One Daddy Too Many

by Debra Salonen

  “Issues.” Her mother smiled. “But I enjoy having coffee with him now and then.”

  “Having coffee, huh? Is that old-person speak for making out?”

  Her mother gave her a look Kate remembered all too well from childhood. “Katherine, if I were you, I’d figure out my own love life before I meddled in someone else’s.”

  The advice was blunt, but the tone was gentle. Inviting. “I wish I could, Mom. There’s a part of me that feels ready to move forward—shake off the weights that have kept me down. But I swear those shackles are attached by Velcro. I just get one side open and the other falls back on itself.”

  “I can picture that. Maya on one hand, Ian on the other.”

  She finished arranging the flowers then sat down and motioned for Kate to join her at the table. “What’s really on your mind, dear?”

  Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. “Mom, I’m afraid. A part of me is already in love with Rob, but another part points to Ian and says, ‘Look. You blew it once. What if you make the same mistake again?’”

  “If you want to talk mistakes, why not start with mine. When you came to me and said you were pregnant, I immediately heard my mother’s voice. Lord, how she drummed a litany of shame and recriminations into my head about what would happen if I ever ‘got in trouble.’ That’s what we called being pregnant out of wedlock back then. I convinced myself that any husband—even one like Ian—was better than no husband. I couldn’t have been more wrong, could I?”

  Neither spoke for several minutes. Kate could tell this confession had cost her mother. “I didn’t have to follow your advice, Mom. I made up my own mind. And for a while, I think we all believed I’d made the right choice. Ian put on a good show.”

  “Not all men are deceivers.”

  “Maybe not, but they all have their own agendas, Rob included. He’s back in the Bay area and who knows what will come out of his meetings? Maybe a chance to move home. And, maybe that would be best for both of us. The timing is all wrong. He’s—”

  Her mother interrupted her. “He will be here on Saturday,” she said, her tone indisputable.

  Saturday. The thank-you party for everyone who’d helped bring Maya home. Kate didn’t argue with her mother. Yetta had a fifty-fifty chance of being right, but even if Rob showed up, he could just be coming to tell her he was leaving for good.

  ROB WAS SURPRISED by how strange it felt to be back in the Bay area. And by how bad the traffic was. As he sat in his rental car on a virtual parking lot called Highway 101—eight lanes going nowhere fast—he had time to think about what the past two days had meant to him.

  A new job offer was on the table. More money. Company perks. The fast track to partner.

  It had become clear very fast that his ex-fiancée’s father was not happy about this offer. Jordon Ames had ambushed Rob in the parking lot after their fancy dinner to dispel any illusion Rob might have been under about the ax being buried between them.

  “You’re not a man of your word,” the older man had said, gripping Rob’s elbow in an iron clasp. “You make promises you don’t keep and break hearts that don’t deserve to be broken. Your father is a philandering prick posing as an educator, and you know what they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

  Rob had tried to shake off his words. He’d carried on with the interviews and meetings as scheduled. By asking the right questions, he learned that the company had suffered some embarrassing harassment allegations that had gone public shortly after he’d moved to Las Vegas. A media firm had been consulted to try to spruce up the law firm’s image. Rob’s rather modest, but truly compassionate, efforts on behalf of his employees fit seamlessly into their agenda. And all Rob had to do to benefit from this providential set of circumstances was sign on the dotted line.

  Same with his condo. Given the housing market, he stood to make a tidy sum, which would serve him well if he wanted to re-invest in Vegas real estate but if he planned to move back here, he’d be better off keeping it.

  So, he called his father for advice. Predictably, Adam called for a tee time.

  A horn alerted him that traffic was moving. Forty minutes later, he was at Amberlein. Rob and his dad had golfed at the private course many times in the past. This would be their first round since his father’s wedding, though.

  “Does Haley golf, Dad? She could have joined us.”

  “She’s not feeling too well at the moment.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Too much honeymoon fun?”

