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I turn. “Yes?”
“You shouldn’t talk to anyone about the case, of course, not until it’s over.”
Of course I wouldn’t. Especially not to Derek. I don’t want to stress him out any more than he already is.
15
DEREK
For all of Suzanna’s yearly phone calls to check on the kids and even the call she’d made to my office, I never thought that it would come to this.
She served mepapers. She thinks that she can wiggle her way back into my kids’ lives after being gone since they were babies, and it infuriates me.
I shouldn’t have snapped at Kenna, but the fact that she’s related to Suzanna makes me wary sometimes. She’s wonderful with the kids and they love her, but she’s just unlucky enough to be related to one of the worst people in the world.
It doesn’t fill me with confidence that she’ll testify for me in court. In fact, I think she might side with her aunt.
She says they’re estranged, but doesn’t everyone want their family to be okay and have what they want? I’m not exactly close to my aunts and uncles, and I haven’t talked to any of them in years, but would I testify for them as character witnesses? Probably.
Of course, none of them had done what Suzanna did.
None of them abandoned their husband and two children without so much as a word.
It would have been different, maybe, if Suzanna hadtalkedto me. If she had told me she was feeling overwhelmed, let me help her...
But she didn’t. And it isn’t like she started reaching out to see the kids right away. It had taken over a year for her even to call and check on them.
It’s clear to me that she views our kids as some kind of pets that she can put away in a kennel when she doesn’t want to deal with them.
I hope Brett Reynolds can help me prove that in court.
When Kenna comes to the mansion on Monday morning, I meet her at the door, standing in the doorjamb.
“Take the week off,” I say bluntly, and Kenna just stares at me.
“The whole week?”
“Taking some vacation time,” I explain, trying to keep things light. I don’t want her having any reason to dislike me and testify against me.
And god, what if she mentions that we slept together? That would make me look like a terrible father, sleeping with the nanny.
I want to ask her to not bring it up, but I don’t know how. In the end, that’s the lawyer’s job.
“Are you sure you don’t need help around the house?” Kenna asks, biting her full bottom lip.
I glance down at her mouth before looking back into her blue eyes. “It’s all right. I want to spend time with the kids.”
“Tell them I said hello,” Kenna says hesitantly before going back to her car.
I shut the door and Maggie stares up at me. She apparently heard the whole conversation.
“What is it, Magpie?”
“Why don’t you want Kenna to play with us all week?” she demands to know.
“Because I want to spend my vacation with you kiddos, not our nanny.”
“Daddy,” Maggie says matter-of-factly. “She’s more than our nanny. She’s our friend.”
