Blame it on the Stars (The Blame Game) (14 page)

Steve scowled.
“What’s wrong with you?”

Shaking
her head, she rushed back to the ladies room. Dana followed her this time, and stood next to her as Catlin splashed more water on her face.

“
Are you okay?” Dana finally asked.

“
No.” Catlin shook her head. “I need to leave. I’m sorry.”

“
I’ll tell Daddy.” Dana rubbed Catlin’s arm, then went out to the dining room.

When Catlin
returned Steve was paying the bill and getting their jackets.

“
You okay?” he asked almost contemptuously.

“
Not really.” She slipped into her jacket and brushed past him, heading out the front door before anyone else.

Craig caught up with her
, and they were alone for a moment.

“
How could you do this?” she glared at him.

He smiled
innocently. “What? Steve called. I thought you wanted to see me.”

“
I told you ten years ago, I never wanted to see you again.”

“
Yada, yada, yada.” He waved his hand in the air. “Things change, Catlin. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“
And you are a son-of-a-bitch.”

He laughed.
“I believe you told me
that
ten years ago, too.” He shoved a business card into her coat pocket. “Think about it. Call me. He’d love to see you.”

“
He doesn’t know anything about me!” she screeched under her breath.

Craig shrugged.
“Maybe more than you think.”

Steve and the kids came outside.
“I’m sorry about dinner.” Steve shook hands with Craig.

“
Another time.” Craig smiled coolly, and winked at Catlin as he walked off. He turned back to the kids. “Take care.”

They called goodbyes to him, and looked at Catlin, who had started crying.

“Can we go, please?” she asked.

With a confused shake of his head,
Steve had the valet bring their car around.

Everyone was quiet on the way bac
k to the hotel. Finally Catlin cleared her throat. “I’m sorry about dinner.”

David muttered,
“We should have gotten it to go.”

Dana shoved his arm
. “Restaurants like that don’t make it to go.”

Steve parked at the hotel, and they went in.
“Why don’t you guys go into the mall and find something to eat? Catlin and I will go on up.” He handed David some cash.

“
You want anything?” Dana asked her father.

“
Yeah, bring me a sandwich. What about you?” He looked at Catlin.

“
Nothing, thanks,” she said dully.

He
nodded at his kids and they parted ways. In the hotel suite he tossed his jacket on the back of the sofa and looked at her expectantly. “So I hope you’re going to tell me what that was all about?”

“
I got sick. Sorry if it didn’t fit in with your plans.”

“
You were fine before you saw your brother.”

“
And what’s up with that?” she spouted angrily. “Who asked you to call him?”

“
No one asked me. I like to do nice things for the people I love.”

“
Do you get the feeling that this might not have been the nicest thing?” Catlin almost shouted.

He raised his voice back at her.
“Well excuse me. Perhaps you’d like to fill me in so I won’t make this mistake again.”

“
Just stay out of it, and we’ll be fine.” She went into their room, slamming the door behind her.

Catlin slipped
into her nightgown and scrubbed her face. She crawled into bed and pulled the covers up around her neck. A little while later, Steve stuck his head in the door and said quietly, “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

“
Positive.”

H
e left again.

Catlin slept fitfully, and when she woke once in the night found she was crying again.

Steve rolled up on one arm and looked at her. “I’m really sorry. I never imagined this would upset you so much.”

She slid into his arms and sobbed on his chest.
“I’m sorry, too. You just don’t know.”

“
I wish I did,” he said softly. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“
Not this.”

He held her tightly, rubbing her hair off her face, and she clung to him and tried to find peace in sleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she was alone. She put on her thick white robe and wandered into the central part of the suite. The others were dressed, flipping through TV channels. “Sorry I slept so long,” she yawned.

Steve stood up and went to her.
“It’s all right. Feeling any better?”

She nodded.

“Hungry?”

She grinned.
“Really hungry.”

“
Why don’t you hop in the shower and get dressed. We’ll go get something to eat.”

Catlin nodded, and kissed Steve lightly. She looked at the kids.
“Sorry, again, about last night.”

“
No big deal,” David said.

“
We’re just glad you’re feeling better,” Dana agreed.

Catlin started for the shower. She heard Dana ask
, “Daddy, what does a flashing light on the phone mean?”

Steve picked it up
. “A message for us.” He called the front desk, and then turned back to Catlin. “A personal note for Miss McCall.”

“
Oh.” She shrugged. “I guess I can get it when we go eat.”

They stopped by the front desk on the way to brunch, and Catlin read the note.

Please don
’t leave without talking to me.

Meet me by the scenic elevator at
three.

Nick

She folded it quickly and shoved it in her pocket
, then smiled at Steve. “I left my name with a saleslady yesterday. She found one more thing to show me. I need to stop by there this afternoon.”

“
Holy cow! More stuff. Okay, we’ll stop back by. Which shop?”

She touched his arm.
“I’ll do it by myself, and no questions, please. Christmas is coming, you know.”

He raised his eyebrows
thoughtfully, and they went to eat.

