The Sassy One

18

Wednesday morning Sam adjusted his tie, then stepped back into his closet to collect his cell phone, wallet, and jacket. He had another meeting with the Brazilian clients, then a working lunch with his office manager. A local business association wanted to sponsor a mini film festival the following summer and had asked Sam to meet with them to discuss security.

He glanced at his watch. Francesca was going to be taking Kelly to dance class that morning, so he could get into the office early and get a head start on his day. Without her, he couldn’t possibly get everything done. She was-

He reached for his wallet, but instead of grabbing it, he accidentally knocked it onto the floor, where it fell open. As he bent to pick it up, he noticed a strip of silver. Anger exploded.

“Damn her hide,” he muttered.

Straightening, he examined the platinum credit card. It was right where it was supposed to be. Right where it hadn’t been the afternoon before when he’d stopped and gotten gas.

“Kelly!” he roared as he walked out into the hallway.

His daughter poked her head out of her bedroom. She was already dressed for her dance class. Her hair was a mass of curls, and she held a white ribbon in one hand.

“Stop yelling,” she told him. “I’m right here. What’s up?”

She was so casual about it all, he thought, fighting the need to put his fist through the wall.

“You took my credit card,” he said, his teeth clenched.

“What are you talking about?”

She sounded concerned and baffled, as if she had no idea what he meant. But he’d known her long enough to recognize the slight tension in her thin shoulders and the stubborn set of her chin.

“Yesterday I noticed my Visa card was missing from my wallet. This morning it’s back where it belongs.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right. So you want to blame me. Maybe you misplaced it or didn’t see it when you looked before.”

“It wasn’t there. So I called and canceled it last night. Funny how there had only been one charge on it. To a clothing store on the Internet.” He narrowed his gaze. “I canceled the order, too.”

“You did what?” she demanded. “That is just so typical. You want to ruin everything.”

He’d caught her stealing, and he expected her to go on the attack, but he was still stunned by her blaming him for stopping the order.

“You stole from me!” he yelled.

“You stole from me, too,” she said as she stepped into the hall and glared at him. “You had no right to take away my old credit card. I wasn’t doing anything bad with it. And I wasn’t doing anything bad this time, either.”

“You were stealing. Maybe that’s okay in New York, but it’s damn wrong here.”

“I asked for an allowance, and you said you’d think about it. You haven’t said anything since, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I didn’t have a choice.”

“So this is my fault? What is wrong with you? If you’re grown-up enough to steal, why aren’t you grown-up enough to take responsibility for what you’ve done?”

“I’m only twelve. What do you want from me?”

“Better behavior than this. You’re grounded.”

“There’s news.” She folded her arms over her chest. “So you really like being a bully, don’t you. When you were little, did you beat up on the smaller kids?”

He hadn’t thought it was possible to get more angry, but he’d been wrong. “Do not make this about me, young lady. You are the one who stole from me. I can see I’m going to have to start locking up my money and credit cards, which is a pretty sorry state of affairs around here.”

“Why don’t you just lock me up, too?” she taunted. “It’s what you want to do.”

“It could just be me, but from where I’m standing, it sounds like both of you need to take a deep breath and calm down,” Francesca said.

Sam turned and saw her leaning against the railing by the stairs. Relief flooded him. At least she would know what to do.

“When did you get here?” he asked.

“Somewhere between the opening shot and the last salvo,” she said. “Want to talk about it?”

Kelly glared at her. “He’s a hundred percent wrong. Don’t you dare take his side.”

“Don’t speak to her in that tone of voice,” Sam ordered.

Kelly huffed. Sam glared. Francesca had the feeling she should have slept in and avoided the whole fight. But now she was here, stuck in the middle of what could be a sticky situation. Because as much as Sam had the right to be furious with his daughter, there was one piece of the puzzle missing. Why had Kelly taken the credit card?

In the past few weeks her stuff had arrived from New York, she’d been to the mall to flesh out her wardrobe, and from what Francesca had been able to tell, she was adjusting well and pretty happy. So why would she risk her father’s wrath and steal his credit card?

She turned to Sam. “Tell me what happened.”

He recounted going to get gas the previous afternoon, finding his credit card missing, and then calling to cancel it.

“There had only been one charge that day,” he said. “To an Internet clothing company.” He glared at his daughter. “We all know how Kelly likes to shop with a keyboard.”

Francesca ignored the sarcasm. “Okay, Kelly, let’s hear it. Did you take the credit card?”

Sam started to say of course she had, but Francesca held up a restraining hand. “Please let her answer.”

The preteen sighed heavily. She ducked her head so her curls fell in her face. “It’s not what you think.”

“See?” Sam said.

Francesca ignored him. “Kelly, are you going to answer the question?”

Kelly raised her head and thrust out her chin. “Okay, I took it, but it’s not what he thinks.”

Francesca studied the girl’s green eyes, seeing the shadows of pain and fear. This hadn’t been an act of defiance, she realized. It was something else entirely.

