We just want to say thanks for the great feedback we recieved on the first chapter! So, we couldn't keep you folks hanging any longer.
Thanks!
JF&KMA
2
When Neela woke up the next morning, the first thing she saw was Ray, his face half buried in the pillow next to her. His arm was still around her, holding her close. At some point, he had all but wrapped himself around her because his leg was hooked over her as well. Instead of being uncomfortable, she felt oddly safe to be held in such a way, as if nothing could touch her.
She raised her head a little to look down at him. He seemed different when he was asleep. His expression was softened, vulnerable. In sleep, the wall he kept around himself with humor was gone, leaving behind only him. She had a sudden impulse to kiss him. To simply press her lips to his skin. It was something she would never do while he was awake, but it seemed safer now, without other things getting in the way.
She leaned forward and lightly touched her lips to his cheek. It was barely a kiss it was so light, but she didn't want him to wake up while she was giving in to her whim. His warm scent filled her head, and for a moment she simply breathed him in.
Realizing what she was doing, she pulled away and carefully slid out from under his arm and leg. Her face felt flushed, as if she was coming down with a fever, but she knew it wasn't so. She thought of what he would have said had he caught her mooning over him like a bloody schoolgirl, and hurried to dress so she could escape and pull herself together.
"Neela? Where you going?"
She froze for a split second in the act of pulling on her pants.
"I'm going to make some coffee," she said without turning around. "Go back to sleep."
"OK," he said, his voice groggy. "I'll get up in a minute to make breakfast."
She frowned and spun around to see if he was teasing her about her cooking again, but his head was buried in the pillow. Deciding, that he was barely awake and not making fun, she opened the door.
"Neela?"
"Yes, Ray."
"Thanks. Thanks for everything. You really are the best."
"You're welcome," she said, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. "Now, go back to sleep."
Ray waited until he was sure that she had left the room before he rolled over onto his back. He was stunned at what she had done. She had kissed him. Not a real kiss, of course, but a kiss nonetheless. It had taken every ounce of strength he had to lay still and not turn his head to show her how he wanted to kiss her. It would only have driven her off. He could wait, though it was damn near an agony. He groaned and scrubbed at his face with his hands. Holding her the night before had given him a peace that he'd never known before, and he wasn't about to ruin it by rushing her.
As she shut the door behind her, she paused to suck in a deep breath. That could have been a disaster. She never would have lived it down had he caught her. Her cheeks burned with mortification. What if he had opened his eyes while she'd been making a fool of herself? She didn't want to think of what she would have done. Died, perhaps.
She sighed with relief that she had not had to face him, and pushed away from the door to go make coffee. In the kitchen, she found Emily rummaging through the cupboards. She stopped when she heard Neela's footsteps and scowled over her shoulder.
"Have you got anything to eat around here?"
Neela nodded and began to measure out coffee into the maker.
"Ray and I brought cereal home from the market last night, but I was going to make something for all of us in a bit."
"What kind of cereal?"
Neela wrinkled her nose with distaste and told her. She could not fathom why Ray liked to eat that sugary swill, but he ate it like candy. She rolled her eyes. Perhaps that was the attraction.
"Captain Crunch has blueberries in it now?" she heard Emily cry. "That's awesome."
So much for no family resemblance…
"Emily, why don't you look in my closet for something to wear, and take a shower while I make something for breakfast?"
Emily reluctantly replaced the box on the counter.
"You don't mind?"
Neela flipped on the coffee maker and turned around with a smile.
"I don't mind at all."
The girl smiled, and then glanced around the apartment.
"Where's Ray?"
"He's still sleeping," Neela answered as she opened the refrigerator. Could one make omelets with only four eggs?
"Are you sure you're not his girlfriend?"
Neela paused before she straitened to give her a carefully neutral look.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well," Emily drawled, "You said last night that you weren't, but you spent the night in his room. He's not on the couch, so he could only be in there with you." She shrugged, uncomfortable under Neela's suddenly sharp scrutiny. "I was just wondering why you would sleep in the same bed if you aren't his girlfriend."
Neela opened her mouth and shut it again. Emily had a sharp mind and a teenager's curiosity. Neela, however, didn't like that curiosity aimed at her. She cleared her throat nervously.
"People can sleep in the same bed and be only friends," she said. She felt another blush rise to her face and bent to look in the fridge to hide it. "Now, go take a shower."
"Okay, okay. I can take a hint," Emily said as she turned on her heel. At the doorway to the hall, she paused and looked back. "But you do like him don't you?"
Neela groaned inwardly and gave her a stern look.
"We are just friends," she said with mild impatience. "Now go and take your shower."
