When Angels Cry (15 page)

“Kaylee?” A woman called.

Her mother.

“Oh
,
shit
.
”  Bastian jumped out of the chair and darted down the hallway.  Hurrying toward the stairs, he wondered whether he could make it before the woman found him.

“Kaylee, how many times have I told you not to leave this door unlocked?”  The voice called.

He wasn’t going to make it.

“Stop where you are
.
  I have a Taser.  What are you doing in my daughter’s house?” she growled.  “Turn around so I can see you.” 

“I was waiting for Kaylee to
get back
from the soup kitchen.” 
Bastian turned slowly and came face-to-face with a short
,
red-headed woman dressed in a black Versace suit.  True to her word, she held a
Taser
trained on him.  Bastian lifted his hands in a posture of surrender.

“I don’t believe that.  Kaylee would never let someone of your…breeding
…
in this house.
  Besides, she doesn’t go to a soup kitchen.
”  Her finger perched nervously on
Tase
r’s
power button.

“There’s a note….” 
Bastian headed toward the kitchen. 

His right side exploded in searing pain as he doubled over, collapsing.   Every muscle throbbed in constricted agony.  He could hear himself groaning as he curled into a fetal position.  As he lay there, he was vaguely aware of Kaylee’s mother pulling out her cell phone and calling the police.

“Yes, my name is Denna Renard.  I am at my daughter’s house at 20035 Renquest Lane, and a man has broken into her home.”  She paused.  “No, I’m fine,” she said.  “He’s not going anywhere.”  Another pause.  “Thank you.”  She ended the call and put the phone in her purse, the gloss of her pale pink nail polish shining on long
,
manicured nails, highlighting the movement of her fingers.

“I told you not to move,” she snapped.

“I didn’t break in,” he managed in a raspy voice.  “I was trying to go to the kitchen to show you the note Kaylee left for me.” 
Bastian took a deep breath, wishing to hell his muscles would stop contracting.  It hurt even to breath
e
.

Denna shook her head. 
“As if I’d believe a stupid note.  Do I look that ignorant?”
   

Bastian wanted to answer that question, but what he wanted to say would only make her madder, if that were possible.  She strode to him, reached down
,
and pulled out the
Taser
tips which made Bastian groan in agony.   In the distance, sirens screeched toward them.  He’d never seen the inside of a jail cell, but he had no doubt this woman would give him
the
opportunity.

A moment later, the front door opened.  Bastian groaned, half-expecting to find the police bending over him with handcuffs.  Instead, he saw Kaylee dart to him. 

“Mother, what in the hell have you done this time?” she yelled.  “Why is he on the ground?”
 

“Actually, I think a better question is who
he
is.  What is he doing here?
  He looks like the sort who would take everything you have, and we can’t allow that.”
  She pulled a compact out of her purse and applied fresh powder to her cheeks.

Kaylee touched Bastian’s face.  “I’m so sorry about this.  Are you all right?”

“Peachy,” Bastian managed.  Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down the sides of his face.  “I didn’t  have time to offend your mother before she zapped me and called the police.  She’s convicted me of breaking and entering.”

“Did you have to use the
Taser
on him?  What did he do
?  L
ook at you the wrong way?
  I invited him to stay.  You have no right to treat him like this.  Did you even ask why he was here?” 
Kaylee glared at her mother.  Angry tears flooded her eyes.

Two cops appeared in the doorway.  “Is that the intruder?”  The taller man pointed at Bastian and pulled the handcuffs from his belt.

“Yes,
that’s him,
” Denna replied
, setting her purse on the
floor.

“You won’t need those,”
Kay
l
ee
said, pointing to the handcuffs.  She stood between Bastian and the police.  “There’s been a mistake.  I’m Kaylee Renard, and I live here.  My mother came by to check on the house, but she didn’t know I had a friend staying with me.
  He didn't break in.  I gave him my permission to be here.  I’m sorry about the misunderstanding.”
  She pointed at Bastian.  As she looked at his pale face, she winced.  

“You sure about that,
m
iss?” the other cop asked, bracing his hands on his hips, close to the cuffs as though he actually expected Bastian to suddenly do something that required their use.

“Quite,”
Kaylee nodded.

The two officers looked at one another before leaving.  After they had gone, Denna folded her arms across her chest
.

“I demand to know what is going on.”

Kaylee leaned over Bastian. 
“Can you stand
?”

