What was it about Scott Matthews that made inappropriate questions pop out of her mouth?
“Actually, the fact that I don’t mind you asked is an answer in itself. Yes, I missed her. And not just because raising those two girls alone was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
He’d cared and then he was alone. She related all too well. “I’m sorry,” she said again.
“I don’t need sympathy. Raising kids is also the most wonderful, rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” He blew out a long breath. “I’m not exactly sure why I told you all that.”
“Maybe because I happened to be here when you found the stick?”
He frowned. “That damn pregnancy test.”
“Sometimes it’s easier to confide in strangers. Someone who doesn’t have an emotional stake in any of this.”
“Yeah,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t usually spill my guts. But then, it’s not every day I find out my daughter is sexually active.”
“Shock will loosen your tongue.”
He glanced at the evidence beside him. “I can’t believe this. I don’t want my daughter to be a mother while she’s still a child herself. I don’t want her to repeat my mistakes.”
“I hate to think of children as mistakes,” she said, a tad sharply. “They’re a consequence of an action. A fact of life.” Or in her case, combining her egg with her husband’s sperm in a petri dish. In vitro fertilization was the miracle that had produced her fact of life.
“You’re splitting hairs. I don’t want them to do the same things I did. And now I find this.”
“You were right when you said I’ve had no experience in this area. But you’re obviously upset and I feel compelled to offer something. If Kendra is pregnant, it would be an experience that will take her down a different path. It doesn’t have to mean failure for either of you.”
“Hold on—”
“Think about it,” she interrupted. “Can you honestly tell me you can imagine your life without your children in it?”
Hostility crackled in the air between them. Then the corners of his mouth curved up. “Actually, yes. I’ve been imagining Kendra going off to college.”
“She’ll still be in your life,” Thea pointed out.
“I was kidding. She thinks I’m against junior college. Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about her going away. You’re right. I can’t imagine never having my girls. They’re my reason for getting out of bed every day and putting one foot in front of the other.”
Boy, in her current condition, she could really relate to that. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him about her pregnancy, to share it with him. To bond. But she swallowed the temptation.
“Look, Scott, has it occurred to you that the test might not even belong to her?”
His face brightened. “Actually, no.”
“You’re obviously a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy,” she said wryly. “It’s always possible that it belongs to a friend who didn’t want to take the test at her house. And Kendra was just being supportive.”
“Way to put a positive spin on this.”
His sudden smile had a very weird effect on her. She felt the force of it through her whole body. Her stomach dropped as if she were riding an elevator that suddenly plunged toward the basement. And her heart fluttered as if powered by a horde of humming birds’ wings.
“I’m a pro at spinning,” she finally managed to say.
“Spinning the facts?”
“No, actually. Salad spinning is more my style.”
“Thanks for the benefit of an alternate perspective.” He laughed. “But seriously, I’m sorry I dumped on you.”
“Like I could have stopped you.” She smiled.
“You could have left.”
“No, I really couldn’t. I’ve never met anyone who looked like they needed to talk more than you did today. And it is helpful, especially if somebody listens.”
“I don’t normally get carried away like that.”
“No problem. Don’t give it another thought.”
Thea sincerely meant that. She had a feeling Scott’s daughter was searching for an emotional something. And the pregnancy test was troubling. She was aware that the girl had reached out to her, even if it was behind her father’s back. Obviously her graduation party was a big deal to Kendra and for some reason she couldn’t tell her father.
“But do me a favor, Scott.”
“Sure. What?”
“Just keep in mind that some girls confuse—”
The garage door slammed just before Kendra walked into the family room. She looked at the two of them. “Hi, Thea.”
Scott felt the hostility radiating from his daughter. Even if he hadn’t, he wasn’t ready for the conversation he knew he had to have with her. “How is Zoe?”
“She wasn’t home.” She glared at him. “How come you’re still here?”
Talking to Thea had begun to calm him down, but he could feel his blood pressure climbing again. He glanced at Thea and saw the sympathy on her face as she quietly watched Kendra.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
Kendra lifted one shoulder. The sullen gesture was one he saw from time to time and it never failed to fire up his frustration. “You’re selling the house,” she said. “Your work here is done. I figured you’d go back to the office.”
He picked up the pregnancy test stick and held it up. “Not after I found this.”
Kendra’s eyes grew wide. Then surprise was replaced with angry resentment. “You were snooping in my stuff?”
“If you call dumping the trash in your bathroom snooping—yes.”
Thea picked up her purse. “Scott. Kendra. You two need to talk. It would probably be best if I leave you alone.”
“Don’t go,” Kendra said. “I want you to stay.”
“But, this is private.” Thea took a step back.
“Not anymore. Thanks to my Dad.”
“Don’t make this about me,” he defended. “If you straightened up after yourself, I’d never have known. Your room—”
“You were in my room?” Her voice rose in pitch to just below what only a dog could hear.
