Before Sunrise (39 page)

Mackenzie danced around the tree and giggled
with excitement. She started leap-frogging over to him.

“
See! See what I
did!”

Her hair had come undone from her bows after
the excitement of the day. One ponytail was free and crinkly. Liam
tried to clamp it back on but failed and gave up. When the trip to
Fun World ended, so had Mackenzie’s enthusiasm for a day with daddy
from heaven. He was then introduced to whiny, cranky Mackenzie.

Liam had been hit with a
barrage of questions.
Where’s mama? Are
you taking me to mama? Does mama know where I am? Will mama come to
get me soon?
Liam tried to play up the
adventure. A day belonging just to them. His four-year-old's round
eyes pooled with tears. He hated to see her cry. He almost broke
and called Kennedy, but he gave it one more try. The mention of a
surprise party for mommy and the decoration of a Christmas tree did
the trick. That and a bag of gummy bears at a gas station
stop.

Liam made it around the tree to see his
daughter’s handiwork. How did it look indeed! At three feet tall,
his baby-girl was a master decorator. Liam stepped back to survey
her work. The colored bulbs were lined from the bottom of tree to
as far as she could reach, in a well-placed order. Blue and silver
bulbs were all in one area. The reds were grouped together, greens
as well. He crossed his arms and studied the tree as if giving her
work serious thought. “You know, I think quite possibly this is the
best tree daddy has ever seen.”

Mackenzie nodded. She crossed her arms and
tried to mimic his stance. “It looks pretty. That’s what I
think.”

Liam looked down at his little imitator and
couldn’t control his laughter. He swept her up in his arms and she
grinned in his face. “This is fun. It’s my favorite thing to do in
the whole world, daddy.”

“
I like decorating with you,
too. But it’s not my favorite thing to do in the world. Do you want
to know what is?”

Mackenzie blinked at him. He could see Kay
in her so much. That wide, expectant look always so full of love.
He marveled at who they'd made together. The special little girl
they created.

“
What’s your favorite
thing?” she asked.

“
This!” He squeezed her and
started to blow tickle bubbles under her neck. She squealed,
kicking her feet and laughing. Her little hands flailed wildly. He
eventually let up but Mackenzie kept grinning. She tried to do him
next and he had to laugh. All she managed was a few spit bubbles
against his jaw. When the laughter subsided she pointed over at the
tree once more.

“
It’s so biiiiig. The
biggest tree ever.”

Liam couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Fatherhood felt strange. After all those years imagining a baby,
he'd come home to a little person, with her own thoughts and
personality. His imagination had never carried him this far. She
grabbed his face with her little hands and forced him to turn it to
look at the tree.

“
It’s the biggest tree I
ever had.”

This made Liam swell with pride. It was
indeed the biggest tree Liam had ever purchased. He figured he’d
overdone it. He still didn’t know if the tree could take a star at
the top, it was so tall. “Yeah, I guess I did overdo it. Think we
can move a few bulbs up to the top half? Together?”

“
Together?” She cocked her
head to the side, not understanding.

Liam limped to the tree, holding Mackenzie
up with one arm. He passed off bulbs from the lower half for her to
place near the top. Together they circled the tree and made sure
they spaced them out. After they were done they moved on to
Mackenzie’s favorite part, candy canes. She sang Rudolph, with him
chiming in. Liam could see the sun setting beyond the window. If
everything went according to plan, Kennedy would arrive soon. He
set Mackenzie down on her feet. There was more work to be done.

“
Now that looks great.” He
moved the tree a few inches and plugged in the lights. Mackenzie
laughed, clapping her hands. “We have some more decorating to do
before mommy gets here. Can you help daddy?”‘

“
Okay, daddy! I’ll help
you.”

***

Kennedy frowned. A tension headache was now
throbbing in her skull. The excitement, tears, fears, and
adrenaline rush of relief had brought it on. She sat in her car,
confused. The media had returned in full force. Why? They hadn’t
been at her house in the last day or so. Their presence was
irksome. But the gathering at her house was even more puzzling.
Phil’s car was gone. In its place were Sally’s car, Harper’s,
Angelina’s, and a white sedan with an Alamo rental tag.

