No Reservations - Megan Hart [93]
Kate stewed over that statement she made in the limo for a week until the latest incident came up. As Kate had guessed, making Eve go through her to get to Dix had frustrated her ability to yank him around. This pleased Kate mightily. Until Eve simply began to use the girls to do her bidding instead.
'Hi, Kate,' Kendall greeted her when she came through the front door. The girls lived with them in the new house on weekends and, true to Kate's promise to Dix, they all lived in his old house every other Wednesday and Thursday so the girls could stay there and go to school. It hadn't been perfect, but it was how things worked best and it was Kendall's last year of high school anyway.
'Hey there. Hope you guys are up for Chinese for dinner. Your dad just called to say he's bringing some home.' Kate looked up and smiled. 'Yes, you can invite Jimmy.'
Kendall grinned at the mention of her boyfriend. Jimmy and Dix had come to an uneasy truce. Kate liked the boy, but Kendall wasn't her daughter so it was easier for her than Dix. It had been pretty wonderful when Dix had listened to her and took her advice about the Jimmy situation and invited him around. Kendall would have boyfriends and Dix had to accept it. Keeping his daughter close gave him a far better chance of keeping a good relationship with her.
'I'll call him in a minute.' Kendall sat on the couch next to Kate, tucking a foot beneath her and snagging a sip from Kate's diet soda.
Kate rolled her eyes. 'Get your own, girl. You're way younger than me and your joints are in shape enough to take the rest of you into the kitchen to land your very own diet soda. By the way, where's Adrienne?'
Doesn't taste as good if it's not yours.' Kendall snorted and then a serious look replaced the levity. 'Kate, listen I have to tell you something before Dad gets here.'
'That sounds like I'm going to hate it.' Kate turned to face her fully. 'Go on.'
'You are going to hate it. I'm sorry. Adrienne isn't coming this weekend. She doesn't want to be in the wedding.' Kate knew Dix's younger daughter didn't like her. It hurt more than she wanted it to, even if she understood it. But this, this was on a whole different level. This would really hurt Dix.
'She what? Why? What's going on? I take it that since you've told me this before he got home she hasn't told your father about it.' 'She hasn't talked to Dad. I'm trying to talk her out of it. But . . .' But Eve. Eve, that fucking bitch, was written all over this. 'Your mother,' Kate said flatly.
'I'm sorry. I know it's not fair.' Kendall wrung her hands.
Kate shook her head with a sigh. She squeezed Kendall's hand. 'No, I'm sorry. I know you're caught in the middle and it's not right. I told your father we should wait until you and your sister graduated to get married, but he wanted to go ahead now.' Such a stupid and carefully intimate dance they did around the whole Eve issue. Kendall was a smart girl, but it wasn't fair for Kate to address the situation, no matter how protective she was of Dix.
Kendall made a face. 'Of course you should go ahead now. My dad loves you. You love him enough to love us too, and to take a lot of crap from my mother. I see it, you know. It's embarrassing and I wish she would stop. I've told her to stop. She's a good mother, she is. But this isn't right. How she's acting isn't right. It's just this blind spot she has about him and I don't know why. He was never going back to her. Even when I was just a kid and he left, I knew that.'
Kate smiled, but she wasn't going to address any of those comments about Eve. 'I do love your father. Very much. Enough that it hurts to see him hurting — and this will hurt him. But this is not your fault and, whether I like the decision or not, your sister has every right not to participate in the wedding if that's her choice. If you want, I can clear out for a while