“You didn’t name him after me?” Mel pasted on his conniving crestfallen expression. “Well, darn.”
Why the hell would we?
“After your father, Mr. Stewart.” Her bright eyes sparkled as she soothed the old liar’s ruffled feathers. “Think of it this way, by honoring him, we’ve also honored you.”
Like hell. Gramps was a man worth honoring. But Mel was… nothing.
Right on cue, he groused. “Don’t seem quite fair, me being his real granddaddy and all, but…” He lifted both shoulders as if he were insulted but would get over it. “Guess it’ll have to do.”
You bet your ass it will do. You were never a father, and you’re not a grandfather now.
“Boss, we’re heading out,” Rory said, his arm tight around Ember’s waist, still standing between her and Mel.
“Thanks for the whisky. That was damned nice.”
“I left another fifth on your desk for when you get back. Enjoy these first days with your fam—”
“Whisky?” Mel nearly broke his crepey neck when he dropped Kelsey’s hand and twisted around. “You guys been celebrating without me? What kind ya got? Is it the good stuff?”
And wasn’t that just the truest picture of good old Grandpa Mel? Ignoring the loveliest lady in the world and the precious grandson he claimed he came to see, at the mere whisper of liquor.
“It’s gone,” Alex put as much sarcasm into the two words as he could.
“Oh, no, it’s not. Look, Alex. There’s enough left for one tiny swallow. Pour your dad a drink. I’d love to get to know you better,” Kelsey told Mel sincerely.
Damn it to hell! Alex wished Kelsey would go to sleep and stop sabotaging him!
When Mel beamed at her kindness, Alex knew exactly what the old goat was thinking. He’d snagged another hapless sucker.
“Later, Boss,” Zack rumbled as he headed out. He, Mark, and Libby were the last to leave. But Mark had stopped at the doorway, his head canted as he listened to whatever Libby was saying. His dark eyes turned expressive. He nodded, then waved Zack off.
Back in the room, Mark carried the chair Beau had vacated to the other side of the bed, and gestured for Libby to take a seat. Which she did, a knowing glimmer in her eyes. Bless her heart. She didn’t want Mel there any more than Alex did.
“Why don’t you and your old man go down to the cafeteria and catch up, Boss?” Mark offered as he stood behind his wife, his fingers on the back of her chair. “We won’t stay long.”
“Good idea.” Alex set a heavy hand on Mel’s shoulder. His ragged coat felt grimy to the touch. Slept in. For the first time, he wondered if his dad truly were homeless. Or if this was just another ruse, another con. He hated putting Kelsey in the position of having to choose his feelings over his dad’s. He should’ve told her about Mel a long time ago. Wished he had.
“Come on, Dad.” Sarcasm had never felt more justified. “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.” Then I’m showing you the door, and you’d better stay gone this time.
“Goodbye for now,” Kelsey said tiredly. “See you soon, Mr. Stewart.”
“Oh, please call me Mel, Sissy,” he all but gushed.
And Alex wanted to puke. Mel used to call Abigail Sissy when he came home drunk.
Kelsey granted him one of her sweetest smiles. “Of course, Mel. Tomorrow then.”
“You betcha,” he replied, the cunning old toad.
Libby followed up with a polite but measured, “It was nice meeting you, sir.”
He tipped a finger to his forehead and the hat he didn’t have. “Nice meeting you, too, pretty lady.”
Mark said nothing. He didn’t have to. He knew the tricks and ploys of absentee, disengaged fathers, who’d never once showed up unless there was something in it for them. Mark had suffered a lifetime of neglect at his dad’s hand. When he’d joined the Corps, he’d finally discovered that he wasn’t the broken one. John Houston was. Still was today.
Alex turned his back on Mel and bowed his forehead to Kelsey’s. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” he promised as he kissed her mouth. “Keep our son warm.”
Her lips were soft and sweet as if she hadn’t just endured a long night of labor and a C-section. A sigh escaped. “Don’t worry about us; we’ll be fine. You deserve time with your dad.”
“No,” he breathed into her face. “I don’t deserve what he’s doing here, and neither do you or our kids. This is not a family reunion, Kelsey. This is goodbye.”
“But he’s your father,” she whispered, her brown eyes pleading for him to be the better man she knew he could be.
He shook his head, not going down that dead-end road again. He’d been a nice kid and an obedient son before. Too often. Mom, Gramps, and Gram had been kind and considerate, too. More than Mel had ever deserved. It hadn’t worked then; it wouldn’t now. This guy was one rank cup of cold, bitter coffee, and Alex was only going to spit him out on the curb.
“Stay with her until I get back?” he asked Mark and Libby.
“Sure thing,” Mark answered easily. “It’s no trouble. JayJay’s thrilled Lexie’s sleeping over again tonight. They’re making s’mores in the microwave right now.”
“And JayJay knows the recipe to make pink popcorn,” Libby added slyly. “You should see our living room. It’s one big tent city full of giggling little girls.”
“Lexie?” Mel asked, his head cranking between Libby and Kelsey. “You mean…? I got a baby granddaughter, too?”
Alex snaked an unwilling arm around his dad’s neck and all but shoved him out the door. Lifting his other arm over his head, he waved goodbye to the room as he dragged his old man into the hall and said, “No, Mel, you’ve got distant relatives, and it’s time for you to go.”
As expected, Mel elbowed out of Alex’s stronghold the second Kelsey’s door shut behind him. “I’ve got family, you son of a bitch,
