Cassidy settled on the corner of the smalldressing room table. “I haven’t talked to you since Christmas. Youneveranswer my calls.”
Maybe it would’ve been easier if he’d gonehome and dealt with everyone at once. He hadn’t consideredone-on-one would allow for more direct questions. “You know I’m nota big fan of the phone, and it wasn’t always possible to use aphone at some of the places I was.”
“Hmm,” she huffed as she crossed her armsover her chest.
Now that some of her happiness about seeinghim was wearing off, her anger over his disappearance was showing.“Does Mom know you’re here?” she asked.
“No. I planned to surprise all of you.”
“It worked.”
“Where’s Kyle?”
“He’ll be in soon; his shift starts at seven.When did you get into Boston?”
“I flew in from London last night.”
“And you’re just coming to see usnow?”
Julian sighed as he ran a hand through hishair. He’d expected some annoyance over his abrupt four-yearhiatus, but Cassidy was not going to make it easy. “I was on my waylast night when I had a bit of a problem.”
He told her about his encounter with theSavage in the alley.
“That’s horrible,” she breathed when hefinished. “Why didn’t you call one of us to come and help you incase someone discovered you? You didn’t have to stay there alonewith that thing.”
He’d considered calling them but ruled itout. They couldn’t see what he’d done to the vamp before killingit, and he wasn’t in control of himself enough to deal with them.It had taken a couple of hours before he felt capable of pulling atowel from his pack to clean himself up.
When the sun rose enough to turn the body toashes, he lifted his bag and found the closest hotel room, where hecrashed for the day. He’d come here after waking and showering.
“I didn’t want either of you to have to dealwith it,” he told her.
“Julian—”
“So, what’s new at the homestead?” he askedto distract her.
Cassidy gave him a look that said she knewwhat he was doing, but she answered him anyway. “The munchkins areall getting big.”
“I bet they are.”
“Aiden and Maggie are expecting a baby in thefall.”
He grinned at her as he tried to imagineAiden as a dad. He’d be amazing at it. “That’s fantastic news.”
“If you called more often, you would haveheard it a month ago, like the rest of us.”
“Ouch,” he said as he rubbed at hisheart.
He remembered Cassidy as a young, easygoinggirl with the voice of an angel and soul of a devil. She’d smilesweetly at them all while knowing she’d placed dog shit in theirsneakers, or frogs in their bed, or taken all their clothes andthrown them in the ocean.
Once, she unplugged the cables to hiscomputers and equipment and rearranged them all. It had taken herhours, but it took him days, a lot of cursing, and a whole lot ofrevenge planning to get it all sorted out again.
By then, she’d already discovered his revengeof a dead fish in her closet and moved it into his room; she addedthree more fish. He was so caught up in trying to get his equipmentsorted out that he didn’t return to his room for three days. Bythen, it stunk so bad he couldn’t sleep in it for a month.
She’d become the reigning queen of the prankwars after their older siblings retired, and they all bowed to herexpertise at making their lives miserable.
That young girl was gone, and in her placewas a beautiful, twenty-year-old woman who wielded guilt withexpertise. She was also mad at him for hurting her, and as much ashe’d prefer not to deal with it, he had to face the music. He wasthe one who left.
“Whydid you leave?” she asked. “Whyhaven’t you been back?”
