Not impossible? Did he have any idea what she was going through? She stood on a precipice, in danger of losing her daughter to an ex-husband who would destroy the relationship Andrea had carefully cultivated with Shannon. Not only was Shannon’s well-being at stake, but also Andrea’s identity. If she wasn’t Shannon’s mother, who was she? How could Jake even understand that?
* * *
JAKE WAS GETTING involved more deeply than he’d planned when he’d agreed to dinner. It wasn’t so much what Andrea said as the fact that he wanted her to say more, to confide in him. The expressions moving across her face made him want insight into her thoughts so he could ease her burden. He wanted Andrea to share her feelings, her life. He wanted to be involved. But that was a boundary he couldn’t afford to cross. If he was to help Shannon, he needed to park his attraction to Andrea and keep their relationship on a professional level.
“What you need to do is to let Shannon know you’re listening to her,” he said, forcing himself to remember why he was here. “Don’t interrupt her if you can help it. I know that’s difficult when a teenager says something outrageous or something that you don’t believe, but you still have to try. I know you feel at a disadvantage given what has been going on these past few weeks.”
“That’s an understatement,” she said, her insecurity evident on her face. Her words didn’t have that usual sarcasm, which gave him hope that she might be able to keep the conversation with Shannon going.
Maybe it would help her if he told her about his own experience with his siblings. It was worth a try. “I have three sisters, and I didn’t get along with any of them.”
Andrea gave him a half smile. “Why was that?”
“Because I felt responsible for them. My mom was a single parent, and because I was the oldest, I babysat my sisters a lot. I hated it. I wanted to be with my friends, and instead I had to look after my younger sisters, who showed little or no respect, especially as teenagers. They would tattle to Mom about things I’d said or done. I never had a normal conversation with any of them until I went to college. I guess I needed the distance to gain perspective. And of course it helped that I didn’t have to look after them.”
“So your opinion is that I need to gain a little perspective on the situation.”
He met her questioning gaze and realized that she was serious. He couldn’t let her down with a casual, off-the-cuff remark. “I think you’re too hard on yourself. It may take more time to get the conversation going with Shannon than you are expecting. If it does, don’t be discouraged.”
“You really think I can do this?” she asked as she reached across the counter and touched his hand in a show of appreciation. The gesture meant more to him than it should. He felt an odd connection to her, a sense that she was beginning to see him not as an adversary but possibly as a friend. And that thought filled him with hope.
* * *
WHY HAD SHE touched his hand? She hadn’t even been aware she’d reached for him until she felt his skin under her fingers. Cautiously she glanced at him to see his response. He seemed not to have noticed. Act normal, she told herself. If it didn’t bother him, don’t let it bother you.
“So, we’ll eat then talk?” she asked as she made a salad at a frantic pace.
There was zero reason to daydream about Jake’s personal appeal. Her dating skills were nonexistent, and she was hopelessly inadequate in the small-talk department. Sure, she could talk with potential buyers and sellers, but that was business. In relationships, a sophisticated woman she was not. She knew her strengths and weaknesses all too well. Whatever she was feeling where this man was concerned would be pointless to pursue. She couldn’t ignore the past and how his recommendation had left her feeling inadequate at a time when she had already feeling low and insecure. Those wounds couldn’t be erased by a few kind words and a couple of hours of shared concern.
“Dinner’s on,” she called, studiously ignoring him as thoughts tumbled around her head.
“I’m starving,” Shannon said, sweeping into the kitchen with Kyle trailing behind her.
Watching Kyle and Shannon, two teenagers she’d once believed told the truth, she despaired at finding the words to start a painful discussion.
She joined them at the table just as the phone rang.
“Ignore it, Mom. Whoever it is can leave a message.”
“But it might be important.” Although the day had been unproductive workwise, she still had a responsibility to her clients.
“Why can’t you let a ringing phone simply ring?” Shannon asked, giving one of the dramatic sighs she’d become so proficient at. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
“I do.” She glanced at the caller ID. “It’s your father.”
Shannon’s smile vanished. “He wants to talk to me, not you, Mom.”
Andrea kept her gaze on her daughter as she picked up.
“What did you do to Shannon?” Scott’s tone was vicious and accusatory.
“Thanks for telling me you had invited her to Phoenix,” she replied, surprised at her response. During her years of marriage to this man, she’d seldom said anything even faintly confrontational to him.
“She’s a big girl. If she wanted you to know she was coming here, she would have told you.”
“Don’t ever go behind my back again.” She was aware that everyone at the table was listening to what she said.
“What in the hell is going on with you? There’s no need to be so difficult,” he said, indignant. But his indignation no longer counted in Andrea’s world. “And while we’re issuing ultimatums, don’t ever hang up like you did in the hospital. I have a right to know about my daughter. You don’t get to play gatekeeper. No wonder she wants to live with us.”
