Her mom said, “Brace yourself. This isn’t going to be an easy story, but it ends well.”
“After the day I’ve had, I need a happy ending. I’m all ears.”
“Okay, but I think I’ll need just a tad more of this first.” Her mom drained the last of her wine and then set the glass aside. “I’ll just cut to the chase. Your father had an affair and got another woman pregnant when your brother was about two. Angry and hurt, I packed Greg up in the car and we drove to my parents’ house. It took your father about a month, but he finally came crawling back with his tail between his legs and asked us to come home.”
Holy crap! They had a brother or sister in the world they never knew about? “So how did you ever forgive him? And does Dad ever see his other kid?”
“Before I tell you that part, I want to tell you about the woman he had an affair with. She was very tall, gorgeous, and had long dark hair. Pretty much the opposite of me, and that bugged me a lot at first. She was an incredible but unknown portrait artist at the time, and had to support herself by working as a waitress in a small restaurant by your father’s office. That’s where they met. But she was a little eccentric and often stayed up for days painting and would have to call in sick to work quite often.”
“Dad had an affair with a waitress?” Jo’s head reeled at the revelation. “That just seems so random. He won’t even step foot in my café.”
“That’s part of the reason I’m telling you the story. The waitress eventually lost her job and asked your father for financial help. Of course your father agreed, worried for his baby’s health. One of the most difficult things that stood in the way of my forgiving your father was knowing he’d have to be involved with her and her child for the rest of my life.”
Jo nodded. “I can understand that. It’s like that with Linda and Chad. He’d have nothing to do with her, but he has to because of Ryan. She’s a horrible mother from what I’ve seen. It makes me want to steal Ryan from her and raise him myself. I love him very much.”
“Yes, those were my exact thoughts after their baby was born. While the woman wasn’t a bad person, she was just very focused on her painting. When your father and I checked up on them in the days after she’d given birth, suffice to say the baby’s needs weren’t being met. The thought of a helpless baby in that situation made my momma bear instincts go into overdrive. All children deserve to be loved and cared for. I’m glad you can see now with Ryan how easy it is to love a child who isn’t your own.”
Something about that story was ringing a little too close to her own. “Absolutely. So where are they now?”
Her mom paused and drew a deep breath. “To help reassure me their affair was over, your father offered to set the woman up in her own art studio in Europe. She’s become quite famous, actually. And we kept the baby to raise as our own.”
It took Jo a half a second for the absolute realization to hit that she was the baby in the scenario. Her parents had always told her little things about her birth mother, but hearing the whole story felt like she’d just taken a blow to the head. And to her already bruised heart.
Questions bounced around all at once in her skull, but she had to ask one thing to be sure. She’d seen her birth certificate. It had “unknown” listed for her biological father. “So Dad is really my birth father?”
“Yes.” Her mom’s eyes filled with tears. “Your father had Juliette leave his name off, to protect my dignity, and we adopted you when you were just a few weeks old. I hope you believed me all those times when I told you I love you as much as I do Greg. But if you want to change your mind now after hearing this and talk to your birth mother, please do that.”
Stunned and still in shock, Jo drew her mother up into a hug. “I’ve never cared to find my birth mother because you were the one who stuck around to love me. And don’t take this wrong, but I wish it had been the other way around. That you were my biological parent instead of Dad. Because I have no doubt about your love for me. But Dad doesn’t even seem to like me.”
“Jo, he loves you.” Her mom leaned back and shook her head. “Very much. He just doesn’t understand the artistic side in you that you clearly get from your birth mother. He always wanted for you and Greg to be able to support yourselves in the same manner you grew up. He wants what’s best for you, even though I know it doesn’t always feel that way.”
“And I suppose the thought of me having to bus a table now and then, and serve food, means I’m like my birth mother to him. That my joy of baking is like her obsession with painting. But he’s failing to see that while I do believe baking is an art and a way to express myself, I have ambitions too. With the right changes, my café can make much more money than my PT job ever could. And I think I’ll be an excellent mother again one day, because you showed me how it’s supposed to be done.”
