“Hey.” I set the log book aside, positive the charade of working on the ranch accounts only makes me look more guilty.
“What’s up?” Her face is blank, the question intentionally vague. She could be asking about anything. From ranch business, to things with Katie. Smart money says she’s really interested in all of it.
“Nothing. I’m just…” Looking at the screen again, I can’t hide how defeated I am to have no prospects. “I was checking up on some emails I sent about lining up some new professional projects.”
“Huh.” She nods slowly. “Sounds like a fancy way of saying you’ve been applying for jobs.”
The truth comes like a kick in the ribs.
“Yeah,” I admit, defeated. My dad’s new wife is the last person I thought I’d ever confide in, but she’s the only one asking when I’m too bruised to make something up.
“By the look on your face, I’d say you’re coming up empty handed.”
“You could say that.”
“I wondered,” she says frankly. “None of us knew exactly what was going on with your job back in town, but I had a hunch there wasn’t a job left for you to go back to.”
“What gave me away,” I ask, cringing because I’m not sure I want to know the answer.
“At first? Bluster. But now it’s been, what?” She checks her bare wrist like she’s looking at a watch. “Three months? More? And you don’t seem in any hurry to get back to the office.”
I put on my most charming smile and snap my fingers at her.
“You’re pretty sharp, you know that?” Keeping it light feels like it ought to work, but it comes off sounding hollow.
“I have my moments.” Quiet falls over us for a second, and she doesn’t look away from my face. Maybe it’s because she’s married to my dad, but despite our ages being pretty close, she has the air of someone a hell of a lot wiser than me. Which maybe wouldn’t be all that hard, considering.
“Wayne, do you mind if I say something,” she says, breaking the silence.
“Would it matter if I did?” That gets a smile, but only half of one.
“Avoiding your problems won’t make them go away.” It stings, but it might just be the medicine I need.
“I hear you. But work just isn’t coming.”
“I’m not just talking about work.”
Shit.I may have been dreading someone taking me to task over losing my job, but what’s coming up next is even worse.
“I know you don’t need me to tell you this,” she begins. “But there’s nothing easy about having a baby. Nothing.”
So she knows.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Mary’s got a sense for this sort of thing. Also, my poker face is shit. I squirm so much in my chair there’s no hiding how culpable I am in the whole thing. Mary leans closer, making sure she’s got me dead in her sights.
“With everything else she’s got going on right now, Katie needs someone she can depend on. Now more than ever.”
Somehow hearing it out in the open is the best and worst at the same time. I slump back in my chair, numb to the tips of my fingers.
“Yeah. I know.” Which is true. I absolutely understand what Katie needs, so why is it so complicated to actually stand up and do the right thing? It’s not as if I’m intentionally half-assing it, but somehow that’s exactly what I wind up doing.
Maybe it’s because I don’t know what kind of father I’ll be. God knows the template my dad and I laid out isn’t the best one to follow. Not that I can say that to the woman staring me down.
“She’s gonna need help,” Mary says when I don’t cough up an immediate answer.
“I’m trying,” I protest. “Look, I even offered to help her out with this lawsuit. More than once. From what I’ve seen I shouldbe able to beat the pants off these stuffed shirt guys David whoever has hired, but Katie keeps refusing my help. She wants to figure it out on her own. I can’t tell you how frustrating that is?—”
“I’m not talking about the lawsuit.” She eyes me steadily. “And neither are you. Not really. Besides, judging from how much you’re spinning your wheels around here, who can blame her for turning you down? What kind of hot shot big city lawyer has trouble getting picked up by a new firm?”
