by Dana Mason
"She did. She got me suspended. Better than jail. Ali promised you wouldn't press charges against Jeffries, if he didn't press charges against me. Jeffries agreed, but only if the department punished me instead."
"Wow. I'm sorry."
"Well…Ali only agreed if the school district suspended Jeffries for harassing a student." Brian grinned. "Considering he had an affair with said student's mother, they didn't have a problem with suspending him, too."
Melissa stared at him unblinking for a moment before she finally said, "I bet he's pissed now."
Brian nodded his head vigorously, his messy hair bouncing around his head. "Oh, yeah." His smile faded, and he pointed to a chair. "Get off your feet, damn it."
When she sat back down, he lifted her booted foot and laid it on the coffee table. Then he plopped back down on the couch. "And I've got weeks of sitting around on my fat ass to look forward to." He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back against the cushions.
"At least you can spend more time with the kids now."
"Great!" he said. "I'll switch from police detective to soccer dad."
"There's nothing wrong with being a soccer dad, and Erin needs you around more."
"I know." He waved his hand. "But I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not working a case."
"So make Erin your case."
"There is something there." He looked up at the ceiling. "I can't put my finger on it yet, but something is going on with her."
"Yeah, I think so, too."
"Will you stay until we talk? She seems to be more open with you."
"Which reminds me. Did I tell you she asked if you and I were getting back together?" Melissa squinted, trying to remember. "She said she knew you were supposed to marry me, but married her mom instead."
Brian's face paled a shade. He sat back up and looked at her. "What the hell was Julie thinking when she told her that?"
"She said Julie didn't tell her, but she wouldn't tell me how she found out."
Brian stood up and paced the room with a bit of a limp.
"Are you hurt?"
"Uh…no." He walked to the front window with his coffee. "Are you seriously telling me you don't remember me waking you up last night?"
"No. Why? Did something happen?"
"Nope—nothing," he said.
She threw her hand out. "Why don't you tell me what the problem is?"
He shrugged. "There is no problem."
She remembered taking another pain pill before falling asleep in his bed. She very clearly remembered being able to smell him and even dreamt about him, but that wasn't unusual.
When Brian turned back around, Melissa put on a smile, hoping to hide her stupid, ridiculous, unrealistic, and self-destructive thoughts. She cleared her throat and said, "I can make you some breakfast."
Brian stared at her for a few moments, and Melissa felt like she was under a microscope or sitting in a room full of people, naked and vulnerable, and that made her feel pathetic. She lowered her eyes and shook her head at the thought.
"Let's go out to breakfast."
"No, actually," she said quietly, "on second thought, I'll go home." She stood up and looked around for her purse.
"Fine. Fine, Parker." He waved a hand at the door. "You wanna go, then go."
"Brian, I don't understand why you're pissed at me."
"Because I'm inviting you to eat with us and you want to run away. It's Erin's birthday, can't you just have breakfast with us and help me acknowledge it, especially since she refuses to acknowledge it on her own."
"I don't want to leave, but you're obviously angry, and I don't understand what I did—besides sleep in your bed." She met his eyes. "Is that it? Are you upset because I slept in Julie's bed?"
"Don't be stupid. Of course not!" He scowled at her. "Look, I had a shitty night. It's not your fault, and it wasn't the bed, or the couch. Okay? Gimme a break."
Melissa swallowed hard, staring at him, trying to figure out what he wasn't telling her.
"I'm trying hard to do things with my kids and create new memories with them that don't included Julie, to give them a sense of something to look forward to." He shrugged, his eyes darting to the floor. "They love spending time with you, and I would like your company."
Melissa nodded then turned when she heard quick footsteps on the stairs. "I'm hungry," Cody said, coming into the living room.
"Good morning to you, too," Brian said. "Go wake up Erin and tell her we're going out to breakfast."
"Can I have pancakes?"
"You can eat all the pancakes you want if you eat eggs, too," Brian said.
