Kat clicked her seat belt back in place and turned the key in the ignition. She needed to get her mother out of here. It was one thing for her to deal with her mother coming off a manic episode, but she didn’t want Senator Roberts and his perfect family to witness it.
She put her hand on the clutch to move the car into Reverse, but her mother touched her shoulder to stop her. “I’m ready. I want to do this.”
Kat searched her mother’s eyes but saw none of the wildness, none of the deep despair.
They walked up to the stone-front house and stepped up to the covered portico. Kat looked for an additional bell on the double door. She’d already rung one bell when she pulled up to the gate. There was a giant knocker on the door that seemed heavier than what Kat could possibly lift. The door opened.
It was the senator himself, polished and stately in a light blue shirt worn open-collar, without a tie. “Emilia, Kat, it’s so good to see you.” He widened his arms to welcome them. Kat stepped through the door first to give her mother a moment to get used to the sight of him. He was an imposing man and stood in a marble foyer in front of a grand double staircase. He kissed Kat on the cheek. “I’m so pleased you accepted my invitation.”
She nodded. “I hope you got my message about Alex... I...”
“Ah, yes, sorry—I didn’t get a chance to call you back, but I spoke to Alex and told him he was more than welcome. He’s running a little late.”
She turned to see her mother still lingering at the threshold. The senator held out his hand and she took it, stepping into the house. “Emilia, you look lovely as ever. Is that the blue dress you wore—”
Her mother nodded at the senator, finishing his sentence. “At our engagement party.”
“I love that dress on you.”
Her mother smiled and Kat had to stop her own mouth from falling open. It was the most brilliant smile she’d ever seen.
All those dresses her mother had kept locked away in the suitcase. They were all from when she’d been with her father. Kat’s throat tightened as she watched the senator take her mother’s elbow and usher her gently down the hallway. They looked like the perfect couple. She clasped her hands together, hoping she hadn’t set her mother up for the second heartbreak of her life.
As they walked through the house, Kat tried to keep her eyes focused on the senator and her mother ahead of her and not let her jaw hit the floor. The entire town house they were renting could have fit into the living room they entered.
Her half brother and sister were already there. Vickie greeted her first. She was a tall, elegant woman with bright green eyes and strawberry blond hair that was wrapped in a chignon at the nape of her neck. She was wearing casual linen slacks and a green blouse that made Kat feel like she was trying too hard in her ridiculously expensive designer dress.
She turned to meet Walter, who was dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, his light brown hair and blue eyes mirroring the look of a younger Senator Roberts. He went to the bar in the corner of the room and brought them glasses of white wine.
Kat fought the urge to check her watch. Where is Alex? Why didn’t he call me to say he would be late? she thought irritably.
They sat on an ivory-and-pale-gray tufted sofa with high arms. Kat perched on the edge, unable to get comfortable and careful not to tip the crystal glass that held her wine. Somehow, the senator and Vickie filled the room with conversation. Emilia, seated beside Kat, appeared perfectly comfortable. Silence was never good, but her mother seemed to be enjoying the banter, nodding and smiling at the appropriate times.
Kat nearly jumped for joy when the doorbell rang. The senator returned a couple of minutes later with Alex. Kat was on her feet, but not before Vickie and Walt, who rushed to hug him. It was the first time they’d seen him since his disappearance. Kat stood back and watched the ease with which Alex interacted with the senator’s family. He accepted Vickie’s hug and peck on the cheek with familiarity and bumped fists with Walt, accepting the good-natured ribbing that came his way. He walked over and gave Kat a kiss on the cheek and did the same to her mother. The senator excused himself to go check on dinner. Alex easily filled the role of host, refreshing everyone’s drinks from the bar and chatting lightly with Vickie as if he’d been doing it for ages. Her stomach churned. He wants a first lady.
When the senator announced dinner and invited everyone to the kitchen, Alex placed his arm around Kat’s waist as they filed out of the living room. “How are you doing?” he whispered.
The warmth of his breath in her ear sent her nerves tingling all the way to her toes. She could do this. With Alex at her side, she could face the life she would have had.
“Kat, I hope you like pot roast.” Senator Roberts was wearing a cheesy Kiss the Cook apron. They were in an enormous room that served as a kitchen and family room. The new term was great room. A giant granite countertop island had been set with plates.
It was all too much. The sight of domestic normalcy in a house that looked like Buckingham Palace.
“It’s your famous pot roast, isn’t it?” Emilia exclaimed. She was grinning from ear to ear. Where has this woman been all my life? Kat thought.
The senator nodded and everyone turned to stare at him and her mother. Their eyes were locked on each other as they obviously shared a moment.
“Right after we were married, I hosted our first dinner party,” Emilia began.
“She forgot to tell me that she didn’t know how to cook,” the senator continued.
“I thought it would be simple enough to follow a recipe for coq au vin.” Was her mother giggling?
“An hour before dinner, I come home to see if Emilia needs a hand and all I see is smoke billowing out of the oven. Emilia is nowhere in sight.”
