Degrees of Passion (25 page)

‘In a minute, we’re talking to Kevin right now,’ Beatrice dismissed her daughter’s concern. Then, patting the ledge next to her, she added, ‘Here, come sit by me.’

Sasha didn’t move.

‘Very nice place your family has here,’ Douglas said. ‘When was it built?’

‘The main house and farmhouse were built in the late 1800s. These cabins were added between the 1920s and 1950s.’ Kevin motioned to the mountainous landscape on the wall. ‘Each one has that print and underneath them is the exact date of each cabin’s completion carved into the wall.’

‘Do you get a lot of weddings out here?’ Beatrice asked, her eyes sparkling. ‘It’s a very pretty place for a wedding, I think.’

‘Mom,’ Sasha interrupted. ‘I’m sure they have brochures with all that information in them.’

‘We do,’ Kevin nodded, chuckling. ‘I wrote them.’

‘Then you’ll know all about it.’ Beatrice gave her daughter an I-told-you-so look. ‘Kevin, you were saying?’

‘Oh, ah –’ Kevin glanced at Sasha ‘– under weddings it reads something along the lines of “the perfect seclusion for small private affairs, or spacious enough to handle the grandest of occasions”.’

‘Then you plan on being married here?’ her mother continued.

‘Do the brochures say anything about the floor swallowing me up?’ Sasha inquired.

‘Well, I think it’s very hospitable here. Business must be good. City folks are always looking to escape to the country,’ Douglas said. ‘Do you hunt, Kevin?’

‘I haven’t been for about three years, but before then my grandpa took us every year since I was nine.’ Kevin smiled.

Her father’s eyes lit up in pleasure, though he tried to contain himself. ‘Really.’

Kat stood, slowly making her way over to Sasha to link arms with her. Under her breath, she teased, ‘Good job, Sash. Dad’s been trying to find a son-in-law who hunts and Mom already has the wedding location picked out. You’d better watch out. Next she’ll be pulling out your wedding dress and demanding I take the pictures.’

Sasha stiffened. ‘Don’t.’

‘You don’t like the way I take pictures?’ Kat teased, pretending she didn’t know what Sasha referred to.

‘This is a nightmare. She’s going to scare him away before I even get a chance to . . .’ Sasha let her whisper taper off as she kept her eyes focused on what was happening.

‘You haven’t talked to him about how you feel, have you?’ Kat frowned. ‘I thought you were going to tell him.’

‘There wasn’t a good time.’ Sasha took in every detail of the interaction playing out in front of her. Her mother smiled, studying Kevin a little too intently. Her father tried not to smile, though the intellectual expression of interest could not be hidden from his gaze. Zoe glanced between Kevin and Sasha, as if she could read some invisible knowledge that linked the new couple. Jackson absently played with his wife’s hair.

‘Anthropology?’ Vincent nodded thoughtfully. ‘I’ve taken several seminars that focus on anthropology from a cultural entomological standpoint. The last one dealt with the sacred role of scarab beetles and buprestid beetles in Ancient Egyptian society, focusing on their funereal significance.’

‘I’ve read a little about that,’ Kevin said. Sasha had a feeling he was being modest. If he read about it, he probably knew more than anyone in the room.

‘One of the gods, Khephi, had a scarab head,’ Kat offered.

Vincent smiled. ‘You were listening.’

‘Only because I imagined that was you in another life, bug man.’ Kat laughed. ‘Kevin, did I tell you the first time we met, my husband yelled at me because I –’ she hid her mouth behind her hand, pretending to tell a secret Vincent couldn’t hear ‘– stepped on his poisonous pet spider.’

Kevin chuckled. ‘That’s not so strange. As kids, we had a pet skunk. It was descented and great for clearing the best part of the beach. People saw it coming and ran.’

Laughter erupted from her family.

‘Thank you,’ Vincent said, grinning at his wife as if finally vindicated in some longstanding argument between them.

‘Descented? They can do that?’ Zoe asked.

‘They remove the scent glands when they’re a month old,’ Kevin answered.

‘A man who knows many things.’ Douglas nodded at Sasha in approval.

Sasha didn’t move, feeling like she was watching a play. How did Kevin do it? He smiled, said a few things, and her entire family was charmed. He even kept up with the quick changes of conversation they were all used to, jumping from subject to subject with ease. She expected an interrogation from her parents and instead she watched an easy exchange. A small part of her was jealous of the talent, especially in light of her greeting from Taffy.