Emily threw up her hands as if to ward her off, but her mouth was twisted in a familiar crooked grin.
"All right already! I'm going."
Neela watched her go, thinking that she'd had a conversation like this before. Talking to Emily was like talking to Ray. She raised one eyebrow and shook her head. That annoyance trait must run in the family, she thought, as she began to search the icebox for something edible.
She discarded several containers of…well something lethal she was sure. Whatever they had been was a mystery that she would rather not have solved. She was in the process of throwing out another when Ray burst into the kitchen.
"Where's Emily?" he asked quickly. "I looked in your room and she's not there."
"Relax, Ray. She's in the bathroom taking a shower. I gave her some of my clothes."
"Oh. Well. Okay."
He ran his hands through his hair and glanced down the hall, before he dropped in a chair.
"What am I going to do here, Neela?"
She frowned at him and dropped another Styrofoam container in the garbage.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't seen her in three years. What do I say to her? She's not a little kid any more."
She stopped what she was doing to sit beside him at the table.
"Just talk to her, Ray. She's not a child any more, but she'll understand if you just talk to her."
He made a face.
"Yeah, but what do I say? Do I say, 'Sorry I haven't been there for you. I've been busy'?"
"No," she said, ignoring the sarcasm. "You listen to what she has to say, and you stay calm. If you yell at her, it'll only make things worse."
"Will you stay and help me, Neela?" he asked, shooting her a pleading look.
"I can't be a mediator here, Ray."
He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Her heart jumped in her chest at the contact, innocent as it was. Bloody hell! Why did the smallest touch of his hand make her giddy?
"Please, Neela. I can't do this without you."
She chewed on her lip and looked away from the mute appeal in his eyes. How did she get herself into these things?
"All right," she told him reluctantly. "As your friend, I'll stay, but I can't interfere. It wouldn't be right."
He smiled and pulled her to her feet to give her a hug and a kiss on the top of her head.
"Are you sure you're not boyfriend and girlfriend?" a voice asked from the hallway.
They jumped apart as if they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have. Neela returned to the excavation in the fridge, trying to hide her discomfort.
"Can it and sit down," Ray said giving her an annoyed look. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to sneak up on people?"
She made a face and fell into a chair. "You're getting testy in your old age, Ray. You know that?"
He looked at Neela but she had turned away with her hand over her mouth. Of course she would find that amusing.
"What are you doing here, Em?"
She dropped her gaze to the tabletop.
"Emily?" Neela said in warning. "You promised."
Emily gave her a look of stark entreaty before staring at the table again.
Neela could see the frustration in Ray's face and moved quickly to avert disaster. She sat next to the girl and took her hand.
"If you want Ray to help you, then you need to tell him what's happened," she said kindly.
Emily sighed and finally looked at Ray.
"I didn't have anywhere else to go," she said in a small voice.
"Why not, Em?" Ray asked, taking his seat. "What happened?"
"I got suspended from school," she said at last, avoiding his eyes.
"For..?"
"Fighting. The other girl started it! She pushed me. The dean of students didn't care."
Ray stood, muttering under his breath, and Neela frowned at him.
The old Barnett temper…"So they sent me home, and called Dad." She paused, and then whispered, "He was waiting for me when I got home."
Ray's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Go on," he bit out.
"He was mad, and he was yelling. I tried to tell him what happened, but he wouldn't listen either." She shrugged. "I got sick of it and started to go to my room. He grabbed my arm and started thumping away, telling me how I was just like my no good brother…"
She trailed off, her face crumbling as she started to cry. Ray threw Neela a desperate look and knelt down before her. He pulled her hands from her face and lifted her chin with his fingers.
"Honey, don't cry. Come on, please?"
She sniffled and nodded weakly. "Okay."
"Is that everything?" he asked. "You have to tell me everything if you want me to help you, Em."
"He…he said that he'd kill me before he let me be like my brother."
Ray's mouth dropped open, and he jumped to his feet to pace the tiny space in the kitchen. He stopped and stared down at Emily for a moment, his fists clenching, before he began to pace again. Neela felt Emily's hand clutch hers as they watched him. The look on his face was enough to silence them. He was positively enraged. Finally, with savage snarl, he lashed out and punched the cupboard door. He seemed not to even feel the pain.
"Ray!" Neela cried, as Emily threw her hands over her head with a muffled sob.
"I'm going to kill him!" he bellowed.
Neela jumped from the chair and darted around the table to stand in front of him. Her blood was racing in her ears until she could hear only the rush of her pulse. She grabbed his wrists in a loose grip, forcing him to acknowledge her. She gasped at the warring emotions in expressive gaze. Normally filled with humor, they now swirled with rage and…fear. Her stomach knotted at that. He was afraid, and hiding it behind a wall of anger.
