MemoriesErasedTreachery (25 page)

Ewyn strolled into the room and flopped down across the bottom of the bed. "You were right."

"Always," Devin pronounced then ducked and caught the pillow hurtling toward him. He tossed it back on the bed and sat down.

"Funny." Ewyn rolled his eyes. "I'm referring to Kieki."

Before he could say another word, Kiera skipped into the room dressed in the very outfit she and Ewyn had fought over earlier. Complementing the color of her eyes, she wore a dove grey knit smock with a square neckline, empire waist, pleated bodice, and long sleeves with white cuffs. With her legs encased in white lace leotards, she had black patent Mary Jane shoes on her little feet, and two white ribbon bows held her hair in place.

"Whoa, baby-girl. Don't you look pretty…what's up?"

"Dev, my party." She rolled her eyes, looking just like Ewyn, and hopped on the bed next to Devin. "Ew say that little girl Niqui's comin'. She has Momma's name, huh."

Eyebrow arched, Devin looked at Ewyn.

"Kristen's daughter. Spelled N-i-q-u-i, not like Nicole's nickname."

"Oh." Devin chuckled. "So Kieki has competition." He leaned over and tickled her.

"Stop…Daddy!" she squealed and giggled, then jumped off the bed. "Messin' my dress." She smoothed her hands over her outfit, patted her hair, and flounced toward the bedroom door. "Time to go, Ew. Gonna get Mick."

"Well, excuse me," Devin called after her. "I guess we'd better not keep her waiting, Ew."

Ewyn pulled his cell off his waistband. "I'll let Mick know she's on her way over." With all the security measures installed, they never locked the front doors when Kiera was in residence, still… He flipped open his phone and pressed #2.

Mick answered on the second ring. "She's already here, demanding we hurry up."

"Got it." Grinning, he closed his phone and repeated what Mick had said.

Devin nodded. "She's getting used to Mick following her everywhere, huh."

"Oh yeah. Baby-girl is very observant. She knows to look for Mick if she is separated from me or Myce when she's out," Ewyn replied. "Myce is teaching her not to talk to strangers, and to scream if someone she doesn't know approaches her. She told Myce she would kick butt if a stranger touched her." Eyebrow arched, he stared at Devin. "I wonder who taught her that."

Devin hooted. "She'll be fitted for her GPS tracker next week. Mick is getting it set up. With her starting Pre School only weeks away, we'll always be able to locate her."

"Yeah." Ewyn sighed. "She's been talking non-stop about her special bracelet."

"What? You don't think we should."

"No, we need to do whatever it takes to assure her safety. It's just…damn it, I hate doing this to her. She's a baby, Dev. Her life shouldn't be so complicated."

"True. But consider your family background, and the added complications of her becoming a target because she's a Corbett--they do have the drama dogging their asses, too." Devin raked his fingers through his hair. "Hell. She's already accepting Mick's constant presence. She'll learn to live with the surveillance just as all Calderone children have."

"I know you're right, still, I hate it." Ewyn hopped off the bed, leaned over and gave Devin a quick kiss then headed for the door. "Let's go party."

* * * *

Devin entered the estate from the back road, stopped at the gates, input the code, and drove around to the garage. As suspected, cars filled the drive, so he parked the truck in front of the garage, climbed out, and left the keys inside. He went to the passenger side to get Kiera.

"Lookit all the cars, Dev," she whispered as he set her on the ground.

"Yeah, baby. You must be awfully popular." He chuckled, knowing she probably didn't know what he meant.

Kiera giggled and skipped off toward the house, yelling back over her shoulder, "Hurry up, Ew. Gonna be late."

Devin opened the front passenger door and looked at Ewyn, who had not attempted to get out of the SUV. "Hey, what's up?"

"I don't know." Ewyn unfastened his seatbelt and stepped down. "Suppose I don't like Kieki's father, or her Corbett grandparents." He sighed. "She's going to have real family, Dev. Maybe she'll want to live with them."

"Hey.
You
are her real family…you and Gem, all of us. Don't anticipate. I told you, nothing changes until Greg returns, and who knows when that will happen. By then, Kieki could be old enough to make her own decisions. Besides, they can't separate her from us totally. Greg is her grandfather, too."

"I worry too much, huh."

"Yes." He kissed the smiling mouth. "Let's go inside before baby-girl comes back to get us, and we know that won't be pretty."

