It must have been hard for Thad to have two brothers who were his polar opposite.
From her understanding, both Reid and Jason made good grades, participated in after-school activities and had a future waiting for them.
“Even if he didn’t actually do something wrong, he was the kid people fingered because he looked like he was up to no good, you know? I spent a lot of time providing an alibi, sometimes truthfully, sometimes not, when we were growing up.” What he’d said about not wanting to go boating the day his brother disappeared now made sense. “You didn’t want to hear it, right? Tired of cleaning up after him?” The cab pulled to a stop in front of the shop, not more than two or three minutes after they’d left it. “Yeah.” He pointed toward the opening door with his chin. “Do me a favor and don’t say anything to him while we do this, okay?”
“What about the rest of the story? What did Felice say?” Jason kept his attention on his approaching parents, saying nothing. Rue squeezed in beside him, but Gibson, thankfully, chose to sit up front after assisting Rue inside.
Sabrina almost leaned forward to start another conversation with Rue, but the look Jason shot her put an end to that thought in a hurry.
What the hell was going on? Jason’s fingers curled so tightly with hers, she winced.
She tried to help calm him down some by caressing his hand, but if he noticed her, she couldn’t tell. He stared at the back of Gibson’s neck, boring into it with enough hostility to cut through to bone. Gibson had to feel the weight of his gaze, but chose not to turn around and address it. She would have loved to take Rue aside and find out more about the vehemence between the men.
She might have to take her out to lunch and find out anyway. Jason didn’t appear amenable to even considering opening that skeletal closet.
Thankfully, the ride ended without incident though she expected one every mile or so along the way. Instead, they pulled up to an old brownstone. It sat away from the street, a black wrought iron fence caging it in. A few brown, decaying bushes lined the brick walkway within. Closer to the doorway, rose bushes, devoid of the pretty flowers, sat limp and untended.
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Curtains on the second floor shifted, catching Sabrina’s attention. Jason released her hand and followed his mother out of the cab. By the time she looked up again, the curtain’s movement had stopped. Unthinking, she reached for Jason’s hand again as they walked to the entrance, but his fingers hung loose when she tried to grip them. She looked up at him, but he remained focused on Gibson. The way her father stared at where their hands connected sent a chill skittering down her spine. Jason made a soft sound, like a growl, and shook loose her touch.
Her heart sank into her stomach. She expected him to latch on to her support, not shun it. What hold did Gibson Raines hold over his son? For the first time, he made her question what feelings Jason truly had for her. If a man he despised could cause him to push her aside, forgotten for some indeterminate amount of time, what might happen when someone he truly cared about had something to say?
The worst part was she didn’t know what exactly he pushed away. Was it her as a person that put distaste in his mouth? The color of her skin?
Okay. Slow down. He’d introduced her to his mother. Men didn’t take that kind of step lightly.
His mother wasn’t the problem, though. A man’s true worth had to be in those moments when faced with adversity. Did he choose to stand and fight? Or walk away, meek and with a whimper? If she had to name his actions now…
Felice.
Thad’s voice was so soft, she almost dismissed it. But it broke through her musing, and pulled her thoughts in a whole new direction. She fought the urge to pull back and speak with him, or to force Jason to slow down while his parents moved out of earshot to let him know about the voice of his brother. One look into his blazing eyes squelched that idea. With an odd twinge of disappointment, she waited for Thad to speak again, to say something about why they were here since Jason wouldn’t drag his attention from Gibson. At least the older man behaved in a civilized manner. The way Jason leaned forward, hackles raised, none of them could doubt who would strike first if provoked.
A noise from the small front porch made her look forward. A slender young woman stepped through the open doorway, a hesitant smile on her face. At last, something besides Gibson held Jason’s attention.
“Felice? I’m Jason. We spoke on the phone.”
Sabrina watched relief flood through her. It started in the way Felice released the breath she held, in the slow close of her eyes, of the trickle of tears that seeped from her closed lids. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “He didn’t tell me…he didn’t say anything.” Jason rushed forward and embraced her in a crushing hug.
