It Takes Three

“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?”