Seer (The Seeker Series Book 3) Page 7

  She sighed and started wiping down the counters. “This all happened so fast. I’m not ready for you to be grown and on your own, I guess. It’s going to be awfully quiet around here without you. First your mother and now you. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with myself.”

  I tried hard not to let myself laugh out loud at the thought of my grandmother sitting around, pining for my mom and me. The chances of her even noticing we weren’t around were fairly slim because of her ever-increasing popularity at the senior center. She rarely spent a weeknight home, much less a Friday or Saturday. “Oh, Grams.” I hugged her from behind. “I’ll come over lots. I’ll need to do laundry and raid the pantry, you know.”

  My own bed and pillow had never felt so amazing and I slept like the dead, but woke up at 7:00 a.m., unable to get back to sleep. The smell of coffee lured me to the kitchen, where I found my mom waiting for me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see her this early. “Are you already fed up with Brian?” When she didn’t even chuckle, I knew something was up. “Aww, crap. What is it? Who died?”

  “Oh, sweetheart. It’s not that bad. But I do need to talk to you alone for a few minutes.” She seemed nervous and unable to meet my eyes.

  “O—kay,” I drew out the syllables. “Shoot.”

  “Ally, honey, I need to, umm, I want to—shit.” She stood up and began pacing.

  I could count on one hand the number of times I had heard my mother use foul language. I wouldn’t even need all my fingers. This was not good. I remained silent, waiting for her to finally tell me what was on her mind.

  She took a huge breath and turned around to face me. “Okay. Ally, I need to tell you some things about your father.”

  “Excuse me?” Why on earth would she need to tell me about my father? “He didn’t want anything to do with me. He deserted you, so why do I need to know about him?”

  She pulled a chair up next to mine and clasped my hands between hers. “Sweetheart, that’s not exactly what happened.”

  “Wait, what? What exactly did happen? Why are you just telling me now?”

  “Shh, sweetie. Please, just listen, okay? This is really hard for me. I’ve been telling the lie for so long I think I started to believe it.”

  What. The. Hell?

  ***

  “Mom, what are you talking about? My father was someone you hooked up with at a frat party your freshman year of college. That’s what you’ve always told me.”

  “I know. I’m so sorry. It was easier,” she whispered.

  “Easier for who?” My voice escalated to a near yell.

  She winced and placed a hand on her burgeoning belly. “Please, Ally. Please calm down. I’ll tell you if you’ll calm down.”

  I immediately felt guilty and reached forward to cover her hand. “I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t want to upset you. Okay. I’m listening. I promise to be calm. You just surprised me. That’s all.”

  “I know. I never expected this. Ally, I have not been truthful about your father. It wasn’t a drunken hookup at a frat party. It was my college boyfriend. My first boyfriend. We got way too serious way too soon and you were the result. I found out I was pregnant and I got scared and left. I never told him. He never knew about the pregnancy. He never knew he had a daughter.”

  “And you are telling me this now because—?” I wondered where on earth this was going.

  She sighed. “Because he saw the media coverage of the Ashley Hayes trial. He recognized me. And he recognized you. Apparently you resemble his grandmother to a startling degree. He wants to meet you, Ally.”

  Now I stood up to pace. “Let me get this straight. You have been lying to me about my father all these years. You never told your boyfriend that he got you pregnant. What about Grams? Did she know?” Mom shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “Oh, Mom! Why? Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why the crazy frat boy story?”

  “I don’t know! I was scared and I just had to get away! I ran home and I never told Josh about the baby. I didn’t want to ruin his life. He had a great future ahead of him and I didn’t want to trap him with a baby.”

  Her unreasonable fear of telling Brian about this current baby suddenly made a whole lot more sense. I wanted to be mad at her, and I was—at least I think I was—but I also felt sorry for her. Grams had told me how much my grandfather’s untimely death had messed Mom up, but apparently she had no idea how much. “So, he wants to meet me? What’s he like? His name is Josh? I don’t know if I’m ready to meet him. I think I need a few weeks to think about it.”

