Burn (20 page)

“
It’s been four years,” he went on. “I don’t expect her
to bounce back and be the same person she was before
the attack. I know it doesn’t work that way. But I want
her to get through it. To come out on the other side
knowing that she survived it. She’s still here and she’s
stronger and tougher and better than the bastards who
hurt her because she survived it. I haven’t been able to
hug her or kiss her, or even touch her unexpectedly, since it happened. She can’t bear to be touched by a man, not
even by her own brothers. When I first met you, I saw the same apprehension in your eyes that I see in Lucia’s. The
difference between the two of you is that you’ve got the
courage to arm yourself against the monsters.”

“Was anyone ever charged with your sister’s assault?”
Cinder asked.

“No. DNA was collected and Lucia gave the best descriptions she could, but the offenders apparently
weren’t in the system. Pio and I stay on top of the cops,
getting them to run the samples once a year, just in case
they get a hit. I can’t imagine that Lucia was the last
person those bastards hurt. They’ll get a hit one of these
days. I just hope it happens before the statute of limitations runs out.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Cinder suggested.
“Lucia hasn’t had the chance to confront her monsters.
When Sumchai went on trial, I had to force myself to
walk into that courtroom and sit down. The next day, I
had to force myself to look at him. By the end of the trial,
I stared him straight in the eye as he was led back to
prison. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the
m
oment I started rebuilding my life. I moved to Webster
Groves a few months later, and a year after that, I walked
into Sheng Li.” She caressed his cheek with the backs of
her fingers. “I met you. And now I want so much of what
I’ve missed out on. True love. A family. A dog.”

“What kind of dog?”

“A big one. Something loyal and protective.”

“A German Shepard in bulletproof armor would blend right into your little fortress here.” Gian chuckled. “This is one of only two places I feel completely safe,”

Cinder said.

“Where’s the other one?”

“Right here.” She kissed his neck. “Right here in your
arms.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“I don’t need you to protect me, I told you that,” she
said.

“You’re misunderstanding me. I was just thinking about how safe
I
feel in
your
arms. You got me in your arms and my heart in your hands. I can go into a skir
mish outnumbered and underarmed without blinking an
eye, but when it comes to women, I never put up a fight
because I never wanted to lose. I love you, Cinder. I’ll
fight for you, die for you—”

She kissed him, stopping his declarations. Gian’s arms
circled her, pressing her into his body as he returned her
kiss.

“Would you get the ice cream for me?” she asked once
they broke for air.

G
ian laughed lightly. “Can I put my clothes back on
now?”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

Cinder watched his leisured movement to and from
the kitchen. He handed Cinder a spoon and opened the flaps of the waxed ice cream carton. “Ladies first.” He
offered her the first taste of the milky-gold dessert.

“What flavor is this?”

Gian watched her savor the confection, his smile
broadening. Cinder’s eyes widened, her eyebrows arched
higher, and she licked her upper lip.

“Bacon!” She laughed, plunging her spoon into the
carton once more and digging out a hearty bite.

“Is there meat in all the side dishes, too?” Cinder
muttered under her breath. Zae’s Labor Day spread was
impressive in quantity, quality, and the sheer overabun
dance of meat. Just about every animal in the barnyard
had been on the grill, and Zae’s guests sat around her
backyard chomping on ribs, chicken breast, lamb chops,
sirloin steak, hamburgers, hot dogs and Johnsonville
brats.

Grasping a heavy-duty paper plate, Cinder slowly
moved down the buffet table Zae had set up along one
end of her deck. Though she had asked guests not to
bring anything, many had, and Zae had quarantined
their dishes to a rusty old card table bereft of even a table
cloth. Before Zae could see her and stop her, Cinder
helped herself to a ladleful of Chip’s fruit salad, a vivid,
fragrant combination of watermelon, cantaloupe, blue
berries, seedless green and red grapes, and sliced starfruit
sprinkled with fresh mint leaves. She also took a few of
the homemade taro chips Sionne had brought, eager for her first taste of Samoan food.

Gian had enlisted his mother to make lasagna, and
she’d clearly thought Gian had intended to feed five hun
dred rather than fifty. The lasagna pan was so wide and
deep, it looked like a toddler tub. Absently licking her
l
ips, Cinder cut herself a huge square of lasagna. Seven
tiers of curly-edged noodles, herbed ricotta cheese, sauce,
and mozzarella started her stomach rumbling as she
wrangled stretchy strands of melted cheese and clumps of
fragrant sauce free from her portion before setting it on
her plate.

Cinder turned to leave the potluck table and nearly
collided with Zae. Arms folded stiffly, the right side of
her mouth pinched in a derisive smirk, Zae glared at
Cinder’s plate.

“What?” Cinder asked innocently.

Zae stood close to her and spoke in a low voice.
“Every year these people come to my Labor Day barbeque, and every year I tell them not to bring anything.
And every year, they all bring some watery casserole or
some tasteless, mayonnaise-based salad, or some grue
some bakery product from the day-old shelf. Meanwhile,
they eat up everything I cook and leave me with their nasty potluck contributions.”

