by Leger, Lori
Daniel nodded, smiling down at Tiffany. “From what I can remember, you handled yourself pretty well on the back of a horse.”
“That’s right, both Drake and I rode,” Tiffany said. “We did anything we could to get out of that house every day for a while. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised you were even aware of that.” She made her way to the kitchen to start a fresh pot of coffee.
Red passed his father in law a look of apprehension. “I hope you weren’t expecting to waltz in here to an easy fix. This could take some time, as well as commitment.”
“I heard she wasn’t pleased that you called me.”
“No, she wasn’t—and I’m still sensing a hint of reservation, like sometimes she wonders if she made a mistake in marrying me.” He nudged his father in law. “You’d better be serious about this, because I sure as hell don’t want to lose her because of it.”
Daniel stared after his daughter. “If I wasn’t serious, I wouldn’t be here.” He shook his head. “She’s really lovely with her hair that way.”
“She’s always been beautiful to me, but I have to admit, I love it like this.” Red watched his wife move comfortably around the kitchen until he heard Daniel clear his throat. He turned, somewhat surprised to see the older man wearing an unexpectedly tender expression.
“Do you really love her, Red?”
He nodded. “I can’t imagine my life without her.”
Daniel’s face split in a wide grin. “That’s excellent,” he said, before returning his gaze to his daughter.
“Do you love her, Sir?” Red asked him.
“I sure do.”
“Then it shouldn’t be that difficult to find a way to show her. That’s all she’s ever wanted from either of her parents.”
“Coffee will be ready in a few minutes,” Tiffany announced as the two men joined her in the kitchen.
“Coffee sounds good,” Daniel said.
Tiffany got three mugs down from the cabinet. “Have you eaten breakfast?”
“Yes, I have.”
“I hope you eat chicken. I’m roasting a hen for lunch.” She turned back to gauge his reaction.
“The entire bird?” His eyes gleamed with delight. “I eat a lot of baked or broiled poultry, but I’m not allowed to eat anything but the breast. Ugh, I hate white meat.”
“It’s too dry,” Tiffany interjected, before recalling she was supposed to be making him work for today.
“Finally, someone who agrees with me! Would it be rude to call dibs on a big, juicy leg quarter?”
Tiffany frowned at her father. “I guess that would depend on why you’re not allowed to eat anything but the breast.”
He looked down, scuffing the heel of one expensive western boot on the floor tile. “My doctor says I need to lower my cholesterol level and my blood pressure.”
“Do you get regular check-ups?” she asked.
“Every six months, if not more.”
“Have you had a colonoscopy and a PSA test done?”
“Several times already, and my results are always good.”
Tiffany nodded, satisfied with his answer.
“Does this mean I can have that leg quarter?”
She pursed her lips. “We’ll see.”
“If it helps, I’ve just come up with a sure fire way to lower my blood pressure,” he volunteered.
Tiffany placed the carafe of coffee in front of her father as they seated themselves around the island. “Oh yeah? How’s that?” She pushed a mug toward him.
Daniel poured himself a cup of the steaming brew and took a sip. “Mm…good, strong coffee,” he said, adjusting his position on the bar stool. “I’ve asked your mother for a divorce. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I’ve been in a relationship with another woman for twenty-eight years. I realize now how unfair I’ve been to all of you. If I’d divorced Monica years ago, I could have taken you and Drake to live with Leah and me.” He took another sip of coffee and set the mug down on the granite countertop. “Your mother would have taken me to the bank, of course, so we wouldn’t have been as well off, but we could have been a family. Leah couldn’t have children of her own, but she would have been a wonderful mother to you and Drake. More importantly, I would have been a better father to the two of you. I was such a fool.”
“Mother would have put up a fight for the check book, that’s for sure.”
“Of course,” he grunted. “And she’d have dragged us all through the mud, while playing the poor, pitiful housewife—”
“All the while sleeping with the pool boy—” Tiffany said.
“—and the horse groomer—” he added.
“—don’t forget the gardener.”
“—and several of my friends at the Gold Club.”
Tiffany shook her head, thinking it would have been much funnier if it wasn’t all so true. “Drake says Leah’s a nice lady.”
“She is, Tiffany. This whole situation, her regret over not being able to be a part of your lives, it’s always made her so sad.”
Tiffany studied this virtual stranger standing before her, not quite ready to let him off the hook. “You’d think if she cared that much she would have convinced you to take a more active role in my and Drake’s life.”
“Oh, she tried, believe me. She almost left me a couple of times because of it. But she stayed, thank God.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry again for upsetting you over the phone last night. Leah reamed me out pretty good for offering to pay for your honeymoon. She said it was tacky, considering how neglectful I’ve been all these years.”
“Leah sounds like a smart lady,” Tiffany said.
Daniel chuckled. “She is. Is there anything I could do? Besides being an active part of your lives, because I still intend to do that.”
“We don’t need your money.”
“I know you don’t, but Leah did make one suggestion that you may possibly find more agreeable.”
Tiffany sighed, already tired of the subject. “What is it?”
“A college fund for any future grandchildren. She said the only thing that could replace an education would be another education. Do you find that offensive?”
