Page 35 of Lucas
“Tell me a story.”
She snorted. “A fairy tale, perhaps?”
“Something about you. I know your mother is alive and living in Seattle, but you’ve never mentioned any siblings.”
She tensed for a split second. If he had to guess, it was a reflexive response she’d never completely been able to erase. He recognized it because he carried a personal familiarity with the sensation.
“I have a brother and sister, both several years older than me.” She moved away to sit against the headboard, her knees pulled up, but her arm still pressed into him. “My dad called me their love child because they’d had me late. Mom thought it was funny, but my brother and sister became uncomfortable any time it was mentioned. It might have been for some other reason, but I cringed every time Mom or Dad said it. It was as if my brother and sister weren’t made out of love but for some requirement, like checking something off a list.”
She hugged her arms around her knees. “I guess it sounds kind of petty now, but I never felt like they wanted me around. One of them always had to babysit me rather than go out with their friends. Most of the time, it was like I didn’t belong. At that early age, a few years is a huge gap between siblings. I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to explain. But I rebelled.” She released a sharp laugh. “They say the youngest in the family tends to be the wildest. So, I guess I fit the pattern.”
He wanted to hold her and share words of comfort. That she belonged somewhere now. “I don’t think it’s petty. To a child, those things stay with them. It’s hard to shake.”
“It sounds like you might know something about that. You don’t talk about your family.”
He shrugged. “Not much to tell. Two older brothers. One younger sister and another who died not long after her birth. As the youngest male, it was expected of me to go to another House. Find a place for myself.”
Ginger curled into him again, her head resting on his shoulder. “You miss your sister.”
He was going to deny it as he so often did. But Ginger was someone he wanted to share everything with. The only one. “I miss Rosalynn a great deal. But I didn’t leave on friendly terms with the family.”
“Rosalynn?” He’d felt her tense when he first said the name but, as she repeated it, she relaxed and laid her head against his shoulder. “Rosalynn is your sister.” Another moment passed before she squeezed his hand. “It’s a beautiful name.”
“For a beautiful baby sister, who was like my shadow. But, similar to you, my brothers were much older than me, and while there was an age gap between me and Rosalynn, we shared many happy times together.” He smiled as he remembered his sister’s childhood, but then an old anger poked at him. Maybe he wasn’t ready to discuss something that happened so long ago. “She’s married now to the eldest son of another House. My father didn’t have the sense to arrange business relationships with other Houses in order to make ours stronger. He fell upon old traditions of marriage between Houses to build strength and close allies.”
“You didn’t approve of the marriage.”
“She was in love with someone else at the time. From what I knew of her beau, he was in love with her as well. But he was only the second son of a House, and though it was a powerful House, it wasn’t good enough for Father. My sister had a tender heart and had been raised to do what she was told.”
“Is she happy?”
His heart beat painfully at her simple question. And it reignited the shame he’d locked away. “I don’t know. I’ve written, but it’s been some time. I know she’s comfortable and well-cared for, but happy? I hope so.”
She gripped his hand. “That’s so sad. I don’t think I’d have the strength to marry for the sake of someone else’s convenience.”
“You would have stood up to your father. Of that, I have no doubt.”
“Oh, absolutely. And that’s the obvious way of showing strength. But to do what you believe your family needs at the expense of your own happiness is its own kind of strength. Whether we agree with the practice or not.”
He hadn’t considered his sister’s actions from that perspective. Regardless, was it fair to force that burden on someone for such a high sacrifice? “I don’t think Lyra would have agreed so easily if Guildford had agreed that a union with Venizi was necessary. You walked away from your family to find the peace and freedom to become your own person. I think everyone should have the right to do that.”
“But sometimes it comes at a cost that not everyone is willing to pay. And some are still paying for it.”
“Are we talking about Rosalynn or you?”
Though she didn’t respond, her scent changed. There was more to the story that she wasn’t comfortable sharing. Was she embarrassed or unsure what he’d think? He didn’t want to push and changed the topic to something he’d always been curious about.
“How did you meet Cressa?”
She sat up and leaned away again. Their discussion made her jumpier than he’d ever seen her. One minute, needing comfort, the next, needing distance. Then it hit him. When the story wasabout her, she pushed away, still touching, yet retaining her space. Perhaps a flight response. Then, she snuggled back when it was his turn to reveal something. As if she wanted to reassure him she was there.
And there he was, unable to hold her when he sensed she needed it the most.
“We met at the Lowdown.”
“That’s the bar near your apartment.”
She nodded. “It was Bulldog. Cressa was new to the Hollows and, being a single white girl, he was all about safety in numbers. Or maybe it was to help me.”
