Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3)

by Straight, Nancy

  Daniel put his arm around Jessica and motioned to Katherine, “Let’s go change. I bet you two have never caught waves like these.” He looked between Beau and Brent, “See you two soon.” The three of them disappeared into the house.

  Gretchen was pleased to have her family surrounding her; she didn’t need to say it: the joy emanated from her. It was surreal for all of us to be together when just days ago I had worried I might never see any of them again. Brent remained quiet. He’d watched the three walk up the steps, but made no move to go with them.

  Will and Gretchen shared a wicker love seat, his arm lovingly draped around her shoulder. Bruce sat with Hannah on an overstuffed chaise lounge. Lacey sat in a chair as Beau sat on the ground with his back propped up against her legs. I sat on Drake’s lap in the matching chair next to Beau and Lacey. Bart and Ben completed the circle on two rusty metal chairs they had dragged over from the back of the house. Brent looked awkward, as if uncomfortable in his own skin, as he took a seat in the sand.

  *****

  It was a great afternoon catching up with everyone. Lacey and Beau had spent the last few weeks at her father’s cabin at Lake Tahoe. Will and Gretchen had stayed at a friend’s chateau in France. Bruce and Hannah never left Charleston but had rented a house on the Isle of Palms where all the tourists flocked to in the summertime. Ben and Bart had been skiing in Colorado. Brent had been left to fend for himself.

  After we were all caught up, I excused myself to go see if more food had appeared in the dining room. Breakfast had been cut short when the others arrived, and I was starving. Brent followed me inside while Drake stayed to talk to Beau.

  Daniel’s was the first voice I heard as we got inside, “Hey, Train Wreck, you want a soda?”

  Brent shouted from behind me, “I told you, stop calling her that!”

  Whatever the inside joke was between Daniel and Brent – Brent did not think it was funny. It almost seemed like Daniel was purposely calling Katherine “Train Wreck” just to get under Brent’s skin.

  I tried never to probe anyone’s thoughts who might want them to remain private, but my curiosity started to get the better of me. Daniel hadn’t grown up around Centaurides, so he wasn’t used to nor did he try to hide his thoughts from anyone. After sifting through a few x-rated thoughts he openly had for Jessica, I abandoned my search and decided to satisfy my curiosity the old-fashioned way.

  I asked, “Okay, what gives?”

  Daniel pretended to be surprised with my question, “Huh?”

  “Why do you keep calling Katherine ‘Train Wreck’?”

  Daniel’s lips set in a sly grin as his eyes darted to Brent. Brent glared at Daniel, silently warning him to keep his explanation to himself. Instead of answering my question, Daniel went in a different direction, “You know, I’ve spent a lot of time with Beau and Brent. Those are two Centaurs who couldn’t be more different. Did you ever notice?”

  I had noticed. Beau was thoughtful and kind; he’d go out of his way to do anything for anyone. I’d seen his thoughts lots of times; Beau rarely tried to hide his. I wasn’t surprised because he never had anything to be ashamed of if others saw what he was thinking.

  Brent was very different from Beau; he seemed more like a card player – keeping his hand close. Brent was kind and accepting of a sister who had essentially dropped out of the sky, but he rarely let his guard down. Brent was opinionated and very in favor of Centaur traditions. If I had to guess, I’d say it was that he liked the security it gave him, all the rules made sense to him, and anyone who didn’t follow the rules was wrong. He looked at all situations as if they were black and white. Brent had suspected we were part of the Lost Herd, but when the truth came out in the open, Brent had a tough time dealing with it.

  It felt odd talking about Brent with Daniel while Brent was in the same room. “They look a lot alike.”

  “Yeah, and I look like an Olympic swimmer, but it doesn’t mean I can hold my breath for two minutes.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not asking you if they look like they share the same genetic make-up, I asked if you noticed how different their personalities are.”

  Before I could answer, Brent warned, “Leave it alone, Daniel.”

  Daniel put on his best innocent face, “Leave what alone? I’m just making an observation.”

