by Brenna Lyons
“That Keith was a fool to ever let you go,” Steven explained.
“Keith didn’t,” she began, at a loss for how to explain all the miscommunication and anger, the stupidity of the whole thing.
But, Keith stepped in. “It was a misunderstanding, and I wish it had never happened.”
“That makes two of us,” she muttered.
Keith took her hand. “I forgot—not even once, but twice to appreciate what I had. I’m just lucky you gave me the opportunity to make it up to you. You didn’t have to, and that’s a frightening thought.”
“Well, I had to at least give you the chance to explain the second time around. I was wrong about that the first time. If I would have let you explain—”
“You had no reason to think I was telling the truth. You said it best. I got myself into a no-win situation. The only chance I had of straightening it out, I wasted staring at you like an idiot.” He smiled crookedly. “It took me a full ten seconds to realize you wanted to physically hurt me, and by then it was far too late to think coherently and stop you from walking away from me.”
“Why didn’t you go after her?” Marcus demanded.
“Well, I did.” Keith faltered and darkened.
Katheryn laughed in understanding. “How long did it take you to get dressed to come after me?” she teased.
“Record time, but far too long,” he admitted miserably.
“Dressed?” Laura questioned in amusement. “What exactly were you doing?”
That time Katheryn blushed. “Getting into his costume for Stations,” she admitted. “I invaded enemy territory on a recon mission.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Steven mused.
“Then don’t. It was ridiculous. The whole thing was.” She raised an eyebrow at Keith. “Of course, your state of undress almost undid me.”
“You never told me that,” he declared hotly.
“Why do you think it took me so long to throw that box at you and walk out? I couldn’t even form the words to yell at you, and that made it all the worse.”
“Good. At least you were as affected by it as I was.”
She looked at him in confusion.
“It took me a full ten seconds to realize you were angry,” he reminded her. “For that length of time, I was too busy imagining the two of us alone with me that far undressed.”
“Yep. That was my snapping point, as I recall.”
“Because you were so mad and hurt, and all I could think about was getting you into bed?” he asked.
She nodded sheepishly. “Considering the circumstances—”
“No argument on that one.”
“Okay, now I have to know,” Marcus declared. “What were the circumstances?”
Katheryn looked at Keith. “Does this fully-functional family mean we have to discuss everything? I’ve never had one, so—”
“No, it only means we can. Let me handle this one.”
She nodded uncertainly.
“Long story short. One of the other guys made a crack that I was too stupid to take offense to. Instead, I laughed it off, and Katie overheard the whole thing.” He paused.
“What kind of a crack?” Marcus persisted.
Katheryn almost groaned. This was Marcus’ court face. She was sure of it.
“That girls from her neighborhood were only good for one thing, and it wasn’t any of the things I loved best about her—no matter what gutter my mind was inhabiting every time she touched me.”
Laura glared at him. “And then you leered at her and completed the image?”
Keith sighed and nodded, looking like a child facing exile in his room for the rest of eternity.
Laura’s face darkened for the first time that evening. Her eyes didn’t leave her grandson as she spoke to Katheryn. “Whatever possessed you to give him another chance after that?” she asked.
Katheryn smiled crookedly. “I love him. Reminding myself to be angry with him all the time was wearing me down.”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Steven commented yet again.
“That we should have kicked his butt years ago?” Marcus questioned. “Maybe we should have.”
Keith snapped a startled look at the two men. “Whose side are you on?” he managed weakly.
Marcus jerked his thumb at Katheryn. “Hers. She has my vote.”
“Mine, too,” Laura added. “Though, you and I are going to have a long talk about this, young man. I thought I taught you better than that.”
Katheryn felt badly for his discomfort. It wasn’t all his fault, and she knew it. She squeezed his hand. “That’s okay, Laura. I’m sure we’ve both learned our lessons, now.”
Keith nodded his agreement and squeezed her hand in response.
“Well, I’ll make it unanimous, Katie,” Steven interrupted. “Welcome to the family. Though, you should have been here years ago,” he needled Keith.
“Told you,” Keith mimicked his grandfather. “They already like you better than me.”
Katheryn laughed. “Well, that makes us even.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Whose side do you think Carol has been on for the last fifteen years?”
“She’s been campaigning for me?” he asked in surprise.
“As if you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t. Honest.”
She nodded grimly. “She probably didn’t want to get your hopes up. Rest assured, she was outspoken to the point of being rude about it. Oh, and when did you meet Mac?”
“The day Kyle had his EEG. Why?”
“Did you see him again after that?” she countered.
“No. Why?” he repeated.
She smiled and shook her head. “You make a good first impression then.”
“Katie,” he warned.
“Mac gave me the first order he’s given me in over ten years when I got back to town, though I didn’t seriously consider doing it for a few weeks.”
“Go on,” he prodded her.
“He ordered me to give you another chance—more or less.”
Keith laughed heartily. “Remind me to buy Mac a gift,” he mused.
