One Daddy Too Many (21 page)

Her expression was one of utter bafflement. “Who’s Daisy?”

Rob swallowed.
Oops.
“He didn’t tell you? He and Haley are expecting. It’s a girl. They’re going to name her Daisy Josephine.”

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, my. He didn’t say. That’s wonderful. I’m so h-happy for them.”

Her voice broke and she started to cry.

Rob’s fear level spiked. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “Mom, what’s wrong? Tell me.”

“I got a call from my primary care doctor this afternoon. Even after all these tests they’re not sure if I have cancer or not. And I feel so damn lousy, I just want it to be over.”

“Mom.”

“Your father thinks I should get a second opinion at Stanford.”

“Mom, that’s a great idea.”

“I don’t know, son. A good friend of mine died of colon cancer. The treatment…well, it wasn’t pleasant. And in the end, it failed.”

Rob
tried to grasp what she was saying. “You mean you might not try anything?”

“Maybe.”

Rob fought the panic gnawing at the edges of his control. If she were his client, approaching him to establish a living will, he would have listened without judging, but this was his mother. “Mom, you can’t
not
fight. I’m not ready to give you up. Kate and I are getting married. We need you. Even Dad is going to need you once the baby comes. What does Haley know about babies?”

Her watery smile was more indulgent than convinced.

“And Poppy needs you.”

Jo’s brows drew together. “You planned that, didn’t you? You and Kate—and Yetta. That’s why you took me to the shelter with you.”

They looked at each other and smiled. His mother stood up. She put her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. “You’re right, son. I can’t leave now.” She patted his back firmly as if sealing her decision. “Poppy needs me.”

He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. “Me, too. Can I take you home?”

“What about Kate?”

“I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Jo threaded her arm through his. “Well, even if she doesn’t, the poor girl needs a good night’s sleep.”

“Hurry, Mommy
, it’s hot on my feet.”

“I told you to wear your flip-flops,” Kate grumbled, grabbing a stack of towels from the back seat of the car. They’d driven her mother’s sedan since hers was leaking oil and she didn’t want to leave a spot on Rob’s pristine cement.

Somehow, between the time she left the restaurant last night and woke up this morning, Rob’s plan for a laid-back picnic had been expanded. The casual visit now included a catered brunch. She had no idea how he’d pulled that off.

“Are my floaties in the bag?” Maya asked her grandmother who was collecting their totes from the trunk.

“Yes, indeed. And your new ladybug water toy.”

“Her what?” Kate had been so distracted lately, she sometimes felt as though she were walking through dense fog without a clue about what was going on around her.

She was definitely ready for a little R&R, she thought as she took her daughter’s hand and led the way to the front door. The impressive two-story columns provided a welcome escape from the sun.

Maya pushed the doorbell.

Kate was poking in her bag to make sure she’d packed
the sunscreen when she heard a little yip. She looked over the top of her sunglasses at her daughter. “Jo and Poppy must be here.”

Maya clapped. “Oh, good. I love Poppy.”

A quick thud of footsteps on tile told her Rob was hurrying to meet them. He threw open the door a second later and swept her into his arms. “You’re here,” he cried. After hugging Kate, he bent low to give Maya a quick squeeze then did the same with Yetta. “I’m so glad you all could make it. Are Liz and Alex coming?”

Kate tucked her shades in her bag. “Yeah. But Liz said she had to do something first.”

He took their bags in one hand then made an expansive gesture with the other. “Come in. Mom’s in the kitchen with Poppy. We don’t have any furniture yet,” he said, seemingly for Maya’s benefit. “But we do have food.”

Kate paused to look around. Her last visit had been in the company of a Realtor who was determined to make the sale. Kate had done her best to appear uninvolved, but inside she’d been dizzy with excitement. Rob was buying this house with every intention of sharing it with her and her daughter. She could have burst with joy, if she’d let herself believe the dream might actually come true.

Rob started toward the kitchen, but Maya dashed past him, calling, “Here, Poppy. Here, Poppy.”

He looked at Kate. “You realize of course that she’s going to need a dog of her own once you move in, right?”

Kate looked over her shoulder at her mother. Yetta knew about Rob’s proposal, but they hadn’t talked logistics.

Yetta smiled and nudged Kate into the brightly lit kitchen. “Maya’s wanted a dog for a long time. What a good idea, Rob.”

