The Second Family

Tess was tidying up things at the kitchen counter and, in spite of dark circles beneath her eyes, gave him what could have passed for a friendly greeting in the real world. A spark of indignation fired deep inside Alec as he wondered if her improved mood had anything to do with the fact that they’d all be out of her life in a few short hours. Or maybe he was ticked off because the greeting wasn’t quite as friendly as he’d have liked it. He dismissed the notion at once. Wanting to establish a warmer relationship with the woman was natural, given his objective of bringing her around to taking the kids. It was just that a small part of him—a part he was unable to ignore the more he was in Tess’s presence—wanted her to like him.

“Hi,” she said. “We had cereal, but it was first thing this morning.”

Alec set the purchases down on the counter and looked across the room at the two kids, huddled together on the couch. Molly was sucking her thumb and Nick looked as though he’d been up most of the night. He glanced back at Tess. Matter of fact, they all did.

“What’s happening here? You all look like zombies.”

Tess managed a wan smile. “We didn’t get much sleep.”

He frowned, but waited for her to continue.

“Molly had a nightmare and Nick spent a long time getting her back to sleep.”

Alec wondered what Molly would do when Nick wasn’t around. Resisting the thought, he shoved it aside at once. Part of him wanted to blame Tess, who stood there, calm and detached. As if she didn’t hold the solution to all their problems. But he knew that was unfair. She’d made a successful life for herself and, even though it wasn’t one he envied in any way, he couldn’t fault her for being reluctant to change it. Still…

“These look good,” Tess said, opening the box of doughnuts.

Alec bet she’d never tasted one. He watched her plop one on a plate, lick her fingers and pick up one of the coffees.

“Thanks for the treats,” she said and wandered to the easy chair. “Better get one before I eat them all,” she warned the kids. They stared at her with the same openmouthed surprise that Alec had. “I don’t always eat granola,” she said by way of explanation.

Molly was the first to bounce up and run to the counter. Alec second-guessed her request for juice and poured a glass. Nick was a bit slower rising to the bait, suspecting what the treats were all about, but eventually sauntered to the counter and deposited two doughnuts on his plate.

“Hey!” Molly gave a weak protest, not really minding.

“Growing boy,” Alec said and winked at Nick, provoking a semblance of a smile. He retrieved his own coffee and perched on a bar stool with it.

“No doughnut?” Tess commented.

“Have to watch my waistline,” he said, suppressing a grin at her chagrined expression. So, she’d taken one to be a good sport. Great show of unanimity, he thought, even if it was completely meaningless.

He sipped slowly on his coffee, trying not to be too obvious about his study of her. She was a ringer for Molly, but her skin coloring was paler. Molly had inherited her Italian mother’s olive tones while Nick, with his father’s paler skin and mother’s chestnut hair, was a different blend. He wondered if Tess’s iron will and fierce determination was from her father or her mother. Whatever, he just hoped she could be bent.

When everyone had finished eating, Alec got off the stool and said, “How would you two like to go down to the lakeshore, check out the park?”

“We went there yesterday,” Nick said. The look in his face defied a suggestion to return.

Alec shrugged. “Okay. What about a movie?”

“At ten in the morning?”

Alec figured the kid was doing his best to rein in his attitude. He had guessed where Alec was going with this and wanted none of it. No amount of entertainment and junk food could make up for the hard fact that he and Molly were heading back home—mission unaccomplished.

“What time does your flight leave?”

Startled, Alec turned sharply toward Tess. Jeez. Did she have to be so blunt about it? No subtle whisper to him when they were alone?

All eyes in the room were riveted on her face. At least, Alec noticed, she had the grace to seem embarrassed.

“Because I—I’ve been thinking maybe I should go back with you. Just, you know, to make sure the kids are settled and check out this Jed Walker. Make sure he’s doing right by the kids.” Flushing, she stared down into her coffee cup.

Alec was speechless. He tried to process what she’d said. Not a commitment to anything, that was for certain. He wondered what had made her change her mind. Whatever it had been, luck was now on his side. The door had opened a crack and she’d stuck her foot through. And he’d do his damnedest to make sure the door was wide-open very soon.

Molly was thrilled, unaware of the nuances of what Tess had said. “I can show you my room and my pet hamster.”

Nick was more doubtful. “How do you know you can get a flight?’ he asked.

“I can try.” She looked over at Alec.

“I’ll call the airline right away,” he said before she could change her mind. Fifteen minutes later, thanks to a last-minute cancellation, she was confirmed. “We should be at the airport by two, at the latest,” he said.

She rose from her chair. “Then I’d better get busy with the phone calls I need to make.”