"Fine, I'll eat eggs, too," Cody mumbled as he climbed the stairs.
"I'm going to get dressed," Brian said, hobbling away.
When Melissa was alone, she dropped to the couch and threw her head back. "What the hell is going on?" she whispered. "Damn it…why is this so hard? Why am I here?" She wanted to scream and kick her feet in frustration. "Give me a fucking break." She covered her face and tried to rub away the tension.
"A break from what?"
Melissa jerked her head up and looked at Erin. "Good morning."
"What's wrong?" Erin asked.
Melissa gave a humorless laugh. "My life."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Erin asked.
Melissa gave her a warm smile. "No. But thank you for asking."
"You always talk me off the ledge. Thought I'd return the favor." She laughed at Melissa's surprised face. "Not literally."
"Oh—good," Melissa said with a hand to her chest. She tilted her head. "I hope you know, Erin, you can talk to me about anything."
Erin smiled. "I know. Thank you."
"And happy birthday. How does it feel to be sixteen?"
Erin's smile faded. "Pretty much the same."
Melissa stood and hobbled over to Erin with her arms outstretched. Erin's embrace was tighter than Melissa was expecting. They held each other for a moment and Erin said, "I guess it's D-day with Daddy."
"As in, tell Daddy everything day, yes, it is." Melissa withdrew from the hug. "It's time, Erin."
"I know. Do you want to borrow some clean clothes?"
"Would you mind?" Melissa asked, looking down at herself.
"Of course not, but wait here so you don't have to climb the stairs."
Chapter Twenty-One
They returned from breakfast around noon, but Brian was yawning like it was midnight. "You can take a nap, Daddy," Erin offered.
"Nice try, but no, we're talking." He poured water into the coffee pot as Erin and Melissa took a seat at the kitchen table.
Once the coffee started brewing, he walked over and propped Melissa's foot up in the vacant chair before sitting down. "You suck at following doctor's orders."
Melissa fought the grin as it inched across her face. "Sorry."
Brian looked over at Erin. "Spill it."
"Well…yesterday—"
"Erin, this isn't a game," Melissa said. "Start from the beginning. The third day of school."
Brian looked at Melissa. "So you've heard this?"
"Not everything, but…Erin's the person who…" She blinked rapidly, realizing why Erin was having trouble with this. No matter how they explained, it would break Brian's heart. "Erin told me about Julie's affair."
"What?" Brian stood up, knocking his chair over onto the floor with an echoing bang. His finger bounced between the two of them. "You knew about your mother and Frank Jeffries?" he said, his finger landing on Erin as he looked at Melissa. "She told you?"
"Yes, that's why I couldn't tell you. She made me promise. Brian, she was worried about hurting you." Melissa didn't want to sound defensive, but she was pushing up on the border of guilt and self-righteousness. Where should her alliances begin and end? When Erin had confided in her, she couldn't, wouldn't break that unless it was life or death. But what a thin line. Physical danger wasn't the only peril to consider here. Ugh. Yes, Erin's emotional well-being teetered on a dangerous pe
ak, but what would have done more damage, telling her parents or keeping the secret?
"I can't believe this crap!" Brian stared at them wide-eyed for a few moments, but then he turned around and shook his head, pacing the kitchen.
"Brian, this isn't easy to tell you, not for me or Erin."
He waved a hand at her to stop talking. "Let me get this straight, you knew about Julie's affair and you didn't tell me, but even worse—Erin's the one who told you—and you didn't tell me!"
"Erin told me in the strictest confidence. I couldn't break that."
"Daddy, I made her promise, and I didn't tell her it was with Coach until later."
"Coach—fucking coach—wait—" Brian ran his fingers through his hair. "Jeffries was your swim coach." He made a fist in his hair. "That's why he looked familiar and explains how he and Julie connected."
Erin nodded when Brian turned to look at her.
"And I guess that's why you quit water sports." Brian walked to the coffee pot and poured himself and Melissa a cup before placing them on the table and righting his chair.
