by Ana E Ross
“Nor for you.” He was grieving for his friends while trying to stay strong for the children, and still obviously dealing with a loss of his own. It couldn’t be easy for him. The torment in his eyes when Jason had mentioned Pilar in the nursery was embedded into Kaya’s mind forever, and in spite of her protest, her heart took on the weight of his pain. “I’m sorry about the way I acted in Steven’s office, Bryce.”
“I wasn’t that kosher, either. I said some pretty unpleasant things to you.”
“I should have been a little more sympathetic to your grief and more understanding about your close relationship with your godchildren.” She picked up a bottle ring and twirled it around on her finger. “It’s just that, I fell in love with these kids the moment I saw them. They’re family—”
“If you feel that strongly about family, why didn’t you ever come up to visit Lauren?”
Kaya dropped the bottle ring on the table and watched it spin to a stop. Because I was jealous of her. She had the father who’d abandoned me.
She raised her head to find Bryce studying her. “I guess I was too busy building my career. You know, climbing my way to the top of that corporate ladder of success.”
“Touché, Miss Brehna.”
Despite their estrangement, there were details of her sister’s life Kaya wished she knew. Simple things like... “How did Michael and Lauren meet?” she asked, verbalizing her question.
Bryce seemed to enjoy a slow smile before answering.
“They met when Lauren came to Granite Falls to compete in a skiing tournament. She beat Michael’s prized student and took home the gold. Michael was so impressed he offered her a job as an instructor at his school. She returned to Granite Falls after she lost her mother to breast cancer. A mother who until today, I assumed you both shared.”
Kaya was too embarrassed to admit that she didn’t even know when or how Lauren’s mother had died. She’d only met her sister once, and it wasn’t under pleasant circumstances. Then shortly after their father died, Lauren and her mother moved to a town in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
“It was love at first sight,” Bryce continued, obviously happy to relate the heartwarming tale. “I was very skeptical of Lauren at first. She was barely an adult, but she soon proved that age was just a number, and that love knew no boundaries.”
“Michael was a lot older than her,” Kaya said of the salt and pepper-haired, distinguished-looking, silver-grey-eyed man she’d seen in the family pictures.
“Quite a bit.” Bryce brushed the pad of his thumb back and forth across Anastasia’s cheek. “Michael was a kid at heart, though. Perhaps that’s why he gravitated toward the younger generation.”
“How long had you known him?”
“Hmm. About twenty years. I signed up for ski lessons at his school. He was the best instructor in both alpine and Nordic skiing around here. Michael took one look at me and said, ‘Son you have a better shot at making a profitable career in football or basketball. Why waste your time and talent on skis?’”
“I’m sure it’s not just because of your quarterback size, but more precisely because you’re black?”
“Yep. Michael was prejudiced and he didn’t even know it.”
“Well, he must have changed. He married Lauren, and she was black.”
“That was the best decision he ever made in his miserable life. They were perfect for each other.”
Kaya smiled. “I believe that.”
He gave her a quizzical look. “You’re bi-racial.”
“Yes. My mother is Caucasian. Are you originally from Granite Falls?” she asked to keep the conversation away from Nadine. That topic was off limits.
“I’m from Queens, New York, actually.”
“A city boy, huh? What brought you to Granite Falls?”
“Boarding school. I fell in love with the natural landscape—the mountains, lakes, rivers, and the people.” He looked out the wall of glass, to the four-season porch and the line of evergreen trees bordering the lake. He smiled like a man who knew he was home and was happy about it. “I had no desire to return to an overcrowded city after this.”
“But Granite Falls is a buzzing city, too,” Kaya remarked. “I was totally surprised when I drove through downtown the first time and saw skyscrapers towering against the snow-covered mountains, and the beautifully restored mill buildings that housed department stores and elite boutiques. Who would think there was a little mecca like this buried in the foothills of the White Mountain National Range? Nobody.”
“Shh. We try to keep it quiet.”
Kaya giggled like a schoolgirl. He did have a sense of humor. “Do you have any other family?”
A frown settled between his brows. “Just my parents. They live in New York. But they like to spend the winters in warmer climates. They’re in Cambodia right now. Last time I heard, they were teaching Cambodian children English at a monastery. I’ve been trying to get them to move here, but they keep putting it off.”
He’s lonely, Kaya thought with a thud in her heart. “How did you finally convince Michael to teach you how to ski?” she asked to brighten the mood.
He chortled. “Michael liked to go off on his own at the end of the day. One afternoon, I followed him out on a pond and he happened to fall through a crack in the ice. I helped him out on the promise that he’d give up his archaic notions about black people and teach me how to ski.”
“So you both got what you wanted?”
“You could say that.”
“Was that when you began honing your negotiating skills?” His reputation as a relentless negotiator preceded him. He’d given her a taste of his shrewdness this morning in Steven’s office, and then later in the nursery when he’d tried to manipulate her with seduction.
The corners of his eyes crinkled on a smile. “Probably. I learned that if people want something badly enough, they’re always willing to make a deal.”
“Your tactics work. Look at what you’ve accomplished in such a short time. This is probably the most beautiful house I’ve ever set foot in. And I should know. I’ve been in some of the grandest on the East Coast.”
