“I’m busy.”
“You’ll be a lot less busy if I have to take an ax to this door, young lady. Open it now.”
In a moment, the door opened a few inches, Courtney standing there in her usual pose of defiance. “What is it, Mother?” She stressed the last word.
“I’m picking you up after school tomorrow and taking you back to the office with me. You can help me there and do your homework. I’ll wait for you at the end of the school driveway so you won’t be embarrassed to have your friends see you talk to your mother or get in a car with her.”
Courtney stared at her, mouth open. “You’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not. I’m tired of never knowing where you are or who you’re with. And don’t even think of ducking out on me. You won’t like the consequences.”
She turned away and the door slammed behind her. Another wonderful evening at home, she thought. She looked up to see Miranda holding a small tray.
“Someone needs to give that child the spanking of her life.” Miranda walked with her down to the kitchen. She’d tactfully left Courtney and Julia alone during their discussion.
“Yes, well, I don’t think I can take it on at her age. Although it’s a good idea.” Julia grimaced at the thought. “Anyway, I’ll just have to find another solution.”
“I made you some nice hot chocolate. You look like you could use it.”
“I think my child-rearing skills have totally disappeared.” Julia accepted the cup gratefully.
“You did a fine job with the twins,” the woman reminded her.
“Yes, but at least they began life with the presence of a father,” she pointed out.
Miranda snorted in disgust. “On their birth certificate. Maybe. But that man didn’t have a spot in his heart for any of you except to trot you out on display when he needed to. Remember who you’re talking to here.”
“Charles tried his best,” Julia protested. “He just…”
“Didn’t know how to be a person,” Miranda finished. “Whatever those kids got came from you. Look how great they turned out.”
“Well, I’ve certainly lost my touch with Courtney.”
“I’ll tell you, she seems like a piece of her life is missing. I’m not smart enough to figure out what it is, though. All this thumbing her nose at everything? She’s just trying to find where she belongs, because she’s not one bit like those other two.”
And wasn’t that just the truth.
“Well, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. I have to make a start somewhere.”
Last night they’d celebrated Courtney’s thirteenth birthday, although Julia wasn’t sure it was much of a celebration. She’d chosen a restaurant she knew was Courtney’s favorite, but no one could ignore the tension around the table. Her daughter saw the milestone as an open door to test the limits even further.
Julia couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. Courtney had been such a sweet baby, an adorable toddler, a warm and funny child. It was always a pleasure doing things with her. Andy and Beth had fussed over her, too, and weekends were always filled with fun things for all four of them. Julia had done her best to be both mother and father to her children and they’d seemed to be flourishing.
She could mark the change in her daughter from the time her hormones kicked in at age twelve. The sunny disposition turned dark and suddenly she’d seemed at war with the world. Precocious and bright, she challenged everyone and everything. She believed rules were made to be broken and did so on a regular basis. Julia was at a loss what to do. If only she could find Luke. She wanted so desperately to tell him their beautiful daughter seemed bent on ruining her life, and beg him to help.
Despite the terms of the so-called bargain she’d made with Charles, she periodically made attempts to find Luke. She’d been such a weakling at the time, such a pushover. But the pressure of the situation and the physical and emotional strain of the pregnancy had robbed her of any ability to fight back. As time passed and her life changed, so did her resolve. Only it seemed to have come too late.
She continued with her attempts to locate him, despite Rod’s dire warnings. Maybe if they were together they could find a way to counteract the plan Charles had set in motion. Fight for custody of the twins. Battle whatever campaign Rod waged against Luke. She’d asked Harry, who had connections everywhere, to put out feelers. She’d done searches on the Internet, found articles where his name was mentioned, always praising him for his innovations and guidance. But he seemed to be moving from place to place, company to company. Each time she was too late. He’d already left.
Claire suggested more than once she ask Harry to find a private investigator for her, but that was too overt a step for her to take. What if he was running from her? Didn’t want to be found?
The last attempt she’d made was when the twins turned eighteen and custody would no longer be an issue. When Harry informed her he’d taken a position with a company headquartered in Europe she’d finally given up. Apparently, fate was telling her it was time to get on with her life. Only it wasn’t giving her any advice on how to cope with her burgeoning wild child.
She’d stiffened her spine and smiled until her face hurt when Beth and Andy went off to college, both of them to the University of Texas at Austin, Beth to major in business and Andy in engineering. As much as she wanted to keep them close, she knew they needed to spread their wings. Courtney had still been the sweet-natured child they all loved, one both she and Miranda enjoyed. And the twins came home often enough to give her what she called her “twin fix.” She had barely contained her excitement when, after graduation, they both took jobs in San Antonio. And while they
