The Better Man (Chicago Sisters) (18 page)

He stood up and her eyes followed him. Her eyebrows were pinched together. “Yeah...thanks.”

Max walked back over to his mom as Katie’s lawyer sat back down, giving him an equally confused look. Joanna smiled at him and gave his cheek a soft pat. Over her shoulder, Max watched as Kendall appeared in the hallway. He almost asked his mom to smack him harder.
What was she doing here?

She was almost too pretty to look at. Her hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in long, brown waves. She carried her coat in her arms and wore a green dress the color of clover. He wondered if she could be his lucky charm.

She approached them cautiously. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he replied dumbly. Those warm brown eyes and soft pink lips turned him into a fool.

“You made it,” his mom said.

That got his attention. “You knew she was coming?”

Joanna shrugged, and Kendall’s smile was apologetic. “Word to the wise, your mom answers your cell phone when you’re in the shower.”

Nice.
He’d be taking his phone with him everywhere from now on. “What are you—” Before he could finish asking her what she was doing there, Wayne reappeared to announce it was time to start.

“You are?” Wayne asked Kendall.

“Kendall Montgomery. Friend of Max. I’m here for moral support or to testify to Max’s character. Whatever he needs,” Kendall explained.

“Thanks,” Max said with all the sincerity he felt in that moment. Showing up here meant maybe there was a chance she was willing to give him a shot. At the very least, she’d let him be in Simon’s life.

“I don’t think we’ll need to call any character witnesses,” Wayne said. “But it’s good for him to have some people on his side.” He held the courtroom door open and let the ladies go first.

Everyone took their seats. Laura from the counseling center was there. She gave Max a polite smile when they made eye contact. Judge Keller shuffled through some papers, then he got started. He announced they were there due to Katie’s petition for sole custody without visitation. He was disappointed in them for not being able to work things out in arbitration.

Katie’s lawyer spoke first. She did a great job of spinning one missed visit into the perfect example of Max’s past behavior. Luckily for him, Laura testified that the visits Max had shown up for had gone well. Her recommendation was that visits should continue and could be unsupervised.

“I see that a motion for joint physical and legal custody was filed by Mr. Jordan, but my understanding is that has been withdrawn? Is that correct?” Judge Keller asked Wayne.

Katie leaned forward so she could see around her lawyer. Her disbelief was clear in her eyes. He knew she’d assume he had come to do war.

“Correct, your honor,” Wayne replied. “My client agrees with Mrs. Michaels that it’s best for Aidan to reside with his mother and stepfather. He also agrees that it’s best for her to continue to make the decisions regarding his educational and medical needs. We’re simply here to ask that Mr. Jordan’s visitation continue. We would be willing to go back to arbitration to settle the terms.”

“That’s quite a change of heart,” the judge noted. “Mr. Jordan, care to explain?”

Max cleared his throat and rubbed his sweaty palms on his thighs. “I’ve been absent from my son’s life. Distance played a part, but I could have put forth more of an effort to be there for him.”

“Your honesty is appreciated. So you withdrew the motion because you knew you wouldn’t win,” Judge Keller assumed.

“No, I withdrew because what my son needs, what my son deserves, is parents who care more about him than their hurt feelings. I’ve made too many decisions based on my anger and frustration.”

“This is a trick,” Katie said from her side of the room. Her lawyer quickly shushed her.

Max leaned forward to speak to Katie instead of the judge. “You have every right to be mad at me and I completely understand why you don’t trust me. I’m not trying to trick you, though. I just want a chance to prove it to you.”

“You’re three years too late, Max.”

“Since when is there a time limit on being someone’s father? I messed up. You helped me see that. Please give me a chance.”

Katie eyes welled with tears. She looked emotionally spent, but he hoped she would listen to reason. Max readdressed the judge. “Katie and Jason provide Aidan with a good home. I can’t deny that. I certainly don’t want to take any of that away from Aidan. That’s why I asked the motion to be withdrawn. All I want is a chance to spend some time with him. I think he needs that, too.”

“Mrs. Michaels, it’s very hard to argue with that, but I’m going to let you try,” Judge Keller said.

Katie and her lawyer whispered back and forth. Max took deep breaths to keep the anxiety at bay. She had to agree. He was done fighting with her. It wasn’t healthy for any of them, Aidan most of all. It was time they started working together. Time to fight
for
Aidan rather than over him.

