Beasts and Burdens (22 page)

57

“You can sleep in here, love.” Daniel’s mother showed Cori into the spare bedroom and he followed her in with her bag. “And you can take Daniel’s old room.” Maggie continued down the hall. Nevia followed her to the next room, but not before giving him a look that would have seemed brave to any that didn’t know her subtle facial expressions.

“You’re moms scary,” Cori whispered to Daniel before he could leave.

He grinned. “Yeah, she is.”

“Seriously, I was ready to promise her visiting rights to my baby to make her happy.”

“Oh, don’t do that.” He mock threatened. “She’ll never give it back.” He gave her shoulder a touch that was intended to be a reassuring pat, but his urgency to rescue Nevia before his mother starting measuring her hips, turned it into more of a chummy slug.

Inside of his old room, Nevia was sitting on his bed. A decade of fantasies came true in one moment. “You’ll be sleeping in the barn.” His mother popped out from the closet ruining his already plotted and soundtrack-ed day dream. He was about to object, but his mother raised her brow. “I don’t see a ring on her finger or a baby in her belly, so in the barn you will stay.”

“I’ll sleep on the couch. I won’t leave either of them alone in this house. We have some pretty mean beasties after us, and I won’t assume that they won’t follow us here.”

“The only beastie is in your pants, and I won’t have you defiling an unmarried woman in my home.”

Daniel’s mouth tipped a little as he thought about his first defilement of Nevia. Despite their unwed relationship, he found great pride in knowing that he was her one and only. Even more so than that, he was going to get to keep it that way.

“Barn it is,” Maggie announced.

“No mother, couch,” he said with his most assertive and calm adult voice. “It’s none negotiable.”

“Oh really!” She perched her fists on her hips and he smiled at her. His mother was a hard ass, but he loved her for it. “Don’t think you be sweet talking me, Daniel.”

He ignored her attitude and gave her a long overdue hug. “Howya ma?”

“I’ve been like a blue-arsed fly trying to keep up with this farm.”

He pulled back from her. “Why don’t you hire someone? I sent you enough money.”

She puffed out her cheeks as she blew out her scoff. “I did, but I still spend as much time directing him as I do doing it myself.” Daniel shook his head. She would argue this until her dying day. “Have you a mouth on you? I could start supper.”

“Please.” He nodded and offered her leave.

“You’re not one of those vegetarians are you?” His mother looked over Nevia carefully.

“No, ma’am, I’m not picky.”

“Good.” She paused in the door and eyed Daniel. “Couch then.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He smirked at her, but she was too stubborn to smile back.

He looked over Nevia, but before he could even contemplate the things he wanted to do to her, his mother called for his assistance in the kitchen. He rolled his eyes and shrugged apologetically. She looked just as disappointed, but she put on a braver face than Cori had. “I better go, or she’ll bring up the barn again.” He paused in the doorjamb and knocked on the wood before turning back. “I really enjoyed calling you my girlfriend.”

She offered him a shy smile. “I really enjoyed hearing it.”

He grinned even as his mother yelled again. “I have to…thank you for not shooting her.”

Nevia laughed and offered him a full on smile. A rare treat, and it was hard to walk away from, but his mother was too persistent to ignore.

58

After supper everyone headed into the family room to watch television on a flat screen that was as big as the wall it hung on. Mrs. McGrath seemed embarrassed by the awe that Cori gave the television—mistaking her technology deficit attraction as judgment of her opulence.

“I told Daniel I didn’t need such a large television.” Mrs. McGrath sat down in her small easy chair and picked up her remote to switch on the monstrosity.

“And I told you, I can afford it.” Daniel sat down on the stiff floral print Victorian sofa that was designed to keep your guests from getting too comfortable. Daniel’s ever slouching seated posture made the couch seem lounge worthy.

Nevia sat down beside him and he lifted his arm tentatively inviting her into the crook of her arm. She paused only a moment before she shifted into position to rest her head on his chest. Something had changed in their relationship. Given this morning’s incident, she would have thought that they would be in opposite corners ready to fight at the hint of a bell, but they were cozier than Cori had ever seen them.

Cori sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the sofa, it was the ugliest shade of brownish yellow she had ever seen, but it was very comfortable. There was room for a lot of philosophical discussion in that contrast, but she just chalked it up to: look with your eyes, decide with your butt.

“Affordable or not, you shouldn’t waste your money on me.”

“And who would I spoil if not you?” Daniel objected.

“You could spoil a wife and children, if you’d bother getting them.”

“Yes, ma.” Daniel rolled his eyes. Cori smiled at the interaction.

“If you could only meet a nice, sturdy girl like Cori.” Cori frowned. She had not thought of herself as sturdy. Granted she was not the slight woman that Nevia was, but she hardly compared her figure to a table. Daniel shook his head at her, reading her disappointment.

“I have met someone, ma. She’s sitting right here, listening to your passive aggressive insults.” Daniel kissed Nevia’s forehead, but Cori couldn’t see if she was hurt by Maggie’s comments.

“How far along are you dear?” Mrs. McGrath asked her ignoring Daniel’s comment entirely.

“Um…ah, about eight months.”

“Where is your husband?”

“He’s in China.” Cori glanced at Daniel like he could somehow draw the attention back to himself, but he was already engrossed in the television.

“Will he be back in time for the birth?”

Cori smiled, but it was only to pretend that she was brave. “I hope so.”

Daniel finally glanced over. He looked her in the eye for a long moment, but the appropriate words must not have come to mind. He turned to his mother instead. “Ma, what are you stitching now?” Daniel pointed down at his mother’s needlepoint and she was more than happy to pull out her partial project and flaunt her talent.

