Witchcraft

Kim." He turned away to take his wife's arm. Cavenaugh watched them walk through the lobby to a waiting taxi. Two intensely proud people. What it must have cost them to acknowledge the mistake they had made twenty-eight years ago, he thought. "Well, Cavenaugh , you pulled it off. Congratulations. I never even suspected that you had this little scene up your sleeve when you said we were going to spend an evening in San Francisco." Kimberly collected her small, black evening bag and smiled at him with the same brittle expression he'd already seen on her at various times during the confrontation. "It's over, Kim," he murmured as he took her arm. "You handled it very well."
    "Golly, thanks. You can't imagine how terrific that makes me feel." Warning signals hummed along his nerve endings.
    Cavenaugh kept a very tight grip on Kimberly's arm as they made their way out of the dining room. He had the oddest impression that if he didn't physically hang on to her he might lose her tonight. "You're through the hard part, honey. You've made the contact and fo und out that, while they may be far from perfect, your grandparents aren't inhuman despots, either. No one is going to make you accept them completely but you needed to face them and understand them." He didn't like the innocently blank look she gave him. "Why?" Cavenaugh felt his tension increase. This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated. "Because I wanted you to get over your fear of a certain kind ... of family relationship. I didn't want you holding the actions of your father's family against me for the rest of your life. I wanted you free of the past. Can't you understand that, Kim?"
    "I was free of my past. I had absolutely no contact with it. How much freer can a woman be?" she asked with an unnatural calm. "The hell you were.
    It was between us constantly. You were wary of me from the beginning because of it. You constructed your Amy Solitaire character to be as unfettered and emotionally free as you wanted to be and then you gave her the perfect mate, Josh Valerian. A man who has no other responsibilities in the world except the ones he has to Amy. Damn it, Kim, I felt I had all these ghosts from your past to deal with before I could have you. She came to a halt in the middle of the lobby, amber eyes cool and fathomless under her lashes. "You've already had me, remember? The ghosts didn't seem to get in your way." Cavenaugh gritted his teeth. "How long are you going to punish me for the way I handled this whole thing tonight?" She turned away. "I'm not going to punish you, Cavenaugh . I don't have that kind of power." He caught her arm but when she shot him a defiant glance he released her. The last thing he wanted was a major scene here in the lobby. Kimberly was walking swiftly toward the bank of elevators. Lights from the heavy crystal chandeliers dappled the amber of her hair. Her head was high and she carried herself with a pride he had just witnessed in two other people.
    Cavenaugh strode forward, catching up to her as she paused to punch the elevator call button. "It wasn't just your grandfather's eyes you inherited, Kim. You've got the Marland pride. Just imagine how they felt tonight." To his surprise she inclined her head, not looking at him. "I know it must have been difficult for them. Twenty-eight years ago I'll bet they couldn't have managed it. Time changes everyone, I suppose."
    "Everyone, Kim," he emphasized meaningfully as one of the bronzed elevator doors slid silently open. "Including you." She shrugged elegantly in the sleek black dress. "Look me up in twenty-eight years and I'll let you know."
    "I'm not going to wait around that long for you to forgive me,' Cavenaugh snapped, beginning to feel goaded. "When you've had a chance to think about it you'll realize I handled this the only way I could."
    "Will I?" She stepped inside the elevator and he followed quickly. Cavenaugh drew a deep breath, seeking patience. "I know you're upset, honey, but by morning you'll have calmed down.
    You're too intelligent not to realize this has all been for the best."
    She didn't answer him, her gaze fixed steadfastly on the closed elevator doors. Kimberly maintained her silence all the way up to the room and by the time he unlocked the door Cavenaugh knew he was more than tense.
    He was getting damned scared. She wasn't coming out of it as fast as he had anticipated. When she slipped past him into the room he shut the door and leaned back