Brian didn't even put up a token argument when Paul refused to let him drive home, which spoke greatly of his state. Jay drove them in Brian's Hummer and I got Daniel into Ben's truck.
"So what happened?" I asked as we followed them home.
"I...I don't know if I should tell you," Daniel said. "He kept it a secret from everyone for years."
"He was molested as a child," I said flatly.
Daniel nodded.
"What's worse is it was that bastard back there," he growled.
The fierce, angry look on his face seemed so out of place. In the last couple of months that I'd known him, he hadn't been so...expressive. He had been holding his emotions tightly within him, but now....
"And what did he do to you?" I asked softly.
He looked at me in surprise and I smiled back.
"He helped you, didn't he?" I asked.
"Well, he did something," he said ruefully. "We'll have to wait and see if it helped."
"At least something good came out of this."
He lay across the seat, his head in my lap. Not that that's unusual, but this time we were both dressed.
I met Jay's clear green eyes in the rear view mirror as he cocked an eyebrow.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked him.
He lay still, unresponsive.
"I know you're not asleep," I said, gently stroking his hair.
"What do you want me to say?" he whispered.
"That you know this doesn't change the way I feel about you," I replied. "That you know that I love you."
"I know," he said, shuddering. "I've held this guilt for so long. I never wanted anyone to know."
"Like you told Rose to tell Bobby. It wasn't your fault. Nothing you did caused it."
"If I hadn't wandered off," he said softly, reaching up to scrub his nose with the back of his hand.
"You were just a child," I said, stroking his hair.
"They were so watchful of my sister. They would hardly let her out of their sight. They always warned her about strangers. I don't know if they realized there were people out there who preyed on little boys, too."
"I think some people don't want to think about it," I said.
"Well, they should," he snapped.
"They should, but they don't. And when people don't want to think about something, they pretend it can't possibly be."
"He speaks the truth," Jay said from the front seat. "Things haven't changed that much, even in my lifetime."
Brian lifted his head to look at him.
"You?" he asked.
"That is why I hated Anglos for so long," he said with a pained smile.
"You were violated," I said. "You thought no one would believe you. You felt you were all alone. But you're not alone any more."
"I know," he said, turning his head to look at me. "I was able to move past it and find love. Twice."
I caught his hand and kissed his fingers.
"At least that's one bastard everyone will be able to recognize," I teased.
"You have no idea how much I wanted to kill that son-of-a-bitch," he growled, but I could feel him relaxing.
"I think I do," I said comfortingly. "I wanted to, too, and that was before I knew what he had done to you."
"Scrawling his sin across his face was a good start," Jay said approvingly.
"That's the least I did," Brian said coldly.
"What did you do this time?" I asked uneasily.
"I gave him the curse of truth," Brian snarled.
"What do you mean?" I asked, a chill going down my spine.
"He will always have to answer honestly," he said. "His hidden life is over."
"What about when he's asked about what happened last night?" Jay asked.
"I'm not an idiot," Brian snorted. "I wiped his memory of me. All he knows is someone caught him raping Bobby."
"And what if the church tries to cover it up?" Jay asked.
"I'm sure they will," I said bitterly. "That's why I went Nathaniel Hawthorne on his ass. I mean his face."
"As Jim said," I chuckled. "I'm glad you're on our side."
"How are you doing?" Danny asked me.
"Doing okay," I shrugged.
I had slept most of the day. Getting like that tends to take a lot out of me. Last time I went berserk, I was out for over a week. Maybe I'm getting used to it. God, I hope not.
Jay and Ben had departed not long ago. They wanted to make sure I was okay before they left. Hate to say it, but I was kind of sad to see them go. They were good company and I had learned a lot from Jay. Even some things about what I seem to have gotten from my father's side.
We were sitting at the table while Jim and Paul fixed supper.
"So...," Danny said awkwardly. "Is that kid really...?"
"My half brother?" I said sardonically. "Yes he is."
