Kate winced, knowing her ex-husband could never edit his thoughts when he was upset.
“I know he said some things that hurt you,” she replied, always, by default, choosing not to denigrate Emma and Matt’s father. It was an unspoken rule they’d both kept since the early days of their separation.
“Hescreamedat me, Mom.” The words came out raw, like the pain Jeffrey’s words and tone had caused. “He didn’t ask if I was okay. He didn’t ask how I felt. He justexplodedabout how could I be so stupid and what would people think and—” She squeezed her eyes, grimacing with the memory of her father’s temper. “He doesn’t care aboutme.”
Kate couldn’t argue because she knew her ex-husband didn’t have an empathetic bone in his body. It was probably at the root of their easy and non-acrimonious divorce—and their passionless, chilly marriage.
He didn’t feel too deeply, which was why, when Kate met him, he seemed safe to her logical brain. It also meant he wasn’t great at…love.
Kate reached across the table and gently pulled Emma’s hands away from her face. “You’ll get through this,” she whispered.
Emma’s whole expression crumpled for a second before she pulled it back together with the determination of a girl who absolutely would not cry in a restaurant in Seaside, Florida.
She took a deep breath and picked up her water glass and took a long drink, composing herself.
How could Kate help her?Whocould…well, yes. She knew who.
She took a breath and dove in. “I want to talk to you about something, Em. And I need you to hear me out before you react.”
Emma’s guard went up instantly. “What?”
“I’d like to tell Eli about what happened.”
The reaction was immediate—a look of shock and despair. “Mom! No. Absolutely not.”
“Hear me out.”
“He’s a guy, Mom. And a good guy.”
Kate was glad she could see that already, even in the brief time she’d been around Eli. “That’s why?—”
“No!” She barked the word again. “I mean, I know you two are, like, a thing and that’s cool, but no. It’s so embarrassing.”
“We are a thing,” she said, fighting a smile at the word. “But Eli is not your father, Emma. Heisa father, and, as you say, a good guy and a great listener.”
He couldn’t have been better when Meredith had made a foolish mistake with a guy a few months ago, she thought. Watching Eli navigate his daughter’s unplanned pregnancy and subsequent loss with kindness and understanding had made her fall even more in love with him.
Emma sighed, maybe one baby step closer to considering the idea.
“He wouldn’t judge you,” Kate continued. “That’s not who he is. And he cares about you.”
“He barely knows me.”
“Well, he doesn’t ‘barely know’ me,” she replied. “He loves me.”
At the admission, Emma looked up. “So, what do you think this would accomplish?”
“I think he’s wise and gentle and can offer you another ear, not one that will judge, and that you might be able to benefit from his perspective on this. Short term—as far as handling it at school—and long term. So it doesn’t happen again.”
“It won’t,” she fired back.
“But something will. Eli has…wisdom. I don’t know how else to say it.”
“You trust him?” she asked after a minute.
Kate smiled as the answer became clear and squeezed her heart. “I’d trust that man with my life.”
Emma was silent for a long moment, staring out at the picturesque world, no doubt planning a move here. Then she shifted back to Kate.
