Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JOE

I didn’t want to be here.

I’d left Bruce Wayne with some lighting jobs, and my wife and kids would soon be waiting for me in our cozy farmhouse. The last place I wanted to be was in El Dorado, meeting my mother at a coffee shop.

But here I was.

Neely Kate had called me a few days ago and told me that my mother had dropped in at the landscape office to try to coerce me to talk to her. Funnily enough, while Rose had mentioned it, she never put any pressure on me to meet with her. It was Neely Kate who convinced me I’d likely regret it if I didn’t.

“I can come with you,” she’d said. “I know you want to protect Rose from her, but that woman has no power over me. Not anymore.”

I wanted to ask her what the not anymore meant, but I was too dead set on defending the reason for my refusal. “You of all people should understand why I don’t want to see her.”

“Do I think she’s changed?” Neely Kate asked. “Not a chance, but years from now, you’ll wonder. So, give her one last chance—let her know it’s her last chance—then let her show her true colors and be done with her. And then you’ll truly be free of her.”

She was right, and I told her so. She gloated just as much as I’d expected, and I still marveled that we were this close after knowing we were siblings for less than a year.

I’d told Rose about our conversation, and she’d said she agreed with her best friend, but it was ultimately my decision, no one else’s, and she’d respect whatever I decided.

I called my mother and suggested we meet for coffee so we could “chat.” She suggested she could come to the farmhouse or somewhere in Henryetta, but I didn’t want her anywhere near where I lived, so I said I’d come to El Dorado. I figured there would be people around who might know her and fear for her reputation would keep her from causing a scene. Only, as I sat at the table waiting for her to show up, I wondered if I’d screwed up. If I wanted her true colors to come out, I should have picked a place where no one knew her.

Too late now.

She walked in a few minutes late, stopping in the doorway to scan the small dining area. Her eyes landed on me and a warm smile lit up her face. My heart gave a little sputter, remembering how hard I tried to get her to give me that smile when I was growing up. And how infrequently my mother gave it to Kate. I reminded myself that it wasn’t real. That smile was just another weapon in her arsenal for getting what she wanted.

She walked over to the table and glanced down, smiling even more when she saw the teapot and cup on the table in front of the empty chair. “You got me tea.” The pride in her voice was unmistakable.

“Don’t read too much into it,” I said, catching her gaze and holding it. I almost told her that I’d gotten her a drink so I wouldn’t have to wait for her to order and prolong this meeting any longer than it needed to be. But that seemed too antagonistic. I needed to play this neutral for now.

She sat, and I took in her light gray wool pants and her light blue silk blouse as she shrugged off her navy-blue wool coat. She still dressed well, so she’d found money somewhere.

I picked up my mug of coffee and waited for her to begin.

She gave me an uncomfortable look, like she’d expected me to say more, but then she picked up the teapot and poured some into her cup. “Thank you for meeting me. I would have come to you to keep it easier for you. I’m sure it was difficult to get away from your work and your family to come all this way.”

“I decided to make it easier for you,” I said. It was partially a lie, but it was closer to her parents.

She gave me a questioning look, then her brows shot up—well, barely shot up. I’d already suspected her forehead was full of Botox. “Oh! You think I was living in El Dorado.” She shook her head as she poured honey into her cup and began to stir. “No, I’m living in Little Rock now.”

I stared at her in surprise. “Grandma and Grandpa moved to Little Rock?”

“Oh, no,” she said with a small laugh as she continued to stir her tea. The spoon made a gentle tinging sound as it hit the side of the cup. “I wasn’t there long. I have a job up in Little Rock.” Her face lit up. “Can you believe it?”

“A job?” I asked, nearly choking on the sip of coffee I’d just taken. “Doing what?” I grimaced. “Sorry, that came out more aggressively than I intended.”

She laughed. “I’m sure it came as a shock. I swore I’d never have a job doing anything other than mothering my children, running our house, and charity work, but desperate times…” She let her voice trail off as she picked up her teacup and took a sip.

I had to admit I was curious, so I asked, “What are you doing?”

“I work for an interior decorator. She heard I was having a bit of a sticky financial mess and offered me a job. She’d seen all the spreads done in the magazines about our house and told me I had excellent taste. She said many of her clients show her the photos and say they want exactly what we had, so why not hire the source of the design to help her?”

I took another sip of my coffee then said, “I’m sure you’re good at it.” I meant it. While she’d hired decorators, she’d done most of the work herself. They’d merely made the purchases with their sources and discounts.

My mother beamed. “Thank you.”

I set down my mug and rested my forearms on the table. “I have to admit I’m curious as to why you reached out to me now.”

