CHAPTER 9
Kelsey would have dropped her purse if the strap hadn’t been slung crosswise over her shoulder.
She’d been nervous about coming here today, especially after Ares had gone out of his way to avoid her at the wedding reception.
But she couldn’t possibly pretend she hadn’t loved kissing him, hadn’t reveled in his body against hers. Or that she didn’t want more.
Even if she was setting herself up for a terrible fall, she still had to know what their kiss meant to him. What she meant to him.
Only, instead of finding him alone…he suddenly had a mother, a brother, and a sister?
In the face of this astonishing news, her nerves, her questions about what the two of them were to each other—all of that
disappeared. At least for now. Although, the heat his greeting hug had flooded her with wasn’t going anywhere.
Kelsey knew the bare bones of his past. Ares had never hidden where he came from, but he didn’t talk about it much either. She
knew that his mother had abandoned him, leaving him with an abusive, alcoholic father. The Beischel had rescued him by taking him
off his father’s hands, which probably had felt like another abandonment for a preteen boy, even though his dad was violent. Then
Sally and George had worked their loving magic, and Ares had grown into an amazing man despite his difficult youth.
“I know,” Ares said, reading her expression. “It’s a shocker.”
Shocker was the understatement of the century. It felt more like the first enormous hill on the Giant Dipper roller coaster out at Santa
Luz Beach Boardwalk, when your stomach flew up into your throat and a scream was wrenched right out of you.
And it wasn’t just the shock of his family that knocked her off balance. It was how hard she’d worked to gather the courage to confront him today…only to have to stuff it away again. Because she certainly couldn’t talk to him about their kiss now.
She looked into his eyes. Beautiful hazel-green eyes that couldn’t hide his anger, bewilderment, denial, confusion, or even his curiosity. No, her needs had to be set aside when, for Ares, seeing his mother would inevitably be a monumental trigger for all his childhood traumas.
Nothing was simple between Kelsey and Ares. After that kiss, their relationship had never been more complicated. But in this moment, the only thing that mattered was standing beside him and making sure he didn’t go through this alone.
“How can I help?”
He grabbed her hands. “I shouldn’t ask, because you do too much already,” he said. “But you’re here. So please. Come meet them.
Talk to them.”
Mrs. Mendez poked her head out of the kitchen hallway. “Hello, Kelsey, it’s lovely to see you again. I’ll bring another cup for you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. M.”
As Ares ushered Kelsey into the formal living room, she wasn’t surprised that he was treating them like guests rather than family, holding them at arm’s length.
The three of them were clustered on the sofa and chair, talking in furious whispers. Well, at least his brother and sister were talking. Ares mother was silent.
“This is my sister-in-law, Kelsey.”
Sister-in-law. She’d always had a designation—never just Kelsey, never just his friend. Always an extension of Keira.
She’d hoped their kiss had changed everything. But had anything changed at all?
Only, now wasn’t the time to think about that, so she stuffed her own needs away—just for the time being, she told herself—as she
smiled kindly. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”
“This is Kathy and Tyler,” Ares said. “And Tessa.”
She couldn’t miss how he’d used her name, rather than Mom or Mother. And she nearly shivered at the cool, unforgiving tone, so unlike him.
“Have a seat.” It warmed her that he gestured to the spot beside him on the couch.
In the few moments it took to get her coffee, add milk and sugar, and fend off the pastries, she surreptitiously observed Ares newly
materialized family. Tyler was a duplicate of Ares, though not quite as tall or broad. Kathy looked remarkably like her brother, but
Kelsey could also see a strong resemblance to their mother.
At the door, Ares had said he’d had no idea his siblings even existed until today, but it was clear Tyler and Kathy shared the same
mother and father as he did. Where could they have been all these years?
The questions mounted.
“So,” she said after she’d taken a sip from her coffee cup, “where are you from?” It was only the tip of the huge morass of questions
she had for them, but at least it was a start.
“Modesto,” Kathy said. “Mom still lives there, but Tyler and I are in the city now.”
Mom. Tessa Lowells looked to be mid-fifty to sixty, her face and neck weathered by the years, though her hair wasn’t completely
gray. She avoided meeting anyone’s eye, concentrating on the tissues clasped in her lap. She added nothing to the conversation as she sat on the couch, shoulders hunched, and sniffled occasionally into the wad of tissues in her hands.
“Tyler’s at UCSF,” Ares said. “And Kathy’s a CPA in San Diego.”
“We showed up on his doorstep just a few minutes ago,” Tyler offered without being asked, his smile very much like Ares At least
when Ares actually used to smile.
Kathy shot her brother a quick look, and when he nodded, she turned back to Ares and said, “Is there somewhere you and I could talk
privately?”
Beside her, Kelsey felt Ares practically vibrating. For anyone else, anger and frustration would have won out over curiosity by now.
But he’d always possessed tremendous control, so she wasn’t surprised when he nodded and stood.
“Follow me.” He reached out a hand for Kelsey. “I’d appreciate it if you’d join us.”
She put her hand in his, even knowing the effect his touch would have on her. Like fireworks going off along her skin, inside her chest, deep in her belly. From nothing more than the connection of fingers and palms.
All her yearning flowed into that touch, the need to comfort, the desire for him. If only they’d had time to talk about that wonderful,
beautiful, stupendous kiss. If only she could comfort him now. Wrap her arms around him. Protect him, heal him.
But all she could do at the moment was walk with him and Kathy toward the great room at the far back of the house.
“Like Tyler said,” Kathy began as soon as they were out of hearing distance, “we don’t want your money.” Kelsey was impressed
with the strength she saw in the tall, lovely woman. Her back was straight, her long hair falling over her shoulders. “We just want
you to help us with Mom.”
“If you don’t want money, how am I supposed to help?”
Kelsey hated how Ares said it, like he didn’t have anything else to offer, that his only worth was his wealth.
“Why don’t you sit down and help us understand?” Kelsey suggested. A discussion would be easier if they weren’t facing off like
opponents in a boxing ring.
Kathy tucked herself into a comfortable leather chair while Kelsey took the corner sofa seat. Ares remained standing.
Kelsey patted the cushion beside her. “Sit down.” With his combative façade, he would only make Kathy nervous. Fortunately, he
did as she asked, although he kept his arms crossed over his chest.
Despite the circumstances, Kelsey relished his body heat so close to her, his scent intoxicating her. But his maleness was a beautiful
distraction she couldn’t afford right now, and she did her level best to stay on point. “Please tell us the whole story, starting with how
you learned that Ares was your brother. Then we’ll see how we can help you.” Next to her, Ares was rigid. She wanted to touch him,
ease his tension, but she had to be content simply to lead the discussion.
“Okay.” Kathy nodded, looking briefly down at her hands, as if trying to decide where to begin. “You see, it was Mom’s birthday, a
Sunday. And her boyfriend was already halfway to drunk by the time Tyler and I got there.”
The situation had already been tense, but as soon as the words boyfriend and drunk left Kathy’s lips, you could have cut through the
air with a knife. If Kelsey had thought seeing his mom was a trigger, then this would be like a shotgun blast.
One that made Ares hands clench into fists…and renewed fury flare in his eyes.