His countenance suddenly turned somber and he dropped his gaze to the baby in his arms.
Did speaking about the house bring back unhappy memories for him? Did it have anything to do with Pilar? Did he build the house for her? Did they live here together before she died? Questions swirled around in Kaya’s head. Questions she dared not ask.
They’d only met a few hours ago. She had no right to probe into his private life. The lives of her sister and brother-in-law, however, were open for discussion. She had a right to know how they came to financial ruin, and the reason her whole life had changed overnight at their deaths. “Why were Michael and Lauren living in your house, Bryce?” she asked.
He gazed up through thick, dark lashes. “Lauren never told you?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Have you noticed the small scar over Alyssa’s left eye?”
“Yes. But what has that to do with anything?”
“Everything. About a year ago, Alyssa fell and hit her head on the bathtub. She got a nasty cut and Lauren had to rush her to the hospital. Jason was at school and Michael was at work. While they were out, the house exploded.”
Kaya grabbed the locket around her neck. “Oh my God. What happened?”
“A gas leak Michael thought he’d fixed. Lauren had left a fire going in the fireplace. They lost everything, except Snoopy, who was with Alyssa.”
Kaya swallowed back a sob. If Alyssa hadn’t fallen, she and Lauren would have perished in that explosion, and Anastasia wouldn’t be here today. Only Michael and Jason would have survived. As bad as this present loss was, Kaya knew that one would have been worse. She couldn’t imagine a world without Alyssa and Anastasia in it.
Now that she thought about it, it was around that time that Lauren began writing to her, sending her picture of her family. That accident had brought
Michael and Lauren face to face with their own mortality. It had caused them to make plans for their children’s future care.
“Michael was having some health issues with his heart,” Bryce said. “He couldn’t work as much. Lauren tried to help between taking care of him and the kids. Then his business failed due to lack of snow for three consecutive winters. Pride kept him from accepting my help.” He paused and sighed. “Anyway, after the explosion, I insisted that they move in here until they got back on their feet. He couldn’t refuse. They had nowhere else to go.”
Kaya gazed at Bryce, moved by his kindness and altruistic nature. She now saw the good man Libby said dwelled beneath his hard exterior. He was kind to the people he cared about, and even though that did not include her, Kaya was happy her sister had known him. “It was really nice of you to let them live here, Bryce. But why would you build such a magnificent home and not live in it yourself? Is it because of Pilar?”
Like shades pulled against the glare of the sun, an impenetrable mask descended on his face. He got up and brought Anastasia to her, transferring the infant into the crook of her arm without breaking the feed. “Your twenty-twenty question session is up, Miss Brehna,” he said and strolled to the sliders.
CHAPTER FOUR
Bryce stared out at the snowflakes drifting down from a cloudy sky to form a pristine white carpet across the frozen lake. This was the season when he felt closest to Pilar. He missed sharing meals with her in front of a roaring fire, then making love on the floor until the embers died out. He missed waking up next to her on cold wintery mornings, making love again, sleeping in, breakfast in bed, and sometimes lunch.
Those who were close to him knew not to question him about the few precious months he had with Pilar, and of the years of happiness they should have had in this house. His close friends and family understood his need for privacy when it came to Pilar. Kaya was neither friend nor family. She was a stranger Michael and Lauren had appointed guardian of their children.
He wanted her gone by the end of the week, either voluntarily or by coercion. He already had a private detective on her case. He needed something to use against her. Even an unpaid parking ticket could make her seem irresponsible. She’d already alluded to a somewhat unpleasant past, some loathsome secret she and Lauren had shared. Perhaps the threat of exposing “it” would be enough to persuade her to quietly hand over the children and return to her life in Palm Beach.
He had no desire to hurt Kaya, or Lauren’s memory if the secret they’d hidden all these years tuned out to be monumental, but he was willing to do anything, even resort to blackmail if that was what it took to keep the children where they belonged.
He’d be remiss in his role as a godfather if he did nothing to stop Kaya’s plan.
“Uncle Bryce.”
Bryce turned at the sound of his name. His heart trembled with joy and fear as Alyssa raced across the floor toward him, Snoopy under one arm. She wrapped her free hand around his legs. He couldn’t bear the thought of going through life and not hearing her sweet voice calling out for her Uncle Bryce.
“Yes, baby. What is it?” He stroked her hair away from her face.
“Can we go for a sled ride on the lake?”
“Maybe tomorrow, sweetheart.”
“Why can’t we go now? It’s not dark yet.”
“I know, baby. It’s just that I—” He took a quick glance at Kaya who was still feeding Anastasia. She had that enraptured smile adults got when they stared into the innocent face of a child. She was bonding. He knew the feeling well. There was no way in hell he was going to leave her alone with Samantha. She would have zero opportunities to cut him out of any decisions about the children.
He returned his attention to Alyssa. “I have to talk with Miss Samantha when she’s finished with your brother.”
“But they’ve been talking for a one hundreds of minutes already. Is Jason bad? Does he have a timeout?”
Bryce crouched down to her eye level and held her hands. “No. They’re just talking about some very important stuff.”
