DID WHAT!” The plate slipped from Piper’s hands and splashed into the sink filled with soapy water, shattering the peace of their Saturday-night after-dinner washing-up ritual.
Her mother actually looked quite smug. “I told Roth our story.”
“Why?”
“Because Quincey has limited places to hide. He was going to find out about Josh sooner or later. It’s best to send him down the wrong path before he jumps to conclusions and finds the right one. And I wanted to warn him off.”
Piper didn’t like the sound of that. Roth had never been one to back down from a challenge. “Warn him off how exactly?”
“He needs to know you haven’t been pining away for him.”
But she had. Despite the anger and hurt, for years she’d waited for him to find her and tell her he’d made a mistake. That he loved her. Wanted to marry her and raise their child together. Eventually that love had turned to disappointment then to anger and finally to determination. She didn’t need him to make a good life for herself and Josh.
“Mom, I wish you wouldn’t volunteer information. The less we say the better. Roth has always been a genius at figuring out puzzles. That’s what made him such a good mechanic. If we don’t sync our stories perfectly, he’ll root out the inconsistencies.”
“We’ve discussed this too many times to make mistakes, and to be on the safe side, I told Roth your father and I had never met Rick. That way our descriptions of him won’t contradict each other.”
Piper’s stomach sank as if she’d swallowed lead. “Roth asked me if Dad approved of Rick. I said yes. Yes implies you’d met him. Our story is already getting tangled.”
Had Roth caught that small contradiction? Was it enough to spark his curiosity? Would he even care? She hoped not. Otherwise, she could be in big trouble.
“I’ll have to think of a story to cover that.”
“Mom, telling more lies is not the answer.”
“Then what is, Piper? I don’t put much faith in your belief that Roth won’t be interested in his own son.”
“He wasn’t when I told him I was pregnant. Why would that have changed? If he confronts me, I’ll make it clear I want nothing from him. Him or Dad. In fact, I’d be happy not to lay eyes on either of the traitors again.”
“If only life were as easy as ignoring what we don’t want to see. But it isn’t, sweetie. And we learn the most from our toughest obstacles. Avoiding your father is not the answer. He’s upset that you stood him up for breakfast today.”
“He’s upset? After what he did? I don’t want him anywhere near us.”
“Piper, I’ll be the first to admit he’s a bullheaded idiot sometimes. But he is your father and he loves you.”
“He proved that well—by running off the man I wanted to marry.”
“Lou did what he thought he had to do to protect you.”
“He could have given Roth and me a chance to work things out.” She regretted voicing the old hurt the moment the words left her lips.
“Oh, baby, do you honestly think time would have made a difference? If Roth had wanted to contact you, he could have found a way—even with you in Florida. You had friends who would have forwarded a letter or given him your number. But he didn’t call and he didn’t write.”
“Neither did Daddy—until you threatened to move to Florida to be with Josh and me.”
“Whether you choose to forgive your father or not, we need him in our corner right now. He still has legal connections we might need if Roth isn’t as disinterested as you think.”
“You expect me to forgive and forget Daddy’s betrayal just like that?”
“No. But please don’t shut your father out. You may not need him. But Lou has lost everything that matters to him. He needs you and Josh. He has nothing else to live for.”
The words landed like an avalanche of guilt on Piper’s shoulders. “You don’t think he’d hurt himself?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this, and I’m worried.”
Piper might not ever forgive her father. But she would never forgive herself if he did something stupid because she shut him out of hers and Josh’s lives.
“Okay. I’ll call him. And I’ll let him spend time with Josh. But I won’t trust him.”
* * *
“WHY IS EVERYBODY acting so weird?”
Josh’s plaintive question stalled Piper’s heart. “What do you mean weird?”
“You’re all antsy. You can’t sit still. Like Will when he hasn’t taken his ADD medication. And Grandpa keeps looking down the road like he’s expecting somebody to run us off. And why are we fishing here anyway? This isn’t our lucky spot.”
Her son was too perceptive. Piper looked at her father, silently pleading for help. She could hardly tell Josh they’d chosen the isolated spot because they were hiding from the new chief or that she’d tagged along on what was usually a male-only fishing trip because she was ticked at her father.
Lou snapped to attention. “I heard a rumor of a big catfish wallering in the mud under that downed tree. You plan on standing here chattering all day or are we gonna bait up and cast a line to see who catches him first?”
The distraction worked like a charm. Josh hustled to his grandfather’s side. Her father glanced her way and Piper nodded her thanks.
As a result of his stroke her father had lost dexterity in his left hand, and while he’d regained a lot of control, some of his fine motor skills were still lacking. Piper bit her lip and resisted the urge to help.
Luckily, Josh took over, grabbing the beef liver as soon as her father cut it and threading the chunks onto the barbed hooks. “I don’t know why we can’t just set trotlines like Will.”
“Trotlines are lazy-man’s fishing. You set ’em and come back the next day. Where’s the sport in that? Catching a big’un with a rod and reel takes skill and patience. You have to outsmart that bottom dweller and muscle him into your frying pan. Now that’s fishing. Not fetching.”
“If I catch him, what will you give me?” Josh taunted.
Piper’s father smiled, the left side of his mouth turning up slightly less than the right. “The best fried catfish dinner you ever had. Will’s mama has nothing on my secret recipe, and you can tell her I said so.”
Their banter thawed Piper’s heart slightly. There was no doubting her father’s love for his only grandchild. Josh desperately needed a male influence and without her father she wasn’t sure where he’d get it. Was she making a mistake in trying to keep Josh and Roth apart?
No. For a lot of reasons, involvement with Roth wouldn’t
