Playing in Shadow (9 page)

“We’d better go see Juliet if she’s still here. She looks to me like a lady you don’t keep waiting around when she’s summoned you.” Bryce snagged a can of soda and ran it across her forehead for the chill.

Scarlet hastily bit back a moan at the innocent act. She tried to act nonchalant but was all churned up inside. Her reaction to Bryce threw her seriously off balance. She watched as Bryce jammed the ever-present cap on to cover up her scar and hide the roughly cut blond hair underneath. Deciding not to question Bryce’s actions, Scarlet just nodded and let Bryce lead the way.

“Truth be told, I’ve worked up quite an appetite this morning. I don’t think my sandwiches would have been enough, so pizza is going to feed the beast quite nicely.”

Bryce rubbed at her stomach, and Scarlet’s body pulsed at the action. It hadn’t been done to tantalize, but seeing Bryce touch herself, however innocently, turned Scarlet’s body into a raging mass of need.

What is it about this woman that makes me want her so much?

“By the way, thanks for singing to me all morning,” Bryce said as they climbed down the stairs and walked through the kitchen.

Scarlet grinned, a little embarrassed. “Sorry. Was I that loud?”

“Not at all.” Bryce smiled at her, and Scarlet was captivated by the shy look on her face. “It was a pleasure to hear. Though your choice of music is a little…different from what the guys sing along to.”

“It’s an acquired taste I admit, but it soothes my soul.”

Bryce held the door open for her. “I might have to give them a proper listen to sometime.”

Bryce said the words so softly Scarlet barely caught them, but when she opened her mouth to answer, Monica’s voice was calling them over to get in quick before the others descended like seagulls. Scarlet wanted so badly to reach out and touch Bryce, but she didn’t know if the gesture would be to soothe Bryce or herself.

Bright and early the next Saturday morning, Bryce arrived outside the address Juliet had given her. She had to admit, plastering a baby’s nursery was a far more productive way of spending her weekend than staring at her own four walls. She cast a curious eye over the house, wondering how much of it would reflect its owners.

Trent opened the door to her knock, and Bryce got to see her close up. The first thing she noticed was that Trent was
really
tall. She had to tilt her head back to look into Trent’s eyes. Trent’s face was unsmiling, almost moody, but at the sound of Juliet’s voice from back inside the house, Bryce watched as Trent’s whole demeanor changed. The grin she favored Bryce with was full of a sincere warmth.

“You’re Bryce?” Trent held out a hand.

Bryce shook it. “I’m here to get your nursery ready for Scarlet’s paint job.”

Trent ushered her inside. Juliet wandered out of the kitchen to greet her.

“Trent is so excited with what Scarlet is going to do for the baby’s room. I don’t know who’ll spend the most time in the nursery, the baby or Trent.”

Trent just laughed at her. “I’ve told you I’m more than ready to do above and beyond my fair share of diaper duties.” She snagged an arm around Juliet’s shoulders. “After all, you’re doing the hard part right now.”

“I’d get that promise put in writing,” Bryce said with a smile. She’d gotten to spend time with Juliet and already liked her. Seeing her with Trent left Bryce in no doubt Juliet was loved and cared for.

“Oh, I have it on good authority Trent is a wiz at changing diapers and powdering baby butts.”

Trent explained. “My friend Elton’s family spawns at least one kid every year. You learn fast that, if you have a pair of hands, you’re going to end up with a baby at whatever family function you’re attending.”

“And now you’re having your own.” Trent’s hand touched Juliet’s belly. The look they shared made Bryce oddly envious.

“Would you like a drink?” Juliet asked, breaking Bryce from her thoughts.

“I’d love some coffee.”
Anything to keep me awake
. “Scarlet said she’d dropped my tools off here for me?”

Trent nodded. “They’re in the nursery waiting for you. Let me show you upstairs.”

Bryce was surprised by the elaborate lock on an out of place reinforced door she walked past. She gave Trent a curious look. “Are you already making sure the kid never gets out of bed at night?”

Trent just chuckled. “That’s my game room. I’ve got all my consoles and gaming equipment in there. It has to be protected. It’s priceless.”

“Scarlet mentioned something about you being a gamer.”

“Do you play?”

Bryce shook her head at the undisguised hope in Trent’s voice. “No. I’ve never had the time to.” She was guided to the nursery. “Wow, this is a nice sized room.” She ran a hand over the walls. “This won’t take much to render.” She tossed Trent a look. “I’ll get these walls as smooth as a baby’s bottom.”

