“So, tell me again why are you quitting?”
She chewed a moment then took a gulp of coffee. “You mean besides what happened last night?”
“Yes.”
“When word gets around…and it will because this is a small, close-knit town and everyone knows the Zabrinskis, people will judge me. They’ll assume I came here with an agenda—probably involving money, and that I hid in plain sight, like a spy or something. I’m afraid what this will do to Brady. Kids can be so mean.”
Flynn saw the pain she tried to hide behind her calm mask. “You’re entitled to the truth, Katherine. I don’t see how anyone could blame you for wanting to know the identity of your biological father.”
“Thank you for that, but I could have handled this better. I felt so conflicted and a little ashamed.”
“Why?”
“Because my stepdad was a good man who loved my mother with all his heart and did the best he could to love and support me. I was angry with him for a long time because he helped Mom hide her symptoms for years. It’s what killed him. She was behind the wheel and made a wrong turn into traffic. He died instantly. I not only had to bury and mourn a man I cared a great deal for, I had my rose-colored glasses ripped off my face when I realized how bad Mom’s condition had become.”
“Alzheimer’s, right?”
She nodded. “She couldn’t live alone. I moved her in with us. Greg lasted about a year. Having a kid with issues was bad enough, but adding in a mother-in-law who couldn’t be trusted to walk outside alone…he just couldn’t take it.”
Flynn heard every tick of the clock as silence fell between them. He had little to add to the conversation since his father sounded a lot like this Greg guy. Self-absorbed. Dad only made time for his kids for a few weeks every summer.
Ryker remembered their father with worshipful fondness. Flynn? Not so much. He remembered the tension between his parents when summer ended and the four of them tried to reconnect as a family. He sure as hell wouldn’t wish that dysfunction on any kid of his.
“Are you thinking about going back to Texas?”
“Maybe.” She didn’t look enthused. “My renters have given notice. I either sell them my house or they’re moving out.”
She hugged herself as if chilled, but he didn’t think the temperature was the problem. “The house is too big for Brady and me. And filled with too many sad memories. I want to sell, but I’m afraid to let go.”
He knew the feeling all too well, but he had very little to offer in the way of help. He stood and pulled her into his arms. After a chaste kiss on the forehead—no use starting something he couldn’t finish, he said, “If you need someone to smooth things over with the Zabrinskis, maybe Ryker can help. I’ll see if he can meet me for lunch. Sound good?”
She gave him a quick, powerful hug. “Thanks. I feel more hopeful than I did yesterday.”
She picked up her purse and coat, which she’d draped across the counter. “I’ve gotta hurry if I’m going to take Brady to breakfast.” She rushed toward the back door. “See you at the office.”
Their office. The one where he was boss and she was an employee. Something he’d conveniently overlooked last night. Had seeing the word: resignation been all he needed to undermine his moral rectitude?
“Shit. Maybe I’m more like my dad than I thought.”
The idea made the coffee in his stomach churn. He put their mugs in the dishwasher, grabbed his stuff and dashed to his truck. The sour taste in his mouth made him reach for a mint the moment he got the engine started.
When he reached the gym, he pushed himself harder than ever before. Pain and sweat helped clear the hangover of their passionate night together. He’d need to be on his game for whatever flack hit the fan today.
*
Kat ran to her apartment and changed clothes before hurrying to the adjoining complex to meet Brady. Her son was far too observant not to notice that she was wearing the same outfit as yesterday, and she had no intention of trying to make up a believable excuse to explain it.
Robby’s mom, Marilee, answered the door in her pjs with her six-month old in the carrier strapped to her chest.
“Good morning. You survived! Was everything okay?”
“They were a little gabby, but once Brian got home, they settled down. I fell asleep nursing this one.”
The baby let out a loud yowl.
“Hurry up, boys. Brady, your mom is here.”
Brady exited a bedroom and walked toward her. Although the layout was similar to her place, the third bedroom shrank the size of the living room and kitchen. Toys and clutter made negotiating a path through the hallway a hazardous challenge. He didn’t look up until he reached her.
“Hi, baby. I missed you.” She gave him a quick hug—the only kind he tolerated. “Ready for breakfast?”
They’d agreed that she would take him for pancakes if he gave spending a night at his friend’s house a try. “Yes. Please.”
“Is Robby joining us?”
“He wants to ride the bus,” Brady said. “His girlfriend rides the bus.”
Girlfriend? Kat wasn’t overly alarmed. Brady had explained months ago that having a girlfriend was a mostly one-sided concept that involved watching said girl from afar and eventually working up the nerve to say hi…usually through one of her friends.
“Okay, then. Let’s hustle. Marilee, thanks again! I’ll return the favor any time.”
“Sure. Bye, Brady.” Marilee smiled and closed the door.
“Did you have fun?”
Brady nodded, but he didn’t seem too talkative so she gave him time to wake up as they drove. Once they were seated across from each other at the Main Street Diner, she tried again. “So, what did you guys do last night?”
“We played Minecraft and ate pizza.”
Food and games. What more was there when you were ten?
