The McCallans

by Hadley Quinn

  “No, I really can’t this time. I have a lot going on and it’s a busy week.”

  “If you’re talking about work, I can’t imagine that a day spa can’t do without you while your mother is in town. Does Nicolette Benoît still own the facility? Her mother and I are great friends. I can just have a few words with her and—”

  “Mom. No. You’re not going into my place of employment to mess with my job.”

  Tate was pulling his keys out so they could just get the fuck out of there. He felt it was important to let Kellie stand up for herself because he knew she was more than capable of doing so, but he was very close to giving her mother a big piece of his mind.

  When Amelia ever so subtly pulled Kellie away from him just a bit, he heard her whisper, “Honey, how much do you weigh these days? You’re really looking…stressed out. I think maybe it’s time for a detox or—”

  “Okay, gorgeous, time to get home for naked time,” Tate interrupted, sliding his arm around Kellie’s shoulders to pull her back to him. “Excuse us, Amelia, but I’ve shared this beautiful girl with you long enough. Enjoy your Hollywood excursion for the week, but we’ve got things to do. Like each other,” he added with a wink over his shoulder.

  He didn’t have a chance to enjoy the look of utter disgust on Amelia Brennan’s face for too long because Kellie’s snicker as they walked to his truck distracted him.

  “You’re so bad,” she nudged him. She did turn around and wave goodbye to her mom, but Tate didn’t read anything from Kellie that she was upset with his method of making an exit. “I’m assuming this is an actual plan of yours tonight? Naked time?”

  He grinned and answered, “It is now.”

  ***

  Tate noticed the physical change in Kellie the instant they drove away from the restaurant. She was literally tied in knots any time she had to be around her mom, and he couldn’t fault her for that in the least bit. Amelia Brennan was a condescending nightmare that didn’t belong affecting anyone’s life.

  After they got back to Kellie’s apartment, she actually broke down and cried. It was a physical release from being so wracked with anxiety throughout the entire day. Tate felt pretty helpless, not quite sure what he needed to say—if he needed to say anything at all—so he just put on a movie and they cuddled on the couch until she was calm. He hadn’t been joking about naked time, but right then probably wasn’t the best moment to push for it.

  Instead, he told Kellie how much he loved her. That was the one thing he believed he could do for her and he hoped to God she would eventually believe it too.

  “I want you to know that you are enough, Kellie,” he whispered to her when she was curled up on the couch with him that night. “You never have to feel like you’re not, okay?”

  She was quiet for a few seconds until he realized she was crying again.

  “Baby, I didn’t mean to make you cry again,” he sighed, holding her close to his chest. “I just don’t want you to have a single doubt about how I feel about you. There is nothing wrong with you; there is nothing in your life that I won’t be here to help you through. Let me love you, okay? I want to love you with everything I have until you see what I see.”

  He wanted to add, “until you learn to love yourself,” but he didn’t feel that was necessary at the moment. He could already feel that she struggled with that thought and it broke his fucking heart. What kind of family would demean such a beautiful soul in hopes to make her conform? Kellie wouldn’t conform, and what she didn’t realize was that very choice made her stronger than anyone he knew. He told her this, she doubted him, he told her again…

  Some battles are invisible to the outside world, but the people that silently fight them during tumultuous storms of uncertainty are the stoic hearts that courageously prevail.

  Kellie was his courageous warrior, but she only needed to believe it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tate had a rather slow week at the tattoo parlor. Benson was back from Australia so things shifted to having the boss around again. It wasn’t a bad thing—the owner of the shop was a fun guy and had a slew of regulars—but it gave Tate more free time. He wasn’t sure how to handle it, so with permission from Benson, he proceeded with a new mural on the wall of the reception area. He’d done the exterior mural on the building a year ago—of no one in particular, it was just a painting—and had planned to do more, but he’d never gotten around to it.

  Now he finally had the right motivation.

