Right from the Start (14 page)

“They had a really nice visit.” Guadalupe met Will’s gaze with
a strained expression. “Melinda bought both boys beautiful gifts. They loved
them and played for a long time.”

“Sam got upset when she left?”

Guadalupe nodded.

Of course he had. Bringing gifts seemed to be the only way she
knew how to mother her son. And Sam wanted her attention, just like any
six-year-old would. But she always sailed out the door again, leaving behind a
little boy who didn’t know how to express his anxiety and disappointment in any
productive way.

Deanne swore Sam would learn to manage his reactions and if
Rafael was any indication, she could be believed. But Sam simply wasn’t there
yet.

“Gabriella said Melinda just showed up. I’m sorry. I’ve told
her to call first,” Will said in a low voice.

Sam shrieked at the top of his lungs, a frustrated growl that
said everything he couldn’t express with words. And his frustration thrust a
knife into Will’s heart as it always did.

Guadalupe waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry. I know you
have. I’ve told her, also. She was between clients. I made her wait until he
finished his snack. I hoped maybe it would help.”

“Good for you. I’ll talk to her again.”

Guadalupe shrugged. Sam yelled. Will’s head throbbed
harder.

That time to transition was absolutely essential for Sam to
smoothly end one task and start the next. But Melinda couldn’t seem to grasp
that she couldn’t simply pop in and out at her convenience—not without
considerable fallout.

Will took a deep breath and knelt down, close enough that he
could have reached out and touched Sam on a pass. He didn’t try to make
contact.

“Hey, buddy,” he said softly. “What’s the problem?”

Like Guadalupe had, Will kept calmly repeating Sam’s name,
closing in slowly, nonthreateningly, giving Sam a chance to recognize Will’s
presence.

Guadalupe slipped out of the room, and luck was with them
tonight because Sam didn’t get any worse and eventually wound down. Not too bad,
all things considered. Any time Will could wait Sam out and didn’t have to
intervene because he was out of control and at risk of hurting himself was good.
Letting Sam expel those frustrations without anyone adding to them was good.

Now Sam was drenched with sweat and completely exhausted.

“Come on, buddy. Let’s go home.”

Sam could barely keep his eyes open, but he wrestled weakly in
Will’s arms.

Guadalupe had returned and knew exactly what Sam wanted. She
retrieved the big Transformer-type robot with the adjustable arms and legs, a
pricey toy from some upscale toy store like FAO Schwartz. Sure enough Sam
wrapped an arm around the robot and stopped fighting sleep.

Guadalupe smiled. “He’s coming along, Will. He’ll be talking
soon. You trust me.”

Will managed a smile. He hoped she was right. But between the
pounding head and the raw nerves, he couldn’t say he felt encouraged more than
angry at Melinda’s unnecessary selfishness.

Not that meltdowns didn’t happen for all kinds of reasons. They
did. But a lot of the time, giving Sam a heads-up about what was coming then
allowing him enough time to finish up whatever he was doing made all the
difference in the world at keeping his stress level down.

It was such a simple thing. Not easy necessarily because
waiting took patience and time. But so, so simple.

Will said his goodbyes and carried his exhausted son to the
truck. Did he need to take Melinda back to court to get her to comply with one
simple request?

He’d considered telling Guadalupe not to allow Melinda to see
Sam when she showed up unannounced, but he didn’t want to place that sort of
responsibility on Guadalupe, putting her in an uncomfortable situation. Melinda
had a right to see Sam. More importantly, she wanted to see Sam. Sam wanted to
see his mother. And Will wanted them to see each other.

One simple request. Was it really so much to ask?

No, Will didn’t need any more complications right now.

Not one.

* * *

K
ENZIE
MET
N
ATHANIAL
’
S
gaze as he opened her car door. He’d hung around to
help her set up the equipment in the mediation room, but he hadn’t mentioned
anything about Will until this very moment, when he stared at her with blue eyes
uncharacteristically serious.

“I don’t like this guy, Kenz. That’s twice I’ve met him, and
every red flag I have is flying.”

