United Service (33 page)

“You’re not handicapped,” Sterling said a bit louder than he had meant to. When she looked up at him, he lowered his voice. “Your ability has a side effect.”

“Same thing.”

His face twisted in frustration. “Regardless, no one here will treat you differently. The main point I had in bringing this up was to see if you personally want to remain at your base age.”

Her eyes narrowed. “My appearance has always been my base age. Why?”

“Remaining at your base age makes you fertile several times a year, Kate.”

Walking over to the kitchen table, she pulled out a chair and sat down. “I never thought about that before. My father never wants me in pain, and he always thought it would be easier for me to attract a husband if I looked my best.”

Sterling brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’d be beautiful at any age. You can be any age you want. But, if you want to remain at your base age, and if you’re comfortable, I’d like for Sulie to examine you occasionally.”

“Why? I’m healthy?”

“I was thinking more about fertility. She can tell you when you’re fertile and when you’re not. This way we can plan our family. Of course, your barrier has to be down and hopefully she’ll be able to read you.”

“You’d be comfortable with that?”

“Sure. She’s family. Why not?”

Kate shook her head. “You seem close, that’s all. I’m the youngest of eight kids and we’re not all that close. I mean, I’m close with my mother. She helps me quite a bit with my barrier issues. But my father, though he loves me, is distant. As you know, he and my mother fight a lot. My brother and sisters get along, but some of them only put up with each other and don’t enjoy spending time together.” She shrugged her shoulders, “I love my family, and family is important to me. It’s a foreign idea to think of us all getting along.”

“That’s too bad. I often thought if I had a sibling that we’d be close. But my mother died after I was born.”

“Do your father and new wife have children?”

“Not yet. They want to though. Now that she’s immortal, she said she was willing to wait a few years so the two of them can enjoy being a couple for a while. Plus, since she’s a turned vampire, the Council will allow them up to three children. So, like I said, there is room for one of ours in my father’s family line.”

Kate smiled. “One day, but not today. I also want to enjoy being a couple for a while.” She kissed Sterling on the cheek and then added, “I should probably call my mother and let her know how I’m doing. I also want to call Tiffany and her parents.”

Kate let out a gasp. “I still have Tiffany’s teddy bear. I need to tell her Mr. Fluffy is okay.” She put the last of the glasses into the dishwasher and showed Sterling where the soap went and which button to press to start the cycle.

“If you want privacy, go to the gazebo outside.” He pointed out the window to the garden. “With so many people living in this house we appointed the gazebo as a private zone. If anyone is there, you can’t disturb or eavesdrop on them.”

Kate kissed Sterling and headed out to make her calls. She passed Raymond as he entered the mansion. His eyes followed her as she walked down the stairs and over to the gazebo. He then turned to face his son.

“Sterling.”

“Dad.”

Sterling waited for any sort of comment. He knew one was coming.

“I noticed Kate can barely walk this morning.”

And there it was. Sterling hated his father’s passive aggressive retorts, so he responded with one of his own. “Did you sleep well last night, Dad?”

Raymond did not comment.

Sterling watched as his father started to walk out of the room. Replacing the anger in his tone with a much calmer one, he said, “Wait, Dad. I need to talk to you. When Sulie is home later, can we talk?”

Raymond glanced towards the door leading outside. “If you want to talk about your
mate
, I’d rather not.”

Through gritted teeth, Sterling replied, “I have to talk to both you and Sulie. Believe me, you’re not going to like what I have to say.”

Sterling heard the Porsche pull into the garage and several voices talking in the distance. His aunt was finally home, as well as a few others she must have given a ride to. When she didn’t immediately enter the mansion, he figured she had gone to visit Jackie first in her apartment above the garage. This gave him a few more minutes to find the words he wanted to say to her and his father.

The back door opened and in walked Daniel and the boy Kekoa. Usually Sterling avoided any contact with Daniel, but he decided it was important to attempt some sort of friendship with the man. After all, the two had worked together for nearly forty years.

“Hey, Sterling,” Daniel said as he led Kekoa into the mansion. “Kekoa is going to crash here awhile. There’s a hurricane going through Hawaii and no planes are flying there.”

Sterling gave Daniel an inquisitive glance.

“Your father already approved Kekoa as a guest in the house.”

Sterling merely nodded at the two as they walked through the kitchen and into the living room. So much for opening up to Daniel. He’d have to try again later. Besides, Sterling was too preoccupied with what he needed to tell his father and aunt.

Sterling helped himself to a cold beer while he waited. Kate had received a phone call from her mother and had returned upstairs to talk with her. He expected she’d be on the phone awhile, and he would have time to talk with his aunt and father. He nearly finished the bottle when his father came into the room. “Is Sulie here? I thought I heard her car.”

Sterling glanced out the window and noticed Sulie leaving Jackie’s home, the apartment over the garage. “She went to check on Jackie. She’s done now though. Can you still talk?” Sterling’s nervousness grew. All day he had held his emotions at bay, but now that the time had arrived, his nerves festered in his stomach.

“Of course I have time to talk. I can’t wait to find out more about your lovely Kate,” Raymond said sarcastically.

The two men headed out and intercepted Sulie. She had some time now to talk as well, so the three of them headed to the privacy Gazebo. Sterling stared at his father and aunt, the woman who raised him, and wasn’t quite sure how to begin.

“Both of you should probably sit down,” Sterling started. They took seats next to each other while Sterling remained standing in front of them.

Raymond stared at his son, which made Sterling more nervous. “I can sense some strong mental patterns of nervousness coming from you,” Raymond said. His facial expression softened, “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” Sterling replied. “This is harder to share than I thought it would be.”