Laughing, they turned toward the house and entered through the kitchen. Tantalizing smells and a scene of bustling activity greeted them. Ewyn looked around, expecting to see Kiera.

"She demanded Myce take her to meet everyone," Rosa said with a chuckle. "She didn't even stop to look at her cake." She smacked at Ewyn's hand when he tried to swipe a taste of the icing. "I see you haven't changed." She chased him from the kitchen.

Grinning, Ewyn dodged her swat and hurried to catch up with Devin. He reached the family room, came to a sudden stop on the threshold, eyes widening, mouth open. For an older man, he had considered Christopher extremely handsome, but seeing all the Corbett men together…
daa-yam
. The entire Corbett clan sat or stood around the bar, while Timothy, positioned behind it, fixed and served drinks.

Dragging his gaze away from the esthetic representation of the male species, Ewyn glanced around, noticed Kiera and Niqui sitting beside Gemma on the sofa, and headed their way. He'd made it halfway across the floor before Devin came up behind him and whispered against his ear, "Close your mouth, you're drooling."

Startled, Ewyn flinched.
Shit!
With his libido focused on the Corbett males, he hadn't noticed Devin's presence. Heat strafed his cheeks as he turned and stammered, "Dev, I…uh, you don't think…"

"Hey, no explanations needed. Minus the wide-eyed look and the drool, my reactions were the same," he teased and put an arm across Ewyn's shoulders. "It appears you're having the same affect on the Corbetts--men and women."

"Which one is Kieki's dad?" Ewyn slipped his arm around Devin's waist.

"Reddish-brown, sun-streaked hair, and the white-blond haired Adonis standing next to him is his father, Kieki's grandfather."

"You're shitting me, right. How old is he?"

"Hmm, if I were the jealous type--ouch!" Devin glanced down, eyes narrowing. "You know that deserves payback."

Ewyn glared. "Devin…"

"Okay. His name is Tristan and he's the baby of their family. Christopher is the oldest, and he's the youngest, so I'd say he's about forty-eight, forty-nine. The two of you should hit it off real well,
baby-boy,
" Devin joked. "Since you're both computer geeks."

"Hey!"

Devin moved away before Ewyn could poke him again. "Sorry, can't stop. Our favorite detective just arrived and he's looking lost." He winked. "I'd better go greet him."

Kiera hopped off the sofa, yelling, "Daddy, Ew!" She grabbed Niqui's hand, tugging her along. "C'mon, Niqui, see my daddy and my Ew." As the two girls approached, in the unmodulated voice of a child, Niqui bellowed, "How come you don't have a mommy?"

Kiera skidded to a stop, and Ewyn tensed. The whole room went silent as if everyone held their breath, and Ewyn had the sensation of viewing the entire scene as time-lapse photography.

Head cocked to one side and her little brow puckered, Kiera looked at Devin and Ewyn, then turned and stared across the room at Niqui's mother and father. Kristen started to move away from the bar, but one of the other women grabbed her arm. Mick and Taggart stopped mid-stride on the family room threshold. Ewyn started forward, intending to intervene, but a glance at Gemma, who shook her head and mouthed the word,
don't
, kept him in place. He sensed Devin moving up behind him.

A few minutes passed before Kiera turned back to Niqui. "How come you only have one daddy?" She giggled. "I have two. C'mon. Dev, Ew…this is Niqui!" She ran up to Devin and raised her arms. A collective sigh, then an explosion of sound filled the room, everybody talking at once.

Devin scooped up Kiera and hugged her tight. "Happy Birthday, baby," he whispered and kissed her smiling mouth.

"Dev." She sighed, rolled her eyes, and placed both hands on his cheeks. "Big girl now, not a baby." She kissed his nose, then reached out for Ewyn and put her arm around his neck. "See, Niqui, two daddies." She giggled. "Hold Niqui, Ew," she demanded.

Ewyn smiled down at Kiera's look-a-like, who surprised him by raising her arms. He tensed, but carefully picked up the child. She wrapped her little arms around his neck and he relaxed, then returned her hug. She kissed his cheek.

"Hello, Ew."

"Hello, Niqui."

Kristen came across the room and surprised Ewyn by hugging him, too. Grinning, she took her daughter from his arms and set her down. Devin put Kiera down and the two munchkins skipped away, giggling.

"Let's find Myce," Kiera told Niqui. "Show you pictures of my momma and my ganpa."

