One Daddy Too Many

by Debra Salonen

  She and Ian had tied the knot at a tiny wedding chapel that went out of business about a month later. Then, with their attendants, Grace and Ian’s friend and mentor from Reno, they’d joined a huge gathering of friends and family for a block party in the cul-de-sac in front of her parents’ home. She’d danced till her feet hurt, then the limo her father had hired drove Kate and her very drunk husband home—to the little house they’d rented.

  She was the first of her sisters to marry.

  For love, of course.

  But for another reason, too.

  “Mom, I’m pregnant. Ian wants us to get married. I love him. He’s fun and ambitious, but sometimes he seems so autocratic. We butt heads over the silliest things. What should I do?” Kate had asked Yetta once she’d finally admitted to herself that the flu she’d been experiencing wasn’t the flu.

  Yetta had deliberated on the question for nearly two days. Finally, she’d told Kate, “You need to marry Ian.”

  Any reservations Kate might have had about committing to the smooth-talking Gypsy who’d entered her life so suddenly were assuaged by the conviction she heard in her mother’s firm, deliberate tone. Everyone came to Yetta for advice. Only a fool would ignore the word of a Romani fortune-teller, right?

  Kate took another gulp of champagne. The bubbles burned going down her throat.

  Tempting as it was to blame her mother for what had followed, Kate was a realist. No one had forced her to say “I do” in front of the Elvis-impersonator justice of the peace. She could have listened to the little voice inside her head that said, “You don’t need a man to help you raise this child. Not if he’s the wrong man.”

  But she hadn’t trusted her instincts. And she’d paid dearly. As had her family and her daughter.

  Now, her instincts were harping again. The voice in her head said, “Run.” From Rob? Or Ian? Both, she decided. There would be no repeat of that kiss. No matter how wonderful it felt.

  “Kate.”

  Rob had spotted her standing alone at the back of the room when he’d made his toast. She was sipping from a champagne flute. He’d never seen her drink anything but cola. Was she celebrating? She certainly had a right to. The reception had been an unqualified success, but he had one more thing to do before he could call it a night.

  “Here’s the woman of the hour,” he told the three reporters—two men and a woman—he’d asked to follow him. “Gentlemen. Ms. Chamberlain. It’s my privilege to introduce Katherine Radonovic Grant. She and her sister, Grace, own Romantique.”

  “Hi,” the senior of the two men said. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for all the samples you sent out to us. Delicious.”

  “Yeah. What were those rolled-up thingies?” the heavy-set man asked. “I’d like to get my wife to make them. Where do I get the recipe?”

  “Do you mean the dolmas? They’re stuffed grape leaves. I add my own twist. I’m so glad you liked them.”

  “Kate and her staff put in hours designing a personalized menu for the bride and groom,” Rob said. “And I just happen to have copies of it for you.”

  Kate appeared surprised but her smile didn’t change. Something was up. Was she mad at him about the kiss in the freezer? He didn’t blame her. It was a stupid impulse. He planned to make sure it didn’t happen again. Once this party was over, there was really no reason for them to see each other.

  “I understand this restaurant was closed recently because of an E. coli scare. What’s that about?” one of the journalists asked.

  Kate’s shoulders stiffened.

  “The unsubstantiated charge came from a man who is looking at serious jail time,” Rob said without giving her a chance to answer. “A thorough investigation failed to turn up any trace of contaminants. Isn’t it a shame how the innocent wind up paying for one man’s malicious accusations? Thank God Kate stood up and fought for the truth.”

  The reporters asked a few more questions before they wandered off to sample his mother’s fabulous cake.

  Rob let out the breath he’d been holding, then turned to Kate, who appeared slightly shell-shocked. “Sorry for jumping in that way. I was afraid that question might come up and I didn’t get a chance to warn you. I know you’re completely capable of handling reporters, but I figured there was a reason you normally put this kind of thing in Grace’s hands.”

  She set her empty champagne flute on a table then looked at him. “You’re right. I’m happiest behind the grill, not being grilled by reporters. And I appreciate everything you did for me…for Romantique, but Rob…” She frowned and took a breath.

