Not liking her father’s words yet incapable of doing anything about it, she watched as he briskly walked away from them, his nostrils flaring and flattened lips.
Kaiya turned to Tyler to assure him he would get the certificate as soon as her dad returned from his business trip. The words died in her throat when she caught him studying her with an expression she couldn’t decipher.
“I’ve got to go,” he hastily said, and before she could say anything, he brushed past her.
Standing there feeling all alone again, she questioned what just happened. Tyler had never appeared intimidated by her dad. But now she wondered if the men had had a silent exchange that she knew nothing about. Was that the reason for Tyler’s hasty departure?
All the thinking and weeping was giving her a headache. She settled herself on one of the chairs in the waiting area and curled up there.
She jerked on the chair when she went over the whole incident that just happened and registered that Tyler hadn’t seemed surprised when she mentioned that she had gotten pregnant. He was more interested in his dead son. What was going on here? Had he somehow found out that she had gotten pregnant? Was that why he stayed away? Did he know about their son dying before now? Suddenly, nothing made sense anymore.
***
“Richard,” Tyler called to the man who was striding purposefully to his car in the hospital’s parking lot.
Kaiya’s father whirled around, and his face tightened with fury. “What do you want, you lowlife? Didn’t I warn you to stay away from my daughter? How dare you come back to Montreal? How dare you show your face here?”
Tyler reached him and glared at him as if he was something unpleasant that he just threw up.
“How could you do something so terrible to your own child? You’re despicable!” Tyler told him squarely.
Richard’s face reddened with a contemptuous stare, but he thrust out his chin at the man glaring at him. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? You think you can come back here and turn my daughter against me, don’t you?” He let out a harsh bark of laughter. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll leave Montreal so fast; you won’t have time to shake the dust off your shoes.”
Tyler’s face darkened with rage. With frosty calm, he said, “Don’t you think it’s a little too late for such threats?”
The older man’s fists folded and said with total conviction, “Empty threats, you say. You better watch your back. And I better not see you at any of our functions anymore.”
“I didn’t come here to exchange words with you.” He dipped his hand into his jacket pocket and brought out a check. “Here’s the money you gave me to stay out of your daughter’s life.” He thrust it into the man’s stiff hand. “It was the sole reason I went to the gala tonight. You can rest easy knowing that you will never see me in any of your functions anymore.”
Staring at the piece of paper as if it were some sort of UFO, the man tore the check into shreds. Then he lifted his head and stared at Tyler with daggers in his eyes. He stonily stated, “If you know what’s good for you, stay away from my daughter. She deserves better.”
“You’re right, she deserves better than you.” Tyler said then began to walk away and then stopped. “Oh and Richard, I’m giving you the courtesy of telling your daughter the truth. If you don’t, I will. You have two weeks.” With everything that he learned tonight, he knew the next few weeks for him and Kaiya would be tough. If his father was anything like Kaiya’s, he was glad he didn’t know the man. The unpleasant encounter with the despicable man left him in distaste. He couldn’t wait to get home and cuddle his daughter in his arms, promising to never do such an inhumane thing to his darling Lili.
Chapter 9
Two weeks later
There was much gaiety and laughter in the large living room. The entire Anderson and Tremblay families, along with their friends, were all gathered in Finn and Kalilah’s house for Myles’ baptism. There was much to eat and drink thanks to Jalissa’s catering services. Everyone was having a good time. The baby kept being passed from one hand to the other.
It eventually got to Kaiya’s turn, and she was super pleased to cuddle her newborn nephew in her arms. She forced thoughts of her son who she never got to cuddle away from her mind.
She lifted her head and searched for her best friend in the room. She wanted to ask Jalissa if she had gotten a piece of the action. If she hadn’t, then she could take a few minutes cuddling the baby. Jalissa loved babies but was adamant about not having any herself. They often joked that they’d end up being the cat ladies when they’re older.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw Justin hand Jalissa a drink before taking a seat on the couch next to her. The suspicion that Finn’s brother had a thing for her best friend flowed within her. She didn’t know if she liked it. They were both grown, but Kaiya knew her best friend. She never did relationships. Her longest relationship thus far was her friendship with Kaiya. She never dated a man for longer than ninety days. She hoped Justin wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Jalissa caught her eye, whispered something to Justin before rising from the chair.
Without pulling any punches, Kaiya asked, “What’s going on between you and Justin?”
Mouth agape, Jalissa eyed her. “What makes you think something is going on between us?”
“Uh, I’ve got eyes.”
Her best friend giggled. “It’s nothing serious, Kai. Just a harmless flirtation.”
“Harmless or not, do you think it’s appropriate?”
“Oh, Kai, stop being a wet blanket. It’s just sex, nothing serious.”
