One Daddy Too Many (9 page)

The irony never ceased to amaze her. If not for that treacherous ex-lover, she never would have met Ian.

“I tried to drive straight through and couldn’t make it. I stopped at a convenience store in Kingman for a soda and while I was there, I struck up a conversation with a complete stranger, whom I later married,” she added under her breath.

“Ian?” He sounded shocked.

“He didn’t ask for a ride or anything. Just my number, in case he ever made it to Vegas.”

And I gave it to him.

“When he called a few weeks later, it felt like fate.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute.

“I heard some talk about your mother’s prophecies. Did you think Ian was your destiny?”

“Maybe. Or maybe he’s the past I can’t avoid,” she muttered.

“Is there a chance you two might get back together?”

“No.” He didn’t look convinced so she added, “Ian is a liar and a thief. He stole money from people I love, then ran away with another woman when my uncle started asking questions about his retirement fund. As far as I’m concerned, he’s poison. The first taste nearly killed me. There won’t be a second.”

Because he looked so sympathetic, she felt compelled to add, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t still feel guilty about giving up on my marriage vows. I hate to lose. Just ask my sisters.”

“For better or worse does have some limits. Just ask my mother.”

That
bitterness again. She wanted to ask why, but she didn’t get the chance. Gregor and his two kids walked out of Yetta’s house and headed their way. “Hey, man, nice ride.”

As the two men talked, Kate’s thoughts returned to her failed marriage. She’d been completely oblivious to Ian’s cheating. She could excuse herself to some degree for not realizing he was stealing from his clients, but to miss the clues to his philandering was ridiculous.

She’d known something was wrong in their marriage, but she’d blamed his inattentiveness on business. The economy. Stress. Looking back at those months before Ian disappeared, only to be caught with a suitcase full of money and another woman at his side trying to cross into Mexico, Kate couldn’t believe how naïve she’d been.

But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t make the same mistake again. And while Rob wasn’t the
same
mistake, getting involved with him at this time in her life wouldn’t be a good idea—no matter how handsome and beguiling he was.

“Oh,” he exclaimed suddenly, turning back to Kate. “I almost forgot. I have something for Maya.”

He lifted a small, green velvet bag off the passenger seat of his car and handed it to Kate. “Would you give this to her for me? She did a really good job today. Tell her I said thanks for not giving me too hard a time. I gotta take off. I’m meeting with one of my colleagues this afternoon. The one who mishandled Ian’s parole hearing.” He shook his head. “She’s a great gal and a terrific lawyer—when her mind in on task, but her mom’s sick and she’s juggling a lot. I’m going to try to help her work on time-management issues.”

He gave her a jaunty wave as he drove off. Kate gingerly
opened the drawstring on the bag and peeked inside to find a frog made of bright green glass.

Damn, she thought. Kind, caring and thoughtful. The man was way past dangerous. He was very close to perfect.

Kate
rolled over onto her stomach and pulled the light cotton blanket over her head. She wasn’t ready to face the world—especially not a world where Maya and Ian were reunited.

At least, their first meeting hadn’t gone very well, she thought sourly, recalling the brief encounter that had taken place yesterday at the Hippo.

Alex had offered her house as neutral ground—after school and out of the public eye—but safely within the compound. Unfortunately, one of Kate’s assistant chefs had called in sick at the last minute, so Kate had had to drive back across town at rush hour, which set her nerves on edge—more on edge than they’d already been.

She and Maya had arrived only minutes before Ian and his attorney. She’d tried to distract Maya with a book, but her ever-intuitive daughter hadn’t been able to sit still. She was darting from play area to play area when the door opened and Ian walked in.

Like a bunny caught within paw’s reach of a hungry lion, Maya had frozen and stared, unmoving, as he walked toward her. When he leaned down and called her name, “Maya…” in a slightly out-of-breath, raspy voice, the little
girl had let out a yelp and dashed to Kate’s side, burying her face against her mother’s leg.

Except for a couple of furtive glances, Maya had stubbornly refused to look at Ian again. Even when he offered her an extra-large candy bar.

The gift had irked Kate to no end.

“Bribes? Aren’t you the man who said your children would never be poisoned by processed sugar?” Ian had been full of idealistic theories about parenting when she’d been pregnant, but almost as soon as Maya was born, his attentions had turned elsewhere. To work, to making—and stealing—money.

Ian had given up trying to break through Maya’s atypical shyness a short while later. Once he was gone, Kate and Maya had walked home.

“So what was that about? I thought you were anxious to meet your dad.”

Maya had shrugged her shoulders. “Will he come back?”

