Page 10 of Karma

“You gonna stare at me all night or are you coming in?” Tess asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Okay, so the sarcasm occasionally remained, Dare thought with a grin, but the Tess standing at the door was a normal teenage member of the Barron family.

Dare pulled her in for a hug. She squirmed but accepted the gesture. “You’re the last one here. Let’s go eat.”

“I need to wash up first.” He headed to the downstairs bathroom, cleaned up the best he could, and met Tess again outside the door. Apparently she’d decided to wait so she could drag him into the dining room.

Just like she said, he was the last one in and, as usual, the most underdressed. But the family was used to him in his uniform or his sweats or even a pair of old jeans.

“You’re next to me.” Tess pointed to their side of the table.

Ethan sat at the head, Faith by his side, then Nash and Kelly on one long side, Dare and Tess across from the newly married couple. Their wedding had been a Christmas event, family only, in the mansion, just like Ethan and Faith’s had been in October.

Dare was the lone bachelor.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said instead of dwelling on that subject.

“No problem, we just sat down because Anna said dinner was ready and Miss Impatient here insisted she needed bread or she’d pass out.” Faith shot a fond look at Tess.

“You indulge the brat,” Nash said under his breath, but the grin on his face gave his true meaning away.

“I heard that,” Tess said through a mouthful of buttered roll.

“You were supposed to.” Nash winked at her.

The rest of the family rolled their eyes and laughed.

Nash and Tess had had the rockiest time coming to terms, but Tess now idolized all three of her brothers equally. Nash and Tess just liked to give each other the hardest time. Like real siblings, something Dare had desperately missed when he’d gone to live across town in the Garcias’ foster home without Nash.

“So what’d I miss?” Dare asked.

Anna, Ethan’s housekeeper, who he liked to say came with the house, began serving dinner. To Faith and now the rest of them, Anna was like family, as she’d worked for Faith’s parents when they’d lived here, and she’d practically raised Faith. Now she was helping out with Tess.

“Faith was just telling us about her new job,” Kelly said.

“She’s on the Beautification Committee of Serendipity,” Ethan added, sounding proud of his wife.

“And I’m recruiting volunteers,” Faith said, her stare never wavering from Kelly’s.

Kelly ducked her head and concentrated on her food. “I’m a full-time paralegal and a newlywed. I don’t have time,” she said, without meeting Faith’s gaze.

“I’m sure your husband slash boss would give you time off to help your favorite sister-in-law.” Faith grinned.

To their credit, both Ethan and Nash, the respective husbands, didn’t say a word.

“I’ll help!” Tess said.

“And I’ll take you up on that. Thank you. At least someone in this family wants to help theyouth center,” Faith said.

No doubt as she’d expected, everyone paid attention at that.

Dare was especially interested. “What does the youth center have to do with the Beautification Committee’s fundraiser?” he asked.

All he knew of the committee was that they held a yearly formal gala where the upper crust of Serendipity turned out in tuxedos and fancy dresses, and the cops had to play traffic directors wherever they decided to hold the affair.

Ethan began a slow, steady cough.

Faith patted his back. “Are you okay, honey?”

---