Johnson Family 1: Unforgettable (17 page)

Antonio whistled and came back to the table. “I didn’t know Ivy Johnson was the mother of your kid. Her family’s got more money than—Derrick. They’ve been hitting the Forbes list for years. They’re billionaires.”

“Yeah, I know, but I had no idea who she was when I met her.”

Antonio pointed at the beer on the table. “This lager is the most popular product in the line and the one that started it all. One of my female clients had an endorsement deal for them a few years ago when they launched a low calorie brew.” Antonio was a publicist for professional athletes.

“How do you feel about this?” Matthew asked. He walked over and stood beside Antonio.

They were all looking at him with concerned eyes, as if he’d just announced that he had a life-ending disease.

He shrugged. “I’m good.”

“Ivy’s still letting you be a part of your daughter’s life, right?” That was Roarke, the consummate family man.

“She is. I’ve been back to see her—Katie, I mean. We talk on the phone regularly, but to be honest, man, it’s all so new.” So new he felt overwhelmed, like someone had drawn a blanket of water over his head and he risked drowning. “I have a kid. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do with her.” He chuckled and shook his head.

“You just be her dad,” Roarke said.

“Hard to do from so far away,” Matthew pointed out.

“But not impossible,” Roarke insisted. “Celeste’s ex lives somewhere up in that area, too, and he uses it as an excuse not to do anything for Arianna.” Roarke was more of a father to his stepdaughter than her biological father ever was.

“I’m not going to be like him, that’s for sure,” Lucas said.

“How did your daughter react to finding out you were her father?” Derrick asked.

“Reserved. It was hard at first, but I found a way to connect with her and it helped a lot. We have a pretty good relationship now.”

“Look,” Roarke said thoughtfully. “It’s a learning process, but it’s one that you can manage. Just because you’ve never been a father doesn’t mean you can’t be a good one. Every man had to start somewhere.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve been doing it for years.” Roarke had practically been groomed for fatherhood, since he’d raised his younger brother and sister from the time he was eighteen years old. “I’m nowhere near prepared.”

“Well, at least you won’t have to pay child support,” Matthew said, with his usual attempt at humor. “That kid isn’t going to need a damn thing from you.”

“Don’t listen to Matt,” Antonio said. “Growing up, we had everything we could possibly want, but the best gifts were always the time we got to spend with my father when he wasn’t traveling for a game. She’s just getting to know you. That’s what I’d concentrate on.”

“How do you guys do it, though?” Lucas asked. He looked at Derrick and then at Roarke since they were the only ones who had children. “I only found out I was a father a few months ago, and already I want to lock her in an ivory tower.”

Roarke laughed. “I don’t think that feeling will ever go away. It’s part of being a parent. It’s hard, but we can’t stifle them or hold them back from living their lives.”

“Yeah, but it’s probably different for you guys. Katie’s all the way in Seattle. I’m not there to…I don’t know, protect her.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but it doesn’t matter if Violet’s near or far, I’ll always feel the same way,” Derrick said. “I can’t imagine a day when I won’t want to protect her and her mother. Having them in my life creates a level of anxiety I never experienced before. I worry more about them than I do my own self. I want them to be fine, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. I’d do anything for Violet and Eva. I would slay dragons for them.”

The room fell silent as each man nodded. Lucas stared at the bottle of beer as he mulled Derrick’s words. He looked up at a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” Derrick called.

His wife, Eva, looking very pregnant, appeared in the doorway holding their toddler, Violet, by the hand. The little girl wore footed pajamas with cartoon animals all over them.

“Hi fellas,” Eva said.

There were
Hi Eva
’s all around.

Derrick rose from the chair with a frown on his face. “Sweetheart, what did I tell you about coming down those steep stairs in your condition? I don’t want you hurting yourself or endangering my son.”

“We are just fine.” Eva emphasized the point by placing a hand on her protruding midsection. “Stop worrying.”

“I’m having an intercom installed next week,” he said.

“I told you no, this is your space and I don’t need you to make it easier for me to reach you when you’re down here.”

Derrick didn’t respond, and everyone in the room knew she’d already lost the argument even though he hadn’t said a word.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I came down here because Violet’s being fussy and wants her daddy to put her to bed.”

“Night-night, Daddy.” Violet stretched up her arms and Derrick lifted her up.

“You giving Mommy a hard time the way she does me?” he murmured.

“Don’t tell her that,” Eva said.

Violet wound her short arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She murmured something unintelligible and he kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few, guys. I’m going to put Violet down and get my hard-headed wife safely back upstairs.”

“See how he treats me,” Eva said to them, though she didn’t look the least bit upset. The look on her face was more the contented look of a woman who knew, without a doubt, she was loved and adored. “Bye, guys.” She waved and they all said good-bye to her.

Before the door completely closed behind them, Lucas could hear them fussing at each other as they climbed the stairs.

He twirled the bottle of beer on the table top. His friends had families to love and take care of. He’d seen the changes over the years as he got older. Friend after friend getting married. Some insisted they missed their bachelorhood, but others, like these guys, were different. They actually seemed happier with their wives. Even when they complained, he doubted they would want their lives any other way. They all belonged to a special club of husbands and fathers, and like pigs in slop, they were disgustingly fulfilled and content.

He’d steeled himself against wanting what they had, even insisted he was better off alone, but now a little part of him wanted this life. The craziness of chasing after a child, the annoyance of having a hard-headed wife who wouldn’t listen, the stress of wanting the best for your family, and the need to love and be loved—unconditionally, even in the midst of screw-ups.

