My Steps Are Ordered (11 page)

This wasn't how she wanted to meet her father!

Furious
was an understatement for how Gina felt.
Mortified
was the more accurate word to describe the emotions coursing through her body. There were other words swirling in her head that she didn't have the gall to utter aloud.

At this precise moment, Gina wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole to spare her the humiliation of Michael's latest escapade. She couldn't believe that he had had the audacity to locate her father without even consulting her. Then, of all the times for this man to present himself, it had to be when her husband and his brother were fighting.

Gina felt like slapping them both upside the head the way she would two recalcitrant boys. She looked over at her husband, who was standing in a corner of the waiting room with a woebegone expression on his face, and rolled her eyes, signifying her acute displeasure. With a slight hiss, she turned her head away.

Gina recalled how she'd barged into the waiting room, mad as a hornet and ready to confront Keith and Michael. She had been all set to give them a well-deserved tongue-lashing but had been stopped short by the almost comical expressions of horror on their faces.

With a sharp tone Gina had stated, “Well, I can see that you two were fighting. Somebody had better start talking fast.”

Keith had reached over and had held on to Gina's shoulders with both hands. She'd braced herself for bad news. When Michael took a step forward, she'd held her hand up in a manner that was meant to convey that she would brook no argument. “I don't know what's going on, but right now it's about my son. Anything else between you two is insignificant.”

Keith had then turned her shoulders gently so that she faced the other individual in the room. She'd jumped with fright. In her fit of temper, Gina hadn't realized that the three of them were not alone in the waiting room. She was a private person and wouldn't dare behave in an undignified manner in front of an outsider.

“Gina, this is Jefferson Alton,” Keith had said.

Jeff had stepped forward. She watched him stare her up and down like she was a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day. No, that was not it. His scrutiny was filled with sentiment, but it wasn't lecherous. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Gina knew she'd never seen him before.

She rubbed the goose bumps popping up on her arms, uneasy about the gentleman's odd behavior. Why was he crying?

“Keith, please explain, because I'm freaking out.” Panicked, she stepped away from the man, who was wreaking havoc with her senses. Her heart raced and her palms felt sweaty, but she didn't know why.

“I believe Michael should do the honors,” Keith stated, and then he stepped back to give his brother the floor.

Michael moved forward with a forced grin on his face. She wasn't going to like this one bit. Taking her hands in his, Michael said, “Jefferson, or Jeff, is your father. I've found your father, Gina. And he has agreed to help our son.”

Her mouth had popped wide open, and for several seconds she forgot to breathe. With incredulous eyes, she took in the stranger who was crying before her. She looked into the face of the man she had only envisioned. A surreal moment, for sure. Definite material for a syndicated episode of
The Twilight Zone.

It was just too much. She pulled her hands out of Michael's grasp and slapped him hard across the cheek before fleeing through the open door.

“As usual, Michael,” she heard Keith mutter as she fled. “You act without thinking, and then I have to clean up your mess.”

Gina didn't go far. She stood, immobile, outside her son's door.

She had no plans to leave the hospital, but she needed a moment to compose herself. As a child, Gina had always dreamed about meeting her father. She had tried without success to picture what he looked like. Gina had imagined meeting him now, as an adult. She had a mental image of a distinguished guy meeting her at a five-star restaurant for a respectable and dignified lunch.

Not once in her thirty-four years had Gina pictured meeting her father in this manner. Never had she imagined that her father's first impression of her husband would be the one he had gotten today. Not that it should even matter what he thought, Gina supposed. After all, her father had been nonexistent her whole life, so his opinion shouldn't matter. But Gina admitted to herself that it did.

She wanted her father to like her and to be impressed with her husband and son. She wanted him to rue not getting to know her. She wanted her father to be filled with penitence. Now she could only begin to guess what was going through his mind. He might be thinking that leaving her was the best decision he'd ever made.

