It's Better This Way, page 12
“I can’t. Not after how she treated you. Dad wasn’t any better, the way he lied and misled you when he was involved in an affair all along. I can’t respect a man with no honor and integrity. It’s worse when that man is my own father.”
“All this happened a long time ago,” Julia gently reminded her girls. “And remember, it was said in the heat of the moment. He never meant to completely sever his relationship with you.”
“Oh yes he did,” Hillary countered. “An entire year passed before he even tried to talk to me.”
Julia recognized how difficult it was for both Eddie and the girls to let go of their pride. They shared more in common than any of them were willing to admit. “Your father gave you both time and distance to let emotions cool,” she offered, hoping Hillary and Marie would take her words to heart.
“Uncle Eddie phoned me a couple times to ask me how you were both doing,” Carrie added. Her niece tended to be a peacemaker. Julia appreciated her efforts.
Over the last month since Carrie had started her new job, Julia had seen a change in her niece. She’d quickly grown into the position, and was well liked by the residents. She had a cheerful disposition, and a generous heart when it came to offering the residents assistance. One of the condo board members had thanked Julia for recommending Carrie. She’d also learned that her niece had developed a friendship with Eric Hudson, often spending time with him on the rooftop in the cool of the evenings. Maybe there was more to do with the change in her niece than just her position as concierge. And that made Julia happy. When she questioned Carrie about Eric, her niece had claimed there was far more to him than met the eye. She didn’t elaborate, which left Julia curious as to the budding relationship. On the outside they appeared to be polar opposites. However, to her way of thinking, their personalities might perfectly balance each other. Eric needed someone like Carrie to draw him out of his shell.
“I’d be willing to give a relationship with Dad a try,” Marie said, abruptly taking Julia’s thoughts off her niece, “but he still refuses to see us unless we include Laura. That’s the issue.”
“I doubt we’ll hear from him again,” Hillary said. “I made my wishes known. It’s up to him what he decides.”
“Dad insisted he should be part of the wedding, seeing that he’s Hillary’s father,” Marie added.
“And I told him it’s my wedding and I’m the one writing out the guest list. I made sure he understood Laura’s name isn’t on it and won’t be. Dad has a choice. He’s welcome to be part of the wedding, only Laura can’t attend with him.”
Julia started to speak. Hillary stopped her by holding up her hand.
“Don’t say it, Mom. Nothing you can add is going to change my mind. Dad’s the one who drew the line in the sand, and he’s going to need to be the one to step over it first.”
The way Julia saw it, Eddie had stepped over it by being the one to reach out to his daughters. She couldn’t understand why he couldn’t start with something easy, like taking Hillary and Marie to coffee and talking. It wasn’t like Laura was attached to his hip or should be. If Hillary’s heart didn’t change, she feared that one day, her daughter would grow to regret not letting her father back into her life.
“Enough about Dad,” Marie said. “This is a day to celebrate. Hillary is choosing her wedding dress.”
“And paying for it myself,” she added, before anyone else could suggest she accept Eddie’s offer to pay the difference above what she had budgeted.
“And I’m enjoying lunch with my favorite women in the world,” Carrie added.
The girls were right. Discussing Eddie had put a damper on what should be a happy day.
Hillary reached inside her purse and grabbed a pad. “This is my list of everything I need to arrange before the wedding,” she said, and put a check by where she had listed the wedding dress.
“Blake and I need to order the save-the-date cards next. We plan to do that the first of next week and order the invitations at the same time. Which means we have to decide exactly what we want printed. Blake is leaning toward the traditional, with our parents’ names listed. Personally, I’d rather not.”
Julia swallowed down another groan. If Blake got his way, then it went without saying Hillary would leave her father’s name off the invitation. That would be another slight toward Eddie that was sure to widen the gap between them.
“You’re both old enough to make your own decisions,” Julia said. “You haven’t lived at home since you started college.”
Her daughter gently shook her head. “Mom, stop. I know what you’re doing. You think it would be best if we kept our parents’ names off the invite because you want to spare Dad’s feelings. It’s sweet of you, but unnecessary. Blake and I are discussing this and will likely compromise.”
“Understood.”
The girls chatted among themselves while Julia’s stomach clenched as she braced herself for what she would tell them next. She had barely touched her food. It was now or never. She knew Heath was anxiously waiting back at the condo to hear her daughters’ reaction to her news.
“Hillary, Marie,” she said. “I need to tell you something.”
Her tone must have alerted them that whatever she was about to say was important. As soon as she spoke, all three girls reverted their attention to her.
Julia’s mouth went completely dry.
“Mom,” Hillary said, her eyes widening with concern, “what is it?”
Chapter 14
Julia’s daughters continued to stare at her. Carrie, too. For the life of her, she couldn’t find the right words or even where to start. She had thought it best to simply explain the truth. However, now, when she had their full attention, she discovered her tongue had grown thick, and she was hardly able to speak.