Adrenaline had stopped pumping through her a while ago. Maybe
the activity of setting up equipment had made her feel more in control.
Nathanial’s presence had definitely helped smooth away the raw edges of her
mood, a calming presence as he usually was. Or maybe, as much as she hated to
admit it, she’d simply settled down because Will had left. How could she deny
that adrenaline went from zero to sixty with one flash of his dimples?

“Will is not my cup of tea, Nathanial.” That much was the
truth. “You above everyone should know that.”

“What exactly about him isn’t your cup? That he owns his own
business? That he’s active in politics? Or that he made your dreams come true by
installing you in Madame Estelle’s building for a low-income rent?”

She usually appreciated Nathanial’s straight-to-the-point
presentation. Not tonight.

“Maybe it’s the part where he’s been divorced—not once, but
twice. Or the part where he has primary physical custody of his son in addition
to his own business and a seat on council. I’m thinking the guy doesn’t do much
dating even if he was my cup of tea.” All entirely true.

“Divorced
twice?
” Nathanial pulled
a face. “And they gave him custody? That speaks for itself, don’t you think? Who
voted this guy into office, anyway?”

Kenzie shrugged, suddenly unwilling to admit she hadn’t voted
for Will. The image of a sweet little boy with big eyes and a happy smile
flashed in her mind. There were special circumstances about why Will had gotten
custody of his son. Kenzie might not know the whole story, but she had met both
Sam’s parents and had seen Will with his son.

She understood his loyalty to Angel House. Loyalty that had
spurred him to run for city council to further his private agenda. He may have
won the seat because of the cause he served. Or simply on the strength of his
charm. Given her own experiences with the man, Kenzie would believe that.
Easily. But clearly winning that seat had been meant to be.

There were definitely special circumstances about the custody
arrangement.
Definitely.

But Kenzie kept her mouth shut and didn’t attempt to explain.
Nathanial was her best friend in the world, and she’d always shared freely with
him, but right now she felt protective of Will, and Sam. She didn’t want to open
them up to judgment. Any judgment, especially since Nathanial had already
decided he didn’t like Will.

“I appreciate your concern, and your opinion,” she said softly.
“But don’t worry about me.” Slipping her hand over his where it still sat poised
on her open window, she gave a reassuring squeeze.

Nathanial didn’t look reassured. Not one bit. He leveled an
unwavering gaze. “I hear what you’re saying.”

Which implied he didn’t believe her.

She supposed that shouldn’t surprise her, either. He could see
what she wasn’t sharing. And was worried. Normally, he would be the one she
hashed through her feelings with, the one who would listen to her think out loud
or rant or do whatever she needed to do to make some sense of the way she
felt.

She wanted to talk,
needed
to talk
after tonight, but the idea of discussing her reaction to Will with Nathanial
made her feel vulnerable, as if she’d open up herself to be stepped on.

Which was so unfair to Nathanial. True, he’d never been one to
sugarcoat his opinion, but he was a wonderful, caring man who loved her. Kenzie
was the problem. And the way she felt.

She was the
biggest fool.

But Nathanial didn’t offer to talk, which cued her that he
wasn’t available. They played this little game whenever they weren’t in full
relationship mode.

Nathanial hadn’t mentioned he was dating anyone, though, and he
would have. They were friends before anything else. That was her favorite part
of their relationship. They usually shared everything. She’d cried in his arms
after Jack had ended their relationship when he shipped off for his second tour
in Iraq.

Nathanial had railed until 4:00 a.m. after a fight with ex
Charlotte that had resulted in the demise of their relationship. She’d been
casually seeing someone else and hadn’t wanted to break up with Nathanial until
forced to make a decision. He’d felt betrayed and hurt, which had manifested as
an anger the likes of which Kenzie hadn’t seen before or since.

They could share their feelings this way because they had
forever plans. But those plans wouldn’t start until they established their
careers and were ready to settle down to begin the next phase of life, to commit
completely and start a family, because they both wanted one.

