It Takes Three

“Can’t. Part of my job. A professional doesn’t leave a mess in the kitchen.”

“Even though you don’t have a contract?”

“Even so. It’s a service-oriented, word-of-mouth business. Someone you know might need a caterer and you’ll remember the one who didn’t leave a mess.”

While she worked, Thea glanced at Scott who brooded beside her. “Kendra told me she’s never had a party. Is that true?”

He met her gaze and his own narrowed. “It doesn’t mean she’s underprivileged.”

“I can see that she’s got everything she needs. Materially,” she added.

“What are you saying?”

“Just that I got the feeling it was very important to her to have a party.”

“What was your first clue, Dr. Phil?”

She ignored his sarcasm. “The fact that she didn’t tell you I was coming. I’d have to guess she felt you would veto the catering idea.”

“She didn’t give me a chance to veto it.”

“And if she had? What would you have said?” Thea asked, watching him carefully.

He sighed. “Probably I’d have said no.”

“Look…” She rested her wrists inside the sink, letting the water drip from her hands. “Probably I should have asked if she had permission to hire me. And when it came to a signed contract and deposit check, the cat would have been out of the bag. But there’s something about Kendra.”

“Why didn’t she come to me? That’s a rhetorical question by the way.” He shook his head, then met her gaze. “And I don’t understand why she’s so upset about selling the house. It’s just a house.” His tone oozed frustration.

“Men.” Thea stared at him, not bothering to conceal her exasperation.

“What?”

His clueless express was so darn cute, she couldn’t help a small sigh. “How long have you lived here?”

He thought for a moment and said, “I guess ten or eleven years.”

“So Kendra was about seven or eight when you moved in. She hardly remembers living anywhere else. She’s facing big changes, like leaving high school and going away to college. Then she finds out you’re getting rid of her anchor. Of course she freaked. Change is hard.”

“I haven’t gotten rid of anything yet.”

“Just the thought of change is uncomfortable. It’s human nature to fight against that.”

Scott shifted his feet and brushed against the bag of trash on the floor. It tilted sideways, spilling the contents. “Damn it.”

He bent to pick up the bag, giving her an unobstructed view of his backside. She was the first to admit she was out of practice in the fine art of observing men. And truthfully, she’d never understood the fascination for that particular part of the male anatomy. But Scott Matthews’ fanny gave her a completely different perspective.

He straightened, pressed the latch on the kitchen can and dumped the smaller bag inside. Then he stooped again to gather up the stray trash on the tile. He picked up a slender plastic stick.

Frowning, he rolled it between his fingers. “Is this what I think it is?”

She saw the plus and minus symbols. “It is if you think it’s a pregnancy test.”

She should know. She’d used one not that long ago and hers had come up a plus.

Chapter Two

“Just shoot me now.” A muscle jumped in Scott’s lean cheek and tension made his already square jaw seem harder somehow. “Does this mean it’s negative?”

Thea stared at the minus sign. “Not necessarily. The results are only accurate for a short time. There’s no way to know if it’s positive or negative unless you know how long it’s been lying around.”

His expression was dark when he looked up. “I feel as if I’ve been walking down the stairs and just missed the last three steps.”

She wiped her hands on a dish towel. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

Impossibly blue eyes narrowed on her. “What are you? Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?”

“Thirty-four.” But what did that have to do with anything?

“Married? Divorced?”

“Neither,” she answered. “I’m a widow.”

Something flickered in his eyes, but she was grateful when he didn’t comment. The automatic “I’m sorry” was awkward and meaningless. She wasn’t even sure why she’d clarified her marital status to him. Normally she didn’t volunteer anything like that. But nothing about today was normal.

“Do you have any children?” he asked, exasperation lacing his tone.

Not yet, although she would soon. God willing. But this man was grilling her like raw hamburger. She’d innocently gotten caught up in his personal problems; that didn’t mean she had to reciprocate with her own problems. When her husband had received his cancer diagnosis, she’d learned the very hard lesson that personal information should be dispensed on a need-to-know basis. Scott was a prospective client. Maybe not, she thought, noting his intense expression. But whatever happened, he wasn’t entitled to her life story.