“My client agrees to arbitration.”

Max felt all the tension leave his body.

Judge Keller handed some papers to the clerk. “All right. Mrs. Michaels maintains custodial rights as well as all medical and educational rights, and the terms of Mr. Jordan’s unsupervised visitation will be determined in arbitration.”

The gavel struck the sounding block. The weight on Max’s shoulders lifted and disappeared. Doing the right thing had paid off. He was tired of being angry and was ready to start fresh with Katie. If he made good on his promises, they might be able to pull this coparenting thing off.

He shook hands with Wayne and hugged his mother. Behind her stood Kendall, smiling like she was truly happy for him. Before he could thank her for coming, even though they hadn’t needed to call any witnesses, she wrapped her arms around him. She smelled like vanilla and felt like warm sunshine. Letting go was going to be very, very difficult.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

M
AX
’
S
MOM
WAS
INTERESTING
, to say the very least. From the sound of it, she and Lucy would be instant friends. No one had ever been interested in how often Kendall consumed kale before.

“I think it was that smoothie I made you the other day that helped you see things more clearly,” she said to Max as they walked out of the courthouse.

“I agree I have you to thank for changing my mind, but the kale had nothing to do with it.” Max stuck out his tongue and scrunched up his nose, making Kendall laugh.

Wayne gave Max a pat on the back. “I won’t try to guess what it was, but I think you did the right thing. We could have dragged this thing out forever and Aidan would have been the one who lost in the end.”

“I think so, too.”

“Well, I have another client to meet back at the office,” Wayne said. “Max, I’ll see you at arbitration. Joanna and Kendall, it was nice to meet you.”

Max pulled out a key ring and handed it to his mom. “I need to head over to Sato’s for a few hours, clean up the mess Jin made.”

She dropped the keys into her purse. “Time for some retail therapy.”

“State Street is just a couple of blocks east of here. There’s lots of shopping,” Kendall suggested.

“Excellent,” his mom said. She kissed her son on the cheek and gave Kendall a hug. “Hopefully we’ll see each other again.”

“I hope so.” Max and Kendall stood outside the Daley Center, both unsure of what to say now that they were alone. His cheeks pinked up a little and he scratched the back of his head. “Do you want to share a cab with me?”

“Sure.” She’d made it this far. Talking to him was the logical next step. Of course, in the back of a cab, there wasn’t much to say. Max thanked her again for taking time out of her day to come support him. She relayed the story of talking to his mother instead of him when she had finally mustered up the courage to call.

It was a quick drive to Sato’s. Max held the door open and they stood in the dining room, once again at a loss for words. Kendall had thought about what she wanted to say for days. Max was Trevor’s brother, Simon’s uncle. She wanted to see how he felt about that. How would that change things between them?

Kendall got the impression on Halloween that Max did not want to have any part in Paul’s life. Her fear was that that would extend to the whole Montgomery family.

“Simon has lots of new questions.”

Max let out a puff of laughter. “I bet. Something tells me they all have to do with our newly discovered blood ties.” He pointed to a booth by the window and they both sat down.

“Good guess. I’m pretty sure I’ve answered more questions about how people are related than I ever thought possible.”

“This is crazy, right? I’m not the only one who thinks this is a little nuts?”

Kendall found it more than a little strange. “What’s weird is that I never really considered the possibility you could be related to Trevor, even though there aren’t too many brothers out there who look more alike than you two.” She took a deep breath, fearful of what kind of reaction bringing up Max’s father would elicit. “I never imagined Paul as the kind of man who would—”

“Cheat on his wife? Lie to everyone? Abandon his child?” His hurt was still very raw.

“All of those things,” she said softly.

“I don’t want to talk about Paul Montgomery. Not now, maybe not ever.”

“He’s Simon’s grandfather. I’m not sure how to not talk about him.”

Max ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it down unnecessarily. “Let’s talk about why you showed up for me today. A few days ago, you didn’t want me to have anything to do with Simon. Or you, for that matter. I’m still the same guy I was back then. What changed?”

“I showed up because you deserved it. You’ve never been anything but good to me and Simon,” Kendall explained. “You are the man who rescued my son from a tunnel slide and always helped me with my coat. You’re also Simon’s uncle.”

“So because Simon and I are related, all is forgiven? You aren’t afraid my life is too complicated?”