  He’d barely stretched out his drop cloth when the familiar jingle of the front door chimed, but since Lila was at the counter, he didn’t bother turning around until a dainty throat-clearing sounded right behind him.

  He could already feel the change in room aura before he even faced Amelia Brennan. She looked extremely uncomfortable standing there—and extremely out of place in her designer outfit and matching shoes and handbag.

  “Amelia,” he spoke indifferently. “What brings you by?”

  She was casting scowling glances throughout the entire place, from the tattooed girl at the counter to the colorful art on the walls.

  “Why do you think I’m here?” she finally met his gaze, speaking in a snide tone.

  He couldn’t help but notice her eyes looking over his casual attire; jeans, black wife beater, baseball cap. But maybe she was fully studying his tattoos since more ink was exposed than had been at dinner the other night. She was surely used to Jay’s tattoos, wasn’t she? And Kellie’s? And then that thought made him wonder about Kellie even getting tattoos… Had it been to piss her mom off? Was there some other reason behind it—?

  She cleared her throat again. “Why do you think I’m here?” she asked again, emphasizing each word like he was an idiot.

  He set the bottle of paint down and brushed his hands off. “Well what will make your day, Amelia? Some nice pretty ink on your body? Roses are pretty popular. Or shall we go with something a little more suited to your personality. Tattoo of a scorpion on your ass? Maybe you’d like a piercing. Women such as yourself may find that a special piercing could, ahem, change your life.”

  He knew he was being a dick, but it was worth it to see the look on her face. He in no way wanted to cause any trouble for Kellie, but the poor girl had been a complete fucking mess all week and it was due to this controlling, overbearing wretch of a woman in front of him. He could not wait for her to leave town, and since today was her day to fly out, he almost feared she’d decided to stick around a bit longer.

  He sure as hell hoped not.

  “Funny how my daughter thinks you are the sweetest, most charming man on the planet,” Amelia forced a smile. “I tried to convince her otherwise, and I see that I’m right in doing so, but she is very set on her insubordinate ways I suppose. She’s young. Quite possibly she hasn’t been burned enough to realize there are very few people in this world willing to steer her in the right direction.”

  If Tate could, he would laugh out loud. But the fact was, this lady was so unbelievable he was almost speechless. How in the fuck did Kellie deal with this her whole life? Even Jay had told him Kellie had been through a lot with their mom, but Tate wondered if the guys in the family even knew the half of it. Kellie didn’t seem like the type that would go into much detail about it. He felt it was something that had hurt her so much in the past it was too difficult for her to face. Only recently had she opened up about it, and that was a significant step in her life.

  He in no way wanted Kellie’s efforts to go unrewarded.

  “Look, Ms. Brennan-McCallan, whatever you go by…”

  He faced her with his arms crossed over his chest, and the only thing he feared at that moment was laying into this woman so badly it somehow tore Kellie away from him. He wanted to protect her, but he didn’t want it to backfire on him.

  “I don’t care if you approve of me or not. That’s just a fact. And I also don’t care what you say to Kellie about me because you don’t even know me. What I do care about, however, is
your amazing daughter. All I want is for her to be happy, and right now, I know what is not making her happy. Of course I’m going to be very impatient with your ignorance because you’re tearing something down that doesn’t deserve to be destroyed. In fact, I’m not quite sure you understand what you’re doing to that girl, and until you do, I really don’t want you around her. She doesn’t need your negativity and constant criticism, okay? Back the fuck off and let her be who she is. I think you’d find she’s pretty fucking amazing on her own.”

  Well, okay, maybe he’d pushed a little too hard. The expression on her face—perhaps it was because he’d dropped the f-bomb a couple of times—was one that he wasn’t expecting. Instead of being smug and ready with a retort, she looked absolutely appalled. Sure, he could see himself coming off as some kind of uneducated drug dealing shit with no direction—because that’s seriously how he believed she judged him—but were “adults” of this caliber really so small-minded?

