Descent (Black Heart Romance presents Heaven & Hell)

“Do you see my rose garden?” she asks, pointing when she notices me looking at the yard. “I
love gardening and Calvin thought I should have my own rose garden because that’s my name. Rose.
Did I forget to introduce myself? Oh, I’m sorry, I was just so happy to meet you.”
I love this woman. She’s so sweet, I want to cuddle her and protect her from the cruel, cruel
world.
“Your garden looks beautiful. I’d love to see it up close later if there’s time.”
“Oh, yes, I would love that, too.”
___
Since we came for dinner, we head inside after Rose gives us a tour of the grounds. The place is
a little overwhelming—Cutler tradition, I suppose—but it’s beautiful, and I love it.
I can’t imagine growing up in a place like this. It’s magnificent, but knowing Calvin was an only
child with this whole place to himself, I wonder if it might have been a little lonely, too.
“I can’t believe this is where you grew up,” I tell Calvin as we enter the dining room. He pulls
out my seat for me, and I thank him absently before going on with a mischievous smile. “Do I get to
see your old room like you got to see mine?”
Before Calvin can answer, his father does. “Oh, Calvin never lived here. The house we brought
him up in was half the size of this one. A stately home, enough to satisfy most people.”
I glance to Rose because I’ve learned quickly that she’s an excellent barometer to check to see if
things are about to get unpleasant. Her gaze lowers, which means yes, yes it is.
Calvin laughs, regarding his father with an actual grin, but not a pleasant one. “You’re one to talk
about not being satisfied with what you’ve got, aren’t you, Dad?”
“Boys, please,” Rose says, looking pleadingly at Calvin, since my guess is she has more luck
seeking his mercy than his father’s. “We have a guest.”
His father points at him. “That’s your problem, right there. You’ve never been able to mind your
own goddamned business.”
Calvin is dismissive. “That’s not true. You just underestimate what I consider my business. If it’s
not my business, I don’t care about it. If it affects someone I love, then it is absolutely my business.”
“I don’t know what’s happening,” I whisper to Rose.
She leans over the table to murmur back, “When Peter lost his job years back—”
Peter interjects, pointing accusingly at Calvin. “When he put me out of business. My own flesh
and blood.”