“We’ll find out.
  Nothing like having the shit shocked out of you.
”  He sat up.  Kaylee held his arm, steadying him. 

“Did you hear me?” Denna snapped.  “I don’t like being ignored.”

“You ready to try standing?” Kaylee asked, placing his arm around her neck and preparing to support him.

“Yeah,” he said.  Together, they managed to get Bastian upright, but he had to lean heavily on Kaylee.

“Answer me, Kaylee.”

“You don’t like being ignored?  Well, I don’t like you coming into this house and acting like it’s okay to treat a guest like a common thief.” 
Kaylee glowered at her mother. 
She and Bastian slowly made their way across the room.

“Well, he could have been, considering the way he looks.  Who in the hell is he, and why is he here?”

“None of your goddamned business, Mother.”  Kaylee watched Bastian clench his eyes shut and swallow hard. 

“Maybe I should go,” he whispered, trying hard not to lean on her but rather to support himself.  Damned if his head wasn’t still swimming. 

“I have a better idea.  Maybe she should.” 
Kaylee shook her head.

“It’s rude to whisper,” Denna snapped.

“Is this okay?” Kaylee nodded toward the couch.

“It’s better than the floor,” Bastian said and lay down.

“I said it’s rude to whisper.”

Kaylee whirled and stepped close to her mother so she could pick up her purse and hand it to Denna. 
“You’re right.  It is.  But you’re the rudest
one
here. 
Maybe you should go find a charity event to attend.  After all, it’s a hobby you enjoy, and I’m sure there’s one
around here
somewhere.  God knows
,
being around a person this economically deprived can’t be healthy for you.”
 
 

“I was trying to keep your house safe.
  How could I know he was a guest?
”  She rifled through her purse until she
’d
found her keys. 

“You might have asked.  But talking to someone of his sort would be beneath you, wouldn’t it?”  She sat next to Bastian and stared at him until
her mother turned to leave.
  Kaylee lightly stroked his forehead.

Denna glared once more at Bastian and strode
out
, slamming the door
behind her.

“I told you to lock your damned door,” Bastian managed through clenched teeth. “Otherwise, who knows what might walk through?”

Kaylee smiled.  “I guess you have a point.  Well, now that you’ve met my mother, how do you feel?”

Bastian shook his head and groaned slightly. 
“Glad I decided to put my jeans on.  God only knows what she would have aimed at otherwise.” 
 

Chapter
Ten

Bastian’s head ached hours after Denna had
gone
.  He sat on the couch, Kaylee’s head in his lap.  Her long tresses spilled across his l
ap
and over the cushions.  He heard the heating unit kick
on
.  Although the sound did not wake Kaylee, she flinched and muttered something
un
intelligible
. 
Bastian
stroked her face.  Despite the heater, the cold air kissed his skin, forcing Bastian to put on his shirt.  He touched his right side where the Taser had struck.

Bastian stretched. 
“How in the hell could something so small hurt that much?” he grumbled. 
The
sudden shift woke Kaylee from her catnap.

“How do you feel?” 
Nestling her head ever closer to him, she smiled, her eyes half-hidden in the dark silk of her hair. 

Bastian touched his throbbing temple. 
“I still have a headache, but at least it’s attached to the rest of my body.”

Kaylee sat up.  “I’m sorry.  I should have expected her to pop in like that.”

“It’s okay.
  It doesn’t surprise me that she carries a Taser.
”  He brushed a stray lock from her flushed, sleepy face.

“She’s not exactly the warm and fuzzy mother
some
people have.
  Still
,
I guess I should be thankful for what I have, shouldn’t I?
”
Kaylee shrugged. 
Lifting her arms over her head, she stretched her back. 

“Maybe we all should.
  What are your plans for today?
”  Bastian stood, walked across the room, and looked outside, finding a blue sky and bright sunlight so uncommon during winter’s curse.  The overwhelming brilliance seemed hard to believe considering the previous storm. A few branches bobbed calmly in the breeze.  He propped his arm on the sill and lost himself in the sunlight.

“I didn’t have any plans, except to spend the day with you.” 
Kaylee
stepped
behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she laid her head on his back.  Bastian patted her hand and twined his fingers with hers.

“I have a place I’d like to take you, if you’re game.”  He closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her touch.

Kaylee squeezed his hand.  “Of course I’m game.  Where do you want to go?”

