At Home in Last Chance

by Cathleen Armstrong

  “You ladies look sharp.” Chris got in behind the wheel. “Get your cat all settled?”

  “He’s in the bathroom so he’ll feel safe, but we’re going to let him out when we get home, right, Mom?”

  Kaitlyn shrugged when Chris glared at her. “Well, we can’t keep him in the bathroom forever. He doesn’t much like being cooped up, you may have noticed.”

  “How ’bout if he lived out in your trailer with you?”

  “No!” Olivia’s outrage was clear. “He’s my cat. He has to live with me.”

  They rode in silence for a while. Finally Chris heaved a sigh. “You know, I don’t remember signing up for a cat.”

  Kaitlyn smiled. “You didn’t sign up for a lot of things. But you have an awful lot on your plate right now, don’t you?”

  He glanced at Kaitlyn with what he probably thought was a glower, but she saw a smile trying to keep from showing through. “You got that right.”

  7

  Brooke and David Reed were already sitting at a table by the window when Chris brought the Jeep to a stop. Neither looked particularly happy.

  “You’re kidding me.” Kaitlyn sat a moment to gather strength before reaching for her seat belt. “I’ve never known Mom to order from a menu in lights over the counter in my life.”

  “Well, they found the pickings kind of slim. It was here, the all-you-can-eat buffet, or Mexican food. Mom said at least there was a salad bar here.”

  “I love this place!” Olivia scrambled from the backseat. “You can get all the chicken nuggets and ice cream you want for free.”

  Kaitlyn couldn’t help it. As she watched her elegant mother surrounded by noisy families and servers delivering plastic platters with thin steaks and loaded baked potatoes, she started to giggle. As all the tension and worry she had been carrying since she found out her parents were coming took over, she found herself laughing until she had tears rolling down her face.

  Chris looked at her in concern that seemed to border on alarm. “Are you all right? What is so all-fired funny?”

  Kaitlyn just shook her head and sniffed. Her laughter was turning into real tears. She waved him away. “I’m fine. Go on in. I just need a minute.”

  “Mom?” Even Olivia sounded troubled, and Kaitlyn made an effort to smile. She never wanted Olivia to worry about her again. Ever. “I’m just being silly. You go give BeBe and Pops a big hug and tell them I’ll be right in.”

  She watched Chris, with Olivia running in front of him, greet their parents. Olivia threw her arms around each grandparent in turn and was welcomed with hugs and kisses, and when her mother held Olivia at arm’s length, Kaitlyn knew she was telling her how pretty she looked. Finally, someone must have asked where she was, because Chris gestured through the window and everyone turned to look at her. She waved and tried to smile, and they waved back with a little “come on in” gesture before turning back to each other. Olivia slid in the booth next to her grandmother, and Chris pulled a chair to the end of the table, leaving a space next to their dad for Kaitlyn. The family picture looked complete, and even as Kaitlyn told herself to grow up and stop being such a crybaby, she wondered if they even knew, really knew, or cared, that she wasn’t there. She leaned her head against the seat and watched them for a while. Chris and their dad were deep in animated conversation while their mom, with Olivia tucked under her arm, looked on with mild but proprietary interest, as serene as any queen. It was the family she never felt part of or approved by. Olivia kept leaning past her grandmother to peer out the window at her. Kaitlyn waved, but she still wasn’t ready to go in. Finally, Olivia jumped down and headed for the door, ignoring obvious calls for her to return to the table.

  “Mom, what’s wrong? Are you coming in?” Olivia looked worried as she yanked open the door.

  “I’ll be there in a second.” Kaitlyn tried to make her smile reassuring.

  “But what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” She hoisted herself up so she was standing in the doorway.

  Kaitlyn pulled Olivia onto her lap. What could she say that her daughter could understand and not be too worried by?

  “Do you remember when we left our home in Scottsdale with Jase?”

  Olivia’s brow wrinkled in a scowl as she nodded. She hadn’t liked the motorcycle ride, and she had liked Jase even less.