“What I think is that you took it and used it without permission,” Sam said, still sounding furious. “And you’re going to be punished.”

Francesca agreed that no reason was good enough to avoid all consequences, but she still wanted to know one more thing.

“Why?” she asked softly.

“What?” Sam turned to her. “What does it matter why? She wanted more clothes. More whatever she doesn’t think she has enough of.”

“You’re so stupid!” Kelly yelled. “You think you know everything, but you don’t. You don’t know anything!”

Francesca sighed. “Kelly, you know better than to speak like that. Calling an adult stupid is never a good idea. You’re making your father more angry, and you’re using up your good-will with me.”

Kelly’s mouth trembled. “It doesn’t matter. Just punish me. I don’t care.”

She cared so much, it hurt Francesca just to look at her. “Tell us why, please.”

Kelly sucked in a breath and faced her father. “It was a leather jacket for you,” she said, her voice high and shrill. “For your damn birthday, okay? I asked for an allowance and you blew me off. You didn’t even want to talk about it. Your birthday is next week, so what was I supposed to do?”

Sam’s expression tightened. “Don’t you swear at me, young lady. You’re already in enough trouble.”

Francesca nearly fell over. All he’d gotten from Kelly’s confession was that she’d used a bad word? What about the fact that she wanted to get him something for his birthday? The means might suck big time, but the motive was pure.

Kelly’s mouth trembled. Francesca knew exactly what she was thinking. That she’d tried to show she cared, that her father mattered to her, and he’d thrown it back in her face.

Without saying a word, she turned and raced into her bedroom. The door slammed and the lock clicked.

Sam groaned. “Great. I was waiting until the weekend before taking out her lock. I can see I should have done it last night.”

He headed for his bedroom. Francesca hesitated, not sure who to go after first, then she remembered Sam would be leaving for work in a matter of minutes while Kelly would be around all day.

“Sam, wait,” she called as she hurried after him. “You can’t leave yet.”

She found him in the closet, slipping into his jacket.

“I have out-of-town clients,” he said. “This will have to wait. I don’t want Kelly to go to dance class today. I don’t want her going anywhere. She should stay in her room and think about what she’s done wrong. We’ll talk about it tonight.”

“You and she may talk about it tonight, but you and I are going to talk about it right now.”

He sighed. “Francesca, I don’t have time for this.”

“Then you’d better make time.” She faced him. “Sam, you’re wrong about this. I don’t approve of what Kelly did. There’s no excuse for her taking your credit card.”

“Good. We’re in agreement.” He picked up his briefcase and stepped around her.

“No.” She grabbed his arm. “She bought you a birthday present. She found out it was your birthday and wanted to get you something really nice. Doesn’t that matter to you?”

He shook his head. “She could have made me a card or something.”

“She’s twelve, not five. She asked for an allowance first, so she was willing to use legitimate means to get you something.”

“A leather jacket?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “We’re talking a lot of money. I don’t know the going rate for an allowance for someone her age, but it better not be enough for her to buy a leather jacket in a week.”

“I agree. But can’t you see she’s trying to show you she cares? That you matter? That she wants you to be a family together?”

“I see that, but you’re missing the fact that she lied and stole.” He drew his eyebrows together. “I can forgive a lot of things, Francesca, but not deception.”

Francesca swallowed. “I’m not defending her actions.”

“How strange. Because that’s exactly what it sounds like to me.”

He turned and left.

Francesca walked to the top of the stairs and sat down. She felt queasy, but didn’t think this was the onset of morning sickness. Instead it was a combination of fear and guilt. If Sam got this angry when Kelly acted out, what would happen when he found out the truth about her little secret?

She told herself she had two days left before the big confession. If things could just stay calm between now and then, maybe he would relax enough to understand. Of course, it could start raining silver coins in the morning, too.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, trying to find the right combination of words to explain it all to Sam. At some point she heard a door open, then quiet footsteps on the carpeted landing. Kelly settled next to her on the top stair.

The twelve-year-old pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “I really blew it,” she whispered.

Francesca nodded slowly. “That’s as good a definition as any.”

“I guess I didn’t think it through. I found out it was his birthday, and when he wouldn’t give me an allowance, I panicked.”

“You could have come to me for a loan.”

Kelly looked at her. Tears filled her green eyes. “You don’t have any money. I was afraid you’d say yes when you couldn’t afford it, and then you’d have to go without food or something.”

Francesca didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Instead she put her arm around the girl and hugged her. “I might be a struggling grad student, but I have enough for the basic necessities. Besides, the Grands always send me home with enough food to take care of the entire population of Baltimore.” She leaned her head against Kelly’s. “But it was sweet of you to worry.”

Kelly turned toward her and held on tight. “He said he canceled the order. That means I don’t have a present for him.”

“Honestly, kid, I think that’s the least of your problems.”

“But I wanted to get him something nice. It’s the first time I’m going to be here for his birthday.”

