When Angels Cry (20 page)

She looked at her pale face in the half-steamed mirror and nodded, telling her reflection, “Maybe he will.  Then again, maybe he’ll realize how much I love him.”

Chapter
Fourteen

As Kaylee pulled into her mother’s driveway, butterflies fluttered in her stomach.  She climbed out of the car, smoothed her black skirt, and strode to the front door.  Turning the cold brass knob, Kaylee found the door unlocked, but the monolithic wooden structure hardly exuded a warm welcome.

Quietly letting herself in, Kaylee stepped into the imposing foyer, her shoes clattering against black marble.  Thick floor-to-ceiling pillars stood with ivy twined around them like those in a Grecian temple.  Kaylee frowned
.  S
he’d never liked
the pillars
.  Hastily, she removed her coat and set it on the rack next to the door and proceeded through the foyer into the living room.  She grimaced as her heels clicked across the
bare
tile, but she finally ended up in the sun room, where Denna lay on a wicker couch, holding a hardback mystery novel.  A pile of plush velvet pillows supported her head.  Although she had probably heard Kaylee enter, she focused on the novel, ignoring her daughter standing in the doorway.

Kaylee walked into the room and perched on a matching wicker chair. 
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you with your nose in a book.  What a novel concept.”  She folded her hands in her lap and fought to keep her fingers still.

“Well, if it isn’t my daughter.
  How nice to see you.  Where is your boyfriend?  I don’t suppose he found someone else to bother.
”  Denna flipped the page and
peered at Kaylee over the book. 

“No, Mother, you couldn’t be that lucky.
  He’s getting ready for his classes.
”  She leaned back in the chair. 

“It’ll be hard for the students to learn anything from him.  I mean, what with his pathetic breeding and all.”
Denna laid the open book across her abdomen and set one hand on top of it, her long
,
perfectly manicured nails tapping the spine.  She reached toward the wicker table next to the sofa and lifted a half-empty glass.

“Stop it, Mother.  It wouldn’t matter who it was I’d fallen in love with.  You’d find a reason not to like him.”
  Kaylee crossed one leg over the other.

Denna clinked the ice against the glass.  “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am.”  Kaylee rocked the raised foot back and forth.  “You don’t like Bastian because I love him.”

“If that were true, and it’s not, why couldn’t you at least have found a respectable man for me to dislike?  It seems that one would be just as good a painter as the next.”
  Denna set the glass back on the table and sat up.

“I didn’t go in search of him in the first place.  I didn’t go in search of anyone.  It just happened.” 
Kaylee gripped the armrests until her knuckles turned white.  A heated flush colored her cheeks
, and s
he closed her eyes
,
envision
ing
Bastian’s midnight eyes.

“Really, Kaylee--are you so blind?  Can’t you see what a man like that is after?” 
Denna set the book on the couch and stood
, picked up
the wine glass
, and
walked toward the chair where her daughter sat.

 
“And what kind of a man do you think Bastian is?” 
Kaylee gritted her teeth to keep certain words in check. 

“Poor white trash.”  Denna lifted the glass to her lips and took a drink.

Kaylee rose from the chair and stood before Denna. 
“It’s easy to label him, isn’t it, because it keeps you from ever getting too close.  It’s a simple excuse to keep things status quo.”

“He’s only after the money, Kaylee.  Men like that feed off women like us.” 
Denna lowered her glass and swirled the liquor and ice.  Denna tried to step past Kaylee, but Kaylee matched her steps.

“I don’t know which I resent more, the fact that you lump Bastian in with that slime mentality or the fact that you lump me in with your materialistic intentions.”  She glared at Denna.  “I’m not like you, Mother.  I never have been, and you never wanted to face it.  To you, everything is about money.  Do you really think it matters in the long run?  Do you really think I care about it?”

“Of course you do.
  You are a Renard, after all.  We take pride in what we have.” 
A heated crimson filled Denna’s cheeks.  She forced her way past Kaylee and downed the rest of the liquor.

Kaylee whirled to follow her mother.  “And what about who we are?  Where is the pride in being so elitist that we can’t see past our own noses?  Damn it, Mother
.
  I
would give all the money I have just to be able to talk to you.  I’d give it all away for you to stay in the states long enough to remember who I am.  You loved me once.  I know you must have.
 
I made you happy once.  Why can’t I do that anymore?  Why can’t you love me for who I am, not who you want me to be?”

“I never stopped loving you,” Denna replied.

“You can’t love me long-distance, Mother.  You can’t really talk to me from Europe.  You can’t be here for me when I know some damned charity is more important than I have ever been to you.  I don’t care how many sick kids there are.  I’m right here, right under your nose, and you still can’t find me.  The funny thing is, the man you
hate
the most is the
same
man who wants me to talk to you, to share things with you because he thinks it’s important, even though you’ve treated him like trash from day one.  And you wonder why I love Bastian
?
  He can love me and still want to share me with you.  But with you it’s all or nothing.  It’s him, or it’s you.  More’s the pity because he’s the kind of man you should want for me, if you wanted me to find someone.  If you could just see I love you both.”

Kaylee stared at the bushy evergreens
, but
, superimposed on the glass before th
ose
, she saw her own reflection and that of her mother.  Denna stared pensively at the carpet.  Her arms dangled at her sides as though she didn’t know what to do with them.   Kaylee wrapped her arms around her body as a chill swept through her.  She dug her fingers into her arm
,
and this new pain vied for precedence.