  “Well, BeBe and Pops had to take care of everything that we left behind, and you can see how that wouldn’t make them very happy.”

  “Is BeBe going to get you in trouble?”

  Kaitlyn smiled and hugged her daughter to her. “No, she’s not, but that wasn’t a very nice thing for me to do, and I feel kind of bad about it.”

  Olivia leaned back to look up into her mother’s face. She still looked worried. “But they got to play with Meeko all that time, so they should be happy about that.”

  Kaitlyn kissed the top of her daughter’s head. Even this benign explanation wasn’t working. If Kaitlyn was sad, Olivia was making it her responsibility to make things better, and Kaitlyn hated that this residual of their former existence still colored Olivia’s life. She took Olivia’s face in both hands and smiled into the worried blue eyes.

  “You know what? I had forgotten about that. They did get to play with Meeko all that time. That should make anybody happy. Let’s go inside.”

  All three sitting at the table looked up and smiled. Kaitlyn couldn’t help thinking how different each smile was, and how easy to read. Chris’s said, “Still don’t know what’s wrong, but I hope everything’s okay now.” Dad’s said, “Here’s my girl.” He always found the role of detached observer the easiest one to take. But Mom just looked at her and her eyes and frozen smile said, “I’m going to try to just overlook this outburst. Again.”

  “I want to sit by my mom.” Olivia folded her arms and stood by the table.

  “But, honey, there’ll be more room if we sit this way. Don’t you want to sit by me? I haven’t seen you in such a long time.” Brooke reached out a hand to Olivia, who stepped away and slipped an arm around Kaitlyn’s waist.

  “It’s okay.” Kaitlyn leaned down to give Olivia a squeeze. “You sit by BeBe, and I’ll sit over here.”

  After another second or two’s hesitation, Olivia slid into the booth next to her grandmother, and Kaitlyn gave her a wink as she sat across the table with David.

  “I see Olivia is still taking good care of her mommy. And she looks so grown-up.” Brooke was still smiling, but she almost always smiled, even when she intended her words to cut. She turned to Chris. “I’ve never seen her happier or look more cared for. You are doing such a good job with her.”

  Kaitlyn felt the old anger flare, and she had opened her mouth to retort when a server interrupted. “Um, you guys know you have to order at the counter, right?”

  “Yes, dear, we guys do know that. We were just waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. Thank you.” Brooke gave Olivia a little push to get her moving. “Oh, by the way, I’d like a glass of wine. Is there a list?”

  “Not a list, but I can tell you what kinds we have.”

  Brooke raised an eyebrow and waited.

  “Red, white, and pink.”

  “Never mind.” Brooke closed her eyes for a long moment, sighed, and shook her head. “I’ll just have water. You do have bottled water?”

  The server nodded.

  “Well, that’s something.” She slid out of the booth and headed for the line snaking toward the counter.

  Chris came alongside and draped an arm over her shoulder. “You know, Ma, servers work really hard trying to keep folks happy. I know for a fact that’s not always easy, so if you could cut her a little slack, I know she’d appreciate it. I’d appreciate it too, for that matter.”

  Walking behind them, Kaitlyn waited for the explosion. Mom did not do well with any criticism, because she simply never erred.

  But Brooke just sighed and rested her head for a moment against Chris’s shoulder. “You’re right, dear. I’m just exhausted from the
trip and I suppose a little annoyed by all the usual drama, but I should not take it out on our poor waitress. We’ll leave a nice tip to make up for it.”

  Chris gestured for Kaitlyn to fall in line behind their mother, but she shook her head and stepped back. He shrugged and got in line, and as Kaitlyn stared at his broad back she felt her frustration mounting again. If anyone, anyone, but Chris had said those things to Brooke, she would have quickly and neatly severed head from shoulders. But Chris could do no wrong.

  “Mom, can I go get some chicken nuggets now?” Olivia clearly saw no need to stand in a line when the real attraction lay at the appetizer bar.

  “Sure. I’ll order for you. What do you want?” Kaitlyn took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning a smile on her daughter. Whatever her pain was, it had nothing to do with Olivia.

