Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (13 page)

It was one of the most beautiful dresses I’d ever seen. 
Having grown up near Hollywood, I had seen my share of fabulous designer gowns
but
had never seen one like
this one
. 
It was
strapless,
made of brushed silk, with a thin line of
sequins
sewn across the bodice
, and a sheer fabric flowing from the wa
i
st to the floor.

There were no words to describe my feelings for her in that second. 
How h
ad she been shopping and found a dress for me before she knew me
?
  I knew I had to be
a source of pain
that she kept masked from me
– the illegitimate daughter of her husband.  I felt my eyes welling up, wishing I could say
to her
all the things that my heart felt in that moment.

She must have felt my thoughts because she laid the dress to her other
side and grabbed me in a hearty embrace.  “You may not be my biological daughter, but you are the daughter I’ve always wanted.”  That was it
.  T
he misting I was trying to keep under control let loose as tears streamed down my cheeks.  I tried to casually wipe them free
,
but more followed.

In that moment I wished to be a part of the family, not just a sister or a long lost daughter
,
but a full
-
fledged member of the
Strayer
family.  Guilt crept into me
.  M
y own mother created such a deep hole in my heart when she died, I worried that I’d never find anything or anyone to fill the gap.  Less than a month later
,
I sat in a mansion wishing I had grown up here.  The guilt started growing larger as I wondered if this love that I was developing for my new found family somehow minimized my feelings for the center of my universe
who
had just died. 

I released Gretchen
,
hoping she would ignore the tears,
but
she didn’t. 
“Loving us doesn’t diminish the love that you will always have for your mother.  That’s the wonderful thing about
family
: 
the
bigger it is, the larger your heart grows
.”

I stiffened at her words. 
I
kept forgetting that she could read my
mind.

Gretchen’s smile never
wavered
, but she answered my unspoken question, “Only if you do not shield your thoughts
– we’ll work on that tomorrow
.”

My body went
rigid
. 
I felt my eyes widen and my voice refused to cooperate.  Gretchen’s expression took on a more serious look, “
Tomorrow we will continue
working on your skills
.  I
t won’t come as such a surprise when your skills are sharper and you are able to do the same.  But
for
tonight
, try not to think about it
.  Y
ou have many young men
who
anxiously wish to meet you.”

I wiped the last couple rouge tears away from my cheeks.  As Gretchen stood up
,
she leaned over and pressed her lips to my forehead.  I knew she meant it as a maternal symbol
,
but as
she
stood, I felt her body go rigid,
a look shot across her face
–
panic
. 
She was facing a wall so I couldn’t imagine what she would have seen to make h
er eyes
so
wide
,
her voice
so
urgent, “Camille, dress quickly.  Do
n’
t go outside alone
. 
I need to find your father.” She rushed out of my room.
 

Don’t go outside alone.  Had she seen something?  Did she know something bad was about to happen?  I did as I was told, but
I
felt my stomach cinching itself up into a tight knot.   

Chapter 10

After I had checked myself in the mirror
,
I could hardly believe
the image
staring back.  I routinely had bad hair days
,
and the humidity of
Charleston
wreaked
havoc on me.  But in this moment, my dark hair somehow looked perfect.  Since I was a little girl
,
I’d always had long auburn hair, naturally curly
,
which translated to naturally frizzy
and wildly
-
out
-
of
-
control
most summers.  I happened to be wearing one of the most elegant gowns I’d ever seen and felt almost like a fairy princess.  I smirked when I said out loud, “Or maybe a Centaur princess.”
 
 

A voice
called
from
the other side of
my
door, “Honey, are you ready?”

I recognized the hesitant voice waiting in the hall,
“Hi, Will, you can come in.”

The door opened and Will looked a little tentative.  His apprehension melted away.  He stretched his arms out to me
, taking long strides in my direction,
and took both my hands in his.  “Camille, you are truly a vision.  Have I told you
today
how happy I am that you’re here?”

Will stepped over to my bed and sat down, patting the space beside him.  I took a seat next to him
,
a little self
-
conscious of my “princess” comment
,
wondering if he’d heard
me
.

Will took a deep breath and let it out loudly.  “Gretchen has filled you in on some aspects of our kind that are less than ideal, yes?”

“What?  That I’m supposed to pick a husband the same way someone would pick a new puppy at the pound?”

A nervous chuckle released from Will, “No, actually that was something I thought you might find appealing, but it
’
s related.”  He cleared his throat, “
Your mother had been betrothed to Kyle Richardson of Florida.  He was not
. . .
pleased when your mother broke off the
engagement
.”