But she stood there, as if the reality of what she’d promised had just hit home. Alec quickly filled in the gap. “Guys, how about if we go for a walk while Tess makes her phone calls and gets ready?”

Molly skipped around the room while Nick, feigning indifference, shuffled toward the door.

Alec couldn’t blame him for being skeptical about the whole thing, but the kid didn’t realize what an opportunity Tess had given them. All they had to do now was to persuade her—somehow—to stay in Boulder. Not an impossible task, Alec decided. But, surveying the upscale loft that represented her success as he joined Molly and Nick at the door, definitely a challenging one.

AS SOON AS the door closed behind them, Tess sank back into the chair and trembled all over. The emotional drain of last night had ceded, and she couldn’t help thinking that she could just as easily have made a different decision. She could have simply accompanied them to the airport and waved a goodbye with promises to visit soon. In time, she knew that squirm of guilt inside would have disappeared and she could resume her normal life again with a vow to keep in touch.

She’d made her move—no turning back now. She decided that she’d make it clear from the start that her trip to Colorado was only a visit, to ensure the children were dealt with fairly by the lawyer and the authorities. And surely there must be one family in all of Boulder willing to foster two children!

She got up and headed for her computer to e-mail Carrie, but realized a phone call would be necessary after all so that Carrie could reschedule an early Monday meeting. She started the conversation off with an apology for calling on a Sunday afternoon, then explained what she’d decided to do.

“No kidding,” Carrie kept saying until Tess’s teeth ached from clenching.

When Tess had eventually finished what she’d chosen as her official story—estranged father dead, leaving behind two children who were her half siblings—Carrie had jumped to the ending. “So instead of going on a cruise next week, you’re heading for Denver?”

“Something like that, assuming my vacation leave is still valid.”

“It is unless you canceled it when you canceled the cruise.”

She hadn’t. Was that an intentional oversight on her part? An unconscious desire to get away, if not with Doug Reed, then by herself?

After Tess relayed the rest of her requests, Carrie asked, “Will you be in Colorado the whole two weeks of your vacation?”

“Heavens, no. I hope to finish what I have to do in less than a week.”

There was a slight pause before Carrie asked, “And will you be bringing the kids back here to Chicago?”

Tess closed her eyes. She hadn’t come up with an official story for this part. “I really don’t know how it’s going to play out at this stage,” she said.

“Yeah?” Carrie’s voice was full of disbelief. “But obviously you’re their next of kin so…”

“It’s not that simple, Carrie,” Tess snapped back. “Look, I’ve got to go now. You can get hold of me on my cell phone if you need to.”

“Sure, Tess. Say hi to the kids for me and have a good trip.”

Tess hung up, drained from the questions that she knew were merely a beginning. She decided not to phone Mavis until her answers were more practiced. Mavis would be a tougher interrogator. Instead, she finished other calls, leaving messages to cancel a dental appointment and reschedule a massage, which she figured she’d need once she returned from Colorado. Then she tidied up and did a load of laundry. When the buzzer rang she was finally on the phone with Mavis, who had just returned from her visit to Sophie.

“Hold on, Mavis. They’re back—I’ll just buzz them in.” Tess muttered on her way to the intercom. She’d hoped to have the call with Mavis finished. When she returned to the phone, she said, “Look, can I call you when I get there? I’ll know more by then what’s going on.”

“But, Tess love, what’s going to happen to the wee ones?”

A vision of Nick came to mind. “They’re not so wee, Mavis. At least, Nick isn’t. He’s just turned thirteen and looks as though he’ll be tall.”

“Like your father.”

“Yes, I suppose. At any rate, I’ll see if they can be fostered out to the same family. This Alec Malone said—”

“Tess! What’s this talk about fostering? You’re the next of kin. I don’t understand why you’re blathering on about settling them in and so on. You should be going there to pack them all up and bring them back to Chicago.”

“To stay where?”

A slight hesitation. “If not with you, then—”

“Mavis, please. Be realistic. There’s no way you could manage. Not that I don’t appreciate your offer but—”

“Well, I was going to say you could all move in with me. Sell off that pricey condo and live mortgage free. You’ll be inheriting my house, anyway.”

Tess closed her eyes. God, this was getting complicated. “Mavis, I don’t want a commute every day. You know my hours. That’s why I decided to live close to downtown in the first place. And this place isn’t appropriate for children.”

There was a heavy sigh from the other end. “Sounds to me like you’re trying to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing here, Tess.”

“I am doing the right thing.”

Another sigh. “Not by a long shot, my girl. But hopefully you’ll work that out once you get to Colorado.”