“
What the hell is going
on?”

Kennedy removed her keys from the ignition.
The military guard patrolled, maintaining the crowd, keeping them
at a reasonable distance from her property. Still, she could see
the reporters were worked up into a frenzy.

Mrs. Freeman! Mrs. Freeman!
Is it true you have no intention of honoring your marriage to Liam
Flanagan? That you will abandon him now after all he’s been
through? Were you and Phil Freeman having an affair when your
husband was deployed overseas? Did you know that the president is
going to award your first husband with a medal of valor? Will you
be at his side to show any support or have you two parted ways?
What of your little girl? What
….

Where the hell were they getting their
information from? She shot the more determined screamer a fuck-off
look and marched to her front door. The inquisition outside, though
strange, she could handle. It was far less intimidating than the
gathering inside her house. When she walked in, every head turned.
Her sister, her best friend, Liam’s mother, and her own parents
were seated, waiting in a tense silence that made Kennedy’s heart
drop.

“
What happened? Is it Liam?”
she asked. “Why are the reporters back here?”

Gail rose. Her mother’s attire appeared
polished as always. She had toffee-brown skin, and sharp assessing
eyes. Her hair was thick and full as it probably was in her youth.
The only distinction of age was the few streaks of silver in the
long curls that swooped over the right side of her face. Kennedy’s
mother always believed in her appearance. She had dressed her
little girls immaculately from their first steps. When Kennedy
turned twelve, she got her first introduction to skin care, hair
care, manicures, and pedicures. Makeup came at fifteen. Gail’s was
flawless as usual. She wore a cream pantsuit, and matching heels
from some designer Kennedy was sure her mother would name. Her
fragrance overshadowed all other natural house smells. It was a
mixture of elation and disappointment for Kennedy to have her
there.

Gail smiled sweetly, tears glistening in her
eyes. “Hi, baby.”

“
Mama? What are you doing
here? What are all of you doing here?” Kennedy demanded. She tossed
her purse to the sofa and walked into the dining room to face her
company. She knew that her mother had a key. Phil had insisted on
it. In fact, everyone gathered except for Sally had a key to her
home. Still, to find them waiting and knowing that Liam and
Mackenzie were out together made her heart do flips at the prospect
of danger. There was a terrorist threat, after all. “What’s going
on? Is it Mac? What?”

Her father came out of the kitchen. Andrew
Washington was a tall, dark-skinned man. Kennedy knew her love
might have made her biased, but he was powerfully handsome as well.
With his chiseled features, his black-and-grey-peppered hair, he
carried the authority and calm that made strangers ask for his
advice. When their eyes met, Kennedy felt a flood of relief to see
the smile on his face. Though her mother was dressed for a day at a
country club, her father wore khaki pants and a cream and green
palm tree shirt.

“
Sweetheart.” Andrew placed
his glass of water on the table. Kennedy knew things were okay when
he spoke those words. He could never disguise his feelings to her.
Happy, upset, pensive, angry, she knew her daddy best of all.
Kennedy walked straight to him and threw her arms around him. He
hugged her to his chest and he smelled like daddy: clean spice of
aftershave, and a hint of smoky tobacco. “I didn’t know you were
coming.”

“
Of course we were coming.
Where is my grandbaby? Is she still with Liam?”

“
Where’s Phil?” Gail asked,
now standing at Kennedy’s side. Her mother stroked her back, too.
She needed her family.

“
We tried calling Phil and
didn’t get an answer when we landed. Where is he?” Gail
pressed.

Sally gave a snort, and then crossed her
arms in a huff. Kennedy didn’t like the accusation in her mother’s
voice but wasn’t alarmed by it. She knew where her mother would
land in her marriage drama. But when Kennedy let go of her father
she couldn’t help but notice the shift in mood around her. The
tension when she came through the door. The long-lasting truce
struck between Sally and Gail after Mackenzie was born had been set
aside. Sally looked like she would explode any minute.