“Goodnight.” 
Unable to take the weighted silence in her heart, K
aylee darted toward the door
and
rushed outside, ignoring the fact that Denna had half-followed her out of the room, yelling her name.  Still, even after she’d slammed the door, her mother’s voice remained. Tears burned
Kaylee’s
eyes, spilling down her face.  Through the blur, she opened her Mercedes door, climbed inside, and drove home.

* * *

“Hey.
”

“Hello.
  What time is it?
”  Kaylee looked up from the table where she
’d
sat and found Bastian in a chair with his legs sprawled out.  She glanced past him out the window to find that night had fallen and darkness obscured everything. 

Bastian lifted his wrist and peered at his watch.  “It’s 9:30.  Probably past your bed time, little girl.”

“But I'm not tired.
  Maybe I'm waiting on someone in particular to tuck me in.”
Kaylee grinned thinly and half-whined unconvincingly.  The smile broadened into something genuine. 

“I see.
  Is he handsome?
”  Bastian leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“
Definitely
.”  Kaylee brushed the hair from her face.  “Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.”

“Well, sorry you’re waiting on him.”  He held up his hands in mock surrender.  “I guess I’ll have to do in his place.  Besides, I’m glad you’re still awake.”

“And why is that?” 
Kaylee leaned over and kissed him on the cheek
.

“It’s a surprise.  Come with me.”  Bastian took Kaylee by the hand and lifted her from the chair.  He led her out of the room to the foyer, plucked Kaylee’s coat from the rack, and held it open for her.  Kaylee slipped into it, and Bastian gently turned her to face him.  Although his trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons, he managed to thread each of them through its hole.

Kaylee stared at Bastian’s fingers as they lingered on the last button of her coat.
  “Are we driving to a tundra or something?”

“I just want you to be warm.
  I’m also going to blindfold you.
”  He reached into his front jean
s
pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief he folded
,
draped
o
ver her eyes
,
and tied
behind
her head
, forcing a giggle from Kaylee.

“I didn’t know you were into the kinky stuff, Bastian.”

“I wouldn’t want you to get bored.
  Can you see anything in there?
”  Bastian peered at the blindfold, trying to see
whether
Kaylee could peek.   A healthy flush colored her cheeks, and her full lips parted slightly.  Her chest rose and fell with each tranquil breath.  Bastian stared at her and felt something catch in his throat.  He swallowed hard, but the lump refused to pass.  He brushed his forefinger across her cheek and stroked her chin. 

“
Do the insides of my eyelids count?”

“Not for much.
  Just what I always wanted
—a
helpless female.  Now I have you at my mercy, woman.”
  Bastian latched onto her hand and pulled her to him as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

  “You know what they say about paybacks, don’t you?” Kaylee warned, leaning against Bastian’s chest.  Her head fit perfectly under his chin.

“You
’ll
have to catch me first
,
and I don’t think a blindfolded woman is going to go too far too fast.
  Besides that’s a good thing because my mama always warned me about fast women.
” 
Chuckling, Bastian led her to the door and
squeezed her shoulder. 

“Oh, really?  And what did she say?”

“She said they
’re
hard to catch, and I should find someone my own speed.”  Bastian opened the front door and helped Kaylee step over the threshold.  Once outside, a temperature drop greeted them with a sharp, chilling wind and light bursts of snowflakes.  He nudged her down the front steps toward his
the
truck.

As Bastian opened the passenger door, he looked back at Kaylee.  In contrast to the dark silk of her hair, a few small flakes shone on her head.  The flush on her face had deepened, and Kaylee shivered.  Bastian laid his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed.

“Are you warm enough?"

She nodded.  “I’ll be fine.”

Bastian arched an eyebrow disbelievingly.  “Sure you will.
  You’ll be warm enough, all right, or I can strip you down, get naked, and wrap us both in the blanket I’ve hidden in the truck.”
  He set his hands on Kaylee’s hips and hoisted her onto the seat.

 
“Sounds inviting.” 
Kaylee leaned back, resting her head against the seat. 

Glancing to make sure Kaylee was comfortable, Bastian closed the door
,
walked to the driver’s side
, and c
limbed inside.

“Where are you taking me?” Kaylee asked, placing her hands in her lap.  She laced her fingers and tried to ignore the stinging sensation in her hands.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”  Bastian shoved the key into the ignition and turned the engine over.  It groaned in protest at first, and then haltingly whirred before finally sputtering to life, backfiring only once.

Kaylee flashed a sicken
ing
ly sweet smile.
  “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”

“Nope, I guess I can’t.” 
Looking over his shoulder, Bastian shifted the truck into reverse and backed out of the drive.

  As the two of them lapsed into silence, Kaylee scooted closer to Bastian until she could rest her head upon his shoulder.  As he drove, Bastian noticed all the Christmas lights decorating the houses and streets.  A month away, and the world was illuminated
by
the light of the
one
holiday Bastian had come to hate.  But this year would be different
; t
his year would be a chance to be with Kaylee.

Maneuvering
through the trickles of traffic, Bastian finally parked the truck close to the pond where he’d first met Kaylee.  As he looked toward it, he saw the reflection of white lights sparkling on the water. 
Light s
trings
draped
the
trees as well as the shrubs dotting the landscape.  Couples and families strolled among the lights, smiling and pointing at th
eir
brilliance. 
The
small, normally darkened bridge crossed the pond, but tonight it was wrapped in glowing white bulbs. The park shimmered with Christmas promise, and it was such a promise that Bastian knew he had to share it with the woman he’d fallen so madly in love with.