  As Brent continued glaring, and Daniel feigned innocence, I decided a more direct approach was better. “What does Beau have to do with you calling Katherine ‘Train Wreck’?”

  Brent blew out a large breath he’d been holding and answered me before Daniel could. “He’s trying to be funny.” Anger welled up in him, “And he sucks at it.”

  Daniel held his palms up to Brent, looking as if he were being robbed. “Whoa. I suck at it? If you weren’t wound so tight, you’d think I was hysterical.”

  “I’m only wound tight because I’ve been subjected to you and all your commentary for three full days. Just drop it.”

  Katherine had been standing at the door watching the ribbing that Daniel had been dishing out. She looked sad. Next to her sat an enormous suitcase. When she turned to go up the entryway, Brent bolted toward her from where he’d been standing within arm’s reach of Daniel. “Can I get that for you?”

  She shook her head but no words came out. As she turned to walk out of the room, Brent reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let me help you.” He looked nervous but didn’t remove his hand. He added, “If Mom sees you carrying a big suitcase up three flights of stairs while I’m hanging out with these two, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  Katherine looked at his hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t tell him to let go. When her eyes met his, the tension between them was thick in the air. Her voice was monotone – absent any emotion, “I’ve got it.”

  Katherine was two strides away from Brent when he swooped up behind her, took the suitcase out of her hand and went up the stairs in a blur. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, put her hand on the banister for support, took a deep breath, and stealthily wiped her eye. Something was wrong, but asking Brent or Daniel wasn’t the right way to go about it.

  “Hey, Katherine. You’re already in shorts, any chance you’d go for a walk on the beach with me?”

  Relief spilled over her features as a half-smile emerged. “Now?”

  I nodded and she eagerly opened the front door. I wouldn’t press her, but something had happened in Las Vegas. I tried not to jump to conclusions, but whatever it was, if she needed to get it off her chest – I’d listen. She looked like she was ready to implode.

  Chapter 23

  (Camille, Beach Outside of Cancun, Mexico)

  The sand was soft and wet between our toes. Every few feet I’d see a crab or water bugs feverishly trying to get back into the ocean after the surf marooned them on the shore. Katherine was deep in thought. Trying to see into her thoughts was like looking at an empty whiteboard – blank. I wasn’t surprised. If just being near her were enough that other Centaurs couldn’t see us, I shouldn’t have expected her thoughts to miraculously broadcast to everyone.

  Katherine’s red hair blew in the breeze, obscuring most of her face. I kept expecting her to smooth it away or to hold it to the side, but she didn’t. She walked with one foot in front of the other, unable or unwilling to talk. We passed a massive pile of driftwood stuck on some concrete blocks. Maybe someone had piled the blocks there for a dock that was never built. The trees swayed as the wind picked up; the monkeys and noisy birds who were screeching quieted as we passed them. It felt like a storm was almost on us, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  The pile of concrete blocks was so far behind us we couldn’t see the defined pile anymore when I asked, “Mind if we sit?”

  Her voice carried over the gusts of wind without her having to shout. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  The wind had steadily picked up, so I suggested, “Can we get off the beach so we won’t be pelted with the sand?”

&
nbsp; Katherine shrugged her shoulders but walked to the shelter of some trees just behind the beach. I was struggling for a way to kick start my interrogation. “You know I never got a chance to say thank you.”

  Katherine looked at me, still absent any real emotion and said, “Ya just did.”

  She’d shut me down quickly as I heard my own voice trail off, “I guess I did.” She looked like she was a million miles away, and I wished I could see what was on her mind. “Are you worried about your family?”

  She shook her head, but the far off gaze she had fixed on the ocean remained there. I didn’t want to pull what was bothering her out forcibly: I couldn’t risk offending her. We needed Katherine. Instead I prodded softly, “I don’t know how to help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  Her words were gentle, almost lost to me in a gust of wind that blew hard through the trees. “Ya can’t help me. No one can.”

  “I’d like to try. Sometimes just talking about a problem helps you solve it.”

