Page 7 of Legacy
He shrugged, and I made an exasperated sound in my throat. What was it with everyone shrugging answers at me today?
“I’m not worried about me. I can handle myself but Kate…”
There it was. The worry in his eyes again.
“She went and spoke to them, even though I told her she shouldn’t.” He blurted out in a rush of mumbling. “And this morning she wouldn’t come out of her room. She called in sick to work. She never calls in sick. And she won’t let me in and—”
“Breathe, just breathe.” I needed him to calm down because what he was saying wasn’t making any sense. “Who did Kate go and see?”
“The Hunters.”
My eyes fluttered closed at that and I took a deep breath, and then another one. “I see.” If I let on for even a second how worried that particular piece of news made me, I would worry the kid even more. Closing my hand around his bicep, I led him forward.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to borrow a car and then we are going to see what trouble Kate has got herself into.”
Chapter Five
Kate
The make up on my face was so thick I could scrape it off with the tip of my finger. Yet it did what it needed to do. It hid the worst of the bruises, but I was still swollen. There was nothing I could do about that. I was hoping Conner either wouldn’t pay too much attention to me or would believe the stung by a bee story I had concocted.
Who was I kidding? Conner was worried. I didn’t take time off work, ever. And I hadn’t spent the day locked in my room since I was a teenager. Not even when my husband had died and my life had imploded. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had even had a lay in. Of course he would have noticed and he would’ve guessed why, no doubt.
Glancing at myself in the bathroom mirror to make sure I looked presentable, I headed towards the kitchen. I needed to cook us a meal. Act like everything was normal.
What I really wanted to do was crawl back into my bed and sleep until the aches went away.
The front door opened and shut. Glancing up at the kitchen clock, I frowned. Conner was late. Which wasn’t particularly unusual. But for some reason, it grated on me today. If he had been fighting again, I would…
The thought trailed off. Conner hadn’t been fighting any more than I had. You didn’t fight against the Hunter brothers.
“Hey,” I called out. “What do you say about us having a takeaway tonight?”
“Sure.” Conner appeared in the doorway. His school tie was at half mast and behind him was the familiar and very unwelcome figure of Elliot.
“What the hell is going on here?” My eyes went from Conner to Elliot and back again in rapid succession. “Conner, what are you playing at?”
“He was worried about you.” Elliot’s voice was soothing. Deep and almost gravelly. I didn’t remember it being so rough, but then again, I had never paid attention to it before. But his presence in my kitchen today of all days was scrambling my brain. I couldn’t seem to gather my thoughts into coherent words, so my mouth just opened and closed without me actually saying anything. “And with good reason, it seems.”
Swinging my eyes to him, I scowled. “Conner, go to your room. I will deal with you later.” I didn’t take my eyes off Elliot or Legacy or whatever he was calling himself these days.
For once in his young life, Conner didn’t argue with me. The sound of his door clicking shut was loud in the thick silence.
“Leave.”
“Not going to happen, Kate.” Taking a step forward, he reached out a hand. I scooted back before he could touch me. Once upon a time, we had all been close. He had been the sometimes awkward third wheel in my marriage, but that day had ended when he abandoned us when we needed him the most.
“You hurt bad?” His eyes scanned my face and the more he looked, the thinner his lips became until they had almost disappeared completely. “You don’t need to answer that. I can see. What the hell were you thinking going there and confronting them?”
The anger in his voice surprised me, and I recoiled back. But just as quickly as fear had hit me, anger replaced it. Straightening my spine, I eyed him coldly. “I was protecting my family. I did what needed to be done to keep Conner safe, and I don’t expect you to understand thatLegacy.”
His eyes went wide. “Since when do you call me Legacy?”
I shrugged. “You aren’t Elliot. You stopped being him when you deserted us.” Turning my back to him, I reached for the kettle, but my hand was shaking so hard that I had to put it down again.
“I’m here now.” His voice was quiet. “It’s been ten years. We need to start living our lives again. It doesn’t mean we don’t miss him.” His voice broke. “I miss him every single day too, Kate, but it’s time to move on.”
