Authors: Elisabeth Naughton
He brushed a hand over her shoulder. “You guys will get through this. Give Ryan a day or so. Once he spends time with Reed, all of that anger about not knowing about him will slip away. Trust me, I know the guy. He’s hard as steel around the edges, but inside, he’s one big, gooey mess.”
“So I shouldn’t go see him today?”
“No way. He’s brooding today. You won’t get through to him.”
“I don’t know what difference a day will make. I just seem to set him off every time he sees me.”
“You think you didn’t set him off before?” He grinned. “You think you two never crossed sparks? You did all the time. It’s what made your relationship so fun to watch. He always thought you were too independent. It used to bug the hell out of him. Deep down, he feared you didn’t need him the way he needed you. I guess in some way, this is just the same old argument magnified about a thousand times.”
He reached for her hand, and she noticed their fingers were the same length. The same shape. His were thicker, more masculine, but their hands were similar. Worn. Weathered. Solid.
“He’s a good guy, Kate.” One side of his lips curled in a smirk as he studied her fingers, and the dimple she’d seen so many times in the mirror creased his cheek. “God, it’s weird to call you that. But I’ll get used to it. You just have to give him time too. This hurts him because he wants more from you than you can give him right now.”
She almost laughed. “He’s got beautiful women draped over him all the time. What could he possibly want from me?”
“You really don’t know?” There was amusement in his voice. “He wants you back.”
An ache settled in her chest. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give him what he wants.”
“You have to jump off that bridge when you get to it. In the meantime, think about Julia and Reed and how you’re going to handle them. That’s the most important thing at this point.”
“I know.”
He hesitated, then said, “You also have to understand that knowing you were married, that you were with someone else, it’s eating away at him.”
Frustration welled inside. “Well, that’s just great. He can go off with a different woman every weekend, but I happened to be in a committed relationship and I’m the one feeling guilty.”
“Ryan may date, but he hasn’t opened his heart to anyone since you left. I think the realization that you did is what’s making this so hard. He loves you as much as he did before you disappeared, and you don’t. That hurts him.”
She closed her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Were you in love with the other guy?” he asked gently.
She pushed off the bench, unable to sit anymore. “I thought I was. Although now I’m wondering why. There were inconsistencies, but I thought it was the stress of my illness. Of his job. How could I have been so wrong about someone? It makes me question my judgment.”
Mitch crossed to her. “There’s a reason all of this happened. You have to believe that.”
“I don’t really know what I believe anymore.”
“I’ll tell you one thing.” He slipped on his sunglasses. “I believe in a higher power pushing all of us together. I never used to, but I do now. You can’t not believe when you look at the situation.”
“How can you think that? How can you believe God would let us go through this hell?”
“Because you have to think of the alternative. If it hadn’t happened the way it did, you’d have been on that plane. You’d really be gone now. There’d be no second chances. There’d be no Reed.”
She hadn’t thought of it that way. The realization sent a chill down her spine.
“I have to get back,” he said. As they turned and headed back out of the park, he shot her a look. “You know, we need to call my…our,” he corrected, “parents.”
She grimaced. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“I was thinking maybe Sunday, after you and Ryan have a chance to see the kids. I’d really like you to be there when I call them. We could do it at my house, if that makes you more comfortable.”
She nodded, though what she wanted to do most was run away.
“They’re going to want to fly right down and see you.”
“I thought of that too.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not on your life. They’re good people, Kate. I’ll be there with you.”
“Okay.” She blew out another breath, wanting to lighten the mood. “So, I hear you’ve got the hots for my lawyer.”
“Why? Did she say something about me?”
Kate couldn’t help it. She laughed. He looked and sounded like a middle schooler. “You like her.”
“Yeah, I do. But this might not be the best time to start something.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of…a lot of things.”
“Mitch, don’t let me hold you back.”
“I’m not. It’s not just you. My life is complicated. I travel a lot. Sometimes I’m gone for months at a time. I don’t make good boyfriend material.”
“I don’t believe you. Something tells me you’d make great boyfriend material for the right woman. And I’d feel a lot better if at least someone in this mess was happy.”
