“Everything. About a year ago, Alyssa fell and hit her head on the bathtub. She got a nasty cut and Lauren had to rush her to the hospital. Jason was at school and Michael was at work. While they were out, the house exploded.”
Kaya grabbed the locket around her neck. “Oh my God. What happened?”
“A gas leak Michael thought he’d fixed. Lauren had left a fire going in the fireplace. They lost everything, except Snoopy, who was with Alyssa.”
Kaya swallowed back a sob. If Alyssa hadn’t fallen, she and Lauren would have perished in that explosion, and Anastasia wouldn’t be here today. Only Michael and Jason would have survived. As bad as this present loss was, Kaya knew that one would have been worse. She couldn’t imagine a world without Alyssa and Anastasia in it.
Now that she thought about it, it was around that time that Lauren began writing to her, sending her pictures of her family. That accident had brought Michael and Lauren face to face with their own mortality. It had motivated them to make plans for their children’s future care.
“Michael was having some health issues with his heart,” Bryce said. “He couldn’t work as much. Lauren tried to help between taking care of him and the kids. Then his business failed due to lack of snow for three consecutive winters. Pride kept him from accepting my help.” He paused and sighed. “Anyway, after the explosion, I insisted that they move in here until they got back on their feet. He couldn’t refuse. They had nowhere else to go.”
Kaya gazed at Bryce, moved by his kindness and altruistic nature. She now saw the good man Libby said dwelled beneath his hard exterior. He was kind to the people he cared about, and even though that did not include her, Kaya was happy her sister had known him. “It was really nice of you to let them live here, Bryce. But why would you build such a magnificent home and not live in it yourself? Is it because of Pilar?”
Like shades pulled against the glare of the sun, an impenetrable mask descended on his face. He got up and brought Anastasia to her, transferring the infant into the crook of her arm without breaking the feed. “Your twenty-twenty question session is up, Miss Brehna,” he said and strolled to the sliders.
CHAPTER FOUR
Bryce stared out at the snowflakes drifting down from a cloudy sky to form a pristine white carpet across the frozen lake. This was the season when he felt closest to Pilar. He missed sharing meals with her in front of a roaring fire, then making love on the floor until the embers died out. He missed waking up next to her on cold wintery mornings, making love again, sleeping in, breakfast in bed, and sometimes lunch.
Those who were close to him knew not to question him about the few precious months he had with Pilar, and of the years of happiness they should have had in this house. His close friends and family understood his need for privacy when it came to Pilar. Kaya was neither friend nor family. She was a stranger Michael and Lauren had appointed guardian of their children.
He wanted her gone by the end of the week, either voluntarily or by coercion. He already had a private detective on her case. He needed something to use against her. Even an unpaid parking ticket could make her seem irresponsible. She’d already alluded to a somewhat unpleasant past, some loathsome secret she and Lauren had shared. Perhaps the threat of exposing “it” would be enough to persuade her to quietly hand over the children and return to her life in Palm Beach.
He had no desire to hurt Kaya, or Lauren’s memory if the secret they’d hidden all these years turned out to be monumental, but he was willing to do anything, even resort to blackmail if that was what it took to keep the children where they belonged.
He’d be remiss in his role as a godfather if he did nothing to stop Kaya’s plan.
“Uncle Bryce.”