A Family Reunited

by Dorie Graham

  Alex smiled, pleased by Kara’s delight. The girl was really starting to grasp the lessons. “It’s the way I learned the formulas.”

  “I think that’s going to help me on this next test. I’ve had the hardest time with keeping sine, cosine and tangent straight. This is totally cool,” Kara said, turning to face Alex. “Thanks for coming by. I know you only came because Chase asked you to, so you could make sure I was here and behaving while he’s out of town, but I still appreciate it.”

  “I wanted to come by. This is my big night out away from my father’s house—my break from my family.”

  “I’m sorry about everything that’s going on with your brother. That must really suck. I mean, the whole cancer thing is awful enough, but then you finding out about your dad not being his dad and maybe not being your dad has got to totally blow.”

  “It does. And did you know to top it all off I was just laid off from my job?”

  “No way.”

  “Yes,” Alex said. “That’s how I was able to pick up and come here at the drop of a hat.”

  “That’s wild. They must have been really strapped to lay you off. You’re probably better off without them, though. Maybe the universe was trying to tell you something.”

  “And what was it trying to tell me?”

  “I don’t know, that you’re supposed to come back here and fix everything, maybe.”

  Alex shook her head. “I don’t know if any of it is fixable. And I doubt I’m the one meant to do the fixing. I can’t believe we haven’t found a match for Robert. I guess it’s understandable under the circumstances that none of us in the family was a match, but you’d think I might have been. Everyone has always thought we were so alike, at least from a physical aspect. If any of us was going to match him, I thought it would be me.”

  “Maybe it’s because he is only your half brother. Maybe you weren’t a match because you don’t have the same father that he does.”

  “Maybe, but still, his doctor says it’s not unusual for even full siblings not to match. You’d think having the same mother would make it more likely we’d match than someone out of a random bunch of strangers, but they find totally unrelated donors from the national donor bank all the time.” She sighed. “It just sucks that he doesn’t have a donor yet. He needs this transplant.”

  “I think it’s really cool, what you’re doing with Chase—finding your brother’s real dad.”

  Alex tapped her fingers against the table in frustration. “I wish Robert thought it was really cool. I haven’t figured out how I’ll handle it if we find the guy and he doesn’t agree to be a donor. Actually, I’m not sure what to do if he does agree. I just know I have to find him.”

  “I don’t really know your brother that well, but I know if it were Chase who had cancer and I had to find his donor, I wouldn’t stop until I found him or her. And when I found that donor, if the person didn’t want to donate his bone marrow or whatever it is, then I’d find a way to convince him. Then if Chase didn’t, for whatever stupid reason, want to use the dude’s stuff, then I’d find a way to convince him. I wouldn’t stop until my brother had gotten what he needed and I knew he was going to be all right.”

  Warmth filled Alex. “You really care about Chase, don’t you?”

  “Hell, yeah, I love him. He’s all I have. I’ve never been able to count on anyone in my entire life but Chase. He is the one and only person who has ever really totally been there for me. I know I can count on him, no matter what.”

  “You put him through the wringer last night, Kara.”

  Kara drummed her pencil against the tabletop. “I know. But I don’t get why he was so freaked out. I’ve been running on my own for years. I know how to get around and no one messes with me. I give attitude when I’m on the street. People don’t want anything to do with me that way.”

  “But, Kara, Chase isn’t used to that—to your being out at all hours and not checking in. It would freak me out if you were staying with me and you were late like that and I couldn’t reach you. My mind tends to veer toward the worst-case scenario. And Chase takes being responsible for you very seriously.”

  “He should just chill.”

  “Maybe, but maybe you could cut him a little slack. Meet him halfway. He’s never done this before. Is it a bad thing that he cares about you?”

  “No,” Kara said, her voice low. “I really want this to work. I do have a life, though.”

  “That’s true of most teenagers.” She cocked her head. “Does that mean there’s a special guy keeping you out late?”

