I looked around at the familiar living room, confused. The TV faced out at the room from a walnut cabinet it had sat in as long as I could remember, a huge couch positioned in front of it, with a glass coffee table I hated because it needed dust and fingerprints removed every five minutes.
There was a photo framed on the wall above the television. The picture was taken when I was about nine years old. I’m in my dad’s arms and Mom is leaning into us. We look like a close family. Maybe we even were back then.
“There you are.”
I spun around, shocked to hear my dad’s voice, and even more shocked to see him pushing himself into the room in his wheelchair. He hadn’t changed a bit since I’d left.
“Dad?”
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he snapped. “Where have you been?”
“She won’t tell us.” Mom walked into the room behind him, shrugging into her jacket. “And I don’t have time to stick around and listen to her excuses.”
“They’re no excuses.” Jim brushed by her.
My heart stopped. “Jim?”
He gave me a sad smile. “Ye look like ye’ve seen a ghost.”
“You’re here? How are you here?”
Ignoring my parents muttering between themselves, Jim strode right up to me and cupped my face in his hands. “I’m always here, Nora.”
“Pixie?”
I spun around, out of Jim’s touch, reeling at the sight of Aidan and Sylvie standing by the fireplace. “How?” How did they get there?
“I thought you were with us, Pixie?” he asked, expression grim. Then just like that, Sylvie disappeared. I cried out her name and Aidan looked at the spot she’d been standing in. “With me,” he whispered. “I thought you were with me.”
“I am!” I cried, wanting to rush to him but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t budge. “Aidan!”
“Calm, Nora, I’ve got ye.” I glanced over my shoulder to see Jim looking down at the floor. I followed his gaze, terror suffusing me to see skeleton hands had burst through the floor. They had an unearthly grip on my feet, locking me in place.
“No!” I screamed, trying to pull away.
“Shhh,” Jim hushed me, wrapping his arms around my upper body to pull me against him. “Ye cannae leave me, Nora. Ye owe me.”
“Jim, please,” I sobbed.
“Pixie?”
I looked over at Aidan to find him glaring at me in hostile disappointment. He lifted a hand and my fear grew as finger by finger, his hand disappeared. “Aidan!”
“Nora! Nora, what’s happening?”
My eyes flew back over my shoulder to see my mother and father wearing twin looks of horror as they watched their own limbs start to disappear. “Nora!”
“Jim, let me go!” I screamed, struggling to get to them.
“There’s nae point, Nora. Ye’ll never reach them all in time. It’s better ye stay with me than tae choose.”
“That is choosing!” I shrieked in outrage.
“Then choose me. Finally, fuckin’ choose me. Ye owe me.”
“Jim …” I leaned into him. “I’m so sorry. Please, I’m so sorry.”
“Pixie.”
Aidan was disappearing. “No.” I fought against Jim, hitting and shrugging and punching but he held me supernaturally fast. “No!”
“I wish I’d never met ye, Pixie.”
“Aidan, no!”
“Too many ghosts between us,” he whispered.
And then he was gone.
“AIDAN!”
“Nora, wake up. Nora.” I was jolted abruptly and horribly awake, my eyes flying open. I took in the blurry face above my own and winced against the light, completely discombobulated.
Where the hell was I?
“You fell asleep on the couch. We all did.”
“Aidan?” I attempted to blink the weariness out of my eyes and pushed up off the couch, groaning as pain shot up my neck. Oh yeah, I’d definitely fallen asleep somewhere other than a bed.
Aidan’s face came into focus and I realized he was kneeling beside the couch in front of me. His hair was wet and he’d changed clothing. “I let you sleep.”
I bent my aching neck from side to side and yawned. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He gave me an affectionate smile and reached out to push my hair off my face. “I think we all needed it.”
I glanced around his sitting room and frowned. “Where’s Sylvie?” Last night after pizza, we’d had a movie marathon to take our minds off reality. I didn’t remember falling asleep.
