Right from the Start

by Jeanie London

  “I told him he could finish his coloring.” She wiped her hands on a dish towel. “You in a hurry?”

  Will shook his head. “Not today.”

  “Good. Then come to the kitchen and tell me how it went this morning. You never texted me, so I fretted all day. Did you charm her with this cute smile?” Guadalupe reached up to grab his cheek and gently tugged.

  Will didn’t think he’d charmed Kenzie James. Unfortunately. Not for lack of trying, though, but he didn’t want to make Guadalupe worry more than she already worried. She was as invested in Angel House as he and everyone else.

  A Cuban native, Guadalupe’s thick accent accompanied a heart of pure gold. She’d come to this country after her husband’s death to assist her daughter and son-in-law in caring for their son, Rafael, who was two years older than Sam and further along his journey to higher functioning.

  Thanks to Angel House.

  In fact, it was Deanne who had arranged for Guadalupe to help Will during those first dark months when he’d been alone playing both dad and mom and failing miserably. And trying to work. And run his company. And deal with the house. And feed them. And get Sam to and from doctors’ visits and therapy sessions and Angel House. They would have never made it if not for Will’s mother who, although she also worked full-time, had cared for Sam when she wasn’t working and cooked and cleaned and helped Will get their lives under control.

  Then Deanne had suggested Guadalupe as a possible solution to the care-giving problem. She already knew the drill because she took care of her own grandson. Guadalupe had become the living manifestation of Deanne’s favorite saying.

  God provides.

  A day didn’t pass when Will didn’t reply with a, “Thanks.”

  Rafael had found his language and proved an excellent role model for Sam. And while they didn’t see each other much at Angel House, they’d become great friends during their afternoons together.

  “Go sit at the table while I check on the boys and make sure they’re not getting into mischief,” she said, leading him into the kitchen where something that smelled really good simmered on the stovetop. “I’ll let Sam know you’re here.”

  Hanging the dish towel on the refrigerator handle, she slipped from the room.

  Will sat and checked his phone for messages.

  She reemerged as he sent off a text to a subcontractor on a remodeling job stalled while they waited for an inspector who hadn’t shown up for the second day in a row.

  Will would place a call to Building Services. Of course, he’d have to wait until Monday now. Damn.

  “Going to be a few minutes,” she said. “There’s still some white space on the page. You look hungry. Will you eat?”

  He nodded, grateful. All he had at home was leftover delivery pizza from last night’s supper. There hadn’t been time to cook while he’d been researching Kenzie James, preparing her proposal for today’s meeting and moving Sam through their nightly routine.

  Guadalupe set a bowl of steaming beef and beans in front of him along with a napkin and silverware. “Now tell me how the meeting went. Deanne wouldn’t say a word when I picked up the boys.”

  “Thanks.” He snapped open the napkin and grabbed the fork. “Deanne didn’t say anything because she didn’t know anything. I haven’t spoken to her yet.”

  “Now you’re making my heart hurt. The lady didn’t like the building? How could she not like the building? It’s beautiful, and big.”

  “The lady liked the building. I’m sure she did.”

  “Then why don’t you look happy?”

  He had to think about that. “I’m not unhappy.”

  Guadalupe gave a huge, disgusted sigh and yanked open a cabinet hard enough to make the hinges squeak.

  “Relocating a business is a big decision, chica,” he said. “I didn’t expect the lady to make a decision on the spot.” In his dreams maybe... “She’s a businesswoman. As it was I didn’t give her much time to think things through.”

  “How long?”

  “Three days. We should know something Monday.”

  “If she liked the building, then why do you look worried?”

  He used a mouthful of Guadalupe’s shredded beef and beans as a distraction to avoid answering her question. Will wasn’t sure he knew himself. But Kenzie had bugged him. He hadn’t expected her to be so...unapproachable.

  Guadalupe knew he was dodging her question. Setting a glass of iced tea in front of him with a sniff, she left the kitchen to check on the boys again.

  Will dealt with people. Always had. He could read them. Win them over if he put his mind to it. Even the tough ones who took some time and effort. Not that he was God’s gift or anything, but people had always come easily to him.

  Not Kenzie James.

  She had some sort of invisible wall around her. As if right from the start she’d decided to keep her distance. She’d been polite and businesslike and remote. Only once had he gotten even close to an unguarded response from her. He’d told her his name and they’d connected for an instant, one fleeting interaction when he saw humor twinkling in her hazel eyes, heard amusement in her sudden laughter.

  She was a lovely woman, fresh-faced and a lot younger than he’d expected a divorce mediator with such a stellar reputation to be. But when Will thought about it, which he hadn’t had time to all day, he realized she was likely good at what she did because she had such a gentle, unflappable calm about her.

  Was that what he hadn’t been able to get around?

