Page 22 of Forbidden Bond

She moves from my back to crouch in front of me. Her blue eyes are practically glinting with emotion as she looks at me. If you placed us side by side, it would almost be like seeing double, except Tessa’s hair is much darker than mine and she has a beauty mark under her eye that I don’t. She’s also a few inches taller than me. Aside from that, we’re practically twins. But she’s the wiser and older one. And the person I look up to the most in the world.

“You’re about to make a pretty big decision that goes against what he stands for,” Tessa starts. “The only time you’ve ever done that was when you chose your major. And you only won that fight because I agreed to marry Kyle at the same time so he was less inclined to focus on you. This time, there aren’t any distractions. He’s going to do his best to change your mind.”

“I won’t let him,” I say softly.

She smiles, running her hand through the ends of my hair. “We both know Dad’s as stubborn as a mule.”

“Yes, but I’ve got iron will.” Regardless, my sister looks worried. “It’ll be okay, Tessa.”

We both head to the dining area where Mom and Dad are already seated. My mom looks almost regal seated at his side, beautiful. Her brown eyes are light and playful. All my life, she has always been pretty passive, never really involving herself in our lives. She loves us and has proven that on lots of occasions. But never when it comes to going against Dad. I guess that’s why their relationship works so well. Dad would have never survived so long with a strong-willed woman.

Mom smiles at both of us as we take our designated seats. My dad likes a certain order, and since we were young, we’ve had to follow that order. We had seats assigned to us at the table, times we could use the living room, times to play and times to study. It was constrictive at times, but I grew used to it.

“Tessa,” Dad says, focusing on my sister first.

My eyes meet his for a brief moment, blue eyes very much like mine. My sister and I share a lot of our dad’s facial features. Mom has complained on several occasions that she did all the work birthing us and yet we look so much like him. At least we have our mother’s blonde hair. And Tessa’s a lot like her when it comes to mannerisms, always trying to keep the peace.

“You haven’t told us why Kyle didn’t join us for dinner,” Dad points out.

He’s growing older, I think. His dark hair’s turning gray and he’s not as agile as he used to be. The thought is disconcerting.

“He’s busy with work, Daddy,” Tessa says lightly.

I observe her for a moment. She hasn’t given any inclination that anything is going on, but I know my sister. Something is wrong. But I also know that she wouldn’t want me focusing on her problems, not when I’ve got issues of my own to discuss.

“Is he still having trouble with the board at the company? His family started that company, you’d think they would have more respect.”

“Kyle’s got it handled, Dad.”

He nods and turns to me, but before he can ask the questions I’m sure are swirling in his mind, my mom calls for the staff to bring out our dinner. We eat in silence. There’s no noise except for the occasional clacking of our cutlery against the china. As soon as we’re done, however, my dad wastes no time in speaking up.

“Katie, you still haven’t gotten back to me on the list of places you applied to for work.”

I clear my throat. “Yeah, about that, Dad. I haven’t applied anywhere.”

My dad falls still and my mom’s eyes widen. Tessa gives me an encouraging look and a smile.

“Before you freak out, I just want you to know that I’m not trying to deviate from Dad’s elaborate plan for my life.” Tessa squeezes my leg at that. A clear warning to cut the sass. I carry on. “I just wanted to try something new for a while. Something that doesn’t have to do with archaeology.”

My father finally finds his voice. “You chose archaeology,” he says accusingly. “I wanted you to study criminology. You would have had an amazing career with the F.B.I. You’ve always been good with people and I was so sure you would have made a great profiler. Instead, you chose to follow your passion. You insisted archaeology was what you wanted to do, and I was content to let you do it.”

He fought hard to stop me, but I guess we’re going to push that to the side.

“It’s still what I want to do, Dad. It’s just not what I want to do now.”

He leans back in his chair, blue eyes fixed on my face. “So? What do you want to do now? Tell me, Katherine. What’s your plan?”

I clear my throat before laying it all out for him. “Graduating top of my class granted me several opportunities. Despite not applying to any companies or museums, I got a couple of decent offers. And those offers will still be there a year or two from now. I spent the past eight years of my life working my ass off and studying. I barely had any time for anything else. I didn’t even make any friends. My plan is to build a life for myself, Dad. I don’t know who I am, and I want to find myself before I thrust myself into a job that I’ll probably be shackled with for the rest of my life.”

A muscle ticks in my dad’s jaw. “Are you done?”

I nod.

“Good, because I’m only going to say this once. No daughter of mine will remain unemployed while I’m alive. You said you wanted to build a life for yourself, Katherine. I can assure you, the best way to do that is to start now. With a steady job. Making your own money, becoming employed so you can marry well and have a good chance at a future. Instead, you want to do what? Spend your time gallivanting about the city?” He scoffs.

“Dad,” I swallow, “you’re not hearing me. Nothing’s going to change if I start working a little later.”

“Everything will change. You’ll be behind your peers. It’s ridiculous, Katherine. And I’m denying your request.”

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