After Victory: A Searching for Glory Novel (A Second Chance Love Story) (7 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kate

It was a hard week. Denton’s suspension ended and he was back in school, but his attitude was still less than desirable. I was hopeful that spending the weekend with his father might help, but Brad called me Friday morning with some bad news.

“I won’t be able to take Denny this weekend,” he said unapologetically. “I have a lot of things I need to take care of around the house.”

“So what?” I was sure he expected me to be sympathetic and not put up a fight. “This is your weekend with him, Brad. He looks forward to it all week. I know you have a new baby to worry about, but you can’t just forget about your son.”

I expected him to snap back at me about how I always assumed the worst about him and how he would never forget about Denton. Instead, he said the exact opposite.

“We’re moving.”

I was sure that I had misunderstood him. “What?”

“Mindy wants to raise the baby closer to her family. She’s from the St. Louis area.” He was speaking quietly and I wondered if his girlfriend was sitting right there.

“That’s a four hour drive, Brad.” I knew where this was headed and my heart broke for my son. “You can’t do this to Denton. He already thinks you are going to abandon him because of the baby.”

“I’m not abandoning him! Damnit, Kate. You always have to be so dramatic about everything.” He sighed loudly.

I took several deep breaths to keep from losing my cool. It was just so typical of him to drop such big news and then give me shit for making a big deal out of it.

“What does this mean for our custody arrangement? You are supposed to have him every other weekend. Now you’ll be living eight hours away round-trip.” I started to think about whether there was a place I could meet him halfway between the two towns.

“I was thinking we could change it. Maybe one weekend a month, or so. We’ll have to figure it out.” He said something that I couldn’t understand, presumable speaking to Mindy. “Look, I’ve gotta go. Can you let Denton know that I’m sorry about this weekend?”

“He’ll be home after school. You can call then and let him know yourself.” I was done biting my tongue, so I hung up.

More snow was falling outside and I knew I wouldn’t be getting many customers. The winter months were always slow months for the boutique shops around the square. For once, I was glad for that. I didn’t have to feel guilty as I flipped the sign to “Closed” and locked the door. In order to keep my mind off the conversation I’d had with Brad, I needed to keep myself preoccupied.

It made sense to start crossing off the list of errands I had been planning to run over the weekend. Since Denton wouldn’t be going away, my weekend plans had just been changed. Grocery store, dry cleaners, and post office – my list was becoming shorter and shorter. Denton had basketball practice after school, so I had even more time to myself. I decided to stop by the hospital to see how John was doing.

I knew that it was still a little strange to be so involved in my ex’s life, but at one time I had loved the man. I really did want him to be okay. I also wanted to make sure that Glory was doing alright. The last week had to have been torture for her.

“Kate?”

I had just stepped through the main entrance and was looking for the information desk. I hadn’t expected to run into someone that I knew.

“Jake? What are you doing down here?” I looked around to see if he was with Glory. He was pushing Jack in a stroller and he looked frazzled. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is great.” Now that he was standing right in front of me I could see that he wasn’t frazzled, he was excited. “John just woke up.”

“He did?” A feeling of relief washed over me. “That’s wonderful, Jake. I’m sure this means he’s going to be just fine.”

Jake nodded. “I think so. I had just brought Jack by so that Glory could spend a little time with him and maybe not be so sad. The next thing I know, John is opening his eyes. I brought Jack down here so Glory can have some time alone with John and the doctors.”

“I’m so glad. I just stopped by to see how he was doing.” I wasn’t sure what to do now. I certainly couldn’t go visit right at that moment. “Will you tell Glory I came by?”

“Of course.” Jake hesitated before asking, “Do you want to get a coffee with me? I still need to kill some time and a little caffeine sounds good right about now. There’s a little café right down the hall.”

“Coffee?” I pondered that word like it was the first time I had ever heard it.

“Or tea, if you prefer.” He smiled warmly. “My treat.”

“Well, I can’t say no to an offer like that.” I realized I was grinning like a goof, but I didn’t care. Being around Jake made me happy.

The café was small, but that didn’t matter since we were the only customers. Jack had dozed off in his stroller, giving me Jake’s undivided attention.

“I’m not sure I’m prepared with witty conversation topics,” he admitted with a sheepish smile. “I thought I had one more day to prepare for this.”

“I don’t need you to be witty, I’m just glad to have conversation with someone other than a teenage boy that only responds with grunts and sighs.” I frowned when I remembered that Denton was about to hear news that would make him even more surly than usual.

“Rough week?” Jake guessed with a sympathetic smile.

When I thought about what he had been dealing with all week, my day had been a breeze. But I found myself telling him about Brad anyway.

“Just like that, he’s taking off?” Jake frowned. “I can’t believe he would do that.”

“I don’t think he understands just how it’s going to affect Denton. Brad thinks there isn’t a difference between him seeing his son every other weekend or every other month.” A knot began to form in my stomach. “Denton’s at such an impressionable age and he really needs a reliable male figure in his life.”

“You shouldn’t worry so much about Denton. He’s a good boy and growing into an even better young man. You’ve done a good job with him.” Jake’s smile reached his eyes, creating warm wrinkles in the corners that made him even more attractive than usual.

I blushed and glanced down at my coffee. “You should know better than to tell a parent not to worry about their child.”

“Fair point.” He chuckled softly. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the designated worrier in my family.”

“Maybe we need more fun in our lives.” I knew that I certainly could stand to have a little more fun.

He nodded. “That should be our primary goal tomorrow night.”

Of course. I had almost forgotten about our date. Now my heart fluttered like I was a schoolgirl with a crush. “You still want to do that? I understand if you have other things to take care of now.”

