14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Koa
Spencer frowns after I tell him that I’m going to pay for Dustin to go to the baseball camp.
For the life of me, I’m not sure what my friends want.
First, they thought I should do all I could to make amends, and now that I am, they hesitate.
All I know is, the kid has talent, his mother is a good person trying her best, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t pay for his coaching.
Katie sits silently on the sofa listening to our non-conversation.
“Is there something you want to say?” I ask, propping my feet on my coffee table. It feels nice to be in my own place, but these two giving me a full interrogation with their stare downs is less than pleasant.
“Only that you need to be careful. She’s a single mom, not a conquest.” Spencer shrugs.
Frustration flames in my chest, and I stomp my feet to the floor. “I never said she was a conquest. What gave you the idea that I’m on some sort of mission?”
Spencer leans back in his chair, hands up. “I didn’t. I’m only making sure you know how this appears to the news outlets that are still following your every move. They might not be in your face, but they still know what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just this morning there was a story on the local news about you and the bakery owner,” Katie says, using air quotes around bakery owner.
“I don’t want my brother’s name tarnished, nor do I want to see Evalina suffer for what our family may or may not have done.
We got our stuff back, but this isn’t over. ”
A deep groan escapes, and I drop my head back. “Are they ever going to let this go? I had nothing to do with whatever Dad did or didn’t do. Why is my daily life so exciting?”
“Because people get bored and nosy. It doesn’t change that you need to be careful. If her son gets too attached to you—”
I interrupt Spencer’s warning with another groan.
“Listen, her son has talent. Even though Dad loved that I played ball, he never supported it as a career option. All I want is to ease Evalina’s hardship, which, I remind you, is the least I can do after putting her on front-page news for days in a row. ”
Katie’s frown softens. “I think you turned out pretty great even without Dad supporting your choice.”
Leave it to my sister to remove all frustration and annoyance from my body with a well-placed smile and a few sweet words.
I rise, ready to change the subject and get something to eat. “I’m going to make us some—”
A knock on the door interrupts me. I’m not expecting anyone, not with Spencer and Katie already here, Andrew and Lottie busy for the day, and most of the rest of the team quietly avoiding my house for now. They don’t say it aloud, but I know they are. I don’t blame them, honestly.
I should have known from the tension in the room that the person on the other side of the door would have nothing but bad news, but I don’t, so when I open it and find Eleanor Dawson looking back at me, I’m surprised.
“Eleanor? What are you doing here?”
She releases a long, drawn-out sigh. “I take it you haven’t checked your email today?”
My body tenses. “I try to avoid it on my days off, if I can. What’s going on?” I step aside and let her inside where it’s not a sweltering ninety degrees.
Eleanor offers a curt nod to Spencer and Katie before diving right in. “Your father’s attorney was…let’s just say sleeping with the fishes has a particularly accurate meaning in this case.”
Katie gasps. “He’s dead?”
“Murdered, yes. Someone cut his brake lines. He veered off the road and crashed into the river. Unfortunately, they retrieved his body this morning.”
“What exactly does this mean?” Spencer asks, his hand seeking Katie’s. He grasps hers and tugs her a bit closer.
“It means your father’s case just got a lot scarier, and I’m back to help you two navigate what is bound to come your way.” Eleanor is rattled, seemingly very unlike herself.
I motion to the living area. “Sit, relax. You seem shaken more than—”
“I’m fine. I’m used to this, truly. My family has had their fair share of incidents over the years.
You can’t have the money and influence the Dawsons have without it.
” She rakes her fingers through her hair, and I notice for the first time she’s not wearing her usual attire.
She’s in jeans and a tank top, which must mean she came during her personal time to alert us of the news.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Katie asks.
Eleanor frowns and shakes her head. “It hits home. I’m not going to lie about that, but I’m here for you two. Have either of you spoken to your mother?”
I urge her to sit again, and this time she accommodates. Spencer releases Katie’s hand and whispers something about getting iced tea for everyone, leaving the three of us alone.
“I called her twice, but she hasn’t responded. Should we be worried?” Katie asks.
“I wouldn’t say that, but it would be nice to have an account of what is going on. I can’t get anyone to give me any information.” Eleanor shrugs. “Not that it’s any of my business, but it would make my job easier to have some updates.”
I check my phone and find several emails from Eleanor and one from my lawyer, Mr. Peterson. I tap the email and find it’s pretty mundane. The same update on my father’s attorney, plus added assurance that our assets are safe. He recommends we lay low, stay out of the public eye as much as possible.
“I’ll try calling her now. Maybe she’ll answer.” I tap call and wait as my mother’s phone rings and rings. I can’t decide whether I’m grateful that I don’t have to dive into the drama, or disappointed that our own mother hasn’t given us any information at all. Finally, she answers.
“Koa, I’m so sorry. I’m rushing around here, losing my mind.”
“What is going on? Katie is here; I’m gonna put you on speaker.” I place my phone on the table and tap the speaker icon, meeting Katie’s worried eyes.
“First, I need you to know your father is innocent. His refusal is what got him in this mess, but the Butlers have offered their attorney. He’s well-versed in this sort of case.
” Mom continues to rattle on about how Dad is innocent and she’ll hire all the lawyers necessary to ensure he is set free, but not once does she ask how we are doing.
She even talks about how badly her reputation has been impacted by all of this—she lost her seat on the board of this and that, hasn’t been invited to the ladies’ teas by this society and that society, and even half of the staff has quit.
Eleanor’s gaze drifts to mine, her lips pursed into a tight scowl.
Somehow, I think she gets it more than I’d wish on another person.
By the time Mom is finished rambling, Spencer has returned with the tea and a bag of cookies.
He sits with Katie and shakes his head, knowing very well how our family operates.
Mom loves us, but she covers her stress with all manner of ostrich-like behaviors.
The more she can make this seem like a minor social hiccup, the better she’ll manage.
“I must be going, darling, but rest assured that our family name will survive this incident.” She calls money laundering, murder, and all manner of other crimes an incident? That jives.
There’s no amount of discussion that could ever change my mother’s mind about our family name or its importance in society.
Not even her husband sitting in a jail cell awaiting a trial can hamper her vision.
Not for the first time, I remind myself that her parents raised her this way, always worried about her image, and there is little I can do to change that wiring.
“Okay, Mom. Call me if you need anything.”
“Of course, love. Talk soon!”
The phone call ends, leaving Katie and me staring at a black screen.
“We’re doing just great, thanks for asking, Mom.” Katie huffs and sits back on the sofa, arms crossed.
“If it helps, I know how you feel. My brothers are all the real family I’ve got.
” Eleanor’s veneer cracks further, letting us in on a bit more Dawson family drama.
“The only thing I can recommend at this point is to lay low, try to stay away from the cameras, and don’t speak about the case to anyone. ”
“And…” Spencer winces when the next words fall from his lips. “Maybe try to not involve other people in the drama right now.”
Evalina. And her son.
He means I should stay away from them, not get too involved, which is reasonable, considering everything in my life could blow up at any moment.
It’s more than reasonable. I absolutely should put as much distance between Evalina and me as humanly possible, especially since my family drama has already caused her so much grief.
The only problem with following through on what I know is best is that I can’t bring myself to think about what life would look like without her in it.
It doesn’t make sense, shouldn’t be the case, but in a short time the woman has managed to chisel out a place in my life, a seat at the table in my mind that cannot be filled by anyone else.
Her sassy comebacks, the gentle way she supports her son, and the vulnerable moments she tries to hide all fit in a place in my heart that I didn’t think anyone could find.
How could I say goodbye to someone like Evalina Renn?