Chapter Twenty-Two
Kat called out of work and dropped Mia off at Mrs. Bradshaw’s. When she returned to her house, Tyson’s truck was already gone.
Jeremy wanted to talk about Mia. He wanted to meet her. Then what? Would he want to meet her once and then leave again? Last she heard he was in Japan. Was he visiting?
Would Mia want to meet him? Of course she would. Mia got a kick out of meeting the grocery clerk at the market. Meeting her father would be—but what if he met her and then disappeared again?
Needing to know his intentions, she dialed his cell phone.
“Hello?” His voice sounded more confident than it did on the voice mail, more grown-up. But no familiar tug at her heart or any nostalgic affection came to life.
“Jeremy?”
“Yes.”
“This is Kat. Kat D’Angelo.”
“Kat! How are you?” He sounded relieved.
“I’m… good. I, um, got your message.”
“Yeah, I hope it was okay that I stopped at your parents’. I didn’t know if they still lived there. I went to your old apartment first, but some lady lives there now. It was the only way I knew to reach you.”
“No, it’s fine. I thought you were in Japan.”
“I was in Japan, but then I went to Iraq, and then to Texas. I’m done now. Honorable Discharge. I didn’t really have anywhere to go and I still own the deed to my dad’s property, but there isn’t much of a house left. I figured I’d come back home and see if the land was worth salvaging. I’m meeting with his lawyer today.”
“Oh,” she answered lamely, trying to process everything.
“Are you free today?”
“Yes.” And they needed to come to an understanding before any more people got involved—especially little people. “I took off work after I got your message.”
“Can we meet? I’d love to see Mia.”
“Jeremy, I think we should talk before Mia learns that you’re here.”
“Oh, right,” he sounded disappointed. “Okay, well, when do you want to meet? I’m heading back to the hotel now, but if you give me your address I can put it in my GPS and come to you.”
“No.” She wasn’t ready for him to know where they lived. “Why don’t I come to you at the hotel? Is there a place we can talk?”
“Yeah. There’s a restaurant off the lobby that’s usually empty during the day.”
She needed to get this over with, because the unknown was making her nauseous. “Okay, how’s ten o’clock?”
“Great. I’ll see you then. And Kat, thanks for agreeing to meet with me.”
“Sure.” She hung up and collapsed on her bed, letting out a long groan.
She arrived at the hotel ten minutes early, with some recent pictures of Mia in her bag. As she entered the lobby a woman at the front desk directed her to the restaurant. Service staff seemed to be breaking stations down after a breakfast rush. A man drank a cup of coffee at a table in the back and a bus boy pushed a sweeper. She looked around, but didn’t see Jeremy, so she took a seat in the corner and waited.
Tense and fidgety, her teeth dug a hole in her as her knee bounced incessantly. Nothing was calming her nerves.
“Can I get you a coffee, Miss?” a waitress offered.
“Oh, no thank you. I’m waiting for someone.”
“I’ll come back then.”
The man having coffee stood and she checked her watch. She grew self-conscious and averted her eyes as he slowed by her table. “Kat?”
Her gaze jerked in the man’s direction, seeing something familiar in his green eyes, something—it’s him. Her empty belly swished and she swallowed hard.
“Jeremy?” She wheezed, shaking her head. “I barely recognized you—I mean—I didn’t.”
This wasn’t the Jeremy she knew in high school. This was Jeremy the adult. Unlike the thin, baby-faced boy who’d kissed her in the back of his father’s Bronco, this man was broad and solid. Creases engraved by life experiences surrounded his eyes. His posture was confident, like that of a military man. His hair was shorn and his eyes were still as green as fresh cut grass, more vibrant than ever against his tanned skin.
He smiled. “You look great. May I sit down?”
“Please,” Kat said, unable to absorb that this was the same boy she’d met in high school. “The waitress just came by, but I’m sure—”
He slid into the chair, derailing her thoughts. She had this man’s child, yet he seemed a total stranger—was a stranger.
“I’m fine for now. Did you want something?”
Shaking her head, she whispered, “No, thank you.” Lowering her gaze, so not to stare, she studied the table as they sat quietly for a few minutes.
