An Unexpected Father Read online

  “Hey, Mimi,” Johnny Sinclair said. “Did you miss me?”

  Her arms hung stiffly at her sides. She reminded herself that for better or worse, this was Jack’s father. Mimi closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, still familiar after all these years. It reminded her of the fights, the long, lonely nights, the days of uncertainty.

  She drew back and met his eyes. “I’m impressed. You remembered my name.”

  Johnny kept his hands on her shoulders and laughed. “Haven’t changed much, have you? Still the same direct, no-nonsense Mimsy.” His eyes gleamed as he gave her a thorough once-over. “Still beautiful, too.”

  She pulled away from his touch. The bar had gone silent when Johnny stood up and hugged her. Or maybe it had been quiet before and she hadn’t noticed. Now it seemed that everyone in the place was watching her and Johnny. She didn’t need an audience for what she wanted to say to him. Grabbing his arm, she led him to the back door. Her father could manage without her for a bit longer.

  Mimi pushed through the door and Johnny followed her outside. This side of the building was in shadow, the sun down behind the trees, but it was still hot and muggy. Two more steps and she turned to face her former lover.

  “You know the first year, I hoped you’d come back. Then for a while, I decided I didn’t care if you did or not,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “Now, I wish you hadn’t.”

  “I missed you, too. It seems like yesterday, doesn’t it?” Johnny still had that cocky grin that used to make her heart swoon.

  “No. It seems like nine years, ten months and fourteen days.”

  “You’re keeping a count. That’s sweet.”

  “That’s how old Jack is.” Mimi reined in her temper. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was in town, so I thought I’d stop by,” he said with a shrug. “I heard you were back.”

  “Why don’t I believe that?” Mimi narrowed her eyes.

  He stuck his hands in his pockets and turned his head, scrutinizing the small patio. He took a few steps away from her. “I don’t know. I guess it seemed like the right time,” he said finally. Turning back, he met her gaze. “Sorry it’s been so long.”

  Nodding, Mimi looked down at the ground, then back into Johnny’s clear blue eyes. “You can’t see him.”

  “He’s my kid, too, y’know.”

  “No, he isn’t,” Mimi said fiercely. She was suddenly, incandescently angry. Protective instincts rose in her like a tidal wave. She leaned forward, nearly hissing her words. “He’s mine. I raised him. I helped him take his first steps and sat up worried all night when he was sick. I taught him to read and to ride a bike, picked him up when he fell, bandaged his scrapes and made sure he was happy. I did everything. You did nothing. So, don’t think you can waltz in here and pretend to be his father.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Johnny raised his hands up in defense. “Did I say that’s what I was going to do?” When Mimi didn’t answer, he shook his head at her. “Jeez, calm down, Mimsy. I want to see the kid. That’s all.”

  Mimi eyed him warily. “I’ll make a video and post it on the Internet.”

  “Who are you protecting?”

  Mimi stared at Johnny, unable to believe he was so obtuse. “Look. You’re his father. The man he’s been missing his entire life.” She shook her head in disgust. “If that’s not bad enough, you’re also a famous rock star. One he idolizes, in fact. He’s not going to understand why you—one of his heroes and his father—abandoned him. It’s going to hurt and I don’t want that to happen.”

  “It wasn’t like I planned to get famous and—”

  “Bullshit, Johnny,” Mimi said harshly. “Fame is all you’ve ever cared about. That’s why you walked away from me and Jack. We got in your way.”

  Johnny stiffened and his hands balled into fists. “Come on, that’s not true!”

  “Yes, it is.” Mimi speared him with a direct look, daring him to refute her. “If you want to see him, don’t start by lying.”

  He glared back at her, his blue eyes boiling with enough temper to match hers. Then he gave a short, sharp laugh. Rubbing a hand over his face, Johnny paced away from her. He stood with his back to her for a long minute, then turned around. “Has he asked about me?” he asked softly.