Gina gave a heartfelt sigh. Her life had too much tumult. Still, hope sprang within her. Jeff might be the miracle that her son needed. Nothing else mattered.

Gina saw Keith as he approached. “What do you want?” she snapped.

“Please don't aim the dart at my head. I was concerned and wanted to check on you. See if you wanted to talk.” He arched an eyebrow at her.

Gina moved away from Trey's door and walked farther into the hall. “
Now
you decide you want to talk to me?”

“Gina, please don't be like that with me,” Keith pleaded. He gave a dramatic sigh. “This is not my day.”

 

 

His payback had arrived with a vengeance.

Keith was still reeling from his encounter with Michael. He knew he needed to fill Gina in, if she would listen.

“You knew, didn't you?” Gina accused. “You knew about Michael looking for my father and you chose not to tell me. How could you let him spring that on me like this?”

Keith raised his hands to still the darts from her fiery tongue. “I didn't know. Sweetheart, please believe me. I'm as taken aback as you are.”

But Gina was way past the point of listening. “I would think you would've asked him to use a little more tact. I never once imagined I would meet my father like this!” she exclaimed.

Keith tried to embrace her, but Gina shrugged out of his arms. “No,” she said. “Keep your hug. That is what you seem to do. You wait for Michael to mess up, and then you pounce . . . You swoop in to comfort and save the day.”

Confused by her harsh comment, Keith stepped back. “Gina, you're emotional right now,” he remarked in a low voice. “Please calm down a moment.”

She lashed out at him and shook her head. “Don't patronize me, Keith. This explains why Michael has been secretive with me. I bet you he thought he was helping and doing something good.”

“Isn't he?” Keith asked. He was glad for the chance to speak, because so far, Gina hadn't let him get a word in edgewise. He had to let her know Michael knew about them.

“Yes,” Gina sighed. “He is. But I blame you for this.”

“I'm trying to keep up with you, but I'm not following your train of thought.” He scratched his head before asking, “You're blaming me?” Keith bent over to look her in the eyes. Without warning, he grabbed her and pulled her down the hall.

She tried to hold her ground, but she was no match for him given his superior height and weight. He kept dragging her until he had taken her into an empty lounge. He locked the door.

“I only know of one way to silence you, because you're not listening,” he murmured.

Gina opened her mouth probably to berate him for manhandling her, but Keith crushed her in his strong arms and pressed his lips to hers.

She kept her mouth closed. But her will was like water vapor compared to Keith's. He was on a mission. Gina fought back, but he felt when she submitted. Her flailing arms rested on his broad shoulders. Her body caved into his, and the kiss deepened with intensity.

As soon as he felt her respond, Keith slung Gina out of his arms. Looking at her with satisfaction, Keith asked, “Are you still blaming me?”

Gina's wrath spiraled back with a vengeance. She gave him a look that said she wanted to slap that knowing smirk off his face. He returned her glare for glare. His look said, “I wish you'd try it.”

“Yes,” she spat as her chest heaved from her emotional upheaval. “I do blame you. You messed with my life and my marriage. You're always interfering, even when I don't ask you to. Yet when I needed you to interfere, you did nothing. So thanks a lot.”

“You know, you're one infuriating woman,” Keith raged. “You're the one who insisted I back off. You're the one who said we should pretend like nothing happened, and like a fool, I listened to you.” He bent over until he was right in her face. “And as far as me messing with your life, I don't remember hearing you complain the two times we were together. In fact, I remember you begging me not to stop.”

Gina's mouth popped open, and a huge blush stained her cheeks. “I . . . I . . . That's crass of you to mention that.”

“Well, you're like a yo-yo, and it's downright confusing. One minute you want me and are pleading with me not to go, and the next you're throwing everything on me.
You
approached
me
two days before your wedding. Don't forget that.”

“How can I forget?” Gina's sadness diffused his anger.

Keith took several deep breaths. He licked his now dry lips. “This is ridiculous. What are we even fighting about? We can't undo the past, no matter how hard we try.”