At her father’s expectant look, she joined the conversation, slowly making her way closer to where Kevin sat. ‘He was about to tell me about the Loch Ness monster of Lake Champlain.’

‘Champ is not Nessie,’ Kevin quickly defended, ‘and you might start a fight if anyone hears you saying differently.’

‘A lake monster? I’m intrigued.’ Beatrice straightened, her expression brightening.

‘Experts on the monster say it’s a descendent of the plesiosaur,’ Kevin continued. ‘There are even pictures.’

‘Plesiosaur?’ Douglas repeated. ‘That was an aquatic dinosaur.’

‘Douglas knows his dinosaurs,’ Beatrice said. ‘He reads about them all the time. An entire shelf in his study is dedicated to them.’

‘Surely an educated man like yourself doesn’t believe in such things,’ Douglas said.

‘You mean because if there were dinosaurs in the lake we’d have found fossils of them by now, not to mention decomposing bodies as they float to the surface, and that reptiles would need to surface every once in a while to breathe?’ Kevin shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. ‘What would be the fun in believing all that factual stuff?’

‘Bravo!’ Beatrice clapped. Standing, she leaned over and reached her hand out to Kevin. ‘Tell me, Kevin, have you ever had your tea leaves read?’

‘No, I can’t say I have, Beatrice,’ Kevin answered, ‘but I’d be fascinated to have it done.’

‘Sasha,’ Kat drew her sister’s attention. ‘Let’s go look around outside while the water is boiling. Zoe, coming?’

‘Oh, ah, sure,’ Zoe said, pushing up.

‘I’m going to stay here,’ Jackson said.

Zoe laughed. ‘I don’t think you were invited, sweetheart. It’s a sister thing.’ Then, to their mother, she said, ‘Mom, do me a favour and read Jackson, too. He has new dad worries about the baby.’

Jackson did not look at all put out by his wife’s request.

‘The baby’s going to be fine. I’ve already checked,’ Beatrice said. ‘But it can’t hurt to check again.’

‘Sash,’ Kat insisted. ‘Come on.’

Sasha gave Kevin one last look before letting her sister pull her out of the room. As she tugged on her muddy boots, she whispered, ‘What’s going on?’

‘Shhh.’ Kat shook her head as she glanced in the direction of the living room. ‘We’re getting you out of here. You look like you’re about to be sick.’ Zoe and Kat both slipped on their shoes. When the three sisters were outside, Kat said, ‘We didn’t know, Sasha, I swear.’

‘Mom said you were fine with us coming. That we needed to come,’ Zoe added. ‘She implied that you and Kevin were . . .’

‘Well, we’re not really anything. He wants something light and unfettered and I want him any way I can have him, so we’re supposed to be light and unfettered.’ Sasha pointed towards the cabin, stomping along the cobblestone to get away from the cabin. ‘This is not unfettered. This is very, very fettered.’

‘We need to tell her,’ Zoe said to Kat, worrying her lip.

‘Tell me what?’ Sasha demanded.

‘We met Taffy and Kevin’s grandparents,’ Zoe said.

‘I know, Mom already said,’ Sasha answered.

‘And Mom was Mom,’ Kat added.

The lonely squawk of a bird echoed over them, giving voice to the horrified feeling that crept over Sasha’s entire body. The dark look in her sisters’ eyes caused knots to form in the pit of her stomach. She looked towards the cabin, imagining Kevin inside with her mother and she had to fight the urge to run and pull him out of there. Kat was right to drag her out of the cabin for some fresh air. The way everyone was getting along, she’d look like a mad woman leaping across the room to knock the teacup from Kevin’s hand.

‘She implied that you and Kevin were serious. Very serious,’ Zoe said, the low words stopping Sasha from running inside.

Sasha took a deep breath and then another. ‘OK. That would explain a lot.’ She endeavored to remain calm. ‘You know what, that’s OK. I can work with this. I’ll explain that Mom was mistaken in her views, that it’s just a misunderstanding. Taffy will have to understand a misunderstanding and Kevin will hopefully get a good laugh out of it.’

‘Mom said she saw it in a teacup and that you two were going to get married in the mountains,’ Zoe blurted. ‘And there was no reason why our two families shouldn’t spend a lot of time together while we’re here since we’re all going to be related. There might have been mention of five grandkids.’

