“Mom, jeez. I’m not five anymore,” Xavier said. “Don’t you want to meet Kerry before you embarrass me to death?”
I stepped forward and extended my hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Meyers,” I said.
“Call me Dot. Everyone does.” She shook my hand and looked me over. “Xavier has been kind of closed-lipped about you, Kerry. You’ll have to ride with me and tell me all about yourself.”
“Mom, please,” Xavier pleaded. “You’re killing me.”
“Oh please, Xavier. You won’t die because your mother loves you,” Dorothy said.
“Xavier thinks he’s way cooler than he is,” I said. “And he thinks I won’t get even with him for all the times he’s embarrassed me in front of my mother and her partner.” I smiled as Xavier groaned. “I love you,” I said and hooked my arm through Dorothy’s offered elbow. “I want to see all the baby pictures he’s hidden from me at home. Even Elise won't show them to me.”
Xavier threw up his hands and stomped off to the baggage claim to get our bags. I was laughing with Dorothy, but still watching Xavier. I was rarely able to look away from him when we were together, so watching him do mundane things like wait for our bags was normal for me. It wasn’t until I saw him pause that I followed his gaze and saw an older man with sandy hair and light eyes duck behind a pillar. I wondered fleetingly why the man appeared to be hiding from Xavier’s family, but I didn’t have the chance to think anything more of the man’s strange behavior before the rest of Xavier’s family descended on me.
“So Kerry, Xavier tells us that you’re much smarter than he is,” a young woman said. “How come you’re with him if you’re so smart?”
I laughed and felt the heat rise in my cheeks. There was not subtle and then there was conversing using a baseball bat. Xavier’s family seemed to be leaning toward the more extreme end of the scale. “He’s irresistible,” I admitted.
“Oh, Shelli knows that,” a large blonde man who bore a striking resemblance to Dorothy said. “She’s had half a crush on Xavier for most of her life.”
“Dad!”
“Tell the truth and shame the devil, honey.” he smiled at me. “I’m Danny Vargas, Dot’s big brother,” he said, holding out his hand. “This one is my daughter, Shelli.”
“Pleased to meet you both,” I said. Xavier was lugging our bags across the floor, heading for a tall, dark-haired man. I could tell by his resemblance to Elise that this man was Xavier’s father, Tyler. Xavier gestured to where the sandy-haired man had been and his father shook his head. I realized that appearance-wise, Xavier looked far more like the sandy-haired stranger than anyone else in his family. A seed of dread planted itself in my soul as I watched Tyler and Xavier exchange words and glance toward where the sandy-haired man had disappeared. I wanted to ask who the sandy-haired man had been and why Xavier and Tyler both looked concerned, but Dorothy had other plans for us.
“Come on, everyone,” Dorothy said. “The fire pit should be ready when we get back and the whole neighborhood is waiting to see the birthday boy.” She pulled me toward Xavier and his father. “Tyler, you haven’t met Xavier’s young lady,” Dorothy said, placing a hand on her husband’s arm. Tyler turned and smiled at me.
“Pleased to meet you, finally, Kerry. I’m Tyler, Xavier’s dad.”
“I’m glad to meet you, too, sir,” I said.
“No, no. Call me Tyler, hon,” he said. “I’m sure if what Xavier’s said is true, you’ll be around long enough to start calling me dad soon enough.” Tyler smiled and ducked the punch Xavier playfully threw his way.
“You want me to just melt through the floor in embarrassment, don’t you?” Xavier joked. “First mom tells Kerry I haven’t said anything about her, and then you tell her you expect her to marry me. I’ll be in the car.” He grabbed the bags and headed toward the door. I could tell by the way he walked that Xavier wasn’t really upset with his parents. He just wasn’t used to anyone giving him such a hard time. At home, the panthers all deferred to Xavier as the leader of the pride. He was used to being in charge, not being the little boy his parents obviously still saw him as. I thought the whole thing was highly amusing, which, of course, made Xavier even more conscious of not being the big cat he was in East Hampton.
I hefted Mairin's backpack higher on my shoulder and followed Xavier to the car, taking the opportunity to ask, “Xavier, who was the man by the baggage claim?”