  A slow smile curved Kara’s lips. “Maybe.”

  Alex leaned toward her. “So tell me about him, so I can live vicariously through you. My love life is sadly lacking.”

  “He’s just a friend, but I really like him and I think he likes me. His name is Bruce and he’s blond-haired and brown-eyed. We match, you know? But he’s really cool. He works at the ice cream shop with me and he rides a Harley, so he’s environmentally conscious.”

  “I have a feeling Chase wouldn’t quite see it that way.”

  Kara straightened and her gaze held Alex’s. “Maybe if Chase had a life, too, he’d ease up a little on me.”

  Alex shook her head. “Don’t look at me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Besides the fact that Chase is not the guy for me, I’m only here for a couple of months or so. Once we get Robert through this stem cell transplant I’m going back to my old life.”

  Kara’s expression darkened. “That sucks. But what’s so wrong with my brother? He’s got a good heart. He really cares about people. And he’s great eye candy. Girls are always hitting on him and he hardly notices half the time.”

  “So why isn’t he dating anyone...or is he?” Alex’s heart thudded. Why should she care if Chase had a girlfriend?

  “Don’t get me wrong. He’s had his share of women, but most of them don’t stick around. They can’t handle his old man. He takes up any time Chase has left over after working and checking up on me and studying.” Kara hung her head. “I don’t get why he still tries to help his dad. The dude is a mess. He’s pretty much ruined everybody’s life he’s ever come in contact with.”

  Alex inhaled slowly. She had no idea why Chase hadn’t washed his hands of his father. She’d have done so long ago, but admitting that to Kara didn’t seem prudent. “Your brother doesn’t believe in giving up on people.”

  “I don’t know why. His mother gave up on him, just like mine gave up on me.”

  “Maybe that’s why.” Alex frowned. “He knows how it feels to be given up on and he doesn’t wish it on anyone else. Not even his father.”

  Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Her dad was with Robert, but she’d asked him to call if he needed her to come home for any reason. She pulled out her phone and grinned. “Speak of the devil. It’s Chase.” With a shake of her head she accepted his call. “Your ears must be burning.”

  “Were you talking about me?” he asked, the rumble of his voice rolling over her, familiar, yet intriguing with its deeper, more mature tones.

  “Kara and I were just talking about your inability to give up on people.”

  “Ah, well, I hope you see that as a good quality,” he said.

  “I think the jury is still out on that.”

  He was quiet a moment, likely thinking she’d given up on him way back when. Had he expected her to stay when he had failed to emotionally support her? And if he could be supportive still of her father after he’d cheated on her mother, could Alex have trusted Chase to remain true to her?

  “How’s she doing?” Chase asked, drawing Alex back to the present.

  “I don’t see what all the trouble was. She’s been picking it up without any problem.”

  “That’s because you know how to explain it to me so I can understand,” Kara said.

  “Thanks for working with her, Alex.”

  “No problem,” Alex said, glancing at his stepsister. “Kara is a grea
t kid, even if she likes to roam the streets of Atlanta like a vagabond.”

  Kara rolled her eyes and muttered, “I told you, no one messes with me.”

  “She’s going to be the death of me,” Chase said.

  “I’m trying to convince her to take it easy on you.”

  “If you can do that I’ll really owe you.”

  “So, you’ll be back tomorrow?” Alex asked, not wanting to explore her reasons for asking.

  “My flight gets in around seven. Do you miss me?”

  Her cheeks warmed and she laughed a short little laugh that made her feel way too vulnerable. “I talked to my father about this weekend’s schedule.”

  “You did? What did he say?”

  “He talked to Becky and she has the store covered on Sunday, so he can stay with Robert as needed and I’m free to go. Did you look at flights?”

  “We have several options. I was thinking we should take an early flight, though, so we can spend as much time there as possible,” he said.

  “Okay, that sounds good. I’m okay with whatever you feel would work. Just let me know what you book and I’ll book the same.”

