“Tyler is my son,” he said, releasing her. “I’ve already lost most of his childhood. I’m not willing to lose any more. I protect what’s mine.”
“Selectively,” she corrected, lowering her arm and walking to the door. “You’ll protect what’s yours selectively. Let’s not forget that.”
She walked out. The door slammed behind her.
Ethan stood in the foyer, his fists clenching and unclenching. Helplessness washed through him, which only infuriated him more.
Liz made him crazy—more than any other woman he knew. She had the ability to make him see the worst in himself—and to want to fix it. She was maddening and difficult and, he had to admit, maybe she was right.
An office door opened and Nevada stepped out into the main room. His sister, dressed in jeans and a work shirt, as always, her boots worn and practical, stared at him.
“You’re beyond stupid,” she said. “You know that, right?”
“I had to stop her from leaving.”
“I understand, but jeez, Ethan. There were a lot better ways to go about it. You should have at least warned her.”
“I was going to.”
“Famous last words.” She walked over to him. “I was younger than both you and Liz, but even I heard talk about her. People said ugly things about her mom and assumed they were true about her, too. She grew up with that, every single day.”
He didn’t want to hear this, didn’t want to know he might have gone too far. “She would have taken Tyler from me.”
“So you’d rather be right than win?” Nevada asked. “You’re smarter than that. There’s too much at stake here. You’ve just made Liz your enemy. Is that what you want?”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What happened to sitting down and talking?”
“Not something Liz and I can do.” The one evening they’d tried, they’d ended up making love in the kitchen. While he would enjoy repeating the experience, it didn’t accomplish anything. “This solves the problem.”
“If you believe that, you’re even more stupid than I thought. Do you get what Liz is going through? Being back in town can’t be easy. You know how people speak their minds. She’s at the receiving end of a lot of criticism. Liz doesn’t have anyone on her side. Okay— Montana likes her, but is one friend enough? You’re her son’s father. She should be able to trust you and she can’t. No wonder she wants to leave. You’re lucky she didn’t kick you in the balls first. I would have.”
“I love you, too, sis,” he said sarcastically.
She gave him that pitying look that always made him uncomfortable. “You don’t get it and because of that, you’re going to lose.”
“What don’t I get?”
“I know what Dad used to tell you. We all heard the lectures about what it meant to be a Hendrix. How we had to protect the family name. You got it more than all the rest of us put together. You’re the oldest. You would have done anything for him. You gave up your life to take over the family business when he died.” She touched his arm.
“Dad was wrong, Ethan. There are more important things than the family name and reputation. There are the people we love. There’s doing what your heart tells you is right.”
“I’m not in love with Liz.”
“No, but back then, you were supposed to be. Doing what’s right isn’t supposed to hurt someone you care about.”
* * *
LIZ SPENT THE MORNING WEEDING. The alternative was breaking every plate in the house, as a way to vent her temper. While the theory was great, she wasn’t sure it was especially smart, considering not only would she have to replace all the dishes, she would also be the one cleaning up the mess.
As she dug and hacked in the garden, she did her best to look at the situation from Ethan’s point of view. An attempt that still made her want to punch him really hard.
What she would agree on—not that she was going to tell him anytime soon—was that if she expected him to let the past go, she would have to do the same. Yes, he’d been horrible to her nearly twelve years before, but she’d been worse. She’d made a halfhearted attempt to tell him about her pregnancy, then had disappeared for six years. Not exactly a mature decision.
But an injunction?
By eleven she was hot and sweaty and ready to let go of her fury, if only to get into the cool house. She waited until the construction crew left for lunch, then showered quickly and worked until about three. Then she gathered the ingredients for cookies, cranked up the CD player and danced along to the Black Eyed Peas until the kids got home.
“Mo-om!” Tyler said when he walked into the kitchen with Melissa and Abby. He sounded both horrified and confused. “What are you doing?”
“Making cookies. I’ve already made some oatmeal raisin. Now I’m moving on to peanut butter.”
Tyler wrinkled his nose. “I meant the other part.”
“The dancing?” she asked with a laugh and turned the player up even louder. “It’s fun.”
She reached for Abby who took her hand and began to move her hips. Melissa surprised her by spinning around, then waving her arms in time with the music. Soon even Tyler joined in and they were all dancing around the kitchen.
Liz showed them how to form a conga line and they were weaving through the downstairs, bumping into the sofa and yelling the words to the song.
She broke free of the line and spun in a circle as the song ended. Abby and Tyler flopped onto the sofa, both giggling. But Melissa stood still, her face etched with sadness.
“What’s wrong?” Liz asked.
“My mom used to dance with me,” the teen said. “My real mom. Not Bettina.” She gave a smile that faded quickly. “I don’t remember very much about her.”
“You remember her in your heart,” Liz said. “That’s what’s important.”
“I guess.”
Abby stood and sighed. “I don’t remember her at all.”
Liz moved to her and touched her cheek. “That’s okay. I’m sure she understands and loves you very much.”
“From heaven?”
Liz nodded. Now wasn’t the time to get involved in a “life after death” discussion.