“A
dog is also work. Feeding, brushing, walks, shots, lessons, poop to clean up. Who’s going to do that? Maya is too young, which means—”

“Somebody else would have to pitch in,” Rob inserted. “Someone like me.”

Kate had heard that line before. Ian brought home a puppy once. Sunny. A beautiful golden retriever that Kate had grown to love with all her heart. She’d wound up doing every chore that Ian had vowed would be his responsibility. And when he disappeared and Kate came to the realization that she couldn’t humanely move a large dog into her mother’s small backyard and care for a toddler and work sixty hours a week, she’d been forced to find a new home for the animal she loved.

Kate suddenly burst into tears.

Rob whispered something to Yetta then took Kate in his arms and waltzed her backwards into the living room. In the privacy of the bay window that she’d fallen in love with the first time she walked into the house, he said, “Kate, love. Tell me what’s going on. You don’t want a dog? No problem. I thought a pet might be good for Maya. Make her feel like this was really her home, but there’s no rush.”

He rocked her gently and offered the hem of his shirt to wipe her tears. “It’s not that. I was thinking about the last dog I owned. Ian brought her home when I was eight months pregnant. He said he wanted the baby and Sunny—that was the dog’s name—to grow up together. He promised to take care of her, but before long he was never home.”

Rob groaned. “You had to take care of it.”

“I didn’t mind, really. She was a sweetheart and I loved her. But after I sold the house, I c-couldn’t take her with us. Mom’s yard is small. She was a big dog. She needed room to run.” Her tears started again. He held her tight.

“Oh, honey
, I’m so sorry. Maybe, when you’re ready, we could adopt a golden. I’ve always heard they’re a wonderful breed.”

She wiped her eyes and smiled. She couldn’t help it. He sounded so earnest and sincere.

“I’m sorry, too. I overreacted. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I hadn’t thought about Sunny in a long time. Not even when we picked out Poppy.”

He touched his knuckle under her chin and made her look at him. “Are you okay? Really? We can cancel this little bash. No big deal.”

Her heart swelled with all the feelings she had for this man. “I’ll be fine. Just let me freshen up then I’ll meet you outside.”

“It’s a date. I’d better go make sure Maya’s got her life vest on.” He gave her a quick kiss then left. “I love you.”

Kate lingered, watching him through the window. He did love her. She knew it. And she loved him. Which meant the life she’d been living had to change. She was sick and tired of straddling two worlds. What was she waiting for? A sign that her destiny was finally here?

Maybe.

Yetta was sitting at the counter stirring a glass of iced tea when Kate walked in. “Mom, we need to talk.”

“I know.”

“I love you and I can never thank you for what you’ve done for me and Maya, but—”

Yetta interrupted her. “Katherine, you’re my daughter. There isn’t anything in the world that I wouldn’t do for you. And the same for Maya. She kept my heart beating when it would have stopped. The sparkle in her eyes reminds me so much of your father that I was slowly able to see that he lives on in each of us. You both helped me heal. That might not have been possible if you hadn’t needed me.”

Emotion
made it hard to speak. “I haven’t been that easy to live with, lately.”

“Because you’re thinking with your head, not listening with your heart. You’re afraid of making an impulsive decision, like the one that brought Ian into our lives, but, darling girl, he led you to the path you’re now on. If not for him, you might never have met Rob.”

Kate needed a moment to digest that truth. She sat on a stool that had apparently come with the house. Was what her mother said the truth? Had the rough road she’d traveled recently been an unavoidable detour to her destiny? She sighed and rested her chin on her hand. “Mom, I need to marry Rob and move.”

“Katherine, I’ve enjoyed having you and Maya with me, but, frankly, I couldn’t agree more.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better about deserting you?” She was teasing and her mother responded with a smile.

Yetta put her arm around Kate’s shoulders. “I’ll manage. Somehow.”

Kate returned the hug, then stood up. “I’d better check on Maya.”

“Katherine?”

She stopped and looked at her mother. “Yes?”

“Perhaps it’s time to put on that pretty ring you keep hidden under your shirt.”

Kate reached up and touched her treasure. She unsnapped the clasp and let the ring tumbled into her palm.

Smiling, she looked up and said, “Thanks, Mom.”