  Rob had a feeling he knew what she was going to say—that the kiss they shared was a mistake and they shouldn’t see each other again. And even though he agreed with her in theory, he wasn’t ready to hear the words.

  “Oh, look, Dad and Haley are getting ready to smash cake in each other’s faces. Don’t want to miss that. I’ll call you later. Maybe we can settle up the final bill over a drink.”

  She didn’t argue. How could she? He’d tied their future meeting to money. A trick he’d learned years ago. People were usually willing to talk if you offered a strong incentive.

  Chapter Six

  “Ethically, I can’t discuss your daughter’s case with you, Yetta,” Rob said as gently as possible. A week and a half had passed since the wedding and he’d only seen Kate once—not for that drink he’d suggested. When he’d called to set up the date, she’d explained that his PR efforts on behalf of Romantique had been such an unqualified success she was too busy to spare a minute.

  “Grace will fax you the final bill,” she’d told him.

  Not what he’d hoped to hear, but then she’d added, “You’re our hero, Rob. Any time you’re hungry, you know you’re welcome here.”

  He didn’t want food. He wanted…he wasn’t sure what he wanted, but Kate was an increasingly familiar face—and sexual fantasy—in his dreams.

  When Yetta had called the night before and asked him to stop by her house on his way to work, he’d been happy to comply—on the off-chance he’d get to see Kate. Plus, he had a gift for Maya. Okay, a bribe.

  Eric, one of the lawyers in his office, had taken Rob to dinner last night. He’d been married in college but had divorced wife number one to marry wife number two after he’d handled her divorce. She’d brought two children—a boy and a girl—to the union, and they’d since had one more of their own.

  Responsibility for the three youngsters had fallen entirely on Eric’s shoulders after his wife took off with another man, and when Rob first arrived in Las Vegas, Eric had been in the habit of bringing the children to work with him. As a result, his job performance had suffered.

  “If you want to date a single mother, you start by courting the child,” Eric had counseled after Rob had accidentally mentioned Maya. He’d quickly tried to disabuse his colleague of the notion that he had designs on Kate, but the idea of making friends with Maya had stuck. Which explained the present in his pocket.

  “I’ve had the most disturbing dreams this past week,” Yetta said, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m very worried about my daughter and my granddaughter.”

  “I can appreciate that, but Kate was my client, and anything we discussed is privileged. Since she’s working with someone else now, I don’t really know what’s going on in her custody battle. Why don’t you ask her?”

  “I did. She said everything is fine. But Katherine is a lot like her father. Plays her cards close to the chest, as they say.”

  Rob took a drink of butterscotch-flavored coffee and looked out the window to his right. He could see the house next door, which belonged to Rob’s former client Claude Radonovic, Yetta’s brother-in-law. Claude, Rob knew, was now living with his eldest son and had rented the home to Jurek Sarna. Jurek, who was Yetta’s shirttail cousin, was also the birth father of Grace’s fiancé. Rob spotted Jurek standing in front of the house with a hose. According to Jo, Jurek was recovering from a bout of cancer.

  “How’s Nick
’s dad doing?”

  Yetta, who was sitting across from him at the round table, took a sip from her cup then said, “Much better. He’s planning on visiting Grace and Nikolai in Detroit as soon as he’s up to it.”

  “Mom told me the story about Nick meeting his dad after all those years. Must have been pretty emotional.”

  “Yes. The possibility of establishing a relationship with his son has really lifted his spirits. Jurek may have signed away his rights to raise Nikolai, but he never stopped being Nikolai’s father. Not deep inside.”

  Rob nodded as though he understood, but he didn’t. His father had lived in the same house with Rob and his mother until Rob was seventeen, but Adam had never been overly involved in Rob’s activities. He’d provided for his family, but his life revolved around his classes, his writing and golf.

  “Are you telling me this because you think Maya’s father feels the same way?”

  Yetta smiled. “No. I’m not sure why Ian appears so determined to reestablish a relationship with his daughter. At one time, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he proved unworthy. Unlike you.”

