poor soul needing assistance today lived on their grandmother’s street. Their grandmother was old and frail, even if she pretended not to be. She’d already suffered a painful fracture just a few months ago. What if she’d fallen again? What if she was really hurt? What if, what if, what if…?
Jessie’s truck slid as she took the right angle to Gran’s street way too fast. Kai grabbed the handle above the door, but didn’t say anything about her fishtailing around the corner. His throat was locked up with fear anyway. He didn’t know how he could forgive himself if Gran had been lying in her home, hurt, while he’d been busy with Jessie.
As Jessie slid to a stop as close to Gran’s house as she could get, Kai saw that nearly the entire neighborhood had come out to watch the spectacle. His heart racing, Kai couldn’t see much of what was going on with the rescue crew. The fire truck that had breezed past them was stopped on the road, partially blocking traffic as it rested beside the parked cars. The police car had parked sideways, helping to keep back the flood of curious bystanders. As Kai and Jessie raced through the crowd on the sidewalk, trying to understand what was going on, the whine of an ambulance siren cut through the air.
Dread filling him, Kai watched the ambulance lights as they flashed in a repeated circular pattern. The vehicle slowed as it approached Gran’s house; all the people and vehicles on the road was impeding its progress. Kai wanted to shout at the mob to move, to give the medics space, but at that moment, the ambulance siren went dead, the lights shut off.
Kai shoved his way through the crowd. Something about the ambulance halting its urgent wail signaled doom to Kai. If they were no longer in a hurry to save the person inside…then it was only because…they were too late.
Pushing his way through the mob created a stir that didn’t go unnoticed. By the time he got to the squad car, the people around him were irritated. Kai was sputtering something about letting him pass. All he could think about was getting to Gran, and it was only when a uniformed police officer grabbed his shoulders that he focused his attention on something else.
Holding him tight, the officer informed Kai that he needed to wait on this side of the squad car. Shaking his head at the man, Kai urgently said, “Please let me go…that’s my grandmother’s house. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
The cop looked him over, then past Kai to Jessie, who had caught up to him and grabbed his hand. She was no longer calm, her palm as clammy as his own, but Kai held her as if she were the only real thing left in the world. Nodding at the both of them, his face serious but solemn, the police officer indicated that they could pass.
As he rushed forward, Kai’s heart pounded so hard he thought he might need a medic soon. Frantic, he looked around for the silver haired woman who had never given up on him. “Kai…” He heard Jessie’s panicked voice beside him as she searched the chaotic area, but all Kai could focus on was finding the hurt person who was causing this circus of confusion.
Ignoring a pair of firemen who seemed to be looking around as well, maybe hoping an inferno would blaze to life somewhere, Kai shifted his attention to the late arriving medics. Pulling Jessie’s hand, he started striding toward one who was talking with what looked like the head fireman. Kai started breathing heavily as he approached the pair. He couldn’t imagine Gran gone. When had he seen her last? Had he told her he loved her?
Kai stepped up to the men, and overheard a conversation that confirmed his greatest fear. “Elderly woman. Dead on arrival. Nothing we could do for her. We’ve started interviewing some of the neighbors, but it seems that she had a heart attack.”
Kai put a hand over his mouth, feeling like his stomach was going to surge through it. Jessie started to sob. Tears stinging his own eyes, Kai forced his voice to break free from his throat. “I’m sorry, did you say…?”
He felt the tears spill down his cheeks, and did nothing to wipe them away. She was gone? He felt his heart deadening as the men looked him over, and then he noticed something behind them that made his entire world start spinning. Another fireman and the other medic were wheeling a stretcher out of Gran’s front door. The EMT was sadly shaking his head and zipping up a bag over the body. It was a black bag.