Chapter 32 #2
I shook my head with a smile. “Sorry if I disappoint you, but I actually didn’t have to hurt him,” I told her.
“I just threatened to hurt him. I threatened really hard. And he was a big old whiny loser, so fortunately for me, that was enough. I do try to avoid ball-kicking, as a general rule. I only do it under the direst of circumstances.”
“You mean, if he hadn’t given you back the cat, you would have kicked him in the balls?” Holly demanded.
There was a fierce intensity in the little girl’s voice.
She was hungering for the bad guys who had hurt her dad to get some righteous punishment, and oh God, could I absolutely relate to that.
“Yep,” I said. “I sure would have. Hard as I could. Balls, boom, take that. Teeth, too. Ka-bam, pow. That’ll teach the butthead. ”
The little girl air-punched with a big grin, one-two, and raised up her hand, to which I gave a resounding high-five. “Yeah!” she crowed. “Take that! Awesome!”
“I’m not sure if I should approve of this wanton celebration of bloodthirsty violence,” Ethan said, his tone ironic.
“We didn’t ask for your approval,” I shot back, just because of course, I had to, it was an automatic reflex. But I immediately regretted it, because for God’s sake, this was his niece. Ease off, Kat. Take a freaking breath.
I shot him a quick, apologetic look. “Sorry,” I said. “I was just shooting off my mouth. Of course, you get to sign off on everything involving her. We were just bonding over our anger issues. It’s a girl thing.”
“I think we can all agree to bond over our anger issues,” Freya said, in the slightly-too-long silence that followed. “We’ve been so excited to meet you.”
“We heard lots of stories!” Holly offered. “They said you kicked a bunch of guys’ butts in an elevator with Uncle Ethan!”
“Ah…well, that’s not exactly how it—”
“Can confirm,” Ethan said. “I was there. And I’m still here…thanks to her.”
“Oh, would you please stop?”’ I complained. “You’re putting me on the spot on purpose, right in front of your family, and I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”
I stiffened as Holly grabbed me in turn, and squeezed my waist—just like Gabri used to do.
The memory blindsided me. I suddenly felt so close to Gabri, with this little girl’s skinny body strangling my waist in a desperate hug, her back quivering with emotion.
Gabri had been intense and over-the-top like that, too.
My arms closed around Holly and I hugged her back, my eyes prickling.
“Thanks for saving him.” Her voice was choked.
“Any time, sweetheart,” I told her. “But he saved me right back, you know. And he did it again, yesterday. So technically, I’m behind, pointwise.”
Holly let out a soggy giggle. “Will you sit next to me?”
“How about you let her get her food first?” That was Angela chiming in, beaming all over her face and shooting meaningful glances at Freya as she marched toward the buffet with a fresh platter of bacon and sausage.
“Let the poor woman get a cup of coffee and a plate, for God’s sake.
Grill her after she’s had some sustenance! ”
Soon afterward, I found myself seated next to Holly as I ate my breakfast. That put me at constant risk for another massive Gabri-nostalgia moment, but I had to barrel onward and hope for the best. No way could I armor myself against a sweet little girl who reminded me so much of my younger sister.
Holly beamed at me as I bit into a piece of sourdough toast. “Uncle Ethan never brought any of his girlfriends here before,” she said. “You must be special.”
I coughed on my buttery toast crumbs. “Oh, I think that was more about a last-minute security strategy than anything else.”
“At first,” Ethan interjected from across the table. “At first.”
“Holly’s right,” Freya confirmed. “And we’re not just talking about this house. I don’t think I’ve ever run into his previous lady friends in any Masters’ residence.”
“Do you have to talk about this in front of her?” Ethan said, frowning.
Freya snorted, ignoring him. “I’ve run into a few of them out in the wild, maybe, but never in his private space. He’s a penthouse luxury hotel suite kinda guy.”
“Frey,” Ethan snapped. “Don’t. Holly’s listening.”
“Holly’s the one who brought it up,” Freya said. “And who invited you into this conversation, anyway?” Freya turned back to me. “Imagine our shock when word came to us about a mysterious blonde bombshell saving his ass. And then being sequestered at the Mountain House.”
I rolled my eyes. “Bombshell? Oh please. Give me a break.”
“True thing,” Freya said solemnly. “We’ve been dying to check you out. And I can honestly say you have exceeded all expectations.”
I felt a warm glow inside. “Well, I can’t imagine why,” I said, abashed. “But I appreciate the thought.”
“Your blouse is pretty,” Holly piped up. “I like the green. Like pine trees.”
