Tempting Her Best Friend's Father (11 page)

So, reluctantly, Mona had agreed to see her mom
over break, despite the fact it would bring her perilously close to the two
people she didn’t know if she could ever face again.

As if her mother had read her thoughts, her
phone vibrated on her lap. “Hi, mom.”

“Mona?” The sound of loud laughter in the
background made it almost impossible to hear her mother. “Hold on.” The noise
slowly faded away. “Okay, sorry honey, I’m at a little get-together at Dawn and
Henry’s. You know them, the neighbors down the street…”

Mona’s mind drifted as her mother rambled off
about fruit punch, appetizers, and that Cathy Fenton had a nip slip. She didn’t
bother telling her mom that part of the recovering process was to stay away
from temptation. Mona knew alcohol was at that party. Dawn and Henry threw a
party almost every week and booze was their main commodity. But Mona kept her mouth
shut, because the worst thing she could do was point that little fact out and
cause drama. It was too close to the holidays and Mona didn’t want the argument
that would be the likely outcome of telling her mother to make sure not to
drink.

“Mona? Are you even listening to me?”

She brought herself back to the present and
cleared her throat. “I’m still here, sorry.”

“I asked if you were still planning on coming
over for Christmas?”

“I suppose.” As soon as the words left her mouth
Mona knew she shouldn’t have said them. A silence descended and Mona breathed
out.

“If you don’t want to come I’m not going to make
you, Mona. Your father won’t be here, and the house gets lonely.”

Always with the guilt trip. Even though it was
their fault that they were in this situation, Mona’s mother always seemed to be
good at turning things around and making Mona feel like crap.

“I’ll be there.”

The music in the background intensified and Mona
knew her mother was placated, for the time being. “Okay, honey, I’ll see you
next weekend.”

That was it. No “good luck on your finals,” or
“drive home safety.” Mona should have been used to it, but it still stung. This
certainly would be a holiday she wouldn’t forget.

Chapter Fifteen

Mona pulled into her mother’s driveway and took
a deep breath. She left her car on as she looked at the house she had grown up
in. It looked the same, but the snow covering everything made it look clean and
wholesome. It went against everything Mona knew about the place.

This was the first time she would be seeing her
mother outside of a locked facility. Uneasiness washed through her at the idea
that everything would go back to the way it was. Hadn’t she said she wouldn’t
go back here? Hadn’t she sworn to herself that she would start anew? If her
mother could try to get better then Mona owed it to her to try and patch up
their relationship. Her father was another story, though.

She turned off the car, grabbed her bag, and got
out of the car. Once her door was shut it took her a moment to get her legs
moving toward the front door. The last time she had been to this house was when
she had been running away from it.

The front door swung open and her mother stood
on the other side watching her. A smile played on her lips and Mona felt a
touch of remembrance go through her. She didn’t even recognize her mom. She
looked younger, more vibrant. Maybe things were changing?

“Come on, honey, it’s freezing out here.” To
emphasize her point she wrapped her arms around herself and started rubbing
vigorously.

Mona stepped into the house, knowing that could
very well be the worst thing she had ever done.

****

“Mona, will you go to the grocery store and pick
me up these ingredients?” Her mother handed her a list. “I thought I had
everything I needed for dinner, but come to find out I don’t.”

Several days had passed since Mona returned
home. She had successfully managed to stay inside and avoid anyone and
everyone. The last thing she needed was to run into people that would further
remind her of what she no longer had. Her time with her mother had actually
been very pleasurable. They had baked together, played cards, even watched a
few sappy holiday movies together. Right now her mother was covered in flour
with her hair pinned back and the holiday music blaring in the background. The
situation was surreal. Mona knew she couldn’t be cooped up in the house the
whole time, but she had hoped.

“Sure.” She grabbed her coat and keys and headed
out the door.

The roads were slick as she made her way to the
grocery store. When she pulled into the parking lot it was already packed.
In and out, Mona.
She grabbed a cart on
her way in and made a beeline toward the aisles she needed.

With the last item in her cart, she grabbed the
shopping list and double checked to make sure she had everything. Confident she
hadn’t missed anything, she shoved the piece of paper into her pocket and
started pushing the cart. When she rounded the corner her cart slammed into
another one, making a loud crashing noise and drawing attention. She felt her
face heat as she mumbled her apologies. It wasn’t until she looked up that she
realized whose cart she’d crashed into.

Time seemed to stand still. There he stood, one
of the two people she prayed she wouldn’t run into when she came back to town.
Of course you would see him.
Isaac
stared down at her with equal surprise. The scent of his cologne immediately
surrounded her and it took everything inside of her not to moan in want. It had
been so long since she had seen him. Of course he looked the same, although he
appeared rougher around the edges, more alluring. He had a day’s worth of
stubble across his jaw, but that only intensified the attractiveness of him.

A moment of stunned silence descended upon them
and Mona started to become increasingly nervous with each passing second. What
could she say?
Hi? How have you been? How
is Holly?
Question after question slammed into her brain, but none of them
made it out of her mouth.

“Hi, Mona.”

The way he said her name caused her insides to
grow warm and tingly.
Stop it right now.
She
needed to keep her strength, needed to remember that he would soon be a father
again and there was no place in his life for her.

“How have you been?”

She stood there like an idiot, her mouth hanging
open and her eyes no doubt as big as saucers. Her heart beat hard and fast in
her chest as she stared up at him. She had imagined this meeting a million
times, but now that she was faced with it she felt like a deer in headlights.
Forcing the lump in her throat down, Mona finally formed words.

