Nameless Series Boxed Set (66 page)

They both
started to respond at once, with what were obviously attempts to blame the
other.

“Wait,” Seth
said, raising a hand to quiet them again. “Mackenzie, you tell me what happened
first.” When Anna started to wail, he talked over her, “You’ll get to tell your
side too, Anna. Mackenzie’s going to talk first.”

Mackenzie
sniffed and composed herself with admirable restraint. “We were going to eat
strawberries on our table.” She pointed out the tree stump that they had so
carefully set up with leaves, sticks, and rocks. “I found the good rock to sit
on. But Anna kept trying to take it. She always tries to copy me. And it was my
rock. Then she scratched me!”

As proof,
Mackenzie held up her bare arm, on which angry, red lines stood out in stark
contrast to her fair skin.

Throughout this
whole explanation, Anna had been visibly trying to hold back her indignation,
so urgently that she was squirming as she sat on the grass. The only thing
keeping her from screaming defiantly was her father’s stoic face, which she was
staring at with big, fearful eyes.

Seth nodded and
turned to Anna. “All right. Now you can tell your side.”

Anna took a
huge breath and knuckled tears out of her eyes. “Mac bosses me! She takes the best
everything! She doesn't share. She said I’s too little! And then…and then…and
then…she called me st—st—stupid baby!”

Reminded anew
of the infinite outrage of this remark, Anna burst into tears again.

Erin sighed and
shook her head.

Seth said, “It
sounds like both of you were mean to your sister. I guess, since you wanted to
fight instead of have fun, we’ll just have to go back to the house.”

At this
dreadful news, both girls broke into anguished cries. Anna’s bawling was
completely incomprehensible, but Mackenzie was choking out something like,
“Strawberries.”

“I know we were
going to have strawberries, but you wanted to fight instead.”

Erin’s heart
ached at the sight of her babies so obviously heartbroken. They’d had such a
hard time lately, and they’d been so happy earlier today. She almost couldn’t
stand to take away the innocent fun they’d been enjoying.

But one look at
Seth’s face made Erin bite off her words. He was right. The girls shouldn’t be
rewarded for fighting, no matter how guilty she felt about everything. And she
certainly couldn’t contradict him in front of their daughters.

“Let’s start
putting things up now,” she said gently, putting a comforting hand on Anna’s
head. “It’s time to go.”

The girls both
cried as they helped the adults fold up blankets and put the remaining food in
the picnic baskets. At one point, Anna was sobbing so pathetically that Erin
couldn’t help but kneel down and pull her into her arms to comfort her. No
matter how bad she had been, she was still her baby. And her baby was so
terribly upset.

Erin was just
about to get up to hug Mackenzie as well, when Seth put a hand on Mackenzie’s
shoulder. “Anna, why don’t you walk home with Mommy? And Mackenzie can walk
with me.” Glancing over at Erin’s father and Stella, he added, “Maybe you two
would like to take some time alone, after all this excitement.”

Erin noticed
Mackenzie staring up at Seth, with worried eyes and a slightly trembling lip.

Seth evidently
noticed this too. He stroked her long red hair and said gently, “You’re not in
any more trouble than Anna. I just thought you might want to walk home with
me.”

On the way
home, Erin had a long, earnest talk with Anna about scratching and pushing,
ending by asking the girl how she would feel if she’d accidentally hurt Mackenzie
really badly.

Anna whimpered
at the thought.

When they got
to the house, Anna’s anger was completely gone, and she was ready to apologize
to her sister. She’d never been able to hold onto a grudge for very long.

Erin didn’t
know what Seth and Mackenzie talked about but, when they arrived, the girl’s
face was sober, and her hand was tucked into Seth’s.

In front of the
house, the two girls faced each other in stiff awkwardness.

Anna spoke
first. “I’m sorry, Mac.” Somehow, she still looked adorable, even though her
eyes were swollen, her face was smeared with dirt and tears, and her hair was
an absolute disaster.

“I’m sorry
too,” Mackenzie mumbled, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“Maybe you
should hug each other,” Erin suggested, giving Anna a little nudge forward.
“Just so you know it’s all over.”

Anna, who had
always loved to hug, stepped forward and put her arms up obediently, with a
look that was almost pleading. Mackenzie appeared reluctant, but she sighed
heavily and accepted the hug. Even put her arms around her little sister and
squeezed.

When they
pulled away, Anna was happy and relaxed again—her bad mood entirely forgotten.
It didn’t take long for Mackenzie to recover from the incident as well.

They had a
quiet, pleasant afternoon, then a cozy dinner. And they had the strawberries
out in the back yard for dessert, much to the delight of the girls.

But, at seven
o’clock, when Seth stood up and stretched, saying it was time for him to leave,
the girls’ good moods erupted into hurt disappointment.

