Well, I know that I said I'd finish this thing by the end of the month. However, I decided that a Mina/Mally scene needed inserting, and writing it in has taken up a lot of time. So, I've made this the new official second-to-last chapter, and I'm working nonstop on the ending. Patience, please; I'm trying to make this story as good as it can get, and that takes time!



Chapter 18


Mina couldn't help humming happily as she ran through her little one-story house, neatening cushions and checking for any dust she might have missed. It was Saturday, noon, and Malachite would be there at any moment. Her mood was soaring -and her hormones were raging- and she couldn't wait to see the distinguished man she'd come to love so quickly. In fact, life just couldn't get any better for her.

As thoughts of that sort always did of late, the gleeful thought faltered, and Mina turned to look toward the back of the house.

Serena would be outside in the hammock, napping or playing with the sketchbook she always had.

The poor darling had shown up on her doorstep, late several nights ago, exhausted and bearing the shell-shocked calm that only great pain and loss could bring. Mina had dragged her inside, fed her, and put her to sleep on the ugly couch in her living room. When she awoke the next morning, Mina had poured tea and cereal into her and dragged the story of the confrontation out of her. She'd taken the day off from work and offered to take the week, but Serena refused. She would be fine, she insisted. She just needed some time away, to be alone to get her head straight and her thoughts back in line.

She never mentioned Darien, no matter haw hard Mina tried to steer conversation in his direction. She would talk about the gallery, its exhibits, and every other employee there; she'd even told Mina about the romance which had finally bloomed between Ray and Jad. But she wouldn't discuss Ray's brother.

And Mina didn't really know what to do. She had devoted herself to nursing her little sister back to health following the horrible breakdown years ago, but she felt so helpless now! She'd taken taken classes in psychology, knowing they would prove of use to her in her job as a physical therapist. But she couldn't think of any way to break through the shell Serena was slowly building around herself.

The doorbell rang, breaking into Mina's thoughts. She spun around and ran toward the door, her smile beaming. She threw the door open and looked at the man standing there, and spoke only one word.

"Mally."

The silver-maned man moved forward and pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers. And Mina didn't care that her quiet, conservative neighbors might see, might gossip behind their doors about Miss Kyle's mystery lover. She only wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss with interest.

Finally, though, they had to come up for air. Mina smiled at Malachite. "Would you like to come in?"

He lifted the garment bag that he had dropped and followed her into the living room. "I've missed you, darling."

Mina grabbed his hand and pulled him down onto a love seat. "I've been running around all morning. I just couldn't sit still, knowing that you'd be here in a few hours." She laughed. "I think I've cleaned the house from top to bottom over four times in the past week! All that nervous energy."

And when he looked around, at the little room and its aged but cared-for furniture, with her loved vases and nick-knacks decorating its shelves, Mina felt a tremor of anxiety. She gripped her fingers. "I know it's a lot smaller then your place, and it's not nearly so nice," she began.

But Malachite turned to her, that familiar warm look on his face. "It's absolutely charming. Just as I'd imagined from your descriptions." And he raised one of her hands from her lap and placed a soft kiss on its palm. "You sound nervous, love."

Mina waved her free hand. "I guess I am, a little. It's silly."

He caught that hand and wrapped both within his. "It's flattering." His voice became quiet, deeper. "I've been able to think of nothing but you for days. It's driving me a bit mad, I think."

She was falling into his eyes, leaning toward him for another kiss, when the back door opened. They both drew back and looked toward the noise. There were sounds of a cabinet opening, and water running. Then the back door closed again, and all was silent.

"I guess Serena needed a drink." Mina drew her hands free and ran them through her hair. "She spends a lot of time out on the hammock. She's the reason I bought it, actually. Our parents had one at their old house, and she loved to lie in it and daydream." She was babbling, running on, but couldn't seem to stop. "When Serena came to live with me for a while, a few years back, I got the thing to help her feel at home."

And like now, Serena had spent hours upon end, lying there silently.

Malachite placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry that you feel awkward. Is she doing all right?" He leaned back, and there was a look in his eyes that Mina didn't quite recognize.

Mina sighed. "I honestly don't know. She sleeps a lot. From the look of her, she probably needs it, but I really think it's just another means of escape."

Malachite rose and paced to look out a window. "I went to see Darien after that time we talked about her."

"And?"

"I was ready to tear him a new one." The vulgar phrase, should have sounded ridiculous, coming as it did from the distinguished man standing there, but it didn't. "I was going to kick his ass from the gallery to Brooklyn." He stopped, took a deep breath to calm himself; he needed to read carefully here. Then he turned to Mina, and his eyes pleaded for understanding.