“I’ve already got a sitter lined up. You can’t back out on me now!” He pretended to be offended. “You aren’t having second thoughts are you?”

“Of course not. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.” Again, I blushed. “I suppose we’ve spoiled it a bit with this pre-date.”

“Nonsense. I’m grateful for every second we get to spend together.” His playful smile was gone, replaced by a look of seriousness that was rare for Jake.

Sometimes I forgot just how damaged he was. He did a good job of hiding his tortured side. But every now and then a moment would come along, one like this moment, and I would be reminded of just how much he had lost. My own problems were trivial in comparison.

Jake and I stayed in that hospital café for over an hour. We chatted long after our coffee cups were empty. Despite having known each other for years, we didn’t run out of things to say. In fact, the more I talked to Jake the more I wanted to know about him. When Jack began to stir, I glanced at the time and was surprised.

“Oh wow. I didn’t realize we’ve been in here so long. I need to pick up Denton from school,” I said reluctantly.

Jake sighed. “I’ve got some kiddos of my own to wrangle. Thanks for passing the time with me.”

“I can’t imagine a better way to spend the afternoon.” My heart was doing its happy flutter again. “The exhibit opens at 8:00 tomorrow night. Shall I pick you up around 7:30?”

“Please.” He chuckled. “I’m an old fashioned boy, Kate. I’ll pick up you. And maybe we can get some dinner beforehand?”

I smiled. “That would be nice.”

I was still smiling twenty minutes later as I waited in the school parking lot. Denton was hanging out with friends, throwing snowballs at each other. It was nice to see him so happy. I knew once he got into the car his usual pout would return. Sometimes I wondered what had happened to my smiling, bubbly child.

Surprisingly, Denton was still in a good mood when he slipped into the passenger’s seat. He immediately launched into a story about a runaway frog in science class that had us both laughing. It wasn’t until I had parked the car in the driveway that he asked the question I had been dreading.

“What time is Dad coming tonight?”

“Something came up and your dad wants to talk to you about it. He’s going to call later.” I gripped the steering wheel harder and waited for the explosion.

It didn’t come. When I glanced over, Denton was staring hard out the window with his jaw clenched. Looking at my son, I was conflicted. I still saw the little boy I used to hold on my hip while dancing around the house. But I also saw a heart-broken teen who was looking more and more like his father every day. In fact, he was only a couple of years younger than Brad had been when we first met.

I knew my son well enough to know that nothing I could say would take away his disappointment. It wasn’t all that long ago that I had experienced my own disappointment in that same man. Brad had always been terrible at understanding the impact of his decisions on the people who loved him.

“We should order pizza tonight. It’s been ages since we’ve done that.” I tried to sound upbeat though it was clear that Denton’s mind was focused on other things.

We were only home for a few minutes when Brad called. After a short conversation, Denton hung up the phone and stormed into his room. A second later, his door slammed shut and I flinched. Realistically, I knew that he was behaving like a typical teenager. But that didn’t stop me from worrying about him. Not for the first time, I wished that Brad would be more like Jake or even Johnny. I knew that it wasn’t fair to expect him to be the father I wanted Denton to have, but I couldn’t stop the thought from entering my head. I couldn’t help but blame myself for not giving my son a better father.

Denton stayed in his room the rest of the night, only coming out for five minutes to eat three pieces of pepperoni pizza before disappearing again. He didn’t speak a word to me until lunchtime the next day when he asked if he could sleepover at a friend’s house.

“If it’s okay with Alex’s parents, it’s fine with me. I have plans this evening anyway.” I wasn’t sure why I told him that. I hadn’t been planning to tell Denton about my date with Jake. It wasn’t that I expected him to care much since I had already dated Johnny and it had never seemed to bother him. I just didn’t want to get him involved until it became something more serious.

“Plans? What, like a date?” he asked with a teasing smile. It felt good to see him smiling again.

“Actually, yes.” I set a turkey sandwich in front of him. “Jake and I are going to an art exhibit.”

“Jake?” Denton’s eyes narrowed. “As in, my best friend’s dad?”

I nodded. “Jake Delroy, yes.”

“Why?” he demanded. “Do you love torturing me?”

“I don’t understand the problem, Denny. Jake is a nice man. You’ve seen me date other men and you’ve never had a problem with it.” I was surprised by the anger in his words.

“I didn’t care because Johnny was just a random guy. When you guys broke up, it didn’t affect me. That’s not going to be true when you and Jake split up.” He glared at me in a way I had never experienced. “I’m going to end up losing my best friend just because you want to get laid.”

“Denton!” My mouth dropped open and it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I had never heard my son speak so crudely. “That is unacceptable language. You are not allowed to speak to me that way.”

He rolled his eyes. “What are you going to do, ground me? If you do that you’ll have to cancel your stupid date.”

“Denton, I am not going to allow this behavior. You can go to your room right now and you might as well forget about going to Alex’s house.” I fought to keep my voice level and unemotional.

“Fine.” He shoved back his chair so hard that it tipped over. “You’re such a bitch it’s no wonder Dad left you for another woman.”

This time I let out an audible gasp. It was easily the worst thing he had ever said to me. Maybe the worst thing anyone had ever said to me. I was so shocked that I couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

Denton’s eyes flickered briefly with remorse. He looked to be on the verge of apologizing, but changed his mind and stormed away. I tried to convince myself to go after him and lecture him on his attitude and terrible behavior. A good parent would have surely done that. But then again, a good parent probably never would have gotten into that mess to begin with. Arguing with an emotional teenager was never a good idea.