Lethal Affair (17 page)

So now it was Will's turn to determine
what would be the best course of action.

Driving out of the ferry terminal Will
made a detour into Sidney, the budding township situated close by.
There he pulled into a burger joint's drive thru window, loaded up
on Max's favorite junk foods, then headed for a marina. He might
have to indulge his kid's God given right to cheeseburgers and
fries now and then, but he sure as hell didn't have to sit in one
of the neon blasted plastic booths to eat it.

They walked to the end of the pier
admiring the various vessels. Yachts, cabin cruisers, a couple of
small aluminum row boats. At the end was a pile of upturned canoes
and kayaks so they settled there, leaning against them and dangling
their feet over the edge.

The harbor stretched out before them
as the sun began its mid afternoon descent. Thalo blue Pacific
water rippled as breezes teased the surface of reflected forest and
summer sky. Picturesque didn't begin to describe it. Add to that
the simple joy of spending quality time with the best little man in
his world, Will felt a sweet contentment imbue him.

“
Aw Dad, you got me juice. I
wanted soda.”

“
Have to compensate
somewhere, kiddo. Apple juice is just as sweet and a whole lot
better for you.”

A long suffering sigh ran through Max
as he punched the little straw through the hole in the carton. “Is
that what you tell your customers at the diner when they order
soda?”

Taken aback, Will stared. “Okay, I
can't figure out if you're being sarcastic or just mouthy. Which is
it?”

Since there was amusement in his Dad's
tone, Max took it up a notch. “I just think a person should be able
to make up their own mind about what it is they want, that's
all.”

Ah. So there it was. Already. He'd
hoped to put off this conversation for at least a day. Will balled
up the wrapper from his burger and shoved it into the greasy bag.
“However much you think you should be able to make up your own
mind, there's a reason why parents are responsible for their kids
until they're eighteen. It's because they're too young to know
what's good for them. You might think you're ready to make certain
decisions in your life, but believe me kiddo, your brain cells
still have a ways to go in that department.”

Max pouted. “My brain knows what's
good for me. I know that soda isn't and juice has vitamins and
crap. You see?” He tapped the side of his head. “Smart.”

“
Well alright then. Let's
talk about hormones. Know about them, mister brainiac?”

Max frowned. “Those have to
do with how we grow, right? I heard Mom tell Tom - that's
her
fi-an-ce
-
that her hormones were going crazy.” The frown deepened. “Does that
mean mine will go crazy too?”

Will laughed. “They most likely will
in a couple more years. Then you'll start to think about girls.
Want to kiss them,” he teased.

“
Ew. No way! One time at
school Glenda Sheridan followed me into the boys room and kissed me
right on the lips! It was yucky, all wet and slobbery. I'm never
gonna do that. Ever.”

With the solemn look in Max's eyes,
Will bit back the laugh that was tickling his throat as he realized
that Max at his tender age was already a heart-breaker.

“
Kiddo, there will come a
time when you'll think of nothing else. Trust me on that. When that
happens you might have a few questions to ask me about it, but for
now, finish your juice.”

“
Why would I waste my time
thinking about girls and... and kissing them, when I could be
diving like that French guy I saw on TV. Maybe I'll even find
treasure!”

His son with his meandering mind was
his treasure. But they'd diverted from the topic. “Did you see
right now how your brain cells couldn't cope with the idea of
kissing girls? That's because they're immature. That means not
ripe, like an apple that's still green on the tree.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Jeez. I know
what immature means.”

“
So you see,” Will
persisted, “you're not ready to make major decisions in your life
yet. That's why your Mom and me have to do that for you. Is that
okay?”

“
I guess so. But just until
I'm eighteen.”

“
Good, I'm glad you
understand. Now, tell me about Tom.”

Max grimaced. “He's okay. He always
wants to talk. Toss a baseball or something. He's lame.”

“
Then I must be lame too,
'cuz we do those things. Heck, we're talking right now. And we've
tossed a baseball or two.”

Max shrugged. “I know. But with you
it's fun. With him it's like he's trying to show off.”

“
If I were trying to score
points with my girlfriend's kid I'd probably do the same
thing.”

Sudden alarm lit Max's eyes. “You have
a girlfriend?”

Will patted him on the shoulder. “No.
But I'm working on that.”

Confusion reigned in Max's gaze.
“You're trying to get one?”

“
Let's just say that I've
got my eye on someone special.”

“
Does she know
it?”

“
Kinda.” But she had her own
set of problems to work through first. Too complicated for an
immature ten year old to fathom. “Things between men and women can
be a little unclear sometimes. Like fog. You have to wait for it to
clear before you can see what's up.”

Max thought about that for a bit.
Then, “Dad, I think you're right about my brain cells being
immature. I can't figure out what you're talking about.”

“
Yeah, well, sometimes I
can't figure out what I'm talking about either.”

Max's giggle lifted the small weight
that had begun to settle in his heart at the thought of Kylie
Lambert.

“
Maximus, I want you to know
that it's okay to like Tom. He's Mom's best friend and he wants to
be good friends with you too. Just because you're friends with him
won't take away from the fact that I'm your Dad. I'll always be
your Dad, no matter what. Understand?”

“
I guess so. Mom told me it
was like me having just one friend at school and not letting
anybody else be my friend too. I wouldn't like that. I have tons of
friends.”

“
And you'll make many more
in your lifetime. So tell me, why would you want to leave all your
friends and come to live with me? And before you answer that, I
want you to know that I love you...” putting a Buzz Lightyear
inflection into it, “...to infinity and beyond, and that you'll
always be welcome to live with me if that's what you truly
want.”

Moments passed while Max
chewed on it. “Living with Mom is cool, but why'd she have to go
and get
engaged
?”
He'd obviously been coached on the wordage. “We were just fine
before Tom came along. Now she spends all her time with
him.”

