Page 4 of Happy Harbor
“Yep.”
“What did you do?”
The accusatory tone in her voice was unwelcome. “I did nothing wrong. My staff was inept, and I work better alone. Sandra just couldn’t see that.”
“Mom, even I don’t believe that.”
She sighed again. “Look, I don’t want to talk about all of it right now. I came home to relax, not watch my daughter turn into a social reject.”
Kendra rolled her eyes and groaned. “Oh my gosh, get over it already! You did way worse when you were my age.”
“And how do you know that?” Josie asked, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
“Because you were pregnant at eighteen, Mom. That’s way worse than skipping school. And you did other stuff too. Nana told me.”
“Nana shouldn’t tell you things like that.”
“It was a while back, anyway.”
Josie’s grandmother, Adeline Campbell, was her rock. She’d been there for her since birth, raising her off and on for her whole life. Even though Adeline had been the picture of propriety and the consummate Christian grandmother, Josie had always acted out. Her relationship with her own mother had damaged her beyond repair. But Adeline never gave up, and somehow Josie escaped their small town and made it to Atlanta, starting her life over and building a career.
Until today. Today she was back to being an unemployed loser, only now she had a teenage daughter who was walking across the same dangerous high wire Josie did at her age.
“I made my share of mistakes, Kendra. I will readily admit that. But a good mother wants better for her child, and I’m trying to be a good mother. Now get some decent clothes on, spray some air freshener in here, and do some homework or studying. I’ll go tell Man Chest to go home,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Mom!”
“No. And I’ll be here every day for a while, so you’d better plan to go to school tomorrow because I’ll be checking with your teachers.” She walked toward the door.
“What if I don’t want to go back?”
Josie turned and looked at her. “Sweetheart, we don’t always get what we want. The sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”
CHAPTERTWO
Josie looked out the window over the Atlanta skyline and took a long sip of her wine. Craig was running late, which wasn’t unusual. As a successful attorney, he was always busy with clients, phone calls, and trials. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought she’d end up engaged to a man like him. Her childhood hadn’t allowed her to dream that big. When Craig proposed, in this very restaurant, she felt like a princess for the first time in her life. She thought he was the answer to all the crap she’d been through. He was her prize for not going crazy along the way.
“Will Mr. Townsend be joining you?” She looked up to see April, their normal server, standing beside her.
“Yes. He’s just running a bit late. Can you bring a glass of that Chardonnay he loves so much?”
April smiled. “Of course.”
As she walked away, Josie turned her attention back to the skyline. She often played a game with herself where she wondered what people were doing in all those high-rise apartment buildings and offices. Who were they? What problems did they have? Were they like her, with unruly teenagers and difficult work situations? Or were they perfect with beautiful homes, wonderful marriages, and adorable kids?
“Sorry I’m late,” Craig said as he rushed to the table. She tilted her face up, waiting for the quick kiss he usually gave her when they saw each other at the end of a long workday, but he sat down instead. He must have had a stressful day like she had.
“No problem. Busy day?”
He took a sip of the wine April had set on the table. “Always. One partner is out because of knee surgery, which puts stress on the rest of us. The Abernathy case is a mess. Linda ordered lunch from the wrong place, the one with the bad health score...”
Most of their conversations were about work. He rarely asked about her daughter, having had no kids of his own yet. She knew that should bother her, that he didn’t ask about Kendra, but the truth was that her daughter was almost an adult herself. She couldn’t base her love life decisions solely on her daughter.
“Wow. Sounds like you had quite a day.”
“What about you? How’s that new client coming along?” He looked at her, his dark-brown eyes boring into her soul. Craig was intense. He was good to her, but he had a forceful personality.
“Well, not great.”
