One Daddy Too Many

by Debra Salonen

  Jo smiled serenely. “Your daughter is the oldest four-year-old I’ve ever met.”

  Kate agreed. Which meant they would need to be very careful what they said about Jo’s illness.

  “You know, Kate, Rob doesn’t want the kind of wedding his father had. You’re both too busy for all of that nonsense. What if you held it here? Small and simple. A white tent. An evening affair to avoid the heat. Just family and close friends,” Jo said, making a sweeping motion to encompass the backyard.

  Kate looked around. She could almost envision it. “When?” she wondered, idly.

  “What about late June or early July?” Jo asked. “That should give me time to get this doctoring business straightened out. We ought to know by then if I’m going to make it, right?”

  Kate’s heart plunged to her feet. She reached across the table to touch Jo’s arm. “Of course you’re going to make it.”

  Jo chuckled softly. “You sound a lot like my son at times. But not to worry. I’ve never passed up a chance to bake a wedding cake. The one I have in mind is three layers and adorned with foil-wrapped chocolate coins.”

  Kate went to her and hugged her—Poppy and all. “I love you, Jo. I’m so blessed to have you—and your son—in my life.”

  She might have said more, but at that moment, the French doors opened and her mother stepped outside followed by Liz and Alex. And Ian.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rob was making a fresh batch of freezer drinks when he heard someone enter the kitchen. Kate, he hoped. They had been entertaining her family for three hours and had yet to talk about their wedding.

  He topped off the last of the glasses and turned around.

  Ian.

  The man looked surprisingly well. He was dressed in Bermuda shorts with a Hawaiian print shirt and sandals. So new they still had creases from being folded on a shelf. “Ah, good, someone to help me carry these outside,” Rob said.

  Ian didn’t smile. Instead, he walked to the side-by-side refrigerator. He pointed at the painting Rob had tacked up right after Ginny, his Realtor, handed him the key to the front door.

  “She’s got talent,” Ian said. He laughed a bit self-consciously. “I suppose every proud papa says that about his child, but I mean it. She sees the world in a special way and isn’t afraid to put that out there.”

  “You’re right. She’s an amazing little girl,” Rob said.

  “She’s my little girl.”

  Rob didn’t say anything.

  “But I don’t deserve any credit for the way she’s turned out. When she was a baby, I was too busy working to spend time with her. I always figured I’d make up for it when she was older.”

  Ian pointed at the solitary figure in the drawing. “She made her choice.”

  Rob had no idea what to say. That could just as easily have been him, standing alone in a hideous green tie. And he knew he’d feel just as lousy as Ian obviously did.

  Compassion made him cross the room and hand Ian the drink he’d poured before he added the booze to the mix. “Here. A virgin daiquiri. Liz said alcohol aggravates your condition.”

  Ian took it, then glanced up. “Thanks. You’re being a good sport about me just showing up like this. I was as surprised as anybody when my attorney handed me my release papers. I have forty-eight hours to report to my parole officer in Reno.”

  “I’d heard it was going to be soon. Do you have a ride?”

  Ian nodded. “Yeah, an old friend. The guy who’s putting me to work. He’ll be getting to town in a couple of hours. Liz said she’d take me home in time to meet him. Alex convinced me that saying goodbye in person would be best for Maya.”

  “I agree. I’m glad you’re here.”

  Ian gave Rob a smile that seemed tinged with sadness. “I’m glad Katie found you. I think you’ll be good for each other.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Daddy,” a little girl’s voice called. “Where are you?”

  A second later, Maya appeared. She was wearing her swimsuit—a Dora the Explorer one-piece and pink flip-flops. Her slightly wet shoes made a squeaky sound crossing the tile.

  “There you are. Auntie Liz wanted me to make sure you remembered to take your pills.”

  Ian patted his pocket. “I just did, sweetheart. Thank you for reminding me.” He glanced at Rob and said, “We were just talking about your picture. It’s really good. Will you make one for me to take with me when I move?”

  “Sure.” She walked to where they were standing and held out her arms to be picked up. Ian obliged. When level with Rob, she said, “I’ll make you one that has me and Mommy and Rob and Jo and Poppy in it. So you won’t forget where we are.”

  Ian nodded gravely. “That would be great, honey.”

  “We’ll keep this one here because it shows the road from us to you. When we drive to see you, we gotta sing. Like Dorothy.” She looked at Rob. “I told Mommy I needed ruby slippers and she said she didn’t think so. Can you buy me some?”

  Rob knew he was being manipulated, but the little charmer was almost impossible to resist when she gave him that sweet innocent look.

  “Maya Katherine Grant. Are you begging Rob when I specifically told you no ruby slippers?” Kate barked, hurrying to where they were standing.

  “But Mommy. How else will I find Daddy after he moves?” Tears brimmed, threatening to spill over her little cheeks.

  “A map,” Rob said. “I’ll teach you how to read a map. There are big roads and little roads and towns with funny names, like Pahrump.”

  She didn’t look as though she believed him until Ian spoke, “Rob’s right, baby doll. I went there once. A long time ago. The guy who owned the bar had a pet buffalo named Bill.”

  “Bill?” Maya repeated.