  “He’s asked if he had a father. But he never mentioned you, specifically.” Seeing his downcast face, Mimi sighed. Her fury had drained away, leaving her sad and tired. It was pointless being angry at Johnny. Too many years had passed. “Look, he hasn’t missed having a father in a long time. He sees that other kids don’t have one at home, either. I think he just accepts that that’s the way it is for him.”

  Johnny came back to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “I want to meet him, Mimi. With your permission. Please.”

  “I don’t know, Johnny.” She bit her lip, debating.

  “I just want to get to know him a little,” Johnny said. A slight smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “We don’t even have to deal with the whole father thing right now. All he needs to know is that I’m an old friend of yours.”

  Suspicious, Mimi kept her eyes locked on his. He seemed sincere, but he had always managed to look that way. “What would you say to him?”

  “You said he likes my music, right? You’re just introducing him to a guy he admires.” He squeezed her shoulders. “When he’s ready, we—I mean, you—can decide what to tell him about us.”

  Mimi took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it, Johnny.”

  “Can’t you see that—”

  “No.” She held up a hand to stop him. “I won’t rush this. Not when Jack’s heart is at stake.”

  Johnny opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. Stepping back, he nodded to her. “Okay. Take a few days and think it over. I’m around for a while.” He reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. Handing her a white card, he said, “I wrote down my phone numbers for you. Call me anytime.”

  Mimi watched him as he walked away. A shiver tracked across her skin despite the heat. She wrapped her arms around herself.

  Before he reached the street, Johnny stopped and pivoted to face her. “I’ve changed, Mimi. Give me a chance to prove it. And give Jack a chance to meet his father.”

  With that, he was gone. Mimi stared after him, tears welling up in her eyes. As angry as he made her, he was half-right. Johnny didn’t deserve a second chance, but she couldn’t keep Jack from his father. She wanted to spare her son any pain, too, but that was not always possible. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she wiped her tears away with both hands and dried her fingers on her apron. When she went back inside the bar, her father put his arm over her shoulder and ushered her aside.

  “What did he have to say for himself?”

  Mimi smiled shakily. “He wants to see Jack.”

  George’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed. “What did you tell him?”

  “That I’d think about it.”

  “Why now? After all these years?”

  Mimi shrugged. “I doubt Johnny could answer that question.” Keeping her voice low, she added, “But he is Jack’s father. Do I have the right to keep them apart?”

  “You do if it’s the right thing for Jack,” George said gruffly. “The boy’s just gotten his feet under him. I don’t want to see that fall apart.”

  “I know.” Mimi sighed. “I have to think about it, Dad.”

  George squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “You’ll make the right decision. If you want to talk about it, I’m here.”

  “I know.” With a smile of gratitude, Mimi nodded. “You want to get out of here? I can handle things.”

  “You sure? You’re the one who needs the privacy.”

  “No, I need the distraction. Go on. I think Mom had a surprise for you at the house.”

  “A surprise? What?”

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

  “You sure?” George took his arm from her shoulders reluctantly. “Cal
l if you need anything.”

  She loved her father so much at that moment. She could not imagine growing up without him. Jack deserved the same love and support, but she could not imagine Johnny Sinclair being that kind of father. Perhaps the best thing Johnny had done for Jack was walking away all those years ago, though she hadn’t thought so at the time.

  If she could pick a father for Jack, it would be Ian Berzani. She knew in her heart that Jack would, too. But he was leaving. And Johnny had returned asking for a second chance. Mimi wiped another tear from the corner of her eye. Between the two men, there was no choice at all.

  IAN TRIED WITH LITTLE SUCCESS to forget his revelation of Thursday afternoon. He didn’t want to be in love with Mimi Green, so he wouldn’t be—even if he had to rip out his own heart to make it true. Jack made no appearance on Friday and, while Ian missed the boy, it avoided another possible encounter with Mimi. Saturday morning Jack showed up for sailing class, greeting Ian with a happy grin.

