Man Of The Family

“She’s a bright girl who isn’t living up to her potential.” Bron rummaged on the floor and came up with a wrinkled paper. “This is her essay. Four incomplete sentences, eight grammatical errors, a brown smudge from what was probably chocolate milk...and virtually zero content. She didn’t even address the assigned topic.”

Sunny scanned the sheet. “Not a lot of effort went into this. Obviously.”

“Which seems to be Mandi’s habit these days.” Bron sighed. “Just when I’ve gotten the opportunity to spend more time with her, help her adjust... I can’t seem to get through.” She looked away. “I practically bludgeoned Griffin to move to Florida. And now my once-adorable niece has turned into someone I don’t even recognize.”

“I’m sure you didn’t make Griffin move. He doesn’t seem that easy to convince.”

Bron arched a brow. “Ah. You did speak to him about her.”

“Twice.” Sunny took a deep breath and told Bron about their conversations. Then she shook her head. “At his apartment he refused to hold Amanda accountable. And this morning he actually apologized for her.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. I warned you. Griffin’s not sure how to handle her, and then there’s Josh. He’s always been shy, but since Rachel disappeared, I think he’s afraid his father will, too. He’s pretty anxious.”

Sunny’s heart melted. “He was the cutest ring bearer at your wedding,” she said. “His anxiety isn’t abnormal—from the kids I’ve seen in similar situations—but why doesn’t Griffin get counseling? For all of them?”

“He did, for a while. Then Mandi refused to go, and Josh started wetting his pants before each appointment, and, well, they stopped going.”

“A man in denial if ever I’ve seen one,” Sunny said. “Takes one to know one, I guess. I’ve been a mess since Nate told me he wanted a divorce. Now I’m avoiding him, so we don’t have to talk about selling our apartment.”

Bron touched her arm. “Griffin doesn’t have the market cornered on the hard stuff, does he?” After a moment she went on, “But he’ll have to face facts sooner or later. His kids are troubled, and no amount of pretending they aren’t will make it better.”

“Then you agree with me about Amanda.”

“I wish I didn’t have to—but taking your watch was a definite signal that she needs help.” She gazed off into the distance. “Maybe you can talk to Griffin again at the cookout. I’m not sure we’ll be there,” she added.

“When has Chris ever missed our father’s barbecued ribs?”

Bron only half smiled. “Never. But there’s always a first time.”

Belatedly, Sunny realized that Bron’s smiles had been less than genuine, and her eyes held a worry that should have registered before.

“Trouble?” she asked, tilting her head to look into Bron’s downcast gaze.

She stuffed Amanda’s wrinkled essay back into her bag. “Chris is jealous,” she said, “of the time I spend with my girlfriends. It’s upsetting things at home.”

Sunny’s spirits plummeted. “He’s probably just upset about how the fish are running this month.”

“He always tells me everything’s great,” Bron said, “but you’re right.” She smiled weakly. “This being married stuff isn’t easy.”

Sunny arched an eyebrow. “When Nate and I were first married, we fought like tigers. You and Chris will work it out,” she said, needing to believe that.

“Why couldn’t you?”

Sunny had wondered the same thing many times in the past months.

“We were too different in the end, I guess. We drifted apart in the past few years, and Nate...fell out of love with me.”

Bron hesitated. “You think there’s someone else?”

“That’s the classic reason, but I don’t think so—not that I need to know. How’s that for denial?” She paused for a moment and reconsidered. “No, I think I’m well into the anger stage now.” She told Bron about Nate’s phone calls, the ones she never answered. “I’m not going to help him get over whatever guilt he may feel.”

“Maybe he wants you to come back,” Bron suggested.

“And maybe he doesn’t,” Sunny replied.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_5bce4b53-f88e-5b99-93d4-183c9796da2b)

“I WANT to go to the cookout!” Josh shouted, his face screwed up tight. Red spots stood out on his cheeks like a case of measles. “I wanna see Grandpa Jack!”

“Joshua, we’re staying home today.” Griffin tried again, using his best parent-in-control voice. Apparently his message wasn’t getting through, and he felt his patience begin to fray like his nerves. “Maybe we can visit next weeken—”

“No! I need to go now!”

Griffin didn’t know what else to say. With Amanda this would be par for the course, but she had stayed out of the line of fire and was talking to Dixie in her room. He could hear the low, long-suffering tone she always used.

“Josh, this isn’t a good time,” he said. No way would Griffin put himself in Sunny Donovan’s sights again. Before he saw her, if he ever saw her, he had to get Amanda to tell him the truth about the stolen watch. Sunny’s unwanted advice still rang in his ears, but since Josh had melted down in the car, his son was uppermost in his mind.

Strike two, he thought. Obviously relying on Josh to stay cute and easy to handle hadn’t worked out that well.

“This is a good time for me,” Josh insisted. “Grandpa Jack’s waiting. He said we can play horseshoes today, and I’m gonna win.” He paused. “We’ll make a bet.”

Josh didn’t even know what a bet was. “Where did you hear that?”

“From Mandi. She says Grandpa Jack will pay me when I win.”

“Great,” Griffin murmured. Talk about unasked-for advice. “The way things are going, Amanda will have you playing poker in some casino before you’re ten years old.” Not likely but still, she was a bad influence these days, as if she wanted to get Josh in trouble. “Remember how your sister’s ‘help’ turned out last time?”

Josh gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look. “I don’t ’member.”

“Yes, you do, Josh. She told you to ‘clean’ your plate—on to the floor. Did you really think I wouldn’t see the mess?”

Josh’s mouth set. “I don’t like that hamburger stuff you make.”

The one-pot meat and noodles meal was one of Griffin’s best efforts, his version of goulash.

“Well, that’s what we had for dinner,” he said. “I’m not a short-order cook. What you see in front of you is what you get that night. And I expect you to finish.”

For that he got a mutinous glare. Too bad. The counselor had told him that maintaining authority was always a good choice. “Amanda is already testing me at every opportunity. You need limits, too.” And until now Josh had observed them.

“At Grandma Kate’s I can eat anything I want. That’s what she told me,” he added with a nod. “And if it rains and thunders, I don’t have to be outside.”

“That may be. But we’re still staying home.” He paused. “You won’t have to be outdoors in the rain here, either. I promise.”

In a flash Josh’s scowl dominated his face. He took a single step toward the hallway to his room—his usual destination when he lost an argument—then stopped. His body vibrating with anger, he turned. His cheeks were purple now.

“I don’t like you! You’re mean!” he yelled.

The words hit Griffin right in the chest. He inhaled sharply, but before he got the chance to exhale—and try to calm himself—Amanda appeared. She didn’t even recoil when Josh stomped past her, bumping her side.