  “Buffalo Bill,” Rob and Ian said together, chuckling. They toasted their glasses together, in a total guy gesture that meant something neither could probably put into words.

  Maya wiggled to be put down. “I gotta go show Auntie Liz my new room. It’s empty, but Mommy says we’re going to move all my stuff and dec-o-rate it real pretty,” she said, stressing each syllable of the word. “Wanna see it, too, Daddy?”

  After they were gone, Kate put her arms around Rob and said, “I should warn you, Maya will take you for all you’re worth, if you don’t watch it.”

  He grinned and looked at his painting. A mommy, a daddy, and a little girl. Together. A family. He’d gladly pay whatever price Maya extracted. He couldn’t wait.

  KATE WAS HONESTLY surprised by how well the afternoon was going—until Liz announced it was time for Ian to leave. Then Maya, who obviously needed a nap, threw a tantrum. Yetta volunteered to take her home for a rest.

  “We’ll catch a ride with Liz,” she said. “That way you and Rob can talk about wedding plans.”

  She squeezed Kate’s hand, which now sported the sparkling engagement ring, and added, “Just remember. The—”

  Kate stopped her. “Please, not another prophecy.”

  “I was going to say, the starter on my car is a little sticky. You have to wiggle the steering wheel a couple of times before you can turn the key.”

  Kate felt her face flush. “Oh.”

  Her mother hugged her. “It’s okay, dear heart. Your road has been a tough one, but I’m absolutely positive things will be less rocky from now on.”

  Kate wanted to believe her, but nagging fears remained. Was this the right move? Maybe she and Rob should just live together for a while. Shouldn’t they postpone any wedding plans until after Jo’s health issues were cleared up?

  “You’re Romani, Katherine. Never forget that.”

  Kate blinked. She wasn’t sure her mother had spoken the words. Or her father.

  Yetta smiled serenely, then kissed Rob who was carrying leftover watermelon into the kitchen, where Jo was cleaning up.

  The two women exchanged a quiet word then Jo shook her head and said, “Well, I’d better push off, too. I’m going online to see if there are any yog
a classes in my area.”

  “Yoga?” Kate asked.

  “Liz suggested it. Said it might help with my cravings, plus, I told her a bit of medical history. You know, I had rheumatic fever when I was a child. She said yoga might help me build up lung strength and help with stress.”

  Rob looked at Kate. “Sounds like a good idea.”

  “I told Yetta she should go with me. She said she’s had lung problems since infancy. Maybe we’ll both live to be a hundred.”

  Kate liked the sound of that. She gave her mother-in-law-to-be a big hug. “I love you, my friend. Your son is amazing. You did good, Jo.”

  “Thank you. I hope you know how much I adore your daughter, your mother, your sisters and, above all, you.”

  They hugged until Poppy protested from too much affection. “Can you believe this dog? It’s almost as if she’s always been a part of my life. She’s absolutely perfect. How could anyone have let her go?”

  “Sometimes circumstances dictate what we do,” Kate said, thinking of Sunny.

  “And sometimes,” Jo said, kissing her pooch on the head, “we just luck out.”

  “I CAN’T STAY.”

  “Why not? We’re almost legal.”

  “I promised Maya I’d tuck her in. She may seem okay, but I think she’s still upset about her dad leaving.”

  He nodded. “I know. And I also know how tired you are. Have you thought about going to the doctor? This thing with Mom has me a little freaked out.”

  Kate shrugged. “I’ll ask Liz for some herbal tea. She made me promise to stop drinking soda, you know. My body is probably going through the same kind of withdrawal that Jo’s is.”

  “Ah,” he said. “That might be it. But you promise not to doze off during our wedding, right?”

  She kissed him. “I promise. Besides, did it ever occur to you that all the exercise I get at night with you might be the culprit?”

  He nuzzled her neck. “To be honest. I was hoping you might be pregnant.”

  Kate laughed and shook her head. “No. Not possible. We’ve been careful.” Of course, she and Ian had been careful, too. She tried counting backward in her head. “I don’t think it’s possible.”

  Rob sighed. “Wishful thinking on my part. But, you do want more kids, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I loved being pregnant. My body felt strong and blessed and fruitful.” She shook her head. “You’re talking to a woman who feeds people for a living. What does that tell you?”

  “That you’re a giver. And as such you have to be careful not to give away too much because then there might be nothing left for yourself.” His protective tone warmed her. “But, I promise you, Kate, I’ll never let that happen. I’m the keeper of laws, and the number one law in this house will be: protect the queen.”

  She grinned. “My sisters and I grew up thinking we were princesses. Grace is going to be very upset when she learns that I’ve been promoted to queen.”

  “Too bad. You are my queen and I love you with all my heart and then some.”

  “What’s the ‘then some’?”

  His eyebrows waggled suggestively. “Come upstairs and let me show you. I don’t have a bed yet, but I think we can make do.”

  Kate laughed and took his hand because she knew without a doubt that she’d finally found the right road—her destiny, and she would walk each step, arm in arm, with the man she was born to love.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-6972-2

  ONE DADDY TOO MANY

  Copyright © 2006 by Debra K. Salonen.

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