They’d all been
sitting on the grass, but both girls got up when their father did. “Daddy’s
leaving?” Anna asked, her mouth wobbling dangerously.

“I’m sorry,
sweetie,” Seth murmured. “I have to go home so I can work tomorrow.”

“Is it because
we were bad?” Mackenzie mumbled, hiding her twisting face behind the fall of
her red hair.

Erin made a
choking noise, her heart surging up into her throat.

Anna stumbled
over to Seth and clung to his leg. “I won’t be bad, Daddy. I’m sorry.”

Mackenzie
nodded earnestly and looked like she wanted to hug his leg too. “We’ll be good.
We promise. Please don’t go.”

Seth’s face
broke momentarily from the pleading of his daughters. He lowered himself to
kneel beside them. “No. No. I’d never leave because you were bad. I just have
to work tomorrow. Please, don’t cry.”

Erin’s
shoulders were shaking—the emotion of the day simply too much for her—and the
sight of her husband trying to console their sad, confused daughters because he
had to leave them was more than she could bear.

No matter how
desperately she wanted a little more time, she just couldn’t do this to her
family.

She was just
about to open her mouth to say they could all go home with Seth, when he beat
her to it.

“I can stay
tonight,” he murmured, his voice gravelly as he struggled with emotion. “I’ll
stay here tonight. I would never leave you because you were bad.”

He had both
girls in his arms now, and both of them were crying—their sorrow transforming
into relief. Erin was on the verge of breaking down herself, but she figured
Seth didn’t have any room in his arms for another weeping female. So she
managed to hold herself together.

When the storm
died down, they piled on the couch and watched an animated movie, all of them
too tired to do much else.

After they’d
finally put the girls to bed, Erin closed their door quietly, feeling Seth
standing directly behind her in the hallway.

She was so
exhausted she was ready to slump to the floor.

When she turned
around, he watched her with a quiet tenderness. “You're tired. I’ll sleep in
the den again.”

Erin didn’t
even have the energy to speak. Just shook her head. Silently took Seth’s hand.

Led him into
her bedroom for the night.

A week later, Erin took both of
her daughters by the hand and led them into an elevator up to the posh offices
of Seth’s law firm.

It was the
first time the girls had been in the building, the first time they'd ever
visited their father at work. At the moment, they appeared torn between
nervousness and excitement, which was exactly how Erin felt herself.

The last week
had gone well. Erin and the girls returned to Atlanta on Tuesday, and the whole
family had been particularly loving and happy. Erin, of course, hadn’t expected
anything else. Seth was far more attentive than normal—with her and with the
girls—and he’d been home every evening by dinner time and hadn’t even gone into
his home office to work later in the evenings, as had been his usual habit. The
girls were thrilled to have him back and to have their family together again,
and Erin herself had been on an exhausted high, after the stress of the
previous month.

She knew this
particular state of affairs wasn’t going to last indefinitely, however. Which
was why she took comfort in the plan she and Seth had put together to ensure
things didn’t fall apart again. They’d set up some appointments with a marriage
counselor as well, just to keep the lines of communication open.

One of the
ideas she'd had before she went home was for the girls to visit Seth at his
office, so they would have some context in which to place Seth’s work, instead
of thinking of it as some vague, mysterious burden on their lives. Even though
he wasn’t going to be at the firm for much longer, it would be a few months
before he transitioned into his own practice, and she didn’t want to wait that
long.

Erin tried not
to make a big deal about it when she mentioned the visit to the girls, since
she wanted to keep it low-key and casual. Since it was something they’d never
done before, however, the outing somehow became a big deal.

The girls
talked about their impending visit all weekend, speculating endlessly about
what they would see, who they would meet, what they would ask, and how they
would act. Anna had woken up at five o’clock that morning because she was so
excited about visiting Daddy at work.

When she
declared she wanted to wear her favorite purple polka dot sundress to visit
Daddy’s work, Erin saw no reason why not. Then Mackenzie, of course, decided
she needed to look just as pretty, so she had put on a cute blue dress with a
white collar and scalloped hem. Erin spent several minutes combing out the
tangles in their hair. Then, at the last minute, Erin decided she looked kind
of sloppy next to her pretty little girls, so she went to change quickly into a
casual skirt and flattering top.

When they were
finally ready to go, the girls were squirming with nerves and excitement and
starting to get a little snippy.

Erin gave them
a brief lecture about being good, not fighting, and being polite to everyone
they met, as the driver took them over to the downtown building, but Erin’s
belly was still doing flip-flops as she led them through the lobby and over to
the elevators.

When Erin
pushed the button for the top floor, Anna’s round eyes got even wider. “Daddy’s
all the way up there? Does he work in a penthouse?”

