“Even though you’re doing well, I still want to do some things for Alex.”
“And as I’ve told you more than once, we don’t need money.”
He chose his words carefully. “This isn’t a question of need. An honorable man takes care of his children.”
“It’s...” She bit her lip.
“What?”
“Okay, I concede your desire to act honorably. Some men don’t have the same compulsion.”
“Thank you.”
Although he was focused on the road, Jackson was well aware of Kayla’s movements and facial expressions. Now she squared her shoulders. “The thing is, I don’t want Alex to be spoiled. The sense of entitlement so many people have is appalling. I want my kids be grateful for the good things and work for goals that matter.”
“I want the same for Morgan.”
“Then, don’t expect money to be spent on things Alex doesn’t need, or that I’ll increase his allowance or hand him his own car keys when he turns sixteen. If you have to send money, it can go into his education account, though I still want him to have a job during college. I don’t want to sound like a broken record about it, but we value what we earn.”
Jackson opened his mouth, only to close it. Surely Kayla hadn’t meant to prod him in a sore spot. He owned a fine ranch because Great-Uncle Mitch had given him the land, which he’d since expanded using income from his trust fund. But for the first five years he’d worked as a regular ranch hand, living on a ranch hand’s salary. While Jackson hadn’t minded, Marcy had hated it, along with the tiny house that had come with the job.
And for some reason, he wished Kayla knew so she wouldn’t see him as someone who’d gotten everything just handed to him.
“So?” Kayla prompted in a challenging tone.
“I agree,” he said. “But I want to do more than send money. I also want to...uh...” He stopped, knowing he’d almost said something that would get him into hot water. Again. Before Kayla’s return, he hadn’t realized how many of his ideas might be chauvinistic. Of course, his sisters joked about it, but he was sure there hadn’t been any serious heat to the accusations...fairly sure.
“Let me guess, you want to teach him how to drive a truck and get girls. Right?” she asked with sugary sweetness.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Good, because even though I could teach Alex to drive myself, he’s registered for driving school this fall. And while you undoubtedly know how to ‘get girls,’ it isn’t a skill I’m anxious for him to learn.”
“Yes, but a boy needs a father, and it doesn’t sound as if your ex-husband is doing much on that end,” Jackson said, only to wish he’d kept his mouth shut when Kayla flinched. She turned to the window again, her lips turned down unhappily.
The time passed slowly after that, the silence broken occasionally by innocuous conversations or more tense debates. In some ways, it didn’t seem as if things had gotten any better with Kayla than with Morgan or Alex.
Curiously, of the three youngsters, it was DeeDee who’d been the friendliest to him, but her attitude hadn’t seemed to influence her brother or Morgan in the slightest.
* * *
THAT EVENING, KAYLA called Sandy’s and Keri’s parents and discussed the possibility of the kids visiting Schuyler. The Kellers and the Garzas loved the idea as long as the girls could fly together.
“I’m awfully glad you’re staying longer,” Elizabeth said as they sat on the patio. DeeDee and Alex had fallen asleep watching baseball in the family room.
Kayla smiled. She wasn’t sure that staying was the best idea, but her vaguely uneasy feelings weren’t reason enough to leave.
As a child she’d longed for a life that wasn’t constantly changing, with new places to live and new people to figure out. But she couldn’t deny that getting away from Seattle was proving beneficial. Both DeeDee and Alex seemed to have benefited—particularly since it was buffering them from their father’s preoccupation with his new family.
Her cell phone rang fifteen minutes later. It was Jackson.
“Hello.”
“I talked to my parents and they’d love to see Alex tomorrow,” he told her.
On the drive back from Yellowstone they’d discussed having a get-together with Jackson’s mother and father.
“Alex is asleep in front of the TV at the moment, but I’ll talk to him when I get a chance.”
There was a long pause. “Mom and Dad will go along with any plan that seems best, so whatever he wants is fine with us.”
“All right, I’ll call in the morning.” After pressing the off button, Kayla glanced at her grandmother. “The McGregors want to meet Alex, tomorrow if possible.”