Authors: Sherryl Woods
After an instant of unmistakable uncertainty, David rested his hand on his son’s shoulder. “That’s a definite promise.”
As Davey went exploring again, Kate studied David intently, marveling at his change in mood since they’d talked on the phone on Monday. Then, he’d seemed almost reluctant to see her again, so much so that she’d been certain he’d had second thoughts.
Apparently he caught her scrutiny and somehow guessed the cause. “Kate, I’m sorry about the other day.”
“Oh?” she said, not wanting to give any hint that she was even aware of the distance in his voice when they’d talked.
“Things were crazy around here. I couldn’t see how I could fit this in at all, but Davey was bugging me.” He gazed at her. “I shouldn’t have called when I was feeling pressured. I’m sure it sounded as if this were the last thing in the world I wanted to do.”
“You didn’t sound overly enthusiastic,” she admitted.
“I’m sorry. I just want you to know it didn’t have anything to do with you or the things I said at the beach. Forgiven?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
His gaze locked with hers. “You sure?”
She smiled slowly. “I’m sure.”
He grinned. “Terrific. Now how about some dinner? I promised you food, and you look as if you’re faint with hunger.”
“It’s not that bad,” she responded with a laugh, suddenly feeling more carefree than she had in days. “But I did miss lunch so I could take off early this afternoon.”
“So what appeals to you when you’re starving? Italian? Steak? Seafood? Mexican?”
“Hamburgers,” Davey chimed in as he joined them.
“Hey, this is Kate’s choice, remember?”
Davey’s face fell. Then he glanced at her slyly. “I’ll bet she likes hamburgers, too.”
“Actually, I do,” she confessed. “How about Hamburger Hamlet?”
David shook his head. “And I was prepared to pop for something outrageously expensive.”
She grinned at him. “I’ll hold you to that another time. Right now this sounds like heaven.”
“Okay, then. The one on Beverly Boulevard?”
“Perfect. It’s right on the way home.”
Davey tucked himself into her side. “Can I ride back with you, too?”
“Actually, I’d like to hitch a ride, too,” David said, his expression all innocence, his mood once more bordering on that wicked, flirtatious tone of their weekend at the beach. “I had one of the assistants drop me off here this afternoon.”
Kate’s eyebrows rose. “And what would you have done if I’d had to take off and left you stranded?”
He grinned back at her. “There’s always Mrs. Larsen. Or Dorothy.”
“Mrs. Larsen hates to drive all the way out here, Dad,” Davey reminded him. “She gets real nervous on the freeways, and she gets lost on the other roads.”
“True, but she’d do it in an emergency.”
Kate chuckled. “And you consider the failure of a sneaky attempt to hitch a ride in my car an emergency?”
“No, but I would probably suffer irreversible psychological damage if you’d ducked out and left me, and
that
would be an emergency. Besides, you agreed to dinner and I doubt you go back on your promises.”
Kate caught the subtle message and gave him a wry look. There was a decidedly wicked twinkle in his eyes as he gazed back at her. Whatever reservations he’d had about this outing had clearly been shoved aside.
“You’re a fraud,” she accused as she led the way past row after row of huge, tan soundstages to her car. “You’ve been angling to get behind the wheel of my car from the minute you saw it in the driveway up in Malibu. Admit it.”
His expression brightened at once in a way that reminded her of Davey. “You’ll let me drive?”
“By all means,” she said, handing him the keys. “You won’t see any evidence of its power and speed in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but enjoy yourself. Davey and I will squeeze into the passenger seat.”
“You do realize, then, how ludicrous and impractical a car like this is in Los Angeles?” he said as he smoothed a hand over the bright red finish. “I don’t think anyone’s been able to drive over twenty on the freeway in years.”
“It’s not quite that bad, but what about your car? I suppose you consider that tank practical?” she countered. “When was the last time you needed four-wheel drive to get to the office?”
He laughed. “Touché.”