  Rob blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

  Yetta chuckled warmly. “You have been nothing but a boon to this family.”

  “Well, that’s nice to know. I’m a lawyer, I don’t hear that a lot.”

  “You breathed life into Katherine’s restaurant.”

  “No. Not me. Kate did all the work. I…was mostly in the way.”

  Yetta looked at him shrewdly. “You’re quite modest for a young man. But you can’t deny what you did for Mary Ann.” Mary Ann Radonovic was another of Rob’s clients who had been caught in the same net as Charles Harmon. She was married to Claude’s youngest son, Gregor. “Claude was at the hearing. He said your eloquence alone got the poor girl into one of the best psychological facilities in the area instead of going straight to jail.”

  “Mary Ann needed help. The judge saw that. And Grace’s letter went a long way on Mary Ann’s behalf. I just did my job.” He pushed his cup away. “Not to change the subject, but is Liz around? I wanted to talk to her about my mom. She can’t seem to shake this cough. The doctor who X-rayed her foot wanted to run tests, but Mom refused. Maybe some herbal tea would help.”

  His mother’s cough was only one more problem he’d had to deal with this past week. Two people in his office had the flu—he hoped. If they’d called in sick just to avoid hearing their performance reviews, he would soon be even more shorthanded than he was now. Plus, he’d offered to oversee the shipment of his father’s wedding presents. Who knew there’d be a zillion?

  “Elizabeth and Katherine are out back by the pool. They’re trying to talk Maya into taking swimming lessons.”

  “Maya’s going on five and she doesn’t know how to swim?”

  “Oh, she thinks she does. She gets around with the floaty things on her arms, but she won’t get her face wet. For a smart child, she can be downright muleheaded over certain things. And swimming is one of them.”

  Rob didn’t like hearing that. “I was a lifeguard at our community pool for six summers. And I taught Red Cross swim lessons. I’m from the earlier-the-better school of swimming.”

  The look in Yetta’s eyes told him she agreed. “Well, maybe a male teacher would have better luck with Maya. She pretty much gets around her aunts and her mother.”

  She motioned for Rob to follow her through the house to the sliding glass door that connected to the backyard. He glanced at the decor in passing. The home was slightly shabby, slightly cluttered, but he felt an immediate connection to the underlying essence of the place. This was a home filled with love.

  He dashed around Yetta to open the door for her. She smiled, as if surprised by his gesture. “My mother’s influence,” he said sheepishly.

  “A good woman,” Yetta replied with a wry look.

  “Hello, everyone,” she called out a second later. “Look who’s here.”

  Rob followed her out. A covered patio ran the length of the house and was home to a lush flower garden at one end as well as a hodgepodge of padded chairs and small tables. Just beyond the line of shade lay an oval oasis of blue surrounded by concrete. In close proximity, a large green umbrella fluttered in the wind above a glass and metal table and six chairs.

  Kate, Liz and Maya stood together near the shallow end of the pool. Liz, in a navy-blue one-piece suit, stood on the top step in water up to her ankles. Maya—also in a swimsuit, a bright orange two-piece with a little skirt that was gathered at one hip—stood between the two sisters.

  Kate lifted her hand to shield her eyes as she looked at him. “Rob? What are you doing here? Is Jo okay?”

  “Fine.” I hope.

  “I asked him to stop by,” Yetta said. “I wanted to know where we stood regarding you-know-who.” She lowered her voice with the last word.

  Maya looked up with interest.

  Kate, who was dressed in her checkered chef’s pants and sleeveless white tank top, gave her mother a severe look. “Maya knows what’s going on, Mom. I read her the letter from my new lawyer. She said he sounds like a very nice man.”

  Unlike me. The icky one with squeaky shoes.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Rob said. “I talked to several people who said he’s experienced and compassionate. He’ll make sure your rights aren’t trampled in any way.”

  He patted his pocket for his sunglasses, but he’d left them on the table with his keys. Damn. It was really tough to look at Kate without remembering how it felt to hold her in his arms and kiss her.