“Like what?” She shrugged her shoulder.
Bryce studied her face. She seemed unaffected by her parents’ absence. She hadn’t even asked for them since he’d arrived. Where did she think they were?
Bryce stood to his feet as Alyssa stuck her thumb into her mouth and walked over to Kaya. She stared at her baby sister then announced around her thumb, “That’s not the way Mommy feeds her.”
“No? How did your mommy feed her?” Kaya asked as she finally pulled the empty bottle from Anastasia’s mouth.
“With those.” Alyssa poked a finger into Kaya’s breasts, one at a time.
She flinched, twice, then stated with a stiff upper lip, “Well, this is how I feed her.”
Bryce watched on, curiously amused as Kaya’s cheeks turned a bright pink. She kept her head down, not daring to glance his way. She had the same uncomfortable look as before when they’d discussed nipples in the nursery. Was she that inexperienced? That innocent?
“Why don’t you use those?” Alyssa jabbed her again.
And again she flinched. “Because I’m an aunt and not a mommy. Only mommies feed babies that way.”
Her voice was as unstable as the rhythm of his heart.
“When is my mommy coming home?” Alyssa asked.
Finally. Bryce held his breath as he looked on silently.
She took a moment to hoist Anastasia over her shoulder before she responded. “Alyssa, remember we talked about your mommy and daddy being in heaven on vacation?”
So that’s where she thought they were.
“Uh-huh, but when are they coming back?”
“Not for a long while.”
“Why? Don’t they love me no more?”
“They love you. They love you a lot. They didn’t want to go to heaven just yet, but they had to.”
“Why?”
Kaya finally glanced his way, her large brown eyes pleading for help as she tried to coax a burp from the baby. He couldn’t help her. What was the point of prolonging the inevitable?
“Because God wants them to spend some time with Him,” Kaya told Alyssa.
Bryce rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure, bring God into it.
“’Cause He loves them?” Alyssa asked?
“Yes. Because He loves them.”
Lauren and Michael had never spent a day away from their children, so Bryce understood the look of confusion on Alyssa’s face at the idea that her parents would go to heaven on vacation without her. Bryce wanted to go over and tell the child that her father and mother weren’t coming home—not because God loved them, but because her father had been too damned proud to accept his help. There, he’d thought it.
According to Steven, Lauren had gone to pick up Michael from the lodge when his truck wouldn’t start. The authorities speculated that while on their way home, Lauren’s SUV might have hit a patch of black ice and careened off Route 80 into a deep ravine.
They were still waiting on the coroner’s report for the causes and times of death.
Bryce balled his hands into fists. In the past two months, Michael had called him four times for a jumpstart. Twice at the ski lodge. Once at the supermarket, and once when he’d gone to get Alyssa from ballet. For his birthday, just a week and a half ago, Bryce had bought Michael a brand new truck. But his friend refused to accept it. It was too much, he said.
Bryce wondered if his scripture-quoting friend’s last thoughts were “pride goes before a fall”. Damn him for causing his children so much heartache.
He was mad at himself, too. If he hadn’t allowed the small-town paparazzi to chase him into the Alps after his recent breakup with his latest lover, he would have been home to respond to Michael’s call for help. He would have gladly laid down his life for these children.
“I’m hungry, Auntie Kaya. Can I have a cookie?”
Bryce walked over to the table, and taking Alyssa by the hand, he sat down and lifted her onto his kne
e. “How about Uncle Bryce order some pizza?”
“I just want a cookie.” She pointed to the loon-shaped ceramic cookie jar on the counter.
Lauren kept it filled with homemade cookies. She always baked an extra batch for him. Many times in the past five years, he’d drowned his pre-dawn nightmares in a glass of milk and chocolate chip, or oatmeal-raisin and walnut cookies. “You can have a cookie after you eat some pizza,” he told Alyssa.
“Okay. Can I have extra cheese and pepperoni?”
“You can have whatever you want.”
“Can Snoopy have sausage? He doesn’t like pepperoni. It makes him burp. Right, Snoopy?” She nodded the beagle’s head.
Bryce chuckled. “Okay. Sausage for the dog.”
Alyssa wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, Uncle Bryce.”
Bryce held her close and closed his eyes as he drew comfort from her warmth, her trust, her innocence. He knew he shouldn’t have favorites, but this little one held a very special place in his heart, perhaps because if his own child had been given a chance at life, he or she would have been the same age as Alyssa. They would have cut their first teeth together, taken their first steps around the same time, started preschool this very year. If only he’d protected his family... If only...
“Bryce.”
Bryce opened his eyes to find Samantha watching him. From the empathy in her eyes, he knew she’d picked up on his thoughts. She was the only person who understood his special affection for Alyssa.
Four years ago, when his loss was still very fresh, Samantha had encouraged him to deepen his bond with the newly born Alyssa. Surprisingly, it had eased his grief over Pilar’s death. He’d trusted Samantha then, and he trusted her now to help Jason through his pain. He set Alyssa on the floor and stood up. “Go ask your brother what he wants on his pie, sweetheart?” he said, smiling down at her.
