Macomber, Debbie by This Matter of Marriage

Author:This Matter of Marriage
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-11-20T23:44:57+00:00

Nineteen: Take It Like A Man

Meagan glanced guardedly over her shoulders, as if she expected her brother or father to show up at any second. She'd appeared at the kitchen door minutes after Hallie—or rather, Larry—ended the phone call.

"What's wrong?" Hallie asked, anxious to know what was troubling the girl. She'd rarely seen Meagan agitated or upset—unless it was at her younger brother. For the most part, Hallie found Steve's daughter to be good-natured, congenial and easygoing.

Meagan's nervous gaze returned to her father's house. "Can I come in?"

"Of course."

She helped Hallie pick up her packages from the living-room floor and carry them into the bedroom. Then, as if she'd been holding them in all weekend, Meagan's words came out in a rush. "Oh, Hallie, I'm real worried about my dad."

Hallie frowned; surely Steve wasn't sick or injured? "What's wrong with him?"

The half-wild look was back in the girl's eyes, and it seemed Steve wasn't the only distressed one. "Mom's decided to marry Kip."

Hallie felt her heart sink. It went without saying that the news would devastate Steve. "I take it your father doesn't know?"

"Not yet," Meagan said. "Mom said she was going to tell him tonight when she comes to get Kenny and me."

"Oh, boy," Hallie whispered, dropping onto her bed. Steve had always made clear that he was working hard toward a reconciliation. He'd based his entire future on their remarrying.

"My dad still loves my mom," Meagan said, her voice slowly fading. Hallie watched as the girl's eyes filled with tears. Like any kid, Meagan wanted her parents together. Even when Meagan and Kenny had asked her if she'd be willing to marry their dad, Hallie hadn't taken them seriously. She suspected that all along they'd been more aware of Mary Lynn's intentions than Steve had, but now that their mother was actually getting married, they weren't ready to face this new reality. Steve's children, like Steve himself, wanted a reconciliation.

Hallie held out her arms and Meagan walked into them, hiding her face in Hallie's sweater. "Will you talk to my dad?" she asked after a moment.

Hallie's gut instinct was to stay out of it, and she would have, if it wasn't for two things. Steve had been there for her. He'd seen her through the heartache of celebrating her thirtieth birthday alone. And only last weekend, he'd saved her sanity by helping her with Ellen. In many ways he was as good a friend as Donna-lee.

"I'll do what I can," Hallie promised, but she didn't know what she could say, or if Steve would want to hear it. She stroked Meagan's hair, murmuring, "Don't worry, honey, your dad's an adult. He can handle this."

It wasn't as if the news would come as any great shock. Steve knew his ex-wife was dating again, although he'd chosen to ignore what that meant.

Meagan lifted her tear-streaked face to Hallie's. "I've been waiting for you all weekend."

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed to talk."

Meagan shrugged. "That's all right. It's more important that you be here for my dad.

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