“I’m fine,” Cooper snapped, convincing no one.
“You’re not fine,” Claudia persisted. “For the last couple of weeks you’ve—”
“Fine,” Cooper barked.
Wide-eyed, Claudia looked to Marcus for an explanation.
“Remember the woman he mentioned at the bonfire?” Marcus said in a stage whisper. “Something happened with her. Something bad, obviously.”
“I can hear you,” Cooper said sourly.
“Oh. Oh, dear. I’m sorry, Cooper,” Claudia told him, squeezing his arm for support. “If you’d like to talk—”
“Sure,” Cooper said. “As soon as I’m done gouging my eyes out, I’ll be happy to talk about it. Because I’m a talker. I loooove talking about feelings.”
“Well,” Claudia said uncertainly, exchanging a raised-eyebrow look with Marcus, who shrugged, “the offer is always open. In case you, you know, change your mind.”
“Good to know,” Cooper said tightly.
“Thank you!” Judah said again, waving the crowd to silence. “Thank you! Woo-hoo! Thank you!”
“This could go on all night,” Marcus muttered.
“Shh,” said Claudia.
“I want to thank each and every one of you—and you! And you!” Judah said, pointing to random members of the crowd. “Everyone who helped make the auction such a huge success tonight! And I want to be the first to announce that the preliminary numbers are in, and we’re looking at 54.9 million for my old costumes, guitars, books, sheet music and cars! Can you believe that?”
The crowd roared.
“Who’d’ve thought my old shit was worth that kind of dough, man?” Judah asked as the crowd quieted down to a dull roar. “This is so special to me because, as you know...” He trailed off, swiping at his eyes. “I’m gonna need a minute.”
“We love you, Judah!” someone yelled.
The crowd roared their support.
“This is so special to me because all proceeds are going to the charity that I founded and that is so near and dear to my heart—Goats Around The World. Because when you give a family a goat, they will never starve. Can I get an amen?”
“Amen! Judah! We love you!”
“And now,” Judah concluded, “I want you folks to eat, drink and be merry! We’ve got smoothies—” Just then a uniformed server with a silver tray laden with shot glasses full of smoothies in every color of the rainbow, including several dubious brown shades, elbowed her way past.
“—we’ve got buffalo burgers, bison dogs and huckleberry crisp à la mode, and the night is young! Let’s rock! Dance, people, dance!”
The crowd erupted as Judah left the stage and the band began to play a song with such a pounding bass that Marcus could feel his eardrums vibrating inside his head.
“He’s not serving liquor,” Cooper said darkly. “This place’ll clear out inside of an hour.”
“Doesn’t matter as long as the checks clear,” Marcus told him.
“True.”
The crowd dispersed a bit, giving the three of them a chance to appreciate their surroundings. They were in a tent in the backyard of Judah’s estate in the Hamptons, and the setting couldn’t have been more idyllic. Red paper lanterns strung with white lights bobbed overhead, and the tables were decorated with white cloths and beautiful wildflower arrangements that Judah had had flown in from out West.
“What an amazing night,” Claudia breathed, turning to Marcus. “I’m only sorry your cousin Tony and his fiancée couldn’t come. I’ve really been looking forward to meeting them.”
“I know. But Talia’s finishing up the last of her chemotherapy, and with her immune system so vulnerable—”
“I know. She’s not up for crowds. We should send her flowers, don’t you think?”
“I think.”
“That’s settled, then. And when will Sandro and his wife pop by from D.C.?”
“Don’t know,” Marcus told her. “We may not get the whole family together until Tony and Talia’s wedding. Getting all the Davies clan together is like herding cats these days.”
Claudia pouted prettily. “That stinks!”
“It’ll happen,” Marcus promised. “Don’t worry.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Claudia whirled to face Cooper and include him in the conversation. “Shall we dance? You need to have fun.”