Standing next to Rue and Gibson, Sabrina watched, stunned.
“What’s going on?” Rue whispered.
All she could do was shake her head. “No idea,” Sabrina whispered back.
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Felice cried against Jason’s shoulder and he rubbed her back, comforting her. She clung to him as if he were her last hope. Pangs of jealousy she had no business feeling rocketed through her, but Sabrina remained with the others, watching and waiting.
“Hey,” Gibson shouted. He annoyed her. She knew his type. Loud. Impatient. Self-important. “Are we just gonna stand here or what? Your mother and I have a business to run.” He glanced toward Sabrina. “I have better things to do with my time than spend it like this.”
Like this.
Something about the way he said those last two words made her vision go red. Sabrina had a feeling he held himself back, but by a thin thread. Unfortunately, whatever he held back would not go down well when he finally let it go.
This was Jason’s father? How much of his toxic personality had Jason inherited?
Felice’s face was red and streaked. She tried wiping away the excess moisture, but only succeeded in spreading it down her neck. “I’m sorry,” she gulped. “I’m sorry. It’s just I can’t believe Thad had family. Please, please come in. I’m Felice Hamilton.” Jason turned and remembered the rest of them at last. He nodded to them in order.
“This is my father, Gibson, my mother, Rue. And uh, this is Sabrina. A friend.” Sabrina’s eyebrows rose before she could recall them.
“Please,” continued Felice, “come in.”
She had little choice but to follow the others inside.
Inside Felice’s home was crowded, but well maintained. Tasteful art decorated the walls. The curtains hanging from the windows were floral and bright. Large bookshelves lined one wall, the shelves overflowing with used paperbacks. Along the windowsills, different containers held a variety of greenery. What caught her eye upon first entering though was the playpen crammed with toys sitting in one corner.
Somebody had spent a small fortune in stuffed animals, developmental blocks and colorful, large cars.
Felice gestured for them to sit. Rue sat next to her husband on the couch shaped in an L, but for the first time, Sabrina was stymied on her next move. Did she sit next to Rue, who at least never dropped her friendly overtures, or next to Jason, whose attention remained fixed on Felice? He even sat next to her now.
Her stomach turned over.
Sabrina moved to the window, pretending the view outside was more interesting than the goings-on in the room. Right.
“Thad told me he didn’t have any family.” She paused when Rue gasped. “I thought he just didn’t want to be… I thought he’d just left. That’s it.”
“Tell them what you told me, Felice.”
Jason spoke so softly Sabrina almost turned to face him, but if she looked into his eyes and saw any interest in this woman he’d met in person only a few minutes ago, she’d hurl.
“My last conversation with him was so heated. We fought. I mean really fought.” 86
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“Over what, dear?”
Felice.
Thad again. This time, his voice was miserable in tone, something she’d never picked up from any of the other spirits before. Despair yes, but nothing like this.
“He said he… I told him I was pregnant.”
Sabrina whipped around in time to catch the stunned looks on Gibson’s and Rue’s faces. For the first time, Gibson earned some sympathy from her. He looked as if he’d aged about twenty years. Rue, on the other hand, looked nothing less than delighted.
“Bullshit,” sputtered Gibson.
“Shush yourself,” Rue countered, her hand lighting on his knee. He reached for it, wrapping his fingers around hers.
Felice gave a bitter laugh. “He felt the same way. I was on birth control because I had no plans for children at this point in my life either. You can imagine his immediate reaction when I gave him the news.”
“When was this?” Jason asked.
“After I figured everything out, maybe a few weeks before he disappeared.” Sabrina watched Jason for his reaction. The news Thad wanted to share with him, the “trouble”, had to be advice on what to do with this situation. Guilt must have been eating a hole through him now.
Rue smiled at the clutter of children’s toys. “I take it we have a grandchild, then?
Right?”
“Wait a minute,” Gibson interrupted. “No offense, but we don’t know you from Adam. Jason calls us out of the clear blue to visit some woman’s house without giving us a reason and when we get here, it’s to find out she supposedly had Thad’s baby? Do you all really expect us to buy that without some sort of proof?” She’d had the same thoughts. Where was Felice when Thad disappeared? Why hadn’t she tried harder to find the father of her baby?
