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Chapter 31
Thefuneralwasthreedayslater in Seattle. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with hisbrothers, Max nodded at oneof his father’scolleaguesastheyshook handsatthewake,accepting hiscondolencesstoically. Peoplehad flown in fromall over thecountrytopaytheir final respectsto his dad and itsaid something abouthisfatherthatMaxhadn’tconsidered before:hewasa well-respected andwell- loved man.
Max,alongwith thetripletsand twoof hisuncles,had been the pallbearersatthefuneral. They loaded their dad intothebackof the hearse,watchingitdriveoff to thecrematorium. Itwashis father’swish that nobodyattend that partof thefuneral. Hisdad had wanted peopletocelebrate his life,notwatch hiscoffinburn toashes.
“I’msosorry,Max,” one of his auntssaid in a soft voice. “Itwassuch a shock.”
“Thanks,Aunt Lucille.”He hugged her. “We’llmisshim.”
Shenodded andmovedalong theline,talking toone of hisbrothers. Maxexcused himselfwhen another friend approachedhimtotellthemhowsorrytheywere; hewassosickof hearingthe words.They didn’tbring hisfather back,andtheycertainlydid nothing toease hispain.
But ofcourse,thatpain wastwo-fold.Leaving Gigi behind had broken something insidehim. At thetime,hehadn’twantedtoacknowledgetheyweren’tgoing togetanother goodbye—that that wasit. Itwasonlywhen hewasinthecabthatit dawnedonhimjusthowmuch hehadwanted her to comewith him.
Itwastoolate,though—hecouldn’thaveasked her tojustdropeverything andtravel acrossthe othersideof thecountrytogotoa funeral ofall things. Toeasesomeof the pain,hecalled her everydayand hefound thatassoon ashewasoffthe phonewith her,hewantedtocall herbackto hear hervoiceonce more. Itwasinsanetothinkthatsomeonecould have had such an impacton hislife in such a short time.
In the kitchenof hisfather’shouse,heopenedup thecupboard and found a glass. Hismomhad forgonetheno-alcohol rule onaccountof the occasion, somaltwhiskeysand bottlesof bourbon wereclustered togetheron thecounter top.Max picked up a bottleindiscriminatelyandopened it. Pouring himselfa healthy sizeddrink,heswallowed itall inonego,wincing asitburned.
“I thinkshewantsherdaddy,” hismomsaidfromtheentrytothekitchen,frowning when she sawthe glassof liquorin hishand. In her armswasa fussing Erin. Max putthe glassdown,feeling likehe wasgetting scolded, though shehadn’tsaida word.
Hetook hisdaughter,feeling her littlearmssnakearound hisneck. Ithad been along dayand she wastired. “Shejustneedsher nap,”hesaid,leaning downtokisshismomon theforehead. “Thanks for looking afterher.”
Shenodded,her eyesmisting. “It’sbeen niceto haveadistraction.”
“Yeah,”heagreed. Heknew exactlyhowshefelt.“I’mgoing toseeif she’ll go down for awhile.”
Maxcarried Erinawayfromthewake,awayfromthe buzz of voices. Heopenedup thedoor of the room he and Erin had been staying in and closed itbehind him. Blissfulsilenceenveloped them both.Closing up thedrapes, herocked Erin fora while,feeling her gettingmoreand morerelaxedin his arms.When hewassure shewasout,hegentlyplaced her in the travel cot,tucking intheblanketsaround her.With anyluckshe would geta goodcoupleofhoursrest. Retreating quietly,hestepped backintothehall and closed thedoor. Hejuststood thereforamoment,savouring theprivacy.
When hefeltready,heturned backtotheliving room butstopped whensomeonestepped into thehall aheadof him.
“Whatare you doing here?”heasked ina hiss.
Chelsea gavehimasympatheticsmilethat heknewtobefake. Thatwomandidn’tknowthe meaningof empathy. Shewasdressed inblack,astheoccasion had called for,butthecutof herdress wastootightto beappropriate. Her blondehairwaslooseand fallingover her shoulders. “Icameto paymyrespectstomyfather-in-law.”
“Exfather-in-law,”hereminded her. Todistracthimself fromtheterriblerealitythathis father had died, Max had seen hislawyer before flying to Seattle and setthedivorcewheelsinmotion.
Shepouted.“Yes,I received thepapersyesterday. I wanted totalktoyou aboutthem,actually.”
“Howaboutyou getyour lawyer totalktomine. I’m notdiscussing anything with you,especially atmyfather’swake.”Hewould haveshoved pasther,buthewastheonlything standing between her and Erin. Sheobviously picked upon hisanxiety.
“Isshesleeping?” sheasked.
“You knowsheis.”
“Can I seeherbeforeIgo?”Chelsea lookedpenitentasshespoke.
Heshookhishead.“I’m notletting you near her again.”
Herexpressionturned torage. “She’sstillmydaughter,Max. You can’tkeep herfromme.”
“Actually,I can.Youwalked outon us. According tomylawyer,thatgivesmeeveryrighttokeep her fromyou. And I’msureyou’vealreadyread thedetails ofthedivorce,butI’m getting full custody of her.”
Her lipsthinned.“I’ll fightyou onthis.”
Heshrugged. “I’msureyouwill. Now,getoutofmy father’shousebeforeIcall thecops.”
Shelaughed athim,throwing her head back.“Whatareyou goingtotellthem?Icametosay goodbyetomyfather-in-law?”shechallenged.
Hegave her asardonic smile. “Howabouttrespassing?If you trytotouch Erin,I’lladd attempted abduction tothelistofcomplaints.”