“I guess this is a little awkward,” Jeremy commented, breaking the silence. “I’m sorry to show up like this. When I was in Japan I thought about you and Mia all the time. I wanted to look you up when I came home for my dad’s funeral, but I only had a couple days leave. Then I went to Iraq and I regretted not contacting you. I should’ve kept in touch.”
How would Mia have responded to that? And what if he’d been in injured at war? It didn’t matter anyway. There was no changing the past. “You didn’t want that,” she reminded him.
“I was a child.”
His age was never going to be a valid excuse for her. “Yes,” she agreed with a touch of accusation. “So was I.”
“I’ve regretted not knowing my daughter more than anything else in my life, Kat.”
The way he called her my daughter hit so many nerves it seemed to chafe her skin.
“It was wrong of me to abandon you two, but I had no way to support you. My dad was an alcoholic on disability. I wouldn’t have been able to land a decent job without joining the military. I needed that. I needed to become a man. I tried to look you up online once I started making some money. I wanted to send you support, but I didn’t know how to reach you, and I didn’t know if you were still in contact with your folks.”
He took a deep breath. “I know that doesn’t fix my being absent, but I wanted you to know that I thought of you often.”
It took several minutes to organize her thoughts. She couldn’t see past his blurred sense of entitlement. Yes, he’d gone and made a career for himself, likely earned a decent degree too. That put him ahead of her in some way and she couldn’t shake the sense that everything she existed for was suddenly being threatened.
“She is my daughter,” she fiercely whispered. “I raised her when I had nothing. I didn’t have the option of running away to establish myself. She needed a parent the day she was born and I was that parent. I held her and loved her and fed her when her own father couldn’t even bring himself to touch her.”
Her throat constricted as her vision blurred. Blinking away her tears, having wasted enough on him years past, she grit her teeth and continued. “I was a child raising a child. I became a mother before I even learned how to be a woman. While you were off learning how to be a man, I was on my own using food stamps and government vouchers struggling to finish my GED. While you were thinking about Mia, I was watching her, teaching her to walk, how to say Momma, because that was all she would ever know. You chose to walk away and I’m sorry if it isn’t right, but I reserve the right to choose whether you walk back into our lives or not. She is mine.”
Words spilled from her mouth unearthing resentments she’d buried long ago. The thought of losing Mia—even by small degrees—was unbearable. Without Mia, what purpose would she have in this life?
“Kat, I’m so sorry. I know it must have been impossibly hard to raise her on your own. I can never thank you enough for keeping her safe. I’m not asking for custody—”
Her gaze snapped to his at the mention of custody. “She’s not an object and I’m not a safety deposit box,” she hissed. “I kept her safe, because I love her and she needed me. I loved her when no one else did and that’s why I protected her. Not for you, but for her, for me. And as far as custody, she will never live outside of my home until she’s married and having children. Never.”
Hands held out in a sign of surrender, he shook his head. “I didn’t mean that I wanted to take her from you.” His hand rubbed roughly over his face. “This is coming out all wrong. Let me start over. All I’m asking is to see her. I don’t even know what she looks like. She doesn’t even have to know I’m her father at first if that makes it easier. All I’m asking of you right now is to let me be a part of her world, even if it’s as an outsider looking in. I have money, Kat. I’ve put away money for you guys for years. I know I can’t undo the past, but let me at least make up for it in the ways that I can. I have a check.” He reached into his pocket and slid a slip of paper across the table. “If it isn’t enough, I can get more.”
She stared down at the folded check, afraid to lay a hand on it.
“If I agree to let you see her, even if she doesn’t know who you are, everything will be by my rules. Everything. You can’t speak to her without my permission. I will not have her getting hurt if this is some whim and you suddenly change your mind.”
He nodded. “Your rules.” He nudged the check forward. “Please take this.”
Unsteadily breathing, her hand hesitantly reached forward as she unfolded the check. Her fingers released it as if it burned her skin. It was made out to Katherine and Mia D’Angelo in the sum of twenty thousand dollars. That was more than she made in a year. Eyes wide, she gaped at him in shock.