"You have to calm down, Ray," she said softly. "Look what you're doing to her."
Ray pulled his gaze from Neela to look at his sister, and his anger suddenly evaporated. Never in a million years had he ever thought to be like his father, but just seeing her, huddled in a chair as if he was about to hit her, brought on a wave of remorse that threatened to capsize him. He'd lost his temper again. He nearly laughed. Twice in two days, he thought morosely. It had to be some kind of record. He blew out a breath and gave Neela a grateful look. She had saved the situation again with her unbridled logic. She let go of his wrists, and Ray knelt again by his sister.
"I'm so sorry, honey. Please…I didn't mean to scare you."
She threw herself at him, and he caught her, holding her as if his life depended on it. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her still damp hair, murmuring soothing words.
"I should have taken you away a long time ago," he said brokenly.
"You tried that once," Emily said, her voice muffled against his chest. "But Dad caught you." She looked up at him, her face blotchy and wet with tears. "Then you left and never came back. I missed you so much…"
Neela bit her lip and swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat. Never would she have thought that Ray was capable of tears, but here she was, watching as he cried over his sister, over his own failure to protect her. She would never be the same after this moment. She would never look at him as anything but what he was; a man who loved deeply those he considered his. As he held his sister, Neela could finally see the deepest part of him, the part he held apart from everyone, and felt grateful that she had not turned away from him.
"I never meant to leave you alone," he said then, his voice hoarse with tears. "You know that don't you?"
Emily nodded. "It wasn't safe for you," she whispered.
"No, it wasn't," he agreed.
"Are you going to make me go back?" Emily asked, pulling away to look at his face.
Ray closed his eyes to block out the pain he saw in her eyes. No one would ever convince him that he was not at least partially to blame. He felt deeply that this would never have happened if he had just gone back and taken her away.
"No," he said finally. "I'll find a way, talk to some people. We'll work it out, honey." He opened his eyes and put his hands on her shoulders, bending down until his face was level with hers. "I'm sorry I let you down," he said urgently. "But it won't happen again. I love you, Em."
"I love you, too."
"You have to tell me one more thing, honey, then I want you to rest for a while."
"What?"
"Does Mom know that he hits you?"
Emily nodded and wiped her face with the backs of her hands.
"She told me to just stay out of his way."
Ray nodded shortly, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"Why don't you go lie down for a little while?" he suggested quietly. "You've been through a lot the last couple of days."
Emily nodded and turned to go to Neela's room.
"Will you come get me when breakfast is ready?"
"Bet on it," Ray said, shooting her a crooked grin. He watched her until she closed the door to Neela's room, and then collapsed into his seat. He dropped his head to the tabletop and laced his fingers in his hair.
He didn't hear Neela cross the small space, but when she touched the back of his neck, he couldn't help himself. With a low groan, he turned and threw his arms around her waist, pressing his face against her belly. The feel of her arms around his shoulders and her hands stroking his hair was soothing and he felt himself relax.
"What am I going to do, Neela?"
"Well, after what we've just heard, I don't think we can let her go back," she said softly.
He sucked in a shaky breath and stood.
"How am I going to take care of her, Neela? I can barely take care of myself."
"It's not going to be easy," she said, framing his face with her hands. "But you are her brother. I know that you can do it."
Her expression changed suddenly as she realized what she was doing, how close they were. She started to lower her hands, but Ray caught them in his. Looking down at her, he was suddenly struck by how utterly beautiful she was. Her breath hitched in her chest as he brought her hand to his lips to place a soft kiss on the tender skin of her wrist. He inhaled the scent of her skin, flowery and spicy at the same time, intoxicating.
"Neela…" he began, trailing off when the words wouldn't come. Slowly, he leaned forward to press his lips to hers in a tender caress.
His head swam with even that simple contact, and he suddenly wondered if a man could die from the pleasure of a kiss. Without thought, he wrapped his arms around her to hold her in a light embrace, his hand stroking her hair carefully. He deepened his kiss, just a little, and thought he really would die when she kissed him back, matching him in tenderness, giving as well as taking. He would have gone on forever, kissing her like this, but the last thing he wanted was for her to regret what was happening. With Neela, it was best to let her make her up her own mind.
"Neela?" he whispered, drawing away a little.
"Y-yes?" she asked, her eyes dazed as she looked up at him.
"Will you help me? With Emily?"
To his surprise, she rose on her toes and gave him another kiss.
"Of course I will," she said quietly. She looked into his eyes and smiled reassurance. "We'll do it together."
Ray closed his eyes and pulled her close with all he had. If he had his way, this would be the way they would stay. Together.