“Mother?” When she smiled, he saw her then. It was the same one, the very one she’d give him every time she was ready to impart some nasty remark to him. “You certainly haven’t aged well.”
Kari laughed, and he glanced at her before looking at his mother again. At one time his mother was a fashion plate. Hair always done nicely, she’d have someone come to the house weekly just so she could go to one of her meetings. Her clothing had been the talk of the block. Eloise Bennett never wore a pants suit, never owned a pair of jeans, and would never have been caught dead in a pair of bright blue jump pants and a baggy sweat shirt as she was dressed in right now. The number over her heart, if she even had one, and her last name brought home to him that his mother really was in an institute for the criminally insane.
“Come give me a hug.” She put up her arms as far as the cuffs at her wrist would allow it and smiled at him. “You owe me that much. Come here, Steele, and hug me for old times’ sake.”
“I don’t think so. And even though we were told not to touch you, I wouldn’t even if I was allowed.” In fact, he wanted to leave now, but sat down when Kari did. “I’m never touching you again no matter how much you beg. As a matter of fact, I don’t really want to be here. But my wife insisted.”
“Wife?” Kari nodded when his mother gave her a pointed look. “You’d better not have given her my rings. Your father gave me those, and they will never be anyone’s but mine. And as soon as I’m out of this place, I’m getting everything back. Including my house.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t let her wear the gaudy things if you paid me. As for you getting out, that is not going to happen either. I will come to every trial, every one of your hearings, and anything else I can do to keep you here for as long as you live. And then some.” He looked at Kari and winked when she glanced at him. “I had her rings made, if you want to know the truth, by selling off yours and paying for them. It was fun for me to do this for her and to you. And when we have children, I’ll pass them on to them. There will be no tainting of their love by giving them your rings.”
“You fucking bastard. But then, you always were stupid and ungrateful for all that we tried to do for you. I suppose you gave away all our money too. I’m going to need that when I get out of here. And the house, too, so don’t get too cozy in it. I’ve got friends in high places, people that are disgusted by how you’re treating me. You’ll see. With or without your help, I’m leaving here.” She smiled again. This one was one that she’d reserved for his father. “Steele, your father and I had such good times in that house. You’d not believe how much we regretted sharing it with you and that sister of yours. Where is she, anyway? She was here this morning. Damn pain in the ass if you ask me.”
“You see Aster?” She nodded and looked around the room. Steele did as well. He’d not seen his sister for over a decade, and wondered why she’d been here and not with him. Then it hit him. “She haunts you, doesn’t she? She comes here and haunts you. It’s why they keep you locked up this way.”
“I see her. And they won’t believe me. And she doesn’t haunt me, but torments me. Why? I gave that brat every damned thing she wanted…or needed. If I had given her what she wanted, then she’d be more of an embarrassment to me than you were. Why we did what we did is beyond me when I think on it.”
“Embarrassment?” They both looked at Kari when she stood up. “Embarrassment? How the hell do you figure that? Christ, woman, do you have any idea how many people he helps? How much others need him and what he can do?” His mother sneered at Kari and she laughed. “You don’t care. You never cared about either of them, did you?”
His mother made a flapping motion with her fingers as she mimicked Kari speaking. As she sat back down, Kari looked at him and he nodded at her. It was time to get whatever it was out of his mother before it was too late. And Kari was going to get it.
“I spoke to your mother.” Steele was glad he’d been looking at his mother or he would never have believed the fear he saw there. “I can see that you know what she and I talked about. She never cared all that much for you either. And at times, she told me, she wished to Christ she’d never let you take over her life.”
“Lies. It’s all lies.”
Kari shook her head. Steele wasn’t really sure what was going to be said to his mother. Kari had told him that that was the way his grandmother had wanted it. That he would know the shock of his parents’ lies when Kari spoke to her.