Page 36 of The Bargain

William choked on his drink and Jeremy’s nostrils flared in anger. Only Phil chuckled that was enough for me to know I’d pushed it to the limit.

Smoothing her skirt, Opal reached for the baby monitor she had on the table. “Well, Timothy is awake. If you’ve had enough fun at my expense, Mr. Beaumont, I think I will call it a night.” She smiled at Lea and Jeremy before concentrating on me again. “But maybe you can go out and pick on homeless or orphans. That’s always fun too.”

The rest of the dinner was a little colder, and based on the looks my sister kept sending me, I knew I was in for a life lesson.

Phil and William left first, leaving me with Jeremy and a still quite angry Lea.

When the butler came to ask if we needed anything else, I shook my head

“No, Dr. Hunt will be leaving soon. He has work in the morning.”

Jeremy stood up, a little sardonic smile gracing the side of his mouth.

“Yes, saving lives is an important job. Have a good night.”

Jeremy had barely exited the room when Lea lashed out.

She stood up, pointing an accusing finger at me. “You had no right to treat her like that!”

I snorted. “I’ve every right actually, so butt out of it.”

Lea shook her head. “She’s our nephew's mother, Dean. She deserves respect. We don’t want to create any family dysfunction. It won't be good for Timmy’s development.”

I rolled my eyes. “Stop with your two cents of psychology. She won’t be a problem much longer.”

Lea frowned. “Dean, what are you doing?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. I’m dealing with it.”

“Dean, don't do anything you can’t take back. Don’t disappoint me.”

I snorted. “I’ve been disappointing you since our mother’s death. What’s one more time?”

She shook her head. “No, Dean. You haven’t disappointed me, never, not until today when I watched you belittle a woman who has never done anything to you.”

I looked at her with incredulity. “Never done anything tome? Never done anything tous? Have you forgotten how our brother went back on drugs? How he stole money for her?” I shook my head. “She’s the reason he’s dead.”

Lea shook her head again. “Don’t let your preconceptions cloud your mind. Don’t see her how you’d imagined her. See her how she is. And don’t hate her because you want her.”

I jerked straighter on my chair. “Iwanther?” I repeated as if I’d misheard her.

My sister jerked her chin stubbornly toward me.

I let out a laugh, but it had no humor. “Iwanther? Fuck me!” I kept on laughing. “Yeah, sure I want an overused cunt that has probably been fucked by half of Philly's slum. She is clearly a petri dish for STDs.”

She curled her mouth downward. “Don’t be crass.”

“And don’t be stupid. I’d never want to fuck that.”

“Ah, I see you’re in denial,” She nodded. “Fine. We’ll discuss this when you’re ready to accept it.”

Anger built inside of me. “You seem to forget that you’re my little sister.” I pointed at her coldly. “If I hadn't stepped up when I had if I had not made the sacrifices I made, you wouldn’t be who you are. Remember yourplace.”

“And I'm grateful for what you did, Deano. You know I am, but don’t start with that shit either. You enjoyed taking over when you did. You like control. You want to control your universe and that woman upstairs.” She pointed up. “She is a variable you didn’t consider. An anomaly in your normally so carefully planned life.” She shrugged. “And I’m not sorry about that.”

“I think you’ve overstayed your welcome for the night. Goodnight, Lea.”

She stood up, unfazed by my rude rebuttal. “Goodnight, Deano. I’ll see you real soon.”

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