Chapter Seventeen
“Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” Sir Winston Churchill November 11, 1937
Keith shook his head grimly. This was nuts. How was he supposed to counsel a child he was scared to death of? Well, that wasn’t quite accurate. Powers or no powers, Kyle wasn’t the one he was afraid of. He was afraid of the homicidal maniac Kyle had in tow. He didn’t have to fear Ty when he was with Katie. She could stop Ty, would stop him.
Mallory stuck her head in. “Natasha just brought Kyle Thompson in. Are you ready for him?” she asked.
Keith nodded and swallowed the sour taste in his mouth. “Sure. Send him in.”
“Are you okay? You don’t look good,” she observed.
“Something I ate,” he replied weakly. “I’ll be fine. Send Kyle in.”
She nodded and backed away. He tried to paint a smile on, but it turned into a stiff parody at the sight of the stuffed tiger under the little boy’s arm. Keith suddenly remembered Katie’s reaction to it on the plateau and realized how much sense it made when you understood what it meant.
“Hi, Uncle Keith,” Kyle called as he flopped into a chair. “What game today?”
“No games, Kyle. Do you like to color?”
“It’s okay.”
Keith moved to the arts and crafts shelves and pulled down crayons, markers, and paper. He sat cross-legged next to the child-sized table and called Kyle over.
Kyle sat in one of the chairs. “What should I draw?” he asked.
“Draw something that makes you happy.”
“Okay.” Kyle drew a Siberian tiger, utilizing only the black and blue crayons to complete the job quickly. Ty, of course.
Keith removed the sheet with a curt nod and replaced it with a blank sheet. “Now, draw something that scares
you,” he instructed.
Kyle looked at him in confusion and seemed to consider it carefully. He started drawing what appeared to be a jail cell. Then he stopped and shook his head. Kyle turned the sheet over. “Uncle Keith, can I have a drink?”
“Juice or water?”
“Juice sounds great,” he said absently.
“Coming right up,” Keith promised as he headed for the break room and let Mallory know to keep an eye on Kyle for a moment.
He kept a bag of juice cartons for the kids in the fridge, and he fished out two of the apple juice containers for Kyle with one hand while he nabbed two Styrofoam cups with the other. Keith poured coffee from the pot into one and Kyle’s juice into the other before he made his way back to his office with both cups.
Kyle had his arm wrapped around the sheet of paper. His head was bowed low over the drawing, and he was coloring furiously. Keith set the cup of juice down and tried to peek a look at the developing picture, but Kyle moved his head to block the view.
“No peeking, huh? I’ll just drink my coffee, and you let me know when you’re done.”
“Okay,” Kyle answered in a muffled voice.
Keith returned to his desk chair and rested his legs on the shelf next to his desk. He ran the pads of his fingers over his eyes roughly. He didn’t sleep much the previous night. Instead, he spent the time considering the possibility of calling in sick. As much as he argued the point with Katie, something told him he should have listened to her advice.
Carol’s voice rang in his mind. ‘Where Kyle is concerned, I take her advice. It’s better that way… She never is, but she’s never wrong either.’
Maybe he should have heeded that warning after all.
Keith had woken Katie against his own better judgment and made love to her slowly in the wee hours of the morning. Still, he couldn’t sleep. He found himself watching her and worrying about what she had to do—and do soon from her estimation.
‘I don’t want you to hear me scream.’
He had shuddered at that and wrapped himself around her protectively. But, what could he do to protect her? In the end, nothing.
“I’m done, Uncle Keith,” Kyle called out.
He nodded and crossed to the table again. “Let’s see what you’ve got, buddy,” he commented, mentally preparing himself for the discussion that typically followed this exercise as he mentally prepared himself for Ty’s appearance in the discussion. It was the perfect time for an ambush.
The picture was still one of the jail cell. Keith stared at it in confusion. “You’re afraid of jail?” he asked lightly.
“No. That’s what Ty is afraid of,” he replied quietly.
Keith nodded. That made sense. He didn’t like being trapped. “Why is Ty afraid of jail?”
“He says he’s been there before. It’s cold and dark and lonely, sort of like dying. He doesn’t want to go back there.”
“Are you afraid of that?” Keith asked.
Kyle seemed to consider it carefully. “I wouldn’t want to be in someplace like that,” he decided, evading the question perfectly.
“Does it scare you that Ty might go to a place like that?”
Kyle shrugged. “Sometimes Ty isn’t very nice. He sends me away. Aunt Katie and Mom never send me away like that. Even if it’s something important they need to talk about, they either wait or talk, but they don’t make me—alone so they can talk.”
Something in Kyle’s answer sounded a note to Keith. Something had upset him. “Did you ever try to listen or look when Ty sends you away?” he asked quietly.
Kyle looked at the stuffed tiger and bit his lip.
Keith nodded in understanding. He lifted the toy, expecting a protest from the little boy. When none came, he carried it behind his desk and covered it with his jacket. “Let’s put Ty in a quiet place and talk,” he suggested as he came back to the table.
Kyle’s shoulders relaxed tension Keith had missed entirely until it was banished. “Okay,” he breathed. He flicked a look at the desk to reassure himself then back at Keith.
“Have you tried to look?” he asked again, sinking to the floor beside the child.
He nodded. “It’s not easy. The curtains are heavy. It’s hard to breathe if you get too close to them.”
