The Sassy One

by Susan Mallery

  Sam held up his hands. “Hold on. One thing at a time. Your mother said she was sending your things. They’ll be here at the end of the week.”

  Kelly rolled her eyes. “And between now and then what am I supposed to do? Tanya never said you were cheap.”

  “I’m not—”

  He shook his head. He wasn’t going to argue with her about shopping. There were more important issues. School. No. It was June. School was out for the summer. Shit. Which meant she was going to be around all the time. Could he leave a twelve-year-old alone while he went to work?

  He thought of her ability to travel from New York to Santa Barbara. Leave her alone? It sounded more like he was going to have to lock her up.

  “We have a lot of things to figure out,” he said.

  Kelly shrugged. “Whatever. I just want to get back to dance class right away. You’ll call in the morning, right? I have the number in my backpack.”

  Dance class would keep her busy—probably a good thing. “Yeah, I’ll call.”

  Kelly slid off the stool. “Good. I wrote down the names of my teachers and where I’ve been studying. Be sure to sound forceful when you call. Dance teachers respond to pressure from crabby parents. You might want to mention you’re rich. They like that, too.”

  The longer she spoke, the more he could see his ex-wife in her. “Thanks for the advice,” he said dryly.

  “No problem.”

  She left the kitchen. Francesca crossed to the counter and picked up her dirty plate. “At least she’s not a wallflower,” she murmured as she carried the dish, fork, and glass to the sink.

  “You say that like it’s a good thing.” He swore. “I can’t believe Elena left this morning. Talk about timing.”

  Francesca’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even think of that. You can’t leave her alone all day.”

  Kelly returned before Sam could ask Francesca why not. From what he could see, the kid could sure take care of herself.

  He glanced at the backpack. “You don’t have any more luggage than that?”

  “Nope. I didn’t want to bring a lot of clothes. I didn’t know what would be in style out here. I mean, is it West Coast chic or just backwoods ugly?”

  Sam didn’t know how to answer the question, so he ignored it. Instead he led the way out of the kitchen and upstairs.

  On the second floor he walked to the far end of the hall—at the opposite end of the house from his bedroom—and door.

  While there were five bedrooms upstairs, only three were furnished. He’d given Kelly the largest guestroom. The big, open space held a queen-size bed, a dresser, a desk, and an armoire with a television. The attached bathroom was as spacious as the bedroom.

  Kelly dropped her backpack on the bed and prowled the room. Her stride was long and graceful. She held her head high. Years of dance training, he thought, then wondered if she was going to need some kind of workout room. Didn’t dancers need hardwood floors and a wall of mirrors?

  Kelly pushed open the closet and examined the space, then pulled on the armoire’s doors. “Oh, good. A TV. Do you have cable or satellite?”

  “Cable.”

  She tilted her head. “There isn’t a DVD player. We’ll need to take care of that this week. I’m sure Tanya will be sending my DVDs along with my other stuff. Once I’m settled and stuff, we need to redecorate this room.” She wrinkled her nose. “Blue isn’t my color.”

  Sam looked at the light blue walls and the multicolored quilt on the bed. Elena had taken care of fixing up the two guest rooms. His level of involvement had stopped at signing the check.

  He was five seconds from overload, he thought and grabbed the door handle.

  “Do you need anything else?”

  Kelly shook her head. “I’ll just watch TV, then go to bed early. I’m still on East Coast time. Plus I got up early for my flight.”

  He hesitated, not sure what to say to her. Then he simply nodded, wished her good night, pulled the door shut, and stepped back into the hall.

  He found Francesca still in the kitchen. When he walked into the room, they looked at each other.

  “How are you doing?” she asked.

  “I have no idea.” He thought about their plans for the evening. No way that was happening now. “I’m sorry about all this messing up our evening,” he told her. “You didn’t sign up for anything like this. If you want to take off, I’ll understand.”

  She smiled. “Thanks for giving me an out, but I don’t mind sticking around. I have a feeling you’re going to need someone to talk to.”

  Some of his tension eased. “You sure?”

  “Absolutely. We’re friends.” She hesitated over the last word, then shook her head. “I’m glad to help. I might not have kids of my own, but I used to be one, just like you. We can brainstorm.”

  “Good idea. But first I need a drink.”

  She pointed to the bottle of wine. He shook his head.

  “I want something a lot stronger than that.”

  • • •

  Kelly listened at the door. When she couldn’t hear anything, she slowly pulled it open. There was only a faint murmur of voices from downstairs.

  Good, she told herself as she returned to the bed and opened her backpack. She was tired, just like she said. Being alone was better than hanging out with someone she didn’t even know.

  She pulled out her dance clothes and tucked them in a drawer. She’d brought a change of clothes, a bathing suit, a small bag of makeup and skin-care stuff, and a toothbrush. Tucked in an interior zipper compartment was the credit card she always used. If Sam didn’t take her to the mall, she would order what she needed online. It wasn’t as cool as actually trying stuff on, but she’d done it before. She checked that the card was still there.