They continued to battle wits over dinner. By dessert Kate had almost forgotten the lousy way the week had started. She even pushed to the back of her mind the guilt that had been nagging at her ever since she’d walked out on Ellen. She needed time to get used to the idea that Ellen understood firsthand what Kate was going through now. She hoped an end to the estrangement was in sight. She would find some way to make it happen—to apologize to her sister.
By the time she dropped her companions off at David’s office, her spirits were higher than they had been since their weekend in Malibu. And she was increasingly confident that Davey and David were beginning to rebuild their old rapport. Life, she decided, was not half-bad. She hummed happily all the way home.
Then she opened the door to her apartment and discovered her mother and Brandon in her living room. Though they both looked tanned and relaxed, they did not seem like the ecstatic couple she’d been hearing from for weeks now. And judging from the concerned looks they instantly shot her way, their unhappiness was directly related to her. For an instant she almost regretted having given a spare key to her mother.
When she caught the distinctive scent of raspberry tea, she knew things were serious. That’s what her mother always brewed especially for Kate…and only in emergencies.
Chapter Ten
S
o much for that exhilarating mood she’d been in when she’d left David, Kate thought regretfully. She stifled a groan and plastered a welcoming smile on her face instead.
“Hello, Mother,” she said, dropping a kiss on her mother’s cheek. “Brandon. You look terrific, but what on earth are you two doing here? Last I heard you were headed for Florence or Paris or someplace.”
Brandon shrugged, his sharp gaze studying her intently. Kate detected no anger in the look, just worry.
“Your mother seemed to feel we were needed here,” he explained.
“But why?” Kate asked guiltily. “We just talked, a little over a week ago. Everything’s fine here.”
“No, it is not,” her mother said. Those blue eyes of hers sparked indignantly. “You and Ellen are on the outs, and I want to know why.”
Kate regarded her with dismay. “She called and told you that? Why would she deliberately set out to ruin your honeymoon?”
“She didn’t deliberately set out to do anything. I called. She was upset. Penny got on the phone and with some urging on my part, she finally explained why. I had no idea you and Ellen were quarreling, and over my marriage of all things.”
Kate poured herself a stiff drink, then glanced at them. “Want one?”
Brandon shook his head and looked at her mother. “Lizzy?”
“No,” she said impatiently. “I want to know what is going on between my daughters.”
When Kate remained stonily silent, Brandon stood up and walked over to where she was staring out the window, her back to the room. He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them away, praying he wouldn’t see them. As much as she wanted to dislike Brandon Halloran, it seemed he wasn’t going to let her.
“Kate, you know I’d do anything in the world to make your mother happy, but this is one thing I can’t do. You’re the only one who can tell her what’s wrong and what we can do to help. I hope you will,” he said so gently and with such genuine compassion that Kate felt like a spoiled brat for hurting them. How had she allowed things to get so out of hand? Had she secretly wanted her mother to come home as proof she still cared? Lord, she hoped she wasn’t that selfish.
She sensed that Brandon had gone back to her mother’s side, heard a low murmur of conversation and then the sound of her front door closing.
“Darling,” her mother said quietly.
Kate turned and saw the look of anguish on her mother’s face. She saw something else as well: understanding.
“Darling, I know you’re feeling left out,” she said, proving that with a mother’s intuition she had guessed what was at the root of Kate’s uncharacteristic behavior. It also explained why she had turned up here, rather than at Ellen’s. “What can I do to show you that you are still very much a part of my life and of this family?”
Tears spilled freely down Kate’s cheeks. “Look, I know this is ridiculous,” she said, brushing irritably at the tears. “I’m a grown woman. I shouldn’t be so hung up on things staying the way they always were.”
Her mother smiled. “Oh, Kate, you always were too hard on yourself. Change is always hard to accept at first. Why do you think it took me so long to say yes to Brandon, even when I loved him with all my heart? I knew how it would disrupt all our lives.”
“But you have a right to be happy,” Kate insisted, voicing the rational thought that had struggled with her emotional reaction from the outset.
“Yes, I do, but not at the expense of my girls.” Her mother shook her head. “I thought Ellen was the one who’d have trouble with this, not you. I should have thought more about how you would feel. You think I betrayed your father, don’t you?”
