Three kids, and three different places to be. Poor Betty, Jake thought. He could barely handle Danielle. He couldn’t even imagine shuffling three kids around.
But Jake had also offered to take Katie to her lesson for another reason. He’d never seen Danielle more excited than when Katie mentioned Danielle should sign up for riding lessons with her. Tanglewood Riding Stables was located only a few miles from Woodberry Park, something Katie also pointed out quite helpfully. Just as Katie had made sure to mention there was still one space open on her beginner equestrian team.
Leaning against the fence railing now, Jake watched as the riding coach led Danielle around the arena on a speckled gray mare. She was paying such close attention to everything the coach said, Jake had no doubt she’d be begging to join the beginner team the second she got off the horse.
“You’re doing great, Danielle,” Jake called out, but he quickly reached into his pocket when his cell phone finally rang.
“Is everything okay?” was his first question.
“Everything’s fine,” Alicia said. “I faced the firing squad, and I still made it out alive. I’m on the way to my office now.”
“Exactly how angry is everyone?”
Alicia said, “Let’s put it this way. Tish’s only question was whether or not you were any good in bed.”
Jake turned his back to the riding arena, smiling into the phone. “And what did you tell her?”
Alicia said, “I told her the only way I’d kick you out of bed would be to finish you off on the floor.”
Jake laughed. “And did you mention what inspired that comment?”
“No,” Alicia said. “That’s still our secret.”
A horse whinnied and Jake turned back around.
“Where are you?” Alicia wanted to know.
“I volunteered to bring Katie to her riding lesson this morning,” Jake explained. “Big mistake,” he said. “I have a feeling I’m going to be spending a lot of time here at Tanglewood Riding Stables. You should see Danielle. She looks like she was born riding a horse.”
“That’s wonderful, Jake,” Alicia said. “Katie Potter couldn’t have come along at a better time.”
Jake said, “I assume you mean before tomorrow?”
Alicia said, “Don’t worry about the social worker’s visit tomorrow, Jake. You have good friends in the neighborhood.”
She’d answered another question without him having to ask. Jake said, “I wish you hadn’t asked anyone to lie for me, Alicia.”
“Talk to you tonight,” she said and hung up.
Jake closed his cell phone and propped his elbows on the fence railing again. Was it his imagination, or had Alicia put a little too much emphasis on the “good friend” part? Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she realized he was falling in love with her. Maybe she already knew she could never feel the same way about him. Jake sighed. A fantasy relationship with Alicia was better than no relationship with Alicia.
He’d take that.
For as long as Alicia kept answering her phone.
Chapter 22
Late Monday afternoon, Dani sat on her front porch steps, throwing a ball for Kiwi. But she was really passing time until Alicia arrived home from her real estate office. She hadn’t seen Alicia since family night on Saturday, and she had a lot to tell her.
Dani also needed to talk to someone. A grown-up someone. Someone she could talk to about the social worker’s visit the next morning.
She couldn’t talk to Jake about it.
And say what? I’m really not that miserable living with you, Jake, but if I don’t tell the social worker that I am, I’m going to be in deep caca with you know who? That was as crazy as calling Natta and expecting Natta to say, “Sure, stay in Illinois with Jake. I hope you have a happy life.”
What she needed was an opinion from someone outside her family. Alicia was her friend. And that made Alicia the most likely candidate.
Kiwi dropped the ball suddenly, hearing the black Mercedes before Dani saw Alicia’s car headed their way. Dani was quick enough to grab the little bugger so he couldn’t run out into the street, but Kiwi managed to wiggle out of her arms after Alicia turned into her driveway. Dani yelled his name, but the little creep darted across the street, up the driveway, and disappeared out of sight.
Dani jumped up from the steps, opened the glass storm door, and yelled through the house, “I’m going after Kiwi. He ran across the street.”
She didn’t wait for Jake’s okay.
By the time she made it up the driveway and around back to the garage, Alicia was out of her car holding Kiwi, and Kiwi was happily licking her face all over. Dani smiled and walked in their direction, thinking how pretty Alicia looked in her pale pink suit, and with her hair swept up all businesslike in a twist on top of her head. But then, Alicia always looked pretty whether she was dressed up, or whether she was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt.
She wasn’t at all fake-looking, like Carla and the other models in her grandmother’s agency had been, and even Natta herself. No ton of makeup, no ridiculous hairstyle, no fake eyelashes and long, fake nails.
Fake everything was what Dani liked least about the modeling business. Especially the fake concern everyone pretended to have for everyone else.
But there was nothing fake about Alicia.
One reason Dani liked her so much.
“I think Kiwi missed you,” Dani told Alicia when she walked up beside them.
Alicia laughed. “Kiwi missed the doggie treats I keep in the kitchen for him. That’s what he missed.” She held Kiwi in her left arm, then put her right arm around Dani’s shoulder. “Let’s go inside,” she said, “and give the little moocher his treat.”
Dani didn’t argue. She liked the feel of Alicia’s arm around her shoulder, like they were best friends. It made her more certain than ever that Alicia was the one who could help her with her problem.