After an hour or so of television, Cori took a bathroom break and got hung up in the den. The wood interior and leather furniture was classic and manly, but the computer that fashioned the desk was bright white with a glowing blue trimmed monitor.

Cori sat down at the computer and quickly found the internet icon. In the search engine she placed her full maiden name. She wasn’t sure why she was doing it, or what she thought she would find, but Gypsy’s comment about being on a milk carton made her wonder if more people had noticed her disappearance from the real world than she thought.

When she first left the prison, Vince’s precautions kept her cloistered. Since most of her recent friends were in London, she wasn’t likely to run into anyone in Paris. Without technology, she had no idea if anyone had mourned her disappearance.

The numerous results that came up made her think that there was another Corinthia Ellen Reiger running around. The name David Reiger, however, stopped her in her tracks. She clicked on one of the sights and found a small article that claimed to be posted in the New York Times.

Cori read the article that explained that David Reiger was trying to raise money to find his daughter Corinthia, who had disappeared in transit to his ex-sister-in-law’s funeral. The topic of female slave trade was brought up: prostitution, drugs, and underground organizations. It was the usual soap box speech against a business that is created and propagated because of the superrich.

Cori switched to another article that started out with the same rendition of headline kidnapping, but then veered off into the left field regarding the politics of combatting slavery of women, long after the slavery of men has ended. The article even went so far as to bring up women’s liberation—as if fighting for fair wage was the same as fighting off drug mule, rapists.

The next article discussed David’s long search coming to an end. Cori read on and found the article to be somewhat critical of him. It explained how after a long two and a half year search for his daughter, David Reiger abruptly announced that he would lay his baby to rest in mind, if not in body. The article continued to accuse him of raising money for his own purposes and not with any intention of finding his daughter.

Cori did a quick calculation and found that her father’s unexpected exhaustion of her search landed just after her wedding. His announcement would have coincided with Danato’s courtesy vacation that offered her and Ethan a honeymoon—so much as it was.

Despite the gesture, Cori had found it strange that Danato was willing to leave the prison for such a long time. He had never shared anything about his time away, and considering it was the first real vacation in many years, she had expected photos or stories.

Cori sighed and shut down the window. She didn’t want to think about Danato having yet another secret. What Danato did or didn’t do, wasn’t what was really bothering her. It was the fact that her father—who didn’t write or call her more than three times after she moved to England—made a national story out of her disappearance. Bitterness and raging teenage aggression aside, Cori couldn’t help, but think it was too little, too late.

Cori may have missed out on a father during her formative years, but now she had three very good men to care for her and protect her, each in his own way. Even if the blood she shared with David Reiger was thicker than water, there wasn’t enough of it to compete with the bonds she had now.         

59

Ethan smirked at Levi as he shoveled down his breakfast. “Hungry?”

“Hmm?” Levi mumbled between bites. “Mmm.” Ethan chuckled at him. “What?”

“How long have you two been involved?” Ethan lowered his voice even though Adrianna hadn’t joined them yet.

“What’s that?” Levi said going for another bite.

“Don’t tell me last night was your first time with her? I guess I can’t judge, Cori and I tend to be drawn to each other through conflict.”

Levi’s brow furrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You and Adrianna.” Ethan grinned. He was surprised that Levi was going to be that secretive about it. So far, he had been an open book.

“Who?”

Ethan lost his jovial view on the topic and leaned back to look him over. He recalled the other times he had mentioned Adrianna to him. He seemed dumbfounded that her name should come up in conversation. “Adrianna…Addy.”

Levi’s eyes glinted with understanding, but he was quick to return to his breakfast. “What about her?”

“How long have you been sleeping with her?”

Ethan heard a gasp behind him and he knew before he looked that it was Adrianna. It was no shock to see her eyes wide with panic. It was a little more surprising to see Annette behind her with her lips pursed in disappointment. 

Ethan cleared his throat. “Um, good morning ladies, we were just…” Ethan turned back to Levi for some help, but his open mouthed gape made it clear he wasn’t available for comment.

“We know exactly what you were doing,” Annette scolded. “Really, Levi, isn’t it enough that you treat her like a dimwitted child, but do you really have to converse about your sex life as if it were a sport?”

“What?” Levi squeaked, but that was all the farther he got before returning to his aghast expression.

Adrianna looked mortified and Ethan couldn’t help, but take the blame for the incident. “It wasn’t him.” Ethan stood to confront Annette. She was still glaring reproachfully at Levi, but he did manage to get her to glance at him as he spoke, which seemed to ease her anger. “I brought it up. I was just being nosey.” Ethan looked to Adrianna. “He didn’t divulge anything, I just happened to catch you…leaving his room last night.”

“WHAT?” Levi yelped and stood up. The bench behind him flopped over with a thump and everyone stared at him. His reaction seemed wrong, even for someone in such an embarrassing situation. He pushed his fingers into his hair, ripping at it. All of a sudden, he slammed his hand into his wooden bowl sending it and its contents to the other end of the table. “We had sex?”

Ethan looked to Adrianna seeing a new interpretation to her shock of the situation. He looked to Annette who was also finding Levi’s confusion disconcerting.

“You…we…” Levi’s confusion faded as a thought—or perhaps several thoughts—started to dawn his understanding of the situation. He frowned at Adrianna. He looked more than hurt. He looked defeated. “You bitch,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

Adrianna shook her head, but without a verbal defense, she had even less of a chance of convincing him not to be mad at her. Ethan stepped back allowing him to storm out. Annette’s displeasure for him had transformed into concern, but she didn’t try to stop him from leaving. Adrianna tried to follow after him, but Annette extended her hand in front of the girl. “We need to talk.”