The Sapphire Pendant (45 page)

She sat on his lap.

“Now let me read your future. I read palms by the way, bet you didn’t know that.” He held her hand and trailed one of the lines on her palm. “Interesting. I see that you’re going to marry a very intelligent, handsome man.”

She gasped alarmed. “Oh no! I’m not marrying you?”

He ignored her.

“And you’re going to make beautiful jewelry that sells around the world and make your husband very proud.” He held her in a warm embrace, but inside she felt cold. “There’s nothing to worry about. Together we can face anything.”

That was the problem. She didn’t see herself in his future. Had she misread the stones? Had she somehow confused her own insecurities with the reading? She could never imagine leaving his side, but something told her she would. She saw him alone. Why? Why?

Kenneth didn’t give her much time to wonder. He effectively diverted her attention when he kissed her neck then everywhere else. Hours later they lay in each others arm. Kenneth absently stroked her thigh as he stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m hosting my annual summer barbecue next week. You’ll be co-host.”

“Why?”

He squeezed her hand. “We’re engaged remember?”

She rubbed her face against his palm. “Always, but I don’t like crowds.”

“You’ll like this crowd. Besides it will look good to have you there.”

“And appearance means everything, right?”

“The Preston credo. You’ll do fine.”

She chewed her lip. “I hope so. How big will this barbecue be?”

“Don’t worry. It won’t be big at all.”

* * *

He was wrong. Cars poured down the long drive, spilling onto the street, as the sun blew its hot breath, soaking the air in a humid heat. It didn’t stop the crowd from enjoying itself, however. The kitchen swelled with the aroma of cool, sweet lemonade and sorrel, fruit salad and various casseroles. The backyard entertained a volleyball game, the living room held a mix of characters in a debate on the economic position of various countries and the family room became gossip central. Jessie found solace behind a tree.

She had remained cordial long enough, maintaining a smile even when a clumsy man bumped into her

“What are you doing behind here?” Michelle asked, peeking around the tree.

Jessie glared at her. “Hiding.”

“The day is too hot to worry. Why don’t you relax and try to enjoy yourself?”

“It’s against my nature.”

“At least you’re not the only one who looks ridiculous,” she said, catching a glimpse of Rodney who’d been following Brooke’s every move all day.
 

Jessie shrugged. “Ah leave him alone, he’s young.”

“And he doesn’t have a chance.” Michelle glanced towards the house. “I still can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“Me neither.”

“I can,” Wendy said, joining them. “He loves you so much. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“When you’re not hiding behind trees, of course,” Michelle added.

Jessie scowled. “I can’t believe he invited Deborah and Tracy.”

“They’re nothing,” Wendy assured her. “Deborah’s so angry she could scream.”

Jessie tugged on her collar. “It’s probably because her skin is frying in this heat.”

Wendy grabbed her arm. “Come on, your husband is looking for you.”

“He’s not my husband yet.”

“No harm in practicing.”

They found Kenneth talking to Nathan. Stephanie stood close by.

Wendy said, “I found her behind a tree.” She suddenly began to speak French and Kenneth responded in kind. She then said something that brought color to his cheeks.

“I took French and didn’t understand a word of that,” Stephanie said.

Wendy grinned. “That’s because it’s French with an island twist.” She winked at Kenneth, smiled at Jessie then left.

Jessie looked at him. “What did she say?”

He cleared his throat. “Never mind.”

“How can you wear that shirt?” Stephanie asked. “It’s hot enough to melt iron.”

Nathan said, “Personally, I hope it gets hot enough even the women take their tops off.”

Jessie frowned. “Nice of you to keep this on a wholesome level.”

Syrah ran up to her. “I have to talk to you.”

She excused herself and went up to Syrah’s bedroom. Once there she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Uncle’s going to send me back,” Syrah said in panic.

“No—”

“He is! I heard grandma talking about me.” Her eyes grew wide and she wrung her hands. “How he wants me out of the way once you’re married.”

Jessie knelt in front of her. “He said no such thing.”

“Is he going to let me stay? Can Dad come and get me? I’m not going back. I’m not!”

She held her shoulder, calming her. She met Syrah’s eyes, her voice steady. “We know, Syrah.”