She made a face, still clutching her teacup. “Several factors, really. I regret the way I treated you after your father’s untimely demise.”

I nearly called her out on her phrasing, especially since I’d been the one who killed him, but let it go to keep the conversation going.

“And moving on from the life I had with your father… I realized how toxic our family had become.” She set her cup down then reached over and placed her hand on mine. “I’m so proud of how you’re choosing to raise your family, and how involved you are in your daughter’s life. You’ll be an amazing father, Joe, and if nothing else comes from this conversation, I at least wanted you to know that.”

“Thank you,” I said past the lump in my throat. I’d never, ever, expected her to tell me anything like that. In fact, I’d been prepared to hear the opposite.

Her head tilted to the side, and she gave me a soft smile. “I can see by the look on your face that’s not what you expected to hear.”

“No.”

Her smiled tightened, then she removed her hand from mine and picked up her cup. “I met your sister, you know.”

It took me a second to realize she was talking about Neely Kate. “I heard.”

“She’s a lovely girl. I told her I didn’t hold her parentage against her.” She took another sip of her tea. “In fact, I’m glad you have her. Especially after all the grief Kate caused you and the family, especially to your wife and child.”

She was catching me off guard again, but before I let myself bask in the new form my mother had taken, something deep down reminded me that in the past, this was often how she lured in her victims. Catch them off guard with unexpected compliments and lavish praise, before getting them to give her what she wanted. She was like a cobra, hypnotizing her prey, then once they were relaxed and complacent, she went in for the strike. And half the time, the poor fools didn’t even know they’d been had.

My mother was doing the exact same thing to me now.

My back stiffened, but she didn’t seem to notice my shift.

“Besides,” she continued, taking a sip of her tea before she gave me a pleading look. “It’s Christmas, which means it’s time for family. I want to be with my family , Joe.”

“Funny how Christmas was all about showing off to your friends and neighbors with your extravagant Christmas Eve parties. Kate and I were afterthoughts.”

Her face made a delicate grimace that anyone else would have taken for embarrassment, but I knew better.

“I suppose it appeared that way,” she said. “But I was just as much a victim of your father as you and your sister were.”

That gave me pause, because I knew there was some truth to that statement. The question was, how much? Kids never saw their parents the way they really were. They were either too self-involved or their parents hid it from them. With my family, it was probably a little of both.

“Yes,” I conceded. “You were a victim too.”

A small look of triumph filled her eyes but then it was gone.

“What do you want, exactly?” I asked. “Did you show up at my door because you want to spend Christmas with us? Stay in the spare bedroom so you can be there to watch the kids open gifts on Christmas morning?”

“Kids?” she asked, then her eyes lit up. “Is Rose pregnant again?”

“What? No.” I shook my head. “Her niece and nephew live with us part time. Rose’s sister died a year ago and their father … isn’t available.”

“Oh.” She looked disappointed. “I was hoping a Joseph Simmons the third was on the way.”

I gritted my teeth. “No child of mine will ever be named Joseph the third.”

She patted my hand. “Of course not. We wouldn’t want the poor baby to be saddled with your father’s scandalous reputation.” She retracted her hand then asked stiffly, “When will Rose’s niece and nephew’s father return?”

“Not for some time.”

She cocked her head. “Which means you’re stuck raising children that aren’t your own?”

I set the mug down harder than I’d intended. If only she knew the truth about Hope—but she never would. I’d make damn sure of it. “It’s a blessing to have Ashley and Mikey in our home. We love them, and we’re tryin’ to get full custody.”

She gasped. “Do you really want to saddle yourself with such a responsibility?”

I let out a sharp laugh that drew attention from the two young mothers with babies at a table next to us. “I love those kids. Insult them again and this meeting will be over without so much as a goodbye.”

She bit her bottom lip then leaned closer. “I’m sorry. I can see that you care about them. I just don’t want you to feel trapped. Rose has such a good heart, I can see how she might take in her dead sister’s children and not give you a choice in the matter. And you have such a good heart, you’d go along with it whether you wanted to or not.”

I drew in a breath to restrain my anger. “How would you know if Rose has a good heart? You don’t know the first thing about her. You and Dad never gave her a chance. You decided she wasn’t good enough for me and dismissed her.” I narrowed my eyes. “I believe you might have called her Fenton County Trash.”

She had the good sense to look genuinely embarrassed. “I regret saying those awful things, but your father?—”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to hear it. You meant every word. You both were worried about my political campaign.”

“Joe…” She started to reach for me again, then stopped. “Joe. I was a fool. I’ll admit that I wanted certain things for you—certain people—and even though you protested, I thought we knew better. We were wrong.” She paused. “ I was wrong. I’m sorry. Truly I am. I would love to make it up to you both.”

