Page 127 of Redemption (Amos Decker 5)
“Geneva? Is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” Her voice echoed off the pale, unwelcoming tiles of the spacious hall.
Dahlia Greyson rushed out of one of the adjacent rooms and skidded to an abrupt stop to avoid colliding with her daughter. She was an excitable, attractive woman, whose beauty came partially from the assistance of surgical enhancements, and her delicate appearance belied the sharp eye capable of seeking out every inconsistency and flaw around her. “Geneva! It’s so good to see finally you!” she exclaimed, flinging her arms around her.
Geneva stiffened but forced herself to return the embrace before her mother took a step back. “You look awfully pale. Are you getting enough Vitamin D? I do wish they wouldn’t keep you cooped up in those horrible ships all the time, it can’t be—”
“Mother, I’m fine.” She glanced around the foyer. “Where’s Father? I need to speak with him.”
If Dahlia was miffed at the interruption, she didn’t outwardly show it. “Oh, you know how he is,” she said, raising her hand to pat down any strands of bright-red hair daring to slip out of place. “Always at work, even though Itoldhim to be home early today because we’d assumed you were coming and—”
“That’s what I need to talk to him about. I can’t believe what the two of you did, how you…” The rage simmered inside her chest again, and she took several deep breaths to help her maintain control of herself. “I’m not a child anymore. I wish you would accept you can’t dictate my life for me. Forcing me out on leave was a sneaky, nasty thing to do.”
Dahlia’s chin lifted. “It seemed like it was the only way we could see you.”
“It was humiliating.”
She sniffed. “Well, you didn’t really leave us with much of a choice, did you?”
Geneva’s jaw tightened. “If you wanted me to come visit you, you could have asked.”
“And you’re telling me you would have said yes?”
She didn’t have an answer for her mother. “It still doesn’t make what you did right,” she muttered. “And as soon as Father gets home, I’ll tell him the same exact thing.”
Dahlia glanced toward the door from which she’d emerged. “Keep your voice down, dear. We have a guest waiting to see you.”
Geneva shook her head and rubbed her eyes, suppressing the urge to scream or run away. “I have been traveling all day, and I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not especially happy to be here. Nor was I planning on staying any longer than necessary.” She glowered at her mother from behind her fingers. “I don’t feel like entertaining company right now.”
“But, Geneva, sweetie, he was so excited when he heard you were coming home. You must go say hello.”
Exhaustion chipped away at her resolve, though she remained suspicious. “Who is it?”
Dahlia beamed at her daughter. “It’s Marcus Brent. Go get reacquainted with him,” she said, pointing to the door.
The name of her childhood friend echoed through her mind as she stood frozen in place on the unyielding floor. She and Marcus had been nearly inseparable during their youth, but as they progressed in school, they grew apart when playground politics made maintaining friendships with the opposite gender difficult. By the time the two opposing groups were ready to associate with each other again, Geneva took little notice of Marcus’s attention as she was already plotting her escape. Though somewhat aware of the gawky teenager who would have followed her around for days if permitted, she remained focused on getting away from Pasurea as quickly as possible.
Her mother’s hand on her arm jolted her out of her brief recollections, and she glared at her over her shoulder before moving toward the sitting room. Though her distant memories of Marcus were pleasant enough, at the moment, she wanted nothing to do with her former home, her parents, or anything else in the entire star system. Trapped with no way out, she sighed to herself and shoved the door open.
A tall man wearing a black suit rose from his chair to greet her. Geneva cocked her head to the side as she studied her visitor. His basic features were the same—olive skin, straight dark hair that always flopped into his deep-set eyes despite his efforts to keep it away, the shy, crooked smile concealing his innermost thoughts—but the new arrangement of them seemed extraordinary. He was still slender, but he’d grown into his long limbs and appeared confident with his presence in the room. His intense stare locked into hers as he strode toward her, extending his hands. “Geneva…” The statement of her name in his soft voice sounded as if it carried the utmost importance. “It’s been a long time.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, as the circumstances yanking her home left a bad taste in her mouth, and kept her fists buried deep in her jacket pockets. “Yes. Nine years,” she answered in a clipped tone.
Dahlia coughed behind her, and she rolled her eyes. She removed her hands from her pockets and let Marcus take one of them in his. “I know you’ve had a long day, so I won’t keep you very long. I just wanted to drop in and see how you were doing.”
“How sweet of you.” She kept any trace of emotion out of her voice.
“I wasn’t sure how long you were staying—”
“Not long.”
He blinked, pausing before he spoke again. “I’m sure you have plenty to do with your parents, but I hoped you could make some time for me before you leave. I’d love the opportunity to catch up with you and hear about all the amazing things you’ve been doing.”
Without turning around, Geneva assumed her mother’s glare bored a hole into her back and got the impression she didn’t have much of a choice. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
His expression didn’t change much, but she thought she saw a brief flash of disappointment in his eyes. “Perhaps your mother will allow me to borrow you for a few hours tomorrow night.”
“Of course, dear. Let me know tomorrow morning what you have planned, and I’ll make sure she’s ready.”