“Oh, I’m scared to death.” There were still no guarantees. Kendall was as convinced as Katie that Max meant what he said today. He wanted to stick around and make a life here. That was great news for his son’s life, but what did it mean for Kendall’s? “You could choose not to be a part of our lives because of Paul.”

“I want to be in your life,” Max said. His hand reached across the table and rested on top of hers. Those words made her heart soar.

“That makes me happy. The truth is,
you
make us happy. Me and Simon. It’s been so long since I’ve felt that way, I didn’t know what to do with it.” The tears began to well up in her eyes. She had promised herself she wasn’t going to cry when she talked to him.

“Simon told me about the fight you and Trevor had when he told you he was leaving. The poor kid thinks he could have done something to make his dad stay.”

The tears spilled over. Her sweet boy. “That’s what he told you on Halloween?”

“He came to tell me he would be a good boy if I would still be his friend.”

Kendall covered her face with her hands and sobbed. She had no idea how badly Simon was hurting. Max slid out of his side of the booth and into hers. He put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest.

“I brought him back home with every intention of telling you that it doesn’t matter if you’re afraid, I’m not going anywhere. And now that Simon is my family, you can’t get rid of me, Kendall. I’m here for both of you.”

His declaration made her cry harder. She wanted to believe that, but things were so much more complicated. He held her close and consoled her until she regained her composure.

Wiping her wet cheeks, she looked up into those eyes that made her feel safe. Eyes that she’d trusted from the very start. “We want you.
I
want you.”

Max’s gaze fell from her eyes to her lips. They were so close, they were breathing each other in. As wrong as Max should have been for her, Kendall couldn’t help feeling like he was the most right thing in her life. He wet his bottom lip with his tongue and she was sure he was going to kiss her when there was a crash from the kitchen.

Max jumped up and Kendall followed. A string of Japanese words accompanied the loud crash. Chef Yamaguchi was in the kitchen along with two of his sous chefs. There was a plate of food on the floor and several things cooking. Chef continued to chastise the underlings.

Kendall let Max sort things out. There was more to discuss, and work wasn’t the place to do it. Paul Montgomery couldn’t be a forbidden topic forever. Not if what Max said was true. For their lives to meld together, Max had to come to terms with who his father was.

* * *

“S
O
, I
SAW
Max today.” Kendall dished out some peas onto Simon’s dinner plate.

“You did? Was he taller?”

Kendall laughed lightly. “I don’t think so. He looked the same to me.” Smelled the same, too. So good.

Simon pushed the peas to the far side of the plate. Something told her he wasn’t going to eat those. “Does he still want to be friends?”

“He does. But he’s more than a friend, he’s your family.”

“He’s your family, too,” Simon said before shoveling in a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

“Well, he’s not really my family. He’s Daddy’s family like Aunt Emma and Aunt Lucy are my family. Max is Mommy’s friend. How do you feel about Max being Mommy’s friend?”

“I like him being your friend. I want him to always be your friend, like Ava and Riley.”

“Who’s Ava and Riley?”

“In my class. They’re best friends. They
always
play together.” He set his fork down and rested his cheek on his hand. “Nobody wants to be my friend at school. They think I can’t talk and I’m a baby. But I’m not a baby and I
can
talk. You can hear me. The yucks just steal my sounds at school.”

It was the first time Simon had ever spoken about the other kids at school. It broke her heart. “What if you pretended the kids at school were like Max? Maybe you could pick someone to try to talk to.”

Simon’s head shook back and forth so fast she had to stop him before he made himself sick. “What if it wasn’t in the classroom? Maybe at recess where no one else would hear.”

“The yucks hate school.”

“What about you? Do you hate school?”

His little shoulders lifted up and fell down.

“Why do you think you hate school?”

He shrugged again.

“Can you think about it? Think about what makes the yucks really mad about school.”

Simon finished his dinner, except for the peas. Kendall let him be quiet and hoped he was truly thinking about it. When she took his plate to the sink, he finally had an answer. “There’s so many kids at school. It makes the yucks go crazy. Mrs. Taylor can’t help me when I need her. Everybody wants her. Grant is always raising his hand and making her come by him and Gianna always says, ‘Mrs. Taylor! Mrs. Taylor! Look! Look!’” Simon waved his arms around and raised his voice in imitation.

“Mommy has a meeting at school this week to talk about how Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Warner and even Mrs. Nigel can make things easier for you, so talking will be no big deal someday.”