Her mom’s hand flew over her heart. “Thank you, Jo. And don’t give a second thought to the money you need. I set up a trust for you and Greg with the money I inherited from my parents. Greg used hundreds of thousands of it to become a doctor. Much more than your degree cost, so your equal share is just sitting in the bank. Earning interest. You can have it anytime you’d like.”
Jo shook her head in frustration. “Now I get why Dad forbade me to ask you for a co-signature.”
“Probably because he knew I’d tell you it’d be silly to take out a loan when you have plenty to draw from. I’m going to make his life a bit of a hell for it after hearing that earlier!”
“Not necessary, Mom.” Jo waved the thought aside. “Maybe now that I know what his fears are, I can reassure him a little more. And I’m glad you finally told me the truth.” There was a sense of closure finally knowing who both her parents were. Even if she had no desire to find her birth mother when she had the best mom anyone could ask for right in front of her.
Mom’s eyes teared up again. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but honestly, because you’ve never shown much interest in knowing your birth mother, I wasn’t sure if it was worth upsetting you. It was the part in your story earlier when you asked dad to cosign, and how you thought Dad felt about you, that made me see it was time you knew. And because after so many years have passed, Juliette has started asking about you for the first time.”
“She asked about me?” It still felt so weird to know the truth, but at the same time, nothing had really changed. Her real mother was the one sitting next to her.
Mom nodded slowly. “You’re her only child, and I think she’s feeling remorse about giving you up as she’s gotten older. She was in town visiting her parents and was actually in your café last week. She said she just wanted to see how you turned out.”
That freaked her out a little. “I’m not sure I’m ready to meet her quite yet. But maybe one day?”
Mom patted Jo’s hand. “I’ll tell her that.”
Jo still had a hard time thinking about her father and his part in the affair. And how he’d hurt her mom. “What convinced you to stay with Dad after all that? He still works too much, and no offense, but he doesn’t seem to put you first in his life still.”
“Well, mostly because I love him.” Her mom shrugged. “I know he’ll never cheat again, and while I wish he’d work less, I know he loves me as much as he’s capable.”
“Capable?” Jo finished off her wine too, and set the glass aside. “What do you mean?”
“I finally figured out that not everyone shows love the same way I do. Your dad shows his by making sure his family is well provided for. His humble beginnings drive him to be sure we never have to go back to that lifestyle. He has always striven to take care of his family in the same lifestyle I was brought up, because to him, that’s the best way he can show he loves us. And when it’s just him and me on our fabulous vacations that he plans each year, and when we get to spend the occasional weekend alone together, I’m his number one priority. I cherish those rare times, and now they’re enough for me to know I’m loved.”
“As long as
you’re happy, Mom.”
“I am. Now what are you going to do about Shelby?”
Jo moaned and laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. “I can’t think about one more problem tonight, or my head will blow up. I’ll deal with that in the morning. I’m going to bed.” She felt like she’d been hit by a train. It was only nine, but she’d had all she could take for the day.
Her mom kissed the top of her head. “You’ll work it out. You and Shelby have a bond that’s tougher than this. And I’ll bet your dad would love it if you made him eggs Benedict in the morning. It’s his new favorite, and I can’t possibly begin to do that.”
Jo was still trying to forgive her father for cheating. But if he’d been faithful, she wouldn’t be in existence. It was an odd dichotomy. “I can do that. Love you, Mom. Good night.”
“Love you more, honey. Sweet dreams.”
Jo climbed the stairs to her old bedroom that her mother hadn’t changed a bit since her summers home from college, and got ready for bed. She crawled under the covers and picked up her phone. Everyone she loved had lied to her today except for her brother.