“I don’t know,” he said. I could see he was concerned, but trying to hide it. “I asked Dad, but he said he didn’t see the guy.”
“Do you think it’s someone you knew when you were a kid?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t recognize him at all,” Xavier said. “The only reason I noticed him was because he was staring at me and then ducked away when I looked at him.”
We stopped at a large SUV and Xavier dropped the bags by the rear end. While we waited for the rest of the family to catch up to us, Xavier grabbed me and kissed me hard, laughing when he released me. Xavier was like most teenaged boys, reserved in front of adults and a little handsy in private and this was the first time I could recall him ever having kissed me with such passion where anyone could see us.
“What was that for?” I was breathless.
“Because I love you,” Xavier said. “And because it’ll give the cousins something to talk about the whole way to the house.”
“So tell me more about your family, Kerry,” Dorothy said. We were sitting in the shade, watching the men pitching horseshoes and drinking. Xavier and his cousins had walked down to a pond nearby, but I was too hot to move. I figured I wasn’t really breaking my promise to Elise by staying at the house while Xavier went swimming. I was surrounded by his family and Xavier was with five of the biggest boys I had ever seen. We might not be able to see each other, but I felt safe.
“Mom has a metaphysical shop...The Astral Plane. She usually sells candles and stuff to the new-agers in the area. Tawnya helps with the shop and keeps the house mostly. She’s been a big part of raising me and Mairin. Mom’s a little scattered sometimes.”
“The shop must be how you know Elise,” Dorothy said. “She always was a strange one, but her son,” Dorothy watched her husband fondly. “He’s the best man I’ve ever met. Xavier’s a close second, though.”
“He had great role models,” I said. Watching Tyler and Dorothy together had been a lot like watching Mairin and Mathias. Tyler circled around Dorothy and protected her the same way Mathias always did with my sister. Seeing his parents with each other helped me better understand why Xavier was the way he was. His protective nature was genetic and reinforced by his family.
“Yeah, he did,” Dorothy said. “I see him with you and I’m reminded of how Tyler was with me when we were younger. We taught our son to love people, to care for them. I see that when he looks at you and when he tells us what the pride does in East Hampton.” Dorothy sighed and I saw pain flicker through her eyes. I wondered how much of the pride business Xavier really shared with his parents and how much Elise told them after the worst was over. Dorothy’s demeanor reminded me so strongly of my own mother and how she dealt with the metaphysical weirdness that I had to assume Elise kept them informed, but only on a need to know basis. “Tyler wanted to stay with him up there, you know. He wanted to be the man his son could look to when things were hard, but Elise told us Xavier would be stronger if we left. I didn’t want to live so far from my son, but I couldn’t stand the cold up north and Elise wouldn’t let us take Xavier with us when we came home. I’d have fought harder if Tyler hadn’t convinced me to listen to his mother. From what I’ve seen of Xavier’s growth since we left, it looks like she was right.”
I heard sorrow and regret in Dorothy’s voice. If Elise had been the one to push for Dot and Tyler to leave Xavier in East Hampton, I could understand how Dorothy could be convinced. Elise wasn’t one to take no for an answer when she was convinced she was right about something. “Elise is rarely wrong,” I said.
/> “Well, that’s true,” Dorothy said, patting my hand. She looked at me as though considering saying something more, but we were interrupted by Shelli shouting at me from across the yard.
“Hey, Kerry, come on and help us get the beers for the guys.”
I heaved myself up off the bench. “I don’t think I could ever get used to this heat,” I said. “I can understand how you wouldn’t like the cold in East Hampton.”
“The heat’s not so bad today,” Dorothy said. “But I know for northern folks it can be tough. It took Tyler years to get used to not having snow and dealing with the humidity in the summer.”
“I could live without snow, but this humidity is kicking my butt.” I saw Shelli tap her foot impatiently. “I’d better go help with the beers before Shelli kicks my butt worse than the heat.” Dorothy’s laugh followed me across the yard, dampened by the heavy air.