Raymond took a deep breath and then asked, “What exactly are your intentions with Kate? I overheard her talking to her mother in your bedroom just now. She believes you have a long–term relationship in the making, son.”

“Kate is here? I swear. I spend the night at the hospital and nobody tells me anything.” Sulie turned towards Sterling. “Are you all right? You don’t seem well.”

“No … Yes, I’m fine.” He shook his head, “Kate knows my intentions.” He paused, thinking how proud he was to say his next sentence. “I’m in love with her and she loves me too. I brought her here because she is now, and forever, a part of my life.”

Raymond’s eyes widened in shock. “You were serious when you claimed her as your mate?” When his son nodded in agreement, Raymond added, “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.” He rubbed his jaw. “Your right hook is getting better, much better. I sensed your emotions were high. I guess I should have picked up on the clues.”

Sterling’s expression went cold. “I apologize for hitting you. But stop reading my thoughts.”

“The reading was unintentional, but I am sorry.”

Sterling wanted to lash out, but his father had apologized. He licked his lips and thought about what to say to the man. The word, “Forgiven” was the first word out of Sterling’s mouth. He spoke the word in a hushed tone, but his father smiled in response to it.

“I never thought this day would come,” Raymond said. “Kate was sharing with her mother how much she loved you. I’m so relieved both of you feel the same way about each other.”

Sulie studied Sterling. She searched and finally saw what she was looking for medically. “You are in love! I can see it.” She hugged Sterling, but when physically in contact with him, she sensed something was wrong. “There is something you’re not telling us. What is it?”

Sterling didn’t realize it, but something was wrong. It wasn’t what he brought them to the gazebo to discuss, but there was something else. “Kate’s not sure if she wants to live here. In fact, she has refused my marriage proposal, but said she would think about becoming my wife. Regardless, in my heart she is my mate for life.”

Raymond’s eyes nearly popped out of his head; his aunt practically fell off the gazebo bench.

“You proposed to her?” Sulie asked.

“Yes. And she is still thinking about it. But I’m not sure she’ll ever agree to be my wife.”

“Does she know about your past? All the women in your life? Is that why she is hesitating?” Raymond asked.

“She rejected the proposal for another reason, Dad. She told me she never wants to be married, but if she were to be a wife to someone, that someone would be me.” Sterling took a deep breath to tell them why they were speaking in the gazebo. He realized he began to feel sick. Yes, he was beginning to feel the same way he had the other night when he worked on Alicia’s case. Nausea threatened to overcome him and he started to regret drinking the beer. He took several deep breaths to keep everything down.

Sulie picked up on his pain. “Sterling let me touch you and ease the pain. You’re not well.”

He shrugged her off and continued. “It’s not my skin, nor is it a headache. I’m sick to my stomach.” He put his hand to his stomach and tried to center himself. He took a seat in the gazebo directly across from them and took deep cleansing breaths while holding a hand to his stomach. “I love Kate. I know there is some paperwork to ensure she gets blood and such; I’ll make sure to sign the papers this week.”

“Of course. We welcome her into our home and everyone will recognize her as part of the family. I’ll sign the paperwork as soon as you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Dad. As for my past, she knows everything about me. But you two don’t. I need to tell you something, and I don’t want to discuss this matter afterwards. I don’t even want to answer any questions. I’ve moved on, I found Kate, I’m okay.” He paused to look at them. They sat at the edge of their seats awaiting the news. “I realized something recently and I now know it has affected me over the years. It’s even affected our relationship Dad, in a big way. I have to tell you both what happened on that last trip I took to Foiles Beach. I’m sure you both remember how sick I was when I came home.”

Sulie and Raymond glanced at each other and nodded.

“You both know I had contracted an STD, and that a prostitute had been involved.” He took a deep breath, and quietly shared, “What you don’t know, is that I didn’t pay to have sex with her. I was raped.” Sterling felt relief wash over him, as if the biggest burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He no longer wanted to throw up.

Sterling stood up and did not make eye contact with them, or say another word. He left them alone in the gazebo.

After a good half hour, Sterling finally asked, “Do you think you understand the rules of poker?”

“Poker is confusing, but this sheet of paper with the rules you wrote down will help.” Kate glanced down at the hierarchy of winning hands. “So are we playing five card draw, Texas hold–em, or what?”

“Dealer’s choice usually, but I think five card draw might be the easiest one to play tonight since you’re a beginner.”

“Good, because I still don’t understand big blind versus little blind.” She set the piece of paper down. “What kind of stakes do you play for?”

“Depends. If it’s for money, we toss in a dollar’s worth of pennies. Usually we play for other things. One time my father had to do the laundry for the house when we were between maids. He accidentally dyed one of my skin covers pink.” He gave Kate a pouty look. “It was my favorite one, too.”

“Aw. I’m sorry.” She lovingly caressed his arm. “And your family plays poker every week?”

“Yes. Everyone does their best to be free for poker nights. We also recently added a movie night. Between the two events each week, we manage to get most everyone here a few times a month, even with our crazy schedules.”

“Sounds nice. Your family is freakishly close, but in a good way.” she leaned in and licked his neck right at the vein. Sterling felt the pleasing sensation and waited for her fangs to pierce his skin. All those years of fearing a bite, and now he eagerly awaited them. He reveled in every bite she gave him, even in the tenderest of areas when they were alone in their bedroom.

“Kate? I need to ask you something before we start the game.” Her eyes were black when she stared back at him. He suddenly no longer wanted to play poker, but the game was about to begin and he had one more thing to discuss with her. He looked her in the eyes, “We play poker for a reason. It allows us to practice controlling our abilities. Not all of us have abilities, but those of us who do try to be in control of them. I can’t control mine, so I play just to spend time with the family. But Raymond, Sulie, Ben, and a few others play to help them control their abilities.”