  “Not this time.” Her lips crushed together in a forced smile. The turmoil was just under the surface, but I was clueless how to help.

  “Is it Daniel? I know he can be difficult. If he’s bothering you, I can get him to back off.”

  Her forced smile morphed into a genuine one at the mention of Daniel. “Naw, I like him. He’s one of the lucky ones, ya know?”

  She liked Daniel? That was a surprise. Most people just tolerated him. “Lucky? How do you mean?”

  “Humans get ta breeze through life. They’re the only species who truly have free will.” The only species? What else was out there? Before I could ask her, she continued, “Centaurs live within the confines of some very rigid rules. In addition to the rules, you pretend ta be human and pretend you’re making your own choices.”

  “We make our own choices. Some of them just . . . conform better than others,” I countered defensively.

  Her smile grew as if she didn’t believe me. Going with the flow must be a typical Centaur trait. She confessed, “Lapiths look like humans and think like humans, but we have our own issues to deal with. Humans have the world in the palm of their hand and no idea what ta do with it.”

  “Maybe in some respects, but they don’t get to do all the cool stuff that we do.”

  Katherine chuckled to herself, “That’s the thing: Daniel would trade anything to be a pure-blooded Centaur right now, but if he got his wish, he’d be stifled by all the rules he’d have ta follow.”

  “So Daniel is what’s bothering you?”

  “No. He’s the one who’s made the road trip bearable. Do ya know, when we got to Las Vegas, he went to the MGM and got our room compted?”

  “Compted? Like from gambling?”

  “Uh, no. That wouldn’t be all that remarkable. He went into the lobby of the hotel and started spouting off this outrageous lie.” Katherine proceeded to tell me about how they got checked in, and by the end of the story, my stomach hurt from the laughter.

  I could see Daniel pulling that kind of stunt. It was just like him. “Yeah, that’s Daniel. I’m surprised Brent didn’t try to reel him in.”

  “None of us could believe it. The three of us didn’t say a word. The next thing we know we’re in a Penthouse suite and the manager wants his picture with Jessica. Only a human would pull something like that.”

  “Oh no, that’s more of a Daniel thing. An idea like that wouldn’t even occur to most humans. They’d just have laid a credit card on the desk and hit the casino after they dropped off their bags.”

  That was one of the reasons I’d always been drawn to Daniel. He could make even the mundane a true adventure. I still didn’t have the answer as to why she looked so unhappy. “So, if it’s not Daniel, what is bothering you? Did Brent say something rude?”

  “It’s not what he said or anything he did.”

  My curiosity hadn’t diminished. “Why does Daniel keep calling you Train Wreck?”

  Her gaze fell to a small patch of grass on the ground, but she nodded. “So, Daniel and Jessica are really into each other. Ya noticed, eh?”

  Not sure where her question was going, I decided just to follow her lead. “Yeah, it would be hard not to.”

  “Jessica likes him, a lot, but she’s not ready to write off her family completely until all this stuff plays out. He’s like a Snickers bar for her. She can’t get enough of him. The two of them decided they were going to the casino for some middle-of-the-night black jack. Brent and I were in the hotel room watching a movie, one thing led to another, and when they came back. . . .”

  I waited for her to finish, but she just let it hang in the air. I couldn’t have imagined how one thing had led to another knowing Brent’s personality. When after too long of a pause she didn’t finish, I asked, “What led to what?”

  “Daniel and Jessica walked in on Brent and me kissing. He completely melted down. One second he was apologizin’, the next he was shouting about betraying his Centauride, then he started mumblin’ about embarrassing his family.”

  “So the nickname?”

  “Once Brent started to calm down, Daniel started ribbing Brent about his perfectly laid out life. How he came from money, he had all these great brothers and led a charmed life. Daniel told him he should have stayed down in the mine shaft in South Dakota because his life has officially been derailed.”

  “Train Wreck, I get it. But that’s just Daniel. He wouldn’t keep saying it if it wasn’t ticking Brent off.” Katherine reached down and picked up a twig, poking a little patch of grass. I was worried she might go back into silent mode, so I asked, “So, do you like Brent?”