“I woke up about two hours ago, put her to bed, had a shower.”
“What time is it?”
“It’s only eight o’clock. I know you start work at ten so I was going to wake you soon, but you were having a nightmare …”
I frowned, trying to remember. “I was?”
He touched my knee, expression concerned. “You kept crying out my name. Like … you’d lost me or something.”
“I can’t remember,” I whispered, reaching down to take his hand. “But it does sound like a nightmare.”
He kissed my knuckles. “Breakfast?”
I nodded. “Let me help.”
In the end, I managed to convince him to sit his gorgeous butt on a stool while I puttered about his kitchen making omelets. We whispered to each other as I worked, attempting to keep the noise level down so as not to wake Sylvie.
“You look good in my kitchen,” Aidan said in a low voice, giving me a soft smile that did nothing to wipe away the sadness in the back of his eyes. I wished I had the power to make everything better. I’d take making him smile as a small win, though.
“Your kitchen is nicer than mine.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I grinned cheekily at the reminder. “I’m still sorry about that.”
“Your friend needed you.”
“Yeah, she did. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t need you.”
“Need Uncle Aidan for what?”
I jumped, nearly dropping the spatula.
Sylvie had appeared out of nowhere, standing there in her pajamas, yawning and rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Do you want breakfast, sweetheart?” Aidan promptly asked, getting off his stool to go to her. Even though she was past the age for it, he swept her up into his arms like she was six years old and carried her over to a stool.
Sylvie yawned again. “Cereal.”
“Coming right up.”
While I finished fixing our breakfast, Aidan poured out Sylvie’s Cheerios and slid a glass of orange juice in front of her.
We ate in silence, but whether it was out of tiredness or the weight of knowing how temporary this moment was, I didn’t know. However, I soaked it up and I knew from the way Aidan kept throwing her glances that he was taking in every moment with his niece while he could.
“Did you sleep over, Nora?” Sylvie suddenly asked, peering around her uncle at me.
Not wanting her to get the wrong idea, I said, “We all fell asleep on the couch.”
She frowned and Aidan supplied before she could ask, “I woke up earlier and put you to bed.”
“Oh. Okay. Last night was fun.” She gave us a tired smile.
“Yeah,” Aidan said, smoothing a hand over her bedraggled hair. “It was.”
I looked away before I did the unthinkable and burst into tears.
Sylvie’s gaze moved from her uncle to me and then back to Aidan. “Can we do something today? All of us?”
“Nora has to work, sweetheart.”
Clearly disappointed, she slumped in her seat.
“I don’t have to,” I blurted out.
Aidan raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”
“No. Maybe—” I coughed dramatically. “Yeah …” I coughed harder. “I’m definitely coming down with something.”
He grinned. “Is that so?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, it’s not contagious. I can still hang out with you guys.”
“Yay!” Sylvie beamed. “What should we do?”
“Well, first Nora will need to phone her boss and explain about this mysterious noncontagious illness.”
I shoved him playfully and jumped down off the stool. “Where’s my purse?”
“It’s not even nine o’clock yet. Will she be in?”
“Yup. Leah’s usually at the store by eight thirty.”
The buzzer for the apartment sounded as I found my purse and I looked over at Aidan in surprise. It was a little early for visitors. He frowned as he got off his stool to answer it. “Could be Laine,” he said. “She’s back from that job in Paris.”
I had no idea what job in Paris. I’m sure Aidan had probably mentioned it but I tended to switch off when Laine was mentioned. She still wasn’t forgiven for saying those humiliating things about me.
However, it wasn’t Laine.
“Aidan, it’s Cal,” the masculine voice crackled over the buzzer.
Aidan froze for a second and then reluctantly pressed the entrance button.
“Uncle Aidan, what’s Daddy doing here?” Sylvie said, slipping off the stool and hurrying over to him. Even though she was tall for her age, she’d never looked so young standing there in her Hello Kitty pajamas and slippers with her short hair a mass of tangled, golden silk. Her little face was pinched with worry.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I guess we’ll find out in a minute.”