“I was upstairs getting dressed.” Her mother was definitely giggling.
“She was so distraught when she found out.”
“His mother and father were among the guests, and I so wanted to show them I could host a party. So Bill gets right to work and whips up this delicious pot roast. It was a total hit and it became one of my favorite dishes.” Kat watched her mother’s face transform as she relived the memory. The twinkle in her eyes told the story far better than words.
The senator set a serving tray on the kitchen island and Vickie pulled out a bowl of spinach salad from the fridge. Everyone took a seat at one of the bar stools.
“The pot roast is one of our favorites, too.” Vickie’s lighthearted comment deflated Emilia. Kat’s heart clenched painfully as her mother averted her eyes, focusing on getting onto the bar stool.
Conversation at dinner centered around Alex’s disappearance and the senator’s IED bill. The senator, Vickie and Alex carried the conversation. Walt chimed in from time to time, but he seemed to be the silent observer. Kat wanted to find fault with her father’s family, to see them as taciturn children whose daddy had been too focused on his career to pay attention to their well-being, or else spoiled brats who’d been handed everything on a silver platter, but they seemed to be genuinely kindhearted, well-adjusted and accomplished people. Their love for each other and the senator was obvious. Kat couldn’t get rid of the lump in her throat.
Alex squeezed her hand every few minutes, even if he was in the middle of a sentence or in the throes of an animated story, but Kat felt cold. Alex was a part of this family; these were his people, not hers. She hadn’t had much to eat, yet dinner churned in her stomach.
They’d scheduled an early evening since Kat and Emilia had to drive home. She hadn’t accepted the senator’s invitation to stay overnight—baby steps—and she was happy to use the excuse of the long drive to say goodbye. Vickie and the senator hugged her, and Walt gave her an awkward kiss on the cheek.
When they were at the door, the senator turned to her. “Why don’t you bring the car around, Kat. I want to chat
with your mother a few minutes.”
Kat glanced at Emilia, who nodded. Alex walked her to the car.
“You okay?”
It seemed that was all he’d asked her all night. This time, she shook her head. “What am I supposed to do with that?” She gestured to the front porch, where her mother was laughing at something the senator had said. “What’s the point of all this? To show me what a happy little family he created once he left my mother? And why is she—”
“Taking it so well?” he finished for her.
She nodded. “I sound like a horrible person, don’t I? I should be happy it went so well, that she seems happy, but...”
“You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
She nodded, and he pulled her into his arms. She focused on the comfort of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips, the steady beat of his heart. The world seemed to melt away when he held her like this, and she wanted to stay here for the rest of her life. In this moment, he felt like her Alex, not the man her father was grooming.
“It’s okay to be angry,” he told her. “To feel a sense of loss. Don’t be mad at the senator—he would’ve given you this life if he knew. He wants you to be a part of all this now. That’s why he wanted you here tonight.”
She pushed against him, breaking their embrace. “Is that what you think this is about? That I’m jealous of the wealth those kids enjoyed?”
Unlocking the car, she slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the door behind her.
* * *
ALEX WATCHED KAT collect her mother and drive away, debating his next move. What exactly had he said that set her off, and how was he supposed to fix it? He returned to the house. Senator Roberts had asked him to stay so they could have a chat. It wasn’t an unusual request; Alex often spent time with the senator, and he even had an assigned guest room in the twelve-bedroom house. But he knew this time was different. The senator had been short with him on the phone when he’d told Alex that he was welcome to come to dinner as Kat’s guest. Then he had tasked Alex with an assignment that he knew would make him late.
After that awkward conversation, Alex’s next phone call had been to Crista, who had tearfully admitted that she’d been spying on him at the senator’s request. Alex shouldn’t have been surprised. How many times had he spied on his staff? It was the way the game was played in campaigns; loyalties were constantly shifting. It was the nature of all temporary work. Any staffers who weren’t already looking for other positions would be soon. Regardless of what happened in November, most of them would be out of a job.
He met the senator on the deck off the great room. The senator offered him a brandy, which he declined in favor of coffee. Depending on how the conversation went, he might have to drive a couple of hours tonight and he was already exhausted.
“When I was a kid, there was nothing but woods and the Potomac River back here. Now all that’s left is a few trees. They pack houses onto every square inch of available land.”
The senator started every difficult conversation with meaningless small talk. He knew from experience the lead-up could go on for the better part of an hour. It wasn’t as if Alex was expecting the senator’s blessing to date his newfound daughter. He cleared his throat.
“Sir, I didn’t mean to spring my relationship with Kat on you. The truth is, it sneaked up on both of us.”
The senator turned and sat in a rocking chair. Alex followed suit.
“I was surprised. Heard you went on a date with Mellie.”
“I’ve been trying to avoid getting involved with Kat, sir, for the obvious reasons. But after my time in Iraq, I figured life’s too short not to explore our feelings for each other.”
“And what would those obvious reasons be?”
“Excuse me?”