Tess recognized an impasse when she saw one. There was no way that Mavis would see her side of it. She was too old-fashioned and had never understood the importance of a career to Tess. “As I said, I’ll call you when I get there—let you know where I’m staying.”

“You do that, love. And Tess?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be so quick to write those kiddies out of your life. They may be just what you’ve been looking for.”

“What I’ve been looking for? Two children? Hardly.”

“Not just two children. Your brother and sister.” She paused. “A family.”

Tess set the receiver down as the others walked through the door. Mavis’s parting words were still screaming in her head. Perhaps she had wanted a family years ago, when she could have still benefited from one. But not anymore.

Alec must have sensed something when he saw her because the first thing he said was, “Everything all right?”

“Of course,” Tess replied and got up to take her laundry out of the dryer. Molly watched her open the door to the compact cupboard that contained her apartment-size combination washer and dryer.

“Cool,” she said. “I was wondering what was in that closet.”

Alec laughed. “Didn’t you think to look?”

“Oh, no,” Molly said. “It would have been rude.”

Tess smiled, her gaze meeting Alec’s for a few seconds longer than she’d expected. It was Nick’s snicker at Molly that brought her back to task.

“All right then,” she said, quickly changing the topic before Nick set off Molly. “Alec, why don’t you get some cold cuts and bread out for a lunch while I finish packing?”

She saw at once from his expression that he was pleased at the way she’d diverted a potential quarrel and gave herself a mental pat on the back. She’d had lots of experience at steering clear of hot topics and deflecting hostile attitudes in business dealings. How much more difficult could it be managing children?

TESS WAS FORCED to rethink that question once they were settling into seats on the plane. Both children wanted a window seat, which might have worked if all four were sitting together. But Tess was seated way at the back in the center while the others were in a row of three seats on the side. Fortunately, that left Alec to settle the seating dispute. She contentedly leafed through a magazine until a flight attendant came by after the plane had finished climbing to its cruise altitude and asked if she’d like to join her family.

Tess shot her a blank look before noticing that Alec was craning his head to the back of the plane.

“Your husband said you might like to join them and we’ve got a no-show in the row behind. I think with some rearranging we can seat two of you in one row and two behind. Would that be all right?”

“Uh, sure.” Tess followed the hostess to the front of the plane. As she took the seat next to Alec, Tess flushed when the hostess said, “We can’t have a family separated like that.”

Molly swiveled round to flash a quick grin at Tess before getting back to her crayons and coloring book while Nick, plugged in to the audio system, didn’t even notice she’d moved.

“When I found out there was a vacant seat in this row, I asked if you could move up. Hope you don’t mind.”

Tess, certain the reference to husband had been an assumption of the flight attendant’s, said, “No, no. I hate the claustrophobic feel of the center section anyway.”

“Me, too. My knees seem to be propping up my chin whenever I get stuck there.”

Conversation stopped there as drinks and snacks were served. Their seats were so close Tess figured she might as well have been sitting on his lap. His thigh pressed against hers and every time she went to lean on the armrest, his arm was already there. What bothered her the most, she hated to admit, was the unexpected tingling sensation that shot down her arm when her hand accidentally landed on top of his.

Until now, interaction between them had been confrontational and the almost intimate proximity was suddenly stifling. Tess had never been good at small talk so she was relieved when he didn’t seem bothered by the silence.

But when the snack trays were removed, he turned his head toward her and asked, “This may seem too personal, but is there a man in your life right now?”

Tess stared at him, not sure at first what he was saying. Then she felt heat rising up into her face. “You’re right, it is. Why do you ask?”

“Sorry to be blunt, but it may be important should you—” he lowered his voice “—decide to apply for legal guardianship.”

Her first reaction was to check if the children had heard. Then she hissed, “I hardly think this is the time or place to be having this conversation.”

He had the grace to redden. “You’re right. Sorry. I guess I’m just trying to find out if there’s any chance at all—”

“I made it clear why I was coming. To see that they’re settled.”

He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. After a moment, he turned to her and said, “We’ll be seeing a lot of one another over the next few days and it makes sense for us to be as amicable as possible with each other. Doesn’t it? Even if we’re both coming at this problem from totally different perspectives?”

“Fine…Alec.” Tess raised her tray and rummaged in her handbag for the paperback she’d brought to read on the plane. After reading the first sentence three times, she gave up. Swiveling her head back to him, she added, “For your information—not that it’s relevant—there is someone in my life and I was supposed to be going on a cruise with him this very week.”

“Oh…well…sorry, I guess this has altered your plans slightly.”

“Slightly,” she repeated with emphasis. The fact that she was misleading him nagged for only a second. And the arrival of Nick and Molly certainly had altered her plans! Plus, there was always the remote possibility that she and Doug might get back together again…someday.

