Serendipity (27 page)

Tess sniffed and paused for way too long. “I guess not,” she finally said.

“You just made it more challenging, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.” He grinned.

To his surprise, Tess smiled back.

“Look, I have to go to D.C. tomorrow, but I want you to understand that
I'm not leaving you
, I'm not abandoning you, and Faith will be here until I get back. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Tess said in a soft voice. Her eyes still shimmered, but he saw the gratitude in her expression too.

He wanted to pull her into a hug but she was still withdrawn into herself and he figured he'd pushed enough for one night.

“I'll see you in the morning?” she asked.

“You bet.” He rose to his feet.

“Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

Tess held out her sketch pad. “Here. I want you to see.”

Stunned, he accepted the pad. “I'm honored.”

“Don't look at my drawings in front of me, okay?” For the first time, he caught sight of a real blush on her cheeks.

“No problem.” He paused. “Thanks for trusting me.” He winked at her and let himself out, shutting her door behind him.

At least now he understood why she acted out, and he couldn't blame her. Nor did he kid himself that things with Tess would change overnight, but at least now they had an understanding.

A starting point.

He sat down on his bed and opened the sketch pad. Dragon warriors stared back at him. At least that's what he thought they were. But even to his untrained eye, they were damned good. She had talent and deserved to have it nurtured.

He glanced at his watch. It was late but not obnoxiously so. He dialed Kate Andrews to find out about the best local art programs and teachers. She gave him the name of a colleague at the local college the next town over, as well as the dean of Birchwood Academy, a private school that specialized in the arts.

He'd make inquiries in between his business dealings tomorrow. He also planned to put his PI on locating Leah Moss. If Ethan and/or Kelly were going to be her guardians, Ethan wanted it to be legal, so they could make all the right decisions for Tess from now on.

Ethan left to catch his flight before Faith arrived at his house the following morning. Faith admitted to herself that she'd stalled on purpose, not wanting to add to the overwhelming idea of staying in his house by seeing him too.

Rosalita let her in and Tess was waiting for her in the family room. To Faith's surprise, the teen had lightened her makeup (which was still too dark), but she'd made the effort at change. She also wore a pair of normal jeans, a black T-shirt, and flip-flops. No cargo pants or jacket to be found.

Interesting.

“Good morning!” Faith greeted the teen.

“Hey.” Tess looked at Faith and narrowed her gaze. “Where's your suitcase? Did you change your mind?”

Faith's heart squeezed at the distrust that came so naturally to the girl. “Rosalita took my bag upstairs for me.”

A flash of relief crossed Tess's face. “Do I have to go to the community center today?”

“What would you rather do?” Faith asked. Ethan hadn't left a specific schedule so Faith figured it was up to her.

The teenager glanced up from beneath her lashes. “Hang out with you,” she said softly, as if unsure of how her request would be received.

Faith smiled in reassurance. “I'd like that. But I have to be in the shop this morning. My mother's stopping by. After that, we can figure out what you want to do. Sound good?”

Tess shrugged. “Yeah. That sounds okay.”

“Are you ready?” Faith asked.

The teen nodded.

A few minutes later, they were in Faith's car, on the way to town. “It smells new.” Tess wrinkled her nose.

“It's my baby,” Faith said proudly, patting the steering wheel.

“So what's your mother like?” Tess asked, more curious and chatty than Faith had ever seen her.

Clearly something had changed between last night and this morning, but Tess was watching her and waiting for an answer. Her own questions would have to wait.

“My mother.” How to describe Lanie Harrington, Faith wondered. But she knew she'd better come up with something that would prepare Tess for the difficult woman she was about to meet. “She's spoiled and a lot selfish. She wants what she thinks she's entitled to and who cares what the rest of the world thinks.”

Faith wanted to wince at the awful description, but the problem was, every ounce of it was true.

“Sounds like my mom.”

