A Family Reunited Page 10
“Help yourself.”
Harris circled the living room, checking outlets, pulling furniture aside to check electrical cords and opening the coat closet. He stopped at the thermostat and adjusted the settings until the air conditioner kicked on. At several points he stopped to make notes on his clipboard. Each time, Chase pressed his lips together to keep from asking the man what he was writing.
After he finished with the living room, Harris moved to the kitchen. Chase folded his arms. Following the man would make him look anxious. He needed to play it cool. Besides he could see well enough from the entryway.
Water splashed from the faucet, and then the garbage disposal roared to life. Harris moved to the stove. The clicking of the gas burner starter sounded, stopped, then started again.
Chase straightened and called, “I don’t use that front burner, or I light it from the back burner.”
Harris made no reply, other than to bend his head again over the clipboard. Shit. Why hadn’t he fixed that? The ringing of his cell phone had Chase jumping. He fumbled it out of his pocket as Harris moved down the hall. A moment later the toilet flushed.
It took him three tries to unlock his phone. “Hello?”
“Chase...it’s Alex.”
“Alex?” Surprise filled him. “Is Robert okay?”
“He’s fine. Well, not really. I mean he’s about the same as when you last saw him, I guess, but I...I have something I need to ask you.”
Harris reappeared from down the hall. He caught Chase’s eye. Chase held up his index finger to show he’d be just a moment and the man stood in front of him holding his damn clipboard, frowning. Thankfully, at that moment Kara arrived, breathless, as though she’d run from the bus stop.
“Alex, I’m so sorry. Can I call you back? I’m in the middle of something.”
“Can you meet me at Jocks and Jills in about an hour?”
He bit his lip. “I think so. I’m not sure how long this will take, but can we make it an hour and a half? I’ll call you back if it looks like I’m going to be any later. Oh, and it isn’t Jocks and Jills anymore. It’s now Hudson Grille.”
“Oh...okay, thanks, Chase. I’ll see you then.”
Chase ended the call, muted his phone and turned to Harris. “So, how else can I help you?”
“Can we sit down somewhere? I’d like to speak with you both together and then each of you separately. Also, do you have the three collateral contacts we spoke about? I’ll want to contact them, as well.”
“Of course,” Chase said and directed the man to the living room. “Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll get that for you. Then we can have our talk.”
* * *
THOUGH THE WOOD of the decor was darker now and the partially bricked walls covered with sports memorabilia had given way to a more upscale interior, a feeling of déjà vu came over Alex as she entered Hudson Grille a short while later. Why had she chosen this place? She and Chase had spent many a romantic evening here. But when he’d said he couldn’t talk, she’d panicked. Their old hangout had been the first thing that had popped into her head. And it was probably better to ask him about his aunt in person.
Not that she had wanted to see him face-to-face again.
She glanced at the seating in the main dining area. The furniture was different, but the space still had booths lining the walls on either side, with tables and chairs grouped at the center. Her gaze fell on the back booth with its tan upholstery, and her cheeks warmed. She and Chase had experienced one too many intimate moments in that booth, though it had been covered in worn red fabric at that point.
Why hadn’t she picked a dive diner with harsh lighting and truck drivers?
“Alex.” Chase appeared at her elbow, out of breath.
She startled, heat filling her at his proximity. “Hi, I didn’t see you. I thought you might be late.”
“I literally ran here, well, when I wasn’t driving, that is.”
She smiled. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He shrugged. “My...thing took a little longer than I thought it would and you had me intrigued with your needing to ask me something. Besides, I was looking forward to seeing you again...and I think there’s something I want to ask you, too.”
Warmth and curiosity filled her. What did he want to ask her? She straightened, forcing her gaze from the strong line of his jaw, the breadth of his chest. She shouldn’t be noticing these things. She was here only to get information about his aunt and for nothing more. She would not succumb again to Chase’s charms.
No good would come of that.
“We should sit,” she said. “I could use another drink.”
“Another?” he asked as they moved past the seating hostess and into the bar.
“I had a shot of tequila with my dad earlier.” She stopped at a square high-top table midway back. “Here, this one’s good.”
His gaze swung past the bar to the dining area. “Don’t you want to sit in our old booth?”
“But we’re legal now and can sit in the bar.”
“If you’re in the mood for a bar scene, we can always move next door to Pub 71.”
“That place gets way too loud when the band gets going.”
He leaned close to her ear, his hand warm on her arm. “So we’ll have to sit close to hear each other.”
Her skin warmed. Her heart thudded and she closed her eyes against the tempting vision of them snuggled close together in one of the pub’s high-backed booths. “I like it here.”
Shrugging, he pulled out her chair. “Works for me.”
“Thanks.” She breathed a sigh of relief and slipped into the tall seat, chiding herself not to be impressed with his good manners.
Instead of taking the chair across from her, he slid into the one to her right. “So, you and your dad did shots?”
