Bright of the Sky Read Online Free PDF Page B

babes,” Rob said. He locked a gaze on Quinn. “You aren’t going to come. Why don’t you just say so, save us all from waiting up for you?”
    Quinn shrugged. “Okay, then.”
    Rob snapped, “Fine with me.” Kneeling next to the kids, he started repacking the gifts, shoving paper into the boxes while the kids watched in dismay.
    Emily said, “I thought we were staying.”
    “So did I,” her father murmured.
    Caitlin watched this familiar interaction play itself out, knowing better than to step between them until they’d each taken a hunk of flesh. If they didn’t love each other, it wouldn’t matter if Titus came for Christmas, but Titus could infuriate her husband in ten seconds flat, without even trying.
    “Kids,” she said, “play outside for a few minutes before we head back.” She was letting her husband’s edict stand, and Rob looked surprised.
    “I’ll keep them from drowning,” Rob said, knowing when to get some distance from the heat of an argument.
    You do that dear, Caitlin thought. You could look at the Pacific Ocean as a drowning pool or a beach adventure. Rob would be watching for beach logs in the surf every time.
    Titus was smiling. Damn his blue eyes, anyway.
    “I just don’t do Christmas,” he said, engaging and wry. But it wasn’t going to work on her this time.
    “You’re slipping away, Titus. From us.” As he started to shake his head, she added, “From yourself.”
    He looked around his living room as though assessing whether this could be true or not. But it was true. No jollying the kids along, no earnest hobbies could hide the fact that her second-favorite man in the world was becoming one of her least favorite.
    Titus’s face relaxed, grew serious. “I don’t much care anymore, Caitlin.”
    She shook her head. “That’ll be true in another year. It’s not true right now.”
    “It’s not?” He looked hopeful that she was right.
    He was giving her some power over him with that simple utterance, and it was a heady gift. “No,” she said, “it’s not. That’s why you’re coming for Christmas.” He didn’t answer, but she hoped he’d come. It would be a small gesture—for Rob, for the kids. She hoped her request wasn’t just for herself. She always worried that she was the only one who felt electricity in any room where Titus Quinn stood.
    Happy screams from the beach drew their attention to the open door, where they could see Rob looking at them from the shore. He wouldn’t like her begging Titus to come. So she hadn’t. She’d commanded him. And Titus was at least listening to her, listening with a blue-eyed intensity that held her transfixed. She let herself imagine that he liked a woman who could match his strong will. Not that Caitlin would ever compare herself to Johanna, a woman she’d both loved and deeply envied. They’d been friends: the beauty and the plain Jane. The flamboyant and the responsible. Just once, Caitlin would have liked to trade places.
    She picked up one of the toy boxes, using that moment to cover the heat that had come into her face. Standing, she put her hand on Titus’s arm. “Say you’ll come.”
    He didn’t answer, but he looked at her, all defenses gone. “I miss them, Caitlin.”
    “I know.” Let them go, she wanted to say, but hadn’t the heart.
    He reached toward her, and for a moment her breath caught on a snag, but he was taking the gift box from her grasp. “I’ll put these in a bag,” he said, and the moment was gone.
    “Titus, at least see us off. Rob will take that for amends.”
    “Which it won’t be.”
    She grinned. “No, of course not.”
    At last they were packed and on their way. Quinn watched as Rob’s truck climbed the steep driveway. The kids waved from foggy windows, and Rob honked the horn. All was patched up until it fell apart again. Quinn reflected that Caitlin was the best thing that ever happened to his brother. He hoped Rob knew that, or he’d have to give him a black eye.
    As