  “No. I don’t’ know. Maybe. Do you know what my family would do to me if I brought home a Centaur? I’d be disowned.”

  “Really?” The thought hadn’t occurred to me before. All I’d heard since I learned about Centaurs was how the Centaur was viewed by “settling” for a human. Without any real knowledge of Lapiths, I hadn’t considered a Centaur would be undesirable.

  “Uh, yeah. I only invited Jessica and Gayle over ta our house once. I swore I’d never do that again.”

  I picked up a stick, and we both started poking at the ground. “So, if you don’t like him, how did one thing lead to another in the hotel?”

  Katherine looked at me shyly, her hair still blowing in the breeze, but she made an effort to keep it out of her face. “Well, he’s not hard on the eyes. When we were walkin’ in the mine shaft, he took me by surprise. . . a little.”

  “Yeah, I was there.” I didn’t want to tell her that I’d been just as surprised as she was by his kindness. Brent wasn’t a jerk. If anything, he was the brother who had gone out of his way to make me feel like part of the family when I first arrived in South Carolina. But it wasn’t long before he was the first to openly disapprove of how Mom had raised me.

  The stick she’d been poking the ground with had uncovered an interesting piece of wood. We both kept poking at it, but only partially paid attention to the object in the sand, “I was raised ta hate Centaurs. Gayle and Jessica were the only two I ever had time for. Both of them had brothers around when we were growin’ up. If they knew what I was, and I was lying on the side of the road bleeding ta death, none of them would so much as hold a towel against an open wound to save me.”

  I didn’t want to try to guess what had come over Brent in the tunnel. I remembered he had been furious when he found out Katherine was a Lapith. The two of them had shouted at each other, and I was worried we might never get out of that tunnel. “I think your story about Gayle really touched him.”

  “Yeah, what he doesn’t understand is that he never should have touched me – not like he did.”

  Puzzled, I didn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. She must have seen my confusion, “Okay, so Lapiths are all supposed to be long gone, right?”

  “That’s what you guys told me; I learn more every day. Up until a few months ago, I didn’t know Centaurs were anything more than bedtime storie
s and one of the constellations.”

  “Did you know that one of the rules Centaurs have about no touching came from a Lapith?”

  My eye muscles flexed, “How do you mean?”

  She bit her lip. She wanted to answer my question, but she hesitated, no doubt struggling with how much she could share. Her voice shook but her gaze was steady, “Okay, so a male Centaur won’t physically touch a Centauride once he’s betrothed, eh?”

  I nearly laughed, “Yeah, that’s the custom as I know it.” My mind immediately returned to the day Drake and I met at Bruce and Hannah’s wedding. He’d caught me in mid-air and kept me from doing a face-plant on the driveway. Afterwards, I’d held out my hand as a thank-you, but he refused to touch me.

  “That tradition didn’t start because a Centauride got offended that her betrothed made contact with another Centauride. It wasn’t a jealousy thing at all.”

  “Well, what was it?”

  “You’ve heard of Rupert, eh?”

  “The father of the Lost Herd.”

  “He was supposed to be some wild Centaur who was kicked out of the pasture of Thessaly, right?” I’d heard that from Brent, Will, and Drake and had no reason to doubt what they’d told me.

  “Right. He had a bunch of wives. Back then, I think they all did. Shortly after he was banished from the pasture, he met Lila, a Lapith. He was hurt or something, I don’t remember that part of the story, but Rupert embraced her as a thank-you for something she’d done.”

  “So, what happened to Lila?”

  “He became obsessed with her. He ignored all of his Centauride wives and refused ta stay away from the pasture where Lila lived.”

  “But, he’d been banished. Weren’t Centaurs hunting him by then?”

  “Lila was able to hide him because she was a Lapith, the same way I’m able to hide you and your family now. It was unheard of back then, Centaurs and Lapiths never got along, so no Centaurs ever looked for him on her property.”