‘Kevin’s mom nearly fainted.’ Kat wrapped her fingers around Sasha’s arm, holding tight as if she expected Sasha to pass out. ‘You know that look Mom sometimes gets from people when she comes off all flaky-crazy? Especially those who don’t have any real belief in the paranormal? It was worse. Mom got excited and was talking a mile-a-minute, hardly making sense. Taffy couldn’t speak. She just kept staring at Mom like she was about to mug her.’

‘We tried to smooth things over,’ Zoe said. ‘Dad hurried her out of there.’

‘I’d hoped you had already told Kevin how you feel about him and that us coming up here was a good thing. If you two were serious, we could laugh off Mom’s over-eagerness.’ Kat looked back at the house. ‘I thought we could come up with a plan.’

‘We have to keep her away from Taffy and the rest of his family,’ Zoe said. ‘It’ll look strange if we force her to go home now.’

‘I can’t believe she’s doing this to me. It’s bad enough that I won’t get any work done with her here. The woman always meddles, but this? She actually mentioned marriage and kids? Taffy will probably tell Kevin and he’ll dump my ass.’ Sasha wanted to cry. Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill. She threw up her hands. ‘I should have known she’d ruin this for me. She always ruins my relationships. It’s why I never tell her about them. I don’t know why she has it out for me.’

‘I think she really believes she’s helping,’ Zoe said. ‘Who knows what Mom sees when she focuses on her tea leaves. We’ve all seen her predict amazing things, but I think her perception makes her so certain of things that she sometimes jumps the gun and expects everyone else to have her certainty and enthusiasm. Mom sees the world as she wants to see it and expects everyone to see it as she wants it to be seen.’

‘Don’t explain or make excuses for her. She had no right to come here. She acts all flighty, but she knows what she’s doing. She just doesn’t care.’ Sasha frowned. The door to the cabin opened and Kevin stepped outside. Their conversation instantly stopped. Under her breath, she swore, ‘Oh, no. She’s already scared him off.’

‘Kat, come on, let’s give them time to talk,’ Zoe said. ‘Sash, don’t worry. We’ll keep Mom busy.’

Sasha didn’t move as Kevin walked towards her. A strange look stretched across his face. What had her mother done now? Was the reading already over with?

‘We need to talk,’ he said, taking her arm as he passed by her. Sasha didn’t protest as she let him lead her into the forest.

The mud thickened as they neared the trees and the light whistle of the wind in the branches carried over them. Kevin kept walking, pulling her behind him into the shadowed canopy of the forest. Each jerking, slippery step drew out the silence. It seemed an eternity before he stopped.

He let go of her arm and paced the narrow width of the path. Lights streaked across his face in small moving dots shining in from above. Kevin took several deep audible breaths before he faced her. ‘When were you going to tell me?’

‘Tell you?’ she squeaked, her voice breaking under the fear.

‘Your mother told me, so there is no point in denying it. What I want to know is, when were you going to tell me?’ he demanded. His features were so strained and angry. She’d never seen that kind of raw passion in his eyes before. ‘Don’t you think I have a right to know?’

‘Know?’

‘Yes, dammit. Are you going to answer me or just keep repeating what I say?’ Hands on hips, he towered over her, making her feel very small.

Under the circumstances, she said the only thing she could think of. ‘I’m sorry for my mother.’

‘You should be sorry you didn’t tell me about the baby,’ Kevin quipped.

‘Baby?’ Now she was really confused. Why did he care about her sister’s pregnancy? ‘I thought I mentioned Zoe was pregnant to you.’

‘Zoe? I’m not talking about your sister. I’m talking about you.’ He grabbed her arms. ‘Listen, I want you to know I’m here for you and the baby. Whatever we decide to do. Though, your moodiness makes sense now. I’m sorry I didn’t catch on, but, now that I know, I think we should seriously consider our options. And by options I mean about having it. I’m not one of those guys who want you to have an abortion just so I can evade any responsibility. I want you to have it.’

Sasha opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Kevin’s hands slipped to her face, cupping her cheeks. He urged her mouth to his, closing the distance between them. The warmth of his tender lips calmed her racing thoughts.

‘Kevin, wait,’ she said into his mouth.

‘No, don’t say whatever it is you’re going to say. I’m not going to leave you. I’ll take care of you and the baby.’ He ran his fingers into her hair. ‘At least give us a chance.’

‘I’m not going to have a baby,’ Sasha said, wondering what her mother had told him.