“Yes. And you know why.”
“To sell it.” Kendra huffed out a breath.
“It’s part of the house.”
“I can’t believe you let strangers in my room.”
Thea cleared her throat and slid her purse on her shoulder. “I’ll just get my things together.”
“Please don’t go,” Kendra begged. “I didn’t mean you’re a stranger.”
But she was. Practically. Scott looked between the two of them. “Why is it so important for her to stay?”
“Neutral third party,” his daughter said, tossing a strand of hair over her shoulder. “I need a witness.”
Scott looked at his daughter, the dark hair and blue eyes that were so like his. Maybe that’s what scared him the most—that she was so much like him. A little rebellious. A little daring. Hostile and angry. The thought of her making the same mistakes and living with the consequences tied him in knots. He wanted her to have more choices, fewer problems. Hell, he wanted her life to be perfect, however unrealistic that was. How did he get through to her?
He looked at Thea, who was studying him. If it would help Kendra, he had no objection to Thea sticking around. After spilling his guts, there wasn’t a whole lot she didn’t know. He nodded slightly and she took her purse off her shoulder.
“Now, forget about the house,” he said, glancing at the pregnancy test. “There’s something more important we have to focus on.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I disagree,” he shot back. “I’m your father. If you’re having sex—”
“I don’t want to talk to you about this.”
“I don’t care. Are you pregnant?” he demanded.
“That’s none of your business,” she said angrily.
“The hell it�
��s not. You’re my daughter.”
“An accident of birth doesn’t give you the right to tell me what to do.”
“Actually it does. And another reason I can is that I pay all the bills around here.”
“There won’t be an ‘around here’ much longer, thanks to you,” she said.
He glanced at Thea, who was diplomatically silent. Then he met his daughter’s angry gaze. “It’s not going to work.”
“What?” she asked defiantly.
“You’re trying to take the heat off by changing the subject.”
“And you don’t give a damn about my feelings.”
“If you’re talking about the house again, I’m not going there.” He took a step forward. “Focus, Kendra. That pregnancy test tells me you’re having sex. I need to know if you’re going to have a baby and who the father is.”
Like heat rising from blacktop, animosity rolled off the teen in waves. “I can’t believe you. For the last eighteen years, you’ve practically ignored me. I’m eighteen. I’m an adult, too old for you to interfere in my life.”
“You’ll never be too old. And I’ll always be your father. It’s my job to interfere.”
“Why can’t you just leave this alone? Leave me alone?”
Scott felt frustration and anger coiling inside him, but struggled to control the feelings. Before he could, she turned and ran from the room. “Kendra? Come back here,” he shouted.
The stomping on the stairs was a good indication that she planned to ignore him. He started to go after her.
“Scott?”
He felt a hand on his arm and looked at Thea. “What?”
“It might be best to let her go.”
“But I have to know.”
Thea’s brown eyes were warm with sympathy. “And she’ll just continue to stonewall you if you charge after her.”
“So? I’ll wear her down.”
Thea shook her head. “Not in her present state of mind, you won’t. You can talk, but you can’t force her to reveal anything.”
When she removed her hand from his arm, he missed the warmth of her fingers. “Do you have a suggestion?”
“Yes.”
“Care to share?”
She nodded. “Give her some space. Let her calm down. You might want to do the same.”
“I am calm.”
“Oh?” Thea blinked up at him and then she smiled.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You’re stretched so tight, if you were a rubber band and let go, you’d put someone’s eye out.”
He released a long breath. “Okay. Maybe you’re right.” He stared at the doorway where his daughter had stood moments before. “But I don’t get it. What was all that about ignoring her for eighteen years?”
“I don’t know,” Thea said.
“Maybe this is payback.”
“For what? Being a good father?”
He looked at her. “For how I felt when I first found out my wife was pregnant again. But when I saw Kendra for the first time…” He searched for words to express the power of his emotions and couldn’t find any. “It was love at first sight,” he finally said.
“Have you ever told her that?”
“I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Under the circumstances, she might have some unresolved feelings,” Thea suggested. “Some girls confuse sex and love.”
“Are you saying she’s looking for love in all the wrong places because she thinks I don’t care about her?”
“I have no idea.” She sighed. “I’m just the caterer. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m not sure there’s a parallel, but she contacted me to do her graduation party. And she didn’t tell you she was doing the party on that scale. I’m no shrink, but it’s obvious to me that she’s sending you some kind of message.”
“Can you decode it?”
“With my magic garlic press? Or maybe the decoder in my secret slotted spoon?” she asked, one corner of her full mouth tilting up.
“Okay. Stupid question. But you’re a woman. Do you have any thoughts about what she’s trying to say?”
“Yes.”
When she didn’t say anything further he added, “Any you’d care to share?”
