Page 24 of Seeing Harper

“Well, obviously everything you just said, but that particular night, she and Tia had an argument about Tia going on and on about you and Keegan told her to shut up. She said that you weren’t looking at Tia, you were looking at her, and she knew that because you are hers. She went to bed right after and when I tried to talk to her, she didn’t really want to hear any of it. So I just told her that it would be okay, and that sometimes mates find each other and part ways only to be reunited later when the time is right. I just didn’t really know what to say other than the truth, and I didn’t know if it was the right time to go there or not.”

“Cristie said she’s a little better now.”

“Seems to be. But it comes and goes.”

“I’d like to talk to her for a minute if you don’t think it’s too much.”

“I don’t know, Kaiser.”

“Neither do I, Lucas. But here’s what I do know. We’re making all these decisions without her like she’s got no choice in any of this. My entire plan would have worked had she not realized we are mates. She’s realized it. And she feels deserted and alone and confused. At the very least she deserves the truth from me. And I called you first rather than calling her direct. I’m still making every effort to be respectful to the entire situation. Can I please talk to Keegan? I plan to explain why I left — that’s all.”

“Can’t make things any worse, I guess. Hold on.” Lucas walked back inside the house. He made eye contact with Anahla, then called Keegan’s name down the hallway.

Keegan, typical of most teens, yelled her answer. “What?”

“Come here! Now!” Lucas answered.

A couple of moments later Keegan’s bedroom door opened and she wandered out wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You have a phone call,” Lucas said, holding out his phone to her.

“On your phone?” she asked, making a face.

Lucas nodded.

“Who’s calling me on your phone?”

Lucas glanced at Anahla for a moment, ignored Tia who had turned around on the sofa and was now all involved in the conversation she was observing, and looked at Keegan again. “It’s Kaiser. He asked for permission to speak to you.”

Keegan’s eyes widened and her breath caught.

“He’s got some things to tell you about, and since I already knew, he called to ask to speak to you personally. I think you really need to hear him out.”

Keegan took a deep breath, then stepped forward and took her father’s phone from his hand.

Lucas looked back at Tia again who was watching the whole thing with a shocked expression on her face. “Maybe go out on the porch for some privacy, baby,” Lucas said.

Keegan was looking at the phone she held, and rather than look up, she just nodded and walked toward the front door. Once she got outside she placed the phone against her ear. “Hello?”

On his end of the line, every bit of tension immediately faded away and he was able to take the first deep breath since he’d left home. “Hi, Keegan. It’s Kaiser.”

“Hi.”

“You have a few minutes to talk to me?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Thank you,” Kaiser said.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I really do. I’ve been doing what I thought was right without asking what you wanted, or even telling you my thought process and it resulted in hurting you. So, thank you for talking to me. My whole intention was to not cause you to hurt. Obviously, that didn’t work.”

Keegan laughed softly.

“Yeah, go ahead. Laugh at me. I deserve it.”

“I’m not sure you do, yet. I’ll laugh later if I think you deserve it after we finish this conversation.”