Page 7 of Bitter Heat
Pater poked at his pie and sighed. “He didn’t used to be. He used to sing a lot.”
“Oh, I meant your son, not the bird.”
“I meant Kerry, too, lad.” Pater smiled widely. “He was always singing when he was younger, had a voice that sent shivers up your spine. Gravelly and deep, but earnest. And he could hit low notes you wouldn’t imagine possible with his limited lung capacity.”
Janus’s face flashed with something like interest and then a sudden understanding. He must have noticed Kerry’s chest then. Kerry rubbed at the deep indent between his pectoral muscles. He’d been shy about it for a long time, but Wilbet had reassured him that he had plenty of other wiles with which to attract an alpha. Now that he knew the real reason Wilbet had targeted him, he often felt self-conscious of the deformation again.
“Kerry wasn’t much for the high end of the range, but oh, the low end! Astounding. Soulful.” Pater shook his head grimly. “Alas, he doesn’t sing anymore.”
“Earlier you said he’s on the mend. Did he injure his voice?”
“No, Mr. Heelies. I’m afraid he contracted with an alpha, and it ruined his life.”
Kerry rolled his eyes and coughed before entering the kitchen. He was now unwelcomely certain of his pater’s reason for taking on an alpha boarder as they faced this particular crisis in their lives. “I doubt our boarder wants to hear our tales of domestic woe, Pater.” He took a cup from the cupboard and sat down to a dinner he both did and didn’t want. But even with his fluctuating appetite, eating with Janus was better than letting his pater spill their private business to a complete stranger.
A stranger with the last name of Heelies.
From the city.
Kerry knew that bunch plenty well now, didn’t he? No one had educated Kerry about the Monhundy business, and he hadn’t been granted much information about their dealings while he and Wilbet lived together, but he knew the Heelies and Monhundy families ran in the same circles. He’d even met the old man, Doxan Heelies, and hisÉrosgápeonce or twice at parties. And now, with that knowledge in mind, he wasn’t even sure he wanted this relative of theirs knowing the name of his contracted alpha.
Oh, Pater, what have you done?
“That’s all in our past now, anyway,” Kerry said in a firm tone, indicating that the subject of his alpha and his ruined life was officially a closed topic.
Janus nodded grimly but said nothing.
Pater shot him a look as though he’d lost his mind. As ifhewasn’t the one who’d gone mad boarding Janus here. Did he really think Kerry wouldn’t catch on to what he was up to? Did he think Kerry would want this?
Stroking a hand over his belly again, he could feel the hardness that hadn’t been there just a week before, though he hadn’t started to show yet. Kerry smeared a much less generous amount of butter on his bread and then poured tea into his cup. The scent of the heaping portion of pie in his bowl filled his nostrils and made his stomach growl again.
“What brings you to Hud’s Basin?” he asked after silence dragged on too long. His false politeness was obvious, but he didn’t care. This Janus was probably here for the same things all wealthy alphas came for—relaxation, a misguided idea about a business opportunity, or to wait out a scandal. There was no way it meant anything good for Hud’s Basin or for them. So, his pater could take his plans and shove them.
“To study with Dr. Crescent,” Pater answered for Janus. “Mr. Heelies here wants to be a nurse.” He gave Kerry a significant look, but Kerry chose to ignore it.
As if one’s profession said anything about one’s character or trustworthiness. How many dentists had Kerry met in the city who were clearly sadists? Just one, but that had been one too many. Being in a helping field didn’t mean a man was actually a helper. He chose to focus on the other surprising aspect of his pater’s statement.
“Dr. Crescent is taking on students?”
“Yes,” Janus said. “I was lucky to get him to accept me.”
“Why’s that?” Kerry asked, taking a bite and letting his eyes fall closed as the delicious, creamy vegetables and meat spread across his tongue. He opened his eyes to see Janus watching him carefully.
“I don’t have all the requirements in line quite yet. After my illness last year caused me to miss a few practicals and seminars, I’m behind. That’s why I’ll be studying at night,” Janus said to Pater. “If you need extra rent for my use of candles, let me know. I’ll…” He frowned. “I’ll have to cut back somewhere else to pay for them.”
Kerry’s brow went up again. Why didn’t Janus get his rich relations to pay for more candles? Or to send him battery-operated lamps? That’s what Wilbet would have done.
No, Wilbet would have accessed his bank accounts and bought enough candles to meet the needs of a dozen late-night students like he’d done that first visit before they’d contracted. Back when he was still wooing Kerry, he’d paid for Pater’s entire boarding house’s new paint job, the installation of new water heaters, and the full reshingling of the roof. And that had been just the start.
Now Wilbet’s accounts were confiscated and the proceeds divided between the prostitutes who’d come forward about Wilbet’s rape and abuse. Kerry didn’t mind. He wanted nothing to do with anything of Wilbet’s now. Not his money, not his house, and not his child in Kerry’s belly. Which, should he be an alpha, stood to inherit the whole of the damned Monhundy fortune. Kerry hated the very thought. Nothing but bad luck would ever come from that family. He wanted nothing to do with them. He’d been wrong to run from Hud’s Basin. He should never have left the safety of the mountains. But alas, he couldn’t turn back time.
Regardless, if Janus wanted to use a ridiculous number of candles or buy a dozen battery lamps, he should be able to get his family to pay for them quite easily. That’s what those kinds of familiesdid. But Janus acted like that might be a problem. Was there a scandal he was trying to outrun? And was it so big that his family had cut him off then? Was it Wilbet-sized even?
Kerry pushed the plate with the pot pie away as a rush of nausea turned the creamy scent overwhelming. He raised his napkin to his mouth and nose, breathing in and out slowly. Thoughts of Wilbet often did this to him.
“Are you all right?” Janus asked, true concern lacing his voice. “Is he all right, Zeke?”
Kerry wanted to snarl at Janus for daring to use his pater’s first name like he was just a common beta, especially when Pater had been so respectful as to call Janus by the name Mr. Heelies. But nausea swelled again, and he swallowed back a taste of vomit.