  “I’ll look at it tonight and let you know. Could you please put Kara on?”

  “Sure.” She held the phone out to Kara. “He wants to talk to you.”

  “Thanks,” Kara said. She pressed the phone to her ear. “Hey, Chase, what’s up?”

  Alex checked over Kara’s work, pleased with the limited errors, while Kara chatted with Chase. After a few minutes, Kara handed the phone back to her, saying, “He wants to talk to you again.”

  Thanking Kara, she pressed the phone to her ear. “Hi.”

  “Hi. I just wanted to hear your voice again. You sound really sexy on the phone.”

  Her face again warmed. She turned from Kara, in case the girl noticed the pink that was surely blossoming in her cheeks. It had been way too long since a man had spoken to her in this way.

  “Chase...”

  “You didn’t answer my question.”

  She bit her lip. “What question?”

  “You know what question. Do you miss me?”

  “I’m not answering that.”

  “Why not, Alex? It’s been fifteen years. Can’t we let bygones be bygones?”

  “We made a truce,” she said, stepping into the next room as she glanced to make sure Kara was busy again with her homework.

  “And that was a great start, but it isn’t enough,” he said. “Tell me it isn’t just me that remembers how great we were.”

  You two were so good together, though.

  She closed her eyes. She would not, could not, open herself up to being crushed again by him, regardless of his appeal. “I remember how you let me down.”

  Silence hummed across the line. She shifted her weight and glanced again at Kara. If she didn’t need Chase to find his aunt, she might have walked away at this point, but she did need him. She had no choice but to bide her time and continue to resist any attempts he made to resurrect a romantic connection with her.

  “We’ll have a long time to talk about it this weekend,” he said at long last. “And for the record...I miss you.”

  * * *

  I-85 TRAFFIC CRAWLED at an agonizing pace as Chase headed home from the airport the following evening. Aggravated, he gripped his steering wheel and cranked up his air conditioner a notch. The temperatures had jumped over the past week, reaching record highs for May in Atlanta. With this heat he wasn’t looking forward to June.

  At least Kara would be finished with school soon and could take a little break from the books. Maybe he should plan a beach trip or something fun for them to do over her summer break. She’d enjoy that and he’d enjoy it, too, especially if he could convince Alex to come along.

  He frowned. Of course, her availability depended on what was happening with Robert. And things were not looking too promising on that front. Chase peered at the long line of cars behind and in front of him.

  Why was there still so much traffic this late? An accident must be slowing down all the rubberneckers. He inhaled slowly as he inched along.

  When he came to a full stop he glanced at his cell phone. He’d called Alex last night to give her the flight information, but she hadn’t picked up or returned his call.

  Well, she could act as if she hadn’t missed him all she wanted. He’d felt that certain something between them and he’d bet his bottom dollar she’d felt it, too. They still had that connection. He was tired of letting work and his father dictate his life. It was time to make some changes and if Chase had any say in the matter, having Alex in his life again was going to be a part of those changes.

  Red and blue lights flashed ahead to his right. At last, he’d reached the accident. He exhaled as he rolled slowly past a huge pickup truck and a crumpled sedan flanked by emergency vehicles. Finally, the bottleneck opened.

  Within twenty minutes he turned the corner to his street. As he drew closer to his house a low rhythmic booming vibrated through him. Cars lined the road on both sides. The booming grew louder, joined by the strains of a squealing guitar. Laughter drifted on the air, along with the murmur of a crowd.

  “Oh, no, no, no,” Chase said as he drew near his house.

  Light shone through every window. The front door stood wide-open as a swarm of kids moved between the house and the porch, and throughout the yard. No wonder Kara hadn’t responded when he’d texted her that he’d landed.

  Since the driveway was filled with cars, he drove up the street another block before finding a spot alongside the curb. With a shake of his head he exited his car and then strode up the street, anger simmering through him. What was Kara thinking to have a party like this?

