Chapter 31 Family Matter
FAMILY MATTER
“Rowan. There is a woman up front asking for you.”
He turned from the window where he was looking out onto the production floor when that announcement came through his phone.
They’d been back in Long Beach for five days now.
Sunday had been a long travel day. There were no direct flights unless he was in West’s jet, which took most of the family back to North Carolina.
With the time change, they’d arrived at four in Long Beach, but had been traveling for almost nine hours.
They’d gotten home, had dinner, then crashed in bed at seven. To them it was ten if they still went on East Coast time and they both were up early for work the next morning.
“Did she give her name?”
“No. She’s got some kids with her and said it’s urgent she speak to you. I told her without an appointment it wasn’t happening.”
He hated the dread that filled his gut.
“Without her name, tell her she’s out of luck. You can call security.”
The phone went dead, then less than a minute later, he heard, “Sandy Beach. She says she’s Saylor’s sister and she needs to talk to you right now.”
Fuck. That’s what the dread was.
Things had been going so well with him and Saylor, but she’d told him her sister kept calling and texting and Saylor finally replied that she was working and didn’t want visitors.
Guess her sister didn’t listen. Since she didn’t know where he lived, just showed up at his job with the kids to cause a scene.
Sandy would learn something fast. Scenes didn’t bother him. He was a pro at them in his childhood.
He left his office, Logan coming down the hall and intercepting him. “Where are you going?”
“What, are you my keeper?” he asked his best friend.
“I’ve been in the past,” Logan said, laughing. “But you’re heading toward the front on a mission.”
There would be no secrets from Logan. He was pretty sure Sandy was going to put up a ruckus downstairs and he didn’t want her in the offices.
“Saylor’s nut job sister just showed up unannounced from Arizona with her kids.”
“Seriously?” Logan asked. “No one knew she was coming?”
“If Saylor thought Sandy was coming, she would have left the state. Trust me.”
“Oh boy. Want me to deal with it?” Logan asked.
“I’d love you to, but it won’t go away. Walk with me.” They had a few minutes to get down there. “Sandy found out about Saylor and me after someone posted the pictures of us from the expo on her grandmother’s Facebook account. Since then Sandy has been blowing up Saylor’s phone.”
“Does she answer her?”
“Saylor has replied a few times that she’s working and doesn’t have time for visitors. Sounds like her sister wants a free vacation and to leave her kids with someone else. She’s a freeloader.”
“Not too much riles you,” Logan said. “But you’re pissed.”
He sighed. “I’m pissed because I have to deal with this and can’t do it without Saylor knowing. My first thought is to get her a hotel and tell her she’s on her own, but if I do that, she’ll think she can drop in any time she wants.”
“That’s right,” Logan said. “Don’t avoid this or push it off hoping it goes away.”
“I don’t want to upset Saylor.”
“Don’t pull that shit again,” Logan said. “It backfired last time.”
“I know.” Logan knew about the fight he’d had with Saylor. Then his best friend rubbed it in with the predicted, “I told you so.”
Rowan opened the door and walked to the reception area. There was a tall blonde with jeans shorts up to her crotch a size or two too small.
Not that Sandy had a bad body on her, but it screamed one night of fun a mile away.
One kid was sitting in a chair with a Nintendo Switch in his hand. That was a pricy gift for a five-year-old and one he was positive Sandy didn’t buy.
Unless it was to keep him out of her hair. Ashton was being quiet.
Mila, who he remembered was three, was running in and out of the chairs like it was some obstacle course.
He didn’t see the baby. Probably pawned Dutton off on someone for a few days.
“Sandy,” he said, coming forward.
Saylor’s sister’s eyes roamed over his body in a perusal leaving him feeling violated and exposed. He wanted to gag.
“You’re hotter than your picture. Not sure how Saylor landed you.” Sandy leaned in. “Or do you go for that robot feature?”
He might have just chipped a tooth with the urge to throw her out. “What do you want?”
“You’re not very friendly. But I should have figured as much. I’m sure Saylor has filled your head with horrible things about me.”
“We don’t talk about you much,” he said. No reason for her to feel flattered.
It was an arrow that struck home when Sandy’s upper lip curled. “Because she doesn’t want you to know where she came from. I bet your family wouldn’t like someone like her.”
“Not that it’s any business of yours, but my family adores Saylor.” Sandy walked away from him and looked out the front window at a beat-up car parked in front by the door in the handicap spot.
He saw the Arizona plates and figured that out. Not shocking she’d steal that spot.
“Just checking to see if Dutton is still sleeping. It was a long drive.”
“You left your kid in the car?” he shouted. “Go get him. It’s over eighty outside.”
“The AC was on. It’s cool in there. We have hotter days in Arizona.”
He marched right past her to the door and whipped it past him, opened the back car door and got the sleeping child out. It wasn’t as cool as Sandy thought with sweat on the baby’s head.
“Why are you here?” He was patting the one-year-old’s back who wiggled a little in his arms.
“I wanted to take the kids on a vacation.”
“Ashton isn’t in school?” he asked.
“I took him out. What’s the big deal? It’s only kindergarten.”
“Then go on your vacation,” he said. “If Saylor wants to see you, she’ll let you know.”
Sandy shrugged and grinned. “I don’t have a place to stay. And the kids are hungry. We’ve been in the car this whole time.”
“I’ve got to pee,” Mila said, running over.
He looked at Logan. “Can you take her?”
“What? No. What if she needs help?”
“I’ll do it, Rowan,” Michele said. He’d have to make sure his receptionist kept this information to herself, but it wasn’t guaranteed.
“You can go with Michele. She’ll show you to the bathroom.” He turned to Sandy. “You drove all this way with no place to stay?”
Talk about being irresponsible. But from everything he’d heard, nothing could shock him.
No, he was wrong. She left her sleeping child in the car. The kid that was now squirming with his hand on Rowan’s shoulder.
They were going to have a third kid up and making noise soon.
“I planned on staying with my sister. She wouldn’t turn away my kids. She hasn’t seen them in over a year. Dutton was just a baby then. The least she can do is visit.”
“If you think dropping in unexpected like this is going to get you a free vacation stay, you’re nuts.”
“You’d turn my kids out on the street?” Sandy asked louder.
“I’ll take care of this,” Logan said.
He put his hand out. “No. I appreciate it. This is a family matter.”
As much as he wanted to just dump Sandy anywhere but here, he couldn’t do it to the kids.
For all he knew, maybe Saylor would like to see her niece and nephews and he wouldn’t be the guy to stop it.
She trusted him saying her sister was reaching out, and he wouldn’t break that trust by not letting her know what was going on.
He put Dutton back in Sandy’s arms and walked away with his phone out.
“Hi, Rowan. You never call during the day. Do you miss me?” Saylor asked.
“Always,” he said, his voice not as harsh now. “But we’ve got an issue here.”
“Oh no. Are you going to be late? I’ll hold dinner for you.”
“I’ll be home soon. With guests.”
She laughed. “Are your siblings or your mother here to surprise you?”
He took a big breath. “No. It’s Sandy and the kids.”
“Fuck me!”
She couldn’t have said it any better.