“I just want to get some air.”  Bastian went to the hall closet and pulled out their coats.  Before he slipped into his, he helped Kaylee put on
hers
.
 
Together
,
they stepped into the brilliant sunlight, and Kaylee pointed to her car.

“Why don’t you drive my Mercedes?  I know you worry your truck won’t start.”  Without waiting for a response, Kaylee tossed the keys to Bastian and walked toward it.

Bastian started to protest, but Kaylee was already waiting at the passenger door.  She could be so damned stubborn when she wanted.  Resigned, he unlocked the car, wondering if he should open Kaylee’s door for her.  Kaylee beat him to it. Bastian, too, got in and started the engine.  Immediately, it revved to life and idled softly, awaiting his command.  He shifted to first gear and pulled out of the driveway, the weight of his foot uneven on the gas pedal.

“Is there a problem with the car?”  She folded her hands in her lap.

“It’s the driver, not the car.
  Let’s just say it’s been years since I’ve had such a pleasure.
”  Once on the road, Bastian shifted to second.  

Kaylee settled against the seat and smiled, closing her eyes.
  “Tell me when we get there.”

“Don’t worry,” he replied.  “You’ll be the second to know.”  He shifted into third.  “How was the soup kitchen?”
Bastian stopped at an intersection and turned left, heading toward the city. 

“Good–except one of our regulars didn’t attend.  Rosie and the others wanted to know where he might have been.” 
Kaylee stretched her arms over her head and yawned.

“And did you tell them you
’d
kidnapped me?”

Kaylee laughed.  “Nope, but I guess you could always mail them a ransom note.”

“That implies I want to be rescued.” 
Bastian took Kaylee’s hand. 

“Don’t you?” 
Kaylee squeezed his fingers
.

“Not on your life,” he said softly.  “I love being with you.”

After a moment, the two of them lapsed into a silence broken only by the purr of the engine.  After a time, Bastian turned left and parked in the same spot his truck had been the night he’d met Kaylee.  For a second
,
he closed his eyes and remembered how she had
stumbled
past.  Even then
,
she had made him see beyond himself.  More than that, she had made him want to live.

“We’re here.”  He opened the passenger door, took Kaylee’s hand, and helped her out.

Looking around, she smiled.
“Nice choice.”

“Glad you approve.
  I wouldn’t want you to be bored or anything.
”  Bastian took her hand and lead her toward the pond.  The wind carried the scent of the French bread baking
at
the deli across the street.  As a cold breeze made them both shiver, Bastian slid his arm around Kaylee and guided her. 

Kaylee laid her head on his shoulder.  “You’ve never had a boring day in your life.”

“I don’t intend to start now,” Bastian said as they reached the pond.  A few couples sat on benches near a
playground
where a handful of kids scurried around swings and slides.  To his left he spotted an empty bench.  A few ducks pecked at the dirt, looking for left-over bread crumbs.  The birds peered at them, noticed their empty hands, and quickly dispersed, heading toward another newly arrived couple, the woman carrying a bag of popcorn.

“Have a seat,” Bastian said, helping Kaylee lower herself to the bench.  Once she’d been seated, Bastian draped his arm around her shoulders and looked at her.  Her nose was slightly red from the cold air, as were her cheeks.  Her long, dark hair fell toward her face, curling in loose rings.  She was so damned beautiful that sometimes it took his breath away.   How could she be so perfect, so good, and yet dying?  He had just learned to love her.  How would he ever learn to let her go?  His fingers threatened to ball
into a fist
.  H
e forced his shoulders to relax. 

“I love the park.” 
Kaylee focused on the ducks
, t
wo
of which
stood to Kaylee’s left, eyeing her curiously.

“Not just any park--our park.” 
Bastian brushed his hand up and down her arm as he held her close.  He pulled a few slices of bread still wrapped in plastic from his jacket pocket.  “I brought this in case you wanted to feed them.” 

“Thank you.”  She grabbed a slice of bread for
each of them.
   A duck
stared
expectantly at her, waddling closer.

Bastian pointed at the bird. 
“Looks like your first customer.” 

Kaylee tore off a bite of bread and threw it to the bird.  The duck caught it and gulped it down, moving closer to Kaylee’s outstretched hand, where another piece dangled.

“Greedy, aren’t you?”  She
dropped
the bread and
moved h
er hand away.  

“You’ve made a friend.”  Bastian tore his bread into pieces and
flung
them to the other birds.