  A boy around Kara’s age stumbled toward him. He stopped in front of Chase, holding his stomach. Shit. From the look and smell of it the kid was roaring drunk. Chase grabbed the kid’s arm and asked, “Where are you going, buddy?”

  The kid shook his head, cupped his hand to his mouth, then turned and threw up in the gutter. Another boy ran over to them. “I’ve got him, mister. He’s okay.”

  “He’s not okay,” Chase said. “He’s drunk...or something.”

  “It’s the punch.” The kid gestured toward Chase’s house, grinning. “It’s killer.”

  “God, I hope not literally.” He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see DFCS agents descending on the place, intent on swooping Kara away.

  “But I’m cool.” The kid dangled a set of car keys. “I’m the designated driver.”

  “You look twelve. Is that supposed to make me feel any better?”

  The kid frowned at him as he looped his arm around his friend. “I’m a senior and I’ve been driving for two years. I’ll get him home.”

  “Great,” Chase said as the youths moved up the street and he reached his driveway.

  He pushed his way into the first cluster of high schoolers in the yard. “This party’s over, but no one is driving until I’ve cleared them to do so.”

  “Fine,” a dark-eyed girl with blue streaks in her hair said. “But you’ll have to talk to that blonde girl. She took everyone’s keys.”

  A small amount of relief flowed through him. “Super. Where is this blonde girl?”

  A guy in sunglasses, wearing sagging pants and a hoody, gestured toward the house. “She was in the kitchen when the keg came.”

  “Awesome,” Chase said. “A keg, of course.”

  He maneuvered through the crowd, squeezed around a big guy in the doorway and then shouldered his way into the living room. He turned off the television, which was hooked to his surround-sound speakers. The music stopped and kids turned to him, questioning looks on their faces. Murmurs of protest broke out.

  “The party is over,” Chase said. “Everyone needs to leave, but no one is driving until I have cleared them.”

  A small commotion erupted near the kitchen. Kara pushed through a knot of people and headed toward him, clutching a plastic pitcher under
her arm. “Chase,” she said. “Thank God you’re here.”

  “What is going on, Kara? I can’t believe you did this. And on a school night.”

  “I am so sorry, but I did not do this. I swear. I had one friend over and then I don’t know where all these people came from. I tried to get them to leave, but they started drinking and it just got crazy.”

  He nodded toward the pitcher. “You did good by taking their keys.”

  “I had to get tough with them.”

  “If you were so tough you would have gotten them to go in the first place,” Chase said.

  “Hey, can I have my keys? This party blows.” A freckled kid held his hand out to Kara.

  “Hold up,” Chase said. “I want to see you walk a straight line.”

  The kid walked a straight line forward and then backward without looking. He smirked at Kara and held out his hand. Chase nodded to Kara and she pulled off the lid to the pitcher. The boy fished out his keys from the pile inside, waving them in triumph as more kids crowded around Kara.

  “Line up,” Chase said. “One at a time. And you.” He grabbed the first kid. “Pick a buddy in need to drive home.”

  The kid rolled his eyes, but gestured toward a glazed-eyed boy sitting on the stairs. “Come on, man, let’s roll.”

  “Thanks, Chase,” Kara said.

  “No problem, but don’t think you’re getting off easy. I’ll deal with you once we get this place cleared out.”

  She nodded, her gaze lowered.

  Chase steeled himself against softening toward her. If ever there was a case for tough love, this was it.

  He turned to the row of kids. “Next.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ALEX PEERED THROUGH the entryway of the brightly lit common room, but her mother was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, she moved toward the wide French doors leading onto the patio near the enclosed garden. Had her mother ventured out into the heat?

  She found her sitting on a shaded bench, a surprising breeze ruffling her hair, her eyes closed and her face turned up and smiling. Alex slowed her approach, unsure if she should interrupt her mother’s blissful moment. As if sensing her, her mother opened her eyes and spread her arms wide.