“I like Mrs. Warner. She has funny toys in her room.”

“Would you like it if you could see her more? She’s really nice like Max. Maybe you could start by talking to Mrs. Warner.”

Simon shook his head. Kendall was grasping at straws. Nothing about Wilder made Simon feel safe enough to talk to someone there. How was she going to prove to the school that he belonged there when he didn’t even feel like he did?

“Can Max come to school? I’ll talk to Max at school.”

“Max can’t be there with you every day.” But he could come with him the day of the meeting. Maybe if Simon spoke to Max at school, he’d start talking to other people there like he did with Kendall’s family now. It was a plan. Not a very good plan, but still more than she had a few hours ago.

* * *

A
SKING
M
AX
TO
come was easier than she thought. Getting him to school at eight in the morning was the hard part. Kendall and Simon stood in his living room, waiting while he threw on a shirt and tie. The couch was currently occupied by a pile of blankets and a pillow. He’d overslept. Mornings weren’t his “thing,” evidently.

“I swear I set my alarm,” he said, coming out of his room with his shirt half-buttoned. “I should have warned you I tend to be useless before ten.”

“It’s fine,” Kendall said, resisting the urge to check her watch. Maybe with Max there, Simon wouldn’t freak out about not being the first person in the classroom.

His mom came out of the bedroom, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. “I would have gotten him up, but I think I’m still on West Coast time.”

“Yeah, I’ve used that excuse before,” Max said as he slipped on his shoes.

“You have funny hair,” Simon said, pointing at Max’s head. His hair was sticking up in all directions.

Kendall gave Simon a stern look. “Manners,” she whispered.

“It’s true,” he mumbled back.

Max smoothed his hair down and flashed them both a toothy grin. “He’s just looking out for me. Right, Simon?”

“Right.”

Kendall found herself unable to do anything but smile back. They headed down the stairs of his three-flat while Max tied his tie and asked Simon the names of all the cute girls in his class.

To Kendall’s surprise, Simon didn’t blush or fuss that he didn’t like girls. He rattled off two names.

“Cute girls were the only thing that got me through school, buddy,” Max said. “Whenever I was having a bad day or felt nervous, I’d look at the prettiest girl in class and all the bad thoughts went away.”

“That works?” Simon was skeptical.

“Sure it does! As a matter of fact, I had a big meeting this week with lawyers and a judge. I was really nervous. So, I looked at your mom and boom, I felt better.” One corner of Max’s mouth curled up as Kendall glanced at him over Simon’s head. Her face quickly heated.

“You think Mom is pretty?”

“Yeah, I do,” Max said like that was the craziest question ever. She could feel his eyes on her now, and it was doing the complete opposite of calming her nerves.

“Are you encouraging my son to ogle girls in his class? That could cause more problems than it would solve.”

Max laughed as they stepped outside. “I didn’t say he should
ogle
anyone.” He put a hand on Simon’s head. “Remember, it’s not a staring contest. You gotta be subtle, dude.”

“What’s subtle?” Simon asked innocently.

“Be cool about it. It’s quicker than a look. Like this.” Max demonstrated the art of being subtle. His warm, brown eyes stole a glance in Kendall’s direction, meeting hers just long enough to cause her heart to skip a beat.

“Got it.” Simon grabbed his mom’s hand. “I’m going to be subtle at Lauren.”

Kendall was still a little worried this strategy would backfire. But if it worked, she’d let Max subtly ogle her anytime he needed to feel better.

The trees outside Wilder Elementary were almost bare, their leaves blanketing the ground underneath them. Buses filled with sleepy-eyed children pulled into a circle drive on the side of the building. Simon stopped talking as soon as the school came into view.

Kendall and Max checked into the main office before walking Simon to his classroom. Max held his backpack for him while Simon took off his jacket and hung it on the hook by his name. Mrs. Taylor welcomed them warmly. Kendall introduced Max as Simon’s uncle. It sounded better than anything else she could call him.

“He’s nervous about recess but excited to show his uncle around today,” Kendall told Mrs. Taylor so she’d have the usual heads-up.

Simon gave Max a silent tour of his classroom. They looked through his desk and Simon showed off the class pet, a fat black-and-white hamster named Oreo.

The hallway began to fill with students. As the sound of their chatter and laughter got louder, Kendall could see Simon begin to stiffen. The yucks were in full effect.