  “His name is Josh Harrison, and yes, he wants to meet you. He’s a nice guy, Ally. He always was. I just wasn’t ready for him at that point in my life. And you don’t have a few weeks to think about it because he’ll be here in an hour.”

  “What? No! I should have a say in this! I can’t believe you expect me to meet him like this! In an hour?”

  “I know, sweetie. I’m so sorry, but please do this. He’s been here in Albuquerque for three weeks, waiting for you to get back. He’s desperate to meet you. Please.”

  “Shit!” The curse burst out and, for once, my mother let it slide. “I can’t believe this! He’s coming here?” She nodded miserably. “Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ll meet him.” I looked at my mother, slumped in her seat, and again felt sorry for her. I knelt in front of her and took her hands. “Mom. Why did you keep this secret for so long? You could have told us. What about him? He never knew he had a daughter all these years. He must be pretty mad at you.”

  “Beyond furious. He’s consulted a lawyer about his paternity rights.”

  “What? I’m almost 18. He’s going to, what, sue you for custody or something? That seems ridiculous!”

  “I know, but he has every right to be angry. I should have told him. I’m so ashamed of myself, Ally. You have every right to be angry too.” She started crying in earnest.

  I pulled her up and into my arms. “Shh, Mom. It’ll be okay.” She sobbed harder. “We’ll figure this out, don’t worry. Yeah, I’m mad. And completely shocked. But we’ll figure it out, okay? I’ll meet him and we’ll see where it goes from there. After he meets me he’ll probably be glad he didn’t have to raise me.” She laughed through her tears and pulled away. I gave her a wry smile and handed her several tissues. “All right. Pull yourself together and get out of here. I need to get a shower so I don’t meet my long-lost father looking like a street kid.”

  “You don’t want me to stay?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. I think I should meet him alone. I mean, you’re not worried about my safety or anything, are you?”

  “No, of course not!” she scoffed. “Josh is perfectly safe. He was always sweet and gentle. I can’t imagine he’s changed that much. But I will keep my phone with me in case you need me for emotional support or whatever. I’ll stay close, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Mom. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” I ushered her out and then raced upstairs to get cleaned up, only to run smack into Mina and Rémy in the hallway.

  “Ally, are you okay?” Rémy grabbed my arms and stared intently into my face.

  “Yes, I’m fine. Why are you here? How did you get in? What’s going on?”

  “Mina let me in. We were both worried when your thoughts started going crazy and you wouldn’t answer us. What’s going on?” he repeated, shaking me slightly.

  I brushed his hands away. “Calm down! I’m fine. My mom just told me that my father is on his way over here to meet me. I need to get cleaned up, so if you’ll excuse me…”

  “I thought you didn’t know who your father was?”

  “Yeah, well apparently my mother has been keeping secrets. I really don’t have time to go into it now. I’ll fill you guys in later, okay? Mina, can you get him out of here, please? Rémy, take Mina out for breakfast. My…dad,” I choked on the word, “will be here soon.”

  “Come on, Rémy. Ally will be fine. We’ll stay nearby in case
she needs us.” She tugged him away, continuing to soothe him as he sputtered his objections.

  I pictured all the people that would be nearby in case I needed them and had to laugh wryly at the mental picture of them bursting through the door to rescue me from my own father.

  ***

  He was punctual, ringing the doorbell exactly one hour after my mother announced he would. I wiped my sweaty hands on my skirt and pulled open the door to see a man in his late thirties with brown hair and hazel eyes. He wore a blue chambray shirt, open at the throat, and casual khakis; he was good-looking, which didn’t surprise me since my mom was beautiful. I stared at his face, trying to find any sort of resemblance. He stared back, probably trying to find the same thing.

  “Ally. Wow. Um, hi.” He sounded nervous; he shuffled his feet and didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands.