And she certainly wasn’t going to tell this man, this virtual stranger, that she was now pregnant through in vitro fertilization with her dead husband’s baby. She couldn’t ignore the question, but there was no need to put a finer point on it.

“No,” she finally said. “I don’t have any children.”

He slid her an I-thought-so look. “Then don’t tell me not to jump to conclusions.”

“I was simply trying to help.”

“There’s nothing you can do. This,” he said, holding up the stick, “means she’s having sex. Probably unprotected.”

“I’m not an idiot, Scott. I know this is a serious issue.”

“Really?” He put the test stick on the counter beside him, then met her gaze. “You know it intellectually? Or because you’ve watched Oprah and Dr. Phil? Or you’ve seen the teenage pregnancy statistics in Newsweek?”

“Of course, but—”

“But you don’t have children. You have no idea what it’s like to be nineteen and find out you’re going to be a father. You don’t have a clue what it’s like to be a kid yourself and find out you’re going to have a baby.”

“No, but—”

“I do,” he interrupted. “It’s damned scary. And everyone has an opinion about what should happen. My parents. Her parents. On top of that, she and I couldn’t agree on what to do.”

“What did you do?” Thea couldn’t stop herself from asking. Just because she had a hang-up about sharing nonessential personal information didn’t mean she wasn’t curious about him. If he had a problem with it, he could tell her to mind her own business.

“I married her,” he answered.

“Most people would call that doing the right thing.”

“The right thing?” His handsome features turned harsh.

“No one could call your daughter ugly names or tease her about being born outside of marriage.”

“Yeah, at least I prevented that.” He smiled, but there was no humor in the look.

“And it can’t have been all bad. You had a second child together.”

He folded his arms over his chest. “Kendra wasn’t planned. We were still too young and, I thought, perfectly happy with one child. Then we were careless. I was all of twenty-two when she came along.”

Thea thought about her own struggle to become a mother. Ever since she was a little girl, she’d wanted to have a baby. When she’d married, she’d ached to know what it was like to feel a life growing inside her. She felt it now, mostly because she was tired and nauseous. The point was, she felt different, important. After the heartbreak of two miscarriages, she yearned to bring a healthy baby into the world and would do everything possible to make that happen. Now Scott was telling her his second child wasn’t welcome.

She didn’t try to hide the irritation and disapproval she suspected were visible on her face. “Some people would say having two children makes you lucky.”

“I am. And very grateful they’re normal, healthy kids. I love them more than anything. But the fact is I missed out on a lot. I hardly got to be a kid before I had two in two and a half years.”

“But isn’t it the tough times that forge the bonds in a relationship?”

“Not ours. That second pregnancy was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Gail was seven and Kendra five, she decided the girls and I were cramping her style. She didn’t want to be a mother and she left.”

“She abandoned her children?”

“Define abandoned. Every once in a while she turns up. It was worse when they were little and all their emotions were stirred up. Now the girls have her pegged. They’re polite but cool if she drops in.”

“It must have hurt them a lot.”

“They’re better off without her.” He shrugged. “They got over it.”

Did they? And were they really better off without her? Thea wondered. Through no fault of their own or Scott’s, Kendra and her sister hadn’t been raised by Ward and June Cleaver. And Thea sensed ripples beneath the surface in the Matthews household. Sensed, heck. She’d seen for herself the tension between Scott and his daughter. Kendra was still hurting.

“Were you better off when your wife left?” she asked him. Again she wondered if he would answer. In his shoes, she wouldn’t. But everything she’d just learned had her curiosity sparring with her better judgment.

He sighed. “That’s not an easy question to answer. It was tough doing it alone. I still had to work to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. But I had two little girls depending on me when they got sick. Child care was a constant worry. And it’s expensive. There was no one to share the responsibility.”