“Do you really want me to? After all, I’ve never had any children,” she said pointedly.
“Okay. I deserve that for patronizing you. But I’m desperate. Lady, I need all the help I can get. If you’ve got any ideas, I’m listening.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I suggest you give her some time. When she’s ready to talk, you listen to her.”
“That’s it?”
She nodded, then said, “And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Think about having the party, and not just an average backyard barbecue. Give some thought to doing it the way she wants it,” she added.
“Because you need the gig?”
She shook her head. “I don’t need the job badly enough to take advantage of your situation. If one job was that important, I wouldn’t be looking to take on a bigger house and mortgage.”
“Okay. Then why should I think about doing the shindig her way?”
“Because my impression is that she’s basically a good kid. And this was important enough to her to go behind your back.”
“So you’re saying I should reward her bad behavior?”
She thought for a moment and then said, “Think of it as hearing her cry for help. If she knows you’re listening instead of lecturing, she’s more likely to tell you what you want to know.”
“How can I just listen when I need to make her understand that if she’s not careful, she could ruin her life?”
“If I could answer that question, I’d be a financially independent woman.” Thea shrugged and smiled a little sadly. “Goodbye, Scott. Good luck,” she added.
It was odd, but when he’d found her in his kitchen, he’d been irritated. Watching her leave irritated him even more. And the implications of that didn’t sweeten his temper.
Chapter Three
The following morning Thea parked her car in front of her office, then went to let herself in. She found the door was unlocked, which meant her workaholic partner was already there.
“Connie?” she called out, setting her purse and briefcase on her desk.
“Back here,” came the reply.
She’d been best friends with Connie Howard since the seventh grade. They’d gone through everything together—their weddings, the birth of her friend’s two children and the death of Thea’s husband. She would have gotten through it without Connie, but probably not with her sanity intact.
Thea walked through the doorway separating the front office from the kitchen/work area in the back. She’d leased this space when her business outgrew her condo. Sometimes she cooked for a job at home, but mostly she and Connie prepared food here.
They’d furnished this office with a top-of-the-line double oven, a microwave/convection oven, a large side-by-side refrigerator and the best set of pots and pans their budget allowed. The drawers and cupboards were stuffed with the latest gizmos to make a cook’s heart go pitter-patter.
Connie was industriously wiping down the counter-tops. As Thea approached, her tall, redheaded friend glanced over her shoulder. “Hi, T.”
“Hi, yourself. It’s only eight-thirty. What are you doing here so early?”
“It’s not that early. Besides, I had a day off.” She faced Thea and put her hands on her boyishly slim hips. “So how did your appointments go yesterday?”
The image of Scott Matthews instantly popped into her head. Not surprising, since thoughts of him hadn’t been far from her mind since leaving his place yesterday. She’d wondered whether his daughter was going to have a baby. Some appointment.
“I took deposits for several parties,” she said vaguely.
Connie’s green-eyed gaze narrowed on her. “And?”
“And nothing.�
�
“Don’t blow me off, T. You’ve got a funny look on your face.”
Thea sat on one of the tall stools outside the U-shaped work space and looked at her friend. “One of my appointments got a little weird. The initial contact was made by a teenager who didn’t have parental permission for a catered graduation party.”
“Bummer.”
“Yeah,” Thea said, sighing with what felt like regret. And she wasn’t sure why. Like she’d told Scott—it wasn’t as if they needed the catering job to survive. This business was thriving and word of mouth was their best free advertising.
Connie leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter. “It’s just as well you found out she was pulling a fast one before putting time, effort and money into the event. How did the underhanded little stinker get caught?”
“Kendra’s father came home unexpectedly while she and I were discussing the party.”
“What about the kid’s mother?”
“Out of the picture,” Thea answered. “And I get the feeling Kendra is having some feelings about it. She accused her father of ignoring her.”
“I was going to high-five you on your perception, but most teenagers are giddy with happiness when their parents ignore them. I’d say that’s a big clue she’s got issues.”
Thea laughed. “There’s more.”
“How can there be more? Is this kid in training for America’s Most Wanted? How old is she?”
“She’s eighteen, getting ready to graduate and go to college. Scott wants—”
“Scott?”
“Her father. He wants her to go away to school and she was talking up the local junior college. Reading between the lines, I think maybe she’s getting cold feet.”
“So she’s acting out? Masterminding a covert event to get even with a pushy dad?”
Thea shook her head. “Your flair for the dramatic comes in handy for planning themed events. But in everyday life, not so much.”
“I’m not the one trying to pull a fast one,” Connie protested.
“Maybe she has reason. She was upset about her father getting ready to sell the house when she goes to college. He hadn’t said anything to her about it yet. Selling, I mean.”
“Still, he’s the grown-up. I don’t think a failure to communicate is cause to take him out back and beat the crap out of him. So to speak,” she added.
It Takes Three Page 3