He looked into Erin's eyes and took a deep breath then stared down into his steaming cup of coffee for a moment. "I'm sorry."
"Why, Daddy?"
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, and I'm sorry you felt you couldn't talk to me. Mostly…I'm sorry your mother…" His voice cracked, and both Erin and Melissa reached out to touch his hand. "I'm sorry your mother wasn't more discreet."
"It's not your fault, Dad. It's Mom. She did this." Erin's voice hardened when she said it.
"I want to hear everything. How you found out, when you found out, everything."
"On the third day of school, I walked into Coach's classroom, and he and mom…" She looked over at Melissa, and Melissa nodded in support. "They were in there kissing. I ran out before either of them saw me."
"That's when she called me," Melissa said. "I picked her up, and we talked most of the afternoon."
Brian met her eyes, and his expression told her how pissed he was at her. She'd expected it, but she wouldn't change what she had done. Erin had very few people to confide in, especially since Julie's death. She needed trustworthy and reliable adult friends, and Melissa was thrilled to be one of those selected adults in her life.
"Why were you with him yesterday?" Brian asked.
"He wants me on the water polo team after winter break. He even has the other players trying to talk me into it. Yesterday, he cornered me and started asking how I was doing and asking about Cody—as if he actually cares." Erin started crying. "I keep telling him to leave me alone, but he keeps pushing."
The little muscle in Brian's jaw jittered as he fought for calm. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Look what happened yesterday. I didn't want to start that. I don't want you to go after him and get into trouble."
"Instead, you're willing to continue to let him harass you."
"No. I called Melissa and asked her to pick me up. I thought she could talk to him."
"Why? So he can put the moves on her like he did your mother?" Brian shouted, forcing Erin to flinch.
"Brian!" Melissa said
"No, Dad! Melissa is smarter than Mom."
Brian turned on Melissa. "If I hadn't met you there yesterday, what would you have done?"
"I would've called you. I would have pushed Erin to talk to you. I've been trying, Brian."
"Yeah? It's been three months. Apparently you weren't trying very hard!"
"Daddy, this isn't her fault."
"Are there any other secrets you two need to share?" He looked from one to the other. "Erin? Anything else you need to tell me about this guy?"
Erin shook her head as her eyes followed him. "No, Daddy."
"Why do I feel like something is missing here? You better not lie to me."
"Daddy…that's everything."
"You're sure?"
"Brian, you're not interrogating a suspect here," Melissa said.
"I get that, Lis, but my gut is telling me something isn't being said here."
Melissa held up her right hand. "That's everything I know, I swear."
Brian nodded and glanced at Erin. "Erin?"
"There's nothing else," she mumbled with a shrug.
"Listen up." He pounded the table with his index finger until Erin looked up at him. "Ali told him, if he even looks in your direction again, she'll file harassment charges against him. I need you to tell me if he bothers you at all. If I have to, I'll request a restraining order or I'll switch you to another school."
Erin shook her head adamantly. "No, I don't want that."
"Then stay the hell away from him."
"I will," she whispered.
"And communicate with me. I need to know what's going on in your life, especially if it's something I can help with—and this, I could've helped with."
"I will, Daddy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Mom."
"I don't care about that, Erin." He leaned forward and took both her hands. "This is not your fault. I'm not upset that you didn't tell me about Mom, I'm upset you were put in this position in the first place. I'm upset he's been harassing you since your mother's death and you haven't told me. I can't protect you if I don't know what's going on."
"I understand," she said. "I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. Please. Go upstairs, I want to talk to Melissa."
"Please don't fight," Erin said.
"It's fine, babe, I just want to talk to her. I'm not angry, and you're not in trouble. Okay?"
Tears spilled from her eyes again. "I'm sorry."
Brian stood up and embraced her. "Don't, babe. It's okay. I'm sorry we adults keep screwing things up." He held her close for a long time, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."
Erin nodded. "I love you, too."
When the door closed behind her, Brian lowered his face to his hands. Melissa reached out for him, but he moved away from her.