Chapter Eleven

Catlin left Steve and the kids swimming while she hurried through
Crown Center to get to the scenic elevator. She looked around nervously, and soon spotted Nick Prescott walking toward her.

“
Wow! You look good.” He smiled and kissed Catlin on the cheek.

“
So do you.” She pulled back, self-conscious, and looked him over.
He does look good
. His shiny brown hair used to be long, one length, the way everyone wore it. Now it was short and spiky in front, and down past his shoulders in the back. She used to love running her hands through that hair. And those eyes. She’d once spent hours gazing into the chocolate brown orbs. Now she looked at them and felt...nothing. She had the man with the eyes she wanted, and he was swimming in a pool back at the hotel.

“
I mean, really good. Beautiful. I knew you’d be pretty, but I can’t believe how great you grew up.”

“
Thanks,” she felt the heat of a blush creeping up to her face. “But that can’t be what you wanted to talk to me about. What can I do for you, Nick?”

“
Shall we walk?”

She
nodded. They strolled around the mall.

“
Craig said you were pretty upset last night,” he finally said.

“
Last night was a hell of a surprise to me. It came totally out of the blue.”

He chuckled
. “I guess that would have been strange. We kind of thought you knew.”

“
Nope, it was a total surprise. Steve thought he was doing something nice. He doesn’t realize what a can of worms he opened up.”

“
We were glad to get his call. We’ve been talking about you a lot lately.”

“
I can’t imagine why.” She looked away from him as they walked.

Nick linked his arm through hers.

Catlin didn’t pull away. “You’re being pretty charming, and it’s pissing me off. I’ve not been too happy with you these past few years.”

“
So I’m given to understand. But how’s your life? Are you happy in Marshall?”

“
Yes, I am. I love my job, and I love my fiancé. He’s a wonderful man.”

He laughed
. “Is this the part where you say ‘I think you’d like him’?”

She
grinned. “No, because I don’t think you would. He’s serious, responsible and mature.”

“
Bo-ring.” He shook his head.

“
I knew you’d say that. But he’s far from boring. He’s fun-loving, romantic, and very sexy.”

“
Oh yeah?” Nick looked at her sideways “When’s the last time you two did it in the balcony of a theater?”

Catlin smiled
at the memories that conjured up. “I said he was romantic, not a lunatic. And I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“
Oh, your sixteenth birthday! God, that was a hoot. I’d forgotten about that.”

“
Nick, stop.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to go down memory lane. You’re avoiding the real issue between us.”

“
Oh, the issue I call ‘son’? He is a person, you know.”

“
Don’t start with the shit attitude because I can walk away from here today and not look back. You’re the one who wants something from me.”

“
Can you? Really?” He pulled a picture out of his pocket and held it up in front of her. “Look at his face, Catlin. He looks just like you. And me. He
is
you and me. And he’s a really great person. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

She shook her head
, gaze avoiding the picture. “Nick, I made my choice years ago. It’s too late for me to change my mind now.”

“
No it’s not. He needs you!”

“
How can he need me? He doesn’t even know me!” Catlin walked faster.

Nick stayed alongside her.

“He knows more than you think.”

She
stopped and looked at him. “You told him about me?”

“
Everything I could. Craig has too. We’ve built you up pretty good, in fact. Chris thinks you’re some cool princess who’s going to come and rescue him someday.”

“
Rescue him, from what?”

He shrugged
. “Normal life, I guess. Everybody needs to have a dream.”

“
Yeah, too bad his is bullshit. All he has is a mother who gave him away when he was born. Nothing real cool about that.”

“
He doesn’t know that part. He knows you were not able to keep him, even though you wanted to.”

Catlin shook her head.
“I guess I should thank you for that. Because you and I both know I did
not
want to. But he should never know.”

“
His name is Christian,” Nick said softly to her.

Catlin found a bench, and dropped into it.
“How have you done it all these years? Have you dragged him around with you on tours? What about school?”

Nick sat next to her, and extended his feet.
“My folks moved here to help me raise him. They live in the ‘burbs. He lives with them when we’re on the road.”

She laughed out loud
. “Oh there’s someone I’ll never forget, Ramona Prescott. She hated me worse than anyone has ever hated me in my life.”

Nick
chuckled. “You corrupted her son.”

“
Bullshit.” She shook her head. “You were well on the road to perdition before you ever got me in the sack.”

“
What mother wants to believe that? It was easier to let her blame you.”

Catlin
rolled her eyes. “Now I’ve got Steve’s ex-wife blaming me, too. Maybe they can start their own support group.”

“
Oh, the ex- isn’t too fond of you? Perhaps she still has feelings for the man.”

“
Oh, no doubt about that.” Catlin nodded “And she isn’t technically the ex-, yet. But it’s in the works.”

“
So we can add home wrecker to your resume? Duly noted,” Nick teased her.

“
I did not.” She slapped the top of his leg. “And I shouldn’t have brought it up, because I don’t want to talk about it with you. In fact, I don’t want to be here. I need to go. I still hate you.”