“No,” Kate said, too quickly, judging from her mother’s skeptical expression. She considered the question more carefully, then repeated her answer. “No. Not really. You and Dad were open with each other. He knew how you felt.” She looked at her mother. “He did, didn’t he?”
“Yes, and he understood. Darling, your father was a wonderful man, a good father, and I am very sorry he is gone. We had a happy life together, and because of him, I have you. That alone would have made our marriage worthwhile.”
Kate sighed and felt some small measure of relief steal through her. “I really needed to hear you say that,” she admitted.
“Oh, baby,” her mother whispered, her voice catching. “How could you possibly doubt how much I love you?”
Those words echoed sentiments she’d heard from David only days before, the same mix of disbelief and anguish and gut-deep caring of a parent. The parallels between his situation with Davey and her own experience were stronger than she’d realized. And she, like Davey, wanted nothing more than reassurance that their world was still secure. It seemed even someone as self-assured as she was would never outgrow that need to feel connected, loved.
Her mother held her arms wide and Kate stepped into them. The hug, combined with the words, reassured her of something she never should have doubted. Even though Ellen was the child of her mother’s love for Brandon Halloran, there was still room in her generous heart for Kate. There always would be.
When their tears were dried and her mother had made another pot of raspberry tea, Kate said, “Now tell me about this fantastic honeymoon, Mom. When are you going to take off again?”
“We don’t have a set plan. I think we should stick around here for a while, though.”
Kate regarded her with renewed guilt. “Not on my account, please. I’m fine now.”
“Are you really, Kate? I’m beginning to think Brandon’s right. You need a focus in your life, something more than work. You need a husband.”
“I need a trip to the French Riviera more.” The snappy retort didn’t pack the conviction it might have a week or two ago. Her mother clearly caught the change.
“So,” she said casually. “Tell me again about the man who was out at the beach house for the weekend.”
Kate regarded her suspiciously. “What have you heard?”
“Heard?” her mother said innocently. “You told me yourself he was the father of a client.”
“And you immediately dismissed him as being too old for me. What’s changed? I can tell by that gleam in your eyes that you’ve heard something.”
“Actually, I believe Zelda did fax an item over to Rome.”
“An item?” Kate said blankly. “What item?” Then she recalled the square clipped out of the middle of one of the trade papers the week before. Zelda had been amazingly evasive when she’d asked about it.
“It mentioned that you and David Winthrop were seen dining together at Alice’s along with his son.”
“I told you that much.”
“No.”
“Well, I told you they were at the house.”
“You didn’t tell me the man’s name, dear. If you had, I would have known that the man you were entertaining is one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors.”
“How would you know a thing like that?” Kate demanded, knowing that her mother paid very little attention to the film industry.
“Actually, Brandon made a couple of phone calls,” she announced cheerfully. “He seemed quite impressed.”
Kate covered her face with her hands. Oh, dear Lord. It was her worst nightmare come true. “Mother, call him off,” she begged.
Her mother regarded her smugly. “I don’t think so, dear. You’re inclined to drag your heels about these things. I think this time, perhaps, you could use a little nudge.”
“No nudges,” Kate protested. “No meddling. No circumspect investigations. Please.”
She could tell from her mother’s expression, however, that her pleas were falling on deaf ears. She figured she and David had about another twelve hours while Brandon recovered from jet lag. After that, she suspected there would be no holds barred. Dear heaven, what had she let the man in for?
* * *
The definite chill in Kate’s office had nothing to do with the air-conditioning. Zelda had been in a snit for over two weeks and, Kate was forced to admit, for good cause. She owed her an apology. Now that her personal life was getting back on a more even keel, it was past time she gave her one.
The door opened and Zelda stood framed in the doorway. “Mrs. Mason is here,” she announced without setting foot over the threshold. Her voice held that same distant, icy note that had been giving Kate shivers since the previous week.
“I’ll see her in a minute,” Kate said. “Come in. I’d like to speak to you.”
Zelda took one cautious step inside.
“All the way in,” she said dryly. “And close the door.”
Zelda reacted as if she were being asked to sign her own death warrant.