  His father didn’t reply. Instead, he drove a high, solid tee shot right up the fairway. “Nice,” Rob said, watching it land. “You’re going to annihilate me if you keep that up.”

  By the time they reached the eighth hole, Rob was down by six strokes.

  Adam sank a four-foot putt then looked up. “So, when are you going to spill your guts?”

  Rob kept his head down as he addressed the ball. “I’m being offered the promotion of a lifetime.” He followed through—or thought he did. The ball missed the cup by a foot.

  “And this is a bad thing because…?”

  Rob tapped the ball into the hole then walked to the cart. “It would mean moving back here. Which I thought I was prepared to do in a heartbeat, but there are complications. Mom’s not well, for one thing.”

  “I know. I talked to her a couple of days ago. But she’s finally seeing a doctor about the symptoms, so this can’t be what you’re upset about.”

  “Dad, do you believe that adage about the fruit not falling far from the tree?”

  His father had just started to get into the cart but straightened abruptly. “I beg your pardon?”

  Rob’s stomach was in knots. “When you and Mom were married, you had a certain reputation. You—”

  Adam cut him off. “Now, wait a second, that was a long time ago. I’ll admit your mother and I didn’t have the most conventional marriage, but—”

  “I knew about your special students, Dad. The Brighten Scholarship was a standard joke on campus. Only young beautiful women need apply. The name of the recipient always made its way back to me. And Mom,” he added.

  Adam sat down, heavily, his hands gripping the steering wheel. He hung his head. “I didn’t know that, son. Maybe I did and didn’t want to admit it.”

  Rob waited, unsure of what to say.

  Adam looked up. “Rob, I won’t lie to you. I was a conceited, self-important fool. I tried to pretend that what I was doing benefited both parties, but I knew it was a lie. I haven’t actually had a special ‘friend’ for the last ten years. I hope you believe that.”

  He did. He wasn’t sure why.

  “I’m sorry you had to deal with those rumors, Rob, but it’s the past. Why are you asking me about this today?”

  “Because I’ve found somebody who means a lot to me, and I’m afraid I might disappoint her. What if I don’t have what it takes to stick it out through thick and thin? You and Mom didn’t. I’m your son.”

  Adam put his hand on Rob’s shoulder. “You’re also yourself. You’re the guy who read the Chronicles of Narnia every night for six months until you finished it At age eleven. You’ve never walked away from anything in your life.”

  “Except my engagement.”

  “Ah, well, some might say that was an act of survival. Pure and simple.” Adam glanced over his shoulder. Rob turned and saw another group of golfers approaching. “Let’s go, son. We only have one hole left, then we’ll have a cold one and talk about this some more.”

  Twenty minutes later they were seated across from each other in the cool, classy bar. “Rob, you’ve never asked for my advice—particularly in the romance department, but I assume that’s what you’re doing, now. I watched your engagement to Serena the way people on board the Titanic saw the iceberg hit. Her father orchestrated that match, and she’s too much of a daddy’s girl to say no. You saved yourself—and that intense young woman—a lot of grief, in my opinion.”

  Rob remained silent,
trying to process the frank words.

  “As for what went wrong in my marriage to your mother, all I can say is we married young and for all the wrong reasons. We gave it our best shot and were pretty damn lucky in most respects. We have a great son and we still like each other. But it wasn’t until I met Haley that I really understood what love is all about.”

  “Can you explain it to me, Dad? I thought I was in love with Serena, but the more she talked about the wedding, the more I felt like a dog on a chain…that was getting shorter and shorter.”

  “That’s not love. That’s power. Love is wanting more for the other person than for yourself. Like the way you arranged for my wedding to be held at Kate’s. I’m not complaining. Haley and I couldn’t have asked for more, but I know why you booked it there. To help Kate out. And I’m not surprised. Because the minute your mother suggested that you were interested in Kate, I recognized the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  “That you’re in love with her. Takes one to know one. A person in love, that is.”

  Rob didn’t argue the point. He did love Kate. She never left his mind. But was love enough? He didn’t ask because he knew this was a question only he could answer.

