1
TEARS STUNG her eyes. Kai blinked them back and compressed her full lips to halt the threatening deluge.
âWhatâs the matter, Kai? Canât you take a little good-natured ribbing?â her half brother drawled. He leaned against the door and watched her through hooded eyes. âAre we too good for you? Youâve been on Christmas leave exactly one day, and youâre already trying to escape.â
She walked out on the red brick patio, which was enclosed by a huge wrought-iron fence that guarded the multimillion-dollar house. True to form, Frank was beginning to needle her unmercifully.
âI know you find jogging a boring, plebeian pastime, Frank, but I enjoy it. And Iâm not running away from anything,â she muttered, crouching to tighten one shoelace that looked suspiciously loose. Her green eyes glittered with hurt as she avoided Frankâs amused gaze. Why did it always stun her that he enjoyed torturing her with his carefully veiled barbs that appeared on the surface to be sibling teasing? Or reminding her that she was the major heir to her fatherâs massive oil wealth? Because, her mind railed, Frank and his two sisters, Susan and Audra, wanted it all. Well, money was only a means to an end, not a god as they worshipped it. She longed for the days before her father had wildcatted his way to this incredible wealth. Since then, money had been a constant reminder of interfamily greed and jealousy, which festered around her whenever she came home.
âMost rich women wouldnât dream of working up a sweat.â Frank grinned. âAt least you and Susan have jogging in common. She does it to keep svelte, and you do it to get away from our wonderful family atmosphere. Or do you jog just to show everyone that youâre one of âthemâ and not one of us? A hardworking, white-collar type who picks up a paycheck every two weeks. Prejudice in reverse. God, Kai, Iâm glad you come home for Christmas every year. You break up the monotony of my existence.â
She wanted to be as insensitive and cruel as Frank. He was three years younger than her own twenty-nine, and he had the emotional maturity of a three-year-old. Still, Kai was grateful to Susan for allowing her to borrow one of her jogging outfits. It was one of the few civil gestures she had bestowed on her half sister. Kai had disdained the designer suits Susan now wore in favor of a very old, worn pair of gray sweat pants and teal blue top.
It was raining. Normally Susan would have joined her for her daily three-mile trek through Royal Oaks. But not today. No, Susan hated getting wet. So Kai would take her normal route. She slowly rosé and slipped a red sweatband around her forehead. Turning, she looked out over the Royal Oaks section of Houston. It had become a meeting ground, where the old rich and the new rich rubbed elbows and lived. A mist was beginning to fall from the gray sky. Grimly she swung her attention back to Frank.
âIf it wasnât for seeing my dad, I wouldnât bother coming down here to be the entertainment for you, Frank.â He was the least tolerable of her fatherâs second family. Susan was a snob. And Audra had some face-saving humanity that came to the surface in moments of weakness. Kai smiled to herself. Well, at least her father had found a sliver of happiness the second time around with Vera. And that was what counted. So Kai gritted her teeth to endure Veraâs three very spoiled children from her first marriage.
Frankâs laugh was low and taunting. âAh, but loyal, responsible Kai has to come. Youâre like that watch Paul gave you last night, Kaiâpredictable, stable and forever reliable.â He gazed up at the leaden sky, and an amused look lingered on his long face. âDidnât you know the rich melt when they get rained on? Susan thinks youâre crazy.â
Kai quelled her tormented emotions. âAre you implying that we white- and blue-collar workers donât care if we get wet?â
Frank studied the carefully manicured fingers on his soft hands. âYou hit the nail on the head. Sweat or rain. Whatâs the difference? Both make us look disheveled.â
âSpeak for yourself,â she growled. âI like good, honest sweat. I like earning a living, too.â
âYou arenât getting rich on that nursing paycheck you bring in twice a month.â
Kai swallowed a torrent of comments that would be appropriate for Frankâs needling, but that she felt were beneath her. âI consider myself rich in other ways, Frank. Ways that money could never buy. Besides, I donât think you really care what happens to me.â