“You said you didn’t want to get involved with Kat for the obvious reasons. What are those?”
“Well, for one, she’s your daughter, sir, and you may not approve of her dating someone who works for you.” Alex knew his place; it had been ingrained in him since childhood. You’re the son of the cleaning lady.
The senator laughed. “To be honest with you, Alex, I was rather hoping you and Vickie would get together.”
Alex sat up straighter. What? He’d always assumed the senator wouldn’t want him getting involved with his family. He’d never considered Vickie. “Sir, Vickie is much younger than me.”
“Hardly—only seven years. A decade ago, when you were in your twenties and she was a teenager, I’d have taken issue, but you’re both adults now.”
“Sir, I’ve always seen Vickie as a kid, a sister of sorts. I’ve never felt for her romantically.” Why am I discussing the merits of dating a daughter I’m not interested in?
“I think Kat’s a fine young woman.” The senator picked up his snifter and swirled it around. Alex knew what he was going to say and prepared his response.
“...but she’s not the type of woman who can support your plans.”
“I think we’ve underestimated her. She’s bright and articulate. She did well with ad-libbing the troop speech in Iraq. We can work with her on media presence and tempering her statements...”
Even as he said the words, he realized he was talking about changing Kat fundamentally. What drew him to her was her fire, her insistence on sticking to her guns.
“She’s a lot like her mother, and Emilia was—still is—the greatest love of my life.” Alex stared at the senator. It was obvious he cared about Kat’s mother; he could see it in the way he’d looked at her tonight, but he’d had no idea that the senator’s feelings ran that deep. “Learn from my experience, son—I tried really hard with Emilia, and I was ready to give up my dreams for her. But it never would’ve worked.”
Alex leaned forward. “Why not? Surely there was a way to compromise?”
Senator Roberts shook his head. “This is who I am. I could’ve done other things, but I wouldn’t have been happy. Emilia tried, she really did, but she couldn’t change who she was, either. And I probably wouldn’t have loved her if she became a different woman.” He looked at Alex with shining blue eyes. The same intense blue eyes that Kat had. “I was foolish and in love when I married, convinced that we’d find a way to make it work. But reality, it has a way of coming crashing down on you, to remind you that nothing ever works out that perfectly. You have to decide what you want to give up.”
And you weren’t willing to give up your political aspirations for love. The words were on his lips, but he didn’t dare say them out loud. Who was he to judge the senator? He hadn’t had that conversation with himself. But he also didn’t believe there wasn’t a way. He spent his life negotiating compromises; there was always a middle ground, a way to give from each side.
“She looked beautiful tonight. All the stuff in the reports about her bipolar disorder, I didn’t see any of it. She seemed like the woman I married, the one who broke my heart.”
The senator was a million miles away. Alex had shared the reports on Kat and Emilia with the senator when the story first broke. They hadn’t discussed it except for the senator’s insistence on getting to know Kat. He’d told Alex he had already set up a trust fund for her, similar to what he had for his other children.
“If you could go back in time, would you do things differently, sir?” Alex couldn’t help asking the question he was sure the senator didn’t have an answer for.
Bill Roberts shook his head and took a sip of the dark amber liquid in his glass, scrunching his nose as he swallowed. “I thought she’d come back. I figured if I kept her at arm’s length, she’d realize she couldn’t live without me and come back, ready to compromise, to do things my way. I was an arrogant young man. By the time I realized she was gone for good, I was so angry, all I wanted to do was show her I could move on.”
“So you married Carol.”
He nodded. “I’d known her all my life. We were family friends and she stepped right in when Emilia left. It was the easy thing to do. Don’t get me wrong—I loved Carol. I took care of her...”
“I don’t doubt that, sir,” Alex said quickly. The senator’s marriage with Carol was legendary, and for once in political history, it wasn’t spin. He’d never cheated; he genuinely spent time with his family and actively parented his children. In fact, he’d been asked to be on the vice presidential ticket when Vickie and Walt were in high school, and he declined. He’d wanted to be present to mentor his kids through college.
Alex hadn’t believed it when he’d first read the articles; that was how all politicians’ biographies read. “Family reasons” were always a subterfuge to avoid scandal and hide betrayal. But once he met Vickie and Walt, he saw that the senator was the real deal. It was a big part of what Alex loved about the man. His question about whether the senator regretted giving up on his marriage to Emilia had been genuine; he’d seen the senator pass up opportunities for his family’s sake. He declined meetings with heavyweight donors because he had dinner plans with his children. He never missed graduations and college events no matter how difficult they were to fit into his schedule. And he regularly put on an apron and cooked for his family. How had he given up on love?
“Love is not enough, son. Don’t get me wrong—you need to respect and care for your partner, but a life in politics is stressful. You need to have support from your better half. Emilia was so volatile—I didn’t think back then that it was more than just a fiery personality. I didn’t want to spend my life arguing about policies, controlling chaos and strife in the house. People often called me and Carol an old, boring married couple. I preferred to think of us as stable.”
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