She nodded.
“Together?”
“Yes, it was...an eventful day.”
“What happened?”
She glanced around and to her relief a server approached their table. She ordered a Cosmo and Chase ordered cranberry juice. She smiled. “So, you’re still drinking your juice? We’re old enough to order the hard stuff for a change.”
“No offense, but even the smell of alcohol bothers me. Brings up too many bad memories, I guess.”
Empathy filled her. He had always seemed so okay with the world, it was easy to forget how difficult his home life had actually been.
“So?” he asked when the server had gone. “Did something happen with Robert?”
She nodded. “You could say that. Honestly, I think I’d like to have that drink first. Tell me about your thing. What were you doing? And what did you want to ask me? You go first.”
“Ah, well, first my thing. It was...trying. You remember my sister, Kara?”
“Yes, how is she? She must be all grown up by now.”
“She’s okay. She’s seventeen and a little bit of a handful. A short while after you left my dad got busted on one DUI too many. She’d still been living with him since her mother split and no other relatives stepped forward for her.
“I had moved out and was fresh out of school and had just landed that security job at the museum. I was living in this dump with roommates I’d found online. I could barely support myself, let alone Kara. I tried to find someone, a relative, either of mine or hers, to help, but there just wasn’t anyone.”
“So, your father went to jail and she was left on her own? She was how old?”
“She was five. So young. DFCS took custody of her. She became a ward of the state and went into foster care. I hated it, but there really wasn’t anything I could do about it at the time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Chase. That must have been a difficult time.” Before she realized she’d reached out, her hand was on his arm.
She quickly pulled it back and folded it into her lap. What she felt then was too close to guilt. She’d left and never looked back and he’d gone through so much on his own.
“It sucked. I wasn’t in any position to take her on. The best I could do was to keep in close touch, maintain our relationship.” He shrugged. “She’s my family.”
Family. Even though Alex had tried to keep a wide berth, her family still managed to wreak havoc on her life. What would it be like to have a loving and supportive family, like Chase had with Kara?
“So, she’s still in foster care?” she asked.
“Technically, yes, for now, but it hasn’t been going well. She has anger issues.”
“Go figure. I can totally relate.”
“Anyway, I’ve requested custody,” he said.
“That’s great, Chase.”
“I had a home assessment just now. That was the thing.”
“A home assessment, like DFCS comes out and inspects your place?” she asked.
“Yes, and asks all kinds of questions.” He paused as their drinks arrived. After a long sip, he continued. “It was completely nerve-racking. The guy actually had a clipboard and was taking notes.”
“Wow. I’m sure you did fine.”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I wish Kara didn’t know about it, in case it doesn’t work out. But there was all this drama with her foster parents getting arrested, which was great since the woman was a total bitch, but Kara went to an emergency foster home this week and it’s been really stressful, though I think she actually likes it where she is now.”
Alex took a long sip of her martini. “Is there a chance she can stay there if your request doesn’t go through?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “It was an emergency placement, so it’s temporary by definition.”
“When will you know about the custody?”
“I’m not sure. The caseworker grilled me after his clipboard tour. I was afraid to ask.” He exhaled and then took another sip. “I think my traveling may be an issue. I hate it, too. I wish I could cut back on that. It’s really getting old.”
“I noticed on your business card you’re a curator,” she said. “Are you still at the university museum?”
“Yes, they were really great to give me the job, even though I was still working on my PhD.”
Surprise filled her. “You’re getting a PhD? In art history, I presume?”
“I am. Surprised?”
A short chuckle escaped her. “I am. It doesn’t quite go with the drifter you used to be.”
“I still kind of drifted into it, though. You know, starting as a security guard there.”
“That’s great. It’s a good jump from security.”
“I got interested in art history while I was there. I took some classes, got a degree...and, as I said, am now working on my PhD.”
“That’s...incredible. But you’re not happy with it? At least with the traveling?”
“The work is okay, but being on the road sucks. Coming home to an empty house sucks.”
“Well, maybe this custody thing will work out and you’ll have Kara to come home to.”
He nodded. “But then I wonder how that will be. We get along, but I’ve never had to be responsible for anyone but me.”
“I don’t know. I think I’d disagree with that. As I recall you were always pretty much taking care of your father.”
“Yes, but this is different. I mean, he’s always been a little screwed up. I’ve always done what I could to help him, and part of that was for my own good. I mean, if I didn’t sober him up and make him go to work, we would have starved long ago. I had self-preservation as a motivator.
“When I went away to school I hated leaving Kara with him. He’s great when he’s sober, but he still struggles with that. I don’t know if he’s ever going to kick the drinking.
“But with Kara, it isn’t her fault she ended up in foster care. She’s been an innocent victim. She had crap parents. She’s still young and impressionable. I feel like I could make a difference in her life. If this really happens I don’t want to screw it up.”