“You promise?”
“Yes,” Liz told her. “I promise. No matter what, your mom loves you.”
She wanted to look at Tyler, to see if he got the message as well, but kept her attention on Abby.
“Dad never wrote us,” Melissa pointed out.
Liz didn’t know what to say. Roy had promised he would. These were his daughters. Families could be complicated, she thought sadly.
“Does he still love us?” Abby asked.
“Yes.” Liz pulled her close, then held out her free arm to Melissa. “He does. Right now he’s dealing with a lot.” What had he said? That he was a busy man? She didn’t understand how he could ignore his children, but this wasn’t about him. It was about making the girls feel better.
“Can we go see him?” Melissa asked, then cleared her throat. “I want to go see him.”
“I’ll take you,” Liz said hesitantly. “But you have to be prepared. Your dad is in prison. It’s not like the movies. It’s a lot less clean and it’s a little intimidating.” There was also a smell, but some details were better left blurry. They would find out soon enough. “I’m not saying that to change your mind, but to warn you what it’s going to be like.”
“I want to see him,” Melissa repeated. “Abby, if you’re scared, you don’t have to come.”
“I want to see Dad, too,” she whispered.
Liz hugged them both. “Then we’ll go.”
She glanced at Tyler, who was watching her wide-eyed. Theirs had always been a quiet life, she thought. With routines and predictability. Sure, she’d pulled him out of school once or twice a year for a fun day in the city, but that had been a good kind of surprise. Not every unexpected event fell into that category.
Reality came in all shapes and sizes. In the end, he had two pare
nts who cared about him, even if they couldn’t care about each other. She would die for her child. While Ethan might not be there yet, he was determined to be a part of Tyler’s life, which was an excellent start.
As for her nieces, they would have to take things slow. Seeing Roy would make his prison sentence real. Whether or not it made leaving harder or easier, she couldn’t say. But however things turned out, they would find their way to becoming a family.
In the kitchen, the timer dinged.
“We have cookies,” she announced, releasing the girls. “I’m going to need some help sampling. Any volunteers?”
All three of them yelled out they were willing and together they walked into the kitchen.
* * *
ETHAN WANTED TO IGNORE his mother’s voice-mail request that he stop by on his way home that evening, but knew it wasn’t a good idea. Denise didn’t make many demands of her children, so when she asked for something, they mostly paid attention.
He had a feeling he knew the topic she would want to discuss. He would rather chew glass than talk about his relationship with Liz, but he didn’t see how he could avoid it. Sometimes having close relationships was a giant pain in the ass. If he and his mother were estranged, he could cheerfully ignore her. But they weren’t, and the affection between them demanded he be forthcoming.
He parked in front of the house and walked to the front door.
“It’s me,” he called.
“I’m in the kitchen.”
He moved to the rear of the house, then stepped into the bright, open kitchen. His mother stood at the counter, pouring sun tea into tall glasses filled with ice. She wore cropped pants and a pink T-shirt, was barefoot and had a country station playing on the radio.
Everything about this was familiar, he thought as he took his usual seat at the large table in the center of the room.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“Good. Great.” She approached him with the glass and set it in front of him. “I met someone. His name is Roger. He owns a shipping company. We’re going to Las Vegas together on Friday.”
He stared at her, the words sinking into his consciousness. “What?”
Her dark eyes were alive with excitement. “It’s wonderful. To think I could fall in love again, and at my age. The sex…well, I won’t get into that, but trust me. It rocks my world.”
He could have choked. As it was, he could barely speak. “You met a guy? Just like that and you’re running off?”
“Of course not,” she snapped and cuffed him on the back of his head. “That would be stupid and irresponsible. I’m a firm believer there should only be one idiot in the family at a time and right now that’s you.”
His mind reeled with the shift, as he struggled to figure out what she was saying. She collected her glass and sat across from him.
“There’s no Roger?” he asked, wanting confirmation.
“There’s no Roger. Just my son, who is doing his damnedest to screw up. You must get that from your father.”
The world seemed to steady itself. He drew in a breath. “You heard about the injunction.”
“Yes, and if I was closer, I’d hit you again. Talk about stupid. Are you trying to drive Liz away?”
He rubbed the back of his head, doing his best not to wince when he passed over the place where she’d hit him. “I thought you didn’t like her.”
“I’m ambivalent. I’m angry about the time we’ve lost with Tyler, but I can see her side of things. She didn’t have it easy when she was growing up. As the mother of three daughters, I ache for her. Where was her mother? Talk about a difficult situation. Which you’ve made worse. What were you thinking?”
“That I didn’t want her to run. She’s leaving. She told me flat out that she was fixing up the house, then going back to San Francisco. I couldn’t lose him again.”
Denise frowned. “I don’t understand. Why would Liz allow you to see Tyler, why would she be so cooperative, then threaten to take her son away?”
Ethan shifted in his seat. “She didn’t say she was taking him away, exactly. She said that we would work something out. Custody. Visitation. Whatever.”