  Amelia finally let out a breath she’d apparently been holding in. She eyed Tate and said, “And you think you know anything about me?”

  “I know nothing about you except what you’ve shown me,” he replied. “How you make Kellie feel has shown me quite a lot and I wish I was mistaken. It doesn’t matter what has happened to you in your life; you have no right to take that out on your kids. And I’m sorry if you feel so horrible about yourself you have to pull someone down with you, but I will not stand by and let you do it to Kellie. I love her too much and she is better than that. All I’m saying is if you want to be a part of her life, then you better damn well expect me to be right there too.”

  He had no idea what kind of reaction he was going to get from Amelia but whatever it was didn’t matter. He’d said what he wanted to say, whether she was willing to accept the truth or not. It wasn’t his place to tell Kellie how to deal with her family, but when it affected him and the people he loved, he wasn’t going to idly sit by.

  Well, she had no response except to turn on her heel and walk right out of the tattoo parlor without a word. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  He glanced at Lila, still standing at the reception desk. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open slightly; he’d totally forgotten she was in the room.

  “Wow, she looked all fancy and shit,” Lila finally said. “Fancy with a side of stick up her ass.”

  Tate was amused by her choice to use one of his sayings.

  “Is she the girlfriend’s mum?” she added. “And hey, I really would love to pierce that woman’s clit, you know? Might loosen her up a bit, eh? While I’m at it…could remove that stick that’s shoved way up there. I mean if I could even find it…might be so far up there…”

  Tate only laughed while he shook his head, but his thoughts returned to Kellie as he continued to set up for his new piece of art. However he’d represented himself to her mom, he really didn’t care. He only wanted Kellie to have the freedom to be herself without somebody choking off her individuality.

  He never did make sure Amelia was leaving town, but it sure as hell would be best for everyone if she did.

  ***

  “What a horrible thing to be,” Gram grumbled before taking a careful bite of pudding. “If I knew a woman like that, I’d tell her where to stick her opinions.”

  “There’s no vacancy up there, Gram,” Tate chuckled. His grandma gave him a puzzled frown. “Never mind,” he shook his head.

  He’d texted Kellie briefly after work, and since she wasn’t done until eight that night, he stopped by to visit the nursing home. He’d briefly given his grandma an account of his dealings with Amelia, and as he already expected, she was ready to fight the woman for him.

  “I think everyone has issues they don’t want people to see,” Tate said after a minute. “That woman is no exception and she certainly doesn’t walk on water like she wants people to think. Her problem is feeling inferior in a society that used to adore her; now she belittles her daughter hoping it’s going to change Kellie’s mind to jump into the middle of all that garbage. I don’t know why she is the way she is, but it’s not my place to judge. I only want to protect Kellie, and that is my only form of involvement.”

  “Well you have more patience than I would have, Tater Tot. I’d want to put that woman in her place.” She held up her bony, wrinkled fist and shook it.

  Smiling, Tate shrugged. “Yeah, it’s tempting. And I do think I did just a little bit but…it might not have been the best choice. I’m trying not to lash out at people anymore.”

  “And how’s that working for you?”

  “Pretty good,” he nodded. “I don’t feel like the world deserves my wrath as often.”

  “Just a future mother-in-law, perhaps,” she winked at him.

  Tate laughed, but the “future mother-in-law” comment made him think a bit too long. It wasn’t something he’d failed to consider; he loved Kellie and would like nothing more than to—

  “You think?” Gram’s voice asked.

  He blinked. “What’s that?”

  “I said: she will make a beautiful bride.” Tate was at a loss for words, but Gram said, “I didn’t really say that, but it looks like you were thinking it.”

  He smiled a bit sheepishly, not able to deny it. But he asked, “No really, what’d you say?”

  She studied him for a moment but smiled perceptively, obviously granting him some mercy. “I said your counseling sessions might be helping with that. The anger.”