Syrah stared stunned, a series of emotions distorting her face then she fell into tears.

She drew her close. “It’s all right. It’s not your fault. You’re safe now.”

Syrah hugged her tight wanting to stop her tears but unable to. “He hates me. I don’t want to go back.”

She wiped her tears with a handkerchief. “You won’t have to. We’ll take care of you.”

Kenneth knocked on the door and entered. “Is everything all right?”

Jessie stood. “Syrah’s scared you were sending her back. She’s worried her father will come and get her. I think we should call child protection services.”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “This is a family issue.”

“When a man hits a child, the matter goes way beyond family.”

“I can’t afford the publicity.”

Jessie rested a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot all about the importance of appearances.”

Kenneth’s eyes darkened. “The Preston name has never had a scandal and it won’t start with me.”

She threw her hand up exasperated. “So what are you going to do if he won’t let you adopt her? Send her back so everything looks good?”

“I will handle Eddie in the best possible manner.”

Jessie’s temper snapped. She glared at him. “He’s an abusive drunk that should be publicly flogged!”

Kenneth’s voice grew softer. “He is my brother. A Preston. That name cannot be tarnished.”

“At what price?”

“You know the importance of a name.”

“Not to this extent.”

“It’s all I have,” he said in a harsh, raw voice. “The only thing of value anyone has ever given me. Mr. Preston gave us his name to honor and protect and I won’t do anything to jeopardize that. He’s my father and I won’t disgrace him. You of all people should understand.”

She did understand. She understood that this wasn’t about Syrah or Eddie, it was about them—her. It was about whether she was ready to live under the burden of the Preston name. If she married him, she would pledge to become part of his secrets, his deceptions and be forced to wear the same mask he did.
 

She would have to sit and watch him spoil his mother, a woman who made no effort to hide her abhorrence for him. She would have to witness him protect a brother that used him and deal with the other relations in his life without saying a word. As much as she loved him, she knew she could not do that. She would only fail him and ultimately shame him. Jessie pulled his ring from her finger. “I can’t protect your lies, Kenneth. I can’t live for the sake of approval and constantly wear a mask under the burden of a name.” She held the ring out. “I can’t marry you.”

Kenneth glanced at his niece. “Ace would you excuse us?”

She nodded then raced out of the room. Kenneth closed the door after her. He kept his voice soft. “I know you’re angry, but don’t punish me this way.”

Jessie’s temper slipped into sorrow. “I’m not punishing you. I realize we’re too different.”

Pain filled his eyes, but his voice remained firm. “Jasmine, don’t—”

“I’m freeing you. I’d make you a terrible wife. I’m too honest. It’s a Clifton curse and my conscience would get the best of me until I began to despise you for making me become something I’m not.”

“I’m not trying to change you.”

“What am I supposed to do when I see him? Am I supposed to pretend nothing’s happened? How about your mother who treats you with such contempt? Am I supposed to stand idly by and watch her mistreat you?”

“Isn’t there anything in the Clifton past you wouldn’t want people to know?”

“No. Nothing.” She took a step back, ready to leave.

He reached out and pulled her to him. “Darling.”

She closed her eyes, her heart responding to the tender word.

“Please, try to understand. It may be a struggle at first, but you won’t need to be involved. I’ll handle everything.” He smoothed her hair then lightly stroked her face. With each gentle touch she felt herself weakening. “I’ll take care of things.”

“You can’t handle this alone.”

“With you by my side I won’t be alone.”

“I want to be by your side, but I know that I will jeopardize your secrets.” Jessie lifted his hand and placed the ring in his palm, closing his fingers over it. “I can’t marry you.” She brought his hand to her lips. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t do this,” it was a quiet, primitive plea.

I’m afraid. I’m afraid. I’ll fail you
. She stared down at his hand unable to look at him. “I’m sorry,” she said again then opened the door.
 

Syrah stood there with her hands balled into fists at her side. “Aunt
 

Jessie you can’t leave ‘cause of me.”

Jessie cupped her chin. “It’s not you, we’ll still be friends.”
 

Her chin trembled. “It’s not the same. Please don’t leave.”