“I’ve been good, and you?” She licked her dry
lips and gripped the handle on the shopping cart, hard. Why was she so nervous?

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I’ve been
better.” Another moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“Listen, Mona…”

She pasted on a fake smile. “It was really good
seeing you. Give Holly my regards.” She wanted to ask about Kara, but she
couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t wait for him to reply, but instead
walked as fast as she could to the checkout. She resisted the urge to turn
around and see if he was watching her. She needed to get out of there and away
from Isaac. It was just too damn painful to see him.

****

Mona sat on her bed and stared at her ceiling.
All she had been able to think about was her meeting with Isaac the day before.
She closed her eyes and imagined him again. His light hair slightly mussed, his
seductive blue eyes that reminded her all of the naughty things they had done
together, his powerful body that he’d used to thrust in and out of her. Just thinking
about it made her wet, a bad reaction when she had no way to ease her
suffering. Well, not the way she really wanted too anyway.

The phone ringing pulled her out of her
daydream, but she didn’t get up to answer it. A minute passed and then she heard
her mother telling her the call was for her. Picking up the phone, Mona lay
back down as she held the receiver to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Mona?”

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. “Kara?”
Her pulse quickened.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Nothing was said for several long moments and
finally Mona cleared her throat and spoke. “How are you? It feels like forever
since I talked with you.”

“Yeah, it does feel like a long time. I’m doing
pretty well, for the most part.”

Mona swallowed at the strange tone in Kara’s
voice. No doubt her best friend was thinking about the betrayal. “I’m surprised
you’re calling.” Maybe Mona shouldn’t have said anything, but Kara was the last
person she’d expected a phone call from.

“Yeah, me too.” There was an awkward stretch of
silence and then Kara cleared her throat. “But I’ve been thinking a lot while
in school and I think I’m ready for us to talk.”

Mona’s mouth went dry and she swallowed. This
was what she had been waiting for, but for the life of her the only response
she could mutter was, “Okay.”

“Can you come over tomorrow at about noon?”

Going to Kara’s house was the last place Mona
wanted to be, but she wasn’t going to complain about where they met. She only
wanted to see Kara and tell her how sorry she was, again.

Chapter Sixteen

Mona took a deep, calming breath and lifted the
knocker on Kara and Isaac’s home. She banged it on the door twice and took a
step back. Her hands shook so bad she had to clasp them in front of her to keep
them still. It was so cold out that Mona’s breaths came out of her in little
white clouds. That was what she focused on, those white puffs that surrounded
her like a fog. Lord, her heart was beating so fast she thought for sure it
would jump right out of her chest.

The first thing that registered in her brain was
the lock turning. Why she was so nervous was beyond her. True, things hadn’t
gone down very well, but the very thought of seeing Isaac again or Kara
frightened her immensely. When the door finally opened Mona stopped breathing.
Kara stood on the other side, her eyes looking far too large on her face. It
wasn’t the fact that Kara stood in front of her that shocked her, but something
far different.

“Kara…” That was the only coherent thing she
could get out as she stared at her best friend.

“Come on in, it’s freezing.” Kara stepped to the
side and Mona walked in.

The chill that had settled in her bones started
to immediately dissipate once the front door was shut. They stared at each
other for several long moments, and finally Mona found the strength and courage
to say more than just her name.

“Kara, you’re…” Mona glanced down at Kara’s
swollen abdomen. Kara instinctively placed her hand over her belly and started
rubbing it. “How? I mean, what happened?” Kara breathed out and gestured for
them to go into the living room.

They sat on the couch, opposite of each other,
and didn’t speak for several long moments. Mona didn’t know if she should be
the one to really start talking or if she should let Kara lead. After an
internal debate she decided on the latter.

“As you can see I’m pregnant.” Kara said it in
the sarcastic way she was known for. “I assure you I didn’t start screwing a
million different guys in college.”

“I didn’t think that at all.”

“I know, but that has been the main consensus
since I have been back and everyone is seeing this.” She gestured to her belly.

Mona didn’t know if Kara realized she was
rhythmically rubbing her belly.

“I’m surprised you hadn’t heard about this.”
When Mona shook her head, Kara continued. “I found out I was pregnant shortly
after Holly dropped her own bomb about being pregnant.”

Mona swallowed. Hearing Kara say it shouldn’t
have made it seem so fresh, but it did. “I’ve been renting an apartment by my
school and haven’t been home. This is the first time since I started that I
came back.”

“So you haven’t heard anything?” Kara sounded
incredulous.

Mona knitted her brows and shook her head.
“Besides my best fr…” Mona stopped herself. “Besides you telling me you’re
pregnant right now, I’m in the dark about everything that has been happening in
this town.”

A moment of silence passed between them and then
Kara spilled everything. “Let me start by saying I’m sorry.”

Mona felt her eyes grow wide. “For what?”

“For everything. For not believing you when you
warned me about Marcus, for not being there for you when you needed me. I knew
you cared about my dad, and even though you two had a relationship behind my
back, I had no right to treat you the way I did after you confided in me.” Kara
started to tear up, which only made Mona do the same. “You’ve always been there
for me, and when my judgment went to shit with Marcus, you were only looking
out for me. I love you like a sister, Mona, and I should have given you my
support instead of running away.”