“If you would have seen how angry Thad was, you wouldn’t be questioning me now, Mr. Raines. When he stopped calling, when I couldn’t get in touch with him, I got angry too. I wanted this baby and didn’t need his approval or support. So I did what was best for me and the baby and I went back home to where my family would welcome us with open arms.” A single tear slid down her face. “I was supposed to be punishing him by not letting him find me. I moved back a year ago, and a mutual friend told me what happened.”
“I still call bullshit,” said Gibson. Sabrina decided she really, really disliked the man. “Why not let us know about the baby before now?”
“Let’s imagine that I actually knew about you and tried to contact you. How would it have looked? Years after your son dies I show up on your doorstep claiming to have his child. What kind of reception would you have given me then? Look at how you’re 87
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reacting now. Thad wasn’t returning my calls. He wouldn’t speak to me. If he was rejecting me then, what more could I expect from his family?” Appropriately chastised, Gibson pursed his lips and sat back against the couch.
“If Jason hadn’t called me today, I don’t know if I would have ever sought you out.
Although I guess a small part of me wanted to believe he had family or someone who would find me. Maybe that’s why I kept my old cell number, too.
“And I’ll tell you this. Some part of me wants Theo to know his father’s side of the family, but another part of me is still angry with Thad, for not wanting us when he had the chance. I’m still punishing him, don’t you see?” Rue stood and crossed the room. She dropped into a crouch before Felice and took the woman’s hands in her own. “You’re not punishing Thad, sweetheart. He’s dead. If you keep his son away from us, you’re punishing us, his family.” The women looked at each other for a silent pause. Finally Felice said, “Would you like to meet, Theo? I named him partly after my dad, Leo, and your son.”
Help me.
Sabrina drew in a breath at the new voice. Dear God, the moment she dreaded had arrived. With Jason being so distant, and this scene belonging strictly to family, the timing was perfect for her to make her excuses and go home to Him. But she stood at a crossroad. Did she tell Jason about her need, bordering on addiction, for Him, or did she continue to live this lie, praying like hell he never discovered the truth for himself?
Either way, she had to decide now. The voices, as usual, would ramp up in number and intensity before too long.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up, not realizing the subject of her thoughts had moved to her side. “I’m fine. I’m thinking about leaving. This is for you and your family to deal with.” His smile seemed forced. “We wouldn’t be here without you.” He turned and watched Felice lead his parents into the back, presumably where Theo must have been.
“I think it’s appropriate for you to share in it with us. It’s a happy occasion despite the way things feel right now.”
“I’m not comfortable around your dad—”
“No one is.”
“Or the way you behave with me when he’s around.” His face blanked, to the point she couldn’t read his emotion and that scared her.
One thing about Jason, she knew almost exactly what he was thinking at any given moment. Now, with his moods so volatile, she questioned if she really knew him at all.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“When we’re together normally, you can’t stop touching me. We’re always kissing or holding hands or hugging or something. Anyone who looks at us would know we’re a couple. But now? Look at us. You keep yourself in check, totally closed off to me when he’s here. I don’t think I should have to put up with that, do you?” 88
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He pushed a hand through his hair. “You’re not putting up with anything.”
“You just introduced me as your friend. Your friend? It’s okay to call me your girlfriend to your mom, who loves you. But in front of your dad—and believe me, I recognize what a miserable person he is—and in front of a stranger, I’ve been demoted to a friend. What is it about me that you’re all of a sudden reluctant to claim me as more?”
“He’s—he’s not open-minded and I didn’t want to subject you to that.”
“Open-minded? What does…oh, I see.” She placed her hand on her hips. “You know what? I know I’m gonna jump the gun here by at least a few months, but tell me, at what point would you decide that what he thinks doesn’t matter? If we decided that we wanted to get married, or have a baby, would you still shy away from telling him about our relationship because he’s not open-minded?”