With a grin, he swung his arm over her shoulder. The small gesture warmed her. “One step at a time, sweetheart. We’ll get you there. Just have faith.”
***
A little faith would do them all some good.
When Mitch strolled into Ryan’s house later that evening, he found himself in the middle of a war zone.
“I’m not going!” Julia screamed from upstairs and slammed her door.
“Yes, you are, young lady. You don’t have a choice!” Ryan quieted his voice as he yanked open the refrigerator. “If I don’t have a fucking choice in this, you don’t have a fucking choice in it.”
“You can’t make me go! I won’t go!” Julia screamed down the kitchen stairs, then slammed the door again.
“I hope this isn’t about my date with her tonight,” Mitch said as he walked into the kitchen. “Because it’s really going to mess up my plans if she’s bitching like this.”
“Heaven forbid we should cramp your plans.” Ryan scowled, moved to the stove and slammed a pan on the burner. “She’s pissed off about tomorrow. She doesn’t want to go see Annie…or Kate…or whatever the hell she’s calling herself these days.”
“Oh.” Mitch sank into a chair at the bar and popped a grape in his mouth from the bowl on the counter. “And it’s Kate. You call her Annie, it’s going to piss her off too.”
“At this point, I don’t give a fuck if she’s pissed or not.”
Mitch blew out a breath and glanced around. Definitely not a good night in the Harrison household.
Julia stalked into the kitchen, glared at her father, then moved to Mitch. “I’m not going tomorrow,” she said, fisting her hands on her hips. “You can just tell him that, because he’s not listening to me.”
Mitch caught Ryan’s tight jaw out of the corner of his eye. “I think he can hear you loud and clear, sweetheart.”
“I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to have anything to do with her. She’s not my mother!”
“Julia, dammit,” Ryan said. “We’ve been through this a thousand times. I’m not thrilled about the situation, either, but she’s your mother, and she wants to see you. And you’ll just have to get used to it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. Her little eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to go. I hate her! I don’t want to have anything to do with her!”
Ryan stepped forward, but Mitch saw the fire in his eyes and sent him a warning look. Nothing Ryan had to say was going to get through to her.
“You know what, Julia?” Mitch asked. “I love you. I even like you, a lot, which is pretty important to me because love is a requisite in families, liking each other isn’t. But you’re acting like a spoiled brat right now.” Her mouth fell open in surprise. “You’re talking about my sister there, and I’m not gonna let you badmouth her in front of me. You can be upset and frustrated with this whole situation, just like we are, but you’re going to have to get used to it. She
is
your mother, and she
does
deserve a chance to get to know you. And you can glare at me and your dad all you want, but it’s not going to change that fact.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. She turned and ran out of the room.
Ryan braced his hands on the counter and dropped his head.
“Let me go to her,” Mitch said, already pushing off his stool. “I’m the one who yelled at her. I’m the one she’s mad at right now.”
“She’s mad at the whole goddamn world.”
Mitch patted his shoulder. “So are you, buddy. Bad combination.”
Mitch didn’t bother to knock when he reached Julia’s room, just pushed the door open. She was sitting on her bed, arms crossed over her chest, glare of the century on her face.
The full-size bed dipped as he sat next to her. “How long are you planning on being pissed at me?”
“As long as I feel like it.”
He checked his watch. “Well, we’ve got plans tonight. I had to work my ass off to get this playdate for you. I’m trying to put the moves on this hot little lawyer and if you don’t show up to entertain her daughter, it shoots my chances to hell.”
“Is that all I am to you, just some kid you can use to get a girl?”
A grin tugged at his mouth. Now there was the feisty nine-year-old he knew and loved. “Basically. You got a problem with that?”
“You’re incorrigible.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Where’d you hear that?”
“At school. And you are. And you’re obnoxious too.” She released her arms and sighed. “And I’m not mad at you. I just don’t want to see her tomorrow, that’s all.”
He slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “I know, sweetheart. I know this is hard. It’s hard on all of us, especially your dad. You’ve got to cut him some slack on this one.”