That only made sense.

Nathanial bent into the open window and pressed a soft kiss to
her forehead. “Drive safely,” was all he said. Then he hopped into his car and
waited for her to pull out, ever the gentleman.

Kenzie drove on autopilot, heading toward their part of town.
They didn’t live far from each other. But Nathanial turned off Main Street as if
heading in the direction of his office. She wondered if he was preparing for a
big case and felt selfish for not asking. She was so wrapped up in her own
emotions right now, trying to manage them and failing miserably.

Kenzie needed to talk. Her thoughts were spinning again now
that she didn’t have Nathanial or work to distract her. The situation was
ridiculous.

As she sat through the unnecessarily long traffic light at the
intersection of Blossom and Sixth, she texted her other best friends in the
world, Fiona and Jess.

SOS. Can you guys meet at Kevin’s?

Kevin’s bistro was one of Hendersonville’s best-kept secrets,
and the locals liked it that way. And while Kenzie had no appetite whatsoever, a
glass of wine would work in a big way. Jess responded almost instantly. Kenzie
glanced at her phone at the next traffic light.

Sorry! No can do! Any time tomorrow.

“Bummer,” she said aloud. Didn’t matter whether or not Fiona
could make it now. Fiona and Jess were a package deal. If she shared her angst
with Fiona first, Jess would feel left out and vice versa. She would share
anything with either of them, but she could only share when they were together,
an unspoken rule, which made their friendship a bit of a balancing act.

She was nearly home when Fiona finally replied.

Got a function. Won’t get out of here until ten.

Kenzie waited until she pulled into her driveway before
replying.

Too late. Any time free tomorrow?

No. Saturday?

Which effectively took care of talking with her other two best
friends for the moment. Kenzie suggested lunch and asked Fiona to check the time
with Jess then received the reply:

Kk. Let you know ;-)

And that was that. Grabbing her laptop case, Kenzie headed
inside, accepting that she was alone with her thoughts tonight.

She changed into more comfortable clothes. She called her
parents to see how their day had been and resisted the urge to discuss the
situation with her mother. Mom was a wonderful listener and would offer
practical advice if asked, but she was also not as young as she used to be. She
and Dad sat down after dinner and dozed in their chairs through all their
favorite programs. To spring this on her at this time of night...

So Kenzie opened the bottle of Malbec that she’d been hoarding
since Nathanial had given it to her on Valentine’s Day. She’d hoped to share it
with him, but lately they seemed to get together everywhere but here, so she
poured a glass, even though she knew she’d never finish the bottle herself
before it turned.

No sooner did she settle into her comfy chair in the living
room with a stack of pending cases to review when her cell rang. She glanced at
the display.

“Geri, what a nice surprise. What’s up?”

“Am I catching you at an okay time?”

“Couldn’t be better. I hope you’re not still working though.
It’s almost eight o’clock.” Kenzie tucked her legs underneath her and reached
for her glass.

“I’m home, but do we ever stop working? I mean, really stop.
Put everything out of our heads and not think about anything work-related at
all.”

“Given that I just sat down for the first time today, and I
brought a stack of folders of potential clients to review, I’m going to answer
no.”

Geri chuckled. “Me, either. I think we need to get lives.”

Which was Geri’s polite way of telling Kenzie to get a life.
Geri already had one. Two wonderful, successful children who were married and
lived within driving distance. No grandchildren yet, but they were likely in the
works, so little ones shouldn’t be in the too-distant future.

But Geri’s husband had died two years ago from a heart attack,
far too young. Geri had been dealing with the unexpectedness of his passing and
coping with her grief since then. She got a free pass for not having much else
outside of work. All her plans to grow old with her husband had been derailed.
She would eventually figure out what the future held for her, but she wouldn’t
rush. She’d fill her life with the people she loved and work.

But as far as Geri was concerned Kenzie hadn’t started her life
yet, and she’d never been shy about sharing that opinion, going so far as to ask
Nathanial why he was waiting to pop the big question at last year’s Independence
Day picnic.