Jessie felt tears sting her eyes, her heart constricted with a pain that was suffocating in its intensity. She ran out of the room.

Syrah turned to her uncle, tears of anger and despair falling down her cheeks. “You have to make her come back.”

Kenneth sat on the bed, forcing himself to breathe, though he felt as if Jessie had ripped out a vital organ, leaving him hollow. He gathered his pain and tucked it away. All that mattered now was Syrah. “I can’t.”
 

“This is Grandma’s fault. She knows about Daddy and doesn’t care.”

He covered his eyes.
His mother knew?
 
“Go tell Nathan that the party’s over.”

“What about Aunt Jessie?” Syrah asked. When he didn’t reply, she turned and left, dragging her feet.

A half hour later, Kenneth forced himself to come downstairs and found his mother clearing up napkins and used glasses on the coffee table. He had explained that straightening up was the job of the cleaning crew, but she never listened.

“Did you know Ace had bruises on her back?” he asked her.

She paused then continued to clean.

“Tell me you didn’t know about it. Tell me that you didn’t know that her back is covered with bruises, just like mine. Tell me that this is all one huge surprise and that you’re heartbroken and sickened by it.” He swallowed, a part of him hoping she would.

She kept her eyes lowered. “Kenneth—”

He clenched his jaw. “You knew and you didn’t tell me? How could you have watched me take care of Eddie, knowing what he was doing to her?”

“I didn’t want to believe it.”

“You didn’t want to believe it and that meant it didn’t exist, right?” He rested his hands on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “How does it feel to be there? To be in that comfortable shroud of denial?”
 

“Try to understand, do.” His mother touched his arm in a fleeting gesture.

He moved away, holding up his hands to fend her off. “Don’t touch me.” He took a deep breath. “Just explain to me why he’s still your favorite. Why you would do anything to protect him. I’m the one who pays for your holidays, buys you gifts, and never gets into trouble. I’m the one who loves you.” He lowered his voice. “I’d do anything for you.”

“I’m proud of you, but Eddie has always been so lost. He’s never had your strengths or your talents.”

“He has his own, which he’s never taken the time to develop. Did you know Jessie gave up her scholarship for him?”

“He tries so hard, but he’s weak like I used to be. His heart is good.”

Kenneth couldn’t believe what she was saying. “How can you compare yourself to him? He acts just like—” He couldn’t finish. “Why do you care about Eddie more than me?”

Her eyes turned to stone. “Because you look like
him
. You look like that man who crushed my soul and left me as empty as a dried well. Oh, the joy I felt when you moved out cannot be shared.” Her lips tightened, her voice sharpened with bitterness. “Sometimes when I see that charming, handsome face of yours I want to slap it. It’s so cool, so deceptive. I watch the women throw themselves at you as I once had not knowing the evil behind your smile. You took me young and fed me with lies, all which I believed.”

Kenneth picked up a glass and threw it against the wall. It shattered, falling to the floor like icicles. “You’re talking to me!” He pounded his chest, trying to break the hateful glare she directed at him. “I’m not him! I’m me, your son.”

“You’ve even got his temper,” she sneered. “That blaze of anger that lashes out like a whip. I can see it in your face now.”

He could feel it too. He could feel a white-hot fury storm up his back and tighten his hands into fists. He could not speak, the muscles in this throat constricting. To his mother he could never be anything but that man’s mirror, and there was no way to alter that.

“A snake can’t escape its fate no matter how pretty it is,” she said.

“But I’m still your son.”

“You’re not my son! You’re the bastard of some teenage slut your father met before me. I only looked after you because I loved him. When I left him, I knew there was no one else for you. I was the only mother you knew. It was only Christian that I look after you. And I had to watch you succeed at everything my baby failed at...It was hard to pray to a god who was so unfair.”

Kenneth stood still, afraid if he moved he’d collapse into dust.
Breathe, breathe, breathe
. “You’re not my mother?”

Only she had ever heard that particular note of despair in his tone. He’d used it once before when he’d asked her why his daddy hated him. It reached through her painful memories and awakened her. The horrible realization of what she had done struck her full force. Her eyes widened. “Kenneth, I’m sorry.” She touched his hand.