Treading Water (32 page)

“
You don’t have to be like
Jill. No one expects that.”

“
Dad does.”

“
He knows you each have
different strengths. You need to talk to him about
this.”

“
He’s going to flip,
though. I know it.”

“
You still have to talk to
him. You can’t just drop this on him later.”

“
You won’t tell him about
the other thing, will you?”

Andi thought about that for a moment. “I
just hope you’ll really think about it before you take a step you
may not be ready for. And what about protection? Have you thought
of that?”

“
I’m probably going on the
pill, just in case.”

Andi let out another long
breath. It was better not to think about what Jack would have to
say about
that
.
“The pill won’t protect you from disease,” Andi reminded her,
wondering where the normally quiet, reserved Kate had
gone.

“
He’s never done it before,
either, so we’re both safe.”

“
It sounds like you’ve
given it some serious thought. I hope you know what you’re doing.
Sex changes a relationship—not always for the better.”

“
It’s not happening this
month, because I can’t even see him.” Kate turned her stunning blue
eyes on Andi. “But if I wanted to be protected, just in case, would
you help me? Get on the pill I mean?”

Andi thought about that, her head spinning.
“There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Kate, but you can’t
ask me to go behind your father’s back on something like this. I
won’t do that to him. But I’ll make you a deal. If you can get him
to agree to it, I’ll take you.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Like
that’s
ever
going
to happen. He almost passed out when he saw me
kissing
Ryan.”

“
You won’t know if you
don’t talk to him,” Andi said, even though she wasn’t optimistic,
either.

“
You won’t say
anything?”

Andi shook her head, even though she had
serious reservations about making such a promise. “Please don’t let
me down by doing something foolish. Talk to your father.” She got
up, kissed the girl’s forehead, and walked over to put her coffee
cup in the dishwasher. “You’re all set to get the kids at three
today?”

“
I’ll be there,” Kate said.
“Andi?”

Andi stopped on her way to the garage.
“Yes?”

“
Thanks.”

“
Any time.”

Andi couldn’t focus on the mountain of work
on her desk as she replayed the conversation with Kate. All she
could think about was how upset Jack would be to hear that Kate
didn’t want to go to college, not to mention she was thinking about
having sex with her high school boyfriend and wanted to go on the
pill. Imagining the scene, Andi shuddered.

Jack appeared at her office door, carrying
his hardhat and wearing jeans, a thermal shirt, and work boots. His
cheeks were red from being out in the cold all morning with the
stonemasons who were installing the south veranda. Somehow he
managed to look as sexy in work clothes as he did in a tuxedo. He’d
told her this would be his last week of work at the hotel, which
made her sad. She’d miss having him around during the day.

“
What planet were you
visiting?” he asked. “You were a million miles away.”

Andi caressed his cold face when he bent to
kiss her. “I was just taking a quick trip to Pluto, but I’m back
now.”

“
What’s on your
mind?”

She wanted so badly to tell him everything
Kate had told her. “Nothing special. Are you having a good
day?”

Seeming exhausted and troubled, he dropped
into a chair. “The stone guys don’t speak a word of English, so it
seems my job is to stand back and let them do what they want. Since
the veranda is coming out only slightly different than I’d planned,
I’ve chosen not to do battle with them. Yet.”

“
I’m sure it’ll be fine,”
she said as she studied him.

“
I also can’t stop thinking
about what happened with Kate last night.”

“
You should talk to
her—when you’re not mad.”

“
Do you think I was too
hard on her?”

“
Not at all. She knows
she’s not allowed to have boys there when we’re not home. You
absolutely did the right thing.”

“
That helps, thanks. I’m on
unfamiliar ground with this whole Ryan situation. She says she
loves him, but what does she know about love? She’s just a
kid.”

“
Jack, think about it.
You’ve told me boys have been asking her out for years, and she’s
never said yes until now. Why do you think that is? She
probably
does
love
him, and you can’t just blow it off and wish it wasn’t true.” Andi
hoped he would take the initiative to talk to Kate—and soon. She
didn’t like keeping things from him.

“
You’re right, and I’ll
talk to her. Well, I’d better let you get back to work and go see
how much damage they’ve done to my design.” Leaning over to kiss
her again, he said, “I’ll see you at home.”

“
I might be
late.”

“
Take your time.” He waved
as he walked away.

Andi ached for him, knowing he would be
upset by what Kate had to tell him. With a deep breath to clear her
mind, she forced herself to focus on work. She picked up the phone
to dial Bill’s direct line in Chicago to update her replacement on
their progress. Since she’d been so involved with the initial
planning for the Newport property, she’d overseen much of the
installation work herself.

Jen Brooks, her former assistant, answered
Bill’s line. “Hi, Andi, how are you? Is it crazy there?”

“
It’s like a war zone. I
have trouble imagining we’ll be ready in just twenty-five days. My
office is still in boxes, and all I do is sit in interviews and
meetings, but I love it. How are you?”

“
Okay, I guess.”

“
You don’t sound okay.
What’s wrong? Are you enjoying working for Bill?”

“
He’s great—not as great as
you, of course.”

Andi laughed. “Of course. So what’s going
on? You sound so down.”

“
Mark and I broke up two
weeks ago.”

“
Oh, no! What happened?”
Andi knew that Jen had hoped to marry the handsome attorney she’d
dated for a couple of years.