Francesca heard the intensity in her voice and remembered feeling every emotion, every nuance when she’d been the same age. Life was so much more raw.

“I understand, but do you know why your dad got so mad?”

Kelly ducked her head and nodded. “I took his credit card and that was wrong. And maybe stupid.”

“Maybe?”

Kelly gave a strangled laugh-sob and looked up. “Okay. It was stupid.”

“Good. We’re making progress. Now do you want to tell me what you could have done instead of just going for the plastic?”

Kelly sniffed. “I don’t know.”

“Sure you do. You’re a smart girl. What other alternatives did you have?”

She thought for a second, then straightened and rubbed her fingers across her damp cheeks. “I could have talked to you. Or Gabriel. I sort of forgot about him. He might have loaned me the money and maybe even taken me shopping.”

“What else?”

Kelly looked at her. “You want me to say I could have told my dad why I wanted the money, but that would have spoiled the surprise.”

“Yes, but it would have been honest.”

“Being honest is more important?”

Francesca felt as if there were a scarlet H on her chest. Talk about being a hypocrite. “I think so, and I suspect your dad thinks so. He has this thing about people lying to him.”

Kelly flinched. “He was so mad.”

“You’re going to have to apologize to him when he gets home.”

“No way. He was wrong, too.”

Francesca sighed. “I can’t make you, but I’m going to tell you a secret. Things will never be right with your dad until you say you’re sorry, and the longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

Kelly looked doubtful. “I’ll think about it.”

“I think you should.”

She sighed. “I guess we’re not going to dance class this morning, huh?”

“Nope.”

“At this rate I’ll never be a professional dancer.”

“Let’s concentrate on getting you all the way to age thirteen first. Then we’ll sweat your career of choice.”

Kelly smiled, then threw herself at Francesca. “Thank you for understanding. You’re the best.”

Francesca hugged her close. Kelly and Sam both had a lot of tough times ahead of them, but she knew they would be okay in the end. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be a part of this family? To watch the evolution of the relationship between father and daughter? She found herself wanting that chance more and more.

Sam walked into the house shortly after six. He found Francesca putting cooked chicken and a sauce onto dinner plates.

“Chicken Marsala,” she said. “My mom stopped by to see me last night and brought along enough to feed ten or twelve. I thought I’d share the bounty.”

He set his briefcase on the counter. “How was your day?”

“Fine.”

She wasn’t looking at him as she spoke. He had a feeling she was still annoyed.

“If I tell you that I think I should have listened to you, will it make things better?” he asked.

“Do you mean it?”

“Yeah. I need to take a deep breath before I react. Maybe listen more.”

She stopped working and glanced at him. “Want to share the details of that thought process that got you there?”

“I was mad this morning. Too mad to think clearly. What Kelly did is inexcusable, but you’re right. Her motives put a different light on the situation.” He held up a hand. “Not that I’m saying she shouldn’t be punished.”

“That sounds more reasonable than what you were saying this morning.”

Francesca set down the pan of chicken. He took that as a sign of forgiveness and moved toward her. She melted into his embrace.

“You have no idea how much I need you,” he said as he stared into her eyes.

“So we’re talking gratitude?” she asked lightly.

“Some, but it’s more than that.” He kissed her. “You’re very important to me.”

More than important, Sam thought. Vital.

He was about to tell her just how vital when she stepped free of his embrace. “You should probably head upstairs and put your daughter out of her misery. She’s convinced her punishment is going to include being banished to a small cot outside and surviving on little more than leaves and tree bark.”

“I was thinking along the lines of no TV for a week.”

“I’m sure that will be a relief.” She gave him a little push toward the door. “Go on. I’ll get dinner ready, then I need to head home.”

He’d been about to ask her to spend the night, but if she didn’t want to…

Sam headed out of the kitchen. He wanted to clear things up with Kelly, but as he climbed the stairs, he couldn’t help thinking there was something going on with Francesca. It was almost as if she’d known he wanted to talk about their relationship, and she hadn’t wanted to have the conversation. Which made him wonder why. Was all this too much for her?

He didn’t want to think about that. Losing her would be a disaster. Not just because of Kelly, but because of how much he’d grown to care about her. He needed her. He trusted her.

He came to a stop at the top of the landing. Need. Trust. Desire. Longing. Well, hell. Somehow, when he hadn’t been paying attention, he’d gone and fallen in love.

Still stunned by the revelation, he crossed to Kelly’s room. When he opened the door, she looked at him. He could see the fear and regret in her eyes.

Neither of them spoke. He wasn’t sure what her reasons were. His were about not wanting to get it wrong. Finally he held out his arms. She raced toward him and flung herself into his embrace.

He held her close. “One of these days we’ll get it right,” he murmured.

She nodded. “Think it will happen soon?”

He chuckled. “I sure hope so.” He exhaled. “You know you’re still in trouble.”

She snuggled close. “I know. It’s okay.”

Funny how suddenly it was.