“I know it doesn’t fix things—”
“It’s…” Her vocal cords locked up, trapping her words. Dropping her eyes to the table, the blue penned scrawl ate up her gaze. Swallowing, she shook her head.
This would mean being able to finally pay Mrs. Bradshaw a decent amount for watching Mia. It would mean not having to wash dishes in cold water or worrying that she was in the shower for more than five minutes. It meant finally being able to afford an air conditioner, or name brand cereal, or ballet classes for Mia.
A child was the responsibility of the parents, meaning both the mother and father. This sort of provision was due to her daughter. It wasn’t an extravagant gift. It was everything he should have been paying from the start. There were no words for such unexpected support, support from the one person who should have been offering assistance all along.
She managed the only words she could. “Thank you.”
“Please don’t cry,” he said, moving his seat closer to the table. Reaching to comfort her, he hesitated and dropped his hand before making contact.
Searching her purse, she fumbled around for a tissue. “I’m sorry. I have pictures,” she rasped, digging further into her bag. She slipped a few onto the table.
Hand trembling, he slowly lifted the photos. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered.
Their eyes met, both shot with pink and glazed with tears. She let out a watery laugh. He’d never know how much she’d needed that check, because her pride wouldn’t allow all her sacrifices to be told. But the fact that he’d made such an offer alleviated a great deal of her worries, worries she’d carried for almost four years on her own.
There was a marked improvement in her perception of his character, an undeniable forgiveness wavering inside of her. It was the first fatherly thing she’d ever seen him do. And that made her happy—happy for Mia.
Once their emotions were under control, Kat let down her guard. She told Jeremy Mia was learning her letters and obsessed with Cinderella. She explained about Gorrum and warned him never to use pepper when he’s around, because, according to Mia, Gorrum is ‘highly ‘lergic’.
Jeremy told her about Japan and his time in Iraq. He didn’t go into detail about the war, but explained why he was home. He’d spent time at a clinic in Texas that specialized in rehabilitating war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. He’d lost a good friend and shattered his kneecap during his last tour, but walked away with more than some superficial wounds. Realizing he could have died without ever knowing his only child seemed to change his position on a lot of things.
She wasn’t sure how she wanted to proceed with Jeremy, but she was glad he was alive. How they proceeded would be by her rules. However, her rules only could protect Mia for another fifteen years. Once she was an adult, it would be her choice to find her father and Kat would have no choice but to support her decision.
By the time she left the hotel she was more than fifty percent sure she was going to let Jeremy see Mia. It was wrong for her to let her own insecurities get in the way of her daughter knowing—and possibly having a relationship with—her father.
He was considering building a home on his father’s land in Parkside. That would make him a permanent part of their lives. She had a lot to consider.
On the way home she stopped at the bank and opened a savings account with Jeremy’s check. She never had enough money to need a savings account before. There were no qualms about taking that money. Her ignorance and pride never allowed her to file for the child support she was entitled, but Mia deserved every penny.
Jeremy mentioned setting up a payment plan for additional support once they established a foundation. It was surreal, and too intimidating to depend on just yet.
As she unlocked the door that evening the phone was ringing. Tossing her stuff on a kitchen chair, she raced inside to grab it.
“Hello?” she answered, out of breath.
“Where were you?”
Jolted by his impatient tone, she frowned. “Tyson?”
“Yeah. How come you weren’t at work today?”
“How did you know I wasn’t at work?”
“Because I stopped by to bring you flowers on my lunch break. Dr. Stevens said you called out so I swung by the house. Then I went to Mrs. Bradshaw’s and she said she assumed you were at the office.”
“You brought flowers to my work?” Sad she missed such a surprise, she softened.
“Yeah. Kat, where were you?” He sounded frustrated and worried.
She looked down at Mia playing at her feet. “I had to take care of some stuff.” She couldn’t mention Jeremy in front of her and this wasn’t a conversation to be had over the phone with Tyson.
“What kind of stuff? What’s going on, Kat? I thought you were in a ditch somewhere. I swear to God, tomorrow I’m getting you a cell phone.”
Ooh, cell phone! Definitely picking up one of them!
