The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(28)

Oh, God, she’s going to take them away from us and hurt them!

“Aunt Lou? What’s going on?” Eve asked.

“Your dad just asked me to round you up and bring you home—family meeting I guess. But hey—I bought a ton of food that’s extremely bad for you, so before we give him the podium, I’m going to need every hand to get this stuff in the refrigerator and freezer. Pizzas, lasagna, Stouffer’s mac and cheese, the really good stuff. And I didn’t even buy lettuce—we can work on our cholesterol later. We all on board here? Let’s get this stuff put away before we hunker down with your dad.”

“I thought he was working today?” Eve said.

“He is. I’m sure he allotted fifteen minutes for this family meeting. Try not to insult him with boredom.”

But Lou was secretly terrified and Lou was strong—it took a lot to terrify her. When she pulled in to the garage, she yelled, “Everyone, grab at least two bags!” When they all walked in, heavily laden, Mac was standing in the kitchen waiting for them. He looked at them. “There are a few more in the car,” she said.

“Jesus, Lou. Was there a sale or something?”

“Or something,” she said, beginning to shove things into the freezer, her head down. “Let’s not let it spoil.”

“Let’s do it,” Mac ordered. “Let’s put all this stuff away. Then we’re going to sit down for a talk.”

“Who’s in trouble?” Ryan asked.

“Me,” Mac said.

* * *

They sat at the dining room table. “There’s no way to sneak up on this, kids. I had the shock of my life today. I saw your mother.”

He was faced with three astonished faces. Big eyes. Open mouths. It was Eve who asked, “You just saw her?”

He shook his head. “She came to town looking for me. We had a cup of coffee together. We talked.” He took a breath. “It seems she realizes it was a mistake, leaving our family as she did.”

A bark of laughter came out of Eve and the look on her face was downright evil. “A mistake?”

He took a breath and noticed that Lou had her hands folded on the table and was staring down at them. Probably trying to keep herself from screaming. “I think it’s pretty normal to be angry about that,” he said evenly. “I was very angry for a long time, but at some point I decided it wasn’t good for us. It wasn’t good for me or for you. And at the time we got married, at the time your mom left, she was too young to make good decisions. She was only sixteen when we got married. I know every sixteen-year-old thinks they’re brilliant and wise and capable of making big life-altering decisions, but I’ve got news for you—in fact, when your mom left, she was still very young. She’d been thrust into adulthood, had never really lived, was so overwhelmed by responsibility...”

Eve leaned toward him. “It didn’t overwhelm you!”

“Yes, it did, Eve. I couldn’t manage. I had to ask Aunt Lou for help. And believe me, I was too young, too. So I did everything your Aunt Lou told me to do.”

Lou lifted her eyes. A very small half smile played on her lips and she gave a slight nod. Because, yes, he had. He was drowning and terrified and so angry. Lou, a savvy woman, mature with a lot of experience, talked him through it and helped take care of the kids.

“Eve, we’ve talked about this before and you’ve talked with your aunt Lou about this—this is the kind of hardship young families run into when they’re not grown up enough, not really ready to take on the world before they have the experience. That’s why I hope you graduate from college and have a handle on what you want out of life before you make the kind of promises and commitments your mother and I made. Promises and commitments we weren’t prepared for and didn’t know how to keep. I’m sorry, Eve. It’s as much my fault as anyone’s.”

“It’s not! You didn’t leave us!”

I got her pregnant, he thought. “Everyone has their own way of handling stress.”

“Aren’t you pissed?” Eve fired back.

“Yes,” he said. “But I’m not going to let that run my life. I don’t have to let anger control me and I won’t.”

“Dad, she left you! She signed us away!”

He so could use a drink right now. Not a beer, but a shot of something strong. “There are times I regret being so honest with you. Maybe it’s the cop in me—I always start with the truth. I just can’t keep track of a lot of lies. Listen, when I sent your mother those divorce and custody papers, I had absolutely no idea what her life was like. She could’ve been living in her car for all I know. I had to locate her and all I got was an address.”

“So?”

“So maybe she signed the papers as a favor to you. To me. To get it over with so she wasn’t a burden on anyone, I don’t know. And maybe she came back to say she was sorry because it’s taken her this long to get her life together—I honestly don’t know. All I know is—it’s not our problem. We have a pretty solid family and we’re going to keep our family solid. We’re strong, Eve. We can afford to be calm and kind.”

“Well, I might be solid, but I’m still pissed,” she said, giving the table a thump with her fist.

“I think that’s normal. Your life has been tough enough with only a dad and aunt—try not to let this event and your anger make your life any tougher.”