Stunned by Tess's sudden willingness to open up, Faith's hand jerked on the wheel. “I didn't know that.”

“Yeah. Well, Ethan got me talking last night. Now I can't seem to stop,” Tess said, curling one leg beneath her.

He was full of surprises, Faith thought. But he was also clearly good for his sister, and for that Faith was glad.

Faith forced herself to focus on the morning ahead. “Tess, my mother can be . . . rude,” Faith said as she pulled into a parking space behind the store. “In other words, don't take anything she says personally.”

Faith put the car in park and shut off the engine before turning to face her passenger. “The thing is, my mother doesn't like many people. Mostly because she's bitter and angry. I'm not excusing her, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't let her . . . bait you.”

“So watch my mouth?” Tess asked, a devilish grin on her face.

Faith had never seen this side of the girl, and warm protective instincts flooded through her. She wouldn't let her mother hurt this child who'd obviously had enough pain for one lifetime.

“That would help. And let me handle her, okay?”

Tess blew out a long breath of air. “You're no fun.”

Faith laughed. “Speaking of fun, what do you want to do this afternoon?” She deliberately changed the subject.

Tess stared out the window, suddenly silent.

“What is it?” Faith asked.

“You'll laugh.” Tess folded her arms across her chest, in a familiar gesture.

Unwilling to let her withdraw, Faith decided to take a page from Ethan's playbook. “You tell me what you want to do and I'll tell you how I'd like to spend the afternoon. Seems like a fair trade to me.”

Tess turned her head and met Faith's gaze. “I want you to show me how to do makeup,” the teen rattled off, at close to one hundred miles an hour. She'd obviously wanted to get the words out before she could change her mind.

At the simple yet endearing request, Faith practically melted. “Well, that goes along with what I was going to say. How about we have lunch, do some clothes shopping for you, and then head home for a makeup lesson?”

Tess blinked. “You really want to do all that with me?” The insecurity spoke to the girl who'd been left on Ethan's doorstep.

And Faith, who felt betrayed by her father and used by her ex-husband, understood that insecurity very well. “Of course I want do all that with you!”

They just had to survive Faith's mother first.

 

 

Faith settled Tess at the corner of her desk. Tess seemed happy to stick her iPod ear buds on, sketch pad in front of her, and tune out the world, so Faith let her. She made a few calls to vendors and discovered she'd been able to push up shipment of both Tess's and Ethan's bedroom furniture, along with the family room sofa, recliner, and other pieces. Although she'd have preferred to do a full installation, giving him completed rooms at one time, the way she planned to do for Caroline Bretton, Ethan needed the items as they came in. She was pulling in every string she and Joel had to make sure the two people she cared about had what they needed.

She was deep in thought, planning Caroline's room, when the chimes she'd put on the door rang out. Faith glanced up to see her mother stride through the doors. A quick glance told her Tess hadn't yet noticed.

Faith rose to her feet and headed to greet Lanie in the center of the room. “Mom! Welcome to my place of business,” she said with a grin, hoping to start this meeting off on the right foot.

“This is . . . interesting,” her mother said, taking in the pieces Faith had started to accumulate.

There were show items like floral centerpieces, an antique desk, and a marble pedestal, all meant to lure pedestrians into the shop. She would sell them or use them as part of a decorating project, replacing them as she came across unique items online, in catalogs, and courtesy of Joel.

“Thank you. That large leopard reminds me of something we used to have when I was growing up.” Faith pointed to a large ceramic cat in the corner.

“Your father's favorite,” Lanie murmured, her voice soft and unguarded.

“Have you spoken to him?” Faith managed to ask.

“No. He asked that I keep my distance. He thought it would protect me, you know?”

Faith shook her head. “And you think that makes him admirable?”

“He's looking out for me.”

Faith swallowed hard, determined not to argue with her. “Well, come in and have a seat.”

