Sheryl Nantus: Family Pride

“I should have walked away from it all,” I mumbled. “All I had to do was tell Hank what I saw and leave. If I hadn’t scented Liam, if I hadn’t found out who his real father was...”

“Because it would have been so much better for my mother to get away with murder.” The ironic tone slapped me across the face. “Because it would have been preferable for Liam to grow up living a lie and my mother denying him the truth about his family. Because the Callendars wouldn’t mind burying their daughter and wondering where in the world their grandson is and if he’s even alive.”

I sniffled. “I should have just not been...” I flapped my hands, knowing I looked like an idiot and not caring. “Not a Felis.”

“Don’t you say that,” he growled. “Don’t you ever say that.”

“If I hadn’t—”

He cut me off with a slash of his hand, moving in on me. “Molly Callendar’s death would have gone down as a horrible crime with no one answering for it. Mike Hancock’s murderer would still be running the police force down in Penscotta and doing God knows what under the Board’s noses. And Janey Winter’s family would still be wondering who the hell killed their mother and wife.” He huffed. “Don’t you ever, ever say that you don’t want to be Felis again.”

“But your mother—”

“My mother’s been messed up for years. If she’d gotten away with this, God knows what would be next.”

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close. “If you weren’t who you are, my life would suck. I’d be writing crappy tabloid filler and sleeping alone every night, drinking myself to sleep and wondering if there was something better out there.” His voice dropped to a heated whisper. “I love ending every day with you wrapped in my arms. I live to wake up every morning curled around you in bed.” Bran cupped my face in his hands, tears now running down his cheeks. “You’ve changed me forever. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.” His thumb rubbed against my lips. “My ferocious little Felis.”

The light kiss tasted of tears, both of ours.

I hiccupped and slumped in his arms, dizzy with emotion.

Bran grunted. “How long for the arm?”

I winced and looked at the bandage. “Too long.”

“Oh, well.” He gave me a soft smile. “I think I’ll have to be on top for a bit. Just to make sure you don’t fall off and pull those stitches out.”

“Sure.” It was time to get serious. “Did, ah, did you get an update on your mother?”

He looked down and dug the toe of his running shoe into the half-dead grass. “Mom might make bail tomorrow. Lawyer’s doing his best to make it happen. There’s talk of going for diminished capacity.”

“Mental illness. Do you think she’ll go for it?”

He shrugged. “I don’t honestly know. It won’t keep her out of jail forever but she’ll at least be able to get some help to deal with things.” He shook his head. “The society papers are going to have a good run at this. Liam’s existence, his mother’s murder at my mother’s command and my father’s infidelity, all out in the public for everyone to see.”

“Spice up those tea parties.” I fumbled for something proper to say. “Might even make some of them have more than one cucumber sandwich.”

“Just might.” He let out a pained sigh. “I saw Dad. He, well...he wants what’s best for Liam. I overheard his lawyers talking about going to the Callendars, working out some sort of deal. He’s a bit long in the tooth to take care of a newborn.”

I touched his shoulder. “Liam deserves a family.”

“I’m not sure Dad is the right type of family. Look how I turned out.” He spread his hands palm-up. “Fucked up five ways to Sunday.”

“You’re not so bad.” I gave him a gentle nudge with my hip. “Except when you scratch and bite.”

“Thought that was what you liked.”

A hot surge of lust burned through my veins. Ever since our foray into the Pennsylvanian wilderness our lovemaking had been a bit rougher, a bit more frantic. I’d been able to let my Felis side out and Bran liked it—returning my efforts with interest.

It was a flash of the old Bran. I felt a bit better.

His left hand uncurled from his pocket and slipped into my right. “I told my father I’m done with the Hanovers. The family, the company, all of it.”

I frowned. “What?”

His grip tightened. “I’ve lived off their money for years. The condo, the credit cards—all backed by Daddy’s money. It never bothered me, because I made myself believe the cash I got from writing was enough to live on. Now I realize it was a payoff, a way of buying my silence. About his affairs, about everything. The problems we never spoke about, the secrets we kept.” He lifted our entwined hands. “I wonder if it would have turned out this way if my family chatted more around the breakfast table like regular folk instead of rushing off to work or to charity meetings or photo ops.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” I smiled. “You’ve never been much of a morning person.”

“I’m giving it all up. The condo’s going up for sale and I already shredded the credit cards.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. “Everything?”

“Everything. No more steaks, no more tailored suits, no more fancy restaurants.” His free hand swept over the yard. “I don’t want any economic links to either of them. I might be blood kin and I can’t do anything about that, but I’m not going to take their money and be expected to keep their dirty little secrets.” The words rolled out as if he were afraid to keep them inside for a second longer. “I’ll do what’s right by Liam. He’s my half brother and I want to have a relationship with him, if and when the Callendars will let me. But that’s all.”

“Whuf.” I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate to say. A part of me whimpered at the loss of those fabulous rare steaks. The other part was relieved Jazz wouldn’t get any fatter on fancy leftovers.

The third part wondered where he was going to go now.

“Problem is, now I’m homeless. And I’m a wee bit too old to go sleep in the park with the other kids.”

“Oh well.” I gave a dramatic sigh. “I guess I’ll go get your spare underwear and socks and stuff them into a plastic bag. I think there’s a park over by the lake that’s got a few empty benches at this time of night.”

“What?”

I couldn’t sustain the seriousness needed to pull the joke off.

“Would you like to move in with me?”

Bran rubbed his chin. “This is a big step forward in a relationship. I mean, what if you find your perfect mate next w—”

I cut him off with a growl, pressing my lips to his.

His teeth closed on my bottom lip and tugged, almost painfully.

I pulled back first, breathless and smiling.

“We are one screwed-up couple,” Bran said.

“Yep.” I took his hand and led him inside. “It’s a good place to start.”

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