“Zae, your friends are just trying to be polite,” Cinder
said. “I think they made a pretty good showing. I’ve
never seen taro chips at a barbeque before, and Chip’s fruit salad is beautiful.” She held her plate up to Zae’s
nose. “Doesn’t the basil and garlic in the lasagna smell
so—”

“I know, I know.” Zae impatiently pushed Cinder’s
plate back at her. “It smells like Italy!”

Cinder choked back a laugh. “You don’t have to
worry, you know.”

“Worry about what?”

“
About someone bringing a dish that steals the atten
tion from your cooking.”

Zae grunted. “Honey, I’m not worried about that. My
barbeque is the best this side of Gates in Kansas City.”
“Then what’s the problem?”

“The only time I bring food to a barbeque is when I
know the host is a terrible cook. What does it say when
my best friends bring food to a party where food is the main reason for the gathering?”

Cinder silently stared at Zae for a moment. “You’re really weird.”

“But I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Are you for real?”

“Look,” Zae demanded, “all I’m saying is that if a per
fectly good feast is waiting someplace for you, why on
God’s great green Earth would you bring something else
to eat?”

Though Zae was speaking to her, Cinder noticed
Zae’s line of sight led beyond her, somewhere over her left
shoulder. She turned to see a few of Zae’s colleagues from
the university and three of her daughters’ friends from
Webster Groves High School. And through them, she
spotted Chip smiling at the perky blonde he’d brought to
the barbeque.

“You didn’t tell the guys that they couldn’t bring
dates,” Cinder said.

Zae took her arm and pulled Cinder toward the deck
stairs, almost making Cinder lose her food. Cinder
offered the “excuse me’s” and apologies as Zae shuttled
her through the guests milling on the deck.

“
Cory didn’t bring a date,” Zae pointed out once she
and Cinder were deep in the tree-shaded backyard, far
out of earshot of the other guests. “Sionne didn’t bring a
date. Gian didn’t bring a date.”

“I’m Gian’s date,” Cinder said.

“That isn’t the point!” Zae snapped. “If Chip was
going to bring someone, he should have at least asked me
first.”

“You didn’t seem to mind when Cory brought a date
to your July fourth barbeque,” Cinder said. “Why do you
care that Chip brought a girlfriend?”

Cinder had always envied Zae’s practiced calm. Her face never revealed her emotions or mood unless she
wanted it to. But right now, stealing glances at Chip and
his laughing date, Zae’s face was as easy to read as a
cloudy Missouri sky. The heavens were about to open.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Cinder asked.

“That child is young enough to be . . . my younger
brother,” Zae scoffed.

“He’s a grown man. And you’re a beautiful, healthy
woman who’s been single for a long time. It’s okay to be
attracted to him, Zae.”

“I’m not.” She folded her arms resolutely.

“Then why does it bother you so much to see him
with a date?”

“I’m not used to it, that’s all.”

“He probably hasn’t had much time for dating,
between training you for the tournament—”

“We don’t spend any more time training than you
and Gian do,” Zae argued.

“
—and going to the gym with you—” Cinder
continued.

“If you must know, I need to build my upper body
strength,” Zae informed her. “Chip knows which
machines and exercises are best for me, and he keeps me
motivated.”

“—and to the physical therapist with you—”

“I’m forty-two years old, soon to be forty-three,” Zae
said testily. “These old joints and muscles need some
attention from time to time.”

“And you two have gone out for dinner a couple of
times, too,” Cinder said. “Gian and I saw you going into
Isis a few nights ago when we were leaving Sheng Li. We
saw you at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market, too, sharing
one of those big apples.”

“People gotta eat,” Zae whispered loudly. “And those
Honeycrisp apples are the size of softballs. I can’t eat one
by myself!”

“It’s all right to spend time with him,” Cinder said.
“If he makes you happy, you should—”

“Have you and Gian had sex yet?”

Cinder’s cheeks burst into flame.

Zae stepped closer to her and lowered her voice. “I’m
sorry. I wanted to change the subject, and that’s the first
thing that popped into my head.”

With Zae following her, Cinder moved a few yards to
the black wrought-iron bench beneath Zae’s biggest
willow. The long, lazy fronds seemed to enclose them in
their own little world as they sat, Cinder’s plate between
t
hem. Zae picked pieces of deliciously browned cheese
from the lasagna as Cinder spoke.

“We fool around a lot.” Cinder peered through the
willow fronds and the guests on the deck to see Gian,
whose animated hand gestures made him seem bigger
and taller as he talked with Zae’s twins, Cory, and a few
other people. “Every time I see him, I want to kiss him.
I’m going to get my ass kicked at the tournament because
every one of our training sessions ends with us groping and rolling over each other in the private studio.”

“Gian told Chip that you’re getting really good,” Zae
said through a mouthful of lasagna.