AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Val made a show of yawning. “I’m plumb tuckered. Sylvi, I think you should take the guest room. I can sleep in Kaj’s exercise room. It’s close to Elijah’s room and there’s space for me to bunk on the floor.”
A flurry of comments met this declaration, mostly from Phin, who lumbered to his feet to offer Val the sofa, and from Sylvi, who was refusing to take Val’s bed.
Kaj held up his hand. “Sylvi, take the guest room. Val, take my room. Phin, you can take the sofa. I’ll sleep in my recliner. I’ve done it before. Jace, I’ve got a blow-up mattress you can use so that you aren’t on the hard floor.”
“I’ve slept in a lot worse places, Mr.Cardozo.”
Another slice to Kaj’s heart. “Well, you won’t have to here. Burke?”
“I’m on watch,” Burke drawled. “Don’t you worry ’bout me.”
“I’m going home soon,” Antoine said. “So don’t worry about me, either.”
“Burke, I’ll be down to relieve you in a few hours,” Val said as she went for the stairs. “See you later.”
“She’s not okay, is she?” Sylvi asked once Val had left the room.
“She will be,” Kaj promised. “Guest room is last one on the left.”
“Thank you,” Sylvi said. “For everything. You’ll take care of her?”
“I will,” he promised. He turned to Burke when Sylvi went upstairs. “I’m going to get some work done in my office upstairs. If you don’t see me for a while, that’s where I am.”
That was a fib. He didn’t intend to even try to work. He intended to hold Val until she went to sleep. He might even sleep with her for a few hours.
Burke gave him a knowing look. “Tell Val that I’m calling Molly to relieve me later. Mol got to sleep today, so she’ll be fresh. Val can sit tonight out.”
“Thanks, Burke.” Taking his leave, Kaj started up the stairs but stopped halfway. Sylvi was standing outside Elijah’s door, her hand over her mouth. Kaj hurried the rest of the way, understanding her reaction once he reached the landing.
Val was in Elijah’s room, quietly singing to him as she sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his son’s back. Elijah was curled up with Czar, mostly asleep. He was murmuring something to Val that Kaj couldn’t hear, but whatever it was, it made Val look sad. Kaj wanted to rush in and make it all better, but he held himself back. Not yet. Not in front of others. He’d wait until Val was alone and offer her whatever support she needed.
And if she didn’t want him to touch her after being reminded of her past trauma, he’d keep his distance. Whatever she needs.
Sniffling quietly, Sylvi turned for the guest room. Kaj followed, stopping in her doorway. “You okay, Sylvi?”
She smiled wistfully and it was then that Kaj saw the family resemblance. She and Val had the same smile. “Ingrid used to sing me to sleep like that. She’s ten years older than I am, but she never ignored me. She taught me to do all the fun things, like riding a bike and spitting really far. And how to swear in Norwegian, of course.”
“Of course.” Kaj’s lips twitched up. “The important things.”
Behind him, he heard footsteps and then his bedroom door opened and closed. Val was in his room now. He’d give her a few minutes to herself before he’d ask to join her.
“Exactly,” Sylvi said. “Mom and Dad both worked long hours back then to make ends meet, but Ingrid was always there. She got me up in the morning and made my breakfast. She put me to bed and read me stories. She sang to me and taught me to play the piano, even though I’ll never be as good as she is. She let me tag along with her and Van. She was always there,” she repeated. “Until she wasn’t.”
“She joined the Marines.”
“Yes, but that’s not when things broke down. I was only eight when she joined up, but she would write me letters and emails and tell me funny stories. I was so excited when she came home on leave. When she came home for good, I was beside myself. But she wasn’t the same. At the time, I thought it was me, but now I guess I know. It was the assault.”
Kaj swallowed. “Yeah.”
“You know the details?”
“Some. But it’s not my story to tell.”
“I understand. Back when she went to New Mexico, when all we knew was that she had a stalker, Mom and Dad would sigh and say, ‘That’s just Ingrid, being dramatic again.’ ”
Kaj pushed back the surge of anger at the elder Kristiansens. Val hadn’t been being dramatic. She’d been raped. But she hadn’t told them that, so they couldn’t have known. Anger morphed to sadness for all of them. This family had stopped communicating long before Ivan was killed.
Sylvi was watching him. “Of course, even if it had been just a stalker, Ingrid was entitled to react exactly how she did. Mom and Dad loved us. They did. They do. But they’ve always been more sympathetic and patient with people who aren’t their children.”