She looked at Red, who smiled and gave her a nod of encouragement.
“I guess that would be okay,” she said.
Daniel beamed at his daughter. “Good. At least that’s something. Now, have you spoken to your mother lately?”
“Not since she called me after I broke off my engagement to Tanner. She said she had no need for ungrateful children.” Tiffany shook her head, still amazed at her mother’s nerve. “Did she ever want Drake or me? Did she ever even try to care for us? I mean, change a diaper or give either of us a bottle in the middle of the night? Something—anything?”
Daniel LeBlanc shook his head. “In all fairness, she raised you the same way she was raised. She had the first nanny hired before we even brought you home from the hospital. My mom was still alive then, and when she came to see you for the first time and saw how that woman was handling you, she begged me to get rid of her and find someone decent. I can’t remember what the woman’s real name was, but she was German. My mom called her Fraulein Frankenstein, and said you wouldn’t have lasted a month in her care. After that, we went through three more, and your grandmother and I vetoed every one of them. Then mom met Melinda and talked her into taking over your care. She said Melinda needed you as much as you needed her. It really irked your mother, and she even tried to fire her once. I told her unless she wanted to take over the diaper changing and two o’clock feedings, she’d better leave Melinda the hell alone. That was the end of it. So, as much as I’d like to take all the credit for hiring Melin, you can thank your grandmother for finding her.”
“I wish I’d have known her long enough to remember her. Any fond memories of my childhood only include Melinda and Drake,” she said, as an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Finally her father cleared his throat. “Like I said, I’ll t
ry to find some photographs of you two together.”
“I’d appreciate that. I’m going to change into something more comfortable before starting lunch.” She walked down the hallway into her and Red’s bedroom.
Daniel McAllister let out a low whistle. “She wasn’t kidding, was she? She’s not going to make this easy on me at all.”
“Do you blame her?” Red asked him.
“Not one bit.”
“About those photographs, I need to get my hands on a couple dozen photos of Tiffany from infancy through college. My mom wants to have an album made for Tiffany for Christmas. It’s a surprise, so don’t say anything to her.”
“I doubt seriously if Monica has anything, but I’ll bet Melinda has plenty.”
“Do you have a number where she could be reached?”
He shook his head. “I don’t, but I’m fairly certain Drake does. She’s married and lives in Washington state now.”
“That’s what Tiffany said. Listen, Daniel, this is a time sensitive issue, so I’m going to get this rolling right now. I don’t want Tiff to hear me, so I’ll step out for a minute, if it’s okay with you.”
Tiffany rejoined her father, dressed in comfortable jeans and a sweater. “Where’s Red?” She didn’t particularly cherish the idea of being alone in a room with her father.
“He had to step outside to make a business call.”
“Oh,” she said, as she programmed the oven then pulled the pan containing the hen out of the refrigerator. She added a few more seasonings to the bird she’d prepared the night before, feeling her father’s gaze on her.
“Tiffany,” he said, finally breaking the silence. “I was wondering if you would like to pursue a relationship with Leah. If you say no, I won’t push you. I won’t blame you a bit, but she told me that nothing would make her happier than to become a part of your lives. She’s hoping to become a doting step-grandmother one of these days.”
Tiffany stopped in her tracks, trying to imagine what it would be like to have another mother figure besides Melinda. “Does she really?” She was still somewhat leery of accepting his word on faith.
Daniel nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. She wanted children so badly. She stayed on the pill for years to avoid getting pregnant, and when I finally told her that we could try for a baby she developed uterine cancer and had to have a complete hysterectomy. She had chemo for a year and it almost killed her. I came so close to losing her.”
She turned to face him, curious about this new information. “How long ago did that happen?”
“That was fifteen years ago.”
Tiffany stared at her father in disbelief. “And still you didn’t divorce mother for her. That must have made her feel really special.”
He sighed. “Okay, Tiffany, we’ve established the fact that I’ve been a fool for a lot of years now. Could we move on?”
“I wouldn’t necessarily call you a fool, Dad.”
“Well, then what would you call me?”
“How about an asshole?” she accused bitterly. “You tell me you love this woman but she nearly dies of cancer after you decide to allow her to have an illegitimate child of yours and still you can’t make an honest woman of her!” She jerked open the oven door and sent the roaster containing the hen skidding over the wire rack. She slammed the door closed and turned on him. “What else would you call a man like that? You don’t like asshole? How about selfish, self-centered, or insensitive? Any one of those would fit!”
Red chose that moment to re-enter the tension filled room. He cleared his throat quietly and walked over to his wife. “I leave you two alone for a minute and look what happens,” he said, apparently trying to make light of the situation.
Tiffany stalked to the refrigerator, searching the contents for absolutely nothing then slammed it shut to turn on her father again. “I have to know. Why the hell didn’t you leave mother then? Why didn’t you marry Leah after that, if you loved her so much?”
“Because of you and Drake,” he said quietly.
She couldn’t stop the burst of hysterical laughter. “I cannot believe you’re going to blame Drake and me for that.”
