Chapter 28
Was it possible to float through a day? If so, that’s what McKenzie did after the lovely wakeup at Duke’s house.
Once again, he’d insisted she use his truck while he took the bike to work.
If her bookkeeping business continued to grow like it had this week, she’d be able to afford a car of her own in no time.
After Eric had walked away from her and the baby she was expecting, she’d sold her car to cover a few additional months of rent when she wasn’t able to work as much due to relentless morning sickness.
By the time that unpleasant phase had passed, she was already low on money and had made the painful decision to move back to her mother’s house temporarily.
Talk about a worst-case scenario: abandoned by the man who made her pregnant and forced to live with the mother who drove her crazy.
But she’d done what she had to for Jax.
He was buckled into his car seat in the passenger seat of the truck as she drove toward her first stop of the day at Sierra’s massage studio to drop off the banana bread she’d made for her. She also wanted to get a sense of whether Sierra was going to be a problem for her with Duke.
She found Sierra at the reception desk when she entered the studio, carrying Jax. “Morning.”
“Hey, what’s up?” Sierra asked with a guarded expression.
She placed the plastic bag with the banana bread on the counter. “As promised.”
“Oh damn. Thank you. I’m so excited. I’ve missed Rosemary’s.”
“Duke says it’s just as good as hers.”
“Well, that’s a heck of an endorsement.”
“Is everything okay?” McKenzie asked.
“Of course.”
“Call me crazy, but I’m picking up a vibe, especially after last night.”
Sierra took a deep breath and released it before she glanced up at her. “I’m sorry about showing up unannounced. It’s just that… He means a lot to me.”
“I know.”
“It would hurt me to see him hurt—again.”
“The last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt him. He’s the best thing to happen to me in… well… ever.”
Sierra nodded. “That’s who he is. When he cares, he cares with his whole heart.”
“We’re both lucky to be cared for by him, right?”
“Right.”
“I hope we can be friends, Sierra. It would mean a lot to him.”
“I hope so, too. Thanks for the banana bread.”
“Any time. Have a great day.”
She turned to leave.
“McKenzie?”
She turned back toward Sierra.
“Thanks for coming by. I’m glad we got the chance to talk.”
“Me, too.”
McKenzie was relieved to have cleared the air with Sierra as she drove to Martinez Lawn & Garden on a gorgeous fall morning. The cloudless sky was a vivid cornflower blue, the air cool and crisp, and the first hints of foliage were beginning to appear in the trees.
McKenzie loved autumn and all things pumpkin and pumpkin spice, so when she spotted the sign for Martinez Lawn & Garden and pulled in, she was thrilled to see pumpkin patches on either side of the long driveway that led to the retail store Jenny had told her to look for.
She was still getting used to parking Duke’s huge truck.
This time, she succeeded on the second attempt, which was an improvement from the day before.
She retrieved Jax from his seat and put him into the stroller, which she was relieved to have again with him getting too heavy to haul around in the seat.
The retail store was made of a light-colored wood with dark green shutters and window boxes decked out with colorful chrysanthemums mixed with purple and green cabbage. She stepped into a shop full of brightly painted pots, gardening tools, wind chimes and other fun things.
Jenny came out to meet her carrying George.
“Hi there, welcome! Come on back to the office.”
She followed Jenny. “The shop is so pretty.”
“That’s been my personal passion project. Took some doing to convince the guys that it could be profitable, and now they’re eating all kinds of crow, which I enjoy.”
McKenzie laughed.
“That’s what happens when you work with your husband and brother-in-law. There’s often bickering involved.” She gestured for McKenzie to take a seat.
She released Jax from the stroller and gathered him into her arms.
“If he wants to play with George, he’s welcome to join him on the mat.” Half the office was devoted to George and his toys.
“He’d love to.” McKenzie settled Jax on the mat, close enough to George that they could see each other, but not so close that they could pull hair or pinch each other.
“George loves other kids, but he hasn’t quite worked out how to play with them yet. His older cousin, Ethan, has been great with him, but he’s a work in progress.”
“I read about a thing called parallel play, where they like to know another child is there, but they don’t want to play with them. They want to play near them.”
“Yes, we’re in that stage now.”
“Jax is about sitting up and throwing things.”