"Brian, she trusts me. Do you understand how important that trust is?"
He nodded into his hands.
"What would have happened if she didn't trust me enough to call me yesterday?"
"I get it, damn it…" He dropped his hands to the table. "Fucking Julie. How could she put Erin through this? When she found out Erin had quit the swim team, she had a freaking fit. That selfish bitch."
Melissa nodded. "It's been killing me. Not being able to tell you." She reached out, but he avoided her again. She lifted her foot off the other chair and haphazardly stood. "I'll see you later," she whispered, grabbing her purse.
This time, Brian reached out for her. He took her hand and pulled her back. "Don't leave, Lis. I'm sorry I got so upset. This must have been weighing pretty heavy on your mind."
She lowered herself back down into the chair. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been keeping this from you?"
Brian closed his eyes. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time." He ran his hands through his hair then opened his eyes and met hers. "I'm trying to move on. I'm trying to move us past this. Listen, Lis…it's her birthday, and she's spent every second of today stressing over this. Let's do something, get her out of the house."
Melissa smiled. "That's a good idea—" She was cut off by the doorbell.
Brian rolled his eyes. "Now what?"
He got up and left the room then returned a moment later, followed by Matt Wilson, carrying a baker's box."
Melissa smiled at Matt. "Did you bring Erin a cake?"
"Um…my mom sent it over." His face blushed a little under her and Brian's scrutiny. "When she found out Erin wasn't having her sweet sixteen party, she wanted to make sure Erin had a nice cake to celebrate the day."
Brian smiled slightly. Although she didn't think Matt noticed, Melissa had, and she could tell Brian liked this kid in spite of himself.
Brian took the box from Matt. "Forget it, Wilson. Eighteen."
"Six months ago, sir, you said sixteen." Matt's shoulders slumped. "You don't trust me?"
&nb
sp; "I was you once, kid. As a matter of fact, I was nineteen when Erin was born. I know exactly what happens to teenage boys with hard-ons."
"Brian!" Melissa said.
"I would never do anything to hurt Erin…and you said sixteen. What can I do to earn your trust?"
Brian exhaled a hard breath and shook his head. "Why don't you run upstairs and get her. She's not having the best birthday. This will be a nice surprise"
"So…" Matt stood his full height, which was nearly taller than Brian's six-foot-three inches, and asked, "Sixteen?"
"Let me think about it."
Matt nodded and turned to leave the room, but stopped when his eyes met Melissa's. "You feeling better today, Ms. Parker?"
"I am. Thank you for asking," she said.
When he turned out of the room, Melissa stared up at Brian for a long moment.
He fidgeted before throwing his hands in the air. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"What is wrong with you? 'A teenager with a hard-on?' Really, Brian?"
"I'm right! And I don't want my daughter getting in over her head with a boy who's too old for her."
"But you like him."
Brian brushed a hand at her. "He's too old for her."
"But you like him, don't you?"
"Uh, he's not a bad kid." He shrugged. "He has honest eyes. He's a good kid."
"He can't be much older if he's still in school."
"He's eighteen, a senior." Brian took a seat at the table across from her. "He's already taking college courses, studying to be a paramedic. He seems much older than my little girl."
"Sounds like you know him pretty well."
"He's in ROTC and was in the police explorers program for a couple of years. He wanted to be a cop for a long time, then up and changed his mind last year and started volunteering at the firehouse instead."
A thunder of footsteps sounded on the stairs, and within seconds, Erin, Matt, and Cody were in the kitchen, all smiling as if someone had just told a joke.
Melissa couldn't believe the smile on Erin's face. She hadn't seen that smile since summer break when Julie was still alive.
"Dad, Matty brought tickets to the GoKart track," Cody said, bouncing on his heels. "Can we go?"
Brian looked from Cody and Matt to Erin's smiling face. "Erin, you want to go racing on your birthday? It's not very girly. Wouldn't you rather go shopping or something?"