That gave Thea a pang. Her plan of having a baby had always included sharing the experience with her baby’s father. And the plan had always involved sex with said father. She’d never envisioned that the love of her life would get sick. That he would simply donate sperm and medical science would take care of the rest. She was having a baby. And she would be doing it alone. But in her case, she would never know what having help and support felt like, so she wouldn’t feel the absence of it. But Scott had known.

“Did you miss her? Or was it just parenting alone that was a problem? I’m sorry,” she said, before he could answer. She held up her hand. “That’s really none of my business.”

What was it about Scott Matthews that made inappropriate questions pop out of her mouth?

“Actually, the fact that I don’t mind you asked is an answer in itself. Yes, I missed her. And not just because raising those two girls alone was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

He’d cared and then he was alone. She related all too well. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

“I don’t need sympathy. Raising kids is also the most wonderful, rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” He blew out a long breath. “I’m not exactly sure why I told you all that.”

“Maybe because I happened to be here when you found the stick?”

He frowned. “That damn pregnancy test.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to confide in strangers. Someone who doesn’t have an emotional stake in any of this.”

“Yeah,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t usually spill my guts. But then, it’s not every day I find out my daughter is sexually active.”

“Shock will loosen your tongue.”

He glanced at the evidence beside him. “I can’t believe this. I don’t want my daughter to be a mother while she’s still a child herself. I don’t want her to repeat my mistakes.”

“I hate to think of children as mistakes,” she said, a tad sharply. “They’re a consequence of an action. A fact of life.” Or in her case, combining her egg with her husband’s sperm in a petri dish. In vitro fertilization was the miracle that had produced her fact of life.

“You’re splitting hairs. I don’t want them to do the same things I did. And now I find this.”

“You were right when you said I’ve had no experience in this area. But you’re obviously upset and I feel compelled to offer something. If Kendra is pregnant, it would be an experience that will take her down a different path. It doesn’t have to mean failure for either of you.”

“Hold on—”

“Think about it,” she interrupted. “Can you honestly tell me you can imagine your life without your children in it?”

Hostility crackled in the air between them. Then the corners of his mouth curved up. “Actually, yes. I’ve been imagining Kendra going off to college.”

“She’ll still be in your life,” Thea pointed out.

“I was kidding. She thinks I’m against junior college. Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about her going away. You’re right. I can’t imagine never having my girls. They’re my reason for getting out of bed every day and putting one foot in front of the other.”

Boy, in her current condition, she could really relate to that. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him about her pregnancy, to share it with him. To bond. But she swallowed the temptation.

“Look, Scott, has it occurred to you that the test might not even belong to her?”

His face brightened. “Actually, no.”

“You’re obviously a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy,” she said wryly. “It’s always possible that it belongs to a friend who didn’t want to take the test at her house. And Kendra was just being supportive.”

“Way to put a positive spin on this.”

His sudden smile had a very weird effect on her. She felt the force of it through her whole body. Her stomach dropped as if she were riding an elevator that suddenly plunged toward the basement. And her heart fluttered as if powered by a horde of humming birds’ wings.

“I’m a pro at spinning,” she finally managed to say.

“Spinning the facts?”

“No, actually. Salad spinning is more my style.”

“Thanks for the benefit of an alternate perspective.” He laughed. “But seriously, I’m sorry I dumped on you.”

“Like I could have stopped you.” She smiled.

“You could have left.”

“No, I really couldn’t. I’ve never met anyone who looked like they needed to talk more than you did today. And it is helpful, especially if somebody listens.”

“I don’t normally get carried away like that.”

“No problem. Don’t give it another thought.”

Thea sincerely meant that. She had a feeling Scott’s daughter was searching for an emotional something. And the pregnancy test was troubling. She was aware that the girl had reached out to her, even if it was behind her father’s back. Obviously her graduation party was a big deal to Kendra and for some reason she couldn’t tell her father.

“But do me a favor, Scott.”

“Sure. What?”