“Dance with him,” Cooper said flatly, jerking his thumb at Marcus as he wheeled around and headed to the exit. “I’m going to find something to eat that’s not made of grass and comes from east of the Mississippi. Try not to miss my cheery face too much while I’m gone.”
“O-kay.” Claudia slid her arm around Marcus’s waist as they stared after Cooper. “Should we put away all the sharp objects, then? I think he’s a danger to himself and others.”
“Ah, he’ll be okay,” Marcus assured her. “He’ll get it figured out. And speaking of, you and I have something to figure out—what’re we doing now that the auction is over?”
“In terms of what?”
“Us.”
“I suppose we should give it some thought, shouldn’t we?” she said brightly, tugging him toward the dance floor. “Can we dance now, though? I love this song.”
Wow. Marcus tried not to get his feelings hurt, but that wasn’t exactly the answer he’d been hoping to hear. Something about being madly in love with him and dying to officially start their life together would have been much better.
That being the case, he wasn’t in much of a dancing mood suddenly.
“I don’t know,” he began.
“Miss Claudia, you are the brightest star here tonight!” Judah materialized out of the crowd, held his arms wide and pulled Claudia in for a lingering hug before turning her loose. “And I see you wore the necklace I gave you!”
Smiling, Claudia touched the pendant at her throat. “I love it. I never take it off.”
Judah pressed his lips together, trying to still the sudden wobble in his chin. “I’m real glad. That means a lot to me. You’re a special girl.”
“You’re just saying that because we earned you a ridiculous amount of money tonight,” Claudia said, laughing.
“I’m saying it because you’re a special girl. Ain’t that right, Marcus?” Judah clapped Marcus on the back.
“That’s absolutely right,” Marcus said, holding Claudia’s gaze as she beamed at him.
“Did you bring your brother?” Judah asked hopefully, looking around at the people nearest them. “I want to meet him one of these days.”
“Ah, no,” Claudia said. Judah’s face fell. “Some other time, maybe. I certainly appreciate the invitation.”
“Judah!” Summer, who was wearing a vivid blue dress and carrying Gandhi the cat in her arms while Buddha the dog and Yoda the pig followed along at her heels, edged her way through the crowd to join their circle. Squinting, Marcus took a closer look at the pets and discovered that, yes, they were, in fact, wearing matching red bow ties. “There you are! It’s almost time for your vitamin C injection. You don’t want to miss it!”
Judah frowned at her. “I’m in the middle of a party, woman! I don’t need it right this second!”
“Of course you do.” Summer set Gandhi down and they all watched the pets scamper off in the direction of the buffet table. “Think of all the germs here tonight. And your resistance is already down because of the stress leading up to the auction, so you definitely—”
Someone’s cell phone rang.
“Oh, my God.” Claudia’s eyes went wide as she dug inside her beaded clutch. “That’s me. It’s Charles’s ring.”
Marcus, who knew that she hadn’t talked to her brother since the night she kicked him out of her apartment, stiffened, going into full alert. He’d meant what he said about being
supportive of her and her relationship with Charles, but, honest to God, if that idiot made Claudia cry or in any way upset her after their great success tonight, and especially after she’d been so happy for the past two months, Marcus would personally and happily rip his face off.
“Hello?” Claudia said anxiously. “Charles, is that you?”
“Oh....Oh, yes, I see.” She listened; the rest of them watched as her face darkened and fell. “Okay,” she said, nodding. “Okay....No, don’t worry. I’m on my way....Of course. Bye.”
She hung up, looking shaky and distraught but trying to hide it. Marcus put an arm around her waist and opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong.
“What is it, baby girl?” Judah said, beating him to the punch.
“That was a doctor. Charles is in the hospital. At Tisch,” Claudia said faintly. “With a severe concussion. He was driving his mate’s car and discovered it didn’t want to climb a telephone pole.” Her face crumpled. “The police are investigating and may file charges.”
Shit. That was worse than Marcus had feared. “Is anyone else hurt?”
“The doctor says not,” Claudia told him. “He says Charles was drunk out of his mind.”