When they reached the back privacy gate, Alicia pushed the gate open and let Dani go through first. After they walked across the patio, Alicia handed Kiwi over so she could punch in the security code on her back patio door.
Dani waited until they walked into the kitchen before she said, “I know you just got home and all, but could I talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Of course, you can,” Alicia said, and kicked off her pink high heels. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah,” Dani said. “A big problem.”
Alicia looked at her for a second, then took a box down from one of the kitchen cabinets and gave Kiwi his treat. He trotted through the open door and out onto the patio.
Alicia walked barefoot across the kitchen then, and stopped at the refrigerator. She looked back at Dani and said, “Water? Or diet soda?”
“Water,” Dani said, knowing that would be Alicia’s choice.
“Let’s go outside and sit on the patio,” Alicia said. “And you can tell me what’s wrong.”
Dani followed Alicia through the patio doors and sat down on a chair at the table. She pulled her knees up to her chest, her arms hugging her legs.
Alicia settled herself back against her chair, smiled, and said, “What’s the problem, Dani?”
Dani took a deep breath and said, “If I tell the social worker tomorrow that I’m miserable living with Jake, do you think I’ll get to stay here? Or do you think the social worker will go ahead and send me back to LA before the summer is over?”
Alicia sent Dani a worried look. “Are you miserable living here with Jake?” She reached down and picked Kiwi up when he started clawing at the legs of her chair.
“That’s not the point,” Dani said. “I was hoping you would know how the whole custody thing works.”
Alicia waited until Kiwi had settled himself onto her lap before she said, “It isn’t likely the social worker would send you back to LA after the first visit, Dani, even if you did tell her you were homesick and miserable. Jake would have to do something pretty drastic to make the court revoke his t
emporary custody before the end of the six months he was given to establish he could provide a good home for you.”
“Sweet,” Dani said, smiling. “Thanks, Alicia.”
Dani started to get up, but Alicia motioned for her to sit back down. She said, “Do you mind telling me why you would lie to the social worker if you really want to stay here?”
Dani rolled her eyes and said, “If you knew my grandmother you wouldn’t be asking that question.”
Alicia said, “It isn’t your grandmother I’m worried about.”
Dani flopped back against her chair with a loud sigh.
“I’m just so confused,” she admitted. “I wasn’t supposed to like it here. But Jake hasn’t been mean to me, or anything. And my grandmother was sure wrong about one thing. She said Jake would always care more about his girlfriends than he cared about me. But Jake doesn’t even have a girlfriend, I asked him. Jake says I’m his top priority.” She sighed again. “But I don’t know if I believe him.”
“Well, you have to admit Jake seems serious about you being his top priority,” Alicia said. “Do you really think he would have bought a big house and moved from the city to the suburbs so you could attend the best schools if he wasn’t serious?”
Dani thought about that. “I think he’s changing careers because of me, too,” she said. “I heard him tell his agent that his prancing-around-in-his-underwear days were over.”
Alicia laughed. “Prancing? Jake actually said prancing?”
Dani shrugged. “Yeah. I thought it was weird that he said prancing, too. Jake isn’t exactly a prancing kinda guy. You know, being an athlete and all.”
When Alicia didn’t comment, Dani said, “And now I’ve met this coolest cool new friend. Do you know Katie Potter? Over on Woodberry Way? My age? Red hair?”
Alicia said, “Yes. But the only time I usually see Katie is at the annual Fourth of July picnic.”
Dani frowned and said, “Yeah, I wish I hadn’t been such a big butt-wipe and refused to go to the picnic this year, I could have met Katie a lot sooner.” She shrugged and said, “But Katie’s my friend now, and she invited me to sleep over last night, and I really like her. She even said if I would take riding lessons with her, she’d try out for the swim team with me. We’re supposed to carpool together when school starts.”
“And would you like that?”
“Well, yeah,” Dani said. “I’d like that a lot. Especially now that my best friend Hayley from home is moving to Texas. Her mom’s getting a divorce.” Dani sighed and said, “But I’m happy for Hayley. Her stepfather was evil.”
Alicia said, “Maybe instead of lying about anything, you should tell the social worker everything you just told me and let her form her own opinion.”
“But you don’t understand!” Dani argued. “My grandmother would be furious. She’s made all of these big plans for my modeling career. J-14. Seventeen. Teen Vogue. I would be on the cover of those magazines now, if Jake hadn’t filed for custody.”
“You could always have a modeling career later,” Alicia suggested.
Dani shook her head. “No way.” She pulled her knees to her chest again, then looked back at Alicia. “Did you know most models are all washed up by the time they’re nineteen? I’m running out of time fast. If I don’t start modeling soon, I’ll never get the chance.”
“If that’s true,” Alicia said, “don’t you think that makes a good argument that a college education might be a better choice?”
Dani frowned. “Now you sound like Jake. And I don’t know why he’s so big on me going to college. He never went to college. Neither did Carla. Carla was my age when she started modeling. And Jake was drafted into the minor leagues right out of high school.”
“Maybe Jake doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes they did,” Alicia mentioned.
Dani frowned again. “Did you go to college?”
“Yes,” Alicia said. “I went to Harvard.”