Regretting that she’d inadvertently made him worry, she tried to explain. “Ty, I can’t go into it right now. I had a crazy day. A lot happened. I’m taking Mia out to dinner. Can you come over after eight and we’ll talk?”
“You’re taking Mia out to dinner?”
He was probably thinking how absurd that sounded being that she budgeted out her weeks down to the penny. But the truth was, she still hadn’t gone grocery shopping and she felt like celebrating.
“Yeah, it’s a long story.”
“Is anyone else going with you?”
“What? No, just us. Hey, what’s a nice place?”
“A nice place?” His words were slow, tinged with confusion.
“Never mind, I’ll go to that place in New Castle that just opened. Can you come over tonight?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight. Love ya.”
“I love you too,” he said, almost as if he were phrasing a question.
She understood he was confused and going to be as shocked as she was to hear Jeremy was back, but she’d explain everything tonight. For now, it was time to treat her daughter.
“Who was that, Momma?”
She tossed the phone on the counter. “Don’t worry about it.” Clasping her hands together, she grinned. “How about we go eat at a big fancy restaurant?”
“Yeah?” Her eyes lit at the novelty of such a treat.
“Yeah! Go wash your hands. Mommy’s going to change then I’ll get you dressed and we’ll go.”
“Okay!” she trilled as she dashed to the bathroom.
Tyson stared at the phone. What the hell was going on? Did she win the lottery? The person he’d just talked to was not his kitten.
He paced his living room. Nothing about the way she was acting was making sense. Kat didn’t go out to eat. She bought government cheese and discount bread for Christ’s sake.
He went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and dropped into a chair. Trixie came to his side, dripping drool over his arm as she presented him with a half deflated ball. He took the slimy thing and hurled it across the room.
The dog took off after it. At least he could please one girl in his life.
Last night when he had gone to Kat’s she was beyond upset. She hadn’t returned any of his calls and he was terrified she might break up with him before giving him a chance to make things right.
The moment she’d opened the door he’d realized he hadn’t given her enough time. Her eyes were vacant. Her fingers visibly trembled. Seeing her so distant and distraught made the threat of losing her all the more real. He wanted her to talk to him, yell at him if she needed to.
No matter how secure he was in his life, losing Kat would cut him down. It was absolutely imperative that he fixed things between them, which he had all intentions of doing until she disappeared. After hours of searching for her, his mind spiraled into a full-blown panic. But when he finally got ahold of her, his concern switched to anger.
For as upset as she was the night before, she seemed perfectly fine today. Then she announces she’s going to dinner. Dinner! The woman refused to even order pizza! She was beyond frugal.
Too much had happened. Events began to blur as he played them back in his mind and obsessed over every detail. Was this about Dawson? Everything was suddenly suspicious—the missed calls, the disappearing act, her cryptic explanations, and now dinner.
Something was up and he needed to know what. Having not slept more than a few hours in the past three days, his nerves were shot. Maybe it was time he stopped being so damn understanding and start demanding she deal with this like an adult and confront whatever the hell she was avoiding—mainly, him.
On their way to the restaurant Kat passed a cellular phone store and purchased her first smart phone. At the restaurant, she let Mia order whatever she wanted. She started with dessert and so Kat did the same. After dessert Kat ordered the almond crusted tilapia and Mia had mashed potatoes and ravioli. The waiter thought they were nuts, but all was forgiven when she left him a generous tip.
On the way home they spontaneously stopped at Wal-Mart. Kat bought Mia some new DVDs, some much needed clothes, and a new doll. She also picked up some staples like milk and toilet paper—the expensive fluffy kind!
When they pulled up at the cottage, Tyson was sitting on her porch, expression blank, but definitely not happy. He would be, once he understood what was going on.
As Mia climbed out of the car she crowed, “Tyson! Look at my new doll!”
Kat reached into the backseat and pulled the other bags.
He suspiciously eyed her packages. “Go shopping?”
“Yeah. Sorry we’re late. Let me get Mia to bed then we can talk. I think there’s some red wine left from the other night. Why don’t you get us each a glass?” Dumping her items on the counter, she wrangled Mia toward her bedroom.
When she returned to the kitchen Tyson was standing at the counter holding the box that contained her new cell phone and frowning. There were two glasses of wine on the counter.