  He pushed the memory away and said to Liz, “I was wondering if you could recommend some herbal tea for my mom. To help ease her cough. She says she’s having trouble sleeping because the cough wakes her up.”

  Before Liz could reply, Yetta made a chopping motion with her hand. “You can e-mail him some literature, Elizabeth. What’s important now is the fact that Rob is a licensed swimming instructor.”

  He demurred, trying to downplay Yetta’s overstatement of his credentials. “Was. In high school and my first year of college. It’s been a while.”

  “What? Like two or three years?” Liz quipped with a wink.

  “Slightly longer.”

  “I don’t want to go to swimming school,” Maya said, crossing her arms belligerently. “I already know how to swim.”

  Kate went down on one knee. “Maya, you’re a wonderful kicker and very bold when you’re wearing your floaties, but you also have to know how to swim when you don’t have them on your arms.”

  “Yeah, kiddo, being able to dog-paddle is important,” her aunt said. “Let me show—”

  “No,” Maya snapped rudely, brushing Liz’s hands away.

  Brat.

  She pivoted to stare at him as if she’d heard his silent comment. Rob fought to keep from blushing. Distracted by the little girl’s unspoken antipathy—and possibly because he rarely turned down a challenge—he heard himself say, “I have a suit in my gym bag in the car. I could come back after work. I bet I could have Maya swimming like a fish inside a week.”

  Kate stood up. “But…you’re a lawyer. Isn’t giving lessons to four-year-olds a bit beneath you?”

  “How often do I get to save a life? And that’s what learning how to swim can do.” He looked at Maya and said, “Unless someone’s…chicken.”

  Her chin came up just the way her mother’s did when challenged. “I don’t like you.”

  “I know. And I wish you did. But you can still learn from me. If you’re brave enough to try.”

  She looked at him a few seconds, then turned and ran to her mother. “Mommy…”

  Kate picked her up and walked under the shade of the umbrella. He couldn’t hear what they were saying because they spoke in whispers. Liz apparently got tired of waiting because she dove into the water and started swimming laps. Yetta motioned for him to follow her back under the overhang where it was significantly cooler.

  “This is a tur
bulent time for my granddaughter. She’s particularly sensitive to her mother’s feelings, and Katherine is a ball of nerves. Too much on her plate, as they say.”

  “I’m sure it can’t be easy running the restaurant alone.”

  “Oh, that’s a small thing compared to Ian’s return. My daughter is an all-or-nothing kind of woman,” she said, looking to where Kate was standing. “If she gives her heart, she gives every ounce of her spirit, trust and loyalty, as well. When Ian betrayed her, he broke her faith in love.”

  He looked at her, wondering if she was telling him this for a reason.

  “Wounds that fester never heal properly. I’m afraid that Katherine will never allow herself to trust again if she doesn’t resolve things with Ian,” she said.

  “You don’t think she should fight to retain sole custody.”

  “Rom men will defend to the death what they believe is theirs. Ian’s honor—what’s left of it—is at stake.” She made a dismissive motion with her hand. “But if he were to win Kate back, the challenge would be gone and sooner or later he’d revert to his old ways.”

  Grant planned to win Kate back? Was that possible? They shared a child. Wouldn’t any mother want to give her daughter a happy, two-parent home if the possibility presented itself?

  Yetta startled him when she laid her slim white hand on his shoulder. “Breathe, my dear boy. I said that’s what Ian wants. Not what Katherine has in mind.”

  He blinked in surprise at her cheerful tone. Her silver hair made her regal, not old. Smooth skin and uncanny brown eyes so dark they almost seemed black. Bewitching.

  Before he could speak, Kate joined them. Maya had disappeared. “Thank you for offering to help, Rob, but we’re going to have to take a rain check. Maya’s convinced herself she’s sick.”

  “I’m sure we’ll see a remarkable improvement once Rob leaves,” Yetta said. Her tone seemed nonjudgmental to Rob, but he could tell by the way Kate’s shoulders stiffened that she took her mother’s observation as criticism.