She looked down. “I don't even know why I heaped all that on you. I feel scared that I had to meet my father this way.”

“I understand. But Michael and I also had to meet him after having one of the biggest fights of our entire life. Trust me, Gina. I had no idea.”

Gina was now curious. “What were you two fighting about, anyway?”

His heart pounded like a conga drum, but he had to tell her the truth. All the guilt that had been buried came back in full force. “He knows, Gina. Michael knows.”

Keith words sank in. Though Gina understood, she played ignorant. “No. How could he? That was years ago.”

“I'm trying to piece it all together myself, but, Gina, Michael knows we slept together all those years ago. Right now he hates me.” Keith's voice broke after that comment.

Gina's body rocked back and forth as she grappled with the news. “He must hate me too.”

“He's angry and hurt,” Keith said in his brother's defense. “But I think he'll forgive you in time. He loves you and Trey too much to let you go. He'd be a fool to leave you, and trust me, Michael is many things, but a fool is not one of them. He knows he has a good woman in you, Gina.”

Her eyes looked glassy. Keith led her to the nearest chair. “My legs feel like rubber. I can't believe it. Michael must think I'm the worst woman on the planet for sleeping with you. And he's right.” She faced him. “He idolized you.”

“I feel like we're on
The Jerry Springer Show.
Fall in love with you, and my life is now filled with all these twists and turns.”

Gina snorted. “Oh, please, Keith. Do I have to remind you of your ex-fiancée, Eve? She was with you and was pregnant with another man's child.”

Keith nodded but decided not to travel down that lane.

“Michael's a good man too,” she whispered in a voice that showed she was still racked with guilt. “I don't know why I did that to him.”

“Don't you dare place all the blame on yourself. Michael was no saint back then,” Keith urged. “Let's not forget that he'd slept with Karen, and he had her living in his penthouse for months. So I'm not going to sit back and let you put a halo over his head.”

“Yeah, but that did not give me the right to sleep with you, of all people,” Gina countered. She put her head in her hands. “That must be killing him. You're his precious Keith, and I'm at fault for destroying your relationship.”

Keith paced the room. “It's not your fault. I knew what I was doing. I pursued you because I had fallen in love. I was in the throes of something I had never before experienced in my life. And I, for one, have no regrets. Being with you has brought me the biggest joy in the world.”

“Well, I have regrets,” Gina revealed. “I had morals and standards, and I should've kept them. I should've resisted, but it seems as if every opportunity I have, I run into your arms. It's what I have done and continue to do. I've even used my son's life-threatening illness as an excuse to try to jump your bones. When did I become so selfish? I don't know myself anymore. How am I going to face him?” She buried her face in her hands out of self-recrimination.

He touched her shoulder. “Gina, you may be many things, but selfish is not one of them. This thing between us was—and still is—more powerful than either of us could manage. It was only a matter of time before we gave in.”

“But I could have resisted,” Gina replied as the tears flowed. “I could have, but I didn't. Michael didn't deserve this, Keith. We betrayed him. He trusted us, and we took that trust and smashed it to pieces. We're getting too old for this tawdry affair. It's time I think about my actions and the fact that there are serious repercussions for what I do.”

“Watching you cry, I feel remorse hit my soul. Regardless of what you say, I know I'm the one who got you in this predicament. But there was nothing I could've done about how I feel about you. I love you,” Keith said. “I love you, and I mean it with every fiber of my being. I can't regret that.”

“I love you too, Keith,” Gina rose to her feet. “But I regret it, Keith. I regret it with every fiber of my being.” With that, she walked over, unlocked the door, and opened it. She stepped out of the room and closed the door with a decisive click. Keith flung his large frame into the chair that Gina had vacated. He felt great pangs of remorse over losing his brother's trust. He wondered if he should have confessed it all. Should he have told Gina he was Trey's father? Yes he should have. But she was so upset and mad that . . .