Shelli and I were juggling beer bottles when I heard the shouts. It wasn't until I recognized Tyler and Dorothy’s voice raised in alarm, that I dropped the beer and ran for the door. As I ran, I realized Xavier still hadn’t returned from the pond and we were separated. Elise's warning rang in my mind as my heart thudded sickly in my chest. How had I become so complacent in such a short time away from home? I'd been here less than a day and had already broken my promise to Elise. I prayed I wouldn't regret breaking that promise.
“Lane, you need to go now,” Tyler was saying as Shelli and I rounded the corner.
“Came to wish my boy a happy birthday. Can’t a man do that?”
The sandy-haired man from the airport lurched drunkenly toward the house. Tyler and Danny blocked his way and the man bared his teeth. A chill ran down my spine. The feral, feline look of the stranger reminded me too much of the panthers at home when they were about to get into a fight.
The stranger put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder and pushed. “You get outa my way. I’m gonna wish Xavier a happy birthday from his dad.”
“He’s not here,” I said, stepping up and drawing the man’s attention away from Tyler and Danny. The man looked at me, appearing distracted from his original intent, but I’d spent too much time around predators to believe he’d completely forgotten what he’d been doing. He was willing to let the others believe he wasn’t paying attention, though and Tyler and Danny took the opportunity to grab the man’s arms and started pulling him away from the house and the guests who had gathered to watch the fireworks up close.
“Come on, Lane,” Tyler said. “I’ll walk you back up the drive while someone calls you a cab.”
“Hey! You let me go.” Lane twisted in Tyler and Danny’s grip and I saw his arms slip a bit, as though he could have gotten away but chose to allow himself to be pulled by Tyler and Danny instead. My anxiety cranked up another notch and I prayed that Xavier would come back soon. Lane was dangerous and playing at being weak. Tyler and Danny obviously didn’t have experience dealing with predators like Lane and they were going to get hurt if Lane decided he didn’t want to play anymore.
“Lane, you aren’t welcome here and neither is this fantasy of yours. Get home and sleep it off.” Tyler’s arms were corded with strong muscles and beginning to shake as he tried to keep his hold on the struggling drunken man.
“It’s no fantasy and you know it, Tyler Meyers. That boy ain’t yours and I’m gonna tell him.” Lane snarled at Tyler. Tyler flinched, but didn’t release Lane. My heart was thundering in my chest. Tyler wasn’t Xavier’s father?
“Tell who, what?” Xavier said, rounding the corner of the house. His wet hair was slicked back and his shirt was slung over his shoulder. The muscles of his chest and stomach rippled as he walked. He was power incarnate as he crossed the lawn and every bit of anxiety that had threatened to incapacitate me melted away. Xavier knew how to deal with dangerous men and beasts. He'd been doing so for most of his life and much more so in the last year as my family's mess had bled into his life. He could handle Lane, even if Tyler couldn't.
“You’re the guy from the airport,” Xavier said. He glanced at his mother, whose face was drained of all color. “What’s going on, Mom?”
Dorothy shook her head and reached for Xavier. “Baby, this isn’t what I wanted...how I wanted...”
“Lemme go,” Lane said, easily shaking off Tyler and Danny, confirming my suspicion that his weakness earlier had been an act. “A man deserves to meet his son on his feet, don’t he?”
“Maybe we should take this someplace a bit more private,” Xavier said. “We wouldn’t want to ruin the party for everyone else.” I could see him sizing up the man and deciding whether he could take Lane down without hurting anyone else. Despite Tyler and Danny’s attempt to distance Lane from the rest of the guests, most of them still clustered close, hoping to hear more dirt. Distance would give Xavier an advantage that the close quarters of the backyard wouldn’t. In private, he could change without an audience if Lane got truly violent and in private, he wouldn’t have to guard his words as tightly as he would in front of his family.
“Sure, private’s fine,” Lane said. “How about my place?”
I took Xavier’s hand as he stopped next to me. “Maybe just up the drive a bit?” I suggested. There was a turn in the drive not far from the house that would give us privacy but not take us so far from Xavier’s family that we would be isolated if Lane caused trouble.
“That works for me,” Xavier said.
