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Guess they were about to find out.
After softly knocking on the door, he heard a “Come in,” and entered. The first person he saw was Hannah’s father, sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. His eyes widened, and his mouth formed an ‘O’ shape.
“David, who is it?” Patricia asked.
“It’s, um, it’s…”
JP continued into the room.
“Well, see for yourself.”
He rounded the curtain and stood at the foot of Patricia Briggs's bed.
“You,” she said with disgust in her voice. “What are you—”
Kayla giggled and flapped kicked her legs.
Patricia gasped. “My baby.” Her entire demeanor changed, softening and becoming about a hundred times more animated. She pressed a hand to her mouth, blinking rapidly. “My God, you’ve gotten so big.”
JP remained quiet, allowing the couple a minute to absorb the shock of Kayla’s presence. They’d been so fixated on seeing her again, this had to be blowing their minds.
After a few moments of oohing and aahing over the changes in Kayla, Patricia shifted her attention back to him. “She sent you, didn’t she? She thought this would make me do what she wants.”
Shaking his head, JP said, “No, Mrs. Briggs, she didn’t. In fact, she has no idea I’m here.”
David frowned. “So she didn’t tell you?”
JP raised an eyebrow. “Tell me what?”
“Nothing!” Patricia averted her gaze, and he could have sworn he saw a flash of shame cross her expression before she hardened her mask of hatred back in place,
“Well, I’m not here to play games, so if you won’t tell me, I guess I’ll be going.” He turned toward the door and took two steps before—
“Wait!” The panic in Patricia’s voice seemed to be the first genuine emotion he’d heard from her.
Gotcha.
Slowly, he spun back to face her.
“Wait,” she whispered.
They stared at each other for a few long, heavy seconds until Hannah’s father finally spoke up.
“The crash wasn’t an accident. Patti knew it would bring Hannah rushing back.”
His blood ran cold. That couldn’t possibly be true, but one look in Patricia’s eyes and he knew to the very depths of his soul that she had, in fact, sunk so low in order to manipulate her daughter.
“What did Hannah say?” he asked, surprised by how even he managed to keep his tone. Kayla often picked up on tension in his body, so he worked to keep from setting her off as well.
She looked everywhere but at him. “She said she was done. With us. And she left.” Her voice was thick with unshed tears.
“I see.” Suddenly, he knew exactly what to say to handle this situation in the best way for Kayla, Hannah, and himself. He walked forward, then placed his hands on the foot of the bed. “By the look on your face, I don’t have to tell you how messed up that is, do I?”
Patricia’s eyes narrowed, but then her gaze shifted to Kayla, and she shook her head. “No,” she said in a small voice.
“Good. So this is how things are going to proceed from here on out. You are going to get help. Not a once a month visit to a therapist, but serious psychological help. Both of you.” He glanced over his shoulder at Hannah’s father, who wore a look of relief and nodded immediately. “Until your psychiatrist is convinced and can assure me you will not be a danger to yourself, your daughter, or your granddaughter physically or emotionally, you will not have access to either.”
Hannah would have his ass if she heard him, but he refused to let them hurt her one more time. If he knew his girl, and he did, she was sitting in her apartment beating herself up for everything that happened since the day he met Mary Anne.
“You can’t tell me—”
“I can, and I am,” he said, holding up a hand. “Kayla is my daughter. It is my job to protect her from any harm. And right now, you both are harmful. I don’t want my daughter to grow up without grandparents. You and Hannah are the only links she’ll have to her mother. She deserves so know her mother through your memories. But if you want a relationship with Mary Anne’s daughter, you’ll stop denying the truth and get the help you need to be happy and healthy.”
Yes, throwing Mary Anne’s name in the mix was a low blow, as evidenced by Patricia’s flinch. But something needed to be done to snap these two out of their denial. He wasn’t above using their daughter’s name to make that happen.
“You and Hannah…” David spoke from behind JP.
He glanced at the man who appeared to need a week of sleep straight. “Hannah’s and my plans do not concern you.”
David’s eyebrows drew down. “Excuse me?”
His lips twitched at the fatherly display of concern. Finally. “As I said, she has no clue I’m here. And I’m not about to get into our business with you, but I’m heading to see her next.”
