Kate shook her head with a sigh. She squeezed Kendall’s hand. ‘No, I’m sorry. I know you’re caught in the middle and it’s not right. I told your father we should wait until you and your sister graduated to get married, but he wanted to go ahead now.’ Such a stupid and carefully intimate dance they did around the whole Eve issue. Kendall was a smart girl, but it wasn’t fair for Kate to address the situation, no matter how protective she was of Dix.
Kendall made a face. ‘Of course you should go ahead now. My dad loves you. You love him enough to love us too, and to take a lot of crap from my mother. I see it, you know. It’s embarrassing and I wish she would stop. I’ve told her to stop. She’s a good mother, she is. But this isn’t right. How she’s acting isn’t right. It’s just this blind spot she has about him and I don’t know why. He was never going back to her. Even when I was just a kid and he left, I knew that.’
Kate smiled, but she wasn’t going to address any of those comments about Eve. ‘I do love your father. Very much. Enough that it hurts to see him hurting – and this will hurt him. But this is not your fault and, whether I like the decision or not, your sister has every right not to participate in the wedding if that’s her choice. If you want, I can clear out for a while when your dad gets here. Or you know what? Why are you stuck with telling him? Who’s idea was that?’
‘What’s up?’ Dix called out when he came into the house through the garage.
Kendall squeezed her hand. ‘Will you stay when I tell him? I don’t want him to hear it from my mom.’
Kate nodded. Not that he would hear it from Eve as long as Kate had anything to say about it. ‘We’re in the living room,’ she called out and his thumping steps neared until he came into view.
‘Lookie here, two of my favourite women on the entire planet.’ He swooped down and hugged Kendall and then Kate. ‘Hope you’re hungry. I got extra kung pao.’
‘Sit down a sec.’
‘Uh oh.’ He sat on the low table and Kate swallowed back her annoyance that he didn’t use the chair or couch. ‘You didn’t run off to some state where you could get married underage or anything, right?’ He turned his gaze on Kendall who exhaled and rolled her eyes.
‘Ew. Dad, I don’t want to be married. I’m only seventeen.’
‘Thank God for that. Go ahead, I’ve got some good Scotch for afterwards, this has bad news written all over it. You’re not pregnant?’
‘Again, Dad, ew. I know what birth control is.’
Kate put a hand on Kendall’s leg and one on Dix’s. ‘Let’s stop that now, your father is going to have a stroke if we keep talking about your sex life. Or lack thereof.’
Dix shot her a look, both grateful and annoyed.
‘Dad, Adrienne doesn’t want to be in the wedding. And she’s not coming over here this weekend either.’
Kate’s heart nearly broke at the look on his face. Rage flushed through her system. This had that bitch of an ex-wife written all over it.
‘Why are you telling me, sweetie? This isn’t fair for you.’
‘I didn’t want Mom telling you.’
He bit his bottom lip and Kate barely wrestled back a comment about that. This blended family stuff was complicated and tiring at times.
Dix heaved a sigh and stood. ‘You two eat, I’m going over to deal with your sister. She’s at your mother’s?’
‘Wait. Can I speak to you a moment before you go?’ She stood and then looked back to Kendall. ‘Honey, call Jimmy.’
Kendall hugged her dad and moved quickly from the room.
‘I’m sorry about this. But it’s her choice, Dix. Let her make it. As for Eve? I’ll be back.’ She grabbed her purse and her keys.
‘This is mine to handle.’
‘Bullshit it is. It’s mine because she broke the rules about dealing with you through me. This is not about you, it’s about me. It’s high time this shit ends. Now, eat with your daughter. Eve and I need to talk.’
He sighed. ‘I used to think I had the perfect divorce, friendly and good for our kids. But … I think I actually hate her. I never would have thought she’d have been capable of this.’
‘But since I came into the picture, not so much. Listen, I could just walk away right now if that’s what you want.’
‘Don’t be stupid. That would be her winning and what would it solve? I love you and I’d hunt you down anyway.’
‘Good.’ She kissed him and headed for the door. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t do anything in front of Adrienne. You should probably call her later to reassure her that you still love her and you’re not mad.’
‘I am mad, Kate. This is not how she was raised.’
Kate laughed. ‘Dix, they’ve got your will. You can’t get pissed that she’s a teenage girl who hates her dad’s girlfriend. It’s like one of the five stages of teenage girldom.’
‘Don’t get arrested.’
‘I’ll try not to.’
Kate pulled in the driveway at Eve’s house, blocking Eve’s potential retreat.
Eve had a sparkle in her eye when she opened the door. So satisfied with herself. Bitch. It made Kate want to hit her square in the face and she had to console herself with the idea that she might have to later.
‘Is Adrienne here?’ Kate didn’t waste time on pleasantries.
‘No. And you’re not going to yell at her.’
She shoved past Eve and into the house. ‘Please. As if I came here for that. Shut the door, Eve. You and I have some talking to do.’
‘I have nothing to say to you. Adrienne has made her choice. You drove her to it.’
‘Like I fucking care if you have something to say to me. As it happens, I’ve got
