Page 51 of Breathe

“Aw, Cat,” Kane said. “You were doing so well...” But Cat had fallen asleep. Antonio smiled apologetically at them.

“Is that really what she thinks?” Ellen asked. “That you’re desperate for affection?”

“In vino veritas.” Kane smiled. “Ah, who knows? I gave up trying to figure her out years ago.”

“She is protective of you all,” Antonio said quietly.

“Well, she doesn’t have to protect me, for f... crying out loud,” Kane said, his face immediately changing from indulgence to annoyance. “She still thinks I can’t run the business, doesn’t she? She still thinks I’m twenty-two.”

“She does not say so,” said Antonio. “But you also, you do not think she takes care of this house?”

“That’s just a coat of paint,” Kane said. “And you’re always complaining about the heat on the third floor. Why you don’t just buy a new furnace...”

“We do not have your income, fratello.” And when Kane took an angry breath, he held up his hand. “The trust fund is for the boys, you know that.”

“There’s more than enough for college and the repairs,” Kane said roughly. “God, I’ll give it to you myself. I don’t want this place to fall apart because she’s too stubborn to take her own money.”

“But it is her money.” There was ever so slightly more edge to Antonio’s voice now. “And we bought the house from the estate.”

“So you’re just going to let it fall apart? What is it with my bloody sisters?” He stood up abruptly, depositing Ellen back in her own seat. “Sorry, hon,” he said, and he banged out of the back door.

Antonio and Ellen smiled apologetically at each other. “Welcome to Thanksgiving,” he offered.

Ellen didn’t answer. She had a feeling swelling in her chest she didn’t know how to define. This was the first time she’d really spent time with an American family. She’d been here for four years, and all she’d done was hang out with co-workers, half of whom were from other countries. As soon as family holidays happened, she ran back to her own, putting up with a few days of the painful ache she got when she looked at her mother, or heard her talk about what Edward was doing now, because it was easier than noticing how empty her life was here.

Today her sphere of acquaintances had grown by nine; ten if you counted Benji. And she’d been thrown into the middle of whatever the family found important as if she’d been part of it for years: adding to Cat’s aggravation against Kane, used as his sounding board, teased by Megan, drawn into Thea’s problems. The frightening feeling she got as she looked across the table was that she didn’t ever want to leave.