Читать книгу For the Sake of the Children - Cynthia Reese, Cynthia Reese - Страница 12

F OR THE LIFE OF HER , Dana couldn’t figure out how she came to be sitting at a dinner table with Patrick and his two daughters, one of whom was staring daggers at her.

She cast a glance at Kate, who was eating up Lissa’s attention. Usually, Kate was shy and hesitant with strangers, but not with Lissa. Lissa had her in giggles within seconds—and the fried chicken on Kate’s plate had sealed the deal.

At least one daughter was kid friendly.

The jury was still out on Patrick. After Lissa’s off-the-cuff invitation, he’d heartily agreed. Yes, absolutely, she must join them.

She’d overheard Melanie hiss, “But, Dad! This is your birthday supper!” and Dana had tried to leave then. Patrick wouldn’t hear of it.

“No, no, it’s fine. This is no big deal. Only supper and a cake. You like cake, don’t you? Melanie makes a mean coconut cake.”

The tension at the table dissipated as Patrick shook out his napkin and passed around the platter of chicken. “I was just telling the girls about my two wannabe professional wrestlers this morning. How’d they do, anyway?”

“I didn’t hear a peep out of them all day long, so I guess they must have survived.” Dana took a piece of chicken and handed the platter to Melanie. “This looks great!”

“Lissa fried it. I hope you can eat it.” If Dana was reading Melanie’s underlying sentiment correctly, the truer words would have been, I hope you get an ulcer .

But Dana just ignored Melanie’s remark and switched her praise to Lissa. “You’re a better cook than me. I never fool with frying chicken.”

“My mom is the best cook, and we do a lot of cooking together,” Lissa told her.

Dana recalled Suze’s allusions to Patrick’s divorced status and wasn’t sure what to say. She mumbled, “That’s nice.”

On the heels of that awkward moment came another when Lissa skewered her with blue eyes alight with curiosity. “So are you and Dad seeing each other?”

Dana dropped the piece of chicken she held and Patrick choked on butter beans he was eating.

“Uh, no, actually, we’re not. I met your father for the first time today.”

“Oh. That’s nice.” Lissa beamed. “I just figured, you know, you calling, looking for him on his birthday—you know.”

Dana picked up the drumstick with numb fingers. “No. No. Remember? I mentioned on the phone that this had to do with the clinic at school.”

Melanie seemed to relax a bit then. Dana wondered if perhaps Melanie’s earlier reaction derived from the same wrong conclusion Lissa had jumped to.

“I like this corn, Mommy! Why doesn’t our corn taste this way?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Dana felt her cheeks heat up. She chuckled and said to Patrick and his daughters, “I did say I wasn’t much of a cook.”

“Kate, it’s probably because we grew this corn ourselves,” Patrick offered.

Kate frowned. “My mommy buys corn in cans.”

Lissa laughed; Melanie managed a subdued chuckle and Dana cringed. At least Kate’s confession indicated Dana attempted to cook. If Kate kept going, she’d probably tell them just how many trips to the McDonald’s drive-thru she and Kate made.

Patrick nodded to Kate. “Well, yeah, I guess she does. That’s what a lot of people do. But we grow it.” He turned to Dana. “My older sister and her husband live out in the country and we grow a big garden together.”

“That’s very nice.”

“You have brothers or sisters?”

“Two sisters. I’m in the middle.”

“Are they as tall as you?” Lissa asked.

Melanie again shot daggers, but now at her little sister. Dana smothered a laugh, remembering how many times her older sister had tried—and failed—to keep her straight.

“Uh, no. My older sister is a little above average height, and my younger one is on the petite side. She likes to say she’s vertically challenged.”

“Oh, that’s like my aunt. She always says—”

“Lissa, can you get us some more ice?” Melanie broke in. “Dana’s glass needs refreshing.”

The interruption caught Dana by surprise. What had that been all about?

But Lissa shoved back her chair with an under-the-breath mumble about bossy older sisters and Patrick interjected a question about where Dana had found a place to live, and she pushed aside her curiosity and answered his question.

The rest of the meal went smoothly enough. Civil, polite on Melanie and Patrick’s part; effusively warm on Lissa’s part. Dana had to admit that Lissa was a sheer wonder with Kate, and acknowledged it was great to have a meal where she had some help retrieving dropped spoons and napkins, cutting up the food into bite-size pieces, making a quick save of a toppling glass. Lissa was a natural.

When Dana remarked on it, Lissa told her, “I like kids, especially this age. I babysit a lot during the summer, and I have a little brother. He’s six now, but you know, my mom needed help. I’m going to school to be a nurse, and I hope I get to work with pedes.”

“Oh. I see. You’ll be good at it.”

Lissa beamed. “If you ever need somebody to watch Kate, I’ll be glad to do it. I’ve got excellent references.”

Dana grinned. Had Lissa’s motivation simply been to drum up business? If so, the gambit had been an effective one. “I don’t get out much, but I’ll keep you in mind.”

Not until the lighting of Patrick’s birthday cake did Dana find herself feeling awkward and in the way. Melanie brought in the cake, aglow with too many candles for Dana to count, though she did try to figure out Patrick’s age.

Then Lissa started singing “Happy Birthday” in a clear, beautiful alto and urged everyone to join in. Kate sang along without any prompting, but Dana hesitated. She felt shy and uncertain about singing “Happy Birthday” to a man she’d only just met.

Her eyes searched out cues from Melanie and Lissa and then finally Patrick. His gaze wasn’t on his daughters or the cake. It was locked on Kate as she lisped out the song. His jaw was set, his lips compressed.

The Patrick Connor she’d seen earlier in the day had vanished. Whatever interest he’d shown in Dana had vanished, as well.