  “I don’t care.” Olivia was already gone.

  Waiting behind Chris, comfortably walled off from the rest of the family, Kaitlyn took a few minutes to regroup so that by the time the family reassembled at the table, she was able to join the conversation with a smile.

  “So, Mom and Dad, when are you going to meet Sarah? She’s adorable, and I know you’ll just love her.”

  “Oh. Sarah.” Brooke looked as if she had bitten into something she did not want to swallow. She looked at Chris and sighed. “I suppose this is still serious?”

  “Yes, Mom, it’s serious.” Chris sounded incredulous. “We told you that when we called.”

  “But nothing official, I gather?”

  “No, nothing official.”

  “Well then, I think we have plenty of time.” Brooke smiled and turned to Olivia to change the subject. “How are the riding lessons coming, Olivia? I’ll bet you’re turning into quite the horsewoman.”

  Before Olivia could answer, Chris spoke again. “Mom, Dad. I want you to meet Sarah. It’s time. We want to take you two out to dinner tomorrow night.”

  Brooke gave a little puff of exasperation and started to speak, but her husband interrupted. “I think that’d be great.” He clapped Chris on the shoulder. “We had planned to head on home tomorrow since we all are so busy, but we can put it off a day.”

  “But I have that breakfast meeting—” Brooke began. She clamped her mouth shut and sent her husband a “we shall discuss this later” look when he interrupted again.

  “You can make a phone call or two.” He answered her look with one of his own. “I think this is important.”

  Brooke stabbed her salad, forked in a bite, and stared out the window.

  Chris put both hands on the table and pushed back a bit. Kaitlyn could almost see the steam coming out of his ears. “You know what? I’m beginning to think this might not be such a good idea, after all. I’m not sure I want to put Sarah through this.”

  Brooke turned to Chris and leveled a stare at him that made Kaitlyn shrivel inside. The Look. The cold, expressionless expression that warned against taking the next step, saying the next word. “Put Sarah through what, dear?”

  “This.” He waved a hand over the table. “This need to impress, to intimidate. She’s better than all this. And, truthfully, if you ever said one word to hurt her, I’m not sure what I’d do. But I can almost bet you wouldn’t like it.”

  “Who has the Big Roundup, medium rare?” The server snapped open the stand she held in one hand and carefully set the huge tray she had balanced on her shoulder upon it.

  Chris pulled his gaze away from his mother and looked up. “That’s me.”

  “The Cattleman, medium?”

  By the time each plate had been delivered to the proper diner, the iced tea glasses refilled, and the server assured that there was nothing else anyone needed, the tension at the table had eased a bit.

  “I suppose I could postpone the breakfast meeting so we could stay an extra day, if it’s that important to you.” Brooke dipped the tip of her fork into the dressing by her plate before taking up another bite of salad.

  “No, the more I think about it, the more I think this is probably not the best time for you to meet Sarah. Maybe we can drive up to Scottsdale one weekend. I’ll see what she says.” Chris barely glanced up from his steak.

  His mother took another tiny bite of her salad. “Suit yourself. But keep in mind that we’re busiest on the weekends.”

  Finally the check came, and David picked it up, scrutinized it, and handed the server his card. Kaitlyn saw Chris glance over while his dad added in the tip, and she also saw him slip a bill from his wallet and leave it on the table after the others headed for the door.

  “Kaitlyn, dear, let’s be sure to get your boxes out of the trunk. That’s why we came, after all.” Brooke’s smile was cool and poised again as she reached the car and leaned in to kiss her daughter’s cheek. “I’m so glad to see you settled so nicely here. There doesn’t seem to be much here to get you in trouble.”

  She may have meant her laugh to be light and teasing, but it just fell on the pavement of the parking lot with a thump. Kaitlyn took a deep breath and tried to smile. “Nope. Things are pretty quiet.”

  “Chris, I am looking forward to meeting Sarah sometime. Maybe you’re right that now’s not the best time, though. This is such a rushed trip.” She lifted her face so Chris could give her a kiss too. “It was so good to see you, dear. Thanks for taking such good care of my girls, both of them.” She slid gracefully into the front seat.

