CHAPTER 11
The pizza was gooey and good. Despite the growling of his stomach, Ares hadn’t thought he’d be able to eat. But Kelsey somehow made it work, temporarily calming high emotions and defusing the biggest mines in the minefield.
No wonder Keira had been so biting, so hurtful to her sister all these years. She’d been jealous.
“Why did you choose accounting, Kathy?” Kelsey asked, keeping the conversation rolling, though tension still hung thick in the room.
“I was a bookkeeper for a local company when I was still in high school.” Kelsey had already drawn out of them that both Kathy and
her brother had worked for their educations and received scholarships. Ares was glad they hadn’t needed to resort to student loans,
which could be crippling after graduation. “I like how numbers fit together,” she continued. “If you’re out of balance, there’s always an answer. It’s like piecing together a puzzle.”
“She wants to be CFO of a big company someday.” Theresa hadn’t said much, but when she did speak, it was with pride for the
twins. She finally looked up from her plate and into Ares eyes. “Like you.”
“Ares owns an investment company, Mom,” Kathy said. “I’ve got a lot more to learn at the CPA firm before I can move into
industry.”
“I know,” Tessa answered softly, dropping her gaze again. “I just don’t want you to underestimate yourself.”
“We all have to start somewhere.” Kelsey refilled her glass of ice water from the pitcher Mrs. M had put on the table. “What about
you, Tyler? What do you want to do once you finish your master’s?”
Kelsey's kept them talking, steering them past anything that had the potential for friction. She had a clear mission—for them to get to
know one another—and she was sticking to it.
It was obvious why she made such a good psychologist. Ares had always known how smart, caring, and giving she was—but now
there was a deep sensual awareness too. One he could no longer ignore.
The scent of apples in her silky hair, the sexy curves filling out her jeans, the softness of her skin beneath her clothes. Her eyelashes
were long, sweeping down over her cheekbones every time she blinked. Her nose had the tiniest tilt to it, and her lips were lush and
moist as she licked off a daub of pizza sauce.
Even in the middle of all this craziness, he couldn’t turn off his reaction to her—and it was with no small amount of difficulty that he
forced his attention back to his brother.
“I’m interested in building manufacturing equipment,” Tyler was saying. “Automation. I’m working on my master’s thesis right
now.”
Ares immediately thought of Perseus robotics firm, Trebotics. There might be a fit there once Tyler graduated.
Wait. What was he doing, making plans to bring Kathy and Tyler into the Baddrick fold? Yes, he admired how they looked after their
mother, and they were obviously intelligent. But he needed to slow way the hell down, even if a part of him wanted to relish the experience of having blood relations. Sally and George loved all the Baddricks equally, had turned them into family and taught them what they needed to know to become men—and he would always and forever be grateful to them. But he’d envied Hector’s blood tie.
It was, he had to acknowledge, a huge part of why he’d been so eager to have a family with Keira. Not because he could see her as a
mother, but because he’d longed so deeply for a child and a family all his own.
Now, suddenly, he had a ready-made family. But having been burned badly before, by his birth parents and by Keira, he needed time
to process the situation and keep his emotions in check. He couldn’t let himself get entangled until he knew exactly what he was up
against.
Which was particularly difficult to do when his mother finally spoke again and said, “Tell us about you, Ares.” Her words came out
slightly wooden and stilted, as though she’d rehearsed the question in her head before actually speaking.
“My name’s all over the Internet, so you probably already know everything there is to know.” He wasn’t bragging. It was simply
true. And he didn’t want to talk about himself. Especially not with her.
“You and your wife have such a beautiful home.” Her voice was less tentative this time, but still shaky.
Obviously, Kathy hadn’t yet told her brother and Theresa about his impending divorce. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to
explain, “My wife and I are getting divorced.”
“I’m sorry, Ares.”
His jaw clenched. He didn’t want her pity. Or her apologies.
As if she saw everything going south, Paige jumped in. “Do you work outside the home, Tessa?”
“Yes.” She crumpled her napkin. “I’m an accounts payable clerk. It’s the same company that Kathy did bookkeeping for. I’ve been
there a long time.”
When she looked back up, her eyes were watery. Ares knew what was coming—and he wanted to shove away from the table, forget
any of these people had ever been here. Forget any of this had ever happened.