She really wanted to tell Chad the weird news about her father. She started to tap out the message, but then stopped. She’d told him what she wanted from him. It was up to him to move forward with their relationship if he wanted to.
Instead, she texted Shelby. “Chad told me the truth about TwelveCorp today. I’m upset about your part in it. Can we talk tomorrow?”
Before Jo could lay the phone down, Shelby called. Jo didn’t want to answer, but her conscience made her take the call anyway. “Hi.”
“Hey. Maybe we should talk now?”
“Why not? This whole day has been crap. What’s one more argument to add on top of it?”
“Chad mentioned he was going to confess, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this. There’s nothing I can say to pardon my part in this, except I’m sorry. It was the easiest way out of our predicament, so I took it. I was absolutely wrong to deceive you about it, and I just hope you can forgive me for it. I so badly wanted you to have your dream, so I ignored your feelings about Chad and took the money anyway. Now go ahead. Let me have it. I deserve it.”
Jo blinked back tears. She was exhausted, and her head hurt. “I don’t have the energy right now, Shelby. I need to go to bed. And in the morning, I have to make eggs Benedict for my father, while trying to figure out how I really feel about him and what he did.” Suddenly she felt an overwhelming need to tell her best friend about her father. So she did.
When she was done, Shelby said, “That’s unbelievable. Maybe I’d better come be your sous chef tomorrow? For moral support? And maybe we can wait until after breakfast for you to let me have it. Because pregnant women love eggs Benes.”
Jo smiled. It was awful hard to stay mad at Shelby. “Okay. It’ll give me plenty of time to figure out how I’m going to kill you and then dispose of your body. Does ten work?”
“Ten is perfect. Love you, Jo.”
Jo wanted to cry again. She loved Shelby too but was still too angry to tell her that. “Thanks. See you tomorrow.” They’d figure it all out. Eventually. She just wished she had the same optimism for her and Chad. At least Shelby had apologized for her part without any excuses.
After she settled under her covers, Chad’s trophy on her dresser, depicting a crouched player holding a football, seemed to mock her in the moonlight. Damned thing.
Jo threw her covers back and picked up the Heisman. “You’re part of what started all of this mess.” She opened her closet door and placed the award on a shelf with a thunk. “Get used to it in here you big hunk of metal. This might be your new home for a very long time.”
Sunday morning, Chad tied off his cleats and then closed his eyes as he sat alone in the stadium locker room. The guys would be there soon to get ready for the game, but for the moment, he had it all to himself. The docs who had just examined his knee before he suited up were happy with what they saw. That was good, but he still felt sick.
His stomach had hurt ever since Jo walked out on him the day before. He’d barely been able to eat breakfast earlier, he’d been so troubled about her and Ryan, but had forced himself because he needed fuel for the workout. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been nervous about playing football. Usually his nerves buzzed with anticipation, not fear. But he had a job to do and wasn’t going to fail.
He stood from the stool in his assigned locker space and made his way toward the field. He walked down the familiar two-toned painted concrete hallway and then turned into the tunnel that led to the field. Grounds workers busily prepared the field for the game in a few hours, and a group of his coaches and some docs stood in a huddle across the field.
It’d be interesting to see if Rick mentioned Heather or the video. Heather had left her keycard and parking pass on the kitchen table and was gone by the time he’d gotten up at five to catch his flight. He hadn’t looked forward to a confrontation with her, so at least that had been avoided. But not even a note or text saying she was sorry. Or a “Say good-bye to Ryan.”
Linda’s text earlier had confirmed that she planned to keep Ryan until she got the back child support she demanded, and he’d hear from her lawyer soon. In the meantime, he’d assembled his own team to get Ryan back.
Chad worked to hide what remained of his limp as he approached the men who held his fate in their hands. He plastered on a smile. “Hey, guys. Good to see everyone.” Chad glanced at Rick, who looked away and quickly got busy with his cell.
The head coach slapped Chad on the back. “Good to see you too, buddy. Let’s see how you’re healing. We brought some of the practice squad over to work out with you this morning. Here they come now.”