"Could have been your kid...," Jim teased as he slid a platter of sliced ham onto the table.
"Not possible. Unlike some of us, I've never even been with a woman," I twinkled back.
Jim grinned, glancing quickly at Danny. Well, wasn't my place.
"Actually," I said with a wince. "Rose wasn't the first woman my father had fooled around with. And not the last, either."
"How do you know?" Danny asked. "Other than the obvious."
"After he died, I had to go through his work laptop," I said. "He kept track of his...conquests on it."
"Yikes," Danny said, helping himself to a load of scalloped potatoes.
I looked at him askance.
"Your mom was on there," I said.
"What?!" he cried, his fork falling to the floor.
"He also kept track of women who spurned him," I said quickly. "She was one of those."
"So that was why we just packed up and left?" he said quietly after a moment of deep thought.
"I think so," I replied. "She was probably so offended by his advances, just quitting wouldn't be enough."
Danny sat staring at his plate until Jim handed him a clean fork.
"So you might have other siblings out there?" Jim asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Dunno," I shrugged. "It's possible."
"You're not going to run off whenever one of them is in trouble, are you?" Paul asked, only partially kidding.
"Who knows," I said, giving his a half smile. "But there's more to Bobby than just his being my brother."
"What do you mean?" Danny asked.
"Didn't you think it strange that after what he'd just been through, he'd throw himself at a perfect stranger?" I pointed out.
"I figured it was just you being you," Danny said.
"It was because he could...feel me," I said. "That was why I connected with him."
"He's like you?" Paul said, stunned.
"Close enough," I speculated. "In his panic, his mind connected with mine. I also think he has the potential to be a spirit keeper."
"So why didn't you...claim him?" Danny asked.
"My life is crazy enough as is," I growled. "I ain't going to have sex with a kid, much less my own half-brother."
"Besides, we already have two spirit keepers," Paul said, nodding in agreement.
"I'm not going to make that choice for him," I said. "If he...or his kids, if he ever has any, should be...changed, I hope it's by one of the other were breeds."
"You just want to be able to get rid of some of your guests," Paul said, elbowing me.
"Guilty," I said with a sigh. "Though if he does become one, well, he's already at least half cat."
"You think that would affect his change?" Jim asked uneasily.
"Don't know," I admitted. "Only have myself to go by, but according to Grandpapa, I think I had a lot more were blood than he does. And might explain why I keep doing things that surprises Grandpapa. Would appear I got the...spirit keeper gene from both sides of the family."
"But you had Grandpapa watching over you," Jim said.
"Doubt Grandpapa would even know about him," I said. "After all, Bobby's from my father's side. But he does have me."
"And what do you have in mind?" Paul said with an amused smile.
"Well, I'm going to be talking to Judy. I should be able to talk her into...hiring Rose."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jim asked.
"I know," I said holding up my hands. "Judy worked there when Rose did. I don't know if she actually knew. About that one."
"That one?" Jim smirk and I winced back.
"Like I said, he had a number of...women. Several of them were his...secretaries. While Judy did most of the work."
"Which is why you chose her to run the company," Paul said.
"And Jay said he'd help me set up a fund for Bobby," I said wryly. "He deserve that at least. Guess it does help having a were-lawyer in the loop."
The room echoed with laughter.
"I want Bobby to have as normal a life as he can," I said sadly.
"At least he'll be getting the help he needs," Paul said, gripping my shoulder.
"Like you wish I had?" I said, looking up at him. "I don't know. It had a part in making me who I am."
"Brian...," Paul began.
"Something like that can twist a child, turning him into a monster. It's entirely possible that bastard had had the same thing done to him. But I was stronger than that. It gave me a model of what not to be."
"Would explain why you won't usually make the first move," Paul teased.
"And why you have such a thing for older men," Jim snickered.
"Dunno," Danny said slyly. "Older men are hot."
"Couldn't agree more," I grinned, pulling Paul into my arms. "Couldn't agree more."