“Let’s go,” Judah said quickly. “My driver can take us.”
“Oh, that’s so kind of you.” Recovering her crisp composure, Claudia put a grateful hand on Judah’s arm. “But we can’t ask you to leave your own party to—”
“You’re not asking. I’m volunteering.” Judah scrubbed a hand over his spiky hair, making it look crazier than it already did. “Least I can do. This is my fault anyway.”
“Your fault?” Claudia looked at him in surprise. “Judah, what on earth are you talking about?”
Judah hung his head and took a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to do it like this,” he said, almost to himself.
Watching him, Marcus began to get a strange, prickling feeling along the back of his neck. “Judah,” he said warningly, “now really isn’t the time for Claudia to deal with anything else—”
Summer raised a finger, silencing Marcus before she turned to Judah. “You have to own your truth, Judah,” she said. “The truth is the truth. It doesn’t have a time. It’s always the truth, and it’s always right.”
“The truth’s time is not now, Summer,” Marcus snapped.
“Judah,” Claudia said sharply. Her color, Marcus noticed with dismay, was suddenly pale, as though all the blood had leached from her face. Acting reflexively, he tightened his hold on her waist. “What’s going on? How on earth could my brother’s accident be your fault?”
Judah raised his head, took another deep breath and fixed Claudia with his bright blue gaze. “Because,” he said slowly, “I passed the addiction gene down to him. I’m your father, baby girl. Yours and your brother’s.”
Chapter 17
“Charles?” Claudia stared down at her brother’s still face, which had little more color than the pillow it rested on. Well, except for his swollen right eye, which was sporting several vivid colors of the rainbow, and the inflamed red edges of the sutured cut beneath the bandage on his forehead. “Can you hear me? Charles? Wake up for me.”
Resting her arms on the bed’s rail, she looked across Charles’s body to Marcus and Judah, both of whom were watching Charles with concern. Marcus glanced up, caught her gaze and flashed her a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay, beauty. He may not wake up right now with the sedatives and painkillers. We’ll just wait while he sleeps—”
Charles turned his head in her direction. “Claudia?” he murmured groggily.
Oh, thank God! Claudia cupped his cheek, soothing him. “I’m here, Charles.”
Charles’s eyes fluttered. “I’m...not dead?”
“No,” Claudia said sharply. “No thanks to you, though. D’you think Mum and I raised you all those years so you could do something stupid like run a car into a pole? What would she say if she was here right now, Charles? Her heart would be broken!”
Charles’s eyes flicked open. “Save...the lecture,” he said, licking his dry lips.
Oh, wasn’t this rich? Claudia glared down at him, furious all over again at the ruin of a beautiful young man who’d had everything going for him until he threw it all away. Charles looked even worse than he had the last time she saw him, with his yellow skin stretched tight over his skull and dipping into the sharp hollows beneath his cheeks, like death warmed over in a microwave.
“I will not save the lecture!” she cried. “And I hope the sound of my angry voice makes your stupid head hurt even worse than it already does—”
“I almost hit...a man,” Charles said quietly.
“—because it’s no more than you deserve— Wait, what?”
Charles swallowed hard and blinked, sending tears down both his temples. “An older man...came out from between these two...parked cars. He had on a...dark jacket. It was dark, but not too dark. He was just there, suddenly, and I—”
Charles broke off and began to sob the kind of messy, racking sobs that grown men rarely allowed themselves, covering his face with an IV-laden arm.
Claudia’s anger evaporated, leaving only heartbreak, and that was before she looked across the bed and saw that Judah was also sobbing quietly, his face buried in his hands. Marcus, looking pained, put a hand on Judah’s shoulder and squeezed, offering his silent support. Claudia, feeling clumsy and ineffectual, rubbed Charles’s arm and murmured to him.
“It’s okay,” she tried. “It’ll be okay—”
“And so I swerved, at the last second, you know,” Charles continued, his words choked and broken, “and that’s when I hit the pole. But I nearly hit the man! I swear I felt the car clip his leg!”