My curiosity got the better of me. “How?”

Her face went blank. “Excuse me?”

“How do you plan to make it up to us?”

“Well … I …”

I snorted. “Yeah, I figured.” Sitting back in my chair, I held her gaze. “I’m still not sure why I’m here. You said you want to spend Christmas with us. What does that entail?”

She took a moment then clasped her hands on the table. “I’ve met someone.”

I suspected I knew what she was hinting at, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on her. “You mean you’ve made friends with your new coworkers?”

“Well, it was through my new job,” she said with a coy look. “His name is Marvin and he’s an investment banker. He bought a new house after his wife died and he needed help decorating it.”

“You want Marvin to come to our house for Christmas too?” I asked in confusion.

“No…” She took a breath. “I’d love for you and your family to come for dinner on Christmas Day. You can meet Marvin’s children too.”

“Why?” I blurted out.

“What?” she asked in confusion.

“Why would I want to meet Marvin’s children?”

“Joe,” she said with gentle exasperation. “Because if things continue the way they are, they’ll be your new siblings.” When I didn’t say anything, she continued, “Marvin wants to meet you and your family. I thought it would be nice for everyone to get acquainted on Christmas.”

“We could meet next weekend. Why Christmas?”

“Well … Marvin’s very busy, and Christmas is the only day all of his children will be available.” When I didn’t say anything, she added, “Besides, Marvin would love to talk to you about your future.”

“Why would a man I’ve never met be interested in my future?”

“Because he knows you’re important to me,” she said with mild exasperation. “And he knows how hard it is to raise a family on blue collar wages. If you’re raising three children, it’s even harder.”

“How altruistic of him,” I said with a hint of sarcasm. “And does Marvin have a solution for my situation?”

“He does!” she said brightly. “I’ve told him how clever you are and that you’re college educated. And he says your experience with the state police will be an asset.”

I shook my head. “An asset for what ?”

“A job, silly. There’s to be an opening at his branch, and he wants to offer it to you .”

I was surprised by this turn of events. She’d ignored me for nearly two years. Why was she concerned about my profession and my family’s well-being now ? “I have a job, Mother.”

“You had a job,” she said stiffly. “You used to be a high-ranking sheriff’s official, and now you dabble in the dirt for your wife’s cute little business. You’re a Simmons, Joseph. Ambition is part of your DNA. You need a career . Don’t you want more ?”

“I’m perfectly content,” I snapped. “I love my life, and if you’d spent even half a minute asking me if I was happy, you’d know that. Do I want to work with my wife forever? I don’t know. But I don’t have to decide right now. For now, I can just love my family and be content, something you and Dad never were.” I stood and grabbed my coat off the back of my chair. “No, I won’t be coming for Christmas dinner, and I sure as hell don’t want a job at a bank. That sounds like a nightmare.” I leaned forward. “Which only confirms you never knew me at all.”

I turned around and headed for the door, with my mother calling out my name. I didn’t stop, just kept walking until I reached my car.

“Joe!” my mother called out behind me from the sidewalk. It was the pain and desperation in her voice that stopped me.

I turned to look at her, my hand on the door handle, and waited.

She had her coat slung over her shoulder and her purse in her hand, but her eyes were wide with fear. Did she really want to connect with me, and she was terrified she’d blown it? I’d had money my entire life until I’d turned my back on my parents. She probably thought I wanted it again. Had this been her sick and twisted way of making amends?

The tightness in my chest loosened.

“Joe, I’m just going to lay it out and tell you the truth.”

I dropped my hand from the door handle. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

“I suppose I deserve that.” She took a step toward me. “It’s important to Marvin that you’re there. He’s big into family and he doesn’t understand why we don’t see each other more.”

“Have you considered continuing your little truth journey and telling him the real reason?”

She cringed. “I’ve admitted that I’ve not been the best mother, but I want to try , Joe. I want a fresh start with you.”

I almost fell for it. Almost. But she hadn’t reached out to me until Marvin was in her life, asking questions. If family was important to her new boyfriend, he likely wouldn’t want to continue seeing a woman who was estranged from her only son.

“You want to try because of Marvin, not because you want a relationship with me or Hope.” I shook my head. “We won’t be coming to dinner, and as far as I’m concerned, this is the last time we’ll be speaking.”

“Joseph!” she shouted in dismay. “You don’t mean that!”

“I totally mean it,” I said, more calmly than I felt. “I don’t want you anywhere near my kids. They don’t need to be exposed to your poisonous manipulation.” I jerked the car door open. “This is goodbye, Mom. I hope you get the life you deserve.”

Then I drove away and never looked back.