Ewyn watched them scamper from the room before he turned back to Kristen. "Come on," she said. "My mother and my aunt are eager to meet you." Two women stood by the bar watching his approach. The taller of the two had to be Kristen's mother. They resembled each other in looks and stature. Kristen introduced the shorter woman first.

Five feet tall, she had a pretty, heart-shaped face with full lips, and a lovely smile. Her olive-toned skin, dark, shoulder-length slightly wavy hair, and soft brown eyes spoke of her Hispanic lineage.

"Ewyn. This is my aunt Villa Leon Corbett, Christopher's wife, and their son, Ricardo."

Ewyn shook hands with the woman and her son, but he couldn't stop gawking at the young man. Almost as tall as Christopher, Ricardo had a swarthy complexion and thick dark lashes highlighting startling grey eyes so similar to Kiera's, his baby-girl resembled Ricardo more than her father.

"Ewyn," Kristen prompted.

"Oh, sorry. I can't get over the resemblance."

"It's the eyes. Wait until you meet Uncle Tony and see him and Niqui together." She turned to the other woman. "Mom, this is Ewyn. Ewyn, this is my mother, Marissa Wells Corbett.

Almost as tall as Ewyn, her smooth, caramel colored skin had very few wrinkles, but there were laugh lines around her mouth and eyes. She had amber eyes, a deeper hue than Devin's, and her shoulder-length reddish-brown hair had a minimum of grey streaks threaded through the soft waves. Her trim figure suggested a strict regimen of physical exercise.

Ewyn extended his hand, but the woman stepped forward and hugged him. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Marissa said. "And thank you."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Eyebrow arched, he asked, "Uh, why are you thanking me?"

"Come on, let's sit…talk." She moved to the other sofa. "Your aunt told me, you're responsible for Kiera's upbringing. You and Devin. I owe you a debt of gratitude, and before we go any further, let me assure you, our family doesn't plan to change a thing," she said then turned to the men she left standing by the bar. "Korey…Tristan, come meet Ewyn."

Ewyn shook hands with Marissa's husband Tristan, the blond Ewyn had been drooling over earlier. About Devin's height and physique, he had the same turquoise eyes as his daughter. Turning his attention to Korey, Marissa's son and Kiera's father, Ewyn found himself staring up at another first-rate specimen of the male species. The same height as his father, Korey had a slightly slimmer build, and deep amber colored eyes like his mother.

Ewyn couldn't help but stare. The Corbett men had identical features, yet the different eye and hair colors made them standout as individuals. Dragging his gaze away from Korey, Ewyn formally introduced his family, including Mick and Taggart, and he introduced Detective Patterson. By the time Mycelia announced dinner, Ewyn had dropped his guard with the Corbetts. It seemed right--they fit.

Chapter 17

He flipped open the phone on the third ring. "Hey. What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"At the estate, and besides the usual players, there's a lot more activity this year, more people."

"Do you recognize any of them?"

"Only the police detective and I can't figure out why he's at her party."

"Could be part of her protection, so don't worry about him. Get pictures of everyone else."

"Will do. And speaking of protection, they have the condo locked down so tight the Feeb almost caught me outside the other day."

"Hmm. Forgot who you're playing with, huh." There was the sound of chuckling. "You need your a-game on. You're not playing with the locals. Devin and his cohorts are no dummies. Stay off their radar."

The connection ended.

* * * *

Kiera had chosen her own menu--all of her favorite foods--barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, butterfly hotdogs, and baked beans with honey and onions. Rosa added baby spinach, a few varieties of lettuce, an assortment of chopped and diced veggies, and a variety of salad dressings. She had everything set up buffet style.

Mycelia settled Kiera and Niqui at the table, their plates filled with a smidgen of everything, while the adults fixed plates for themselves then joined the two girls. Dinner became a boisterous affair with both families sharing hilarious and hair-raising anecdotes of their lives.

The estate children joined the festivities when the ice cream and cake arrived. Everyone sang the birthday song to Kiera's delight, while she stood on her chair, clapping and giggling.

"Make wish, Kieki," Niqui shouted while the other children yelled, "Make a wish then blow." Prompted by their encouragement, Kiera managed to blow out the candles, all three of them, at the same time. While Rosa and Mycelia sliced the cake and dished out ice cream, Kiera opened her gifts. It surprised Ewyn to find gifts from the Corbetts among the presents, but it astounded him when Patterson presented Kiera with one.