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“Des?”
The woman jumped at the sound of her voice.
Tielle moved purposefully into the office. “This smells wonderful, doesn’t it?” She rubbed her hands while journeying toward the food cart. “How about some tea? Do you want sugar and lemon with yours?”
“Is Grae all right?” Desree asked.
Tielle prepared the tea, though her hands were beginning to shake badly. “I haven’t seen him since…earlier. The, um—the men have him locked in his suite. They kind of made it clear that no women were allowed.” She set the teapot down and took a few breaths before attempting the prep once more.
“There was a lot of noise coming from inside earlier—not so much when I passed on my way down here,” Tielle said. “Hopefully they’ve gotten him to calm down.”
There was silence then with only the clink of the pottery and utensils as Tielle finished up with the tea. She added plump cinnamon rolls to saucers and then transported the goods from the cart to an end table between the chairs.
“Des?” Tielle rested her hand lightly on the woman’s knee. “Talk to me. Was Faro right? About what he—what he said?”
Desree rested back in her chair. She appeared as though she might respond to the question, but there was nothing. Tielle passed Des a hot cup, folding the woman’s hands about the warm porcelain. She smiled when Des blinked at the heat to her skin.
“Was he right, Des?”
“Yes.” Desree spoke the word in a shudder and then bowed her head. “Yes.” The word was a sob that time.
Tielle bowed her head, as well. “And you never told him.”
“That’s how Ken and Grace wanted it.” Des’s voice gained a bit of firmness. “Ken.” She smiled, repeating her brother’s name. “Faro was right when he said the man was a soft heart. Tough as nails in business, but a real teddy bear when it came to the family. He fell in love with Grae the day he was born—from the time he saw him, held him.”
“And Faro hated that bond,” Tielle guessed.
“He didn’t understand it.” Desree’s smile was sad. “None of us did, really. We all knew Grace couldn’t keep her legs closed. Humph. Faro was right about that, too. Guess our family’s had one too many adult conversations in front of the kids….
“It’s rare for a man to forgive a woman once she’s strayed, but Ken always forgave her. He once told me she knew he was the one who truly loved her. Talk about a sap…” Desree’s smile brightened somewhat, and she shook her head. “But we never heard about Grace stepping out on Ken after Grae came.”
“And so Faro had to live with knowing Grae was the link that united his parents as he should’ve done.”
Des laughed heartily then. “I doubt Faro ever cared if his parents came together, much less who brought them together. It was like Leo said—he was an awful child. My mother used to say he was born under a bad moon.” She shrugged. “After a while we just accepted it, and that was harder to do than accepting Grae, I’ll tell you that.” She waved her hand while voicing the confession.
Desree’s shadowed face softened. “Grae was brightness in every sense of the word. There wasn’t a soul who didn’t want to be around him. As he grew up he became even more like Ken than Faro.” She rested her elbows to her knees, propped her chin on the backs of her hands.
“You remember my brother,” she said, not expecting Tielle to respond. “He was massive, just like Grae, and with this—this presence that just overpowered. Grae isn’t as…softhearted as Ken was, but there’s goodness there—kindness. As awful as Faro could be to him, Grae still loved him.” Des reached for her teacup and looked to Tielle.
“You aren’t the only one who wanted to make it work between those brothers. Grae wanted that, too.”
“This will devastate him, you know?” Tielle’s eyes glistened with tears for the man she loved. “The fact that you and Leo knew… That you all knew…”
Desree’s teacup and saucer clattered when she set them aside and clenched her shaking hands. “It was the way Ken wanted it. He didn’t care how Grae came to him, only that he had, and he never wanted anyone to tell Grae different. Grace certainly wasn’t going to go against those wishes, and neither were any of the rest of us.
