“You want to talk about it?” Katie asked when the silence had gone on long enough.
He shrugged his little shoulders and kept his head down. She sighed but waited for him to set the pace of their conversation.
“I’m forgetting my mom,” he said quietly. “I see her in pictures and in the videos we have at home, but she doesn’t seem like my mom anymore.”
Katie forced herself to talk when all she wanted to do was give him a hug. It wasn’t often Tony spoke about his mother, and she didn’t want to do anything to deter him from opening up. “Have you talked to your dad?”
“Once, but he doesn’t like to talk about her.”
“Just because you have a hard time remembering her doesn’t mean she didn’t love you very much. It’s okay to forget. You were little when she died, so it’s not surprising that your memories are fading.”
“I know. I just want a mom like you,” Tony said. “It would be cool to have Shawn as a brother, but what I really want is for you to be my mom.”
She was so taken aback by his honesty that it took everything she had to keep her legs moving down the beach. Katie loved him almost as much as she did Shawn, and it killed her to hear him wish for something that would never happen. His hand slipped into hers, and she stopped, sinking to her knees in front of him and pulling him into a hug.
“Anthony, I care about you like my own child, and even though I can’t be your mother, I want you to know that I love you and I’m here for you any time you need me.”
She felt the tears prickle behind her eyes and hoped she could keep them at bay. Tony’s arms tightened around her neck, and she heard a soft sob.
“I love you, Katie. I want us all to be a family.” Tears trailed down his cheeks, and his lip quivered while he continued to pour out his heart. “Dad’s not happy. He spends all his time with me and Liz, but he doesn’t smile like he did when you were there. I don’t think I’ve heard him laugh one time since he told us you aren’t his girlfriend anymore. I miss my happy dad.”
The anguish in his voice pulled the tears she fought from her eyes. She had known the breakup was going to be hard on both her and Chase, but she hated hearing that Tony was being affected by their decisions. Katie couldn’t imagine Chase not laughing. The thought left her feeling guilty for the choice she had forced on him—even if it had been the right one.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Katie murmured, not knowing what else she could do to make things better. She sank down onto the beach and pulled Tony into her lap. They sat there until Buddy ran back to them with Shawn following closely behind, flushed and excited from their run. He plopped down and reached over to rub Tony’s back, looking up at Katie with sad eyes. She wondered if he knew why Tony was unhappy. He didn’t voice his concern, instead continuing to soothe his friend until Tony’s tears stopped.
Finally, they all stood up and made their way back to the car. Chase would be at the house soon to pick up Tony, and she needed to run interference with Victor. When they pulled up, she let out a sigh of relief that Chase hadn’t arrived while she was gone. Victor was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the television when they entered.
“Why don’t you have cable?” he asked with a grumble, and Katie felt annoyance build up again. Both boys had run into Shawn’s room before she turned to answer Victor’s question.
“Let’s see. How about you tack on another fifty bucks to the child support, and I’ll get cable hooked up.”
“I’m sorry, Katie. I didn’t mean anything by that comment. You take everything I say the wrong way. Can’t we go back and have the fun like we did before we got married?” He smiled his charming smile.
Katie told herself that it would be better if they didn’t fight for the next twelve hours. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so snarky.”
“S’okay.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch, but she shook her head.
“I need to pack Shawn’s suitcase.”
Victor huffed but continued his perusal of the local television channels.
Katie found the boys looking in Shawn’s reptile cage.
“Mom, if Coach says it’s okay, Tony’s gonna take my animals home.”
She did a silent happy dance that she didn’t have to keep Shawn’s pets alive while he was gone. “That sounds like a great idea.”
While Shawn told Tony everything he needed to do to take care of his assortment of critters, Katie grabbed the suitcase from the top of the closet and started packing. Soon, there was a knock at the front door, which made her drop the clothes she held and dart for the door before Victor could get to it.
When she reached the living room, Victor stood up, and she pointed back to the couch. Shrugging, he resumed his seat. Katie opened the door.
“Chase.” Her voice was breathless and a little nervous, sounding foreign to her ears.
He cocked his brow at her in question. “Are you okay?”
She looked over her shoulder at Victor, and he smirked. Katie knew he wouldn’t make this easy, and she vowed she would make him pay if he was rude to Chase. Glaring at him for a second time, she turned back to Chase with an apologetic smile.
Before she could open her mouth, Victor made his presence known. “Katie, aren’t you going to invite in your friend?”
She looked wide-eyed at Chase, whose face turned hard. Katie remembered the morning Victor had pushed Chase’s buttons on the phone, and she groaned internally.
Opening the door wider, she stepped aside so Chase could enter. Victor had a smug smile on his face when he looked from Chase and back to Katie.
“Chase, this is Victor. Victor, Chase.”
Victor stood and walked to Chase with his hand out. For a moment, Katie thought Chase wasn’t going to take it, but then he reached out and grasped it with a firm grip. Victor’s hand white knuckled while he grasped Chase’s in an obvious death grip. Their macho display of superiority ticked her off.
They released each other, and Victor flexed his fingers before making his way back to the couch. Chase turned to Katie, and his eyes softened. “Is Tony ready to go?”