  “Hi, uh…” I had no idea how to address him, so I just let my statement die an awkward death. “Come in.” I led him to the living room and invited him to sit on the couch while I took a seat in the chair across from him. Neither of us said anything for several minutes, and then both tried to speak at the same time. This at least broke the ice. “No, you go ahead,” I said, laughing uncomfortably.

  “I was just going to say I’m really glad you agreed to see me. I know you just got home last night and I really appreciate it.”

  While I wasn’t aware I’d had much choice in the matter, I kept that snarky comment to myself. “Mom said you’ve been in Albuquerque for a few weeks already?”

  “Yeah. When I found out you were in Europe, I decided to stick around until you got back. I wasn’t going to take a chance on missing you,” he said quietly. Sheesh. That was a nice thing to say. It was hard to not like him when he said stuff like that.

  “So, where do you live?”

  “In Dallas. I’m in commercial real estate. I’ve been doing some business here in New Mexico for the last few weeks.”

  “Are you married? Do you have, um, other kids?” It was kind of an awkward question, but I wondered how he was able to hang around here waiting for me.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I was married once, a long time ago, but no kids. No other kids, I mean. Sorry. I’m not used to, um, you know.”

  “Suddenly finding out that you’re a dad?”

  He looked up. “Yeah. It doesn’t come up every day.” We both chuckled. “Listen, Ally, I don’t want this to be weird.”

  “Well, that ship already sailed.” This time we both laughed out loud. “So, um, crap. I don’t even know what I should call you.”

  “How about Josh?”

  I smiled. “Sure, okay. So, Josh, what do you say we go get some pancakes or something? I’m starving and I bet this conversation would be so much better on a full stomach.”

  “God, that would be great,” he said, slumping in relief. “I was so nervous about meeting you that I couldn’t even keep coffee down this morning.”

  ***

  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Mina and Rémy sitting in a booth at the IHOP as Josh and I walked in.

  —Are you all right, chérie? Rémy asked silently.

  —Fine. I’m doing okay. We’re just getting acquainted. I guess.

  —We’re here if you need us, Ally. This from Mina.

  —Thanks, Mina. It’s okay. I just need to get to know him.

  “Ally?” Josh waited for my answer to some unknown question.

  “Sorry. What?”

  “Booth or table?”

  “Um, booth.” The hostess seated us in a booth near Rémy and Mina, but I shut both of them out of my head so I could concentrate on my father. We were both silent as we studied the menu. After a few minutes, I glanced up to see him staring at me.

  “Sorry,” he looked down quickly. “You just—”

  “What?”

  “You look so much like my grandmother.”

  “Excuse me? I look like a grandmother?”

  “No,” he said, laughing. “Like my grandmother. Like pictures I’ve seen of her when she was young. She was beautiful and had the same red hair. I can’t believe I have such a beautiful daughter.”

  “Thanks. That’s really nice.” His staring made me uncomfortable; he seemed to understand and stopped when I looked everywhere but at him. “So that’s where I got this hair, huh? I’ve always wondered.”

  The waitress came to take our orders, putting a momentary halt to our conversation. Once she left, he picked it up again. “So, your mom said that you already graduated from high school, a year early? You must be pretty smart. And you’re going to start at the university this fall? Any idea what you want to study?”

  “Um, I think I want to study English and education, maybe a double major. I’d like to teach high school English. I think.”

  “Well, that sounds great. What else do you do? What are your interests? What about friends? How about boyfriends?”

  “Whoa, slow down,” I said. “That’s a lot of questions.”

  “Sorry, sorry. I just feel like I missed so much of your life already. I want to catch up, but I guess pummeling you with questions isn’t the way to go about that, huh?”

  “No, I understand. I have a lot of questions for you too. How about we take turns? So, my interests. Well, um…” I paused to think. I couldn’t exactly tell him about my interests in the Seer world, so that limited my options. “I was a cheerleader this last year, mostly because I used to be a gymnast and I’m small. I was a flyer—you know, the one they throw around?”