  Some kids had parents who took care of things like buying clothes and CDs and stuff. Tanya had never been into maintenance. Kelly couldn’t remember her mother ever cooking for her, or laying out clothes. Whatever maid was around did that kind of stuff. At least she used to. Kelly had been handling that herself for years.

  After she’d washed her face and brushed her teeth, she changed into cotton pjs and carried her backpack to the closet. But before stuffing it on the top shelf, she opened it one last time and pulled out a worn, tattered Pooh bear. The fur was rubbed off one side of the face. One arm hung at an awkward angle, and the cheerful yellow T-shirt the bear had been wearing had faded to a dingy gray.

  Kelly studied the stuffed animal, then shoved the backpack in the closet and closed the door.

  She would be fine, she told herself. Except she didn’t believe it. After years of threatening, her mother had finally gotten rid of her. What if her dad didn’t want her, either? If he threw her out, where was she going to go?

  She didn’t want to think about it, so she climbed into bed and pulled up the covers. After tucking Pooh under one arm, she tightly closed her eyes. But no matter how hard she squeezed her eyelids, she couldn’t stop the tears from escaping and dripping down her cheeks.

  7

  Sam poured himself a scotch, then moved to the sofa where Francesca had already settled.

  “This is crazy,” he said, leaning his head against the back of the sofa and resting the glass on his flat belly. “Twelve-year-olds do not fly across the country on their own.”

  “This one did. Kelly explained the process.” Francesca told him about the Internet purchases and the limo service.

  “She’s resourceful,” he admitted. “Independent. Mouthy.”

  And used to being taken care of, Francesca thought, remembering the dishes Kelly had left on the counter. She was not a child who picked up after herself.

  He took a sip of his drink. “She informed me that the room was acceptable, but she needed a DVD player, and when things were settled she wanted to talk about redecorating.” He glanced at her. “Apparently blue isn’t her color.”

  “She’s not afraid to ask for what she wants.”

  “Someho
w I’m not sure that’s a good thing.” He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. “A daughter. After all this time.”

  Francesca knew she felt shell-shocked, and she was only an interested bystander. Sam must feel as if he’d been hit by a truck.

  “Are you going to check paternity?” she asked.

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “DNA test? I thought about it. I guess I’ll have to at some point. But while Tanya has no problem lying to get what she wants, she’s not stupid. She knows I wouldn’t keep a child who wasn’t mine, and the last thing she wants right now is Kelly being returned to her. I don’t know. Do you think she looks like me?”

  “A little. Around her mouth. But she didn’t get that hair from you.”

  “You’re right.” He stretched out his legs. “I don’t know what to think about all of this. I had no idea. When Tanya left—hell, I don’t remember much about that except wanting her gone. All these years I never guessed.”

  “Why would you? You had no clues. She’s been living on the other side of the country. It’s not as if you ran into her and Kelly.”

  “Good point.” He took another drink. “I should be mad or something. I missed out on Kelly growing up. But I can’t get angry.”

  She leaned toward him and lightly touched his arm. “Give yourself a break. Right now you don’t feel anything, and that’s not so bad. You’ll start processing the information over time, and with that will come emotion.”

  He glanced at her and smiled. “That’s your degree talking.”

  “Sure, but I have to use it every now and then or it gets dusty.”

  “Okay, Ms. Psychologist. What’s my next move? Is it mentally healthy for me to run for the hills?”

  “Probably not. As for what’s next, you’re going to have to play that by ear. You and Kelly need to get to know each other. That will take time.”

  “Time, huh? Want to give me a ballpark of how long it’s going to take?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  “Me, either. About any of it.” His smile faded. “The bitch took money.”

  It took Francesca a second to figure out who he meant. “Tanya?”

  He nodded. “My mother paid her off to keep Kelly a secret. Two hundred and fifty thousand up front, five thousand a month, plus expenses.”

  Francesca felt her mouth drop open. She consciously pressed her lips together. “But why would she want to get rid of her own grandchild?”

  “You’d have to know my mother to understand that.” He took another drink. “Lily Reese liked to rule her kingdom, and she would use any means to keep her subjects in line. My father died when I was pretty young. I don’t remember him much. When Lily was around, her word was law. When she was gone, which was most of the time, I lived with my paternal grandfather. Gabriel.”

  “The one you hired Elena for.”

  “Right. He was sane and normal. Two claims my mother couldn’t make. God, they fought. He threatened to sue for custody more than once, but she got right back in his face. She was more than willing to take him on. She had money, power, and was fearless.”

  The tone of his voice told her he didn’t mean the words as a compliment.

  “By the time I was ten, I had already learned to mistrust everything she said. She lied because she liked to. Because it worked. As I got older, I was sent away to prep school. I spent holidays with Gabriel. After college I escaped to Europe, where I met Tanya.” He raised his glass. “A Miss California runner-up, well traveled, but not rich. She wanted money, I wanted…” He shrugged. “We met, I fell in love, or so I thought, and we got married two months later. My mother was furious.”

  “Didn’t she like Tanya?”

  “They loathed each other because they were so much alike. In one of those humorous twists of fate, I’d traveled all the way to France only to find the one woman exactly like my mother.” He glanced at her. “You could write a paper about me.”

