The Other Woman

She noted his earnest expression. “I believe you. I’m just scared,” she admitted. She was putting everything she had into the shop—all her money, her hopes, her dreams.

“It’ll be okay,” he promised.

There was a time when Keith’s words would have encouraged her. But her trust in him had been destroyed when Isaac had revealed his infidelity.

She nodded, but he still held her arm. “There’s something else,” he said.

“What?”

“When you first came in here, I thought…Well, since you haven’t mentioned it, I’m guessing you don’t know.”

The seriousness of his tone made her leery. “What?” she repeated.

“Your father’s in town.”

“No!” The word came out far too loudly. Ollie frowned at the two of them, but Keith ignored his employer.

“Yes. I ran into him at the gas station on my way to work. He looked a bit rumpled around the edges, as though he’d driven all night, but it was definitely the man I’ve seen in your childhood scrapbooks. I spoke with him briefly and tried calling you afterward, but no one answered.”

“I was at the shop,” she said numbly.

“I went by there.”

“Then I must’ve been at your parents’ house, dropping off the kids.”

“I figured you were in transit. And since you don’t have a cell phone…”

Cellular coverage had improved to the point where people in Dundee could now get service. But local reception wasn’t the best, and Liz couldn’t afford it. Keith didn’t have a cell phone, either. Since he’d left Softscape, they’d both been forced to tighten their budgets.

She blinked, wondering how she could even be thinking about cell phones.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, trying to dispel the shock. “What does he want?”

“You haven’t talked to him recently?”

She shook her head. The past two Christmases, she’d sent her father a card containing a few photos of the kids. In more than ten years, that was the extent of their contact.

“That would explain why he didn’t know we were divorced.” A muscle flexed in Keith’s cheek. “It was pretty damned embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?”

Regret filled his eyes. “Right before we got married, I called to see if he’d meet us in Vegas. He gave me some flimsy excuse, which made me mad, so I told him not to bother. I said you didn’t need a bastard like him, that I’d take care of you.” An uncomfortable-looking shrug followed this admission. Keith didn’t spell it out, but Liz knew what he was thinking. When he’d spoken to her father, he’d already been married to Reenie. It had only been a matter of time before he’d broken both their hearts.

But another thought surfaced on the heels of the previous realization. Was the way her father had responded part of the reason Keith had gone ahead with the marriage? In addition to the fact that she’d been pregnant with Mica? “You never told me you were going to call him,” she said.

“After I’d spoken to him, I was glad I hadn’t told you.”

The heat of the day seemed to grow worse, become stifling. A large fan whirred in the corner, but Ollie was too conservative to use an air conditioner in May. “What does he want?” she asked, wondering why her father’s actions still hurt so badly.

“He and Luanna have split up.”

Liz’s heart leaped into her throat. How many times had she prayed that her father would separate from the woman who’d made her life so miserable? How many times had she dreamed of reclaiming his love and approval?

“Is he here to see me or Isaac?” she asked.

“I’m guessing he wants to see both of you. Who else does he have, now that Luanna’s out of the picture?”

There was Luanna’s son, Marty, but he was Liz’s age and on his own. Liz couldn’t imagine her father being attached to him. Luanna had spoiled Marty so terribly that hardly anyone could stand him. But maybe he’d changed. Liz couldn’t say for sure what kind of man he’d turned out to be. She hadn’t been in touch with him either since she’d run away.

“Liz…”

She lifted her eyes to his. “What?”

He sighed. “You look devastated.”

“I’m fine.” After all, she’d had eighteen months to recover from the previous blow.

“You’re not fine.” Gently tugging her up against his chest, he kissed her head. Liz would have resisted, as she always did these days, but she wasn’t thinking straight. The news he’d just delivered felt like a knockout punch.

Keith smelled good. Familiar. Comfortable. Not so long ago, he’d meant the world to her. Certainly one moment in his arms wouldn’t hurt. Resting her head against his shoulder, she tried to decide what to do about her father.

“I know you’re under a lot of pressure right now, and you don’t need this.” Keith’s hands caressed her back, reassuring her with their strength.

Liz knew Ollie was watching, and that word of the embrace would probably spread. But she stayed where she was, too shocked to pull away.

“Do you want me to ask him to leave town?” Keith asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because it was no longer Keith’s responsibility. He had no right. “I’m sure Isaac will take care of that,” Liz said. Her brother felt angrier toward their father than she did, even though Luanna had treated Isaac much better. His presence in the house hadn’t threatened Luanna in the way that Liz’s presence had.

“I wonder what happened to their marriage,” she said, still trying to come to terms with her father’s sudden appearance in Dundee.

“He said he got tired of Luanna’s bullshit. But—” Keith brought her chin up “—I got the impression it was Luanna who left.”

The sting of this particular detail surprised Liz. Had she hoped, after all these years, that her father had finally come to his senses?

What did it matter? It was too late, anyway. The girl who’d needed him so badly was an adult, now.

Straightening up, she disengaged herself from her ex-husband’s embrace. “So he’s here because he has no better place to go.”

Keith’s sympathy reminded Liz that he wasn’t quite as bad as she sometimes liked to tell herself he was. “I’m sorry, babe,” he said.

She smiled sadly and said, “Thanks. But don’t call me babe, okay?” Then she forced her feet to carry her out into the dazzling sunshine.