After Aidan opened his apartment door, the three of us stood together. It occurred to me we were like soldiers on a front line, awaiting an enemy attack.
It wasn’t how we should have felt about Sylvie’s dad but it was how we’d been made to feel. If he’d only been honest with Aidan from the start, this whole damn thing might not have been so messy. Instead, there was a whole lot of resentment waiting for him in this apartment.
A fist appeared first to knock on the open door, and then Cal stepped inside, his smooth expression tightening as he took us in, standing with our legs braced and our arms crossed over our chests.
Following in behind him was a tall, attractive brunette. She wore an expensive-looking, tailored herringbone coat that fitted her slim figure to perfection, black leather gloves, and black heeled boots. Dangling from the elbow of one arm was a black Kate Spade handbag.
Her striking light gray eyes took us in and her pretty mouth pursed in displeasure.
Cal gave his daughter a weak smile. “Morning, baby doll.”
“Hi, Daddy. What are you doing here?” She looked up at him with too much suspicion and concern for a little girl.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Cal cleared his throat and spoke to Aidan, although he didn’t look him in the eye. “We need to talk. In private.”
“About what?”
Cal sighed heavily. “In private, Aidan.”
“And I asked, about what?”
His tone was the equivalent of the patio door sliding open and letting in the October morning chill.
Cal looked down at Sylvie. “Baby doll, why don’t you take Sally and show her your room?”
“No.” Aidan shook his head.
Cal scowled. “Sally, take Sylvie and get her washed and dressed.”
Sally made to move forward but Aidan held up a hand, warding her off. She was smart enough to stop. He spoke without taking his eyes off Cal and his fiancée. “Pixie, you take Sylvie into her room.”
And so I took a reluctant Sylvie away from whatever was happening out there, feeling uneasiness crash over me.
“What’s happening, Nora?” Sylvie’s mouth trembled as she gazed up at me with limpid fear in her eyes.
“I don’t know, sweetie.” My voice shook, probably only intensifying her worries, but I had a horrible feeling in my gut. “Let’s get you dressed.”
I had gotten her into the bathroom and she was brushing her teeth when I heard Aidan yell, “Over my dead body!”
Sylvie whimpered as my eyes grew wide.
What the hell was going on?
“Let’s hurry up, sweetie.”
“Nora?”
“It’s okay.”
“Don’t you fucking dare!” Aidan roared.
“Don’t you talk to her like that!” Cal yelled back.
“This is my home. Get the fuck out!”
“Not without Sylvie.”
I felt her little hand curl around mine, bringing my startled gaze down to her. “Clothes on, Sylvie,” I whispered, hurrying her into clean underwear, jeans, and a sweater.
The yelling continued from the front of the apartment but I couldn’t stay in the bathroom with her forever, and I hated that Aidan was out there with no backup for whatever the hell was going on.
Holding tight to Sylvie’s hand, we hurried back out to them to find Aidan still in a face-off with Cal and Sally. “What is going on?”
Cal turned to me, his expression pleading. “Unfortunately, my new boss wants me over in San Francisco a few weeks earlier than we’d planned. Sally and I are leaving in ten days and that means Sylvie is too. We thought it best to come get her now, so we can adjust as a family for a few days before we head to the States. We have to talk with her school and get her transferred to a local school over there. It makes sense if she’s with us while that all happens. Most of her things can be sent for once we’re over there.”
“No!” Sylvie shouted immediately.
Cal’s face fell. “Baby—”
“No!” She ripped her hand from mine and fled. Her bedroom door slammed shut behind her.
Incredulous and furious, I shot her father the dirtiest look in my repertoire. “Don’t you think a little warning would have been nice?”
“We didn’t get any warning—” Sally began but I cut her off.
“I meant for Aidan and Sylvie. You couldn’t have picked up a phone and called Aidan to explain? I’m assuming you found out about this before this morning?”
