“I don’t own this place.”
“You’re living in a house that isn’t yours?”
“Yes. The company I worked for rented this house for me as a perk.”
“I hope you understand that none of that stuff makes sense to me.”
“It’s safer to know less,” he said.
Kandace groaned. “Mom keeps saying that and I hate it. Dad, all I want is to see you. If that means we move, then fine. I’ll do it. Why is that so hard for you to understand?”
“You have friends, your studio to think about. Your sisters would throw a fit. When your mother is better, I can take a breather. When rehab ends. I realize this is unfair to you and your sisters, but this is our life right now.”
Kandace sipped her beer and lingered a moment. “So… you’re not a chef at all, are you?”
He shrugged. “I do cook. On occasion. I have the security clearances for high profile events. That’s about all the cooking I do.”
“Awesome,” Kandace said and sighed. “Do you know how stupid I feel, telling people you’re a chef?”
“Kandace…”
She shook her head. “Just… listen. I’m telling you how I feel, okay?”
“You were much younger,” he said.
“And I’m not much younger anymore, Dad. I’m an adult. I’ve graduated. So… when were you going to tell me the truth?”
“Hadn’t occurred to me that you wanted to know.”
She made a face at him and wanted to make him understand how she felt and she felt completely perplexed about how to do that. “You’re unbelievable. You didn’t think I’d want to know why you’ve been gone for two years?”
Loud, splashing water from the backyard caught Kandace’s attention. “Tell me you have a pool.”
“Yeah. You need a swim?”
You won’t tell me anything and I’m sick of arguing.
“Do I ever,” Kandace said, walking out to the backyard where April floated on her back.
“How’s the water, April?” Kandace asked, tugging off her dress.
“Perfect.”
Her father walked out back, and stopped abruptly. “Kandace… what are you wearing?”
She turned to him. “It’s a bikini.”
His eyes widened, then darted away. “More like an accessory for nakedness.”
April cracked up. “I love that! I’m stealing it.”
Kandace adjusted her suit. “Oh… it’s wedging a little. I got it.” She spun around. “See? I’m jumping in.” She didn’t wait for him respond.
The cold depth took her to places she wanted to go and linger awhile. She listened to gurgling and splashing as April swam and waves lapped at the sides. She opened her eyes as her father plunged in. Rising to the surface, she put her arms on the cool deck.
“Much better,” she said, pushing her hair back from her face.
His attention fixed on her. “Your mother lets you wear that?”
“Dad, this is what everybody wears on the beach,” Kandace said.
“If it had more cotton than what’s included with a Tylenol bottle, I wouldn’t object.”
April cut in, “There’s no cotton in that suit. It’s rayon, nylon and Lycra.”
“Thank you, but when I need your opinion, I’ll ask for it.” Her dad turned back to Kandace. “I’ll take you shopping.”
“Sweet! Upgrade my phone.”
“Not quite what I had in mind, but we can add that to the list, I suppose.” He swam to the ledge. “How long have you been in town?”
“We arrived yesterday.”
“Have you been to the beach?”
“Oh, yeah. The beach was great. Are you up for that?”
“Sounds like a viable way to spend time off with you.”
Kandace smiled like a goof. “That’s a relief.”
“Have you talked with Mom?”
“Yeah. Couple times.” Kandace paused a moment to drink, setting her bottle down. “Before I left, she had been in pain. She really needs you. She misses you.”
“I know,” he said. “But it’s harder on her to have me home in spurts.”
“We were thinking you’re deployed again. Or doing something worse, which makes her even more paranoid. And lonely.”
You have no idea how afraid I am of what you will say.
He seemed at ease. “If it helps, I’m not in combat.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m too old,” he said and winked. “How’s my boy? Markus?”
“Your boy?”
“Yeah. He’s still living in his parents’ basement, right?”
“As the earth still spins. Markus helped me find you.”
John smirked. “I thought as much. He thinks the world of you. He’s a good kid.”
Kandace screwed up her face at him. “Wait… you talked to him? After you left?”
“Once or twice.”
Markus was keeping secrets from me too. I hate everyone.
“As long as you’re not talking about me.”
John laughed. “You are his favorite subject. He is how I get the inside track.”
Kandace felt blood rush to her face. For an instant, she felt like she had a normal father to daughter relationship. “What all has he told you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. About your girlfriends’ shenanigans. About Kyle. How is Kyle, by the way?”
“He’s Kyle,” Kandace said, her voice dropping off. “It’s his mother who I hate.”
“Sounds serious. What provoked that?”
“It’s… kinda a long story. It ended well, though. April rescued me.”
John turned toward their neglected guest, swimming toward them. “She’s a spirited one, isn’t she?”
April cut in. “You’ve not seen anything yet.”
Kandace laughed quietly. “You caught that little nugget right off the bat?”
He nodded and hung onto the cool deck, his forearms crossed over each other, his longish, greying hair slicked back. Had he aged more than two years? Kandace suddenly felt like she’d been robbed of far more than time, as though he was wasting away and she couldn’t stop or slow down the decay.
