Stonehill series collect.., p.72
Stonehill Series Collection, page 72
Phil seemed to have overheard at least a part of the conversation he’d interrupted. He had an air of disapproval on his face as he drew his mouth tight and lifted his brows at his daughter. “Hey, Punk.”
“Did you remember to use a paper towel to open the bathroom door so you don’t get germs on your fingers?”
He nodded. “I did. Thanks for checking.”
Jessica returned her attention to Mallory. “Some people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom, so you should always use a paper towel or your sleeve to open the bathroom door.”
“Good tip. Thanks.” Mallory tried to hide her smile but figured her amusement was out there for the world to see. Jessica’s father, on the other hand, still didn’t appear amused. “Hi, Phil. How are you?” Mallory asked to rescue the girl from his scowl.
He stared, as if not quite sure who she was. Most people who knew Annie immediately recognized Mal as the woman’s offspring. From her straight blond hair to her pointed nose and cool gray eyes, Mallory was practically identical to her mother.
“Mallory O’Connell. We met at my uncle Paul’s wedding. I’m Annie’s daughter.”
Recognition lit his eyes as he nodded. “Right. How’s your mom?”
“She’s okay. Getting better every day, so she says.”
“I was glad the guy pled so Annie didn’t have to go through the trial. My mom said she was really worried about having to testify.”
Yet another reason why Mallory had hated being away from home. Anticipating the trial had been nerve-racking for Annie and Marcus. Neither had wanted to relive the moment their lives had changed forever. They hadn’t said as much to her, though. Mallory heard from her uncles how choked up Annie still got talking about the moment a bullet ripped through her and how she didn’t seem willing to do that in front of the man who had hurt her. Her mother had reluctantly given a statement at the sentencing hearing and only because the prosecution insisted the judge needed to see firsthand how much damage had been done. Mallory knew that alone would have been stressful and was glad Annie hadn’t had to sit on the stand and answer detailed questions about the incident and her recovery.
Phil put his hands casually into his pockets. “I thought you were—”
“In California,” she finished. “Yes. I was. I just got back, actually.”
“For good or just visiting?”
“For good. I felt like a shi—” Her gaze darted to where Jessica was still peering over the booth, hanging on her every word. “Like a jerk not being here for Mom. I know she and Marcus can use my help right now. Even if they won’t admit it.”
He furrowed his thick brows as concern filled his dark eyes. Though Kara clearly impacted his taste in attire, his olive skin and dark features were all Harry Canton. “Is she really okay?”
“She doesn’t like when people feel sorry for her,” Jessica said. “If you feel sorry for her, she’s going to be mad at you.”
Jessica wasn’t wrong. Annie and Marcus both would be furious if they knew the real reason Mallory had given up her dream job and living in SoCal was that she felt so damned guilty living her own life that she couldn’t even sleep at night.
While Annie had been in the hospital recovering, she and Jessica bonded over their disabilities. Jessica had grown up dealing with pity, but that kind of attention was new to Annie, and she hadn’t handled it well. Kara had made an effort to bring Jessica around once she saw Annie interacting with the girl. Kara said one of Jessica’s natural talents was helping people who didn’t know they needed it. She was right. Without even being aware of what she was doing, Jessica was able to guide Annie to the inner strength she needed to stop being angry about her situation and to start recovering. The two had forged a strong bond, one that was evident in Jessica’s defense of Annie now.
“I’m not feeling sorry for her,” Mal said. “I just want to be here for her.”
Phil gestured to the table that Jessica hadn’t faced since Mallory sat down. “Finish your pancakes, Punk.”
Jessica huffed but turned and disappeared behind the booth.
Phil sank into the seat across from Mallory. The concern in his brown eyes was almost enough to make Mallory cry, though she didn’t understand why. She wasn’t the one who needed the help. She was the one who had come home to help.