His words cut deep. “In your dreams, Scott. Shannon has no interest in living with you.” She looked straight at Shannon, who had the good grace to look embarrassed, telling Andrea that her daughter had said something to encourage Scott’s ridiculous idea. “Shannon is fine.”
“Put my daughter on the phone.”
He’d been nasty like this before, and she’d let him get away with it. Not anymore. She wanted to yell at him, stamp her feet and hang up on him, but nothing would be accomplished except convincing Jake she was a raving lunatic. “Scott, your behavior is hurtful and inappropriate,” she said, remembering the words she’d rehearsed during one of her counseling sessions during the divorce. “Until you can speak civilly to me, we have nothing to say to each other. You may speak to Shannon, but I expect you to act appropriately.”
Feeling empowered, she didn’t wait for Scott’s response and held out the phone. “Your father wants to speak to you.”
When she’d practiced those phrases years ago, she had never imagined actually using them. At the time Scott had been so domineering she couldn’t picture a time she’d feel strong enough to call him on his behavior.
And if she could face down her ex-husband, then surely she could initiate a tough discussion with Shannon.
* * *
“DAD?” SHANNON PUT the phone to her ear, acutely aware that her mother, Jake and Kyle listened to every word she said.
“Honey, did your mother put you up to this?”
Why had she agreed to go to his house? When he had originally sent the open ticket, she’d been over the moon at the thought of seeing her dad and getting to know her half sisters. But hearing her mom tell him he was being mean reminded Shannon how he could be. Did she really want to be on the receiving end of that, especially after Stuart’s bullying? Dad probably wouldn’t treat her that way, but she still felt uncomfortable. “No, Mom didn’t know,” she said, meeting her mother’s gaze.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll meet the same flight tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’m not sure I can go tomorrow,” she said, fixing her gaze on
Kyle.
“What do you mean? You promised me you’d visit. Cindy and I are counting on you. You said you wanted a chance to get to know her and spend some girl time together.”
She couldn’t imagine doing girl things with anyone but her mom. Shannon was old enough to know that she and her stepmother would never be mother-daughter close, but she couldn’t tell her father that—he wouldn’t understand. He’d been so excited about her visit, and she’d been thrilled to get the ticket from her dad—her ticket out of the mess here. Originally, she’d planned to talk it over with Mom and maybe use the ticket to visit at Christmas. Getting grounded and having Mom go nuts on the parenting front had made Shannon want to get away, so she’d phoned her dad.
But now she wasn’t so sure. “I know I said I’d come, but Dad, would it be all right if I came once school is out, maybe between Christmas and the New Year?”
“Honey, I know your mother’s listening to every word you say, and God knows I understand how suffocating that can be, but we need you. Regine and Michelle, your sisters, need you.”
“But Regine and Michelle are too little to even know me. I really enjoyed the photos you sent—”
Her mother suddenly approached. Placing her hand over the phone, Shannon whispered, “I’m trying to talk to Dad.”
“Ask him if he wants you to babysit.”
“No.”
“Ask him what you’re going to be doing while you’re there,” she persisted.
Frowning at her mother, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Dad, are you still planning that trip to Palm Springs for us?”
“Yes. We’ve got it all arranged. You can spend lots of time by the pool and we’ll have dinners out. How would you like private golf lessons?”
Her mother raised her eyebrows as if to prompt her.
Shannon rolled her eyes, but asked, “So you have someone to watch Regine and Michelle?”
“Well, you want to get to know your sisters a little better because, thanks to your mother, you haven’t had a chance. So you wouldn’t mind keeping the sweeties occupied while Cindy and I have the occasional game of golf, would you?”
“Are you in a tournament, Daddy?” Shannon brightened. She hadn’t seen her father play for years, and he was good. He’d been club champion the year before he’d moved away.
“We both are. Unlike your mother, Cindy believes it’s possible to leave her children and enjoy her life. It means that the two of us have a life together.”
Did he mean that golfing was his way of getting away from her when she was a kid? She didn’t dare ask him, but still she wondered. Her dad hadn’t been around much when she was small, but lots of dads were busy. Besides, she hadn’t had to worry, because her mom had always been there.
“Come on, honey. Say you’ll come. We want you here, and I promise no curfews. How does that sound?”
No curfews? “Can you and I go to Flagstaff while I’m there? I’ve been studying the Grand Canyon, and it would be really cool if I could take some photos, maybe even some video for YouTube.”
“Sure, anything you want,” he said, and in the background she could hear her sisters, children she didn’t know except through their photos and FaceTime.
And her dad had told her before that he wanted to make up for not being around when she was younger. “Okay, I have a few things I need to do here before I can come, but why don’t I call you later next week?”
A long silence ensued, an embarrassing interlude during which she fended off her mother’s whispered comments about not going to Phoenix. Shannon wondered for a second if her mom was right about the reason her dad wanted to see her. But no. She had promised her dad, and she needed to see him. He would understand and be there for her. And if things went as badly at school over the next week as she expected them to, she would really need the chance to escape.