She felt like she had to at least try to salvage what was left.
She finished her beer. “We need to have quality time.”
“I agree. We should. Go pick fruit. Hit the ice cream parlor…”
April cut in. “Lame!”
“Okay, April,” John said. “What would you like to do?”
“Skydiving.”
“Really? You want to go skydiving?” John asked, his gaze shifting to Kandace.
April answered him, “Yeah. Really. I’ve always wanted to do it.”
John wore a bemused look. “I’m fine with that… daughter? Are you on board with a tandem jump at fifteen thousand feet from a perfectly good airplane?”
Kandace made a face at him. “April isn’t snatching any of my coveted father and daughter time.”
April made her best cat hiss, waving her hands like claws. She got out and stretched out on a chaise lounge. “Don’t forget that I helped you find him.”
“Nice cat impression, April. You’ve been practicing that one, I can tell,” John said.
“You have no idea,” Kandace said.
April forced a laugh. “You’re just jealous of sheer talent.”
“Oh, speaking of cats… I can tell you about this project I was on, because it’s declassified,” her dad said.
“Declassified?” Kandace asked.
“Yeah. You can Google it. But anyway, the project used domestic house cats for surveillance. We captured strays and installed a microchip with a SIM card and modem on board, so it used a cellular signal. Then we added either a microphone near its neck or tail or we’d add a video device.”
Kandace cracked up. “That’s so crazy, I can’t believe you.”
“It’s true. Military forces on the ground need intel. Who’s in a building, who’s behind the walls. In parts of the
world, the enemy relies on ambush, so an unsuspecting feline works by romping into the enemy camp. It records live video and audio.”
“They’d just shoot the cat, though, right?” April asked.
“No way. You wouldn’t waste rounds killing a cat with an AK-47. Any unit within ten miles will find your location.”
“So it worked?”
“Partially. The cats didn’t survive long after we implanted them. The best ones died less than a year into the program, so they scrapped it. Plus, we couldn’t get a quality camera small enough to work in feline application.”
“That’s awesome. That’s like some… spy novel, Tom Clancy shit. I like it,” April said.
“You seriously implanted house cats?” Kandace asked. “You’re not messing with us?”
April cut in, “Kandace, he’s taking you for a ride. I like this guy.”
Her dad waved his hands above the water. “It was a real project. I used CKs—for Combat Kitty—in action several times. The problem was if the cat didn’t go everywhere in an area, then we didn’t have all that we needed. The best use was when we implanted sound wave tech, like sonar. So the cat could help with finding IEDs. Trouble is, we had to have so many cats to make it work, the enemy caught on and started poisoning our cats.”
April sat up on the chaise. “Oh, no. You’re serious. The government of the United States installed computer tech into house cats to make them into spies. Bomb locators and soldiers, basically.”
“They saved lives.”
“Man. If I come back in my next life as a cat, I’m staying clear of you.”
Her dad cackled.
“I can’t believe you used cats in combat,” Kandace said
“It is a decommissioned project. Your cats are safe. So, how’s the dance studio?”
“Uh, good,” Kandace said, pausing. “I’ve been teaching a beginner’s class.”
“You said as much before. How many hours?”
“Not enough. Like fifteen per week. Then I see my instructor on weekends for my own class.”
“I’m glad you found something you love. It’s the only way to go. Find what you love, then don’t quit, even when it’s hard. So, hip-hop? Is that the style these days?”
Kandace held her breath for the first test. “Dad, I dropped that after three years. Pole dancing is what I do now.”
His head snapped back to her. “Pole dancing? Tell me you’re joking.”
“It’s sport dancing, Dad. I teach young girls from seven years old and up. And moms who want to get in shape.”
He was quiet for several moments, then said, “Seven years old? Pole dancing?” He shook his head. “Tell me this isn’t popular.”
“Oh, totally. Big competitions all over. When I was in that tournament I told you all about, that was pole dancing.”
Can’t tell you the truth, I guess.
“You never mentioned pole dancing before.”
“Dad, c’mon. It’s popular. Socially acceptable. And I’m good at it. Isn’t that enough?”
Kandace pushed away from the wall and swam to the opposite corner, putting distance from her father.
“Your mother knows?”
Shit. Now she’s in trouble.
“She’s the only parent I’ve got coming to my tournaments.” Kandace held up her hands. “It’s no big deal, but now you know. So… where’ve you been living?”
“China,” he said. “You drove from Pittsburgh? Left on Saturday, you said?” He pulled himself to the ledge the ledge and sat, legs submerged. “There’s a story I’d like to hear.”
“I left last Saturday night. Didn’t Mom tell you?”
How much could she remember?
He shook his head. “She tells me all the time how you are her life saver.”
Kandace smiled. “Thanks.”
He smiled back, the way he’d smile if he were thinking things he couldn’t say. Or just didn’t know how to. “If you don’t mind, I’ll hit the hammock.”
Kandace couldn’t argue.