  Rob took another sip of beer.

  “By the way,” his father added, “Haley’s pregnant.”

  The gulp went sideways and started out his nose.“What?”

  “She knew it at the wedding but she made me promise not to say anything. It’s her first time and people have told her all kinds of first pregnancy horror stories.”

  “Pregnant?” he sputtered.

  “We had an ultrasound before we left for Tahiti, and we’re pretty sure she’s having a girl. We’re going to name her Daisy after Haley’s grandmother. Haley thinks her middle name should be Josephine. Daisy Jo. But I’m not sure your mother would be all that pleased. What do you think?”

  Rob swallowed hard and wiped the moisture from his eyes. “I don’t know. She might be honored.”

  Adam smiled. “So, if you take this promotion you mentioned, is there a chance your new sister and your step-daughter might wind up being neighbors?”

  “You mean Maya? No, Dad, I’m afraid not. Kate’s business is in Vegas. Her family is there. Even if Mom’s health problems turn out to be nothing, Kate couldn’t just leave. That’s not her style.”

  “Well, it’s not yours, either. So, I guess that means if I want our kids to be close, I’ll have to buy a second place in the desert. Actually, Haley and I talked about it at the wedding. As soon as she’s feeling up to traveling again, we’ll fly over for the weekend. Sound like a plan?”

  Rob laughed. How like his dad to embrace the big picture and conveniently ignore the missing pieces. Like the fact that Kate and Rob had had sex, but neither had used the L word. And there was still Maya to woo over to his side. She wanted a life that included her real father. If Rob could convince Kate to marry him, he’d probably be one daddy too many.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “You look beautiful, Katie. You didn’t have to get all dressed up just to see me.”

  Kate quickly sat down across from Ian. Six pairs of prisoners and guests shared the same table, each separated by a shoulder-high barricade of pressed wood. Ian was dressed in dark pants and a bright orange shirt. His hair, which had begun to grow out, was brutally short again. His complexion was sallow.

  “How are you feeling? You don’t look so good.”

  “The food they feed you in here isn’t the best. People with Hep C do better with lots of fresh vegetables and fruit. But it won’t kill me.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  He didn’t ask why she was dolled up. She wouldn’t have had an answer if he did. She and Jo had had a long, serious talk the night before. Among other things, her new partner had mentioned that Rob was coming back today. Kate hadn’t asked if he planned to attend the swim party but she’d put on a sundress and styled her hair, just in case.

  “So, Katie girl, what’s up? I know that look. It’s the I’ve-made-a-decision-and-to-hell-with-everyone-else look.”

  “Is that what I do? Really? I’ve always thought of myself as kind of a pushover. I usually go with the flow, while other people make decisions around me. Grace decided she wanted to open a restaurant, next thing you know we’re partners.” She tossed up her hands. “You’re the one who decided we needed to get married.”

  “Well, you were pregnant.”

  Her cheeks heated up. She’d been on every kind of birth control known to man, but somehow she and Ian had created a baby. They hadn’t planned Maya, but she’d immediately made their other plans seem unimportant.

  “True, but we had options. We could have lived together for a while. It’s not as if either of us was worried about what people said.”

  “Speak for yourself. I was scared spitless of your dad and the Gypsy mafia. I’d heard stories. How was I supposed to know they were all made up?”

  She shook her head and sighed. “Daddy was a sweetheart. All he ever wanted for me and my sisters was for us to be happy and secure. That’s what the money in our trust funds was all about.”

  The mention of money seemed to drop the temperature in the room. Kate’s trust fund had been transferred to a joint account that Ian immediately reinvested into diversified stock holdings. The first year under his management, the fund had doubled. But after that his reports to Kate became few and far between. Whenever she tried to pin him down on the balance, he had a long, convoluted explanation that usually included a speech on being in the market for the long haul. In the end, there’d barely been enough to repay half his client list.

  “Kate, I’m going to make it up to you. Every penny.”

