Janice Carter - The Second Family

TESS WAS FORCED to rethink that question once they were settling into seats on the plane. Both children wanted a window seat, which might have worked if all four were sitting together. But Tess was seated way at the back in the center while the others were in a row of three seats on the side. Fortunately, that left Alec to settle the seating dispute. She contentedly leafed through a magazine until a flight attendant came by after the plane had finished climbing to its cruise altitude and asked if she’d like to join her family.

Tess shot her a blank look before noticing that Alec was craning his head to the back of the plane.

“Your husband said you might like to join them and we’ve got a no-show in the row behind. I think with some rearranging we can seat two of you in one row and two behind. Would that be all right?”

“Uh, sure.” Tess followed the hostess to the front of the plane. As she took the seat next to Alec, Tess flushed when the hostess said, “We can’t have a family separated like that.”

Molly swiveled round to flash a quick grin at Tess before getting back to her crayons and coloring book while Nick, plugged in to the audio system, didn’t even notice she’d moved.

“When I found out there was a vacant seat in this row, I asked if you could move up. Hope you don’t mind.”

Tess, certain the reference to husband had been an assumption of the flight attendant’s, said, “No, no. I hate the claustrophobic feel of the center section anyway.”

“Me, too. My knees seem to be propping up my chin whenever I get stuck there.”

Conversation stopped there as drinks and snacks were served. Their seats were so close Tess figured she might as well have been sitting on his lap. His thigh pressed against hers and every time she went to lean on the armrest, his arm was already there. What bothered her the most, she hated to admit, was the unexpected tingling sensation that shot down her arm when her hand accidentally landed on top of his.

Until now, interaction between them had been confrontational and the almost intimate proximity was suddenly stifling. Tess had never been good at small talk so she was relieved when he didn’t seem bothered by the silence.

But when the snack trays were removed, he turned his head toward her and asked, “This may seem too personal, but is there a man in your life right now?”

Tess stared at him, not sure at first what he was saying. Then she felt heat rising up into her face. “You’re right, it is. Why do you ask?”

“Sorry to be blunt, but it may be important should you—” he lowered his voice “—decide to apply for legal guardianship.”

Her first reaction was to check if the children had heard. Then she hissed, “I hardly think this is the time or place to be having this conversation.”

He had the grace to redden. “You’re right. Sorry. I guess I’m just trying to find out if there’s any chance at all—”

“I made it clear why I was coming. To see that they’re settled.”

He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. After a moment, he turned to her and said, “We’ll be seeing a lot of one another over the next few days and it makes sense for us to be as amicable as possible with each other. Doesn’t it? Even if we’re both coming at this problem from totally different perspectives?”

“Fine…Alec.” Tess raised her tray and rummaged in her handbag for the paperback she’d brought to read on the plane. After reading the first sentence three times, she gave up. Swiveling her head back to him, she added, “For your information—not that it’s relevant—there is someone in my life and I was supposed to be going on a cruise with him this very week.”

“Oh…well…sorry, I guess this has altered your plans slightly.”

“Slightly,” she repeated with emphasis. The fact that she was misleading him nagged for only a second. And the arrival of Nick and Molly certainly had altered her plans! Plus, there was always the remote possibility that she and Doug might get back together again…someday.

“So this guy you’re seeing—what did he say when you told him about Nick and Molly?”

Tess stared down at the novel on her lap. “I haven’t told him yet. He’s been busy and we haven’t had a chance to talk.” She could feel his eyes boring through the side of her face, but didn’t have the courage to turn his way.

Finally he said, “Sounds as though your relationship might not be the type to accommodate a couple of youngsters.”

That really got to her. “What gives you the right to draw inferences about my personal life?”

“Sorry again. I just keep puttin’ my foot in, don’t I?”

If his grin was meant to disarm, it failed. “You’re no backwoods hick. Please don’t insult my intelligence by pretending to be.”

That got to him, she noticed with some triumph. Instant sobriety fell over his face like steel mesh. When his eyes flicked back to her, Tess saw by their expression that she’d pushed him further than she’d intended.

“My job is to ensure that those two kids are safe, healthy and reasonably happy. It’s a tall order, given their circumstances. If you can’t grasp the inarguable fact that you’re their best option here, then…I’m sorry.” His eyes swept over her, dismissively. As if she were some kind of strange and repulsive insect. “So,” he went on, “we’ll agree not to discuss this again until you’ve had a chance to check things out for yourself. Okay?”

Feeling suddenly graceless, she could only shrug, wondering how she always ended up faring so badly in their talks. He turned his head aside to peer out the window, then suddenly swung back to her.

“One last thing. I’m curious—did you have a chance to talk to Nick about your father?”

Blood roared into her head. Her tongue flapped uselessly against the palate of her dry mouth. Tess was certain her eyes were going to eject from their orbs.

But the expression in his own face was inscrutable. After the slightest pause, he murmured, “I didn’t think so,” and shifted his gaze back to the window.

Tess waited until the pounding against her rib cage eased up before silently slipping out of her seat and making her way to the washroom. When she bolted the door behind her, she plunked onto the seat and burst into tears.

HE ALMOST EXTENDED an arm to stop her and apologize again for behaving like such an insensitive jerk. But his anger hadn’t subsided enough and besides, he knew he’d crossed into the kind of territory where apologies counted for little. The problem was, she was in denial about everything. And Alec knew from hard experience that you didn’t reach people in that state with kid gloves. Usually they needed a jolt. Like dumping a bucket of cold water over the head. He figured he’d just done that—figuratively—to Tess Wheaton. His regret at having to do so was minimal compared to his worry about what was going to happen to Nick and Molly.

Nick unexpectedly craned his head around from the seat ahead. His earphones were still clamped on but Alec hoped the kid hadn’t been tracking their conversation. He managed a smile and gave Nick a thumbs-up sign. The boy responded with a wobbly grin, confirming Alec’s suspicion that he probably had picked up some of what had been going on behind him.

He sighed, knowing that the quarrel had been more his fault than Tess’s. If only he could learn to be more subtle. Surely he could have extracted all the information he wanted from her without raising hackles. If he’d taken the time to cultivate her, he might even have brought her round to at least acknowledging another point of view. Malone closed his eyes and sank back against the headrest. It all boiled down to time—and there just wasn’t enough of it.