“Do you want him to?”

“Uh-huh.”

Then he probably would. Unfortunately.

R
OB WAS STARTING
his third week in his new role as lawyer-slash-swimming instructor. Contrary to his hope, he’d seen very little of Kate. Maya had missed the second Saturday class because of a bout with the flu, which Kate then caught. According to his mother, Kate had even missed a couple of days of work, which was practically unheard-of.

He’d sent her flowers but hadn’t heard if she liked them or found the gesture too pushy.

He’d been back to the Romani compound twice outside of class. Once to have coffee and cake with Yetta—her way
of thanking him for the swim lessons, she’d claimed. And another time for a barbeque at Gregor’s. To Rob’s surprise, he’d found both experiences most revealing.

Kate’s mother had been very generous with details about Romani life, including some tantalizing glimpses into Kate’s childhood and teen years. Gregor’s hamburger patties were a bit like the charcoal he cooked them over, but Rob had enjoyed his ex-client’s company. Plus, Luca and Gemilla, while not quite as fascinating as Maya, were sweet kids and very eager to please.

Later, Gregor’s brother, Enzo, and another guy from the dads’ group had dropped by. The ensuing conversation had covered a wide range of topics, from sports to potty training. Rob had enjoyed himself more than he could have predicted.

He was actually looking forward to class this morning, to see his new friends. He was especially curious how Greg’s job interview had gone. One of Rob’s other clients had mentioned the need for a part-time handyman, and Rob had recommended Gregor.

He knocked on Yetta’s door.

“Yes? Oh, it’s you.” Kate’s sister, Liz, opened the door for him. “Come in. Cup of coffee?”

“Sure. Thanks. I’m a little early. Is Yetta around?”

Rob hadn’t spent much time with Liz, but they’d bumped into each other coming and going a couple of times.

“She’s next door helping Jurek pack. He’s flying to Detroit tomorrow to visit Nick and Grace.”

“Oh, that’s good. He must be feeling stronger.”

She handed him a large mug. “You can wait here or go out back. Your call. Maya’s playing in Mom’s flower garden. But I should warn you, she’s been a real brat this morning.”

“Really?”

She
nodded. “She had her first meeting with her father. He came to the Hippo after the other kids had gone home. She said she remembered him, but she didn’t. Not really.”

“That must have been hard on her and Kate.”

“Well, Kate didn’t help matters because she’s still so mad at him she can barely look at him without snarling. Maya picks up on that kind of thing. She’s confused and upset. And Kate’s so prickly you have to tiptoe around her.”

“Oh.”

“She’s out back. Pouting.”

“Kate?”

That made Liz smile. “Maya. Kate’s sleeping in. She had a long night. Her dishwasher broke down.” She might have said more but the phone rang.

Rob sipped the cup of coffee Liz had handed him, wondering if he should try to call off swim class.

“I’ll be right there,” she said to the person on the other end of the line. She hung up the receiver and turned to look at him. “Will you do me a huge favor? Keep an eye on Maya while I run next door. Mom needs help organizing Jurek’s meds. Thanks.”

She dashed away before he could answer. He glanced at his watch. The Dads Group, as they were calling themselves, wasn’t scheduled to arrive for another twenty minutes. He always came early in hopes of bumping into Kate. This was the first time he’d been asked to babysit.

Curious, he stood up and walked to the sliding glass door that led to the covered patio. He could see Maya sitting on the ground in front of a flower bed. She appeared to be making something out of the petunias.

As if sensing his attention, Maya turned her head to look at him. Rob’s heart did a little jump.

She
suddenly scrambled to her feet and raced to where he was standing. Rob opened the door in anticipation of her coming in the house. She didn’t. She stopped just opposite him and said, “I already have a daddy.”

Whoa. “Um…I know. What are you doing with the flowers?”

She gave him a serious look. He wasn’t sure she was going to answer him. “Playing dress-up.”

“Really? How do you do that?”

She let out a put-upon sigh. “Oh, come on. I’ll show you.”

Rob followed her to the shaded nook where Yetta’s green thumb was most evident. She pointed to the ground. “Sit down. You can be Holly. I’m P’tunia.”

He was glad he’d pulled on sweats so he didn’t have to sit on the cement in his swim trunks. Once settled, he accepted the flower Maya held out to him. A pale pink bell-shaped flower with furry yellow stamens.
Oh.
“Holly. As in Hollyhock.”

Maya nodded. “Hock is her last name. My last name is Grant. That’s my daddy’s name.”

“I know.”