  She looked down. “That’s a lot of pennies, Ian.”

  “I know that, but I’m a whiz, remember. I can make money in my sleep. I just had a run of bad luck before.”

  She took a deep breath. “Ian, you’re smart and clever and you do know numbers. But you don’t just take risks, you seek them out. The way some people feel compelled to jump out of airplanes or ride bulls or any of the myriad methods thrill-seekers have of getting that rush.

  “For you, it was buying and selling stock. But like any gambler, you are never content with the win.”

  “Were, Kate. Past tense. I learned my lesson. My God, talk about humility. I was brought home in chains and leg irons. Do you think I don’t carry the memory of the look on your face when you saw me get out of that van every day of my life?”

  “Maybe. But will it be enough to keep you from putting your daughter’s college fund on the line—if I ever recoup enough to set one up? I don’t know. And I can’t risk it. Not again.”

  “Katie,” he said, reaching between them to touch her arm. His touch was warm and familiar, but not the touch she wanted.

  “We can work this out. Let me come home after I get out and once I find a job, I’ll have my paycheck direct deposited into an account that you control. You can handle all the money. You can give me an allowance and I—”

  She brushed his hand away. “I’m not ready to pass out allowances, Ian. That’s what a mother does when her child is old enough. I have enough to do keeping my daughter happy and my business afloat.”

  “She’s my daughter, too, Kate.”

  “I know that. And I’ve made a decision. She needs her dad in her life. I’d like for us to set up some kind of visitation schedule once you’re on your feet. I talked to your attorney who said you’re interested in relocating to Reno. I can understand why. A fresh start might be just what you need.”

  She saw his lips form the words as he silently repeated, “Visitation. Will your legal eagle boyfriend draw up the agreement?”

  Her shoulders stiffened. “Don’t, Ian. Rob isn’t to blame for any of this. You made your choices a long time ago and there’s no way to go back. This is what’s in my heart. I’ll always care for you, but the love we shared is gone.”

  He looked tormented. “I kil
led it, didn’t I?”

  “We both made mistakes. All I know is you can’t erase the past—and I wouldn’t even if I could. We had some great times, but I can’t go down the same road again. I’m sorry.”

  He sat back and closed his eyes. “That sounds like something your mother would say. Prophetic.”

  She nodded to herself. Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this Romani fortune-teller thing. Now, if only she had a crystal ball to look in to see what Rob was thinking.

  “Kate.”

  She blinked, bringing her thoughts back to reality. “Hmm?”

  “If you talked to my lawyer, then she told you about Rafe’s offer, right?”

  She nodded. Ian’s old friend and mentor, Rafe Borba, apparently had heard about Maya’s abduction and put two and two together. He’d offered to help Ian out with a job and a place to live once Ian had his parole violation straightened out.

  “He’s got a bunch of properties in Reno. He told me he needed me to run things while he travels. He’s trying to make up for sitting on his butt for too long.” He smiled. “Believe me, I know the feeling.”

  Kate did, too. “The furthest I’ve been from Vegas in two years is Mesquite. We’re quite a pair, aren’t we? Gypsy moths with their wings clipped.”

  He appeared startled by the comment. “Gypsy moths. That’s what I called us the day we met. Do you remember?” He blinked suddenly as if something had gotten in his eye. “You took quite a risk giving me your number.”

  Kate felt a sudden easing of the band around her chest. She had indeed taken a risk. One that had paid off handsomely for a while. “Not really. I recognized you immediately. We were kindred spirits, both looking for a place to land.”

  She shrugged. “This is my place, Ian. I belong here. And don’t plan to leave, but if you think Reno will be better for you, then I’ll do whatever I can to make sure Maya gets to visit you whenever possible…as long as you swear you’ll never try to run off with her again.”

  “I promise, Katie. On Maya’s life, I promise.” He let out a shaky breath.

  Neither spoke for a few seconds, then Ian commented, “That’s really generous of you, Katie. I guess you can afford to be generous since you’re in love.”