“Just keep in mind that some girls confuse—”

The garage door slammed just before Kendra walked into the family room. She looked at the two of them. “Hi, Thea.”

Scott felt the hostility radiating from his daughter. Even if he hadn’t, he wasn’t ready for the conversation he knew he had to have with her. “How is Zoe?”

“She wasn’t home.” She glared at him. “How come you’re still here?”

Talking to Thea had begun to calm him down, but he could feel his blood pressure climbing again. He glanced at Thea and saw the sympathy on her face as she quietly watched Kendra.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

Kendra lifted one shoulder. The sullen gesture was one he saw from time to time and it never failed to fire up his frustration. “You’re selling the house,” she said. “Your work here is done. I figured you’d go back to the office.”

He picked up the pregnancy test stick and held it up. “Not after I found this.”

Kendra’s eyes grew wide. Then surprise was replaced with angry resentment. “You were snooping in my stuff?”

“If you call dumping the trash in your bathroom snooping—yes.”

Thea picked up her purse. “Scott. Kendra. You two need to talk. It would probably be best if I leave you alone.”

“Don’t go,” Kendra said. “I want you to stay.”

“But, this is private.” Thea took a step back.

“Not anymore. Thanks to my Dad.”

“Don’t make this about me,” he defended. “If you straightened up after yourself, I’d never have known. Your room—”

“You were in my room?” Her voice rose in pitch to just below what only a dog could hear.

“Yes. And you know why.”

“To sell it.” Kendra huffed out a breath.

“It’s part of the house.”

“I can’t believe you let strangers in my room.”

Thea cleared her throat and slid her purse on her shoulder. “I’ll just get my things together.”

“Please don’t go,” Kendra begged. “I didn’t mean you’re a stranger.”

But she was. Practically. Scott looked between the two of them. “Why is it so important for her to stay?”

“Neutral third party,” his daughter said, tossing a strand of hair over her shoulder. “I need a witness.”

Scott looked at his daughter, the dark hair and blue eyes that were so like his. Maybe that’s what scared him the most—that she was so much like him. A little rebellious. A little daring. Hostile and angry. The thought of her making the same mistakes and living with the consequences tied him in knots. He wanted her to have more choices, fewer problems. Hell, he wanted her life to be perfect, however unrealistic that was. How did he get through to her?

He looked at Thea, who was studying him. If it would help Kendra, he had no objection to Thea sticking around. After spilling his guts, there wasn’t a whole lot she didn’t know. He nodded slightly and she took her purse off her shoulder.

“Now, forget about the house,” he said, glancing at the pregnancy test. “There’s something more important we have to focus on.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I disagree,” he shot back. “I’m your father. If you’re having sex—”

“I don’t want to talk to you about this.”

“I don’t care. Are you pregnant?” he demanded.

“That’s none of your business,” she said angrily.

“The hell it’s not. You’re my daughter.”

“An accident of birth doesn’t give you the right to tell me what to do.”

“Actually it does. And another reason I can is that I pay all the bills around here.”

“There won’t be an ‘around here’ much longer, thanks to you,” she said.

He glanced at Thea, who was diplomatically silent. Then he met his daughter’s angry gaze. “It’s not going to work.”

“What?” she asked defiantly.

“You’re trying to take the heat off by changing the subject.”

“And you don’t give a damn about my feelings.”

“If you’re talking about the house again, I’m not going there.” He took a step forward. “Focus, Kendra. That pregnancy test tells me you’re having sex. I need to know if you’re going to have a baby and who the father is.”

Like heat rising from blacktop, animosity rolled off the teen in waves. “I can’t believe you. For the last eighteen years, you’ve practically ignored me. I’m eighteen. I’m an adult, too old for you to interfere in my life.”

“You’ll never be too old. And I’ll always be your father. It’s my job to interfere.”

“Why can’t you just leave this alone? Leave me alone?”

Scott felt frustration and anger coiling inside him, but struggled to control the feelings. Before he could, she turned and ran from the room. “Kendra? Come back here,” he shouted.