26
Exhausted both physically and emotionally, a nap in the sun sounded blissful. But her mind couldn’t rest because of all that she didn’t know—at least it seemed like her father did legal work. Covert, but legal. He worked for the military? Maybe he built the equipment the military used. Someone had to, right? Couldn’t he just say so, if that’s his job? Where did he live? Possibly all over. Military bases? Maybe.
Markus must know more than he’s telling.
April flipped over, top up, her face toward Kandace, lounging beside her.
“I can’t believe I found him,” Kandace said.
April grinned a little. “You didn’t think you would?”
“I can say that about many things this past week.”
“I’ll bet. Where do we start?”
“Oh, I don’t know… the club for one, making out with another woman. New car. New city. I’m just worried about Dad talking to Mom and what she might accidentally tell him about the trip. Since I left with Kyle and Mom knows that, I’m afraid that might slip.”
“Then you kinda have to tell him about your job… sooner.” April moved closer to Kandace. “Hey, were you planning to work tonight?”
Kandace lifted her head, checking on her father. He was still stretched out in the shade, snoring. “I need the money, and I liked the club here but I can’t see dancing when I have time with Dad.”
“For real? I thought you planned to keep on dancing to pay for college.”
“I did, I said I would and I know I need the money, but that was before I found him.”
“Come again?” April sat up, studying Kandace.
“I found Dad and that changes everything. I don’t want to hurt what I have with him,” Kandace said. “I still want him to come home.”
“Is he gonna pay for you to go to college? Pay off your car? Your taxes? The club reports your income to the IRS, so you can’t hide it.”
“I want to discuss all that with Dad before I do anything else.”
“Why?”
“I’m giving him a chance. I want him in my life, so I’m telling him what I need.”
April snickered. “Girl, you are ever the optimist, but he’s not suddenly about to transform into a white knight for you.”
“I don’t know that yet. I’ve come across the country and found him here, maybe that will change things. I want to give him the chance to make things right.”
“So… let me get this straight. You think that by finding him against his will, he’s suddenly gonna start paying for your college when he didn’t offer ever before? That about right?”
Kandace paused a moment. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “I hope that he sees my need and that I’m stuck without money for school.”
“What did he say about your college needs last time?”
“He told me to wait a year, figure out what I wanted to do for work.”
April stretched out on the chaise. “Sounds like nothing’s changed if you ask me.”
“I know for sure that if I dance, he’s not going to take it well and I don’t want to ruin everything I’ve worked for to get here, to find him. It’s all a waste if I don’t get time with him.”
“But your mom knows you are dancing and she understood, right? She supports you.”
“Sorta. I didn’t know what to expect. She understood I had no money, I was stuck in St. Louis without a ride anywhere and I needed to get to out here. I was out of options and she understood that. So… she accepted that I made my own decision on limited options.”
“Is she pissed about it?”
“I don’t think so. I think she’s worried I will regret dancing someday, when I’m older and married and such.”
“Hey, people can bash stripping, but it pays better than most jobs. How long is your dad staying?” April asked.
Kandace kept her voice down. “He said one week but didn’t sound sure.”
“Okay, seriously. Sounds like he’s a s
py. So, when are you telling James Bond that you need money for college and all? And are you going to tell him your plans to strip when he says he can’t give you money?”
Kandace reapplied sunscreen to her shoulders. “I’m starting to burn. Does my back look red?” She turned so April could see.
“You’re stalling, girl. Your back is fine.”
“Okay, okay. I’ve no clue. I hate his travel and distance, but he hates my job too.” She scooted closer to April so they were face to face. “I can’t see telling him, honestly. Why hurt him?”
“So, is your plan to quit dancing if he agrees to pay for college?”
“I… don’t know,” Kandace said.
“I know how you feel and I’ll tell you, if girls only did what family wanted, there’d be no strippers on earth. And that, my friend, would be tragic. I hope you’ve got a plan to tell him, because I think he will figure you out before long.”
“Maybe. If he comes through on money, then I won’t need to tell him at all. If he agrees to cover my living expenses, I’ve got enough scholarship and grant money to pay tuition, so it’s not like the entire cost is on him.”
“So, you might keep dancing?”
Kandace turned over, adjusted her top and put her head back on green fabric, bathing in sunlight. “I guess. I don’t have a good plan B.”
“Dancing is a damn good plan B. Pays off your car, pays for college and you’ll have fun.”
Kandace looked around the yard—fake grass, tall palm trees and big rocks around the far side of the pool. “If he’s bothered about a bikini, about pole dancing at the studio, he’s not gonna roll over. Go berserk is more like it. Say, how soon do I have to pay Teddy for the car?”
“When we get back to St. Louis.” April paused to sip her water. “So, you’re not dancing tonight? You’re short on cash for the car, right?”
“I need money for the car, but I’ve worked too hard to get here and see my Dad. We need time. See where this goes. I’ve not seen him since I was sixteen. He left right after my birthday.”
“Can I be scared for you?”
Kandace nodded and didn’t say anything awhile, watching the water ripple slower and slower, until the pool water was blue glass. April reapplied sunscreen and when she’d finished, said, “So, what’s your plan with your dad?”
Goodbye, Good Girl Page 25