“Ah, yes, I remember that. While they’re calm, let me show you what I’ve done in QuickBooks, and you can tell me everything I’ve done wrong.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“I’m sure it’s worse than you think.”
Over the next hour, McKenzie reviewed the balance sheet and income statement, the credit card statements for the last six months and took a look at the payroll account.
“How bad is it?” Jenny asked when she returned from waiting on a customer.
“You’ve made a great start. Way better than most.”
“May I quote you on that when I brag to Alex about how smart I am?”
“Absolutely.”
“Here comes one of them now. You can tell by the clomp of boots on the concrete floor.”
“Good to know what the bosses sound like.”
“Don’t let on to them, but I’m the real boss around here.”
McKenzie was still laughing when Alex came into the office, his entire countenance softening at the sight of Jenny and George.
“Hi, family.”
“Hi, Daddy.”
George let out a happy cry at the sight of his dad. “Da!”
Alex leaned down to pick up George from the floor and swung him over his head, to the delight of his son. “What goes on around here?”
“You remember McKenzie Martin and her son, Jax, from the marina the other night. She just said that I’m way better at bookkeeping than most people are.”
“How much did she pay you to say that?” Alex asked. “Oh, and it’s nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too, and I told her that for free because it’s true.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t need you,” Jenny said. “I’d like very much to turn the bookkeeping over to someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”
“Bookkeeping makes my love grumpy,” Alex added, “so I’m all for getting some help.”
“I can’t even deny the grumpiness,” Jenny said with a sheepish grin.
McKenzie’s phone rang with a number she didn’t recognize. In case it was another potential client, she excused herself to take the call.
Jenny gestured for her to go into the store and pointed to Jax to tell McKenzie she’d watch him.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
At first, McKenzie didn’t realize who she was talking to.
“Sending me a letter at work, threatening to tell my wife about us?”
Eric.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“Not at all. I’m finally in my right mind about you getting me pregnant and then walking away from your obligations.”
“I have no obligations to you!”
“No, but you have them to your son. He deserves to have everything your other kids have.”
“That’s not going to happen. There’s no way I can pay child support without people finding out about him.”
“That’s your problem, not mine. He’s your son. You know that as well as I do, and I’m prepared to take you to court to get what’s coming to him.”
“This is about revenge, right? I left you, so you’re going to ruin my life.”
“Don’t give yourself too much credit. I’ve barely given you a thought. This is about our son and doing what’s right for him.”
“I told you I can’t have any more kids.”
“Tell it to the court. My attorney says the next step will be a paternity test that’ll prove that in addition to your other charming qualities, you’re also a liar. Oh wait, we knew that already.”
“McKenzie, please… Don’t do this to me. You don’t understand what’s at stake.”
She released a harsh laugh. “That’s rich coming from you.
Guess what? I don’t care what’s at stake for you.
All I care about is doing right by my son.
We created him together, and we’ll both pay for his upbringing.
If you want to avoid a protracted public battle over this, make a settlement offer through my attorney. ”
“I don’t have the money.”
“Then I guess I’ll see you in court.”
When she went to end the call, she realized her hands were trembling—not with fear but with adrenaline. Damn, that had felt good. It also felt good to realize she had not a single feeling left for the man she’d once thought was her forever love.
Jenny poked her head into the store. “Everything okay?”
McKenzie nodded. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. You want to talk about it?”
Was it professional to share her personal drama with a new client? Probably not, but Jenny had felt like a new friend from the get-go. “That was Jax’s dad, who just received the letter my new attorney sent him, letting him know we’re suing for child support.”
“Ah. I take it he wasn’t pleased with this news?”
“Not at all. He’s concerned about his wife and kids, the wife and kids I had no idea he had, finding out he’s got another kid out there, and apparently, he doesn’t have the money to support him.”
“Well, that sucks for him, right?”
McKenzie smiled. “Sure does. I want you to know I’m not a drama girl. I’m so sorry to bring that into your workplace…”
“Don’t sweat it. I just want to hear that you put the fear of God into him.”
“I sure did.”
“Good. I hope he’s crapping his pants worrying about your next move.”
Laughing, McKenzie said, “I think we’re going to be very good friends.”
“I’d love that.”
Sitting at her brother’s kitchen table, with a mug of coffee and the company of her sister-in-law and baby niece, Kendall exhaled a breath she’d been holding so long, it felt like she’d forgotten how to breathe normally.