“I know worrying and family go hand in hand,” Phil said, “but your mom really does seem to be doing okay. She and Marcus came to Jessica’s birthday party last weekend. She smiled and laughed and seemed to enjoy herself. Marcus had to help her a little bit, sure, but she really was okay.”
“Good to hear.”
Jenna set a cup of coffee in front of Mallory and smiled at the little face poking over the seat. “How are your pancakes, Miss Jess?”
“Fine,” Jessica said with a pout to her voice.
Mallory tried not to chuckle, but a giggle escaped. “Can I get some of those rainbow pancakes she was telling me about?” she asked to atone for the slip.
“The Jessica Special? Coming right up. Phil, you need anything?” She glanced between the two adults, clearly trying to gauge what was going on.
“No, thanks, Jen. I’m good.” Phil waited for Jenna to disappear before looking at Mallory again. “You didn’t answer me before—and feel free to tell me it’s none of my business—but is Annie okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. I mean, she’s not fine, she’s…got residual issues, but…” She laughed awkwardly. “She’s not in a coma anymore, right?” Her smile faded, and she sipped her coffee as he scrutinized her from across the table. Finally she set the cup down and fell back in the booth. “Sorry. I tend to make inappropriate jokes when I’m upset.”
“I don’t mean to upset you.”
She frowned as he gave her an encouraging smile. His mother had that same look. The one that made the words want to pour out of Mallory. When Annie was in the hospital and no one knew if she’d live, let alone recover, Kara had a way about her that made Mallory want to break down and let out some of her fear. She never had. She’d been too terrified that the reality of her mother’s condition would consume her. That fear still lingered in the back of her mind.
Even though Annie was on the road to recovery, she’d never be the same. Nothing would ever be the same. That was terrifying. Mallory had never let the horror of what she felt really touch her. She attributed that trait to Annie. The woman was stronger than granite. But even granite cracked sometimes, and the way Phil was looking at her now made Mallory want to crumble. He apparently practiced the same emotional voodoo as his mother.
Mallory took a deep breath to brace herself against his dark powers. “Mom’s probably handling her disabilities better than I am,” she confessed. “No. She’s definitely handling her disabilities better than I am. She was always the strongest person I knew, completely unshakable. Seeing her… God, I sound like an ass.”
“No, you don’t,” Phil reassured her. “You sound like someone who is struggling with a drastically changed reality. Maybe I should be asking if you’re okay.”
“I felt guilty not being here.” She stared at him hard. “And if you ever repeat that, I will deny it to my dying breath.”
He crossed his heart. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“I stayed in California as long as I could. I wanted to come home so many times.”
“What was the final push?”
“Uncle Paul slipped. He said she was having a hard time coping with this brick wall she’s hit in her recovery. The therapist doesn’t think her speech will get any better, and regaining full use of her hands is taking longer than they thought. She’s struggling with that. I realized it was time. I need to be here. I need to help her, even if she doesn’t want me to.”
“I don’t think that’s the issue, Mallory. Of course she wants you home and close. She talked about you so much at Jessica’s party. She’s incredibly proud of you. I think she just wants you to be happy and worries that taking time out of your life to care for her isn’t going to make you happy. My unsolicited advice would be that since you’ve made the decision to come home, make a point to have a life outside of looking after Annie. Or you’ll both regret your decision.”
Phil gave her that damned comforting smile again. He had a little dimple in his left cheek that drew her attention until she forced her focus back to her coffee cup. She’d talked to her family and friends about this, but something about the understanding in Phil’s eyes made her feel that coming home simply because she needed to be closer to Annie didn’t make her a baby. She appreciated that more than he could ever know, and apparently more than she could say, since she couldn’t seem to find the words to thank him for being sympathetic. Or figure out why all of a sudden her eyes burned with unshed tears.
“Sorry,” she whispered, snagging a napkin from the dispenser on the table.
“Parents can be a handful, huh?” he asked softly.
She laughed quietly as she dabbed her tears before they could fall. “Sometimes.”