“
Are you going to dump me if
I get a girlfriend, Max?”

Max's legs swung up and down, his mind
working hard to decipher what was going down. “No, I wouldn't do
that. Not if she makes you happy.”

“
Same goes for Mom. She has
a right to be happy too. No reason why we can't all be happy
together, is there?”

Resignation seeped in. “Guess not.
Dad, I have to pee.”

A chill chased the last of the
sunbeams across the water into the now late afternoon. Will rose,
pulling Max to his feet. They made their way off the pier to find a
washroom.

*

“
Twenty-three calls and
nine messages.” Kylie shoved a hand through her hair in growing
alarm. “My God, Jolene, do I have to change my number?”

They were in the grocery store
stocking up. Kylie's phone had emitted the first strains of the
song assigned to Drew's number over and over.

“
Why don't you send him just
one message with a certain four letter word followed by a three
letter word, then delete him from your phone. I think there's a way
to block his calls too.”

Still in her work clothes of heavy
boots, jeans and t-shirt, dirt and all, Kylie reached for a box of
heavy duty laundry soap and tossed it into the cart. “Now every
time I hear this tune I'm going to think about Drew. Damn it, I
like this song.”

“
Well at least your face is
much better. Now instead of sock-it-to-me purple it's jaundice
yellow.”

“
Thanks. Just what I needed
to hear.”

Kylie's phone went off again.
Disgusted, she jabbed a finger at the screen and yelped, “Oh stop
already!”

Jolene lightly tapped Kylie's arm,
then redirected Kylie's gaze down the aisle.

Drew stood with feet askance, hips
cocked, his business suit rumpled and his face a mask of fury. He'd
loosened his tie and his jacket hung carelessly open. In his hand
he held his own phone, while Kylie's still melodically announced
his call.

Her first impulse was to
dash.
Run
, his own
mother had told her,
and keep on
running.
Annoyance didn't describe what she
was seeing. This was all out anger. Complete with dagger eyes and a
spittle-on-the-lip snarl. Kylie wished fervently she could slap
open her communicator and have Scotty beam her up.

No such luck. Drew came toward them.
When he reached Kylie's side he pointedly tapped his screen to end
the call.

At closer range his face was infused
with red. He'd missed a few spots while shaving and nicked himself
where he had. Amazingly, despite the unruliness of his hair and
disarray of his clothes, he was still a handsome specimen.
Hopefully the child she carried would inherit some of that and not
the imbalance of his brain. The cockiness, the tendency toward
violence, that he could keep.

He took a deep breath and gained some
control. “Clearly you're avoiding me,” he intoned, his eyes glued
to hers.

He was standing too close for comfort.
Behind her, Jolene had the cart in an iron grip and was looking
around for a store employee. As always seemed to be the case when
you wanted them, there weren't any.

Kylie stood her ground. “You should
know that I will never again answer your calls or your messages, or
have any part in your life. So cease and desist already, will
ya?”

“
You're pregnant with my
baby.”

“
Now that you've shown me
what you are, I won't let you play Daddy, Drew. Men like you poison
any relationship you touch. I'm putting an end to this before it
escalates into a carbon copy of your mother's life.”

She might as well have slapped him. He
flinched and took a step back. “I shouldn't have told you about
that. Now you're using it against me.”

“
Au contraire, Drew, your
mother...” She stopped, realized it might cause Olivia undue
consequences if she told Drew about their conversation in the park.
“... seems like a good woman who didn't deserve the life she
got.”

Drew eyed her suspiciously as her
sentence trailed off. “I intend to be front and center in my kid's
life. You won't stop me. I'll go for full custody if I have
to.”

“
Not going to happen, Drew.
The law won't place a child with an abusive parent. I can't take
the risk that your temper will land him or her in the hospital. Why
don't you just back off?”

“
Yeah, Drew,” piped in
Jolene, “back off.”

His eyes whipped to Jolene's. “Ah yes,
the roommate. Filling Kylie's head with bullshit. Telling her to
dump me like a hot coal.” He pointed a finger at her. “You back
off.”

The scene had heated up quickly and
driven by curiosity, a few other shoppers came into the
aisle.

Drew stepped close, in Kylie's face,
his lips near her ear. His eyes were two hard, red-rimmed marbles.
He whispered furiously, “You'd best reconsider my dear, because
I'll get what I want, one way or another.”

Quick as a snake he bit her ear lobe.
Hard!

And then he was gone.

Kylie began to shake all over. Jolene
wrapped her arms around her until the shakes toned down to a mere
tremble.

Too late but with good intentions, a
store employee approached. “Everything okay here?” he
asked.

Jolene nodded toward the cart. “Sorry,
we have to go. Can I leave that for you?”

The older man had kind, understanding
eyes. “Of course. No problem.”

Kylie felt like she was floating in a
dream as Jolene ushered her outside and into the passenger side of
her SUV. The decisive slam of the driver's side door snapped her
back to reality as Jolene took her keys and started the
engine.

“
Wish I could say, let's get
drunk,” said Jolene, “but obviously it's not an option. How about a
gooey chocolate sundae instead?”

“
Sugar. That'll calm my
nerves.” On Jolene's raised eyebrows, “Sorry, sarcasm's my defense
mechanism. Sounds like heaven.”

As Jolene maneuvered the truck through
traffic, Kylie breathed easier. “I did some research on Google
about family law. Turns out unwed fathers don't have a right to
zippity-do-dah until the baby is born. And then they have to prove
they are the father by taking a paternity test.” She fought an urge
to cry as a gurgling, hysterical laugh lodged in her throat. “I was
actually considering the idea of telling him it's not his just to
get him off my back.”