  “Yeah, they have,” he nodded. “Tremendously. I’ve come a long way.”

  “Yes, you have. And I’m proud of you, baby boy. So very proud of you for overcoming all that you have.”

  “Me too,” a familiar voice agreed. Rayne entered the room and Gram’s face lit up.

  “Oh, Rayne Drop. Honey, how are you?” Gram fussed, motioning her to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “Hey handsome,” Rayne said as she squeezed Tate’s shoulder on her way by. She set a bouquet of fresh flowers on the dresser and then leaned over to give Gram a kiss before she sat on the bed. “Hey, how you feeling?”

  “Mmm, so much better since the two of you are here. Distracts me from the fact that I haven’t been able to take a shit for three days.”

  Both Rayne and Tate laughed. “They can help you with that, you know,” Rayne told her.

  “Mmm, it’s a lost cause,” she answered, taking her final bite of pudding. “Liquids, puddings, soft foods…I’ve come full circle to toddler stage. Pretty soon—”

  “Gram,” Rayne warned gently.

  Tate knew that his sister hated when their grandma talked about death. There were some days he thought Gram would live forever and other days he feared her time was limited to just hours. It was an up-and-down cycle and such a helpless feeling.

  “So tell me what you’ve been up to,” Gram said, squeezing Rayne’s hand.

  Tate excused himself to make a phone call but only got Kellie’s voicemail. He left a message, thinking she was still finishing up with work, but when he realized it was almost nine o’clock, he started to get worried. He sent her a text just in case, and then stepped into the office to discuss his grandmother’s health with Julianne. The news he heard wasn’t pleasing but it also wasn’t surprising. Gram was eighty-five years old, her condition was sometimes day-to-day, but lately Julianne had been noticing more and more of the same thing.

  “She’s in a lot of pain from the fibromyalgia but doesn’t want to admit it,” she told him. “And I’ve noticed that her appetite has gone downhill tremendously, even from the first day I started here.”

  “She’s always been a finicky eater…”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that, but even the things she does like to eat are not being consumed.”

  “Is there something else she’d want to try? I can always bring something in.”

  “Well, your girlfriend asked the same thing and—”

  “Wait, what? My girlfriend comes in here?”

  �
��Kellie? Um, yes… Sorry, were you not supposed to know that?”

  He shrugged. Kellie had never mentioned coming in here without him. “How often does she come in?”

  Julianne thought for a few seconds. “Mmm, maybe three times a week? Usually around late afternoon for an hour or two.”

  Tate was honestly surprised. That was most definitely when he was working, but why didn’t she ever mention it?

  He cleared his throat and tried to focus on his grandmother. “What about the pain,” he stated. “She has medication for that.”

  “But she won’t take it.”

  “Why not?”

  Julianne sighed. “Well, she says it makes her lightheaded, which is normal. The wooziness is just the meds working, but she doesn’t like the feeling. And she also says she’s on strike? Something about it doing bad things to people.”

  He slowly shook his head. His addiction to painkillers had been an awful time in his life, but Gram had always convinced him he would beat it. He’d never told Rayne half the things he told their grandma, but that was because he didn’t want his sister to worry. And Elizabeth Sullivan was one perceptive old lady; he’d never been able to fool her. Apparently it was a problem his father had when he’d come back from Vietnam, trying to deal with a shattered collarbone, and Gram knew the signs.

  “I’ll talk to her about the pain meds,” Tate finally sighed as he turned to leave the office.

  “What you’ve done so far…” Julianne trailed off as she pursed her lips. She swallowed. Was she trying not to cry? She took a deep breath and blinked away the moisture in her eyes. “I can honestly say there is nothing more comforting than a loving family. I’m very impressed by the amount of care that goes into making sure this place is the best it can be, but the ripple effect that comes from that, and then the continuous support by the McCallans to monitor things here—”

  “Wait a minute, you’re losing me,” Tate interrupted. “Did you say ‘continuous support?”