Her mother started toward the desk and came to a halt. “Who is
that
?” She pointed her long, painted nails toward Tess, who sat, head back, iPod on, pretending to play the drums with her hands. “Or should I say, what is that? She has purple in her hair.” Lanie shuddered.

Faith straightened her shoulders, an overwhelming feeling of protectiveness sweeping through her. “That is Ethan's sister, Tess. I'm watching her for a few days. And let me be clear, Mother. If you can't be nice to Tess, turn around and walk out that door right now. We have nothing further to discuss.”

Nobody would hurt Tess on her watch. Not even the one person who'd managed to damage her own self-esteem, Faith thought, the realization stunning and painful. She hadn't been a rebel like Ethan, but maybe if her own mother had loved her, protected her, been proud of who she was and who she wanted to be, she never would have married a self-serving bastard like Carter Moreland.

“Well?” Faith asked her shell-shocked mother. “What's it going to be?”

“Hey, is this your mother?” Tess let her feet hit the floor with a thud.

Faith closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. Then she faced the two people in the room. “Yes, this is my mother, Lanie Harrington. Mom, this is Tess Moss.”

“Ma'am.” Tess nodded her head, on her best behavior, as if she were meeting the queen of England.

Faith shot her a warning glare and hoped the kid didn't take it too far and curtsy.

“Moss,” Lanie repeated. “I thought you said she was a Barron.” She said the name with all the disdain she could muster.

“Half Barron,” Faith said through gritted teeth.

“Ahh. Why didn't you say so? That's much better,” Lanie said.

Most people might take Lanie's words for sarcasm. Faith knew her mother merely spoke her own truth. Better half than all Barron blood.

“Hello, Tess. And what is Tess short for, may I ask?” Lanie continued.

The teenager shrugged. “Just Tess.”

“Interesting hair color, Tess.”

“Mother . . .”

Tess reached a hand to her purple strands. “Yeah, well, that's another thing I thought we could talk about?” She looked up at Faith hopefully.

Faith couldn't stand it another minute. She walked up to the girl and placed her arm around her shoulders, pulling her close in a way her own mother had never done for her. Instead of pulling away as Faith expected, Tess stiffened in surprise but remained in Faith's protective grasp.

Suddenly Faith's cell chimed at the same time the phone rang on her desk. She reached for her cell and did the only other thing she could. “Mother, could you possibly get that?” Faith asked.

Faith took a call from Ethan. He was rushed and in between meetings, but he needed to talk to her about Tess and a potential art class opportunity, so she headed to a private corner for the conversation.

When she returned, her mother was sitting at her desk, Tess in her chair across the way.

“How old are you, Tess?” Lanie asked.

“Fourteen.”

“And how are you related to Ethan Barron?”

“I think that's enough of that!” Faith inserted herself back into the conversation. “So, who called earlier?” she asked her mother.

“Ahh. That was Caroline Brennan. She changed your appointment by a day.” Lanie scowled at the mention of her friend. “Since your calendar was open on your desk, I took the liberty of scheduling her.”

“Thank you.” Faith had no idea why her mother seemed to be behaving, but she was grateful.

“A trucking company called too. I scheduled them also. Here.” Her mother pointed to the same day next week she had other deliveries at Ethan's. “Make no mistake. I don't approve of this venture.”

Here we go,
Faith thought.
The long-awaited conversation.
“Why not? Don't I need to make a living?”

“I thought you received a nice settlement from Carter?” her mother asked pointedly.

From the corner of her eye, Faith saw Tess listening to them, her eyes wide in fascination.

Faith bit the inside of her cheek. “I received enough to start the business and to know I have a cushion,” she said carefully.

Lanie shook her head. “You should have invested well and lived off the interest. Working like a common person is so . . . beneath you.”

Faith drew herself up straighter. “I'm proud of this place and I like what I'm doing. Of course I'd like it better if I could get more clients, but thanks to Dad's illegal dealings, no one wants to do business with me.” Faith met her mother's gaze.