  No longer the scowling kid with an oversize chip on his shoulder, Jack was making friends with the other kids. He and two other boys already competed to see who could sail the fastest, turn the quickest and tip a boat the farthest without flipping it. He crowed to Ian about a perfect score on his math test and a field trip his class was taking to the Air and Space Museum in D.C. next week. He was swiftly becoming a happy, well-adjusted kid.

  After class, Ian turned to Jack. “You want to come up to the shop and work on your boat?”

  “I can’t,” Jack said in a grumble. “I’m grounded until Monday.”

  “Ouch!” Patrick said, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “What’d you get caught doing?”

  “I came over here to see Ian when I wasn’t supposed to.”

  “Bummer. Your mom’s a tough one,” Evan said with a chuckle.

  “It’s not fair,” Jack said with a huff of air. “I only had one page of math to do. One.” He looked up at the three men to confirm the ridiculousness of the punishment.

  “Life isn’t fair,” Evan said, ruffling Jack’s hair. “If it’s any comfort to you, we’re in the same boat.”

  “You grounded, too?” Ian asked.

  “I might as well be,” Evan said with a grimace. “I promised Kippy I’d go to a barbecue at her brother’s house. It’s his birthday.”

  “Better you than me,” Ian said, then turned to Jack. “Are we still sailing tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t get to do anything else,” Jack said gloomily.

  “I know the feeling,” Evan said. “Come on, kid. I’ll give you a ride home.” He raised a hand in farewell to Patrick and Ian. “I’ll catch you later.”

  Jack followed Evan up the dock, then turned and ran back. “Can my mom come, too?”

  Ian froze. He looked down into Jack’s face and felt torn in two directions. He so much wanted to see Mimi, especially after brooding about her for the past two days. But the three of them together on his boat felt like a dangerous idea. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to deny Jack.

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “If you want her to.”

  “Maybe it would make her happy.”

  Ian frowned. “Is she sad?”

  Jack shrugged. “Grandpop says she is.”

  “Then we should try to cheer her up.” Ian barely restrained the urge to go check on Mimi himself. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough.

  “Cool!” Jack grinned and ran off to catch up with Evan.

  Patrick looked at his brother and sighed. “I told you your plan stunk.”

  “What plan?”

  “Keeping your distance? Hands to yourself?” Patrick asked with a grin. “Does any of that sound familiar?”

  “If you mean Mimi, she and I have an understanding.”

  “What exactly do you understand?” Patrick narrowed his eyes as he stared at his brother. “I see her around the yard a lot,” he added softly.

  Ian glared for a moment, then raked a hand through his hair. “Shit.”

  Patrick pointed to a dock box behind him. “Have a seat. I think we need to talk.”

  Ian sat as ordered, and his brother joined him. Ian stared down at his hands in silence. Finally, he looked over at Patrick. “How do you know if you’re in love?”

  “Well, there are the classic symptoms. Do you want to be with her all the time? Does your brain stop functioning when she’s close enough to kiss? Do you have trouble sleeping, eating or drinking when she’s not around?” Patrick had stretched his legs out as he ticked off the questions on the fingers of one hand. He looked at Ian, one eyebrow raised. “Stop me if I’m getting warm.”

  “Shit,” Ian repeated, rubbing both hands over his face. “What do I do now?”

  “You’ve got the same two choices you had before—stay or go.”

  “And both of them still suck.” Ian sighed. “So my case is hopeless.”

  “Not necessarily.” Patrick put his hands on his knees. “Which matters more, Ian? Being with her or having your dream?”

  Ian looked out over the water. Which did matter more? His head and his heart were split in a tug-of-war that neither could win. He glanced over at his brother. “Sometimes, you’re no help at all.”

  Patrick laughed and stood up. “Maybe not. But if there’s cold beer on your boat, I can at least help you drink it.”

  He held out his hand. Ian looked at him for a moment, then took the hand and let Patrick pull him to his feet. Together, they walked down the dock. Ian still had a decision to make. What it would be, he didn’t know. And if he didn’t choose, time would do the job for him, of that much he was sure.