It was obvious he wanted to get his son and leave. Knowing he didn’t want to be there hurt, but she nodded and called to the boys. Katie didn’t want to leave Chase and Victor alone since the room was heavy with tension.
Shawn and Tony came tearing out of his room bearing the reptile cage.
“Looks like you’re babysitting while Shawn’s in New Mexico,” she said with a small grimace when she saw the snake—which wasn’t supposed to be in the house.
Chase chuckled, and Katie caught herself smiling at the sound. “You’re the most squeamish marine scientist I’ve ever met.”
Katie gave him a small shove, and he grabbed her waist to steady himself. “I don’t like snakes. Frogs and lizards I can handle, even though I prefer them in the wild and not my house.”
His fingers lingered on her waist before he gave her a small squeeze and released her. Katie felt the instant loss of the warmth of his hands and gave a defeated sigh. It was hard to be around him and not want things to be like they had been. As soon as Shawn was gone, Chase and Tony wouldn’t have a reason to come around.
“Coach? Didja meet my dad?”
Katie had to give Chase credit for swallowing his hostility when he smiled at Shawn and ruffled his hair. “Sure did. You have fun in New Mexico, and we’ll see you when you get back.”
“So, Chase, what do you do for a living?”
Chase bristled when Victor addressed him, but then a self-satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“I’m a surgeon.”
Katie rolled her eyes, wondering if this would turn into a mine’s-bigger-than-yours contest. Victor nodded his head in appreciation, and she hoped maybe they could be civil to one another.
“What is it you do?” Chase asked.
Katie looked at Shawn and Tony, who were listening to the conversation with rapt attention.
“I’m a
building contractor.”
Katie wanted to slap the look of superiority off Chase’s face. Even though he didn’t say anything, she could tell he felt like he had one-upped Victor. Chase had never given her any indication he thought he was better than anyone else, so she tried to remember this was nothing more than an ego-driven battle of supremacy.
“So would you like to join us for dinner?” Victor asked. “We’re going to Katie’s favorite restaurant.”
Katie wanted to say no, but she held back. She didn’t think she could handle hours of this tension, and there was no guarantee Victor would behave. After watching Chase’s reaction to her ex-husband, she wasn’t so sure he would behave either.
“You’re going to Francesco’s?”
“No, actually I thought we’d go to the restaurant at Lovers Point.”
“Oh, I thought Katie’s favorite restaurant was Francesco’s.” Chase feigned ignorance, but she knew better. “I suppose that’s a nice place to eat, but it’s where all the tourists go. With so many restaurants on the peninsula, I suppose it would be hard to find the best restaurants if you aren’t from the area.”
Katie glared at Chase while he dug his hole deeper. When he turned his attention back to Katie, one look at her expression must have told him he had screwed up. The pretentious smile slid off his face.
Katie caught her ex-husband’s arrogant smirk, and she growled, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m changing for dinner. When you two are finished with your macho crap, let me know.”
She stormed from the room, leaving them to their own devices.
~*~
After Katie stormed out of the room, Chase looked over at Victor, who was lounging on her couch as if he belonged there. Every muscle in Chase’s body wanted to yank him out of his seat and shove him out the door. He didn’t want to leave her with him for ten seconds, let alone overnight.
When he told Tony to go get in the car, his son gave Shawn a one-armed hug before he darted out the front door, taking the reptile cage with him. Chase contemplated apologizing to Katie for his rude comments but decided it would be best to let it go. He said his goodbyes to Shawn and headed for the door, wanting to escape before he said something else Victor could use against him.
“Chase?”
Victor’s voice was smooth and held a hint of confidence, which irritated him. He gritted his teeth and debated whether he wanted to ignore the other man, but he figured he’d been rude enough. Chase turned toward Victor but didn’t meet his eye.
“I know you probably don’t want to hear this since you clearly don’t like me, but thanks for teaching Shawn how to play baseball.”
Chase’s eyes snapped up. Victor still wore a smug smile, and his eyes darted between Shawn and Chase. It was obvious he was trying to look like the better man in front of his son. Shawn wrinkled his brow, and Chase suspected he didn’t understand why his father would assume Chase didn’t like him.
He decided not to play Victor’s game. “Shawn’s a great kid. It wasn’t a chore to teach him how to pitch. He’s a natural.” When he glanced at Shawn, he was rewarded with a brilliant smile.
“Thanks, Coach!” Shawn waved one last goodbye and darted back toward his room.
Without an audience, and obviously disappointed he didn’t get the reaction he’d hoped for, Victor dismissed Chase with a wave. “Well, thanks anyway.”
Chase made his way out to the car. When they got home, Tony ran into the house, leaving him to contemplate the mistake he’d made at Katie’s. He leaned his forehead on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. When he’d acted like a complete ass, Victor had been able to take advantage of his jealousy. Chase felt like a petty schmuck. He growled and banged his forehead on the steering wheel. This was not the kind of attitude that would win Katie back.
Chapter 19
Chase hadn’t seen or spoken to Katie since she’d stormed out of the room and left him to deal with Victor. The days turned into weeks, and all he could think about was her. Every time he picked up the phone to call, he couldn’t go through with it. Shawn was gone, so he didn’t have an excuse anymore.