He nodded.
“When?” Aidan bit out. The muscles in his biceps bulged with tension as he held them across his chest, as if trying to contain himself.
Again, Cal wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Yesterday morning.”
“You dirty bastard.” Aidan moved for him but I gripped his arm to halt him. “You knew about this at the meeting with our lawyers yesterday?”
When Sylvie’s dad didn’t reply, Sally sighed, as if we were causing a fuss for no reason. “We knew that you would try to stall everything and we don’t have time for that, Aidan. It was best to do it like this.”
“It was callous to do it like this,” I retorted.
“This is really none of your business.”
I glared at her. “This man and that beautiful little girl are my business.”
“Aidan, please,” Cal said, his expression seeming genuinely remorseful. “You’re right. This wasn’t the best way, but none of this is going to be easy on Sylvie. I thought it was better to rip the Band-Aid off. I’ve been weak, too afraid to ask for what’s mine. But she is mine and I want her home with me. Now.”
At Aidan’s continued silence, Sally threw her hands up. “For goodness’ sake, she belongs to Cal. Legally. We will call the police if we have to.”
“Sally,” Cal warned.
She huffed. “It’s true.”
He seemed to plead with her to be quiet. “This is her uncle, not her goddamn kidnapper.”
“Just give me today with her,” Aidan said, the words hoarse. I stepped closer into him, hearing the pain in his voice, even if these selfish assholes were too deaf to hear it.
“I wish I could, I do, but we’ve got too much to get done. And it’ll be hard no matter when we do this. Let’s get it over with. And anyway, you travel all the time to California. You’ll see her soon.”
Fury threatened to explode out of me. “You can’t even give him one day to say goodbye to his kid?”
“Not. His. Kid,” Sally enunciated coldly. “Now move out of our way or,” she held up her phone, “I will call the police.”
When Cal didn’t say anything to stop her this time, I reluctantly stepped aside and guided a rigid Aidan out of the way too.
Cal strode by us, his cheeks flushed, whether with embarrassment or anger, I couldn’t say. His bitch of a fiancée marched at his back, throwing me a smug look I wanted to wipe off her face. How could it be that Sylvie was going to be raised by that cow?
Powerlessness held me immobile, unable to say anything to soothe Aidan, who I think had disappeared too deep inside himself for me to reach anyway.
“No!” I heard Sylvie sob. “Daddy, no!”
“Tell me what you want to take with you, darling,” Sally said in a surprisingly placating voice. “You don’t want to leave anything behind you love.”
Uh. What about her uncle, you stupid asshat!
“Daddy, no, let me stay,” she cried so hard. Tears burned my eyes, my throat so tight, it was painful.
A few minutes later Cal walked out of the room with a tearful Sylvie in his arms; a far more subdued Sally followed with a small suitcase of Sylvie’s in hand.
“Uncle Aidan!” Sylvie shrieked and struggled to get out of her dad’s arms. Visibly distressed, Cal lowered her to the ground and she threw herself at her uncle.
Aidan caught her in his arms, holding her so tight, his eyes closed in obvious agony. Sylvie clung on fiercely, begging him not to let her go. “Shhh, baby girl, shhh,” he said, voice trembling. “It’ll be okay.”
But nothing he said could quell her tears and after five minutes of Cal quietly asking her to come back to him, her father lost his patience and hauled her out of Aidan’s arms.
“NO!” she screamed, holding her arms out to Aidan as Cal strode away. “Uncle Aidan! Nora! Uncle Aidan! Nora! NO!”
I sobbed, looking down at my feet, unable to watch, wishing I couldn’t hear that little girl scream all the way out into the hall.
And then to my absolute horror, I heard Aidan cry out and looked up in time to watch his knees give way. I reached for him, falling to my knees too, wrapping my arms around him. He fell against me, one fist curled tight in my shirt, the other in my hair, and I listened to him struggle to breathe through the tears he’d tried so hard to hold back.