Steph would have preferred to spend the rest of the day in her room—possibly the rest of her life. But that wasn’t how she was built. And besides, she had Zoe to think of. Her little girl needed her, and would need her more than ever in the future, now that she had lost her dad. Not that she would know until she was much older. Perhaps it was a good thing thatshe was still so young, and wouldn’t remember her dad or what happened to him. But at the thought of Zoe not even remembering Jeff, she choked up, and that box of tissues came in handy.
She left the house for a stroll, hoping it would do her good, when she bumped into Robbie. Frankly she wasn’t in the mood to see him right now, and hoped he wouldn’t be his usual surly self. But he looked repentant about his outburst the day before and said, “I’m so sorry about Jeff. I just heard what happened.”
“Thanks, Robbie,” she said. She could sense he wanted to say more, or was expecting her to say more, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, and so she quickly moved on. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk about Jeff. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold it together if she did.
She was crossing the driveway when a red Ferrari came roaring in her direction. It braked with a spray of gravel and she watched as Kevin got out.
“Where have you been?” she asked. “The police are looking for you.”
“Let them look,” said Kevin curtly, then must have realized he was being a jerk, for his expression softened. “I’m sorry. I should have been here for you. I’m so sorry about what happened to Jeff. Do they know yet who’s responsible?”
Steph shook her head.“They think it might be the guy who busted our window last night. They’ve got him in custody. He says he didn’t do it, though.”
“They all say that,” Kevin scoffed. He took off his aviator sunglasses and leaned against his flashy new car. “So why did he do it? Did Jeff know the guy or what?”
“I don’t think so. He was applying for the same job I was, and launched a vile campaign against me, to try and make sure I didn’t get the job, and succeeded.”
“The world is full of dangerous people,” said Kevin with an airiness that seemed hardly appropriate under the circumstances.
“Dad seems to think Beniamino had something to do with it, though,” Steph continued. “Well, Ben and Dominic both. He figures they might want to get back at the family, but instead of targeting one of us, they went for Jeff instead—like a warning.” She shook her head. “It sounds crazy, Iknow, but at this point I’m ready to believe anything.” When she looked up, she noticed to her surprise that Kevin was staring back at her with eyes blazing with anger. He was actually shaking with rage, and his face was all twisted up. “Kevin? What’s wrong?”
“Leave Ben and Dominic out of this,” he growled. He’d balled his fists and his face was working. “It’s just like Dad to try and pin this on them. But they didn’t do it. They would never do anything to hurt us. That’s just Dad… being Dad.”
“I know. I don’t buy it either,” she said. He looked away, then, and she wondered what was going on with him. These sudden mood swings, this unprovoked anger—this wasn’t the Kevin she knew. “I was looking for you last night, and also this morning,” she said. “You keep disappearing on me, Kev.”
He seemed to have simmered down.“Like I said, I like to go for a drive. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but running a business is tough. I get stressed, so I jump in my car and take off. Feel the wind in my hair… It’s the only way to unwind.”
His explanation didn’t ring true to her. As long as she remembered, Kevin had been famous for shirking his responsibilities. Even though nominally he was being trained to be Dad’s successor, he wasn’t pulling his weight. Not by a long shot. “Dad works you too hard, is that it?” she asked.
He didn’t respond well to the slight note of sarcasm in her voice, and suddenly lashed out, “You have no idea, do you? Whileyou’re off gallivanting in Paris and Rome and New York, designing your fancy outfits, I have to put up with Dad’s crap on a daily basis. This place is hell, Steph. I wish I could escape—just like you!”
And with these words, he escaped her company, stomping off like a recalcitrant teen. She stared after him, wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden. Kevin had never been easy to get along with, but lately he was becoming truly insufferable. She wondered why. It definitely wasn’t because Dad worked him to the bone. Quite the contrary. Dad still took on more work than was good for him, and had a hard time delegating, even though he should.
No, something else was going on, and if she wasn’t feeling such a complete mess after what happened to Jeff, she would try and get to the bottom of it. Now, she simply didn’t care. Compared to that personal tragedy, nothing mattered.
Maybe nothing ever would again.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]