After one long day in surgery, he walked into the house to hear an argument upstairs between Tony and Liz. He listened for a moment to see if they would work it out before he intervened.
“It’s all your fault!” Tony yelled.
“No, it’s not. Dad said she left on her own.”
“She left because you were mean to her. I want Katie here, and you made her go away.”
Chase reeled at the venom in Tony’s voice. Tony rarely yelled, but when he did, it was usually for good reason.
“I did not!”
Chase could hear the tears in Liz’s voice when he ran past Gina, who had come from her room to stop the commotion. When he darted up the stairs, he found Tony and Liz standing toe-to-toe in the doorway to her room.
“What’s going on?” Chase asked.
Tony lowered his head and looked at his shoes, and Liz continued to cry. Chase wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she buried her face into his shirt while sobs wracked her body. Looking at Tony, Chase repeated his question.
“I want Katie to come over, but Liz was so mean to her that she won’t come back.”
Chase shook his head and gave him a disappointed look. “We talked about this. Go to your bedroom, and I’ll be there in a minute.”
Tony turned and went down the hall while Chase took Liz into her room. He sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled her onto his lap.
“Sweetheart, please stop crying. Tony’s just upset that Shawn’s gone. I’m sure he didn’t mean what he said.”
“Yes, he did. I was mean to Katie, and now you’re sad because she isn’t your girlfriend anymore.”
“Liz, look at me.” He tilted up her chin, and her blue eyes were rimmed with tears. “Katie and I needed time apart. It wasn’t because of you or anything you did. Sometimes when you’re a grown-up, you have to make decisions that are hard and do things you don’t want to do.”
She shook her head. “Tony’s right. It’s all my fault. I don’t want you to be sad, Daddy. I promise I’ll be nicer to her.”
Chase felt terrible about losing Katie, but he’d tried to make the best out of an awful situation. He hadn’t realized his kids could see through him so well.
“Shawn’s gone to New Mexico, so we won’t see Katie for a while.”
Liz nodded before she looked up at her father. “I’ll try harder, Dad.”
Those simple words made her seem so grown up, and Chase hoped she was ready to come around. He kissed Liz’s forehead and left her to contemplate her promise.
When he reached Tony’s door, he could hear him sniffling on the other side. Chase opened it, and his heart broke at the sight of Tony curled up on his bed, his back to the door, while his body shook with silent tears. Sitting on the bed, Chase gently rubbed his back to calm him. Although he wanted to reprimand Tony for hurting his sister, Tony was just being honest about his feelings.
“I miss Katie and Shawn,” he whispered between his sobs.
“I know, slugger. I do, too.”
Tony turned over and looked at his father. “Then go get her.”
If only it were that simple. Chase shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t.”
“But I want her to be my mom,” he whispered, shocking Chase with his admission. “She said she loved me, and I love her. She needs to be here with us. Shawn said she’s sad all the time—like you. You weren’t sad when she was here. Now that Shawn’s gone, who does she have to keep her company?”
Chase’s heart clenched with the thought of Katie being alone and hurting over Shawn’s departure. “I don’t know.”
“Dad, please. I want Katie.”
Tony was hurting more than Chase had realized. He felt like the worst parent on the planet. Tony should be in therapy with Liz, but Chase had overlooked that his son needed help, too. Katie
had seen it, but he had thought Tony was fine because he didn’t show any outward signs or act out. Chase pulled Tony into a hug and rocked him back and forth.
“I know, slugger.”
Chase wanted to tell him he would try to get Katie back, but he couldn’t set up a false sense of hope. Liz still needed help. Although she had made positive strides, he still worried her behavior around Katie would be governed by guilt rather than an actual desire to have her in their lives.
Chase rocked Tony until he fell asleep and then slid him under his covers. The light to Liz’s bedroom was off, and her heavy breathing indicated she was sound asleep. He made his way downstairs to find Gina sitting at the island in the kitchen with a pint of ice cream and a spoon.
“So what was that all about?” she asked before she stuffed a huge bite of Chunky Monkey in her mouth.
“Tony and Liz were fighting.”
“About?”
“Katie.” Gina’s mouth was full, so she waved her hand for him to continue. “Tony told Liz it was her fault Katie left.”
“No, that would be your stupid mistake,” Gina said, stabbing her spoon back into her ice cream. Chase chose to ignore her jibe. She’d hurled them at him several times a day since the night Katie left. “Pretty soon she’s going to start dating again. Several of the guys at work have contemplated asking her out. What will you do then?”
“Are you sure it was Katie?”
“Hello, Chase! Wake up! She’s a beautiful woman. How long do you think it’ll be before someone asks her?”
Chase stood motionless for several minutes, feeling the ache in his chest at the idea. Although he’d always known it was a possibility, he thought she would wait a while longer before diving into another relationship. Chase shook his head and took a few steadying breaths before turning back to Gina.
“How is the wedding planning going?”
Gina looked at him as if he’d asked her to jump out of a moving vehicle. She threw the spoon into the half-empty container and slammed it down on the counter.
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