“
Yes, Mackenzie’s with Liam,
daddy,” Kennedy said to her father. She ignored her mother’s
question.

“
Where she should be,” Sally
snapped.

Gail took Kennedy’s arm. “I saw the
reporters. They tried questioning me.”

“
Mama gave an interview,”
Harper blurted out.

“
You did what?” Kennedy
wrenched her arm free. Now she understood the circus out front. Her
mother had spoken to the press and somehow just added fuel to the
fire. Especially since she knew nothing about Kennedy’s decisions
regarding her family or her life, it was typical of her mother to
assume that she could decide on what was best. “Tell me you didn’t
do that!”

“
I just told them the truth.
That we’re happy that Liam is alive but you and Phil are a family,
and your bond is solid. That everything you three do going forward
will be for what’s best for Mackenzie.”

“
You said what?”

“
Oh, that’s not all.” Sally
rose, glaring at Gail. “She said that it’s unfortunate that so many
lives have been disrupted. As if my son’s survival is a
mistake!”

“
Ladies, that’s enough.”
Andrew spoke up.

Kennedy, however, continued to glare at her
mother. She wanted so desperately to scream at her for her
interference. To shake her until all her bitterness toward Liam
dropped out of her mean heart. It wasn’t Liam who'd made her run
from them years ago. It had been her choice. But Gail would never
forgive Liam. Hell, it took her years to let go her anger toward
Andrew for his role in it.

“
I said no such thing. I
just wanted the press to know that this is a family matter and that
they should let everyone work through it.”

“
That was not your
place!”

“
I don’t think she meant any
harm,” Angelina added. “Kennedy, we should all just calm down. Sit
down and discuss this rationally.”

“
Oh mama knew exactly what
she did,” Harper chimed in. “I’m on Team Liam all the way, Kennedy.
Mama did that on purpose. When I saw her little press conference
from the airport, Sally and I drove right over here. How did the
media know your plane was landing, mama? To interview
you?”

Gail rolled her eyes and crossed her
arms.

“
I called Angelina to meet
us here. I knew mama and daddy would come here first. I tried to
reach you, but your cell phone kept going to voicemail. We stayed
here to make sure she doesn’t do any more harm.

“
Watch your mouth, Harper
Marie,” Gail snapped at her. “I am your mother.” She turned on
Kennedy. “And yours, too. I’m here because I’m worried about you.
Now where is Phil?”

“
I told you. Phil is gone.
That marriage was a sham and Kennedy chose my son,” Sally
answered.

“
Mama, you should be ashamed
of yourself, holding a grudge after everything Liam has been
through,” said Harper.

“
Everybody shut up!” Kennedy
shouted. The room fell silent. She felt like someone had smacked
the front of her head with a wooden mallet. She narrowed her eyes
in anger on her mother. “I want to talk to you. Alone.”

There was a knock on the door. Harper jumped
up as if a spring was attached to her bottom. She grinned. “I’ll
get it.”

“
Mama, come with me.”
Kennedy walked off. Gail followed her into the TV room. It offered
enough privacy for her to give her mother a piece of her mind. “Why
would you insert yourself in this situation? Why? You called the
press? How could you do that?”

“
Don’t raise your voice to
me,” Gail said.

She paced away from Kennedy, avoiding her
eyes. On top of everything she’s put up with the past few days her
mother’s interference became the final straw. She couldn’t take
much more.

Kennedy put her fingertips to her temples
and tried to calm herself. She spoke in an even, controlled manner.
“I want to know what’s going on with you, mama. You of all people
know what Liam’s death did to me. What were you trying to
accomplish?”

“
I was only doing what you
should have,” Gail snapped. “The media has painted you as some
love-torn, pathetic woman. You haven’t said one word to them since
this thing started. You just let them speculate on you and Phil.
They have been interviewing neighbors, strangers! I have friends
calling me, questioning me. Your father was questioned at his job.
This has affected all our lives.”