Page 74 of Halstead House

He must have seen something in my gaze, because his became more alert and he leaned toward me, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “I know you don’t want someone managing your life, and I know you can decide what’s best for you, but if she makes you cry, I’m going to push her down the front stairs.”

“Without a safety mat at the bottom?” I asked as my heart rate increased at the look in his eyes.

“You’d better believe it,” he replied.

Then he did the most amazing, unimaginable thing. He put a large, warm hand on the side of my neck, and pulled my face to his, pressing his lips to my forehead. He didn’t linger, but the contact between us was electric. As brief as the kiss was, I could feel the emotion behind it, and a wave of some magic feeling flowed through me as he pulled away and walked out of the room.

I straightened back up, my cheeks blazing, as I turned to Mother and Eliza. Mother’s glare was icy. If looks could kill, I’d be toast. Eliza’s, however, was delighted. Ooh, boy, that was another conversation I’d be having soon.

“Mother, let’s go up to my room and sort this all out,” I said.

She nodded and we moved together to the doorway leaving the ballroom.

“Oh, and Lillian, a quick word?” Eliza called, causing us to pause and turn to face her. “I’m home now and I’d appreciate it if you’d be sure to treat my household with courtesy. That includes your daughter.”

Mother’s jaw clenched, but she simply nodded and we continued on our way. Eliza was home and Lucas had my back. That kiss, though not the first one he’d given me, had gifted me something to hold on to as I made my way upstairs to face the dragon lady head to head.

Sheer grit and determination had helped me get through the rest of that afternoon and evening. Happily, the anniversary party had gone off without a hitch and been efficiently cleaned up. It was late now, after ten. Mother had been gone for hours, and in spite of knowing I wouldn’t see her again for a little while, I still felt the pull of our mother-daughter bond in my hollowed-out heartbeats. I’d spent the past thirty minutes attempting to decipher the thread that still tied us together, and figure out how to get the knots out without severing it completely. I didn’t know if such a thing was possible. I couldn’t imagine life without my mother, but I could no longer imagine life going back to how it had always been.

Interlaced with my thoughts about Mother was the continued shock over Lucas standing with me, putting his arm around me, kissing me in front of the others. While it was something I’d recently started wishing for, it was definitely not something I’d seen coming. Oh, I understood that on the relationship scale a forehead kiss wasn’t anything to hang your heart on, but I also understood that there had been genuine emotion behind the gesture. I couldn’t make sense of it, and it only added to my whirling mind.

I was bone weary, yet knew sleep wouldn’t come easily that night. I was flopped on my bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling, still wearing my business clothing when the knock came.

My gaze focused and I noticed for the first time since entering my room that I hadn’t turned on a light. I didn’t bother to now and used moonlight to navigate to the door.

“Hey.” Lucas filled up the doorway, his face in a shadow with the light from the hallway creeping past his shoulders.

“Hey,” I replied, both happy and mystified to see him there.

“You up for a walk on the beach?” he asked.

I wasn’t expecting that request, but it immediately sounded like exactly what I needed. “Let me change.”

“I’ll meet you at the top of the stairs.” He gracefully moved out of the doorway and down the hall.

I shut the door and flicked on the lights. I didn’t give much thought to what I’d wear or how I’d look. Tank top, shorts, flip flops. Ana would be proud of how casual I looked tonight and how little I’d thought about it.

Lucas leaned against the banister at the top of the stairs, dressed in similar attire, when I emerged from my room. I loved that he had so many different versions of himself, while still remaining true to who he was. He could be a beach bum, a biker, or a businessman, and it didn’t take away from him in any way. I hoped to find a way to embrace my own variances.

He said nothing when I reached him, just held out a hand for me to take. I enjoyed the way our hands fit together, our fingers weaving and holding tight as we descended the stairs. I didn’t have a lot of experience, but I didn’t think friends held hands as much as Lucas and I did lately. I wasn’t about to voice the thought. I wanted my hand in his.

We went out the side door and turned to the back of the house, making our way through the manicured gardens, to the seawall, down the stairs, through the marshy grass, and to the groomed sand. We didn’t speak a word, and it occurred to me that I felt at ease with him. It was a bright spot in an otherwise upsetting day.

We kicked off our shoes as we stepped onto the sand. The sand felt cool under my feet, and I wiggled my toes, letting the coarseness rub between them. Lucas took hold of my hand again, and we started walking in the direction I’d walked the night I’d cut my foot. The memory of that night, trying to avoid Lucas and stepping on glass, made me grin to myself. We’d come a long way.

“Interesting day.” His voice interrupted my musings.

I made a sound of amusement. “You could say that.”

“How did things go with your mother? I didn’t get any requests to launch bodies down the front stairs.”

“It was...” I sighed. “To borrow your word, interesting.”

“I’d like to hear about it.”

I took a deep breath and worried my lip. It would be good to share but also painful, and I’d never shared with another person the details of my life this way. “Okay.” I nodded at last.

I began speaking, and somehow it felt as though I was reliving the experience by watching it play out on a movie screen. The sounds of the beach faded, and I was back in my third-story room.

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