  Chapter Twelve

  A sluggish breeze out of the southwest caught the spinnaker and filled it with a pop. The bright blue, green and yellow stripes dazzled the eye as the sun filtered through the thin, translucent fabric. Ian held the line that was wrapped around the starboard winch.

  “Crank the sheet in a little, runt. Let’s see if we can hold this course.”

  Jack grabbed the winch handle and turned it slowly, drawing the sail back. “How far?”

  “A little more.” Ian watched the sail start to flutter. “That’ll do it.”

  The boat settled into a steady glide as the sail pulled her across the rippled surface. Lines creaked, the wind shifted slightly and the sail fluttered on the edge of collapse. Mimi glanced at the telltales and corrected the wheel. The fabric ballooned again and steadied. Ian cleated the line he held, coiled it and dropped it into a neat pile on the cockpit seat. Copying him, Jack did the same for the line on the opposite winch.

  The cockpit was small and horseshoe shaped. The wheel pedestal where Mimi stood was bolted into the back third of the well and took up most of the floor space. The wood seats that lined the perimeter had a curved combing around the outside for a backrest.

  “You never told me that you knew how to sail.” Ian leaned back to watch Mimi.

  “You never asked.” She grinned, happy to be aboard Minerva with her son and Ian.

  Jack dropped down onto the seat behind her. “Yeah, Mom. You’re good at this.”

  “I still have a few surprises left in me.”

  “When’d you learn how to sail?” Jack asked.

  “The first time? When I was about your age,” Mimi said, keeping her eyes on the sail and the surrounding water. “Your grandpop had a Sunfish and we’d go out and sail on the creek. We ended up capsizing it about half the time.” She laughed at the memory. “He was teaching himself at the same time he was teaching me.”

  Ian chuckled. “Sounds like me and Patty. I think we did more swimming than sailing the first summer.”

  “I haven’t tipped over once,” Jack said proudly.

  “Maybe you’re not trying hard enough,” Ian said, tipping his sunglasses down to wink at the boy.

  “Don’t encourage him,” Mimi said sternly. She saw Jack’s grin of delight at the idea of capsizing a boat.

  “C’mon, Mom,” he said. “You did it, so why can’t I?”r />
  Mimi pursed her lips. “That is never going to be a good excuse for you to do anything.” She looked down at him and shook her finger. “Learn from my mistakes, kiddo.”

  Jack smirked as if the possibilities were rolling around his head already. Ian went down the companionway steps, disappearing into the cabin for a few minutes. When he reappeared, he had soft drinks, a bowl of chips and a bag of mixed nuts and dried fruit. He handed cans to Jack and Mimi, then passed the snacks.

  “If you get tired of steering, just say the word,” he told Mimi.

  The wind had picked up slightly and the sail was billowing gently in the breeze. Minerva picked up her skirts and sped over the light chop. “I’m enjoying this. But I don’t want to have all the fun. Do you want to take over?”

  “Not especially.” Ian looked over at Jack. “But someone else looks ready to give it a try.”

  Jack bounced to his feet. “You bet!”

  Mimi stepped away as soon as her son had his hands on the wheel. Ian gave directions, telling Jack how to point the boat so that the wind filled the spinnaker. Jack wore a stern look of concentration as he tried to follow Ian’s instructions. Taking her soda, Mimi climbed around Jack and sat forward of the wheel.

  Watching the two work together, she felt a wash of joy rush through her. Life was wonderful right at this moment. The sun was shining, there was a breeze blowing and she had the two males she loved right beside her. If only she could have them here forever. Ian looked at her and she gave him a slight smile, glad her eyes were shaded by the dark glasses she wore. Too much would be revealed if she took them off.

  “Thanks for inviting me.”

  Ian nodded. “My pleasure.”

  He was silent after that and Mimi didn’t know what to say. There was something different about Ian today, some change she couldn’t puzzle out. Ever since their almost lovemaking, he had been friendly but distant, keeping his eyes on Jack and averting them from her. Today, she felt an easing of his aloofness. She wished she could see behind his sunglasses, while preserving her own defenses.