But a Baddrick didn’t run. And he sure as hell didn’t forget.
“I’m sorry I left, Evan. I thought I had the stomach flu, one that wouldn’t go away. I had some money saved in secret, so I went to a
doctor. One your father didn’t know about in a suburb of Chicago. That’s when I found out I was pregnant. With twins.” Her lips, her cheeks, her hands—they all shook. “Oh God, I was so scared. Two more children for him to hurt.” Her breath was ragged.
Kathy reached for her hand at the same time that Tyler did.
Under the table, Kelsey curled her fingers around Ares. He instinctively linked his with hers. She was the only thing keeping him
grounded right now, the only reason he wasn’t splintering into a million pieces right here in his dining room.
“I should have come here, should have said this a long time ago,” Tessa said almost in a whisper, and Ares could see how hard it was
for her to look him in the eye. But she did it. “I went a little crazy. I was so scared of what he would do. So I ran before he ever knew
I was pregnant.”
And left Ares behind.
“I got on a bus and rode west until I ran out of money. In Modesto. But I never forgot about you. I was going to come back for you
as soon as I got settled somewhere.” She swallowed. “It was two years later when a friend told me you were living with the Beischel.
They were good people, and I knew they’d do better for you than I could. You’d get the best chance with them. And you did.” It was
almost as if she was trying to convince herself. “You really did.”
Tessa was right, with two more mouths to feed, and two squalling babies in their cramped apartment, God only knew what his father
would have done.
But Ares didn’t want to understand, didn’t want to trust her. And he didn’t want to cool his jets. Not when the old man had lost it
after she left, his drinking totally out of control—and Ares had paid the price every single day until the Beischel saved him.
It suddenly struck him then that Tessa probably didn’t know what had become of her abuser. Their abuser.
“Did you ever hear what happened to the old man?”
When she shook her head, he couldn’t miss the flash of fear in her eyes. Even after all this time, and all the miles she’d put between
her and her husband, his power over her had barely seemed to lessen.
“He died when I was a sophomore in high school. Fell down in a drunken stupor and hit his head. I didn’t live there anymore, thank
God.” She flinched at the reminder that she’d left him there to fend for himself. “The landlord found him when he didn’t pay his
rent.”
Tears were welling in Tessa’s eyes as she scooted back from the table. “Excuse me. I need to use the restroom. Kathy, Tyler, you stay
here and finish eating.” She was gone before any of them could follow.
Kelsey squeezed his hand again, hard enough that he had to look at her. From the moment she’d arrived on his doorstep this
afternoon, her touch, her comfort, her caring had been the only things keeping him this side of sane. Now, he read the message in her
eyes: Everything is going to be okay, Ares. I promise.
The craziest thing of all was that, even with his entire life in complete and utter disarray, he believed her. Because Kelsey never lied.
She simply didn’t have it in her.
Just as he had to face the reality that he didn’t have it in him to turn his back on his mother if she was in danger, no matter what her
mistakes had been.
“I can’t do much if she really wants the loser she’s dating,” he finally said to his brother and sister, “but if you’ll give me the guy’s
full name and address, I can at least keep an eye on him.”
This time when Kelsey gripped his hand, it was more than a show of support. It was approval. That meant more to him than any
compliment Keira had ever paid him.
“Thank you,” Kathy said, beaming at him as if he were entirely responsible for the rising sun each morning.
But though Tyler was clearly pleased with Ares offer, it was obvious he had something more to say. “She shouldn’t have left you, and
I can’t imagine what your childhood must have been like.” As Tyler paused and cleared his throat, Ares was suddenly certain his
brother was about to make the biggest and most gut-wrenching request of all. “But if she could believe she was forgiven, then maybe
she might not need assholes like Paul.” Tyler held up a hand, making it clear he didn’t want Ares to respond too quickly. “I’m not
asking you to give us your answer yet. All I’m asking, all we’re saying—” He glanced at his sister before turning back to Ares. “—is
that we hope you’ll think about it.”
Forgiveness?
The Baddricks had taught Ares how to fight a bully and make sure no one got up from his punch. He understood complicated
mathematical theories. He had the vision to start an investment firm and build it into a billion-dollar powerhouse.
But forgiving his mother for abandoning him?
That would be impossible.