“Speaking of which”—he indicated the booth behind him with a jerk of his head—“I wasn’t flirting with her teacher. Just so you know.”
“Yes, you were,” Jessica called.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Mallory chuckled, but her amusement didn’t last. Annie and Marcus, both looking worried, approached the table.
Mallory sarcastically cocked a brow at her mom and stepdad. “Finished already?”
Annie frowned then looked at Phil. “Is Jess here?”
Jessica peeked over the booth again. “Hey, Annie.”
Annie’s face lit with a bright smile. She clearly had a genuine affection for the little girl. “Hi, honey. How are you?”
“Mallory’s going to eat some of my pancakes,” she stated matter-of-factly, as if that answered the question.
“Well, she won’t be disappointed.”
“That’s what I told her. I also told her not to, but she feels sorry for you,” Jess offered.
“All right, Punk.” Phil slid out of his booth and dug into his pocket. “Time to go.”
“But—”
He dropped some cash on the table. “But nothing. Let’s go. Nice to see you guys,” he said to Annie and Marcus before turning to Mallory. He mouthed sorry, and she shrugged in return.
As Phil dragged Jessica away, despite her insistence that she wasn’t done with her pancakes, Annie slid into the booth next to Mallory.
“It wasn’t working,” Mal said before her mother could ask. “That’s all. California wasn’t working.”
Annie wrapped her arm around Mallory’s shoulders and tilted her face down, clearly analyzing her daughter. “How so?”
“I…I missed being here. I wanted to come home. I thought you’d be thrilled.”
“I am. But are you?”
Mallory looked at Marcus as he took the seat Phil had vacated. His face had the same questions as Annie’s mixed with the sympathy that Phil had shown her. Clearly she wasn’t covering her motives for coming home as well as she thought.
“I missed you guys, okay?” she asked. “I know that makes me sound pathetic, but I wanted to be closer to you. All of you. Uncles, aunts, cousins. Even my overbearing mother.” She hoped her teasing jab would break the tension at the table, but her joke fell flat. Annie didn’t smile or take the bait or offer up her own dry retort. She just stared with that same air of concern. “Mom, I hated being away from my family. I thought I would love the independence, but I didn’t. I wanted to come home.”
Annie and Marcus cast doubtful glances, but it was Annie who spoke. “Because of me?”
“Because I missed you.”
Marcus put his hands on Mallory’s. “How long are you home for?”
“Permanently,” she said, hating the sound of that word. “I quit my job and paid out my lease.”
“Why?” Marcus knitted his brows together, but she couldn’t determine if it was frustration, concern, confusion, or all of the above. He’d been the one who had helped her negotiate the terms of her lease. Next to Annie, Marcus was the best real estate agent Mallory knew. He’d fought tooth and nail to get a sweet deal that she’d blown.
“I wanted to come home,” she stated. “End of story.”
Annie lowered her face for a moment before looking at Mallory again. There was something in her eyes—pain, maybe even a hint of embarrassment. “So it is because of me.”
Guilt settled in Mallory’s stomach. She had hoped coming home would make her parents happy. Suddenly her decision seemed to pile on to their mountain of problems. She wasn’t lying, though. Sure, part of it was because she felt as if she were ducking out on her responsibilities—driving her mom to appointments and helping with her therapy shouldn’t fall solely on Marcus—but she truly had missed her family. “No, Mom,” she said with determination. “I came home because I want be here. San Diego is great. I really liked living there, but my family is here.”
Marcus gave Mallory a smile that didn’t look the least bit sincere. He was visibly trying to hide his concerns in front of Annie. Mallory suspected the first time he could get her alone, he’d have one of those fatherly conversations he’d mastered while Annie had been in a coma after the shooting. He really had become a dad to Mallory—but this was one instance when she’d rather he hadn’t. He was going to push and push until he got the answers he wanted from her.
“Hey,” he said through that fake smile, “it’ll be great to have you home. We’ve missed you, too. Haven’t we, honey?”
Annie frowned but nodded. “Yeah. We have.”
