Forbidden

Chapter Three

Two weeks of stolen moments later, after William and Cody had firmly entrenched themselves in each other's lives, William finally invited Cody over to his house. William spent the entire hour before Cody was supposed to arrive pacing the large foyer and biting his lip nervously. He didn't want anyone else seeing Cody before he did, and he definitely didn't want Cody to suffer an ambush by any one of his family members. This introduction could go one of two ways-William's family could acknowledge Cody and then shove him aside to be ignored like they tended to do about anything William cared about, or it could all implode in a spectacular inferno. William was beginning to regret inviting Cody over at all.

He practically pounced on the front door when a knock sounded at exactly the appointed time. "Hi." He flashed a grin and quickly ushered Cody inside.

"Hi," Cody responded, with a smile of his own. He held out a bouquet of flowers. "These are for your mom."

William stared at them, flabbergasted and charmed by Cody's thoughtfulness. "That's... That's really sweet. She's in the kitchen..."

"Then let's go."

"Cody, wait." William grasped his elbow. "My family is... can be..." He huffed an exasperated sigh. "...intense."

Cody shrugged. "Whose isn't?" His smile faded as William's solemnity deepened and he gave William's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Shit, you're really nervous about this, aren't you? Calm down, Will. Trust me, I know how to handle troublesome family. Come introduce me to your mom."

Despite himself, William began to relax. "All right."

He led the way into the kitchen, where his mother was chopping vegetables and his twelve-year-old sister was pilfering anything she could get away with. They both turned their attention to the boys with interest as they entered the massive gourmet space.

"Mum," William said, gesturing to Cody, "this is my friend Cody Hughes."

Cody stepped forward confidently and extended the bunch of flowers with a small bow of his head. "It's a distinct pleasure, Mrs. Hannigan."

She smiled as she wiped her hands on a towel and then took the bouquet, bringing them to her nose and inhaling deeply. "They're lovely, thank you. And please call me Alicia." She glanced at William with an approving smile.

William turned to his sister, who had spun around on her stool and was now leaning back against the large island with a narrow-eyed expression of petulant disdain. William glared at her. "And this is my sister Kyrah. This is about as friendly as she gets."

Kyrah stuck her tongue out at her brother while Alicia admonished, "Will!"

Cody grinned widely. "Nice to meet you, Kyrah. I brought this for you."

She pushed off the island and leaned forward, her eyes wide and full of eager interest. "Ooh! Pretty!"

Cody tied an intricately braided leather bracelet around her wrist that glittered with interwoven glass seed beads. "My mother makes them to sell at local festivals. Will told me that you have pretty hazel eyes-which, I see, is entirely true-so I picked a bracelet that would complement them."

Alicia came around the island to look at it. "Why, Cody, it's beautiful. You must thank your mother for us."

"I will, ma'am. She'll be delighted to hear that you like it."

Alicia studied the bracelet more closely. "I haven't seen these at any of the festivals. If I had, I likely would have bought some."

"We're new in town, ma'am. My mother is quite busy at the moment, in fact, getting stock ready for the upcoming harvest festival."