I was intensely grateful for the timely change of subject. “Thanks. I like it, too. Angela picked it out for me. I ended up coming here in such a rush, I had no time to pack my own stuff.” I looked at Freya. “I had to borrow some of your things the first couple of days. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Good God, no. For you, anything, anytime,” she said swiftly. “That elevator stunt alone earned you full access to my wardrobe for the next ten lifetimes.”
“Holly, Jenn tracked down those books we were talking about,” Ethan said. “They’re in the library. I’ll go get them for you.”
Holly’s eyes lit up. “The Blackthorne Key series? You got them? Oh goodie!”
“Yes, and I found a good one about the history of codes, too, like we talked about. From now on, I’ll encrypt all my messages to you, and you’ll have to figure out which key to use.”
“Cool!” Holly crowed, clapping.
Oh, yikes. With naked alarm, I watched him get up and walk out of the room. Just leaving me here all alone with his womenfolk. Really, Masters? Criminy.
Then Holly reached out and grabbed my hand. “So, are you, like, Uncle Ethan’s girlfriend now?” There was a worried crease between her dark eyebrows.
“Um, well…well…” I stammered a little. “Thing is, it’s still really new. I don’t want to jinx it by putting labels on it too soon, you know?”
Holly looked disapproving, but Freya nodded with perfect understanding. “I get you,” she said. “Jed and I got together under intense conditions, too. It was really hard to trust my feelings under such extreme pressure. Everything was out of balance.”
I was grateful for her comprehension. “That’s it exactly,” I said. “I just don’t have any ground under my feet right now.”
“Auntie Frey busted Uncle Jed out of jail,” Holly confided.
Freya snorted coffee out of her nose, and dabbed her face with a napkin, giggling. “Um, not exactly,” she said. “But the real story is just as strange, I promise.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Tell me sometime?”
“Love to. The story is better with cocktails, though. Later on, for sure.”
Ethan returned, with his arms piled with books.
A stack of colorful paperback novels about an intrepid, code-cracking young hero, and a big book about codes and encryption through the ages.
It looked advanced for a kid Holly’s age, but evidently, she had a full measure of the Masters egghead nerdiness, because she dove right into the big book, leafing through the pages eagerly and chattering about Morse code, the Enigma Machine, the Voynich Manuscript, Alberti’s Disk. Damn. I was impressed.
After we wrapped up breakfast, Angela came out, and ruffled Holly’s hair.
“Folks, I am so sorry to abandon you all right when everybody finally gets home, and when so many exciting things are happening,” she said.
“But my niece Allegra’s C-section was rescheduled for this afternoon, so I need to get back down to the city. ”
“Of course,” Ethan said. “Do you want to use the helicopter? Is there urgency?”
“Oh, God, no. I hate those things. So far, no urgency, so I’ll just drive.
That way I have my car to use when I’m in town.
There’s tons of food you all can heat up and lay out for lunch and dinner.
And I put together a platter of chicken wraps for a quick lunch for everyone tomorrow, so you’re covered for a while. ”
“Thanks, Angela. We’ll miss you,” Freya said. “Let us know how it goes.”
“Good luck to your niece,” I said.
“Thanks! I’ll get myself organized and get going.” She gave Holly a hug. “Hey, sweetheart. Keep an eye on these miscreants for me, won’t you?”
“Always do,” Holly said promptly. “It’s my job, Angela. You know that.”
“That’s my girl!” Angela bustled out with a wave.
The day that followed was strangely, unexpectedly wonderful.
Somehow, those people had put me at my ease, no small feat.
I did not feel awkward with them, or out of place, like an alien blurting out a foreign language, as I often did in social situations.
Freya vibrated at a frequency that was tuned to me perfectly. Holly, too.
I ended up telling them all about my mission to empower women and girls, my martial arts schools.
Then I learned all about Freya’s engineering firm, and the vast array of fascinating products she designed, many of which intensely appealed to me.
She’d designed a bag of disguised weaponry for her best friends, and dubbed it “the Badass Bitch Bag,” and after getting me all starry-eyed about its contents, she promised to get me the latest version of it, with all its newest designs.
Holly was much put upon that she couldn’t have her own bag, but lethal drugs and hidden weaponry hardly seemed appropriate for a nine-year-old.
I was extremely touched when they dubbed me an honorary Badass Bitch. Awww. Tender moment.
I also learned more that day than I ever wanted to know about the history of codes, and codebreaking, Holly’s latest passion. The kid was definitely a future engineer.