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“What about Louisa? Frankie? Her daughters?” he reminded his dad. Did they have a place in this new life?
“They’re adults now, and they don’t need us anymore. We can all get together for the holidays if you want to. Frankie hasn’t needed us for years, and Louisa seems to be doing just fine without us. We can’t just sit around waiting for our kids to come home; we want to keep living.” George seemed to believe the words that he was saying.
Jonas leaned back in his chair. It seemed the woman had gotten her claws back into his dad. As he wondered how deeply, he asked, “You do know that she has five more kids, right? Kids that she abandoned when they were just little? Did she tell you that?”
“Of course, we have no secrets. Their father hid them from her for years. We spent a lot of money trying to find them, but no success. They were gone.” George shook his head at their loss.
Jonas bit back the anger that his dad didn’t deserve. It was his wife who had abandoned those kids and lied to her husband about them, though he wasn’t going to let his father believe the lies anymore.
Leaning forward over his desk, he told the man the truth, “They have lived in the same house their entire lives, Dad. She knew exactly where they were. Some of them still live in that house. Their father abandoned them a decade later.”
George shook his head at the revelation. “She doesn’t know that. It would break her heart.”
“Stop defending her, Dad. She showed her true colors, and you still don’t see them. For a week, she knew that Bea was her daughter; she knew and didn’t care. Not once did she actually talk to her. Even when her older sister was in the house, and Judith knew exactly who that daughter was. Still nothing,” Jonas argued.
“She loves her kids, Jonas. She just has a hard time showing that love sometimes.”
“You mean when she smothered your child for nineteen years and ignored Frankie? I know for a fact you saw that. And did you ever think to step in and protect Frankie? Once?” Jonas was just as mad at his dad for what had happened as he was at himself. He had chosen to not be there for his sister, and now he didn’t think their relationship could be mended.
“I love Frankie. It’s just her attitude that I have a hard time with,” George argued.
“The one she adopted because her parents only paid attention to her when she acted up? Because her mother had chosen who was her favorite and who was not. Nothing she ever did was good enough for Judith. Or even you,” Jonas said.
George huffed and straightened in his chair. “Not true.”
“You know, I’ve always blamed how distant our family is on Judith, but you’re just as much to blame as she is. You let her do whatever she wanted, even if it was harmful to everyone but her.”
“You just don’t understand, Jonas. You have never loved anyone enough to where their flaws don’t matter, that you love them despite the fact that they have them. That’s how I love Judith. She’s my other half,” the man said, as if he didn’t spend years saying just the opposite.
“Why are you constantly separating from her then, trying to divorce her?” Jonas demanded.
“Because she can be a little annoying. But at the end of the day, I want to have spent that day with her. Once you find that love, you’ll understand.” He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.
“I understand love, and it’s not giving a woman an oath of loyalty. Buzz has made mistakes, but she also takes complete responsibility for them. She doesn’t make excuses for her actions that caused harm to others.” He couldn’t not think of that gorgeous redhead admitting why she said she did what she did, and it was for someone else.
“And Buzz is what?”
“I didn’t say Buzz.”
“Yes, you said Buzz made mistakes.”
“Okay, fine, I said it. But …” He stopped. He could say he didn’t mean it, but he did. She may have her faults, but she owned up to them every time and put everyone first, taking everyone’s feelings into account before her own.
George smiled at the answer. “Tell me about this woman who has captured your heart finally.”
“Ask your wife, but she would know her as Beatrix,” Jonas hissed, not wanting Judith anywhere near Buzz or anyone Buzz loved. Ever.
“The chef then? I could tell you were interested in her. Judith doesn’t like when you mess with the help, but I think it can be forgiven this time.” His dad grinned at him.
Jonas barked out a laugh. “No, Dad. She was never really a chef. She took the job in order to meet Judith, her mother.”
“I don’t think so.” George looked uncomfortable, very uncomfortable suddenly.
Jonas smirked. “She’s your stepdaughter, Dad. Don’t you remember her from all those holidays? Or maybe because she has four sisters, you don’t remember her specifically. She’s the youngest.”
“But …” George had nothing more to say.
“But nothing. She was four when your wife walked out on her and her family. Four. Until the day she applied for the chef’s job, Buzz hadn’t seen her or even heard from her. Her name is Beatrix Lovely. You can ask your wife the rest of her kids’ names. She might remember.”