Trent grinned at her. “Thank you for that mental image.”

Juliet came in carrying a mug of coffee and a tray with milk and sugar. “I forgot to ask how you take it.”

“Baby hormones,” Trent said, teasing her. “And you should have called me and I would have come and got this for you.”

“You don’t have to carry me up the stairs just yet, babe. I can still climb them, albeit a little slowly seeing as I can’t see my feet.”

The sound of the doorbell rang through the house.

“That’s Squirt, my gaming buddy.” Trent smacked a kiss on Juliet’s forehead and bounded off down the stairs, her feet heavy on each step as she ran down.

Juliet just shook her head. “That will be Kayleigh, my little sister. I swear, get the two of them together and it’s hard to tell which one is the thirteen-year-old.” She laid the mug and tray on the windowsill. “I’ll leave you in peace to go do my chores while my girls play.”

Bryce walked around the room, checking all the walls and listening to the sound of excited voices coming from downstairs. Trent’s deeper tone mingled with the sound of a young girl’s who was apparently talking a mile a minute. Bryce picked up her coffee, laced it liberally with sugar and a dash of milk, and sipped from it while she worked out in her head where to start. The soft sound of music drifted up the stairs, and Bryce felt curiously lost. It wasn’t Scarlet’s music. Trying to shake off her melancholy, Bryce looked out the bedroom window. She was no gamer, but even she recognized the shape of a Space Invader etched into the pebbles in the garden.

*

Sometime later, Juliet called her down for lunch so Bryce dutifully downed her tools and headed downstairs. She followed the music coming from the living room and found two high backed gaming chairs set up before the TV. Trent was in one, Kayleigh in the other. On the large TV screen in front of them a Mario Kart race was in full swing. Kayleigh was urging her kart on, while Trent sat beside her in a more sedate fashion.

“Yes! Yes! I’m gonna win!” Kayleigh crowed as her kart took the lead.

Bryce watched as Trent’s kart slowed down. Was Trent deliberately letting Kayleigh win?

At the sound of loud beeping, an agonized howl from Kayleigh soon explained all. “No! Not the blue shell of doom!” On screen, her kart was hit by a large winged blue turtle shell and the kart was blown from the road. Trent’s kart picked up speed again and she crossed the finish line first, winning the race.

“Who tossed that shell?” Kayleigh demanded.

“Luigi did,” Trent said as her winning Baby Mario started his lap of honor.

“I’m going to run him off the side of Donkey Kong Mountain the next time we play that track.”

Juliet came to stand beside Bryce where she was peering into the living room.

“I thought Trent was letting her win,” Bryce said in a soft voice.

“Oh heaven forbid, no. Kayleigh would have a fit if someone threw the game just so she won. And Trent is too good a player to let someone else win if she’s in the lead.”

Bryce could hear Trent give Kayleigh some pointers as to what to do on their next race.

“But she’s not above giving her secrets away to those she loves so they can play as well as she does.” Juliet’s smile was soft as she moved behind the gaming chairs and leaned over. “Time to take a pit stop, you two. Come eat and then you can get back on the tracks and Kayleigh here can chase Luigi down and stomp his sorry ass.”

Kayleigh laughed. “Did you get pizza?” She turned around in her chair to lean against its back and give her sister big puppy dog eyes.

Juliet brushed at Kayleigh’s hair. “What else would I get you or me at the moment?”

“Yay!” Kayleigh was out of her seat in an instant. “Can I help you set the table? You’re not supposed to be doing so much now because of the baby.”

Bryce was amused by the look of pained resignation that blazed across Juliet’s features. She nodded a hello at Kayleigh as she got caught under her sudden scrutiny.
Oh God, she’s got the same soul penetrating look as her sister.
Mercifully, Juliet called her attention away.

“Go grab four plates. You’re as bad as Trent trying to keep me from doing too much,” Juliet said.

Trent pressed a kiss on Juliet’s cheek. “Just making sure my baby mama is happy and healthy.” She slipped past Juliet and barely dodged the swat aimed at her rear. “Come have some pizza. We don’t want you getting cranky!”

“I’ll show you cranky, babe,” Juliet said with a smile.

Trent grinned back, her eyes sparkling. “Bring it on, sweetheart.” She snagged Juliet around her waist and hugged her. “Bryce, I hope you’re hungry. We always have way too much pizza in this house. It’s Juliet’s number one craving at the moment.”