Jenna slid a plate of pancakes in front of Mallory, eyeing her brother as she did. The plate skidded to a stop, and the pile of half-melted whipped cream oozed off the colorful stack as sprinkles melted into puddles of various hues.
Mallory sank back as disappointment settled in her stomach. Nothing about her surprise homecoming had turned out the way she’d planned.
Phil handed Harry a purple, unicorn-shaped overnight bag as his daughter ran through his parents’ house, straight for the kitchen, where Kara was preparing dinner. “Are you sure about this?”
Despite the frown on his face and the dark circles under his eyes, Harry nodded and accepted the offering. “Kara is worried she’s not getting enough attention.”
“Well. She does have a doting father.”
Dropping the bag at the foot of the stairs, Harry didn’t seem to have the strength to be apologetic for the offense Phil took at the statement. “From her grandparents. Mira is taking up a lot of our time these days.”
“You don’t say.”
Harry leaned against the railing as if he couldn’t stand on his own much longer. “Kara can’t put her down long enough to rest when she’s here, and she can’t stop worrying long enough to rest when she’s gone.”
Phil’s concern spiked. He’d noticed his parents were spread thin with the infant, but this was the first time Harry had expressed frustration. “Dad, this is too much.”
His frown deepened. “We know. Trust me, we know. She showed up here drunk last night, insisting on taking the baby. She said she is moving in with some guy we’ve never even heard of. Apparently they want to be a family. Kara took her sweet time getting Mira’s things together until Lynn passed out on the couch. She was gone when we woke up this morning, but damned if either of us slept a wink. We were too terrified she’d sneak out with the baby and wrap them both around a telephone pole.”
“You have to turn her in, Dad.”
“We talked to someone this morning. But she’s the kid’s mother. Until she actually does put Mira in danger—”
“Or gets her killed,” Phil snapped.
“Or gets her killed,” Harry said with defeat, “there isn’t anything we can do but try to protect her as much as Lynn will allow.”
Phil swallowed, guilt filling his gut like a bag of wet cement. He’d been giving his mom such a hard time for putting her heart on the line for Mira when clearly they were doing more than just babysitting—they were trying to protect her from real harm. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“Your mom—”
“Didn’t want me to worry,” Phil finished.
Harry let the topic fall when Kara walked into the room, her long hair in that same haphazard bun as she expertly wrapped Mira against her chest with the long strip of cloth she used to keep the infant secure against her but which allowed her hands to be free.
“Are you hungry? I just put a chicken pot pie in the oven.” Though she looked exhausted, she offered him a smile that he thought he’d probably been taking for granted most of his life.
When he was a kid, moving from place to place on her whim, he’d always thought she was too self-centered to care that he wanted to plant roots and have a real home where he could belong. He’d deliberately been a brat to her most of his life. Only after Harry found Kara in Seattle, quite by accident, did Phil learn the truth about his mother’s lifelong heartache and the real reason she found it so hard to stay in one place too long. Whenever she stopped moving, the pain she felt at the rejection of being turned out when she’d gotten pregnant as a teen would catch up to her. Constantly starting over was her way of never having to face the hurt.
He’d never even seen what she was going through. She’d hidden it so well. Or he’d been so focused on himself that he’d never bothered to see. Either way, he saw it now. He saw through the fake smile and exhausted eyes. The situation with Mira was more than just some young girl taking advantage of two kind people. Kara and Harry were the only ones preventing something truly terrible from happening to the baby, and that was taking a toll on his mother.
As he held her bloodshot gaze, he thought of Mallory and the haunted look he’d seen in her eyes earlier in the day. She’d come so close to losing Annie that the fear still seemed to have a grip on her. Looking at the woman whom he had only recently come to really know and understand, fear touched his own heart. He couldn’t imagine what he and Jess would do without his mother. If something happened to her like what had happened to Annie, he would probably look as scared and unsettled as Mallory had when she spoke of her mom’s slow recovery.