“Are you sick?” Marie asked, reaching across the table to take hold of Julia’s hand and tightly hanging on to it. “Is it cancer?”
“No. No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that.”
“Mom, you’re scaring me.” This was from Hillary, who was almost always unshakable.
“Aunt Julia, you know there isn’t anything you can’t tell us. We love you.”
“I know…” She straightened and looked at the beautiful faces of these three women who were in possession of her very heart. “I’ve fallen in love,” she whispered.
All three of the girls broke into huge smiles as relief relaxed their shoulders.
“Mom, did you seriously think you finding love would upset us?” Marie asked, laughing softly.
“That’s wonderful, Mom,” Hillary added, her relief evident.
“It’s Mr. Wilson, isn’t it?” Carrie said knowingly. “I’ve seen the two of you together having coffee every morning at the Busy Bean. Then you went on that pub crawl together.”
“How did you know that?” Julia was surprised word had gotten around the building, until she remembered she’d run into Kennedy, and then later a couple of the board members, at the event.
“It wasn’t a secret, was it?”
“No, not at all.” The pub crawl had been the turning point in their relationship. That was the night Heath had first kissed her. The night she felt the thick wall around her heart crack open with the possibility of falling in love again. Love had deeply wounded her before, and she’d been afraid until Heath had kissed her. That first kiss had changed everything.
“It is Heath,” she agreed. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together, and it’s been wonderful. Neither of us set out to care for each other the way we do. It simply happened. We share a lot in common. Until Heath, I didn’t believe I would ever find someone again. It’s like my whole world has opened up since we’ve been together.”
“That’s great. When do we get to meet him?”
“Anytime you want…only…” She couldn’t make herself do it.
“Only what?” Marie asked, as her face sobered.
“Does he have a criminal record? Is he dying? Is he married?” Hillary injected.
Julia shook her head. “Heath is a good person. He’s healthy. And he was married, but is now divorced.”
“So what is it you’re afraid to tell us?”
“It’s about his ex-wife,” she said, carefully easing into the subject.
Both girls leaned back in their seats. “Is she making your relationship impossible?” Carrie asked, concerned.
“Is she a witch the way Laura was?” Hillary added another question.
Julia held their gazes for several seconds, before she lowered her eyes and whispered, “She is Laura.”
The admission was met with complete silence, while the three made the connection.
“Heath was married to Laura…the same Laura who is now married to our father?” Hillary asked, speaking first.
Julia nodded. “We only discovered this recently, and it was as much of a shock to us as it is to you. When Heath spoke of his ex, he called her Lee, and when I mentioned Eddie, he had no clue Eddie was the Edward who had married his ex.”
“When did you make the connection?”
“Heath’s son Michael recognized me.”
On hearing Michael’s name, both her daughters instantly stiffened. “I bet that didn’t go well,” Hillary muttered, her jaw tightening with distaste.
“I can only imagine what he said.” Marie shook her head as if she’d bit into something sour and repugnant. “You might be fond of Heath, but you need to know his sons are a piece of work.”
“You do realize that it’s because of Michael and Adam that Marie and I will never have a relationship with our dad again.”
“Oh Hillary, don’t say that.”
“It’s true, Mom.”
“What did his sons say when they learned Heath was involved with you?” Carrie asked.
“Yes, Mom, what did they say?” Both Hillary and Marie crossed their arms defensively.
Carrie asked the one question Julia had hoped to avoid. “They weren’t happy about it, although Heath assured me our relationship isn’t going to change anything between him and his boys.”
“They don’t want anything to do with you, though, right?”
Slowly, reluctantly, Julia nodded.
Hillary and Marie’s faces tightened until they each wore pinched looks.
“Like you ever did anything to hurt them,” Marie huffed.
“Mom, are you sure you’re in love with Heath…I mean, there are plenty of other eligible men. Why does it have to be him?”
“You want me to break up with Heath?” she asked. This was her biggest fear. She’d prayed her girls wouldn’t react the same way Heath’s sons had.
The three shared an unreadable look.
“Aunt Julia, we want you to be happy.”
“I am happy…or I was until this information came to light. It’s a complication Heath and I never anticipated. You need to know this has shaken us both. After talking to his sons, Heath needed a few days to mull it over. In the end he decided he wasn’t going to let what happened between Laura and Eddie stand between us.”
“And I suppose he naturally assumed you would do the same?” Hillary repeated, raising her voice. “Does he have any idea of the awkward position that puts you, and Marie, and me in?”
Julia had to agree it was awkward. “I believe he does.”
“I doubt it.”
Julia didn’t know what to expect when she shared this news with her family. Like her, they were stunned. It would take time to fully absorb all the implications. “The thing you need to understand,” she said, hoping to add clarity, “is that this doesn’t change the way Heath and I feel about each other.”
