When We Found Home(46)
“It’s a start.”
“It’s not anything I would have printed on a business card.”
She looked at him. “Oh, I don’t know. It would sure be a conversation starter.” She released him and smoothed the front of his shirt. “Malcolm, you’re a good guy. Trust yourself and take care of your family. The rest will fall into place. I’ve been through a lot of crap, so I know what I’m talking about.”
“Thanks for listening.”
“You’re welcome. Now eat some of the appetizers. I took them out of the freezer and put them on a cookie sheet with my own delicate hands.”
“I’m impressed.”
“You should be.”
They returned to the sofa. Delaney was mentally reeling from what he’d told her, but she would have to process it all later. For now Malcolm needed her full attention. He’d shown her what he thought was the darkest, worst part of himself. It was up to her to let him know she hadn’t been scared away.
chapter twenty
Callie stood in the hall outside of her brother’s home study. She really didn’t want to talk to him, but she knew she didn’t have a choice. Despite how he’d not been interested in her ideas for offering child-specific foods and packages, he’d totally come through on everything else.
The annoying lever on the cellophane machine had been fixed and HR had issued a statement revising the vacation policy to allow employees to donate their days off to someone else. Both of the issues were far more important than her ideas about cupcakes in a jar, she told herself. She would thank Malcolm and move on.
She knocked on the door and waited for his “Come in.” She mentally braced herself before walking inside and faking a smile.
“Do you have a second?” she asked.
“Sure. What’s up?”
He motioned to the chair opposite his desk but she figured she wouldn’t be there long enough to bother sitting down.
“I wanted to thank you for following through at work,” she said. “The lever is much better now and Frankie can take off three days next week to be with Levi when he has his next round of treatments.”
Malcolm’s gaze was steady. “You’re welcome. Thank you for bringing the problems to my attention. The lever should have been fixed immediately. As for the HR policy, that misunderstanding has been taken care of.”
“I noticed my supervisor has been out for a couple of days.”
“He’s getting retrained.”
She couldn’t help smiling. “If this were a science fiction movie or an action thriller, retrained could have ominous consequences.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
He stood and walked around the desk until he was in front of her. “Callie, I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to tell me your ideas before. I know how you feel about separating work from home so I won’t ask you to tell me about them now, but I really would like to talk about what you were thinking.”
She searched his face as if she could find answers there. While she wanted to believe him, honestly, she just wasn’t sure she could trust him.
“What?” he asked, his voice filled with frustration. “What did I say wrong now?”
“Nothing. I’ll put together some material and set up a meeting.”
His jaw tightened, then relaxed. “Callie, I don’t want to be the asshole brother. You’re my sister and I want you to be happy here. I want us to get along. I don’t know why we got off on the wrong foot, but I’d really like to know if you think we can change that now.”
Okay, that was honest, she thought, a little surprised he was willing to put it all out there. Maybe she should return the favor.
“I thought you were judging me.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you were judging me about having been in prison, that you were waiting for me to steal the family silver.”
“I don’t think there is any family silver.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” He motioned to the chair again. “Can you please sit down?”
“Sure.”
She plopped into the chair. He surprised her by taking the one next to her rather than returning to his desk.
“I was judging you,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what to expect. I guess I had some caricature in my mind. I’m sorry.”
“Me, too. I’m not a bad person, Malcolm.”
“I know. When it comes to Keira you’re a much better sibling than I am.” He leaned back against the chair. “Parenting sucks and I’m always getting it wrong.”
“You’re not doing so bad.”
“I’ve left Keira to take care of herself. I didn’t get her into counseling.” His gaze met hers. “I didn’t know she was scared of her bedroom and sleeping in the closet. I didn’t know about the nightmares and the screaming.”
Callie felt herself flush. “That’s getting better. She hardly ever has nightmares anymore and she’s sleeping in her bed more and more.”
“See? You know that and I don’t. It’s not that I don’t care about her. It’s just...”
She waited, wondering what he was going to say.
“I’m not very good with people,” he admitted. “In high school, I was all about learning and getting into college. I hardly had any friends. Santiago really helped loosen me up.”
She did her best not to react to hearing Santiago’s name. Just thinking about him made her feel all fluttery inside—which was incredibly stupid. She was very aware that she was living on borrowed time with him. The second he found out about her past, he was going to dump her and run for the hills.
“You were good for him, too,” she said, trying to sound casual instead of giddy. “That’s what friendship is about. Helping each other.”
“I’d like us to be friends.”
“Me, too.” The words were automatic and it took her a second to realize she meant them. “Look, we have something in common.”
“More than that. We’re related by blood.”
Something she still had trouble processing. “I know almost nothing about our father. What I have heard isn’t great. My mom never said much and I know she loved me, but I’m sure getting pregnant and then having to be a single mom totally messed up her life.”
She thought about how Keira had been abandoned by her mother, her own tough circumstances. She wasn’t sure what had gone on between Malcolm and Jerry, but she sensed they hadn’t been close.
“Is there anything positive you can tell me about our father?” she asked.
He thought for a second. “He was really good with women.”
Callie started to laugh. Malcolm joined in and for that moment she thought everything was going to be okay.
* * *
“What time is it?” Noah asked for the fifth time in less than five minutes. “I don’t want to miss it.”
Santiago shook his head. “Noah, we’re not going to miss it.”
“But what if we do?”
“Do you want to run ahead and meet us there?”
“Yes.”
Noah took off at a run but before Santiago could tell him to slow down, the boy began to walk. Okay—it was a fast walk, but still.
“He does this every time,” Emma said, looking at her brother. “We never miss the demonstration.”
“I know, but he’s a worrier.”
Santiago brought his niece and nephew to Chihuly Garden and Glass a couple of times a year. They loved the beautiful glass, the incredible colors and ways the displays were set up. While Emma enjoyed all of it, Noah’s favorite part was the glassblowing demonstration at the end.
They walked more sedately, pausing to study favorite pieces. As they moved into a room with a magnificent glass ceiling, Emma moved close.
“Uncle Santiago, can I talk to you about something?”
He figured he was on safe ground. Hanna and her daughter were close. From all he’d heard, Emma had lots of friends and did great in school. “Sure. What?”
She thought for a second. “I guess it’s not a question. Not really. Mom and Dad are fighting all the time and I don’t know what to do.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m sorry you know about that.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Everyone knows about that. They get really loud sometimes. Dad doesn’t like that Mom went back to college to become a nurse. I don’t get that. She’s really smart and she’s worked so hard. Shouldn’t he be proud of her?”
Santiago realized he was in way over his head with this conversation, but there was no escaping it now.
“You’re right. She’s done so well for herself. We’re all proud of her. She’s going to be a great nurse.”
Emma looked at him. “What about Dad? Why is he so mad all the time?”
“That’s kind of complicated,” he admitted. “When your parents first got married, your mom stayed home with you and your brother. That’s how things were for a long time. Now everything is different.” He brightened. “Remember when you and your family moved into the house? You were scared because you thought you’d miss your old school and your friends there, but it worked out all right. This is like that.”