Dani groaned. “I had to ask.”
Alicia laughed again.
Dani unscrewed the top off the water bottle and took a long swig. When she looked back at Alicia, she said, “Are you going to stop being my friend if I lie to the social worker?”
Alicia said, “No. But can I ask you another question?”
Dani nodded.
“You’ve told me what your grandmother wants, Dani. But is a modeling career what you want?”
“I thought I did,” Dani said.
“Because you want to be a model like your mother?”
Dani started to make a smart remark, until she remembered what Jake had said about her mother. “No,” Dani said. “Carla doesn’t have anything to do with it. Models make big money. If I make big money I won’t have to live with Jake or my grandmother. I can get my own place and be my own boss. Maybe Hayley could even come live with me like we planned to do before she found out she was moving to Texas.”
“That sounds great,” Alicia said. “But it wouldn’t work that way, Dani. You’re still a minor. Any money you made would probably be put into a trust fund for you until you’re older, and managed by your grandmother.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open. “But that’s not fair!”
“No, it isn’t fair,” Alicia said. “But that’s probably what would happen. Maybe you should call your grandmother and ask her about it.”
“Yeah,” Dani said, frowning. “Maybe I should.”
She got up from the chair and reached for Kiwi.
Alicia handed him over.
“Thanks, Alicia,” Dani said, and headed for home.
“Did you find Kiwi?” Jake called out from the kitchen when she walked through the front door.
“Yes,” Dani yelled back, and started up the stairs.
He walked into the foyer as she reached the top step.
“Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes,” he said, looking up at her. “Your favorite,” he added and grinned.
“Chicken à la Hurl again,” Dani groaned and stomped off to her bedroom.
Once inside, she locked her bedroom door, placed Kiwi on her bed, and dug through her bedside drawer for her cell phone. It was only 2:30 in the afternoon in LA, which meant Natta would still be at the agency.
Natta didn’t like it when she bothered her at work, but Dani didn’t care. If Alicia was right, her only reason for wanting a modeling career had just evaporated. Dani wanted to know the truth before she met with the social worker. And her grandmother was the only person who could tell her the truth about the modeling situation.
“Hi, this is Dani Sims,” she told the secretary. “I need to speak with my grandmother.”
“I’m sorry, Dani, Mrs. Harper is in a meeting. Can she call you later?”
“No!” Dani said. “This is important. I need to talk to her now.”
Dani paced back and forth, waiting.
“This better be important, Danielle,” Ranatta warned when she came on the line. “I happen to be in a meeting at the moment.”
Dani got straight to the point. “When I start modeling, will I get the money I make like the other models do? Or will you keep the money for me until I’m older?”
“What?” Ranatta shrieked. “You interrupted my meeting to ask me some stupid question?”
“Answer me, Natta,” Dani demanded.
“What’s going on out there?” Ranatta snapped. “Did Jake put you up to calling me with this nonsense?”
“Please, Natta. Just answer my question.”
“We are not having this conversation!”
It didn’t surprise Dani when the line went dead.
She closed the phone and slumped down on her bed. Natta hadn’t answered her question outright, but Dani knew she already had her answer. No money for modeling meant she’d be right back where she started if she went back to LA—at the mercy of her grandmother. Yet, she’d be at Jake’s mercy if she stayed in Illinois.
“Life totally sucks,” Dani told Kiwi.
But she gigg
led when Kiwi bounced over and gave her a sloppy kiss across her face.
“Wish me luck tomorrow,” Jake told Alicia during their phone call on Monday night. “I’m going to need it. I thought things were beginning to smooth out between us, but Danielle didn’t say a word during dinner, and she went straight up to her bedroom as soon as she finished eating.”
“But isn’t that what teenagers do?” Alicia pointed out.
She wanted to tell Jake everything she and Dani had talked about, but she’d never do that. Dani had taken her into her confidence. She wouldn’t betray her.
“I guess you’re right,” Jake said and sighed. “But I get more confused every day. Just when I think we’ve taken a step forward, we take two steps back.”
Alicia said, “Have a little faith in Dani, Jake. You knew from the beginning getting her to trust you wasn’t going to be easy.”
He paused for a second and said, “Why do I get the impression you know something I don’t?” But he added just as quickly, “Forget I said that, Alicia. It isn’t fair to put you in the middle.”
“No, it isn’t fair to put me in the middle,” Alicia told him. “Thanks for understanding that.”
But after Jake hung up, Alicia kept lying in bed, staring at the ceiling in her bedroom, and wishing things were different. Being with Jake felt so right on so many levels, yet so wrong when it came to Dani.
A house of cards waiting to collapse, Alicia thought. That’s what she and Jake were building by keeping their relationship a secret from Dani. Yet, when she thought back over her conversation with Dani earlier, at the moment, not telling Dani about them was the right thing to do.
Dani was beginning to trust Jake.
She was also beginning to see through Ranatta’s lies.
Jake had told Alicia that Ranatta Harper was ruthless. But ruthless didn’t even touch the woman! What kind of person told a child her father would always care more about the women in his life than he did about his own flesh and blood?
Dinner First, Me Later? Page 17