Nick pressed a piece of paper into her hand.
“Here’s my phone number. Craig and I have a place in the canyon. Think about this, Catlin. Call me. Don’t miss out on anymore of your son’s life.”

She was getting irritated now.
“How can you stand there with that holier-than-thou attitude after what you did to me? I gave that child up for adoption, and you took him and kept him, behind my back.”

“
He was my son! How could I give him away?”

“
How could
I
keep him? I was sixteen years old, for Christ’s sake! You made your choices, and I made mine. Why do yours always have to be the right ones? Maybe I don’t want him in my life.”

Nick looked down.
“Maybe you don’t. Maybe he won’t want you after he’s met you.”

She stared at him.

“But I don’t think either of you will feel that way. You’re a lot alike, really. Stubborn, sensitive and caring.”

Catlin looked away and
swiped at her eyes. Nick put his arm around her, and pulled her next to him. “Just think about it. That’s all I ask.”

She looked at him.
“Sometimes I’ve thought about strangling you.”

He laughed.
“And then there’s now. What would you like to do to me now?”

She
studied his face. He was still very handsome. His mouth was sexy and pouty. Catlin shook her head to clear it, when they were interrupted by three teenage girls.

“
Are you Nick Prescott?” they asked, giggling.

“
Afraid so.” He smiled at them.

They squealed and giggled again.
“Can we have your autograph?”

“
Sure.” He rose and signed three autographs, then posed for some smartphone photos. The girls walked off, giggling about his good looks.

Catlin stood.
“I have to go.”

“
So, what do you think?”

She screwed up her face.
“Strangling is still my number one choice.”

“
Seriously, Cat. What do you think?”

“
I think I don’t need this in my life right now. I’m finally happy. I have a man who loves me and I love him very much. We’re going to get married.”

Nick squeezed her hand.
“Think about it some more, okay? Maybe, just maybe, you
do
need this in your life.”

The idea terrified her, and she wanted to get out of there quickly.
“Good-bye, Nick.” She hurried back to their suite, glancing at her watch.
Six-thirty.
“Damn,” she muttered.

Steve was dressed for dinner, sitting in an easy chair, when Catlin got back to the room. Dana and David were watching
TV, but Steve was just staring.

“
I’m
really
sorry!” she exclaimed as she rushed in. “Time sure got away from me.”

H
e looked at her. “You were gone a long time. All afternoon shopping, and no packages?”

S
he smiled at him cheerfully. “I said I was sorry. Please don’t be angry. I’m having my packages sent to me at home.”

He raised
an eyebrow. “I wish you carry a cell phone, so I could reach you at least.”

“
We’ve talked about this. I’d lose it, you know I would.” She leaned over behind him and squeezed his shoulders. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

H
e apparently decided not to press the issue. “Okay. I hope you had a nice afternoon, at least.”

“
Sure.” Desperate to change the subject, she asked, “How was your swim?”

“
It could have been better.” His voice was absolutely pouty.

She chuckled.
“I said I’d make it up to you.” She kissed his temple, and breathed a sigh of relief when he visibly relaxed.

“
Want to get changed for dinner?”

“
Give me ten minutes.” One more quick kiss and she hurried off to change.

Catlin lay in Steve’s arms that night after making love. His rhythmic breathing let her know he was sleeping, but the sandman evaded her. Her mind was haunted by the little face in the picture she had seen only briefly.

She never wanted to see the baby when he was born
. Now she was feeling pangs of— what?
Regret? Sadness? Sorrow for what she’d missed out on?
She couldn’t nail the feeling, but it was not allowing her to sleep. She lay there in the dark, worrying about what she was going to do, and what the repercussions would be. She had so much to figure out.

Their weekend ended quietly. Catlin and the kids slept most of the way back to Marshall. She woke up just outside of town. She yawned, and scooted over next to Steve.

“
Hi.” He kissed the side of her head.

S
he wrapped her right arm around his waist and hugged him. “Sorry I fell asleep.”

He chuckled.
“I like it. You’re pretty cute when you’re sleeping.”

She laid her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t know why I’m so tired.”

“
Maybe because you didn’t sleep worth a damn last night? You tossed and turned more than you slept, from what I could tell.”

“
I’m sorry.” She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder.

“
I seem to have dredged up some old memories this weekend. Is this melancholy mood you’re in going to last, or do you think it’ll get better once we’re home?”

She shrugged
. “I didn’t know I was in a mood.”

He chuckled.
“Well, you are. I’m sorry, I hope it gets better once things get back to normal.”

“
Ah, normal.” She stretched. “What is normal, anyway?”

He didn
’t answer the question. He was pulling into Marshall, navigating the exits and turns.

She yawned again.
“Why don’t you drop me at my place? I just want to crash.”

H
e drove in that direction. “We’ll have to sort the luggage and the shopping bags.”

“
I’m not up for that tonight. I’ll grab my suitcases and tomorrow night we can sort the shopping bags, okay?”