“Sorry,” she said, picking up her wine and taking a sip. “Ooh, that’s good. Do you want to sit outside?”
“You bought a cell phone?” His brow crinkled with disbelief.
“I know, isn’t it great? Here—” She picked up her purse and pulled out a receipt. “This is my number. Type it in your phone.”
He didn’t move.
“Don’t you want my number?”
“Kat, what the hell’s going on? You take off all day on Sunday and when I come by to talk to you, you can’t even look at me. You call out of work today and won’t tell me where you’ve been. Then you act all secretive and won’t tell me anything. You go out to dinner—to a nice restaurant—buy a cell phone, and go on a shopping spree? And now you’re acting like everything’s normal.”
“It was hardly a shopping spree,” she mumbled.
“It is for you!” he snapped. “You won’t even buy cupcakes!”
“Shh, you’re going to wake up Mia.”
“Tell me what’s going on,” he demanded, expression hard.
Realizing she should probably take it down a notch, she carried her wine out front. On the rocking chair sat a wilted bouquet of lilies and her good mood faltered. She was a jerk.
Lifting the flowers, she eyed him apologetically. “Ty, I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“How about explaining what you’ve been doing since yesterday morning.”
Sitting down, she took a deep breath and explained everything. She told him that yesterday she didn’t want to think about her parents and the fiasco at the party. She admitted to having mixed emotions about his confrontation with Dawson. She told him how disappointed Mia was when Vivian didn’t show up for their outing.
As she spoke the tension in his expression seemed to ease. “Do you ever just feel too wiped to deal? That’s how I felt, Ty. I simply didn’t have the energy.”
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. Time to tell all. “When I finally got home Sunday there were several messages on my voicemail. I was so happy to hear yours and had all intentions of calling you back, but there were two others.”
“Did your mom call?”
“Yeah, but that’s not the one that threw me for a loop. The last message was from Jeremy.”
His head shot up. “Mia’s father?”
She nodded and swallowed. “I know. He was the last person I ever expected to call. He’s back.”
He didn’t move and she wasn’t even sure he was breathing.
“Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat, gaze focused on the ground. “Keep going. What happened today?”
“I called out of work so I could meet with him.”
His body tensed, but he didn’t say a word so she went on.
“He looks totally different—grown up. When we first started talking, I was furious. I hadn’t expected to react like that. I was scared. He has a degree and is financially stable and suddenly talking about custody.”
“Fuck that. Mia’s yours.”
She swallowed. “That’s what I told him.”
“Good.”
“He’s never done anything that showed me he was truly interested in being an active parent. It’s really hard to trust the one person who let me down more than anyone else. As much as my parents abandoned me when I could have used their support, it was Jeremy’s responsibility. There’s so much resentment I buried over the years for Mia’s sake.”
She let out an unsteady breath. “But today he fixed a bit of that broken trust. He’s been putting away money, money for Mia, money to help me support her. He gave me a check.”
“That’s a start,” he commented, not seeming overly impressed.
“Tyson, it was for twenty thousand dollars.” She still couldn’t believe she had that kind of money. “Isn’t that unbelievable?”
He continued to stare, a million different emotions racing across his face. “Did you take the check?”
“Of course I took the check! He’s Mia’s father. I never asked for anything from him as far as financial support. If he is willing to pay for things that we’ve always gone without, then I’m willing to accept.”
“But you wouldn’t take an air conditioner from me in the middle of a heat wave?”
She frowned. “That’s different. That would’ve been like charity. Mia is entitled to this money.”
“Because he’s her father?”
“Yes.” Why wasn’t he happier for her? “Tyson, you have to understand how hard it’s been for us, how many things I’ve gone without to make sure Mia had everything she needed. You have no idea what it was like when she was a year old and had the flu and I couldn’t afford her antibiotics. This money will change all that.”
Easing back, but not looking at her, he said, “I understand that a boy got a girl pregnant, shrugged off all his responsibilities and left all the weight on her shoulders. I also understand that, because of a five minute act of stupidity, that boy, who is now a man, is entitled to a piece of Mia that no other man can claim. What I can’t seem to stomach is hearing you call him her father.” Face tight, he finally turned to her. “He was a sperm donor up until today. Being a father is more than some genetic link. It’s in deed, in seeing and being a part of her day-to-day life. He doesn’t even know her.”
