The Daddy Gamble Page 10

  “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 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.”

  Chapter 9

  Kate wasn’t certain her daughter would cooperate with Rob this morning, but she couldn’t stay and help. She’d agreed to meet with Ian—sans lawyers. An informal chat, he’d said. A chance to apologize.

  She knew this was a bad idea, but a part of her really wanted to hear him say, “I’m sorry.”

  She drove to the house where Ian was renting a room. Knowing he was less than ten miles from the compound did little for her peace of mind.

  Ian’s lawyer met her at the door. “I thought we were lawyer-free today,” Kate said, hesitating. Was this a trick of some sort to get Kate to give up her rights?

  “I check on him every morning to make sure he has his meds for the day,” the woman said. “I was just leaving, but I’d be happy to show you to his room.”

  Kate sensed the woman’s antipathy, well hidden beneath her diplomatic greeting. She led the way without speaking and knocked softly on a partially open olive-green door.

  “Is my wife here?” a familiar voice called out.

  Kate’s temper spiked. “I…am…not…your wife,” she said, marching into the room.

  Ian was sitting in a recliner that had been positioned near the room’s only window. He smiled as if she’d just breezed in with a kiss and hug. “Good morning, Katie. Thank you, Andrea.”

  Kate heard the door close behind her, but she couldn’t pull her gaze from her ex-husband. Sympathy warred with ire. Ian looked like hell. The previous times she’d seen him, he’d been neatly groomed. Although painfully thin, he’d still looked…like Ian. This morning, dressed in a white T-shirt and boxers covered by a light cotton robe, he looked ancient. And ill.

  “You look awful.”

  He snickered softly. “Well, you don’t look so hot yourself. Were you out late on a hot date with your gadjo lawyer?”

  Only in my dreams. Kate felt her face flush. “I was beating a cranky dishwasher into submission,” she snapped.

  “The mechanical kind, I hope.” Ian chuckled at his joke. “You never were much of a people person. An empty kitchen and a restaurant filled with invisible customers—your idea of heaven, right?”

  Kate swallowed her anger. She wouldn’t let him provoke her. This wasn’t about her. Or him. This was about Maya. “Actually, I have several employees who claim I’m the best boss they’ve ever had. I guess that proves people can change. But the real question is have you?”

  “I still love you, if that’s what you mean.”

  Kate closed her eyes. Typical Ian. “That’s a lie, of course. You never loved me. You loved the connections I brought you. The patsies.”

  “Katie, honey, you don’t—”

  She stopped him. “I do mean that, Ian.” She could play the mind-reader card, too. “I’m here because you said you wanted to talk about Maya. So talk.”

  “She hates me, doesn’t she?”

  “You’re a stranger, Ian. You can’t expect her to welcome you with open arms just because you show up with candy.”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do?”

  Go away and leave us alone. “Be patient,” she said instead. “She’s a kind and loving child. She’ll warm up to you in time.”

  He sat up a little straighter. His hair had been buzz-cut in jail and was slowly coming back in—she could see silver where before there had only been black. But his black eyes still flashed with well-remembered arrogance. “I heard you’re seeing that guy who used to be your lawyer. The young one. He’s just moved here, right? Probably thinking about settling down, having a family.”

  Rob? He asked me here to talk about Rob?

  “That would be Rob’s business. Not yours.”

  “But, Katie, a man has a right to know who his competition is, doesn’t he?”

  She walked to where he was sitting and leaned over just close enough to make sure he could see her eyes. “Rob Brighten has no competition.”

  Then she left.

  “‘Rob has no competition’? You just said that to make a point, right?” Liz asked.

  The two sisters were sitting in their mother’s backyard. Maya was playing at Gemilla’s. Kate had no idea where Yetta was. Instead of rushing home from Ian’s, she’d dawdled at the market to avoid bumping into Rob again. Liz had shown up a few minutes later. And while she and Kate weren’t particularly close, Kate had needed to talk to someone.

  “Of course,” Kate said, fighting the urge to pace from one end of the yard to the other. She wished Grace was here. “I wanted to punish him. I wanted him to think I had this fabulous life with a handsome young lover. When did I turn into such a shrew?”

  Her sister chuckled dryly. “I’m sure we could pinpoint the exact moment if we tried.”

