“Don’t give me that bullshit.” Mr. Roberts shook his head, his disgust plain to see. “You have a wonderful aunt who raised you. Wendy Wagner moved heaven and earth to get you boys and worked like hell to keep a roof over your heads.”
“I never said she didn’t. Aunt Wendy is a wonderful woman. I love her like a mother. Almost. Because I still remember my mom. How she used to make us brownies and how she could keep us all in line with just a look. I also remember the night my father killed her, hiding in a closet with my brothers and hearing that gunshot.” I had to take a breath and look away because of all the memories swamping me.
I hated thinking about that night. That small description brought it all back. The sick helplessness I felt because he was hurting her again. The fear that something was different because Austin made us hide from them. The gut-wrenching grief when we found out what that asshole we used to call Dad had done. The fear when the cops took him away. I took another breath and tried to lock it all down. I was here for Maddie, and I wanted her father to look at me like a man and not the punk kid I’d been for so long.
“Shit like that marks you.” I shook my head. I’d fucked this all up. But there was no backing down or do-overs. “All I’m saying is that I’m trying to be a better man. Your daughter makes me want to do better. And I hope I can live up to the example you set for her.”
Mr. Roberts gave me another long, hard look before he nodded tightly. “I can respect that.” He turned to his wife. “How much longer ‘til dinner?”
Kim raised her eyebrows and blinked. She did a quick head shake and turned to me. “I think what my husband meant to say was ‘thank you for sharing what is clearly a painful memory with us. I’m sorry about your mom. I never thought about how that kind of childhood event could mark someone.’”
Mr. Roberts had the grace to look ashamed. He cleared his throat. “Yes. What my wife said. I am sorry for your loss. I lost my parents in a car accident when I was in high school, so I thought I knew what you’d gone through. Clearly, I was wrong. I do respect you coming here and putting up with my shit and the nice stuff you said about my daughter.”
“Thank you, sir.” I put my arm around Maddie and she leaned into my side, grinning.
“You happy?” Mr. Roberts asked his wife. “Can we eat now?”
Kim shook her head. “You going to let him off the hook with the Mister Roberts b.s.?”
Mr. Roberts turned back to me. “You can call me Greg. Everyone happy? Can we eat now?”
Kim sighed. “Let me go check on the osso buco.” She tossed me a smile. “Welcome to the family, Nathan.”
Once Kim had ducked out of the room toward the kitchen, Maddie snorted.
“What?” I murmured to her, confused what was funny.
“Not you,” she replied. “My dad.”
I lifted a shoulder. It’d gone about as well as I could’ve hoped for. Maddie was worth whatever shit they wanted to throw at me. Metaphorical or actual.
“Why are you in such a hurry to eat?” Maddie asked her dad with a frown. “I’d just as well put this fiasco off as long as possible.”
“I wasn’t thinking.” Greg groaned. “I just wanted to get out of the hotseat.”
“And now we’re all going to pay for your sins,” Maddie intoned dramatically.
I looked at both of them in confusion. “What the hell is going on?”
“You didn’t tell him?” Greg asked.
“I didn’t know Mom was going to make osso buco. I thought you guys would’ve called an order in from one of your favorite restaurants like you always do.”
“She’s on a new cooking kick. Which you would’ve known if you’d bothered to come home at least once in the last month.”
Maddie’s cheeks reddened. “I was busy—”
“Dinner’s ready,” Kim trilled from the doorway. “I hope you brought your appetites.”
Maddie and her dad exchanged another look and slowly stood like they had an appointment with the gallows.
“Don’t think that you’re off the hook, kiddo. We’ve still got to talk about your apartment and your job later.” Greg tossed over his shoulder before he pulled his wife into the kitchen, giving me and Maddie a moment of privacy.
I wasn’t thick. I could read between the lines. Kim was a horrible cook who occasionally fashioned herself as a chef. I guess I was going to find out if I had any acting skills after all.
I grabbed Maddie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you for bringing me tonight.”
“Seriously?” Maddie asked incredulously. “My father gave you the third degree—he all but jabbed bamboo shoots under your fingernails—and you have no idea what is going to happen over dinner. Spoiler alert: horrible food and more probing questions—my mom hasn’t even had a go at us yet. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you have a mom and dad who love you so much they’ll grill the man in your life to make sure that he’s worthy of you. You’re lucky.”
Maddie shook her head slightly. “I’ve never thought of it that way. I’d always been so envious of your family. You have siblings to conspire and play with. You have no idea how much I wanted that my whole life. Being an only child, I had all of my parents’ attention—both of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but it can be a lot.”
“And I wanted what you have—a mom and dad who are here and clearly love you. It’s obvious that they’d do anything for you. I love Aunt Wendy, and I know she tried