Erin tried not
to chuckle about the fact that her four year old daughter automatically
associated the highest floor of a building with a penthouse.  She smiled down
at Anna. “No. But his office is on the top floor.”

“Daddy’s really
important,” Mackenzie informed her little sister. “Important offices are on the
top floor.”

“Oh!” Anna’s
mouth was now as round as her eyes in response to this piece of wisdom.

They stood in
silence while the elevator ascended, and—as the lit numbers progressed—Anna
edged closer and closer to Erin, as if she were starting to get nervous.

Erin wasn’t
surprised—since Anna was always initially shy in strange situations—but she
didn’t want this to feel like some sort of unnatural experience for her daughters,
so she tried to distract her by saying, “Your flower looks really pretty.”

Anna looked
down at the little pot she carried, in which was growing an African violet with
deep purple blooms. Almost a year ago, Erin and Anna had started the plant from
a leaf cutting one afternoon when Anna was upset because Mackenzie had gone to
play with a friend. Anna had hovered over the plant for months, waiting for the
leaf to root and then helping Erin pot and water it. Finally, just last month,
it had started to bloom at last, to Anna’s endless delight. Erin knew how
precious the little plant was to her daughter.

Anna was going
to give it to Seth today to keep in his office.

“It has five
flowers,” Anna pronounced, holding the small pot carefully with both hands. Her
fair eyebrows drew together as she added worriedly, “One of them got messed
up.”

“It’s
beautiful,” Erin assured her, stroking the soft hair. “Daddy will love it.”

Mackenzie had
been peering at the pot intently. “You can’t see the messed up one. The leaves
block it.”

When Anna
relaxed at her sister’s affirmation, Erin smiled at Mackenzie in appreciation.

By that time,
the elevator had reached the top floor, and the doors slid open smoothly,
leading to the sleek, luxurious office suite.

Mackenzie had
grown quiet as the doors opened, and now she straightened her shoulders,
holding herself as proudly and gracefully as royalty. Erin figured she was
probably a little nervous as well, but the girl would never admit it. She
simply stepped out into the hall, her long hair a red-gold fall down her back.

Erin started to
move off the elevator too, but then she realized Anna had edged behind her
legs.

“It’s okay,”
Erin encouraged, trying to draw her younger daughter out. “We’re going to see
Daddy.”

Anna peeked
out, was obviously intimidated by the polished, unfamiliar surroundings of the
impersonal office building, and didn’t budge.

Mackenzie had
turned around at the delay. “Aren’t you going to give Daddy your flower?” she
prodded, her unchildish composure revealing none of the hesitance she might
feel.

Anna clutched
the flower pot to her chest and stared up at Erin with pleading eyes.

With a sigh,
Erin gently nudged Anna forward. “Sweetie, there’s nothing to be scared of.
This is where Daddy works. He’s waiting to see us.” She stretched her hand out
toward Anna and waited for the little girl to take it.

Anna had just
tucked the pot against her side so she could hold it snugly with one arm and
taken Erin’s hand when three men in business suits approached the elevator, giving
Erin and the girls impatient looks.

Erin shot them
an annoyed expression in return, partly because of their obvious arrogance and
partly because their appearance startled Anna even more.

Finally, Anna
consented to move forward, and Erin started with her daughters down the hall.

When they
reached Seth’s office, Erin sighed resignedly as she realized they’d have to be
greeted by Seth’s assistant, Carlotta.

Erin hated the
woman. Most of the hatred was irrational, since Carlotta had never overtly
offended or insulted Erin. But she was one of those sleek, perfectly coifed
women that always made Erin feel like a sloppy, clumsy plebian.

As Erin
approached the desk with the girls, Carlotta raised her dark, arched eyebrows
and inquired, “May I help you?”

At the sound of
this cool disinterest, Anna’s hand started trembling, causing Erin to bristle
in repressed annoyance.

Erin was about
to reply with a cool set-down of her own when Mackenzie stuck out her little
chin and announced, “We’ve come to see Daddy.”

Then she stared
at the woman with blue-gray eyes as unwavering as Seth at his best.

Before Carlotta
could reply, Erin slanted her a speaking look. “I’m sure he told you we were
coming.”

“Oh, yes,” the
woman murmured. Then she tapped her long, manicured nails on her desk and said
coolly, “I’m afraid he’s occupied at the moment. He’ll be with you presently.”

Clearing her
throat, Erin said, “Why don’t you just let him know we’re here. He’ll want to
know immediately.”

Carlotta still
didn’t smile, but she didn’t argue. Just moved from behind her desk, her heels
clicking on the floor as she walked toward Seth’s closed office door.