“Why are you so angry?”
“Where the hell has he been all her life, Kat?” he fiercely asked. “Where was he while you were in labor? On her first birthday? When she took her first step?”
Not expecting to have to defend herself for accepting child support from her daughter’s father, she scoffed. “I know he wasn’t there and he knows it too. What I don’t know is why you are taking all of this so personally. It’s not like any of this makes your life more difficult!”
“What’s going to happen now, Kat? Are you guys going to be this big, happy family?”
“No! I don’t even know him, Tyson. He’s a stranger to me. I haven’t even decided what I’m going to do yet. Why are you being like this?”
He stood and squatted in front of her. Taking both of her hands in his, he met her gaze, eyes pleading. “Where does this leave me, Kat? I love you and I love Mia. I can’t compete with her father. Not when you’re willing to take from him what you won’t let me provide for you. You two have this past that I know nothing about. You only talk about your history with him in terms of him leaving. Does his presence change things between us? What do you feel for this guy? I love you, but the last thing I want to do is stand in the way of a family being together. I can’t do that to Mia. But I don’t want to walk away. I’m not even sure I have the strength to. If this is going to be some sort of reconciliation for you three, I deserve to know.”
“Tyson…” She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead to his. God. Any remaining anger from the other night washed away. He was a mess and it was all her fault. He really, truly loved her. “I love you.”
His arms pulled her close and hugged her tight. “I don’t want to lose you, Kat.”
“I don’t want to lose you either. Jeremy might’ve been there when I lost my virginity, but you were there the first time I made love. You were the first person I ever let into my heart. The first person to ever love me back without conditions. There is absolutely no comparison between the two of you. You have nothing to fear.”
The following Saturday, Kat made arrangements to take Mia to the park by their house. Jeremy planned to arrive twenty minutes before them. He gave her his word that he would not approach Mia yet, since she was still figuring out how to broach the subject with their daughter. Tyson wanted to come with them, but she asked him to let them go alone and promised him a full report when they returned.
As soon as they arrived at the playground Mia ran out of her arms and onto the jungle gym. She spotted Jeremy sitting on a nearby bench, but he didn’t spare her a glance. His eyes were rapt on Mia.
As she slid down the slide and squealed with delight, his face lit. She pushed Mia on the swings, played on the seesaw animal and Jeremy never took his gaze off her. Mia climbed across the wooden bridge and yelled, “Hi, Momma! Look how big I am!”
She moved around between the different equipment faster than a pinball ricochets. As she climbed the ladder to the slide she lost her footing and fell. Jeremy stood and instinctively took a step forward, but stilled when Kat met his gaze.
Children fell a lot. Sometimes falls were bad and sometimes they were only scary. Kat scooped Mia into her arms as she began to cry. The physical restraint it took for Jeremy to respect her wishes and not approach was evident.
Kat brushed off her legs and walked her to a bench. She could never predict how Mia would react to things like this. Sometimes she would pick herself up and move on as if nothing happened and other times she would milk it for days. The scrape was red, but not bleeding, however this appeared to be one of those times where Mia needed to be comforted.
As she kissed her knee and rocked her in her lap, Mia clung to her. “I wanna go home,” she cried.
Kat nodded to Jeremy, letting him know she was okay, and he slowly sat down. When she stood, still holding Mia, and grabbed her purse his eyes widened with concern.
She gave him an apologetic look and casually waved goodbye behind Mia’s back. The look on his face pinched her heart. It was as if she were taking something magical away from him. And in all reality, she was.
Later that day, she told Tyson about the playground as they sat in his backyard while Mia played with Trixie.
“So what do you think you’ll do?” he whispered.
“I don’t know. I need to be in control, but at the same time, I feel horrible denying him.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Ty, if you could have seen how happy he was watching her and how sad he was when I took her away…”
“She’s a great kid.”