He swallowed against the tightness in his throat and gulped some of his beer.

He wanted all the good and the bad, the laughter, the tears—all of it—everything that came with finally having a family of his own.

As if conjured by his thoughts, the phone rang and the screen displayed Ivy’s number. He answered right away.

“Hello. Umm…this is Katie.”

Her soft, hesitant voice sent a tinge of worry to the back of his neck.

He stood and walked across the room for privacy and to get away from the robust conversation that had resumed between Antonio, Roarke, and Matthew.

“What’s wrong, Katie?”

“I was wondering…”

In the background, he heard Ivy’s voice. “Go ahead,” she coached.

“Umm…I need a date for the father and daughter dance coming up at school, and I was wondering if…if you could come with me. It’s short notice, and I know you’re very far away, and if you can’t, Uncle Cyrus said he’d take me.”

He let out the breath he’d been holding and smiled in relief. For a minute he’d thought something serious had happened. “I can do that.”

“You will?” Her voice contained elements of surprise and happiness.

“Of course I will. We’re father and daughter, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” she said shyly, but the pleased sound of her voice suggested she was smiling.

“When is it?”

She told him which day in December the dance would take place. The date was oddly familiar, but he’d check his calendar once he ended the call with Katie. Before they hung up he assured her again that he would be there and she had nothing to worry about, and he meant it. As much as he could, he would be there—wherever and whenever she needed him—from here on out.

No other man was going to take his place again.

Chapter Nineteen

The reason the date for the father and daughter dance had seemed so familiar was because it happened to take place the day before the wedding Lucas had promised to escort Priscilla to.

“We’ve been planning this for months.” Priscilla stared at him in disbelief across the table. They sat in one of her favorite restaurants—an upscale soul food joint on the north side of town. He’d chosen it to soften the blow of canceling his plans with her. “You promised me you’d come.” She couldn’t comprehend how he could cancel on her, and he couldn’t comprehend how she couldn’t understand how important the dance was for him and his daughter.

“Katie needs me,” he said, keeping his voice calm so he wouldn’t set her off. “Right now, she’s my priority.”

“Attend the dance, and just come back the next day to make the wedding with me.”

“If I go up there, I might as well stay for the weekend. I’m trying to get to know her.”

Priscilla tossed the cloth napkin onto the tabletop. “Katie, or her mother?”

He leveled a stare at her across the table, noting how her lips had compressed into a thin line. “Don’t start that again.”

She seemed to think Katie wasn’t the only reason he called Seattle. He couldn’t deny hearing Ivy’s voice was nice, but that wasn’t why he called up there. Besides, ever since she’d overheard Priscilla talking to him, Ivy hadn’t been as friendly. Polite, but not friendly.

“I can’t avoid her mother.”

“Of course not. But I can’t help but wonder if the late night phone calls don’t have something to do with your rich baby mama.”

Lucas cringed. He really hated that phrase. “This isn’t about Ivy. This is about me and you,” he reminded her.

“I’m competing against Katie
and
Ivy.”

“This isn’t a competition.”

“No?” Priscilla folded her arms across her chest. Despite her angry posture, he saw sadness in her eyes.

“No,” Lucas insisted.

Her bottom lip quivered. “You don’t even see me, do you?”

“Of course I see you. I know exactly who you are, darlin’.”

“Don’t darlin’ me!” she snapped. “You
don’t
see me.” She swallowed. “This is going to be a regular thing, isn’t it, where your family comes first?”

“My daughter,” he corrected.

“You never even wanted children, and now all of a sudden you’re running for father of the goddamn year,” Priscilla said bitterly. The expletive surprised Lucas. She had to be very upset because she seldom cursed.

“Do you want me to pretend she doesn’t exist? Would you respect a man like that—one who didn’t take care of his responsibilities?”

She looked away for a few seconds before bringing her gaze to meet his again. “Should I respect a man who doesn’t keep his word?”

Now she was really pissing him off, but he held his displeasure at bay. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“How? You’re going to pay my rent again? Or maybe buy me a new car?”

“If that’s what you want—”

“No, that’s not what I want,” she hissed, her eyes darting around to make sure no one in the restaurant overhead her. “How can you be so dense?”

Lucas calmly set his napkin on the table and searched for the right words. “Priscilla, I never—”

“I know. Don’t you think I know that you never promised me anything? No marriage, no kids. You’ve made it very clear from the beginning.” She’d accepted that he didn’t want kids and had even said she could live without marriage, all to please him.

“That’s not what I was about to say.”

“Yet I’m still here, hanging out, waiting, wondering if you’ll ever change. God, I’m an idiot.” She sounded weary all of sudden.

“She’s my daughter. I have eight years to make up for.”

Priscilla laughed and took a huge swallow of her mint julep, draining the contents. She set the empty glass on the table. “Well, I guess eight years trumps five, right?” This was the most confrontational Priscilla had ever been. He’d never heard her use this tone of voice before.

“I’ll make it up to you,” Lucas said again.

“Yes, I know. You always do.” A sad smile flitted across her face.

Lucas took a good look at Priscilla and wondered why she continued to put up with him. Why was it, no matter how many times they broke up, she kept coming back? And why couldn’t he give her the permanent place in his life she so obviously wanted?

“Maybe we could go car shopping before you leave,” Priscilla said. “I’ve had my eye on a Lexus hybrid. I think this time around I’d like to get a car that’s a little better for the environment.”

She signaled to the waiter and when he arrived at the table, she ordered another mint julep. The rest of the meal they discussed cars, and she gradually returned to her normal, non-confrontational self, as if nothing had happened.