Before she got
there, the door swung open, and Seth appeared, his body turned toward the man
he was still talking to. Then the other man moved out of the office as well—an
affluent middle-aged man with thinning hair and an authoritative air. They
seemed to be at the tail end of a conversation and were talking in low, tense
tones.

“No,” Seth
pronounced, his voice one that brooked no dispute. “The answer is still no. You
won’t change my mind.” He was in full work mode, and he hadn’t yet noticed that
his family was present.

“You’re making
a mistake,” the man replied, obviously angry and only barely holding onto the
pretense of courtesy. “If you would just—”

“No.” Seth’s
cold voice carried across the room, although he still wasn’t speaking very
loudly. “You'll do well to leave it at that. I appreciate your coming in.”

Erin would
never want to be on the receiving end of that particular look from Seth Thomas.
At the moment, he was the man she rarely saw anymore--cold, unmovable, and
utterly controlled.

The man she’d
thought he was before she’d gotten to know him for real.

Erin was a
little nervous about her daughters seeing their father that way, but there was
nothing to do about it now. She held onto Anna’s hand and glanced down at
Mackenzie, who was watching her father with quiet focus.

The man Seth
was talking to mumbled out a response and then turned around, muttering under
his breath in annoyance as he brushed past Erin and the girls.

It was only
then that Seth saw they were standing there.

His expression
was blank for a moment, as if he were startled by their appearance and was
having trouble processing the shift in dynamic. Then he smiled warmly and
walked over. “You’re here,” he said, stating the obvious to acknowledge his
pleasure at their presence. With a quick glance at Carlotta, Seth added, “I
should have been notified immediately.”

Then his face
softened, although not as much as it did when he was safely at home, and he
reached out a hand for Mackenzie. “Did you want to come see my office?”

When Mackenzie
took his hand, Seth turned toward Anna. “You too?”

Anna had been
leaning against Erin’s legs, but she nodded her head. “Yes, please,” she whispered,
as if they were in a library and she needed to be quiet.

Erin saw Seth
register the potted violet in Anna’s hands, and she could see the question
shape itself on his lips. Catching his eye, she shook her head slightly and
nodded toward the office.

They all
traipsed into Seth’s office, and he closed the door behind them.

The girls
stared around at awe at Seth’s huge, luxurious office. They were used to
expensive furnishing and well-appointed surroundings, but—even by their
standards—Seth’s office was somewhat imposing.

Seth barely
noticed their preoccupation. He squatted down so he was on Anna’s level. “What
do you have there?” he asked, gesturing toward the flower in her hand.

Anna thrust out
the pot toward him. “It’s a present.”

Seth carefully
accepted the pot, studying the dark green leaves and delicate purple blooms.
“This is for me?”

“Yes. For
Daddy.”

“Is this the
violet you planted and took care of yourself?”

“Yes. I took
care of it forever.”

“Are you sure
you want me to have it? Or maybe I could keep it at home so you could see it
more often.”

Frowning, Anna
shook her head and restlessly swirled her skirt around her legs. “It’s for
Daddy’s office. To make it pretty.”

Seth didn’t
smile, but his expression no longer had a trace of the cold, ruthless attorney
as he said, “Thank you. I’ve never seen a more beautiful flower.” Then he stood
up and looked around the office. “Where should I put it?”

Now that her
special duty was completed, Anna started to relax. She turned a full circle in
the middle of the floor and then pointed to a low table near the wall of
windows. “There.”

They all went
over to see the grand placement of the violet on the table. It looked small and
incongruous on the sleek expanse of polished wood, but they all declared it was
perfect.

Mackenzie had
half-watched the transference of the plant, but she was now staring out the
huge window at the endless stretch of cityscape. “Can you see the whole city
from here?”

Seth went over
to stand next to her. “We can see a lot of it.” Turning Mackenzie slightly, he
pointed. “And if you look closely, just over there, you can see home. Our
building is way back there. Do you see it?”

Anna came
running over so she could see their apartment building too, and they all peered
until everyone had recognized it.

Mackenzie gazed
up at Seth inscrutably. “Do you ever look at it sometimes? When you’re here and
we’re there?”

Erin glanced
over at her husband curiously, wondering if he ever did.

Seth’s
expression was characteristically unrevealing when he murmured, “Sometimes I
do.”

Anna, who had
satisfied herself on the sight of their home, had started running around the
office checking out random details. When she approached Seth’s huge office
chair, she gasped, “Does Daddy sit here?”

“I do. Would
you like to try it out?”

This delighted
Anna, and she spent about three minutes trying to climb up into the chair. She
wouldn’t accept any help, but because the chair was on wheels, she had some
trouble pulling herself up. Finally, Seth came over to hold the chair steady,
and Anna was able to situate herself.