As usual, they ordered silver-dollar pancakes, one juice and an extra glass. It was Brady’s turn to pick the variety of juice.
“Cranberry,” he told the waitress.
Her least favorite.
“So,” she said, stirring cream into her coffee. Normally, she drank it black, but this was her second cup and she already felt jittery. “What really went on last night?”
He frowned, probably trying to decide how much she knew and what level of deniability he could maintain. “It’s all over Facebook.”
“What is?”
“What I said to Mr. Zabrinski.”
“People are talking about it?”
“Somebody made a video.”
“No.” Her stomach turned over. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. But, at least, most of your friends are too young to be on Facebook. You have to be fifteen, remember?”
The look he gave her pretty much summed up what he thought of that hypothesis. No doubt the kids who wanted be on the social networking site found a way—either their parents facilitated the setup or they knew of some other roundabout.
“Somebody called you a gold digger. What’s that, Mom?”
“A person—usually a woman—who is trying to get money from someone else—usually a man. Because the Zabrinskis have money, people are questioning my motives.”
“But I told him, not you.”
“They probably assume I put you up to it.”
“That’s not true. GG told me. It was our secret. You weren’t supposed to know.”
“Why?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
A lie, but she let it go.
“Let’s not worry about any of that right now. Eat your pancakes.” She nudged the plate a little closer to him. “I’ll try to see the Zabrinskis at some point and explain what I know, which, despite what GG told you, isn’t all that much.”
She checked her watch. Brady could afford to be late, but she wanted to get to the office as early as possible to prepare for her meeting with the Sheriff.
“Are you quitting your job?”
They’d d
iscussed her quitting so they could return to San Antonio as one option. She noticed an odd tremor in his voice. Normally, day-to-day stuff didn’t bother him that much. As long as his needs were met, the world could carry on without him.
“I don’t know, yet. Let’s both try to stay focused on the here and now, okay? Whatever happens, it’ll all work out for the best.”
Brady pushed his plate away—the bulk of his breakfast uneaten. “Can we go now?”
Did he want to get to his desk before the rest of the students so he could avoid the gossip and questions? She wondered if Chloe Zabrinski would be there, and what she’d have to say to Brady.
As she had since Brady’s first breath, Kat worried about her boy, but, intellectually, she knew he had to deal with the fallout from his impulsive action on his own. She couldn’t shelter him every minute of every day.
*
Four hours later, Kat shook two aspirin tablets into her palm and tossed them back with a big chug of water. Talk about a frustrating morning. Her meeting with Flynn and the Sheriff needed to be postponed when a deputy hit a deer and rolled his car.
Flynn had asked her to issue an alert on Social Media about the dangers of animals on the road. Spring meant migrations and mating season. Drivers needed to be more cautious than usual.
Since no one answered the phone at the Zabrinski house and she hadn’t gotten a call back to the message she’d left on their machine, Kat continued to work as if nothing had changed.
Even though everything had changed. She’d slept with Flynn. Her boss. Not the biggest deal in the world. They were two consenting adults with a mutual need who happened to work in the same office. For a short time.
Oh, well, she told herself.
But in truth, just being in the same building with him made her heart rate go up. Thinking about his touch made her breath catch in the back of her throat. She’d enjoyed every minute of their passion—even the awkward getting to know each other part. He’d made the process so easy. She couldn’t even say how. She’d simply felt okay about being naked in his presence.
Trust, she thought. Flynn Bensen is the kind of man you can trust.
Too bad I can’t trust myself not to fall in love with him. As much as she tried to think positively and advocate for research for a cure, she didn’t hold much hope that the terrible disease that destroyed her mother’s mind would be eradicated by the time Kat reached her mother’s age.
And no way in Hell was she going to inflict the sort of pain she’d been dealing with most of her life on someone she loved. Bad enough her son couldn’t escape what was coming. She refused to add Flynn to the casualty list.
She’d spell out the harsh reality of her probable future at the first opportunity she got. If he wanted to explore a physical relationship with her for as long as she stuck around Marietta, she’d be game. But that was as far as it could go. No love words. No long-term commitment. No happily-ever-after.
A heavy sadness threatened to bring on tears, but, luckily, a call came in a second later. Another accident. On the highway a few miles north of the town.
As the paramedic team scrambled to roll out, Kat prayed for everyone’s safety. But, secretly, she hoped the calls continued. She wanted to be too busy to think.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
Even though it was Saturday, Brady woke up early, his internal clock primed for what he had planned. His mother believed he had a problem with impulse control. He was about to show her that wasn’t true.
He’d been thinking about this plan for over a week, ever since the day of the play when Robert Zabrinski, his real grandpa, got all mad and worked up when Brady told him the truth. Every day, Brady waited, hoping someone from the Zabrinski family would contact his mother. But no one had.
Mom kept Brady filled in on what was happening so he wouldn’t feel bad about what he’d done. She said she’d called the Zabrinski house a couple of times and left messages. She’d shown Brady the letter she mailed with copies of her birth certificate and the check from Big Z’s Hardware. She told them she wasn’t looking for money or anything else. She wanted to know the truth, for Brady’s sake.