All three girls were quiet. Finally, it was Marie who spoke. “Maybe it should, though.”
For one wild moment, Julia felt certain her heart had stopped. “What do you mean?” she asked, once she found her voice.
“Laura is poison. Why Dad would choose to leave you for that witch says everything I need to know about the kind of man my father is,” Hillary said.
“And it isn’t only Dad Laura has poisoned,” Marie added. “She’s infected the entire family. Her sons hate us, and because they are loyal to their mother, it sounds like they won’t even give you a chance.”
From what little Heath had said, Julia knew this was likely true.
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but, Mom, please, you need to seriously think about not continuing in this relationship.”
Hillary was right; this wasn’t what Julia wanted to hear. Still, as painful as it was, she was grateful for her daughters’ honesty.
“It isn’t that we don’t want you to be happy,” Hillary explained further. “I’m sure Heath is great, only you should know there are plenty of fish in the sea. All you have to do is keep your eyes open to new possibilities.
“Our relationship with you has always been our safe place. When Dad left, you were the one who held everything together. We knew you would always be there for us. Dad was gone, and he made it clear he no longer wanted to be part of our lives.”
The divorce had been emotionally hard on her daughters. Eddie seemed to feel that, because they were older and basically on their own, breaking up their family wouldn’t hurt them, as they had their own lives now. How wrong he’d been. How naïve.
“I know how you feel about Heath,” Hillary continued, “but, Mom, you can’t seriously ask us to deal with his family? Can you even imagine what the holidays would be like? And what happens when there are grandchildren? Can’t you see what an impossible situation you’re putting yourself and Heath in?”
“And us?” Marie added.
Julia felt the sudden need to cry. Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. “Nothing will ever change between us, that I can promise you,” she whispered. Still, she needed to seriously consider what Hillary said.
Before lunch, her mind had been set. She’d been determined to work this out with her family so she could be with Heath. Seeing how upset this news made her daughters, Julia realized she needed to do as they suggested and carefully consider her options.
* * *
—
Back at home, Julia sat in her condo, gazing out her window with its limited view of the blue-green waters of Puget Sound. She couldn’t face Heath, even knowing he was anxiously waiting for her return. For a solid hour she remained motionless, reviewing the lunchtime conversation. Before today, everything had been clear in her mind. Now she wasn’t sure about anything. About Heath. About the future. About her daughters’ reaction.
Her doorbell chimed, and without answering she knew it was him. Her feet felt as if she had strapped on weights as she slowly approached her door.
As she suspected, it was Heath. Wordlessly, she stepped aside so he could enter. As soon as she closed the door, he brought her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest; so close she could feel the solid beat of his heart. His heart that was her very own. Julia didn’t know how she would ever be able to give him up.
The same thought repeated itself when he kissed her. In all her life she’d never been kissed with such passion, with such incredible need. It was as if the only reason he drew breath, the only reason he lived, was because it meant he could be with her.
Tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know how I am going to learn to live without you,” she whispered brokenly.
“That’s because you will never need to find out. I can guess what your daughters said, Julia.”
She looked up at him, his handsome features blurred by the tears that swam before her. “You can?”
“I heard the same from Michael and Adam. It shook me, and I figured once your girls learned who I was, it would rattle you. I stayed away for as long as I could, before I realized I couldn’t allow Laura’s infidelity and my children to rule my life.”
She understood, she really did. Hillary and Marie were everything to her. They had remained faithfully by her side throughout the divorce, and afterward, had become her staunch supporters. They claimed all they wanted was for her to be happy. But, and it was a big but, they hoped she would find that happiness outside of a relationship with Heath.
“Until I started seeing you, Julia, I had no idea how lonely I’d become,” he continued. “I went through each day like a robot without emotion, without laughter, without sunshine. You brought all three back into my life, and by all that’s holy, I’m not letting anyone take what we have away. Not my children. Not yours. Definitely not Lee or Eddie.”
Julia so badly wanted to believe their love was possible. She leaned her forehead against his chest, knowing that if she gazed into his eyes, she would never have the courage to leave him.
“I need time to think about all this,” she told him.
“No,” Heath insisted.
“No? You took three days,” she reminded him. “Am I not allowed that same grace period?”
He hesitated. “You’re right. I did take those three days and I left you hanging, not knowing why—something I regret. But I needed that time to realize how precious you are to me and find the courage to fight for us. And that’s what I intend to do, Julia. I’m determined not to lose you.”
She looked up, and her eyes met the intensity in his.
“I love you, and I’m not letting you slip away from me without one hell of a fight. You take all the time you need, but realize one thing.”
“What’s that?”
He grinned down at her and kissed her again with enough soul and passion to set her heart racing.
“My love, I fully intend to win your heart, and I refuse to let our exes or our children stand in the way.”
What Heath had failed to realize, she mused after he left, was that he already had possession of her heart.