“It’s always been about you and Drake, Tiffany. You kids were only eight and six when Leah and I got together. She refused to do anything that would hurt the two of you. Your mother would have made all our lives a living hell. So she stayed on the pill until you were older. When you were both in college we decided to try for a baby. She was thirty four at the time and I was forty-nine. I planned to divorce Monica and marry Leah, but one day she began to hemorrhage and had to be rushed in for emergency surgery. That’s when they found the cancer—already in stage 2. It’s a miracle she’s even alive. She had to have a complete hysterectomy with several rounds of chemo. After she knew she couldn’t have kids, she said there was no point in me divorcing Monica to marry her. She said it would only have hurt the two of you and it would have been for nothing.”
Tiffany stood there astonished, not knowing what to say. She finally shook her head. “My God, you must have resented Drake and me horribly.”
“I never resented you or Drake. I resented your mother, and now I’m beginning to see how ridiculous that was. I was stupid, Tiffany. I was a coward for not taking the chance when I should have. It would have been worth losing every dime I had to have you and Drake brought up in a home filled with love. Leah could have given you that. With her around I could have been a better father. I’m a far better man with her.”
Tears streamed down Tiffany’s face as her father continued.
“I will live the rest of my life knowing that, not only did I waste years of my life and Leah’s, but also yours and your brother’s childhoods. I could have made it better for all of us if I’d just been—better. I’m so sorry Tiffany. Can you ever forgive me?”
The icy grip around Tiffany’s heart suddenly broke loose as her father spoke the words she’d longed to hear for so many years. She began to sob openly as her father reached his arms out to her. She stood there crying, but still unable to move toward him. She felt a gentle touch on her shoulders as her husband whispered softly to her.
“It’s all right to let it go now, Doc. It’s time to open a new door.” He gently pushed her so that after one step she walked into her father’s open arms.
Red stood and watched his wife and her father as they mended thirty-six years of broken bridges—broken by lack of communication, poor judgment, and selfishness. He left them to themselves, giving them the privacy this situation called for, hoping Daniel didn’t say anything stupid to ruin the moment. After fifteen minutes he thought it might be safe to venture out. He opened the door and immediately heard Tiffany giggling, accompanied by Daniel’s hearty laughter. He approached cautiously, leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway to watch his wife interact with her father. They spoke comfortably, as though the years of difficult feelings had never existed.
Tiffany saw him and went to him, smiling as she walked into his open arms. “Thank you, baby,” she said. “This happened because of you.”
“All brides need their daddy to walk them down the aisle. That is if you’re still willing to marry me,” he whispered in her ear.
“Of course I will.” She gave him a gentle kiss. “And I’m sorry for being so harsh.”
He pulled her tight for a hug. “I deserved it.”
She hugged him back before pulling away to face her father. “So, how about it, Dad? I need someone to walk me down the aisle the day after Christmas. Think you can handle it?”
He nodded, his eyes glistening with tears. “Definitely.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I do have one question, and you can say no if you want to, but can Leah come to the wedding? She’s dying to meet both of you.”
“I’d love to meet her. As a matter of fact, I’d like the four of us and Red’s parents to meet before the wedding. Can we try to plan something for next weekend?”
Daniel beamed
at his daughter. “Tiffany, you pick the dates and times, and we’ll be here, I promise. My God, I feel ten years younger,” he said, throwing his head back and bellowing with laughter. “I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. I can’t wait to tell Leah, she’s wanted this for so long.”
“Would you mind if I called her right now and spoke to her first?” Tiffany asked.
Daniel was quick to give her his home and cell number, along with Leah’s cell number, in case she was outside with the horses. Tiffany walked out to the pool house to call her while Red and Daniel remained in the kitchen.
Daniel stared after his daughter, wearing a look that could only be described as unadulterated joy. His father-in-law turned to him, beaming once more, and extended his hand to him. He grabbed it and gave it a hearty shake.
“I can’t believe how good I feel. You’re a Godsend for this family, Red, and I am truly grateful.”
“I’d do anything to make her happy, Sir. She’s the most important thing to me.”
“Just wait until you have children of your own. There’s not a doubt in my mind you’ll do a hell of a lot better job at raising my grandchildren than I did at raising my own.” He leaned over and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Forgive me for prying, but Leah wanted me to ask if I got the chance. When exactly can we expect some of those?”
Red gave him a satisfied grin. “We’re already trying.”
Daniel’s face practically glowed with happiness. “I tell you what, Red. This must be how ole Charlie Dickens’ Scrooge felt on Christmas mornin’. I’ve visited all my ghosts and thrown off all those damn chains.” He put his head back as another burst of laughter erupted. “And by damn it, I can’t wait to start those college funds!”
One week later, Tiffany and Red hosted a Sunday dinner with Red’s parents, Tiffany’s father, and Leah Hanson. She’d tried to get Drake to come but he’d begged off, saying he was trying to wrap things up with his firm by New Year.
“Besides,” he’d told her in their last phone call, “I’ve already seen them twice this week. You’ve really opened up the flood gates as far as Dad is concerned. He can’t seem to get enough of ‘family’ now.”