The only reply came as an email from a lawyer with the same name saying the family was taking the matter under advisement and would be in touch, but Mr. Zabrinski categorically denied having an affair with Grace Adair.
Grandma’s name before she married Grandpa Lloyd.
Brady knew what that meant.
Mr. Zabrinski was in denial, as adults liked to say.
Mr. Zabrinski needed a little reminder of what was important.
Brady had considered several different scenarios to bring public attention to this problem. In the end, he’d chosen the one with the highest possible success rate and lowest possible danger.
Was there risk?
Yes. Nothing good ever happens if you’re afraid to take chances, GG used to say.
He’d discussed his options with his friend, Robby, at their sleepover. Robby’s dad was a big hiker. It wasn’t hard to sneak one of his maps. Getting to the mountains was the biggest obstacle, until Brady overheard some eighth-grade boys talking about the new zip line that was hiring kids this weekend to help set up the course.
Brady wasn’t old enough or big enough to get hired on officially, but he knew enough about the zip line plans from talking with Tucker that he was confident he could bluff his way into a bus ride to the site. He could even lie and tell them Tucker invited him to come along. But, first, Brady had to convince his mother he had plans for the day.
Luckily, she’d been very distracted for the past week. She’d tried to quit her job, but the Sheriff insisted on her giving her boss, Flynn Bensen, two weeks notice to help him fill her position. Even with the whole Zabrinski mess on her mind, Mom said she felt obligated to stick it out.
Something else was bothering her, too, but Brady didn’t know if it was the idea of moving again or what? All he knew for certain was if he told her he was spending the day doing Minecraft with Robby, she’d believe him.
By the time she checked in with Robby’s mom, Brady would be lost in the mountains, waiting for Search and Rescue to find him. A ten-year-old kid wandering alone in the mountains would get people like his grandfather thinking and hopefully realize what he’d miss out on if something bad really did happen to his grandson. Brady even composed a note he planned to leave along with a general map, in case something went wrong and people weren’t searching for him in the right place.
He got up and dressed in layers as he’d been taught. Even though it was officially Spring, Brady knew the weather was colder in the mountains. Luckily, Mom had taken him to play in the snow a couple of times this past winter, so he had the right gear, including a practically new pair of waterproof hiking boots.
He tugged on a second pair of socks but when he shoved his feet into the boots, he found they barely fit. Mom kept saying how big he was getting, but Brady hadn’t realized his feet were growing, too. Probably because Mom always bought his shoes one size bigger.
He frowned and peeled off the extra socks.
Still snug, but tolerable. He stuffed the spare pair of socks into his pack in case his boots leaked.
See, Mom? I’m thinking ahead.
His stomach made a gurgling sound. He was hungry but he felt too excited to eat. And it didn’t help that he got a sick feeling every time he thought about how upset his mom was going to be when she learned he was alone in the mountains. He didn’t want to worry her, but he had to do something to get his grandfather’s attention.
He was doing this for Mom, too, because he knew how important it was to her to find her real father. But, mostly, he was doing this for GG. She’d never forgotten her first love and she always felt bad about not telling him he had a daughter.
“I didn’t fib, exactly, Brady,” she told him one day when Mom wasn’t around. “He wasn’t in a position to marry me. I just couldn’t do that to him—turn his life upside down when
we couldn’t ever be together. I think I did the right thing, but I guess I’ll never know.”
With a sigh, he checked the rest of his gear and provisions—granola bars and string cheese he’d been hoarding from his lunch all week. He’d add an apple or two on his way out the door. If Mom asked why he was taking his backpack, he planned to tell the truth.
“I know how much you hate me spending the whole day inside. I promise to get some fresh air.”
Lots and lots of fresh air.
*
“I love it, Flynn. The place reeks of potential,” his brother said, snapping photos with his high-end digital camera as he prowled around the exterior of the home Flynn planned to make an offer on.
“Are you sure that isn’t cat piss you smell? I was told the previous owner was a big animal lover.”
Flynn had been back to the place twice, bringing Tucker and Justin along once to reassure him he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.
Not that there was any chance of that. He’d fallen in love with a woman who had one foot out the door and had no intention of returning his feelings. That had to be his biggest mistake yet. Even worse than marrying a woman who loved him for the wrong reasons. At least with Darla, he’d had the illusion of love—something he now identified as the dynamic his parents had shown as he was growing up.
Not surprising he was so damn inept when it came to picking women.
“Can we see the inside?”
Ryker had returned from a trip abroad a day earlier. Apparently he was still catching up on all the news, including the bombshell revelation that his future father-in-law, Bob Zabrinski, may have had an affair that produced an illegitimate child named Katherine. Flynn wasn’t sure his brother had made the connection between Flynn and Kat.
“Sure. My agent gave me the code to the lock box because she’s pretty confident she has a sale.”
“What are your reservations?”
Where do I start?
“I haven’t been in Marietta long. I’d planned to spend a year getting familiar with the area before I bought.”
Montana Hero Page 14