The stomping on the stairs was a good indication that she planned to ignore him. He started to go after her.

“Scott?”

He felt a hand on his arm and looked at Thea. “What?”

“It might be best to let her go.”

“But I have to know.”

Thea’s brown eyes were warm with sympathy. “And she’ll just continue to stonewall you if you charge after her.”

“So? I’ll wear her down.”

Thea shook her head. “Not in her present state of mind, you won’t. You can talk, but you can’t force her to reveal anything.”

When she removed her hand from his arm, he missed the warmth of her fingers. “Do you have a suggestion?”

“Yes.”

“Care to share?”

She nodded. “Give her some space. Let her calm down. You might want to do the same.”

“I am calm.”

“Oh?” Thea blinked up at him and then she smiled.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You’re stretched so tight, if you were a rubber band and let go, you’d put someone’s eye out.”

He released a long breath. “Okay. Maybe you’re right.” He stared at the doorway where his daughter had stood moments before. “But I don’t get it. What was all that about ignoring her for eighteen years?”

“I don’t know,” Thea said.

“Maybe this is payback.”

“For what? Being a good father?”

He looked at her. “For how I felt when I first found out my wife was pregnant again. But when I saw Kendra for the first time…” He searched for words to express the power of his emotions and couldn’t find any. “It was love at first sight,” he finally said.

“Have you ever told her that?”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Under the circumstances, she might have some unresolved feelings,” Thea suggested. “Some girls confuse sex and love.”

“Are you saying she’s looking for love in all the wrong places because she thinks I don’t care about her?”

“I have no idea.” She sighed. “I’m just the caterer. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m not sure there’s a parallel, but she contacted me to do her graduation party. And she didn’t tell you she was doing the party on that scale. I’m no shrink, but it’s obvious to me that she’s sending you some kind of message.”

“Can you decode it?”

“With my magic garlic press? Or maybe the decoder in my secret slotted spoon?” she asked, one corner of her full mouth tilting up.

“Okay. Stupid question. But you’re a woman. Do you have any thoughts about what she’s trying to say?”

“Yes.”

When she didn’t say anything further he added, “Any you’d care to share?”

“Do you really want me to? After all, I’ve never had any children,” she said pointedly.

“Okay. I deserve that for patronizing you. But I’m desperate. Lady, I need all the help I can get. If you’ve got any ideas, I’m listening.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “I suggest you give her some time. When she’s ready to talk, you listen to her.”

“That’s it?”

She nodded, then said, “And one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Think about having the party, and not just an average backyard barbecue. Give some thought to doing it the way she wants it,” she added.

“Because you need the gig?”

She shook her head. “I don’t need the job badly enough to take advantage of your situation. If one job was that important, I wouldn’t be looking to take on a bigger house and mortgage.”

“Okay. Then why should I think about doing the shindig her way?”

“Because my impression is that she’s basically a good kid. And this was important enough to her to go behind your back.”

“So you’re saying I should reward her bad behavior?”

She thought for a moment and then said, “Think of it as hearing her cry for help. If she knows you’re listening instead of lecturing, she’s more likely to tell you what you want to know.”

“How can I just listen when I need to make her understand that if she’s not careful, she could ruin her life?”

“If I could answer that question, I’d be a financially independent woman.” Thea shrugged and smiled a little sadly. “Goodbye, Scott. Good luck,” she added.

It was odd, but when he’d found her in his kitchen, he’d been irritated. Watching her leave irritated him even more. And the implications of that didn’t sweeten his temper.

Chapter Three

The following morning Thea parked her car in front of her office, then went to let herself in. She found the door was unlocked, which meant her workaholic partner was already there.

“Connie?” she called out, setting her purse and briefcase on her desk.

“Back here,” came the reply.

She’d been best friends with Connie Howard since the seventh grade. They’d gone through everything together—their weddings, the birth of her friend’s two children and the death of Thea’s husband. She would have gotten through it without Connie, but probably not with her sanity intact.