“Okay.” 
This much I knew, but h
e had my attention.

“Our kind, once a woman chooses, she cannot change her mind
, a
t least not without paying a debt to the man she
’s
rejected.  There is good reason for this
: 
as men so clearly outnumber the women, if a woman chooses to break off her engagement
,
it is rare that another woman would consider that man a potential
suitor
.  He is in essence
‘
black-balled
,
’
and his blood line is unlikely to continue.”

“So when my mom broke off her engagement, Kyle Richardson wasn
’
t able to marry anyone?”

“Actually, he is one of the very few that I have ever heard of to be betrothed a second time to a Centaur woman.  The fact that he was given a second chance for his blood line does not diminish his right to exact a blood debt.”

What she’d said had bothered me, but I wanted to hear it from Will. 
“Gretchen said that he wanted me dead
.  I
s that true?”

“As he is the one that the debt is owed to, he sets the price.  Given our circumstances and that so much time has passed, he does not wish for your death.” 

The pain in my stomach didn
’
t diminish as I waited for Will to get to the bad news. 
“She said you would pay him
,
and he’d be fine.  I get the feeling that that isn’t the case.”

“Mr. Richardson has traveled to the wedding this evening.  He wishes to meet you.”

“Meet me? But why?”

“I explained to Mr. Richardson the situation
- t
hat I was unaware of you until just this week
.  You were indeed
part of my family.  Given your mother’s debt
,
I felt it was my responsibility to pay to ensure there would be no bad blood between our families.”

“So, how much am I going to owe you?”

Will shook his head.  “You
’
ll owe me nothing, Camille
.  Y
ou
’re
my daughter.
  If he will accept money as payment, then there
’
s nothing to worry about.
”

“If?”

“It’s complicated, Camille.  For right now, he just wants to meet you.”

“So he
’
ll be here tonight?  I have to meet with him?”

“Yes.  I promise
,
I will be with you the whole time. 
Nothing will happen to you tonight
.  But you must
talk to
him.”

I noticed that Will told me everything would be fine “tonight,” but he made no mention of tomorrow or the day after. 
“Uh . . . okay.  I feel like I’m missing something?”

“He didn’t mention it on the phone, but
you know Gretchen sees things. 
Gretchen shared with me that Mr. Richardson has a son
who
is of age.  H
e
may be unwilling to set a price with an
actual dollar value.”

“Are you saying I have to marry some guy I don’t know because my mother refused to marry his father?  You aren’t saying that
,
are you?”

“Camille,
the possibility is remote.  Gretchen senses that his inten
t
ions are pure and that it is better to deal with this immediately rather than delay the meeting.  Given the wedding tonight,
it’s
unlikely
he’ll
create any kind of scene
.”

Our conversation had been calm
,
but I could feel my blood beginning to boil.  I shouldn’t have lashed out at Will, but I was furious that this was even possible. 
“
I’m not marrying some guy I don’t know.  T
hat isn’t going to happen!” 

“I will never force you to do anything you do not choose.  However, since Mr. Richardson has travelled here tonight,
I need to insist that you meet with him.
”

My mouth opened but nothing came out. I started arguing that this was one of the most
absurd
thing
s
I’d ever heard of, but reality was, meeting a man with Will wouldn’t be bad.  It’s not like I was being told I had to marry his son.  It was harmless
, for now
.

As I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine, I realized that knot in my stomach still hadn’t eased.  Will reached over and took my hand in his.  “Camille, I promise no harm will come to you. 
Do you trust me?”

How do you trust someone you hardly know?  I looked in his eyes and
nearly melted when I
saw love staring back at me through his deep brown
eyes
.  No matter how much I disliked the situation, I did trust him.  He may not have been a rock star, he wasn’t fixing world hunger, but he was exactly the type of father I had dreamed of.  I realized I didn’t need a lifetime to know that I loved him unconditionally and trusted him emphatically. He was my father.  I was safe with him
,
and regardless of what a big wheel he was financially, he had given me the one thing I had craved my whole life
- a
family
who
loved me back.  I reluctantly nodded that I did trust him.

Will took me in a
n embrace
.  W
hen he let me go, he took my hands in his again. “I have one last request before we head downstairs.”  I gave him a quizzical look as I couldn’t imagine anything more concerning than what we’d just talked about.  “In front of the guests, I need for you to address me as your father.
”  He paused, then added, “
Especially
,
Mr. Richardson.  I understand if you aren’t comfortable with it
,
and private
ly
you may address me any way you wish, but tonight, please call me ‘Dad.’”