Chapter Eleven #2
Her father’s townhouse was near the police substation in the historic district.
It wasn’t the home Vanessa had grown up in.
The quaint, Spanish-style hacienda with a terraced rooftop was modest and unassuming.
She parked on the street behind Jackson’s truck and approached the residence with caution.
Eric Nava opened the door before they reached it.
He greeted Emily first, lifting her up for an energetic hug.
Then he turned to Vanessa with warmth in his eyes.
He was older than she remembered, but no less handsome.
His salt and pepper hair gave him a distinguished appearance.
His face was weathered and authoritative.
He set Emily down to embrace Vanessa and kiss her cheek. She accepted the display of affection, though she wasn’t quite ready for it. After he released her, he gave her a closer study. “How beautiful you are. I can’t believe you came from me.”
“No one can,” Jackson agreed, edging past him. “Are the tacos ready? I’m starving.”
They all went inside and gathered around a granite countertop in the kitchen.
Jackson cooked tortillas while their father sliced carne asada into ribbons and listened to Emily gush about her plans for a lemonade stand.
He served the tacos with homemade red salsa and fresh pico de gallo.
Vanessa’s nerves settled as they ate. The meal itself was a success.
The conversation, not so much. She made no effort at small talk.
She didn’t want to give the impression that she was ready for a tearful reunion.
Even so, she let her father take her on a tour of the small house. He had a small garden off the kitchen—just enough space to grow chili peppers and herbs. Jackson lived upstairs and had claimed the outside terrace.
There was a single framed photo in the hallway. She paused to study the image, which she’d never seen before. It showed Vanessa cradling Emily’s swaddled little form. The candid black and white depicted a peaceful, loving moment between mother and child.
“Jackson gave me that,” her father said gruffly.
Vanessa moved on from the sentimental sight.
When she came to an open door, she paused again.
The guest bedroom had a full bed with colorful pillows, and a sturdy desk near the window.
On the opposite side, an antique wooden toy chest sat in the corner, next to a rocking horse and an intricate dollhouse.
She whirled to face her father. “What the hell is this?”
Before he could answer, Emily skirted around her and darted inside the room.
She made a beeline for the dollhouse. Her father didn’t seem surprised by Vanessa’s negative reaction.
Emily, of course, was thrilled. She sank to her knees on the hardwood floor, her hands clasped together and her eyes wide.
“Can I play with it?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“Of course,” her father said. “It’s for you.”
She reached inside the dollhouse and began exploring its contents.
Vanessa turned on her heel and left. This kind of stunt was just like her father.
Give him an inch, and he took a mile. She shoved past Jackson, who was still stuffing his face with tacos, and stormed out to the garden. Bees zigzagged in the sunlight.
Her father joined her, and he had the grace to look chagrined. “Jackson told me you were having financial trouble. If you need a place to stay—”
“I don’t.”
He didn’t argue. He sat down on the cinderblock wall and dragged a hand over his jaw. He’d gained weight around his middle, but he was strong and fit for his age. She resented his good looks and excellent health.
“I’m sorry about your divorce,” he said.
She snorted in disbelief. “You hated Bennett.”
He inclined his head. “I’d like to kill him for the pain he’s caused you.”
Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest, silent. Sorrow welled up within her, and she had to struggle to hold the tears at bay.
“I shouldn’t have spoken out against him before the wedding,” he said in a formal tone. “I overstepped, and I regret it.”
His apology stunned her. It was clear he’d practiced the words, perfected them. “You regret overstepping, but you keep doing it. You filled a room with toys for Emily. Now she’ll beg to stay here.”
“I only wanted to make things easier for you,” he said. “I understand how difficult this is. I’ve been through it.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You have no idea what I’m going through!
Are you kidding? You betrayed Mom, not the other way around.
You broke up our family, and now you want to commiserate with me as if we have something in common?
We have nothing in common.” She needed to hurl more insults at him, to unleash her rage, but she was too agitated to speak clearly. Her voice shook with emotion.
He rose to his feet again. “It’s time I explained my side of this.”
“Please do,” she said, sarcastically. “Explain how you were so wronged and misunderstood that you had to screw the town librarian in our living room.”
He bristled at the accusation, which he couldn’t deny. “Your mother and I married young. You know that. I was only twenty when you were born.”
“Did someone force you to get married?”
“We were strongly encouraged by both sets of parents.”
“She was pregnant,” Vanessa said.
“Yes.”
Vanessa hadn’t known, but the timing had always been a bit suspect.
“I have no regrets about those circumstances. We adored you, and we loved each other. Your mother was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.” He smiled at her gently. “Almost as beautiful as you.”
Vanessa refused to be sweetened with compliments. She made an impatient gesture for him to continue.
“Jackson came along two years later. We were happy, even though we could barely make ends meet. She loved being a mother, and she couldn’t wait to have more children. We both wanted a big family.”
Something twisted in the pit of her stomach. She listened grimly.
“She had four miscarriages in a row. The first was the most difficult because she was almost six months along. They were all agonizing, emotionally.”
Vanessa sank to a seated position along the garden wall. Her mother had never said a word about miscarriages.
“She’s not a quitter, your mother. She was determined to get pregnant again, but the doctors advised against it.
I wouldn’t agree to try for another child, and she fell into a deep depression.
” He sat down beside her. “When you were about ten, we reached a breaking point. She told me she didn’t love me anymore. It was a devastating blow.”
“Why didn’t you leave?” she asked.
“Because I still loved her, and I wanted to keep our family together. I hoped we could work things out.”
“You slept with other women.”
“Yes, I did. Your mother took solace in her religious beliefs. I found it elsewhere.”
Vanessa looked away, disturbed by the confession. She didn’t ask why he hadn’t told her these things before. She’d been too young to understand at thirteen. Even at nineteen, she might not have appreciated the complexity. They hadn’t been on speaking terms for much of her adolescence.
His betrayal had never been easy to swallow. It had felt like a betrayal of the whole family, an abandonment of all responsibility. The idea that he could love her mother, and have relationships with other women, still didn’t compute. Vanessa would never forget the day she’d caught him cheating.
“Did you have to flaunt your affairs by bringing women to our home?” she asked.
He shook his head with regret. “I was stupid and careless. Maybe I wanted to get caught, but not by you. I wanted your mother to file for divorce, or at least to acknowledge my infidelity. That was the worst moment of my life.”
“Finally something we agree on,” she said and stood abruptly. “Except now I have one that tops it. I walked in on Bennett with my best friend.”
Her father closed his eyes. “Son of a bitch.”
“So, yeah. Thanks for that family legacy, Dad.”
He reached out to grasp her hand before she could walk away. If he expected hugs and forgiveness, he would be disappointed. “Mi’ja, please.”
“Don’t mi’ja me,” she said, and yanked her hand free. “I don’t want your sympathy or your charity, and I don’t want your guest room.”
He didn’t say anything else. She turned and left him sitting in the garden, all alone.
She found Jackson and Emily rearranging dollhouse furniture.
Vanessa was too emotional to speak, so she stared out the window and took deep breaths.
Memories of her parents’ fraught relationship closed in on her, making her stomach churn and her eyes water.
After a few minutes of quiet, Jackson took out his phone to show Emily photos of hotels with swimming pools. Vanessa didn’t want him to pay for their hotel room, but she stayed silent. She kept her gaze focused on the horizon and tried not to weep.
“Mommy!”
Vanessa turned away from the window. Emily was tugging on the hem of her dress. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Penelope. She got kidnapped!”