She swallowed the tears and leaned into him. “I like things just the way they are, with you and me and Daddy. I don’t want her around messing things up.”
“She won’t.”
“She will.”
“Give it a chance, okay? Just give it a chance, Julia.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then do it for me. She’s my sister, and I love her. And you’re my niece, and I love you. Do it for me if you can’t do it for any other reason.”
On a long sigh, she pulled back and wiped her face. “Okay. But you owe me.” Her eyes narrowed. “And you owe me for tonight too. If this girl ends up being a total bore, you’re gonna owe me big time.”
“Thanks.” He nudged her off the bed. “Now get your shoes. We’re late.”
***
Mitch glanced over at Julia and studied her profile illuminated by the dashboard lights. She needed a firm hand right now, someone to tell her the way it was going to be. Ryan was having problems of his own. He wasn’t exactly handling any part of this well.
Who could blame him, though?
“Now don’t go embarrassing me,” he said, refocusing on the road.
“Would I do that?” Julia batted her lashes.
“Yeah, you would, especially when you’re pissed at me. No telling amusing stories about me or bringing up personal stuff.”
“Like how you drink milk straight from the carton? Or how you wear your jeans until they’re basically walking before you wash them?”
He cringed. “Yeah, like that. And no bringing up past girlfriends with her, either. I’ll have to take you down if you do.”
She smiled. “You like her.”
“Yes, I do.” A frown tugged at his lips. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”
She reached over and tickled his side. “Aw, she’s your penguin.”
“My what?” He wiggled his way out of her grasp. “Cut that out.”
“Your penguin. You know, penguins. They mate for life. Penguins are one of the only animals on the planet that do that, like humans. It’s sweet. You’ve got yourself a little penguin, Uncle Mitch.”
“I didn’t say I was mating with her for life. Where the hell do you pick up this crap?”
“At school. School’s full of crap.”
“God, you’ve got a smart mouth. And no swearing in front of her, either.”
“Why not? You do it.”
“Yeah, I also get drunk and burp. Doesn’t mean I want you doing it.” He pulled to a stop in front of Simone’s big old Victorian house. “Try to play the nice, polite niece part for me, at least for tonight. I know it’s a stretch.”
She eased out of the car and eyed the house. “Three new album downloads for my ipod.”
Mitch squinted at her across the hood of his Land Rover.
“What?” Julia asked, looking shocked and surprised by his reaction. “I figure this is worth at least three. I’ll make you a list. You can get download them for me tomorrow when I’m off doing you yet
another
favor.”
“Blackmail doesn’t work with me.”
“Oh, it will,” she said with a grin and headed up the front steps.
Simone answered the door in bare feet, snug jeans, and a fitted T-shirt that accentuated her perky breasts. Damn, she was hot. He wasn’t in the market for a penguin, but he wanted at least one date with the curvy lawyer.
“Hi,” he said. “Sorry we’re late. The shrimp is Julia.”
Julia frowned up at him, then held out her hand. “Hi.
Simone shook her hand, her brows lifting as if she were impressed with Julia’s manners. Score one for the shrimp. “It’s nice to see you again, Julia. You probably don’t remember me, but you and your mom came to visit us a few times when we lived in Baltimore.”
Julia studied her face. “Um…no. I don’t remember. I must have been little.”
“You were. Why don’t you come on back to the kitchen.” Simone led them through the house. “Shannon’s helping me get dinner going.”
A long hallway cut the house in half, opening to the kitchen in the back and a large great room with windows that looked across a big yard.
Shannon stood at the counter, tossing a salad. Long hair the color of Simone’s fell down to her shoulder blades. She eyed Julia warily as they came into the room.
“Julia, Mitch,” Simone said. “This is my daughter, Shannon.”
“Hey,” Shannon mumbled.
Julia sent Mitch a wary gaze. Behind her back she held up four fingers.
No way he was buying her four albums. He elbowed her in the ribs and stepped around her into the kitchen. “Hi, Shannon. Your mom’s told me a lot about you.”