Not once had she thought Keera would react the way she had. When she and Eddie had first separated, Keera acted like it was the best thing to ever happen . . . so why would she be so upset now?
Yes . . . Eddie had been spending more time with Keera since the separation, but not enough to form some kind of parental bond. Right?
Tossing the pillow aside, Myah decided to find out for herself.
A muffled “What?” could be heard through Keera’s bedroom door when Myah knocked. She took that as a good sign and slowly opened the door.
Keera sat in the middle of her bed with her pillows clutched tight against her body. She scooted over so Myah could join her and willingly gave up one of her pillows to Myah.
“Are you ready to talk?” Myah asked.
Keera shrugged. Myah took that as a yes.
“I wanted to tell you myself. It wasn’t Eddie’s place, and I’m sorry.”
“I don’t really care.”
Myah found that hard to believe. “So why the outburst earlier?”
Keera’s chin sank into her pillow. “Because you don’t care about me or my future.”
“I’m sorry . . . what did you just say?”
“You don’t want me to dance professionally. I get it. But Eddie sees something in me that you ignore. I think you’re just doing this to hurt me.”
Stumped, Myah just shook her head. Where was this coming from?
“Did you tell me you wanted to dance professionally?”
Keera shrugged. “You would have said no,” she muttered.
“So why get mad at me for something I wasn’t aware of? Keera . . . that doesn’t make sense. I didn’t think you liked Eddie? Where is this coming from?”
“I don’t know.” Keera shrugged.
Myah sighed and leaned her head against the wall. “Keera . . . Tricia told me about last night.”
“Seriously, nothing happened, Mom. The girls were watching a lame movie, and Katy and I wanted something to snack on.”
Myah’s eyebrows rose. “So how does wanting something to snack on mean you end up in David’s bedroom with the door closed?”
Keera didn’t say anything.
“It’s kind of a big deal, kiddo. You gotta give me something.” Myah always thought she had a good relationship with her daughter. They were open, honest, and communicated well . . . until the last few months, when her daughter’s anger seemed to be always on the surface, and she didn’t talk to Myah as much.
“David and Brandon are just friends. We hang at school, so what’s the difference if we hang in the room. It’s not like anything happened.” The defiance in Keera’s voice shocked Myah.
“Of course nothing happened—Tricia heard the door closing and was there before anything could happen. But Keera, come on . . . you know better. You knew the rules, so why break them?”
“They were stupid rules,” Keera muttered under her breath.
“Stupid rules or not, they were Tricia’s rules, and as her guest, you should have obeyed them. You know better.”
“So what are you going to do? Ground me?” She scooted off the bed and stood up.
Myah thought about it for a moment. Maybe that’s exactly what she needed to do. Ground her from dance and sleepovers. She wasn’t sure which one would hurt the most but . . .
“I think that’s a great idea,” Myah said.
“Whatever.” Keera rolled her eyes. “Sleepovers are lame anyways.”
Myah snorted. This from a girl who basically begged to have a sleepover every weekend.
“No dance either,” she said.
“What!”
“For two weeks.” Myah was glad to finally have her daughter’s attention. “No classes with me or anyone else. For the next two weeks, you’re not even allowed to step foot in the studio.”
“That’s so not fair.” Her daughter crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“Unfortunately, kiddo, life isn’t always fair. Now, I’d like you to write a letter to Tricia and apologize, and I’d like it done before bedtime.” Myah left her daughter to stew in her bedroom.
Parenting wasn’t always fun and games, and it was hard being a single parent. She’d hoped, with Eddie, that things would be different. But he showed no interest in Keera after they’d been married. Before? Yes. He’d been attentive and kind and made lots of promises about them being a family and him being an important figure in Keera’s life, but all that changed a month after their wedding, and he’d realized that being a parent just wasn’t for him.
She reached for her phone and decided to call Eddie and tell him exactly what she thought.
“Hello, love. I wondered how long it would take for you to call.” Eddie’s suave voice greeted her.
“How dare you?” she hissed. “You had no right to tell her about our divorce.”
“I know and I’m sorry. It just . . . just happened. We were talking about her dance lessons, and I mentioned I wouldn’t be seeing her as much . . . I’m sorry.” The apology in his voice sounded legit, but Myah knew better.
“I don’t want your apologies, Eddie. Just your respect. Going behind my back like that . . . it didn’t just happen. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
Something Tricia had said earlier suddenly hit her.
“You planned this, didn’t you? That’s why you wanted to have breakfast with her . . . for this exact reason.” She hadn’t believed it when Tricia first suggested it, but her friend had been right.
“Of course not. I wanted to congratulate her for last night and give her a little gift.”
“A gift? You didn’t mention that last night. What did you give her?” And why hadn’t Keera mentioned it?
“Well, now you’re just going to be mad at me for going behind your back, aren’t you?”
Myah stared up at the ceiling and slowly counted . . . when she hit five, she was back in control of her emotions and not about to fly off the handle.
“What did you give her, Eddie?”