  She winced. “People fall for partners just like one of their parents all the time. If that parent is a good, loving person, the relationship works.”

  “If the new wife is lying and manipulative, it doesn’t,” he said. “It took me three months to figure out my mistake. By then my mother was already campaigning for the marriage to end. I was torn between my own happiness and doing what she wanted. Rebelling against that kept me in the marriage another six months. Then I ended it. All Tanya wanted was a big settlement. There were no broken hearts on either side.”

  He told the story easily, as if it no longer mattered. As it had been twelve years ago, Francesca didn’t doubt Sam was long recovered. He’d moved on. Until Kelly had arrived, literally at his door, bringing the past back to life.

  “So when she found out Tanya was pregnant, she paid her off to keep her away from you,” she said.

  He nodded. “If I’d known she was pregnant, I would have put the divorce on hold, at least until the baby was born.” He frowned. “A baby. I still can’t believe it.”

  “She’s not a baby anymore.”

  “You have that right.” He straightened. “So what do I do with her? Are you sure she’s not old enough to be left alone while I’m at work?”

  Francesca shook her head. “She’s certainly capable of taking care of herself for a few hours, but I wouldn’t leave her in the house by herself all day. She’s into ballet. That gives you a place to start.”

  “That’s right. She mentioned a school or a class. That will fill some time. Then what?”

  “Then you get to know her.”

  “But what does she eat? How much? What about clothes? She wants a DVD player. Should I buy her one?”

  She held up a hand. “You can’t solve all the problems at once. Having a child dropped in your lap with no warning is going to offer some logistical challenges. Take them one at a time.”

  He grinned. “Logistical challenges? Is that the professional term for this?”

  “Yes, and I hope you appreciate that I’m volunteering all this information for free. I’m a highly paid professional.” She smiled. “Well, I will be in about eighteen months.”

  He shifted so he was facing her. After setting his glass on the coffee table, he stretched out his arm along the back of the sofa and touched her shoulder.

  “You’re being great. I appreciate it.”

  “I told you, I don’t mind helping.”

  What she didn’t tell him was the way he’d handled the entire situation had made her like him more. He wasn’t just a pretty face and great in bed. He could have gone ballistic when Kelly showed up. Instead he’d remained relatively calm. Despite the shock he had to be feeling, he was planning things through, worrying about his daughter, and not blaming anyone.

  He leaned forward and kissed her. His mouth was warm, firm, and tender, but not passionate. Francesca understood. Having an unexpected child show up had a way of changing the flow of a date.

  “I don’t have much going on over the next few days,” she told him. “I should be working on the outline for my dissertation, but I’m practicing creative avoidance instead. Would you like me to come over tomorrow morning and help out with things?”

  He hesitated. “You have no idea how much I want to say yes. But this isn’t your problem.”

  “You’re right. It’s yours. So? Do you really want to do this all on your own?”

  “No way. But we had that definition of great sex and no complications.”

  “I’ll make an exception this one time.” She looked into his eyes. “I mean it, Sam.”

  “Then I’ll stop pushing back and say thank you.” He glanced at his watch, then shook his head. “I can’t make any arrangements tonight, so I guess I won’t be going into work tomorrow.” He touched her face. “If you wouldn’t mind coming over, that would be great. At least then there will be two of us on the side of the grown-ups. You think that will make things even?”

  Francesca thought about Kelly’s precocious sophistication. “She’ll probably still outthink
us, but at least we can band together.”

  He chuckled. “You’re terrific. Thanks for all of this.”

  His words made her feel warm inside. Sort of melty and squishy. Good thing she’d sworn off romantic entanglements years ago, or she could be in real danger here.

  She rose. “I’m going to head home. We’re both going to need our rest for tomorrow.”

  He stood. “When we face the terror of the preteen?”

  “Exactly. Just remember. You’re the adult.”

  “Oh, I know that. Kelly’s the one we have to convince.”

  • • •

  “You sure she’s not dead?” Gabriel asked as he leaned back in the kitchen chair. “It’s after nine. Maybe you should check on her.”

  Sam didn’t think Kelly had passed away in the night. He doubted he’d been lucky enough that she’d run away. Of course, her leaving would be only a temporary reprieve. He would be forced to find her and drag her back. Not exactly how he wanted to start his day.

  “I’ll give her another half hour, then go check on her.”

  Gabriel shrugged. “She’s your daughter.”

  Sam still hadn’t made peace with that concept. A child. It didn’t seem right. Not after all this time. And from what he’d seen of Kelly, she wasn’t exactly the kid he would have chosen.

  “What are you going to do with her?” his grandfather asked.

  Sam glanced out the large window over the sink. “Hell if I know. Get her settled. She wants to take some ballet classes.”

  “What about carting her around? She can’t drive. You’re going to have to hire someone.”

  “I know.” He’d already spent some time on the phone, but professional day care for preteens was sadly lacking. “The nannies all want to work with little kids and babies. I have a few people checking. They’re supposed to get back to me.”

  His grandfather picked up his coffee mug. “Tanya’s a bitch.”

  “Tell me about it.”