Alex resisted the urge to reach out to him again. “You’ll do okay. You care about her and you have the best intentions. It’s more of a break than a lot of kids get. I’m sure she appreciates all your efforts on her behalf, however they pan out.”
“Thanks, I hope so.” He nodded toward her empty glass. “You’ve had your drink, so now tell me. What’s going on with you? Did you make amends with your dad?”
“Ah, I don’t know, things are still pretty strained. I can’t get past him cheating on Mom, but you could say I now have a new perspective on things.”
“How so?”
“Well, I went with Robert to his appointment at the blood and marrow clinic today. We did get the results of the typing to see if any of us could be a donor for his stem cell transplant and it turns out that none of us is a match, which his doctor assured us isn’t unusual, even in a family of our size, though in this case there was a good reason for it.”
She shook her head and twirled the stem of her empty glass. Chase signaled the waiter to bring another round and then she continued. “The tricky thing is that Dad was supposed to be the backup. Parents are always a half match and though they’d prefer a higher percentage match, they have a process with half matches that works.” She met his gaze. “But Dad wasn’t a match. At all, not fifty percent, not twenty-five, nothing. Zip. Nada.”
“Did they make a mistake in the lab?” Chase asked as the waiter delivered the fresh drinks.
“We were kind of hoping that, but when Robert and I asked Dad about it, he admitted Mom had an affair very early in their marriage.”
“Shit, so you’re saying she had Robert by some other guy?”
“Apparently.”
This time, his hand squeezed her arm and she resisted the urge to place her hand on top of his. “I can’t believe it, Chase. Dad isn’t Robert’s biological father.”
“Your mom cheated on him.”
“And she had another man’s child and Dad stayed with her.” She lifted her glass. “Who does that?” She downed another long sip, the alcohol warming her. “Just when I think my family is one of the most dysfunctional ones out there I find out how screwed up it really is.”
“Sweetheart, dysfunctional is the norm. You can’t expect any family to be perfect, and for a long time, you guys came pretty damn close. You were the best family I ever had.”
For some reason tears stung her eyes. She pushed the glass away. “It just sucks, and the search of the national donor bank came back negative. Now Robert is in this holding pattern on the transplant. Really what his doctor was saying today is that we just have to keep looking.”
She pressed her lips together. “The transplant only has a twenty-five percent chance of stopping the cancer and they still say it’s his best option. He’s going to keep having radiation to hold it at bay, but he’s still wiped out from the last transplant. I’ve never seen him so...fatigued. I know Robert and I haven’t been on the best of terms, but I hate this for him.”
“So, what did you want to ask me?”
The room blurred and she blinked. “Mom used to hang out with your aunt Rena. I’m not sure I remember her, but Robert does and Dad said they were best friends.”
“They were. That’s how Robert and I ended up being friends. It started way back when my mother was still around. She and Aunt Rena would go out with your mom and they’d leave us together, usually with your dad.” He shook his head. “So, you wanted to ask me about my aunt?”
“I’d like to talk to her. Dad said she’d know about that time. That Mom and she shared everything and she’d know all about the affair and the man my mother had it with.”
“You want to find your brother’s biological father?”
She shook her head. “Robert is really against it, but with none of us being matches and the national donor bank coming up blank, this might be his best shot. But Robert is adamant about not finding him. He doesn’t want anything to do with the man.”
“But you want to find him?”
Chase stared at his glass for a long moment, his forehead creased. “I haven’t been in touch with Aunt Rena since she left and that was years and years ago.”
Disappointment filled her. “So, you don’t know how to find her?”
“I have a cousin who may know. I can try to contact him and see if he has her address or phone number.”
“Would you do that, Chase? It would mean a lot to me. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
“There is actually something you could help me with. Well, actually two things, but we’ll get to the second one.”
“Of course.”
“It’s Kara. Regardless of whether I get custody or not, she could really use a math tutor.”
“Math?” She straightened. “I miss math. I’d love to help her.”
He extended his hand. “Awesome, then we have a deal. You help Kara with math and I’ll help you find my aunt.”
She gripped his hand. “Yes, we have a deal.”
They toasted and drank and then Alex cocked her head. “And what was the second thing?”
Chase shifted in his seat, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “You can, of course, say no, but first, it’s for a good cause, raising funds for the university and museum, and second, I’d be forever in your debt if you’d do this for me.”
“Now you have me really curious,” she said. “What is it? A fund-raiser?”
“Yes, it’s the Summer Soiree, I think they call it. It’s a dress-up affair in a few weeks. I need a date. Would you please go with me?”
“A date?” Her heart thudded a little louder than she would have liked, but thankfully the bar music was loud enough to mask it. “You don’t mean a date date?”
“No.” He chuckled softly. “Just a date. I kind of need someone to help me ward off this particularly aggressive docent we have.”
“Oh, a female docent?”
“A wealthy female docent, at least she’s been one of our biggest donors.” He leaned forward. “So, should I text you the information?”