“There was no one, Charles,” she soothed. “The police didn’t see anyone.”
“I should’ve offed myself!” Charles, who was growing more agitated by the second, dropped his arm and stared up at her with his ruined face. “That would be better, wouldn’t it? I should’ve hit the pole a little harder, and then you wouldn’t be here, looking at me like that—”
“Don’t say that, Charles! You’re my brother! I love you!”
“Why?” Charles gaped at her, utterly serious. “What’s to love?”
“I think,” Judah said slowly, startling Charles, who turned his head and discovered him and Marcus standing on the other side of his bed for the first time, “that there’s a diamond in there.” He tapped a ringed finger to Charles’s chest. “We just need to get it detoxed and polished up a bit. But diamonds are always worth saving, man.”
“Claudia.” Charles turned his wide-eyed gaze back to her. “What the bloody hell is Judah Cross doing in my hospital room? Am I hallucinating?”
“No.” Shooting Judah a warning look lest he decide to make any more bombshell announcements tonight, Claudia focused on her brother. “We came from his auction straight to the hospital. He’s a, ah, friend.”
“Brilliant.” Charles’s eyes began to droop with exhaustion. “Maybe he can recommend a rehab for me to go to. I seem to need one.”
“You got it, Charlie.” Judah awkwardly patted Charles’s shoulder. “You got it.”
“Don’t...call me Charlie,” Charles said, and went quiet.
After a nervous minute or two of eyeballing him and making sure he was sleeping comfortably, Marcus spoke up.
“Why don’t I take you home for some sleep, Claudia? It’s late.”
“I’m not leaving,” she said flatly.
“You need the rest, baby,” Marcus tried again.
“Not. Leaving.” Claudia marched away from the bed and plunked herself down on the sofa. Judah had flashed his titanium credit card and arranged for a suite for Charles, which included a seating area, another bed and, yes, a kitchenette. It paid to be a rock g
od, even if you were a sorry excuse for a man who’d abandoned your children. “There’s no reason for the two of you to stay, though. I’ll be fine.”
Marcus opened his mouth to argue.
“You’d better let her be, man,” Judah interjected as the men followed her to the sitting area. “Cross women are notoriously hardheaded.”
One arrested second passed while Claudia ran that back in her mind, then she erupted, not caring if she woke Charles and the whole floor. “I am not a Cross woman! And you are not my father! You’ve made that perfectly clear for the last thirty-odd years, haven’t you, Judah!”
“Yeah,” Judah said sadly, slumping into a chair near her while Marcus blended into the shadows, giving them a moment. “I have.”
“Well, then, you don’t get to suddenly show up and announce that you’re here! No. Correction. You don’t get to engineer a whole auction scenario, pretend to be a client for several months and then announce who you are! Because that’s what you did, didn’t you? And this whole time I foolishly thought you wanted me for my rare-book knowledge! Well, the more fool me, eh?”
Judah bowed his head. “It was a terrible plan. I admit it. I didn’t know what else to do. I was going to get to know you for a long time—a year or two, maybe—and get to know Charles... Hell, I don’t know. There’s no rule for showing up in your grown kids’ lives. All I know is I didn’t want to tell you like this—”
“Well, why the hell did you?”
“Because—” Judah met her gaze straight on, with no apologies “—you’re my daughter. I love you. I’m proud of you. I don’t want to hide it anymore. I’m done pretending. And I damn sure wasn’t going to let you go through this alone.”
“Why not?” Claudia didn’t bother trying to keep a lid on her tears or rising hysteria. “You let us go through our entire lives alone, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
Marcus edged closer. “Maybe this isn’t the time, Judah,” he said tiredly.
“This is the time!” Claudia shrieked. “This is exactly the time! He’s got some explaining to do and I’ve got nothing but time! So you talk, Judah—do you understand me? You peel back those bloody layers! It’s your turn!”
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