“Did you see anything?” Something told him to tread cautiously.
Kyle’s eyes widened and he nodded.
“What did you see?”
Kyle fidgeted and looked toward the desk. Then he licked his lips and shook his head. “I can’t tell. Ty will be mad if I do.”
“Do you believe your Aunt Katie and I will do everything we can to protect you?”
Kyle nodded slowly.
“We will, you know. That’s what we’re here for.”
He shook his head. “You can’t. He’s the biggest tiger. He’s too strong.”
“Did what you saw scare you?”
Kyle nodded again.
Keith changed tactics. “Your aunt told me something, Kyle. Do you want to hear what she said?”
He nodded eagerly.
“You and Katie aren’t tigers. You’re lions, a pride with your Mom and me.
“Tigers are solitary. With them, the strength of the individual is important. With lions, they protect each other, and they protect their young. They are stronger than tigers, because they don’t have to work alone.”
“But, I’m not strong,” Kyle insisted. “Ty said that I’m weak because I’m little.”
“Ty lied.” Keith hesitated. He was treading on thin ice, and he knew it. Challenging Ty was a tricky proposition. “You’re strong like Katie is strong. Together, you would be unstoppable.”
The rustling behind him caused Keith to swing his head around. His eyes widened as he saw Ty—the tiger Ty on top of his desk. He fought the vision of the pint-sized tiger, his ears flattened against his head, his tail twitching, and his shoulders bunched.
“No,” Kyle commanded, and the image disappeared—momentarily.
The tiger re-appeared on the desk, hopping up from his place on the floor. His sharp teeth peeked from behind curled lips and he stalked stiffly across the papers on the desk.
“Do it again, Kyle,” Keith whispered. “Send him away.”
“I can’t. I’m not strong enough.”
“You are. Trust me. You are.”
“I need—” His voice faded away, and his eyes took on the same glazed look that signaled trouble to Keith. The curtain was down again.
Keith swung his eyes back to the desk in time to see the tiger jump to the floor and start toward him. Kyle could end it. ‘I need…’ Katie. But, the curtain was down. Keith swept the cup of cold juice into Kyle’s lap and hoped for the best.
Kyle jumped in shock and started pushing at the cold liquid soaking his outfit, oblivious of the approaching danger now.
Keith pulled him out of the small chair and onto his knees. “Call Katie,” he ordered in a low, urgent voice. “Call her now.”
Kyle looked at him in confusion then followed Keith’s eyes as he flicked them toward the advancing tiger. Everything seemed to happen at once after that. Kyle squealed, the phone on Keith’s desk started ringing, and Ty disappeared back into the pile behind the desk.
Keith collapsed to the floor, shaking in relief, and Kyle launched onto his chest while the phone kept ringing.
Mallory stuck her head in. “Are you going to answer that?” she snapped in annoyance. She furrowed her brow as she stared at him. “Are you okay?”
“Sure. Just an accident, Mallory. Loss of juice casualty. Can you take Kyle to Tasha and have him cleaned up?”
She nodded uncertainly. “No problem. Come on, Kyle. By the way, you better answer that phone. I’m not sure who that woman is, but she threatened me with violence if I didn’t get you right away.”
He nodded quietly and pushed to his feet, as Kyle headed to the door. By the time Keith reached it, most of his outward shaking had subsided, though the sick quaking in his stomac
h remained.
Keith cradled the phone to his ear. “I’m fine, Katie,” he managed before she had a chance to speak.
“Christ, Keith,” she exploded. Then, her voice dropped. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, but I’m probably going to cut out early.”
“What happened? All I know is that it hit me all at once, and then Kyle was screaming—” Katie sighed, and he could guess that she was still shaking.
“I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I’m covered in juice, and so is my office.” Not to mention that Mallory would rent me that rubber room if I told you what I saw over the phone.
“You’re what? Why?”
“Long story. I’ll meet you at home later. Get some ice cream, okay. I need something calming, and I want to avoid a drink. I think.”
“I’ll make sure we have that, too,” she offered.
“Thanks. Know how to make a Kamikaze?” he joked.
She was quiet for just a moment. “Think of who you’re talking to,” she reminded him.
“I’m—” He started to say sorry, but she cut him off.
“Don’t be. I have a couple of stops to make. I’ll meet you at home. Be careful.”
“I will. Love you,” he added solemnly.
“Love you, too.”
Katie hung up on her end, and Keith fumbled the phone onto its cradle.
Keith kicked the bundle of his jacket, wishing Ty could feel it. He shoved his fists in his pockets and hunched his shoulders as he considered Ty’s latest threat. He had seen the welts Ty left on Katie at the plateau, and there was no question in Keith’s mind that he would have been sporting a matching set—or worse, if Ty had reached him.
A toy. He was arguing about a ghost and a toy. Keith scooped his coat up and tossed it across the back of his chair, eyeing the tiger critically. He considered picking it up, but the hair on the back of his neck bristled at the thought of that. Keith had definitely had enough of Ty for one day. Instead, he grabbed a handful of paper towels and attacked the juice spill. He would have to ask Mallory to leave a note for housekeeping that night, he reminded himself.