Crap. They hadn’t even bothered to let him work with the starters he normally worked out with. The quarterback wouldn’t be near as accurate, but he’d deal with it. “Sounds great. Let’s go!”
They agreed on some simple routes to start out. He had a young, tall guy defending him, and the quarterback looked like he was fresh from college. But Chad was a professional, and he’d show his coaches he wasn’t a spoiled diva.
When the whistle blew, Chad took off and then turned when he hit the thirty-yard line as the play called for. But the kid throwing the ball threw way wide. Chad had to dive to catch it. He held on to the ball as his body slammed into the ground.
His defender held out a hand to help him up. “Not bad for an old guy.”
Smack talk. That was the kid’s job.
Chad fisted his hand for knuckle bump instead, then got up on his own. But old guy? He was thirty-two, for God’s sake. But his knee felt like it was eighty. How was he going to last a full hour?
He lined up again and glanced at the sidelines. A few of his coaches were still watching, but others talked amongst themselves. Rick had the head coach’s ear, and they seemed deep in conversation. It made his gut ache again.
After about twenty minutes, Chad was wishing he’d asked for another week to recover, like Jo had told him to do. He couldn’t hide his limp anymore, but he’d done well in the practice, so he was hopeful. When Coach waved him back to the sidelines, he jogged the best he could and plastered on another grin. “So, can I start next week?”
Coach narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you go get changed, then come to my office for a quick meeting and we’ll discuss that. Rick and I want to talk to you about something else too.”
Dammit! Was Rick stabbing him in the back again?
“Sure thing, Coach. Be there in twenty.” He wanted to crawl back to the locker room but made himself jog again instead. Screw Rick. If the guy threw him under the bus, then it’d be every man for himself.
When he entered the locker room, some of his buddies were there shooting the breeze before the game. These were his real friends, guys who had each other’s backs, so he took a few minutes to greet them, told them he looked forward to the game, and then he quickly hit the shower. He didn’t look forwa
rd to standing on the sidelines for three hours, but he couldn’t sit on the bench. That’d look bad.
After he’d cleaned up, he rapped a knuckle on the coach’s office door. He and Rick were huddled over a play sheet. Chad called out, “Hey, guys.”
“Jenks. Come in.” Coach waved him inside. “Have a seat if you’d like.”
Chad stood rather than sit. If they were going to let him go, he’d take it like a man.
Coach leaned back in his chair. “First off, we’re all glad to see the progress you’ve made. Docs all said your PT did a great job, but things can get a little tricky when you’re sleeping with her. We’d like you back here now, to finish up your rehab so we can monitor you closer. Tuesday work with you?”
The smug expression on Rick’s face made Chad want to knock it right off. Heather had been the perfect little spy. He wouldn’t give Rick the satisfaction by commenting on it. “Sure. Tuesday works great.”
He’d just have to fight Linda for Ryan from San Diego. His lawyers and the private detective he’d hired were already on it. The cop he’d talked to said he’d look into Chad’s story, talk to Heather, and then get back with him. But because Chad didn’t have a formal custody agreement, it wasn’t going to be a top priority, unless he thought Ryan was in danger.
“Great.” Coach nodded. “Next we need to clear up a few things about the video and the texts the press got their hands on.”
“Okay.” Chad’s heart pounded as a surge of anger swept through him, but he was a team player first and wouldn’t mention he knew who was behind it, if he could avoid it.
Coach frowned and pulled out some notes. “First off, it’s never good when the public sees things they shouldn’t. Embarrassing for the team. The text you sent the coaching staff said you were almost one hundred percent, and then the video of you limping around showed that was a lie. You should have been truthful about your injuries, son. We have to put the best players out there each week. If you’re not honest with us and we lose, that’s on your head. Is that understood?”
Perfectly Ms. Matched (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 2) Page 15