“M
AYA, SWEETIE
, can you come here? I need to talk to you.” Rob looked at his mother, who was sitting in a lawn chair, fidgeting
nervously. A nicotine craving, he bet. “You, too, Mom. This is important.”

Poppy, who never left Jo’s side, seemed comfortable around Maya as long as the little girl was sitting quietly. Maya squeezed in next to Jo and gently petted the dog.

“Maya, I have a problem. Mom might be going away for a while and Poppy will have to stay with me.”

“Going? Where?” Her voice sounded alarmed.

“To California. But just for a little while.”

“Why can’t Poppy go, too?”

“She doesn’t like to fly,” Jo said.

Maya gave the dog a serious look. “Oh.”

“Anyway, if Poppy moves in here while Mom is gone, I thought maybe you could help me out. Play with her. Brush her. Make sure I don’t forget to feed her. Stuff like that.”

“Me?”

He nodded.

“Where will Poppy sleep?”

He looked at Jo. “That’s a good question. I’m not sure. On my bed, I guess. Once I get one.”

Maya petted the little dog. “She could sleep with me.”

Rob wasn’t sure what to make of that suggestion. He looked at his mother, who had a funny smile on her face. Before he could pursue the point, Kate joined them. “This looks like an important powwow. Did I miss anything?”

Maya looked at her mother and asked, “Mommy, are you going to marry Rob?”

Rob nearly choked on his frozen daiquiri. Kate’s skin tone paled.

“Well…um, yes. Eventually, but we didn’t want to rush you. You’ve been through a lot lately and—”

Maya interrupted. “But if I lived here, then Poppy could sleep with me when Jo’s gone.”

Rob
looked at his fiancée. “Indisputable logic. She could be a lawyer when she grows up.”

Kate cleared her throat. This wasn’t the way she’d pictured this conversation. “Sweetheart, I love Rob. He gave me this beautiful ring. See?” She held up her hand and heard Rob’s sharp intake of breath. She sensed his surprise—and pleasure. “And I want to marry him. But you’re our first concern. Poppy will be fine here without you.”

Maya studied the pretty diamond a minute then looked up. “But, Mommy, Rob needs us, too.”

Kate didn’t know what to say. Her daughter’s insight amazed her.

“You’re right, Maya. I do need you. This house is going to feel pretty empty until you and your mom are living here. I’d marry you both tomorrow if we could arrange it,” he said, taking Kate’s hand. He brought her fingers to his lips and tenderly kissed the ring.

Maya frowned. “No. That doesn’t work for me. I have school tomorrow. We’re doing art.”

Rob chuckled softly. The sound echoed through Kate’s heart. They were doing this. They were talking marriage with her daughter. There was going to be a wedding.

The part of her who knew that rushing into things was a mistake said, “I love you, Maya. You’re the best. And I promise to include you in all the decisions about when and how to make this happen, okay?”

Maya looked at Rob. “Okay, but I still think Poppy should sleep with me when Jo’s gone.”

Rob burst out laughing. “I agree. Let’s go ask your grandmother if she minds. It’s her house, right?”

Once Rob and Maya had left in search of Yetta, Kate looked
at her future mother-in-law and said, “Wow. That went better than I thought it would.”

Jo smiled serenely. “Your daughter is the oldest four-year-old I’ve ever met.”

Kate agreed. Which meant they would need to be very careful what they said about Jo’s illness.

“You know, Kate, Rob doesn’t want the kind of wedding his father had. You’re both too busy for all of that nonsense. What if you held it here? Small and simple. A white tent. An evening affair to avoid the heat. Just family and close friends,” Jo said, making a sweeping motion to encompass the backyard.

Kate looked around. She could almost envision it. “When?” she wondered, idly.

“What about late June or early July?” Jo asked. “That should give me time to get this doctoring business straightened out. We ought to know by then if I’m going to make it, right?”

Kate’s heart plunged to her feet. She reached across the table to touch Jo’s arm. “Of course you’re going to make it.”

Jo chuckled softly. “You sound a lot like my son at times. But not to worry. I’ve never passed up a chance to bake a wedding cake. The one I have in mind is three layers and adorned with foil-wrapped chocolate coins.”

Kate went to her and hugged her—Poppy and all. “I love you, Jo. I’m so blessed to have you—and your son—in my life.”

She might have said more, but at that moment, the French doors opened and her mother stepped outside followed by Liz and Alex. And Ian.