She’d encountered that reaction too many times not to know it for what it was. The first time was the day she’d told Marty she was pregnant. His face had gone from happy anticipation at the prospect of big news to complete and utter gray-white shock when he learned what that news was.

Marty had tried to muscle his way through the moment, but he’d looked a lot the way Patrick Connor did now. No doubt about it. Patrick—as did most of the men who followed in Marty’s footsteps—had a problem with kids.

E VERY LITTLE OFF-KEY note that Kate Wilson sang knifed Patrick.

She’s not Annabelle. She doesn’t even resemble Annabelle.

That he’d even been able to speak when he’d seen the child on Dana’s hip had been a sheer miracle. If he’d just had some sort of warning…

Dana had to think he was a loon. He couldn’t believe it when he’d impulsively agreed with Lissa that she and Kate should join them for supper. Part of him had been eager to seize on anything that would encourage any rapprochement with Lissa.

And the other part?

Sheer insanity.

After supper, Patrick followed the girls into the kitchen with his plate, while Dana stayed at the table, cleaning up after Kate. Kate’s giggle floated after him.

God, so much time had passed since a baby had been in the house. He’d forgotten what wonderful music their giggles made.

Patrick found Melanie and Lissa in an argument, carried on in low hisses at the sink.

“Like you really forgot to tell Dad some woman had called. And to invite her here when you were aware it was Dad’s birthday.”

“She’s nice, Melanie! What’s the problem?”

“The problem is you’re up to something, and I know it, Lissa, so don’t—”

“You never believe me, so why should I bother saying anything at all? I forgot. Take it or leave it.”

“Girls.” At Patrick’s voice, they jumped guiltily. “We have a guest. One whom one of you invited.”

“Not me. Dad, you’re not going to start dating her, are you? I mean, she has a…” Melanie bit her lip.

Lissa put her hands on her hips. “Say it. You can say it. The world won’t end if you do. She has a child.”

The corners of Melanie’s mouth turned down. “That’s rather obvious. Did you know that when you invited her to party-crash?”

“No. But I sure would have invited her if I had. Because I just love to watch you wig out. You still haven’t gotten over Mom having Christopher and he’s six now,” Lissa said.

Melanie blanched at Lissa’s second mention of their stepbrother. “That’s—I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Girls. Enough.” Patrick glanced behind him to make sure Dana and Kate hadn’t left the dining room, then spoke in a low voice. “Let’s not fight on my birthday, especially when we have a guest. And Melanie, I’ve barely met the woman. Of course I’m not dating her. If I were, though, it’s my business.”

Melanie rolled her eyes at Lissa’s triumphant little “Yes!” complete with dragged-down fist gesture.

“You think you want this, but you don’t have a clue, do you? You don’t care about anybody but you. You’ve completely ruined Dad’s birthday, all because you’re a drama queen,” Melanie said.

After Patrick shot her a warning look, she waved away whatever else she was going to add. “Okay, okay. I won’t say any more. You deal with Lissa.”

“Later. And that’s a promise, Lissa.” He set his plate on the countertop. “Right now, I’m going to attempt to be a good host.”

When he returned to the dining room, Kate was cleaned up and Dana was gathering her things. “I am so sorry to have interrupted this night. I should have thought things through and waited until Monday.”

Patrick curled his fingers around the woodwork on the dining room chair. “You said something about the asthma tests. So what’s on your mind?”

“I should go. It’ll keep—I am so sorry.”

“No problem. We enjoyed having you.”

Dana didn’t seem at all convinced by his words, and he had to admit they sounded insincere. He tried again. “Lissa enjoyed having you guys here tonight, and I’m grateful for that. She’s at a…well, a difficult age.”

Dana’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes. I’m glad to be of service. Now, I’ll get out of your hair and be on my way, and perhaps we can talk about this on Monday.”

“Talk about what? You never did tell me precisely,” he pointed out.

She stopped in the middle of stuffing some child gear into her oversize purse. “The asthmatic kids. The mold. Why didn’t you tell me about the mold?”

Her accusatory question caught him as off guard as Kate’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” had. Patrick rubbed at his eyes, struggling to figure out how to respond.

“I thought Vann—” No. That was a lie. He knew Vann well enough to realize that Vann wouldn’t have immediately offered up that information without asking him first.

“Yes?” Now her tone had an edge to it, cool and crisp.

“We should have. I should have. I’m sorry.”

“Is this a cover-up? Am I part of a bean-counting process?”

“No! No, of course not. We’re just trying to do due diligence—”

“If you’re trying to do due diligence, how about getting in professionals to eliminate the mold? Instead of tackling a job that’s beyond an amateur’s scope,” she added equably.

“Can I take you up on that offer to talk about this Monday? Because I am not up to it tonight. Consider it a birthday gift.” Patrick added that last bit as a joke, but it fell flat.

Dana scooped up Kate and slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Fine. You know where to find me. I’ll be the one spending two hours every morning and two hours every afternoon doing useless asthma tests that don’t really tell you much of anything.”

She marched to the front door. Patrick followed her out, down the steps and to her car.

“Listen, if you want, we can talk about this now.”

“No, you’re right. I need a weekend to cool off.”

He took a step back. “Sure. Then okay. I’ll talk to you Monday. It was…nice having you here tonight. You and, um, Kate.”

He hadn’t intended to say those last words and he wasn’t sure where the sentiment had come from.

The words had the effect of arresting Dana as she put a sleepy Kate into her car seat. “If you mean that, then I’m glad.”

She slid behind the wheel of her car, gave him a brief, inscrutable smile and backed around.

Leaving Patrick standing there, wondering, had he meant what he’d said? And what if he had?