Chapter One #3
It pleased her that they had Lance as a role model in their life, a hard worker who always seemed to have time for them. He’d wrestle with Nico and tease Rosie, making them both feel important, never ignoring their overtures to have his attention like Damon often did.
And he’d always had a nice way with her, commenting on how pretty she looked, complimenting her on her food when he dropped by for supper, which was often. Well, until recently.
Rachel suspected he knew about Damon’s extracurricular activities and didn’t know how to pretend otherwise, and so he’d opted to stay away rather than have to lie for his brother. Pondering those thoughts dampened her enjoyment so that she hurried the kids along.
Guilt began to surface for thinking about something other than Damon. Besides, she wanted to call the authorities to see if any changes had occurred during the time she’d been missing from her surveillance spot near the earthquake site.
Frankly, she also yearned for the privacy of her own bedroom. Then the tears she’d been holding at bay while showing a brave front for the children could be released. Feeling Damon closer than at any other time since the shake happened, she desperately needed to be alone.
***
Damon watched his wife and children’s spirits easing while they spent time with Lance.
Unable to join in, his presence floated around them eavesdropping into their conversation.
How was this possible? Damon had no idea.
He realized that he had no powers, no ability to change what he saw, only the capability to be there.
Unseen... invisible. Yet able to understand everything including the nuances of each individual.
This concept didn’t sit well with a man who liked to be the center of attention.
But the universe didn’t care about his wants, and so he had no choice.
Instead, he watched over them, understanding his brother’s need to help his family.
More than once over the years, he’d suspected that Lance had the hots for Rachel.
In fact, the idea had made him secretly swell inside knowing she was his and always would be.
The girl had been infatuated with him from the first time they’d met.
He also knew that Lance would never act on his feelings or betray his brother. That was just a fact. And more to the point, Rachel would never willingly deceive him either.
So for the first few years of their marriage, Rachel had been enough woman to keep him by her side, playing the good guy. She’d had a way of making love to him, building his ego until he felt ten feet high. Sometimes, she still did. That’s what kept him with her when another man might have left.
Invisible now, a spirit frustrated with his situation, nevertheless he took the opportunity to watch and listen.
It kind of tickled his funny bone, knowing he was eavesdropping on the family who adored him.
At least, his wife still did. He’d seen her vigil at the quake scene.
Heard her crying for him, praying that he be alive.
Was he? He didn’t know for sure. How could he be here like this if he were still breathing? Sensing the rubble that held his body in place, he’d drifted from a void of blackness to a weird kind of existence where he floated around in the normal world.
His daughter’s laughter startled him. Until then, the overall sadness had been complete and had seemed mandatory.
Zeroing in on his sweet little Rosie, the antagonism the little girl presently carried toward her father shocked him.
He sensed it and knew for certain he deserved her disrespect.
The hard wall she’d built against feeling any grief made him uncomfortable. What happened? She used to adore him.
Suddenly, a reel of the past flashed by, and he saw himself from her eyes.
A man who never had time to pay any attention to the starving little girl.
Not only had he ignored her, he’d physically brushed her away when she’d tried to make overtures to sit on his lap and run to greet him.
Memory after memory appeared of him over the last few years brutally dampening her affection until he literally sank to his imaginary knees.
His little girl had tried so hard to share her love, begging for his attention, and needing so badly for him to show her that he cared.
And putz that he was, he’d ignored every approach until she’d become hardened and stopped giving a damn.
Looking closely, he saw a child filled with anger and taking it out on anyone seeking to get close.
Then he watched as Lance furtively yanked Rosie’s ponytail only for her to grin back at him, their bond obviously one of affection.
Thankfully, Lance still had pull with the little girl.
Deep inside he faced the truth. His do-gooder brother – the one he’d always took for granted – didn’t have a mean bone in his body.
Damon had no doubt that Lance would show up for his family.
Take care of all their needs. God, what had he done?
Kneeling in his agony, Damon’s shame grew because he knew if the situation were reversed, he wouldn’t have been there for Lance.