  “Yeah. Wow, that’s great. Are you going to continue in college?”

  “Oh, no. I’m not that good. Besides, I didn’t really care for the social crowd that went along with cheerleading.”

  “Oh. What kind of social crowds do you like?” He looked puzzled.

  “I think it’s my turn to ask a question, actually.”

  He gave me a surprised, yet admiring nod. “Go ahead.”

  “Okay. Well, what are your interests? Besides real estate, I mean.”

  “Hmm. I like golf and biking. Not very exciting, huh?” He shrugged.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never tried golf. Biking sounds fun, though. Mountain biking or racing?”

  “A little bit of both. Do you ride?”

  I shook my head. “No. I mean I do know how to ride a bike, of course. Mom and Grams taught me but I haven’t ridden since middle school.” The waitress brought our meals and we spent a few minutes concentrating on our food. “Speaking of my mom, you’re really mad at her, huh?”

  He finished chewing and looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I am. I’m trying to understand everything she went through at the time, and I do. What I don’t understand are the years since then. Ally, you’re almost an adult. I missed your entire childhood. She stole that from me. I’m having a very difficult time forgiving that.”

  “I know, Josh. I’m not sure how I feel about it all yet, either. I mean, I haven’t exactly had time to process any of it. But please, please don’t sue my mom.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Mom said you had consulted an attorney about your paternity rights. I know she should have told you, but I don’t want her to have to face a lawsuit right now,” I pleaded with him.

  “Ally, I consulted an attorney about my paternity responsibilities, not my rights. I hope you want to spend time with me and that we can have some sort of relationship, but I realize that 17 and a half is a bit late to try and get parental rights or custody. I’ve never paid a cent of child support. That’s what I asked about. I’m not going to sue your mother.”

  “Oh, thank God. I was worried. Yeah, of course I want to get to know you. And don’t worry about child support. We’ve done fine through the years. I don’t need any money.” I was so relieved he wasn’t going to take my mom to court for anything.

  “Well, we’ll see about that, okay? I take this responsibility seriously. I’m not going to be a deadbeat dad.” We both chuckled at his attemp
ted humor. I could probably like this guy. “So, is it my turn for a question? Tell me about your friends, especially any boyfriends that I’ll need to run a background check on.”

  “Ha ha. My stepdad the cop has already done that, I’m sure. I don’t have a ton of friends; I’m not really a social butterfly or anything. My best friend is Tara. We’re planning to get an apartment together this summer. My friend Mina might move in with us if we can find a three-bedroom we can afford in a semi-decent area of town.”

  “What about boyfriends? You seem to be purposely avoiding that subject.”

  “You are really coming off as fatherly and over-protective, you know?”

  He smiled. “Good. That’s what I was going for. Okay, let’s hear it. You do have a boyfriend, don’t you? It’s too much to hope for that you don’t.”

  “Yes, I have a boyfriend. Calm down. He’s really nice and I think you’ll like him.” I couldn’t help but be flattered by his concern.

  “And? How old is he?”

  “He’s 19.”

  Josh choked on his coffee. “Isn’t that a bit old?”

  “No, it’s not. It’s perfect, actually. You need to wait to meet him before passing any judgment, okay?” I knew I sounded defensive and cranky, but I was not about to put up with my brand-new dad butting his nose into my dating life.

  “Sorry. It just took me by surprise. I’ll withhold judgment until I meet him. When do I get to meet him? What’s his name?”

  “His name is Jack and you can meet him in about a month when he gets back from basic training. He joined the army right after we graduated.”

  “Army, huh? Well, I guess that’s okay. Is he going to college?”

  “Yes, of course. He’s brilliant and is going to study mechanical engineering. My turn. What about you? Any girlfriends?”

  “Not recently. So, I can’t meet your boyfriend right away, but how about any of your other friends?” he asked, slyly changing the subject.

  I stared at him for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth it to pursue my previous line of questioning. “Well,” I sighed, giving up, “you can meet two of them now.”