  “Sure.” Chris nodded, but Kaitlyn could see he was seething.

  David returned from transferring Kaitlyn’s boxes and clapped Chris’s shoulder with his left hand while extending his right. “Son, it’s always good to see you. Say, do you think you can get that girl of yours to the diner early tomorrow? I’d love to take her to breakfast.”

  “I don’t know, Dad. She has to be at school pretty early in the morning.”

  “I don’t care. If she can be there, I’ll be there too. Just give her a call and let me know.”

  “Yeah, I’ll do that.” Chris’s face relaxed into the first real smile Kaitlyn had seen all evening as her dad reached for her and drew her into a hug.

  “You’re looking great, sweet cakes.” How many years had it been since he had called her that? “I wouldn’t have dreamed it, but I think this place suits you.”

  He opened his door and paused for a wave just before he got inside. “I hope I see you both tomorrow morning.”

  Chris slid an arm around Kaitlyn’s shoulders as they stood in the parking lot and watched the Lexus pull away. “Well, that four hours zipped by.”

  Kaitlyn looked at her watch and grinned. They had been at the restaurant for exactly forty-five minutes.

  “Hey, come on. Meeko wants out of the bathroom.” Olivia was already buckled in and ready to go.

  Chris gave Kaitlyn’s shoulders a squeeze. “Still sorry you’re stuck in Last Chance and not back in Scottsdale?”

  Kaitlyn watched the taillights of her parents’ car disappear. Was she sorry she was stuck in Last Chance? Good question. When she joined Chris and Olivia in the Jeep, Chris was already on the phone, and from his goofy grin, she had little doubt who he was speaking to.

  It was still black as midnight the next morning when the Lexus glided into the empty parking lot and David Reed got out. His black leather jacket didn’t look like it afforded much protection against the predawn cold. Kaitlyn met him at the door.

  “You’re here early.” She gave him a hug. “Mom didn’t come?”

  “I always get up early to get a run in before work; this was sleeping in for me.” He grinned. “And no, your mom was still asleep when I left. I’ll pick her up after breakfast and we’ll hit the road. We’ll be back in Scottsdale by noon, maybe a little after.”

  “’Morning, Dad.” Chris came out of the kitchen smiling. Like his dad, he was a morning person, and like her mom, Kaitlyn was not. She went to pour her dad a cup of coffee and take another long drink from the mug she had had going since the first coffeepot finished brewing.

 
; “Hi, Pops.” Olivia, sitting at the counter eating breakfast, waved a spoon at him.

  “Hi there, sweet cakes.” David crossed the room to give his granddaughter a hug before looking around the room with an amused smile. “So this is the Dip ’n’ Dine we’ve heard so much about. Can’t say it bears much resemblance to the places you’ve worked before. I thought you were more of a high-end chef.”

  “Well, I’m pretty proud of the place, just the same.” Chris’s smile looked a little fixed. “Come on, let me show you around.”

  He led his dad into the kitchen where Carlos was already at work.

  “Man, something smells out of this world. Whatever it is you’re cooking, I want some.” David grinned as he extended his hand to Carlos when Chris introduced them.

  Carlos, well known for hating small talk as much as he hated being interrupted, stopped what he was doing and returned the smile and the handshake. But that was David. People just liked him on sight. That was why he and Brooke made such successful business partners. He might not remember a person’s name or anything about them five minutes after leaving them, but Brooke did. She was the one with the head for business, and she didn’t forget anything. In her mind, Kaitlyn referred to her parents as Bait and Switch.

  She glanced through the window as she checked the clock and went to unlock the front door. Dad was leaning against Carlos’s prep table, arms folded easily across his chest, chatting with Carlos as if he had known him for years while Chris looked on. Poor Chris. Dad always knew just what questions to ask to get someone talking about themselves, and he would nod and ask follow-up questions like he was talking to the most interesting person in the world. But he didn’t even try to pretend to Chris that he had an ounce of interest in the Dip ’n’ Dine.