For a moment
,
Kaylee watched the ducks as they cocked their heads to the side.  From her peripheral vision, she saw two toddlers running beside the pond, trying to catch the ducks.

“I wish I could be two and have it all figured out.”  She brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.  “Those kids think they want the ducks.  It doesn’t matter if they ever catch them.  It’s all about being satisfied with longing.”

“Yeah, but they can’t remember anything, and they’re stuck in soggy diapers.  That sounds like an appealing life, don’t you think?”  He patted Kaylee’s knee.

“But
isn’t
there is some peace in not wanting to know why you were born and when you’re going to die and what everything in the middle means?  Wouldn’t it be bliss if the only thing you had to think about was ducks?” 
Kaylee grabbed his hand and squeezed. 
She stared at the kids and swallowed hard.

“I can think about ducks
, but
I’d rather think about you.” 
Bastian squeezed her hand in return.

“I’m serious, Bastian.” 
Kaylee shook her head. 
She looked toward the ducks and tore the remaining slice of bread into chunks she threw
out
toward the water.

“So am I.  Give me your hand.”  He smiled at her.

“Why?”  She shoved it into her jacket pocket, frowning at his
mischievous
grin.

“I’ve run out of bread
,
and I’m going to feed it to the ducks.”  Grabbing her wrist, he wrested her hand from the pocket and lifted it to his chest.  “Now close your eyes.”  He settled his hand over hers.  “Can you feel that?  The heartbeat?”

Eyes closed, Kaylee nodded, enjoying the northern breeze teasing through her hair.  Her lips parted slightly
,
and the line of her mouth slowly bowed upward in a supple arch.  Long eyelashes rested against her skin. 

“They’re the same, Kaylee, like one heartbeat, not two.  I used to wonder why I was here.  After I met you, I knew.” 
Bastian set his hand against her chest, his fingers searching until he felt the beating of her heart.  Kaylee’s eyes fluttered open.

“What do you mean?”

“Always before I
’d
chose
n
to do whatever.  It was a decision I made.  I could go to college.  I could get a job.  I could work on my art.  I could do whatever I wanted.  Until I met you.  Then it seemed I had no choice at all.  All the decisions had been made.”

Bastian touched her face, trickling his fingers across her cheek. Strands of her hair lifted in the breeze and tickled the back of his hand Inhaling sharply, Kaylee jerked from Bastian.

“You don’t have to stay and take care of me, Bastian.  I don’t want to be anyone’s burden
—my
friends’, my mother’s
,
and least of all yours.”  She started back to the car.  “Perhaps we should go.”

“That’s not what I meant.  You’re not a burden.” 
Bastian stepped in front of her, cutting her off.  Thick strands of Kaylee’s hair blew into her face, and she jerked them from her eyes.

“I think I’ve taken up quite enough of your time.  You probably have more important things to do than babysit.”  She tried to walk around him, but Bastian placed his hands on her shoulders and stopped her.

“You don’t believe me, do you?  You think I can’t leave you alone because of your illness?  You think I see it as a responsibility—
”

“The only person who is responsible for me is me.” 
Kaylee stared at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze. 

“Look at me.
 
Let me finish what I was trying to say.” 
Bastian thrust his fingers under her chin, forcing her to face him.

“Okay, then finish.” 
She took a deep breath and planted her feet
, brushing his
hand away and staring at her feet.

“Can we sit back down?  Please?” 
Bastian put his hands on his hips
.  H
e needed something to do with them.  Frowning, he tried to think of the words he really didn’t want to say but knew he had to.  He pointed to the bench.  Kaylee slowly sat
,
and Bastian joined her, resting his hand on her knee and staring at the pond.

“The night we met changed me
,” he said finally.
 
“
From the moment I pulled you from the water, I sensed something about you.  I couldn’t have told you then what it was.  I’m not even sure I can now.  But you changed me, lady.”

“I don’t understand.”  Kaylee wrapped her arms around herself as a harsher breeze whipped at them, carrying with it a biting cold that numbed her cheeks and stung her ears.  As her hair blew upward, the cold brushed the back of her neck
and
shivered.  Noticing Kaylee’s trembling, Bastian slid his arm around her and drew her to him.

“Geez, where do I start?”  He nervously brushed his hand up and down her arm.  “I’m not like you, Kaylee.  I’m a nothing, a nobody.  I’m one of the ghosts who walks around this city that nobody really sees.”