“I could eat a whole pie by myself,” Kayleigh called from the kitchen as she clattered plates on the table.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Juliet muttered. “I swear that kid grows more like you every day.” She nudged Trent with her hip. “Especially since she cut her hair short after always wearing it long.”

“She’s growing up, Jule. She’s no longer a little kid. She’s a teenager now. Besides, the cut suits her.”

Bryce followed them into the kitchen where Kayleigh was expertly cutting the two large pizzas into manageable slices. Bryce surreptitiously checked out the young girl’s hair. It was cut short into her neck and teased into soft spikes on the top. Bryce thought she looked like a baby dyke in the making. She wondered how Juliet’s parents would handle having two gay daughters in the family.

Bryce felt uncomfortable wearing her cap at the meal table and nervously ran her fingers over the brim. At Juliet’s soft nod Bryce removed it but kept it close. She kept her head down to avoid anyone’s pitying gaze.

The table was soon busy with everyone finding their seats and feeding their faces. Kayleigh’s attention returned to Bryce.

“You’re fixing up the baby’s room, aren’t you?” Kayleigh asked around a mouthful of pizza.

Bryce nodded. She could feel Kayleigh’s stare fixed on her face.

“Your scar, does it hurt?”

Bryce blinked in surprise. She wasn’t used to someone coming right out and acknowledging the damage done to her face. She willed herself not to reach up and touch the area and draw even more attention to it.

“Not so much now,” she said finally.

Kayleigh didn’t look away. “It’s really neat. It’s like you’ve got Harry’s lightning bolt going through your eyebrow.”

Bryce frowned. “Harry?”

“Harry Potter,” Trent explained, reaching for another slice of pizza.

“Yeah, he’s got this wicked scar on his forehead that marked him as the boy that lived. Yours is like that. It’s really cool.”

Bryce was surprised to realize Kayleigh meant that. For her it was something fascinating, not something that Bryce knew was disfiguring. She’d seen herself in the mirror. She had witnessed firsthand how cruel the scar was as it sliced through her forehead and ended so perilously close to her eye. She’d been lucky she hadn’t been blinded.

Lucky
. Bryce had grown to hate that word.

Kayleigh leaned toward her with a sweet smile. “I’m glad it doesn’t hurt.” She settled back in her chair. “Bet you wish it came with magic though because that would be totally awesome!”

At Kayleigh’s fanciful exuberance, Bryce felt something shift a little inside her. A weight lifted just a fraction off her soul and let her breathe a tad easier. She ran her finger along the jagged scar. Like Harry, she was marked. She also was one who had lived.

*

Bryce could hear the soft footsteps of Juliet’s measured gait as she climbed the stairs. When she looked at the doorway, Juliet was leaning against the doorjamb watching her progress.

“I’m sorry if Kayleigh made you feel uncomfortable earlier.”

Bryce didn’t look up from her task. “She didn’t. I think she’s the first person who has pointed out what happened to my face and hasn’t made me feel like a freak.”

“I hope that isn’t how you see yourself because I can assure you that none of us see you that way at all.”

“I’ve seen this face every morning since the accident. I know it’s not pretty. It’s a scar that isn’t going to go away any time soon. The doctors did as good a job as they could to fix it for me.” She shrugged. She regretted it when her shoulder reminded her of the damage done there too. “Guess my good looks have been traded in for the roguish battle scarred look that I now sport.”

“That mark doesn’t detract from how handsome you are. It just adds an air of mystery. You know women love that. It makes us want to soothe away your pains and discover all your hidden secrets.”

“There’s no secret to me. I was in a car crash. I walked away.”

“I wish I’d have known you then. I’d have visited you in the hospital and driven you crazy fussing over you like my friends are doing to me now that I’m pregnant.”

Bryce chuckled, wishing she’d had anyone visit her in the hospital other than the uncomfortable visits from her work mates who had no idea what to say to her. Only Victor Tweedy had been a regular by her bedside and had made her feel cared for. She couldn’t help but wonder if his daughter would have done the same had she been back home then. She could easily imagine Scarlet being concerned and then rallying her up and out of the bed to start facing what had happened to her. Bryce wished Scarlet had seen her before the crash, when she’d been handsome and witty and someone the girls had flirted with. Now she was crippled with self-doubts and couldn’t even sleep more than two hours a night without waking from terrifying dreams.