It wasn’t anything big, because Keera had held nothing in her hand. She hadn’t carried a purse or bag on her either, so it had to be something small.
“Did you give her money?”
“I gave her a necklace. Nothing expensive or anything, but I saw it and thought of her.”
“Are you kidding me? You didn’t give her a damn thing, not even your time, while we were married, but now that we’re separated and I want a divorce, you’re giving my daughter gifts? My daughter, Eddie. Remember that? The girl you didn’t want to be a parent to?” She let her anger loose and tore a strip off the man who no longer claimed her heart. How dare he?
She heard a gasp from behind her, and when she twirled around, she caught Keera running back up the stairs.
“Damn you,” she said before hanging up. She tossed her phone down and ran after her daughter.
“Keera . . .” she called out. But this time, instead of slamming her door, Myah heard the soft click of the door being shut, and she stopped in her tracks.
She’d screwed up. She shouldn’t have said those things, not with Keera upstairs. Why did she have to run her mouth off like that?
Nothing she could say would change what she’d just said, and if she were being honest, she wouldn’t lie to her daughter anyways.
But she hadn’t meant to hurt her either.
CHAPTER SEVEN
TRICIA
Back from her coffee with Myah, Tricia opened the door to the garage and, poking her head in, found her husband mulling over a drawing he had taped to the wall.
“Which project is this?” She closed the door behind her and headed toward him. Snaking her arm around his waist, she too considered the drawing.
It looked like a space-age fireplace mantel.
“Don’t even ask. I’ve been trying over the la
st few weeks to draft a design for something, but it’s just not working.” He cocked his head to the side, pulled a pencil from behind his ear, and drew a few more lines on the paper.
“Is this for a client or . . . ?”
“Nah. Just an idea I had.” His attention remained on the drawing, and as she slipped away, she doubted he even noticed her absence.
“Are you hungry? Want anything? Coffee maybe?” Tricia asked, before she headed into the house.
“Maybe coffee? The stuff your mom made was nasty.”
Tricia saluted, and then laughed when she realized he wasn’t even looking at her. She made her way into the kitchen, listening for the sounds of the kids, and noticed the containers of cookies. She had expected Ida to still be there, but apparently, she’d already left.
She was nibbling on a cookie while the coffee percolated when the phone rang.
“Hey,” Tricia said. She was a little surprised Aly was calling.
“We need to talk.”
“Okay . . . what’s up?” She pulled out Mark’s favorite coffee mug from the cupboard, a Donald Duck mug the kids had bought him for Christmas last year, and set it on the counter.
“Myah never showed up for practice.”
And this was why her sister was calling? They’d already discussed this earlier through text messages.
“I figured she wouldn’t. But that’s not why you’re calling, is it?” She poured Mark’s coffee, and with the phone tucked between ear and shoulder, she brought it to the garage, setting it down on the wood railing for him.
“No, it’s not.” Alyson’s voice was terse.
“What’s the matter, Aly?” She headed back to the kitchen and poured herself a cup—her coffee drinking knew no limits.
“Lyla had a good time, right?”
“She . . . yes, she had a good time. She enjoyed it and would like to do another one without so many kids around.”
There was something in her sister’s voice, something she wasn’t saying.
“Yes, okay, I’ll admit I might have taken on too much with all the kids. Is that what you want to hear?” Tricia asked.
“No, I want you to admit that despite keeping the boys and girls separate, it didn’t work.”
“Fine. It didn’t work.” Tricia pinched the bridge of her nose. “You did try to tell me, but either way, nothing serious happened, and it was handled.” She took her coffee into her office, where she sat down in a reading chair.
“What exactly happened, Tricia?” Alyson’s words were clipped, with barely concealed anger and something else . . . But why?
“Lyla wasn’t involved in any way. Is that what you’re worried about? It was Katy and Keera, and it’s been dealt with. Lyla was perfect.” Hopefully that helped to ease her sister’s anxiety a little.
“Of course Lyla was.” Alyson’s voice softened a little. “I trust my daughter to keep her word to me.”
“Excuse me?” Tricia knew an underhanded insult when she heard one.
“You heard me.”
Tricia leaned back in her chair. “If you have something to say to me, do us both a favor, and just say it.”
“Fine. When I came to pick up Lyla, you weren’t at the house.”
She knew it. “No, I wasn’t. But Mom was, and considering all the other kids had already left, I figured leaving Lyla with her grandmother was okay.”
“Well it wasn’t. You broke your promise, and to be honest, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was. It hurt.”
“Whoa.” That was uncalled for. “I didn’t break my word, and you . . . don’t you dare even go there.”
Trust was a huge issue for Tricia. She’d done everything . . . everything to protect her sister all their lives, and while she’d made a lot of mistakes, if there was anyone—anyone—Alyson could trust it was her.
It was a subject they’d skirted around time and again without either one actually coming out and saying what they really meant.
“Aly, I had a really long night, as you can imagine, and I’m not in the mood to deal with your . . . issues when it comes to our mother, okay?” All she wanted to do right now was soak in a hot bath before the boys came back from their friends’ homes.