They sat in silence observing Mia. He held Kat’s hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth. It was a subtle show of support and affection. They’d gotten more lax about showing affection in front of Mia.
“I miss you,” he said in a low voice.
“I missed you too.” She gave his hand a little squeeze.
“Is your mother taking Mia tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her since the party.”
“That’s my fault,” he said apologetically then laughed. “I guess I deserve being punished by not getting any alone time with you.”
She smirked. She hadn’t been avoiding him to punish him. “What would you have done if Dawson hit you?” she asked, a little curious at how far he would’ve taken the fight to defend her honor. It was a little sexy.
“I would’ve buried him in the cement foundation of the house I’m building.”
She laughed and they settled into comfortable silence. Kat hadn’t spoken to her mother since the party. Mia, from what she could tell, wasn’t aware anything was wrong. But that would only last so long. Eventually her daughter would start asking where Grandmom was. Plus, she missed her Sundays alone with Tyson.
“I guess I should call my mother.”
“Don’t call her if it’s going to upset you. We can find other ways spend time alone. I never mind Mia being around.”
He didn’t mind Mia being around. Despite her sexual frustration, they still enjoyed each other’s company in her daughter’s presence. If she could just make amends with Vivian, they could have their Sundays back.
The longer she thought about Vivian the more her brain hurt. She decided to change the subject. “How did your meeting go?”
He let the topic change. “Good. I’m glad this job’s almost over. I have to work out some final details then I’m going to have to fly to Washington to do the final inspection with the client. Wanna come?”
“You know I can’t do that. When do you have to go?”
“Probably later next week.”
She sighed. More time apart.
Later that evening, Tyson distracted Mia with Beauty and the Beast so Kat could call her mother. She took the phone into her room and shut the door.
Vivian jumped right into her role as the wounded martyr. “I don’t understand how a guest in our home could behave in such a way. I was mortified. He showed absolutely no concern for the sensibilities of our company. Honestly, Katherine, what would possess you to invite such a man? It was barbaric—although I can’t say I am surprised.”
And there was the root of it.
“A man who loses control like that is someone to worry about. Who’s to say where his brutality ends? I hope you’re not exposing Mia to his lack of morals.”
Her head began to pound. “I’m not calling to discuss Tyson, Mother. But I will say this. Tyson’s a wonderful man. He’s kind and caring and wonderful with Mia.”
Vivian scoffed. “I shouldn’t be surprised you—”
“He’s a good friend,” she interrupted, not wanting to give her mother the chance to say anything more unforgivable than she already had. “I care about him very much—”
“Oh, I do not have to listen to this—”
“No, you don’t, but I need to say it. Dawson Price is an arrogant jerk who’s bitter because I wouldn’t allow him into my bed. He disrespected me—and while you may not take offense when I’m mistreated—Tyson does. He was defending me. I’ll apologize for him offending your guests’ ‘delicate sensibilities’, but I won’t apologize for my feelings for him—”
“Feelings?” Her mother nearly barked. “Dear God, Katherine! Tell me you are not romantically involved with this man.”
“I’m in love with him.” The line grew so quiet she thought her mother hung up until she vaguely heard Vivian ask under her breath what she ever did to deserve a daughter like her. “I’m an adult and for the first time in my life I’m happy.”
“You may be an adult in age, but I have yet to see you make one responsible decision in your adult life, young lady,” she venomously argued.
“How can you say that?” Kat shouted too offended to pretend indifference.
“Don’t you shout at me, young lady!”
“Or what?” she snapped, no longer carefully choosing her words. “Add it to the list of ways I disappoint you! Go ahead! I can’t stand it anymore! No matter what I do, it’s never enough! I can’t believe I even care anymore. Nothing I do will ever be good enough for you!”
“You have no idea what it’s been like for us, constantly having to cover up your mistakes—”
Gasping, as emotion suddenly choked her, she turned and stilled. Tyson stood in the doorway, his eyes sympathetic and resigned. She looked at him and in a broken voice whispered, “I’ll never be enough.”
He walked toward her and pulled her into his arms as she started to cry. He removed the phone from her numb fingers and ended the call. “Shh…” he whispered, pressing his lips into her hair. “I’ve got you.”