"Mina, I've never seen a man so torn up. I thought, when Susan died, that I could never, that no one could ever feel as horrible as I did then. But I think Darien is worse. He's as close to being completely destroyed as I think a man can come and still be alive. He looked at me when I walked into his office, and his eyes were empty."

"Mally," she murmured.

"Don't comfort me yet. Mina, darling, he's my best friend, closer then a brother. I couldn't just leave him like that, could I?"

"Of course not, sweetie." Mina couldn't quite understand where Malachite was leading with this. She didn't want to feel sorry for Darien. She understood Malachite's feelings for him, but this was the man who had crushed her baby sister. She wanted, deep in a tiny piece of her heart, to hate him with all of her soul. But listening to her own love's words, pity began to seep slowly past her anger.

"Mina. I walked into his office, almost immediately after promising you that I'd keep it a secret, and I told Darien that Serena is here."

The breath rushed out of her. "Oh," she said weakly. "Mally, I"m not really sure how I'm supposed to respond to that. You made a promise."

"I know I did. But I broke it, and he's on his way here now. I asked him to wait a half hour before following me." He reached into his pocket and drew out a cell phone, which he handed to her. "His cell number is in there. You can call, right now, and tell him to turn around and go back to New York. And he'll do it. He knows how much trust it will take you to let him in here, and you can call the whole thing off right now."

Mina studied the little phone clenched in her hand. Rage and insult rose inside of her, making the hand tremble, and she stared at the offending limb as if it belonged to someone else. It was tempting, damn it. Really, really tempting. But she looked out to where she knew Serena would be lying and sighed. If Darien loved her, did he deserve a chance to beg forgiveness?

She closed her eyes. And more importantly, did she have the right to make that call?

With another sigh, she opened her eyes and held the cell phone out to Malachite. "One chance," she said. "He gets one chance, and then I'm kicking his ass back out on the street."

Malachite ignored her outstretched hand to sweep her into his arms. "Thank you," he whispered.

She snuggled closer and played on his earlier words. "Don't thank me yet. I may still kick him out when I see him."

Malachite laughed and looked down at her. "God, you're wonderful. No wonder I love you."

"Yeah? Well, same goes."

A knock interrupted their kiss, and Malachite glanced down at his watch. "If that's Darien, he must have broken every speeding law in the book."

Mina gave a tense laugh as she moved to open the door. "I'm only doing this for you, Mally," she murmured over her shoulder. "You and my sister."

The man who stood in her doorway was a far cry from the sophisticate she had met weeks ago. She said nothing as she swept her eyes over him, from the top of his head to the tip of his bench-tailored shoes. Darien's expensive clothes were rumpled, and his hair, which Mina knew from Serena was exactingly trimmed every two weeks, looked as though it hadn't met with a comb in days.

His eyes were bloodshot, and Mina's anger cooled just a little bit when she saw the shadows beneath them.

"You've got an awful lot of nerve coming here," she said coldly.

"I appreciate your patience and understanding, Miss Kyle." His voice was raspy, and Mina wondered when he had last eaten.

She turned sideways and silently motioned him in. When she had given him a minute to look around (and, hopefully, squirm just the tiniest bit), she met his eyes. "When I was in New York, you called me Mina. I see no reason for you to stop."

"Mina-"

"She's in the back. Mally will show you the way." And with that, she turned away and wrapped her arms around herself, praying to whatever powers existed that she'd done the right thing.

Darien's footsteps sounded softly as he walked away; a moment later, Malachite's arms joined hers, and she relaxed against his chest. "I don't know what I'm feeling right now," she murmured.

"Nervous, I'd expect. And hopeful. That's how I'm certainly feeling." He nuzzled her neck. "Mina, darling, he deserves a chance. If things work out, it will be wonderful. And if they don't, well, Darien will have to live out the rest of his life knowing that he lost her."

"And Serena? What will she do?"

"I don't know." He pulled her around so that she could press her face into the curve of his neck, and his arms tightened. "She has you. And she has us. She has her art. Somehow, I think she could make that enough."

"I don't want her to have to make do with anything."

"Well, we'll just have to wait. In the mean while-" Malachite's voice lost it's serious tone and lightened. "Why don't you show me your bedroom? I'd like to hang up my clothes."

A smile finally found its way back to Mina's lips. "Is that all you want to do there?"

"I only have a weekend. What do you think?"

* * *