His mother stared at him, disbelief widening her eyes. “You’re telling me that Liz was willing to come up with a plan, and you served her with an injunction? To what end?”
“What if she disappeared? I’d have no way to find her. No way to see Tyler.”
“Is there anything about her past behavior that would make you think even for a second that she would disappear? She’s been perfectly up-front with you. Okay, not the first few years, and I’m still angry and hurt about that. But we’ll put that aside for now.”
She picked up her iced tea, then set it down. “Since she’s been back, she’s been cooperative, hasn’t she? She really did try to tell you about Tyler five years ago. You have written proof of it. What more did you need?”
Control, he thought, knowing he couldn’t explain that to his mother. She wouldn’t understand and if she did, she wouldn’t approve.
“We’ll work it out,” he said instead.
“In front of a judge? That will be friendly and pleasant.” Denise shook her head. “I don’t get it. What did you hope to accomplish by acting like that? Getting her attention?”
His head snapped up. “I’m not looking for Liz’s attention.”
“Aren’t you?” She seemed to consider the idea. “You were in love with her once, weren’t you?”
“I was a kid. We both were.”
“I was nineteen when I met your father. Being young doesn’t make the love any less real.”
“Fine. I loved her.” He’d loved her but he’d been too much of a jerk to admit it. To stand up to the town and his friends. To admit his feelings out loud.
It wasn’t behavior he’d been proud of. Looking back, with the wisdom of hindsight, he knew he hadn’t been ready for Liz. Hadn’t deserved her.
He’d been blessed with a happy, normal childhood. He hadn’t realized that little had been asked of him, so he hadn’t had to prove himself. On the surface, he’d seemed like one of the good guys, but underneath, he’d been immature and selfish.
It had taken the accident that had ended his racing career to start the process of maturing him. But even that hadn’t been enough. Because he’d come home to sulk, to complain. It was only after the death of his father, when he’d been forced to take over the family business, that he’d finally started to grow up.
“I wasn’t ready,” he said slowly. “Not to be what Liz needed. If I’d known she was pregnant, I would have done the right thing and married her. But I don’t think we would have made it.”
“You might have surprised yourself.”
“You’re my mom. You have to believe the best of me.” Even when it wasn’t true.
She and Nevada were right, he thought. Serving Liz had accomplished nothing but alienating her. Maybe he had wanted to get her attention. If so, he’d picked a lousy way to do it.
“She needs someone on her side,” Denise told him. “You have your family and the town.”
“Not everyone in town,” he assured, remembering the old lady who’d gone after him with her purse.
“You’re still coming out ahead. If we’re not careful, Liz will feel overwhelmed and take off. Honestly, I’m not sure I would blame her for that.” His mother paused, then scrunched her face. “I could have been a lot more supportive and understanding. I should have been. I want to know my grandson, and Liz is the key to making that happen.”
He thought about pointing out that if push came to shove, they could go to court. Force Liz to let Tyler spend time with the family. But in the end, no one would win. Certainly not Tyler. And as Liz had pointed out several times, the kid was the most important part of the equation.
“I can’t take the injunction back,” he said, not completely sure he would if he could. Although he still wasn’t sure why. His mother was right—he was trying to prove something.
<
br /> “You may not be able to take it back, but I can make an effort, and I’m going to. Liz has been in this by herself for too long. I’m still angry about missing the first eleven years of Tyler’s life, but if I don’t let that go, my emotions will affect everything else. And not in a good way. Besides, Rayanne is to blame for the last five years. This is so complicated.” She looked at him. “I suppose you’re going to be an idiot for a while longer.”
“Apparently.”
She surprised him by smiling. “Sometimes you remind me so much of your father. He was an idiot, too.”
“And you still loved him.”
Her smile broadened. “Yes, but Liz might not be as smart as me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
LIZ HAD NEVER BEEN TO A CITY event-planning meeting before. When Pia had called to invite her, she thought the afternoon might be interesting. Her stay in Fool’s Gold was temporary but she might as well get a feel for the good as well as the bad. If nothing else, she may be able to put the experience in a book.
A little before two, she walked to the City Hall building and found her way to the meeting room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find herself in a good-size open space, with about three dozen chairs facing a long table and a podium. Most of the chairs were full, and three women chatted by the head table. Montana and Pia were among them and smiled at her.
Liz smiled back, then went to find an empty seat.
Her choices were limited. There was one next to a young mother with a baby. Liz didn’t recognize her, so they hadn’t gone to school together. Odds were the woman wouldn’t care about Liz or her past. There were several older women sitting together, but after the recent comments on her character by strangers, she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk the wrath of a potential mob.
Unable to find a place that felt safe, she settled for a seat in the back corner. With any luck, she would be ignored.
A woman in the row in front of her turned to face her. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Marti and I just love your books.”
“Thanks.”
“Your main character is wonderful. She feels so real. And thank God you’re not putting too much gore in your books. I know violence is part of the genre, but some authors go too far.”
Susan Mallery Fool's Gold Series Volume One: Chasing PerfectAlmost PerfectSister of the BrideFinding Perfect Page 42