  Kate stuck out her tongue, but she knew her sister was trying for humor—the way Grace would have. “But since that would probably just add to your depression,” Liz quickly added, “Let’s move forward instead.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maya’s a mess, too. She’s very sensitive to what’s happening around her, especially when it involves me. I know that her bad attitude lately is partly my fault. I’m angry at Ian and frustrated at work. Even with Jo helping, I still have too much to do.”

  “Because Grace is gone.”

  Liz poured them each some iced tea from a pitcher. The bowl of browning apple slices was left over from swim class, Kate assumed. She wished now that she’d stayed. She loved watching Rob interact with the fathers and the other children. He was even making progress where Maya was concerned, although he probably didn’t think so.

  Maya had placed the green glass frog on her bedside table and always told it good-night, right after her fish.

  “You and Grace are partners, right? When one partner leaves the business, isn’t it common for the remaining partner to sell her share?” Liz asked.

  Kate took a drink. Honey and mint tea. “Ummm. This is good. Where’d you get it? I wouldn’t mind serving it at Romantique.”

  “I made it. Three mints and a couple of other herbs. Don’t change the subject.”

  Kate leaned forward and plopped her chin on her palm. “I can’t afford to buy Grace’s share. She’s invested way more tha—”

  “I meant to another buyer. Someone who loves the business as much as you do. Someone like…Jo.”

  “Jo?” She sat up straight. “Do you really think she’d be interested? Grace put a lot of seed money into the place. What makes you think Jo could afford to buy Grace’s half?”

  Liz had a sort of cat-ate-the-mouse look on her face. Of all Kate’s sisters, Liz was the most observant. She watched and listened when everyone else was shouting. She saw things others missed. “Jo and Mom got together for lunch last Monday. I happened to pass by here. They were discussing the idea. Jo said she was afraid to suggest it because you might think she was trying to horn in on your success. And she knows how close you are to Grace.”

  Kate was touched, deeply. “I love that woman. Do you think Grace would go for it? Romantique is as much her baby as mine.”

  “I know that. But Mom thinks our little sister is going to be thinking about living, breathing babies pretty soon.” She paused a second then added, “I’ve heard Grace say how guilty she feels about not being here to help more. Why not ask her?”

  Kate thought a moment. The idea not only sounded good, it felt right. She stood up. “I think I will. Right this minute.” She started to walk away, but paused and added, “Thanks, sis.”

  “K
ate. Mom. What are you two doing here?”

  Rob had been at his desk all morning going over employee evaluations that the personnel manager had forwarded from the home office. One of his two lowest-producing attorneys needed to be let go. Either April, the woman who’d mishandled Kate’s case, or Eric, who had finally stopped bringing his children to work. According to the memo Rob had received from the home office, both lacked the drive the senior partners felt was a requirement.

  Rob disagreed. He felt the two were excellent litigators whose work had suffered lately from outside stresses in their lives. Eric’s shaky marriage and concern for his children and April’s mother’s situation were human, real-life problems. Firing either of these people wasn’t going to be easy.

  He stood up as the two women walked in. “You’re both smiling. That’s good. Isn’t it?”

  “I’m buying Grace’s half of the business,” his mother said. She sat down in one of the two chairs opposite his desk. She seemed a bit breathless—from excitement?

  He looked at Kate as she explained. “I talked to Grace last Saturday. I gave her the weekend to think about it and come up with a price if she wanted to go through with it. She and Jo discussed numbers this morning. We’re ready to make it legal.”

  “Really? Grace agreed to sell her share of Romantique?” From the little he knew of Kate’s younger sister, this idea seemed rather unexpected.

  “Her life is in Detroit now, not Las Vegas.”

  “And she also agreed that Kate had a right to ask for a totally committed working partner,” his mother added.

  “Nikolai said it was Grace’s call, but given the fact she has a wedding to plan, she decided she could use the time and money to settle into her new life.”

  Kate had heard the news that morning with a mixture of relief and regret. She missed her sister desperately and wasn’t sure she could make a go of this on her own—even with Jo’s full support. But both sisters knew the present situation wasn’t fair to either of them.

  She watched as Rob and his mother discussed the details of the sale. On one hand, Kate felt a giddy kind of lightness—as if the thumb that had been pressing down on her was suddenly removed. On the other, her emotions hovered on the verge of tears. So many changes…