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Maybe it is, but what Kiara is going through at the moment is more important than any job.
As soon as the door is closed behind her, I’m on the phone with Kiara, keen to see what the latest is. She answers right away, sounding stressed.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, concerned, knowing it isn’t.
“Hey, I'm fine. Just tired. I’ve been here all day and it feels like we're going over the same things. I know it's for the best and it’s what needs to be done, but it still…” Her voice trails off and she laughs. “I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”
“So what's the plan of attack?” I ask, knowing that if this goes on to court it could drag on for years.
“A mediation session next Tuesday, and from there if it can't be settled, it will probably end up in court.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “How can it be resolved if Heather won’t come to her fucking senses?”
“Give it a chance. You don't know. This might be just a way to get your attention. Maybe she’ll come around,” I say.
“Yeah, well, if she wants my attention, she's got it.” She lets out a sigh. “Anyway, how are you? Still at work?”
“Yeah, I’m just finishing up a few things here and now and then heading home. What about you? Plans for the evening?”
“Does collapsing into bed count?” she says. “But seriously, I want to spend some time with Tilly and maybe get some cleaning done if I can be bothered. If you want to come over, Tilly should be in bed by eight.”
“Great,” I say, a warm buzz moving through my body. These late nights are making it hard for me to get up in the morning, but hell—if she asked me to com
e over at three in the morning, I probably would.
When I get home, the first thing I do is walk Lance, who is standing at the door holding his leash in his mouth. I can take a hint. We go for a jog around the block and then walk down to the park, where he catches the balls I throw for him and brings them back with ease.
After about half an hour, we had back home. I'm exhausted and on the verge of collapsing, but I know Lance has barely even started. I sit down on the couch and he bounds into my lap, almost in my face, demanding attention. He rolls onto his back as I scratch his stomach as Mr. Scruffy sits on the arm of the chair opposite, glaring at me.
“Nice to see you too,” I say.
He sticks his nose in the air and turns around to face the window. Ungrateful cat.
Getting to my feet, I notice my phone is flashing with a message. It’s from Mom, asking me to call her. I wince, realizing how long it’s been since I’ve called her. I try and remember every week, but life just gets in the way. God, it has to be about a month since we last spoke.
As I dial her number, I sit back down on the sofa. She answers right away.
“I was wondering if I’d hear back from you,” she scolds. “I’ve been trying to get onto you for weeks. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Sorry, things have been hectic,” I mumble, running a hand through my hair. “How are you guys?”
“We’re good. You’re Dad works too hard and I just busy myself with shopping,” Mom laughs. “I spoke to Will. He told me you called him?” I roll my eyes at how pleased she sounds.
“Yeah, I’m going to try and get up there to visit him over summer.”
“Good,” she says. She hesitates before adding, “What bought that on? You two have never been that close. Not since…” Her voice trails off but I know what she was going to say. Since Tommy died.
“Yeah, well I’m trying to fix that,” I mumble. “I gotta go, Mom. But I’ll call you soon, okay? I love you.”
“I love you too,” she replies.
I hang up feeling guilty. Will’s not the only person I need to make more of an effort with. I need to put the past in the past and fix things with Mom and Dad too. God, it’s been years since I had a real conversation with my father. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
Sighing, I scroll through my contacts and find Will’s number. He answers the phone with a low, gravelly laugh.
“Wow, twice in a week. What’s going on, Max?”
“I'm trying something new where I try harder to keep in touch,” I say with a smirk. “I just want to thank you for what you did for Kiara.”
“Anytime, man. You know that. I did speak to Kait, and she said this case is really strong. How’s Kiara doing?”