  Maybe her distance had nothing to do with him personally and everything to do with a career that dictated she be the calm in the middle of storms. By definition when a couple needed mediation, they weren’t agreeing on something. After two divorces Will knew that firsthand. In order to be an effective mediator for people who were at each others’ throats, Kenzie James probably had become an expert at wielding her calm the way he wielded his charm. Like a weapon.

  Only he hadn’t wielded enough to make a dent this morning, the one time in his life it really counted.

  Guadalupe returned and dropped into the chair adjacent to him with a sigh. “You were hungry.”

  “The meeting this morning put me behind. I spent the day running from job site to job site playing catch-up.”

  “You should pack a lunch.”

  He supposed he could have thrown a few slices of leftover pizza and an ice pack into one of Sam’s lunchboxes. Cold pizza from a superhero lunchbox. Better than starving.

  “This is really good. Thanks.”

  She leveled her dark gaze at him. “What’s bothering you?”

  He shrugged. “Meeting went okay. I guess I wanted more than okay. Maybe some indication she was going to sign on and solve a big problem.”

  “Is there something wrong with this lady? Why wouldn’t she want to help us?”

  Guadalupe lived to care for people. A born nurturer, so obviously her thoughts were about helping and that’s how she would have talked to Kenzie. But Will hadn’t slanted his presentation that way. He’d been all about what she could get out of the deal. He didn’t think he would have gotten any further had he appealed to her charity and asked her to help a bunch of kids and their families. Not when it meant relocating her business.

  “Maybe she will. We’ll know in a few days, anyway, so no more fretting.”

  But, like the rest of the parents, grandparents and caregivers of Angel House’s kids, Guadalupe would continue to worry until Angel
House got on solid financial footing or shut its doors, whichever came first.

  “Well, if the lady turns down that big building, we can find someone else who’s not so silly.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Will wished the solution was that simple. Despite what he’d told Kenzie about moving down the list of businesses interested in Family Foundations, the truth was that list consisted of one name.

  Positive Partings.

  The criteria were just so damned specific. And if he didn’t get to work on that building yesterday, there would be no earthly way to make the deadline.

  “I’ll light a candle at church.” Guadalupe pushed up from the chair. “It’s the weekend, so I can slip out of here for the morning mass. Now, you take some of my apple bread home. I baked it this morning. Sam ate two pieces after school today.”

  Fickle taste buds came with the territory. Rafael had already transitioned to a gluten-free diet, which was encouraged by Angel House’s nutritionist. But Sam wasn’t even close, compliments of Will’s epic failure. They’d failed every time Will had tried to introduce and transition Sam to new foods. Time was the biggest deterrent. No time to cook. No time to deal with Sam’s behavior when he didn’t want to eat something. Texture was a big issue, so until Will could make the time to consistently travel the long road to behavior modification, Sam’s taste buds would dictate the menu. At the moment, they were both lucky they didn’t starve.

  Will scarfed down the last few bites then grabbed his bowl and glass from the table. He set them in the sink then dropped a kiss onto the top of Guadalupe’s head. “There’s a halo under that kerchief, isn’t there? Don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  “Starve for sure.” She waved him off, a fierce-looking gesture as she held a knife to cut the bread, but she beamed. “You know if you need extra time to work on the building or to find another business to help us, Sam can stay here. Even overnight. Gabriella and Jorge don’t mind. They like when Rafael has friends over.”

  “Thanks, my little Cubanita.” Will only hoped he would get to take Guadalupe up on her generous offer.

  For all their sakes.

  * * *

  WITH SO MUCH at stake and so much to gain, Kenzie had enlisted the aid of almost everyone she valued in her life to help her make an informed decision. With only seventy-two hours to gather research, answer questions and assess the consequences of becoming a part of Family Foundations, she’d needed help.

  So she’d put both her parents to work even though they were still wintering in Punta Gorda. And Geri, who had recommended Positive Partings for consideration. And Nathanial, her lifelong best friend and sweetheart. And Lou, her proficient administrative assistant.

  On the surface the decision was a no-brainer. Opportunity knocked, too good to pass up even for the few months overlap with her current lease. That overlap would enable her to move her offices around her current work schedule, which was a plus.

  Classes were scheduled in advance, so she would have plenty of attendees to contact about the move, which was a minus. But the overlap gave her the option of working between the two buildings while Will and his company renovated—another plus.

  Unfortunately this move was not a surface decision. And some of her most basic questions required ridiculous effort to answer because her seventy-two-hour window fell on a weekend.

  Had Will Russell intended for her to be challenged by the inability to talk to her bank or easily access public records or consult with a real estate agent? Or had the timing simply been an oversight on his part? She supposed the reason didn’t matter when the end result meant more work for her.