“Leave the pretty one here, son. This is family business,” Lane said, eyeing me.
“She’s family,” Xavier said. “She comes.” I nodded. I knew that if Elise hadn’t warned us to stay together, Xavier would have insisted on leaving me behind. For once I was glad Xavier’s grandmother had been vocal in her predictions. I'd learned my lesson. I wasn’t letting Xavier out of my sight again on this trip.
“Fine,” Lane said. “Let’s go.”
Lane led the way up the drive to the first curve, stopping before turning to face us when we were out of the line of sight from the house. Xavier held fast to my hand and I could tell by the way he walked and the tension in his arm, he was watching for an ambush of some type. I’d seen him walk this way when we were in East Hampton’s worst areas. I shuddered and Xavier kissed me on the cheek.
“It’s okay, Kerr.”
“I know. You’re here.”
Lane’s smile was closer to a grimace. “She’s got a lot of faith in you, boy. That’s a good thing, something to be cherished.”
“We’ve been through a lot together,” Xavier said.
“That isn’t always enough,” Lane said. There was palpable bitterness in his voice. I wondered what could have happened to make this man so angry, so obviously destructive. Heaven knew what Xavier and I had been through, both together and separately, would be enough to make a person as angry as Lane was, but how many people other than me and my family could have those kinds of experiences?
“Can we get on with this?” Xavier snapped, “You’re going to get my mom to worrying and then I’ll have to deal with her.” Xavier pulled me against his side and despite the sweat rolling down my back and Xavier’s usual high temperature, I stayed tight against him. Lane made me nervous and though I couldn’t say exactly why, I knew my anxiety arose from more than Lane’s drunken state.
“Well, I decided that a man of seventeen, he needed to know he’d been lied to all his life.” Lane took a step toward me and Xavier, but stopped when he realized getting any closer would open the line of sight to the house.
Xavier nodded. “I got that part in the yard, Lane,” Xavier said. “With the way you were acting, I figured there was something more you wanted to tell me. If that’s all you have to say, you should just go home. I don't need you to tell me anything more about your sperm donation.”
Lane stepped back as though Xavier had slapped him. “You don’t...you don’t care that Tyler isn’t your father?” There was a tone in Lane’s voice that spoke to a deeper pain than his son not knowing or caring that the man he’d called �
��daddy” wasn’t his biological father. It was as though this day and Xavier’s attitude was just one more thing thrown onto the pyre that was the cause of the agony Lane lived with.
“Tyler’s my dad. I don’t care whose sperm hooked up with Mom’s egg,” Xavier said. “He’s been the one to take care of my scraped knees and broken heart and everything else that made me who I am today.” Xavier eyed the drunken man swaying in front of him. “You were nothing but a sperm donor.”
“I’ve been more than that,” Lane said. Xavier must have heard the same threat in Lane’s tone that I’d heard. We’d both spent too much time around vampires to not recognize the sound. Xavier pushed me behind his back, setting his feet firmly to block if Lane decided to charge.
“No, you haven’t.” Xavier’s voice had deepened and I could hear the beginning of his growl. Mairin had told me once that when Xavier got like this, she could see his cat pacing in his aura. This was one of the times I wished for my sister’s gifts. I wanted to know how close to disaster I was standing before it was too late. I knew Xavier wouldn’t purposely hurt me, but if he changed this close to me and there was a fight, I might get caught in the middle. As much as I loved Xavier, I didn’t want to risk becoming a werepanther, especially by accident while two men threw their testosterone at one another.
“You can go now, Lane,” Xavier said. “You’ve said your piece and had your answer. Tyler Meyers is my father. That’s all I care about. You and your issues are no longer welcome here.”
Lane watched Xavier for a moment before turning his eyes on me. There was something both sad and angry in Lane’s gaze, as though he longed for someone to protect as Xavier was protecting me while simultaneously wishing to shred me and whatever I represented to him. I shuddered and Xavier’s growl burst fully-formed from his lips. “Go,” he said.
Lane nodded. “Someday you’ll look for me, boy. Don’t forget that. You’ll seek me out and I may not give you want you want. Not now. Not after this.”
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