She looked at him but didn’t say anything for a minute. “Holly and P’tunia are friends. They go to flower school together. Tomorrow there’s going to be a party and they want to look nice.”

“I see. So they need new outfits?” he guessed.

He watched her tiny fingers gently invert her royal purple petunia and impale it on a twig. She indicated Rob should do the same with his flower, but his hands felt too big and clumsy. What if he ripped her poor flower in half?

“Um, could you help me with this?”

With
exaggerated patience, she walked him through the process. “They can’t dance if they don’t have legs.”

“Got it. Do they need shoes?”

“No. They’re Romani. Roms dance with naked feet. Like my mommy taught me.”

Naked feet.
He tried his best not to smile, not wanting to offend her. Once she had both flowers to her liking, she handed his back to him.

“Now, we have to do their hair.”

Rob was afraid to ask. He leaned forward to watch as Maya plucked a few strands of grass. To avoid copying her, he reached overhead to snap off a bit of asparagus fern. He wrapped the prickly greenery around the top of his stick as Maya had done then showed it to her.

She studied it a moment. He couldn’t tell if it met with her approval or not. Before he could ask, a voice said from behind them, “What’s going on?”

Maya looked up, then tossed her flower away and launched herself into her mother’s arms. “Mommy. You’re awake. Auntie Liz said you needed to sleep ’cause the washer broke.”

Rob scrambled to his feet, too, letting Holly tumble to the sidewalk. “We didn’t wake you, did we?”

Kate, who looked sleepy and all soft around the edges—and totally desirable—shook her head. “The phone rang. Mom said to tell you Nathan Barnes and the twins won’t be here today. One of the girls has an ear infection.”

“Gretel,” Maya said with conviction. “Lucinda’s fine.”

He looked at mother and daughter and his heart did a funny little dance on naked feet. He wanted to be inside the circle, instead of outside.

Maya suddenly turned her head and looked at him. He
felt as if she were peering into the very heart of him and seeing his dreams displayed like dancing flowers. He suppressed a shiver. “I’d better go get ready for class. Thanks for showing me your flowers, Maya.”

He started away but had only taken two steps when Maya let out a wailing cry. “You stepped on Holly. Mommy, he killed her.”

Rob turned. Sure enough. Squished flat on the pavement was a red-and-green blob.
Oh, God.

“I hate him, Mommy. He has mean shoes.”

Rob looked down at the flip-flops he’d picked up at Target. His four-hundred-dollar Bruno Maglis—the much-maligned,
squeaky
shoes—were safely stowed in his closet. Who could have guessed cheap shoes were just as evil?

“Maya, I’m sorry. I—”

She sobbed noisily against her mother’s shoulder. Kate looked a little baffled and still not quite awake. He’d blown it. Again. So much for making headway with mother and daughter.

“I…I’ll be over by the pool. If Maya doesn’t feel like participating today, I understand.”

Kate watched Rob leave. He was upset, but she really didn’t know what to say. Maya had been unusually emotional lately. Ever since her bout of flu, actually. First, she’d been lethargic and grumpy. Then, increasingly crabby and reluctant to leave the house. Kate attributed some of the changes in her daughter’s behavior to that first meeting with Ian.

She stood still and let Maya cry. Once the tears had abated, she pulled back to look at her daughter. “Wow, that was a flood. All over a flower that got accidentally got stepped on?”

“It was Holly. She was
his
flower.”

The
emphasis on the word
his
made her wonder what was really going on. “What’s wrong, honey?”

“I want my daddy.”

Ahh.
“You saw him and wouldn’t even talk to him.”

The child didn’t reply.

“Maya, remember when you were sick? You slept a lot and didn’t feel like playing, did you?”

Maya frowned. “No.”

“Well, your father has been sick, too. He needs to rest. To start out with, you’ll only see him once a week, but maybe you can spend more time with him after he gets better. We talked about this, remember?”

“Does the lady who was with him see Daddy every day?”

Maya was jealous. “I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “She’s his lawyer. That’s the same job Rob has…when he’s not teaching swimming.”

She watched her daughter turn her head to look at Rob. Kate did, too. And her heart made a funny jump. She focused on her daughter again. “Are you going to swim this morning? I have a meeting, so if you won’t want to do this, I’ll have to see if Grandma can watch you.”

Maya hopped to her feet. “I’ll stay here.”

“And you’re going to be a super nice, sweet and agreeable person, right? Because even if we don’t feel well or we’re worried about something that is happening in our life, we don’t take that out on our friends. Right?”

She waited until Maya looked at her. “Uh-huh.”

“Good.”