  But there was the real problem—Will Russell. Her opinion of his integrity and her unexpected reaction to him had muddied the water of her decision.

  All weekend Kenzie had operated like the president being briefed on the issues by an attentive staff. The fax machine churned out documents for her perusal. The phone rang constantly with calls and texts coming in during other calls and texts.

  Geri had been in charge of providing information about Family Foundations. As a close personal friend of the mayor, she was in a unique position to get the inside scoop. Through her, Kenzie had learned that not only was Will the mayor’s representative for Family Foundations, but he’d actually conceived of the original proposal as part of his platform to run for city council.

  “I knew it,” she said to Geri late on Sunday during one of their many phone conversations. “He’s personally invested. I got the sense he was more than just someone presenting the offer. So his run for city council was to push his private agenda?”

  “I’m not psychic so I can’t tell you what prompted his run for council,” Geri said drily. “What I can tell you is that Family Foundations is an insightful and intelligent approach to meet the mayor’s areas of focus for renewal that wouldn’t have gotten attention if he wasn’t on the council.”

  Which sounded suspiciously as if he’d run to push his private agenda. Kenzie sat at her desk, suddenly feeling all the long hours of processing information that had kept her from much sleep.

  “I’m not sure how I feel,” she said. More emotion. Great. Was it any wonder she couldn’t make a rational decision?

  “What’s bothering you, Kenzie?” Geri had never been one to dance around an issue. Add the twenty-plus-year age difference, and Geri easily fell into the role of mentor. “It’s not as if he’ll be around to bother you. So what’s worrying you?”

  Kenzie wouldn’t mention how her knees turned to jelly every time Will had smiled. Such a ridiculously chemical reaction had been unexpected but not the end of the world. “I’m not worried per se. It’s just I have a bad taste in my mouth about this man. Any other representative from the council and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Do you know him? Everything I’ve heard from Sally has been positive. She says the council has accomplished more in the past year with Family Foundations than she’d hoped to accomplish in her first term. That’s high praise coming from someone who’s achievement-oriented on a good day.”

  As mayor, Sally Morse knew what she was talking about.

  “Okay, this is between you and me, Geri. But I consulted with his second wife during their divorce.”

  “Oh. Any conflict of interest?”

  Kenzie spun around in her chair to stare out her office’s only window. The view was of the alley running behind the strip plaza to the automotive parts store on the street behind. There was a big bay with enough room for a tractor-trailer to back in and deliver supplies. “No. Nothing like that.”

  “Then what?”

  “It’s just that I met his wife. She was a very friendly, very professional woman who was looking for a collaborative divorce to make the transition as easy as possible for their son.”

  “Admirable. I didn’t even know he had a son.”

  “My point. I don’t know about you, but I had a ton of campaign propaganda show up in my mailbox. I got phone calls, too. And I’m not talking automated. The man personally called his potential constituents. I’m serious, Geri. I had voice mails on my house phone and my cell. He left his number to call him back if I had any questions.”

  “Did you?”

  “No. The only question I wanted to ask was why in all that campaigning, he never once mentioned he had a family.”

  “A divorce could be perceived as a negative.”

  “Two divorces.”

  “Twice as ne
gative.”

  Kenzie slipped off her shoes and propped her feet on the desk. Much better. “You don’t think it’s odd he never once mentioned his son? The son he has primary physical custody of.”

  There was a beat of silence on the other end. Finally, Geri said, “That’s unexpected. What part of the divorce was collaborative—the ex giving custodial rights to the father?”

  “She didn’t. We consulted and came up with a very equitable settlement that jointly split physical and legal custody. No sooner did we get everything documented and set a date for mediation than she calls me to say her soon-to-be ex hired Les Schlesinger because he wanted sole physical custody. The poor woman was in pieces and so panicked she sacrificed my fee and ran off to get herself a bulldog attorney to go to battle so she didn’t lose her son.”

  “But she didn’t win? There must be more involved in the situation than you were aware of.”

  “Absolutely. I only heard one side of the story. But I do know there wasn’t any kind of negligence happening. Nothing on record. One of the attorneys in my network mentioned the case, which is the only reason I know of the outcome. I’d like to say no judge would give primary physical custody to a father without due cause, but you know as well as I do it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes the parent with the most money wins, which is why we need divorce reform.”

  “I hear you, Kenzie. And when you consider that Les is one of the original good old boys around here, you may even have a point. But I still don’t get why you’re taking this so personally. That doesn’t sound like you.”

  “I know. I don’t have all the facts, and it’s not my place to form opinions, anyway. But I felt so bad for that mom and horrible I couldn’t help her. When I saw how Will sidestepped the entire family issue, I got a bad taste in my mouth. For a man who’s asking people to trust him...well, I didn’t vote for him.”

  “And now he’s asking you to become involved with his brainchild. I get it.”