“That means you won’t be here this week, or be able to go with us to the golf tournament. Your mother really got to you, didn’t she?” her father said, his voice low and thick with anger.
“What? What do you mean, Dad?”
“Your mother is up to her old tricks. Put her on the phone.”
Why did they have to be like this? Why did they have to fight? And worst of all, this time it was her fault. “Mom, Dad wants to speak with you,” she said, feeling totally awful.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ANDREA RECOGNIZED THE redness around Shannon’s eyes as the beginning of tears, and her heart rose in her throat. Her daughter was hurting from something her father had said. Scott couldn’t get away with causing Shannon any more pain.
Whatever had caused the change in Shannon’s behavior this past month, her daughter didn’t deserve to be treated badly by her self-centered father. She wouldn’t let this go—not this time around.
She took the phone from Shannon. “Scott, do not expect Shannon to babysit while you and Cindy play golf.”
“Mind your own business.”
“She is my business, and she will not be your au pair. She is still in school and her summer plans are made. If you want to visit her here, fine. But she’s not going to your place.”
“Have you forgotten our agreement? I have her alternate holidays and two weeks in the summer.”
“This is neither a holiday nor the summer,” she said, her tone firm and strong. She couldn’t believe that she was standing up to him—or that it felt so good.
“Stop being so difficult. Shannon told me about the accident and your behavior. I’m going back to the judge and getting her away from you.”
“You wouldn’t do that. No judge would look at a petition from you,” she said, realizing that Shannon was now old enough to have a say in the custody decision. The thought chilled her—she was no longer secure in what Shannon would choose.
“Just watch me. You may have succeeded in keeping her with you, but that can all change. Shannon has a say in what happens, and after the way you behaved at the hospital...” He let the words hang between them.
Once Scott was angry about something, he would not stop until he got his way. Shannon might see Scott’s bid to have her with him as proof of how much he loved her. Even if he didn’t get custody, he could make everyone’s lives miserable, not to mention the damage he could do to her fragile relationship with Shannon.
“Shannon and I have things to talk about,” she said speaking calmly as the old familiar anxiety buffeted her confidence.
“I’m sure you do. Think about what I’ve said. If you let her come as we’d planned, I’ll forgive and forget everything else.” He hung up.
Knowing Scott the way she did, she guessed he must have played on Shannon’s yearning to be part of a family again, to recover the life she’d once had. Andrea would not allow him to intimidate Shannon. “Shannon, you have no obligation to babysit your father’s new children, and he has no right to ask.”
Shannon chewed her lip and raised her chin, revealing that Andrea had hit on the truth. “That’s not what he wanted.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” she said, deciding to follow Jake’s advice and keep the conversation between her and Shannon going.
But this didn’t mean she would let Scott hurt Shannon. Not ever.
* * *
JAKE COULD FEEL the anger welling up in him. It seemed evident Scott was selfishly still trying to take Shannon away from her mother, and it sickened Jake. He’d seen the devastation caused when parents fought over custody, and he’d naively assumed that Scott was following the terms of their parenting agreement.
He watched Andrea as she sat down at the table. He wanted to reach out to her, to tell her to stand firm, to commend her for remaining calm during what had sounded like an unpleasant conversation.
He was beginning to see that she had probable cause to be angry. In the past the way she’d handled
her anger had been the problem. But this evening she’d shown that she had developed coping strategies that allowed her to constrain her feelings.
He admired her for that. Although he’d worked with children for his entire professional life, he’d never really had to impose discipline or set limitations. His job was to suggest actions and strategies, not enforce them. And he’d certainly never dealt with child-rearing conflicts with a spouse. Although he and Maria had been excited about the prospect of being parents, he’d quickly learned that she intended to take control, and he’d let her, on the condition that she go back into an addiction program. That awful day when he’d discovered that she hadn’t gone into treatment had sparked the worst fight of their marriage. After that, they hadn’t been able to talk about anything important, not even their unborn baby. Who knew how they would have handled being parents?
He knew his avoidance about her addiction and his irresponsibility about birth control meant he had a lot to answer for. And he had no idea how he’d behave in the same situation Andrea was now in. Given that, he was hardly in a position to judge her behavior with her ex.
He sensed the best course of action in this moment would be to calm everyone, to get them focused on eating and let the tension ease. Then, when the emotions Scott’s call had instigated had eased, they could talk. “Should we reheat our lasagna?”
“Good idea.” Andrea moved to pick up two plates while Jake grabbed the others and headed to the microwave.
Once the servings were warm, they started to eat. Jake engaged Shannon and Kyle in conversation, discussing safe topics such as their favorite TV shows and current news events. After a bit of awkwardness, the teens became livelier and the mood lightened.
He glanced at Andrea and noticed the way her shoulders had relaxed and the tightness around her mouth was absent. Good. His instincts had been correct. He took a certain pride in making the situation better—however temporarily—for Andrea. Then, deciding that pleasing her might be dangerous territory, he concentrated on the teenagers.
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