“
You know we’d been talking
about getting married, but he’s always said he doesn’t want kids. I
hoped he’d change his mind, but he’s not going to. I can’t imagine
never having kids.”

“
I’m sorry, Jen. I know how
happy you were with him.”

“
Other than that one big
sticking point.”

“
You did the right thing.
You don’t want to miss out on being a mom someday if it’s that
important to you.”

“
I just hate being here. I
keep worrying about running into him in the city. We have all the
same friends. It’s awful.”

“
I have an
idea.”

“
What’s that?”

“
How’d you like to come
here and be my assistant manager? It’d be a big promotion for you,
and we’d get to work together again. You could use the change of
scenery. I could use the help—”

“
I’ll take it.”

“
Are you sure? Have you
ever even been here?”

“
No, but I’m dying to get
away from this city, and I’d love to work with you
again.”

“
We could try it for a
year, and if you wanted to go home after that, I’d totally
understand.”

“
When do I
start?”

“
How soon can you get here?
We’ll pay for your move, and I’ll help you find a great apartment.
You’ll love it here. It’s the most beautiful place to
live.”

“
I’ll be there in a week. I
can come back after the opening to move for good.”

“
Bill’s gonna kill
me.”

Jen laughed. “Yes, he is, but you’ve made my
day, Andi. Thank you so much.”

“
Thank
you
. You’re saving my life. So where
is he?”

“
In a meeting. Do you want
me to have him call you?”

“
Yes, please, and send me
your flight information. I’ll pick you up at the
airport.”

“
Will do, thanks
again.”

Andi walked in just after seven to the smell
of something that made her mouth water. “What’re you cooking,
Jack?”

He stirred the pot with one hand and reached
out to hug her with the other. “Pesto, but I can’t take
credit.”

She kissed his cheek and peered into the
pot.

“
Kate made it. I’m just
supposed to stir.”

“
I’m impressed and
starving. Where are they?”

“
Kate had some homework to
finish. Maggie and Eric are in her room. They visited the twins
this afternoon.”

“
We need to get over there,
too. I haven’t seen them in three days. Did you get a chance to
talk to Kate?”

“
Not yet, but I will after
dinner.” He kissed her nose and went to call the kids for
dinner.

The pesto tasted as good as it smelled, and
Kate’s meal was a big hit.

“
I’ll clean up, guys,” Andi
offered. “Maggie, will you run Eric’s bath, please?”

“
Sure, come on, Eric,”
Maggie signed.

“
Kate, can I talk to you in
the study?” Jack asked.

“
Okay.” As Kate followed
her father, she cast a nervous glance at Andi.

“
Talk to him,” Andi
whispered as she bit her thumbnail, worried about how he would take
what he was about to hear.

“
I hope you understand why
I was so upset last night,” Jack said, working to keep his emotions
in check and his tone civil.

“
I shouldn’t have let Ryan
in, but he came over to bring me some stuff I left in his
car—”

“
You’re right—you shouldn’t
have let him in. I know you have good judgment, and I’ve never had
any reason to question it before now. It’s so important that I can
trust you—especially when you’re supposed to be watching Maggie and
Eric.”

“
You
can
trust me, Dad.”

“
I have to apologize for
one thing I said last night.”

“
Really?” she asked,
looking surprised.

“
I shouldn’t have been so
dismissive when you said you love Ryan. Maybe you do. I don’t know,
but it’s not fair for me to tell you how you feel.”

“
I
do
love him. I know we’re young and
all that, but we love each other.”

He knew he had to ask,
but,
God
, he
really didn’t want to. “Tell me you’re not, you know…”

She looked him right in the eye. “Having sex
with him?”

His heart stopped. “Are you?”

“
I’m thinking about
it.”

“
You’re too young to even
think about it.”

“
Half the girls in my class
have already done it.”

Shocked to hear that, he forced himself to
focus on his daughter. “Look, so you love him. You still have to
think about the big picture. What if you get pregnant? You can’t go
to college if you’re pregnant or have a baby to take care of.”

“
Andi said the same thing,
and I told her I’m not going to college.”

“
What do you mean you’re
not going to college? You talked to Andi about this?
When?”

“
This morning. I want a
career in music. Why do I have to sit through four years of college
to do that?”

He put up a hand to stop her. “That’s crazy.
You’re going to college. We’re not even talking about that.”

“
I’m not going. And you may
as well know, I want to go on the pill.” She swallowed hard. “Just
in case.”

Jack’s head was going to explode. Any second
now… “Is Ryan pressuring you to have sex?”

“
Not at all,” she said,
looking offended. “I know you can’t imagine
I
might
want
to do it. I want to be safe
about it. I wish you could understand that. Andi did.”

“
Did she?” He couldn’t
believe Andi had kept this from him.

“
You know how I feel, and
I’ve been honest with you about what I want to do. I hope you’ll
respect that.” She got up and left the room.

He sat there fuming for several minutes
before he went to find Andi.

Chapter 24

“
You knew this all day and
never said anything?
I was in your office,
for Christ’s sake!”

“
She confided in me, Jack.
I couldn’t just come running to you.”

He followed her into their bathroom. “She’s
thinking about having sex! You should’ve told me that.”

“
No, I shouldn’t have. I’ve
been walking on eggshells around here for almost a year, especially
with Kate and Jill. Don’t you see what a big deal it was that she
came to me with this? I told her to talk to you, and I pushed you
to talk to her. That’s all I could do. I couldn’t betray
her.”