“Whatever. That wasn’t the only reason I called.” The anger seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come, and Tricia wasn’t sure what to expect now.
“I don’t know how to say this.” She paused for a moment, and Tricia started to dread whatever her sister had to say. “I’m shocked, actually.”
“Shocked? About what? Did something happen at dance practice?” Obviously, Tricia was missing something here.
“No, not at dance. At your house, last night.” Alyson sounded confused. “You don’t know?”
“Know what? Other than the girls sneaking off for a few minutes—”
“You”—Alyson cut her off—“apparently have no idea what happened beneath your own roof.”
“What . . . what are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the videos and dancing and . . . I can’t believe you don’t know.” Her sister’s voice broke, and for a moment, Tricia was really concerned about her sister’s emotional well-being.
“Aly, why don’t you come over? Bring Lyla if Scott isn’t around. I’m not sure what’s going on, but obviously, this is something we need to discuss in person, okay? I’m home all afternoon.” She’d thought for sure Alyson had been handling everything okay. She knew letting Lyla have a sleepover here last night had been a huge deal, but maybe her sister was having a harder time letting go than expected.
“Scott will be home soon. I’ll see you within the hour.”
Exhaustion set in while she sat there, and she almost didn’t want to move. Thank goodness her mother had cleaned up her kitchen. She could only imagine the look on Aly’s face, if she’d walked in to the destruction from breakfast.
“Hey, you okay?” Mark stood in the doorway.
She shook her head and blinked away the tears that filled her eyes.
“Who was on the phone?” He bent down and reached for her hands. “Whoever it was, they’re not worth crying over.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “It was Alyson, and I think I’m just exhausted.”
“Ahh. You and me both. No more parties like that—this old body can’t handle them like it used to,” Mark teased as he pulled her up from the chair and fit her tight against his body while he held her. “Whatever she said to you, shrug it off.”
“Something’s wrong with her.”
“Aly?”
“Who else.” She rolled her eyes. “She blew a lid at the fact that I wasn’t here when she picked up Lyla, but then . . . I think there’s something else bothering her. I just don’t know what.” She let out a long and deep breath. “She’s coming over to talk.”
“My advice? Add some Baileys to your coffee before she gets here.” He smiled at her. “In fact, I can make it for you, and then maybe help you relax a little?” His eyebrows wiggled at his suggestion, and Tricia had a hard time keeping the smile from her face.
“I’ll take you up on the Baileys, but I should probably check in on Katy and ask her some questions about last night. Apparently Alyson thinks something else happened.”
She headed downstairs, where Katy sat on the sofa wrapped in a blanket watching one of her favorite reality dancing shows.
“Hey, kiddo. I thought we were going to watch this together?” She sat down beside her daughter and pulled half the blanket over her own legs.
“Sorry. Want me to rewind it?”
“Did I miss anything?”
Katy shook her head and handed her the remote.
Tricia hit the pause button and half-turned toward her daughter.
Katy sighed. “You want to talk about last night, right?”
�
��I figured it might be a good idea.”
“If I say I’m sorry again, will it help?”
Tricia smiled. “It always helps, but I need to know you know what happened was wrong.”
“I know.” She pulled her legs up tighter to her chest.
“I’m glad.” Tricia placed her hand over Katy’s knee and squeezed. “I thought your father and I made it pretty clear last night that what you and Keera did wasn’t allowed, so I’m a little confused why you did it anyways?”
“I really don’t know. Keera . . . She likes Brandon.” Katy frowned. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, you know?”
Tricia shook her head. “Nope, don’t know, because I’m pretty sure you both knew you were breaking the rules. Katy . . .” Tricia sighed. “The parents placed a lot of trust in me by letting there be coed sleeping in the house. They trusted me to make sure that what happened wouldn’t . . .”
Katy ducked her head. “Bet you’re pretty mad, right?”
“More like disappointed. You broke my trust, honey.” As much as she hated to say it, it needed to be said.
Katy looked up at her with a stricken gaze. Tricia had worked hard to stress trust in her family. Trust was the foundation of everything . . . it was something she’d learned the hard way a long time ago.
“I’m sorry.” This time, Katy actually sounded like she meant it. “It was stupid, and I wish . . .” She laid her head on Tricia’s shoulder.
“I’m probably grounded, aren’t I.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Tricia was glad she’d brought it up.
“You are. No sleepovers for a while. Here or at someone else’s house.” She’d voted for more consequences, but Mark reminded her that since every weekend it seemed like she wanted to have someone over or go to someone’s house, it might be enough. “And on weekends, you’re going to have to do more cleaning around the house.” She decided to add that in for good measure. That way Katy didn’t think she could just watch her programs all day.
“That sucks.”
“I know. So was not sleeping last night because of two girls thinking they could sneak time with some boys.” She leaned her head against Katy’s. “Listen, I have a question to ask you about last night, but I need you to be honest, okay?”
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