“So this guy you’re seeing—what did he say when you told him about Nick and Molly?”

Tess stared down at the novel on her lap. “I haven’t told him yet. He’s been busy and we haven’t had a chance to talk.” She could feel his eyes boring through the side of her face, but didn’t have the courage to turn his way.

Finally he said, “Sounds as though your relationship might not be the type to accommodate a couple of youngsters.”

That really got to her. “What gives you the right to draw inferences about my personal life?”

“Sorry again. I just keep puttin’ my foot in, don’t I?”

If his grin was meant to disarm, it failed. “You’re no backwoods hick. Please don’t insult my intelligence by pretending to be.”

That got to him, she noticed with some triumph. Instant sobriety fell over his face like steel mesh. When his eyes flicked back to her, Tess saw by their expression that she’d pushed him further than she’d intended.

“My job is to ensure that those two kids are safe, healthy and reasonably happy. It’s a tall order, given their circumstances. If you can’t grasp the inarguable fact that you’re their best option here, then…I’m sorry.” His eyes swept over her, dismissively. As if she were some kind of strange and repulsive insect. “So,” he went on, “we’ll agree not to discuss this again until you’ve had a chance to check things out for yourself. Okay?”

Feeling suddenly graceless, she could only shrug, wondering how she always ended up faring so badly in their talks. He turned his head aside to peer out the window, then suddenly swung back to her.

“One last thing. I’m curious—did you have a chance to talk to Nick about your father?”

Blood roared into her head. Her tongue flapped uselessly against the palate of her dry mouth. Tess was certain her eyes were going to eject from their orbs.

But the expression in his own face was inscrutable. After the slightest pause, he murmured, “I didn’t think so,” and shifted his gaze back to the window.

Tess waited until the pounding against her rib cage eased up before silently slipping out of her seat and making her way to the washroom. When she bolted the door behind her, she plunked onto the seat and burst into tears.

HE ALMOST EXTENDED an arm to stop her and apologize again for behaving like such an insensitive jerk. But his anger hadn’t subsided enough and besides, he knew he’d crossed into the kind of territory where apologies counted for little. The problem was, she was in denial about everything. And Alec knew from hard experience that you didn’t reach people in that state with kid gloves. Usually they needed a jolt. Like dumping a bucket of cold water over the head. He figured he’d just done that—figuratively—to Tess Wheaton. His regret at having to do so was minimal compared to his worry about what was going to happen to Nick and Molly.

Nick unexpectedly craned his head around from the seat ahead. His earphones were still clamped on but Alec hoped the kid hadn’t been tracking their conversation. He managed a smile and gave Nick a thumbs-up sign. The boy responded with a wobbly grin, confirming Alec’s suspicion that he probably had picked up some of what had been going on behind him.

He sighed, knowing that the quarrel had been more his fault than Tess’s. If only he could learn to be more subtle. Surely he could have extracted all the information he wanted from her without raising hackles. If he’d taken the time to cultivate her, he might even have brought her round to at least acknowledging another point of view. Malone closed his eyes and sank back against the headrest. It all boiled down to time—and there just wasn’t enough of it.

TESS PEERED OUT the window at the desolate terrain below. At least, to a big-city resident, what appeared empty, vast and very brown countryside. According to the pilot, they’d be landing at Denver International Airport in fifteen minutes. Could have fooled me, she thought. I don’t even see a city down there, much less the state capitol. Just a featureless landscape patchworked by peculiar dark-green circles and squares.

When she’d finally returned to their seats, she saw with relief that there had been a change. Nick was sitting with Alec and the window seat next to Molly was waiting for her. Molly gave an excited wave, which made Tess feel even more miserable.

“You were gone a long time,” the little girl said. “I was worried. Nick wanted to talk to Alec and I was going to take the window seat ’cause it was my turn, but I thought you might want it ’cause you’ve never been to Denver before.” Taking a quick gulp of air, Molly added, “Have you?”

Tess shook her head and smiled. “Thank you.” When she settled in, the seat belt warning flashed. She helped Molly buckle up and then surveyed the place she planned to visit for the next few days. Not exactly the Caribbean, she was thinking.

Okay, get real, Tess. You weren’t going on that cruise anyway. As for Doug…he hasn’t garnered a second’s thought since you saw him at work on Friday. Two days ago. God. Seems more like a week. Or a lifetime.

“Tess?”

“Hmm?” Tess turned from the window to Molly.

“We’ll all be staying at our house, won’t we?”

“Our house?” Tess drew a blank, then caught her drift just as Molly was explaining.

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