Page 49 of Coveted Justice

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“She cannot talk to me that way. I’m her father.”

Greg didn’t seem to understand that his little girl was a grown woman and she could say anything she wanted. This entire situation had been difficult for Tanner’s wife, and she’d been holding in quite a bit of what she’d wanted to say. It looked like today she’d finally had enough. He was proud of her.

From the day that Tanner met Maddie, he’d easily seen that she adored her father. Idolized him, really. And for the most part, Greg was a good guy. He loved his daughter and had clearly raised her right, even after Maddie’s mother had died. He was a good grandfather, too. The town liked him. He’d been a good doctor and had taken care of everyone, whether they could pay or not.

But…Greg had screwed the pooch here and he just didn’t seem to get it. Maddie wasn’t going to let him simply brush all of this aside as if it didn’t happen. Especially when he wanted her to make nice with his other daughter. It appeared that he didn’t want to deal with the fallout of what he’d done.

“I’m going to go out there and talk—“

“Stop,” Tanner commanded, keeping his tone low so they didn’t disturb the other diners. “Just stop this. You are not going to run after Maddie and scold her like she’s a child. She’s a grownup, Greg. She has her own ideas and opinions. You can’t be all dad one minute, and then ask her to be an adult and welcome a stranger into her life. Into our lives. We decide who we spend time with, not you. That isn’t your decision to make. None of this is your decision. Frankly, Maddie coming here is a huge concession.”

Greg threw up his hands.

“This all happened years ago. I’m not going to be punished by my own daughter for something that happened when she was a baby.”

Tanner leaned across the table, looking right into the other man’s eyes. He needed to get this across to Greg or he was going to ruin his relationship with his child. It wasn’t too late. Not yet. But he needed to get his head out of his ass and start being realistic.

“For you, it happened a million years ago. For Maddie? It just happened this week. You’ve given her no time at all to come to grips with the fact that her dad cheated on her mom, and now she has a half-sister that she didn’t ask for or want. Maybe she and Stacy will become best friends. Maybe not. But you don’t get to decide that for them. And it might help your case if you were at least a little bit sorry for what you’ve done. Maddie is thinking about her mother. You’re thinking about you. You want us to pretend that we’re all one big happy family so that you don’t have to feel guilty. So that this won’t seem like the absolute clusterfuck that it is. Sorry, but that’s not going to happen. You need a come to Jesus moment, and I hope this is it.”

“I’m his wife, and I’m okay with it,” Gwen protested. “I don’t understand why she’s so upset. He didn’t cheat on her.”

“He cheated on his family,” Tanner replied evenly. “Maddie is part of that family unit. She may not have memories of her mother, but you can bet that she thinks about her and yes, identifies with her, too. You’ve hurt her, Greg. Deeply. Jesus, she worshipped you, always saying how you stepped in to raise her after her mother died. How you always put her first. Now she has to be wondering what else she doesn’t know about you. Is there more? Did you do it because you felt guilty? Maybe you don’t love her as much as she thought you did.”

There were tears glittering in Greg’s eyes.

“I love that girl more than anything on this earth. I didn’t do it because I felt guilty. I did it because I loved her, and I loved her mother. God, she’s so like her. She has no idea just how much she’s like her mother. It stabs at my heart every time I see her.”

Gwen reached out her hand, clutching onto Greg’s. A few tears had slipped down her cheeks as well.

“I know you’ll always love her,” Gwen said, almost whispering. “She’ll always be in your heart.”

“I loved her so much,” Greg said, choking on his words. “To this day, I still can’t believe I did what I did. I swore I’d never be that person again. And I haven’t.”

“Tell her that,” Tanner replied, reaching for his phone that was buzzing in his pocket. “Tell her that you wish it was all different. Tell her that there aren’t any more skeletons in the closet, and then for god’s sake, stop pushing Stacy on her. Let her do this in her own time. You can’t force this situation to be what you want it to be. Maddie - and Stacy - have free will here. Now I need to take this call and get outside to Maddie. It was good seeing you today, but we need to go.”

Having already taken care of the check, Tanner strode out of the restaurant, the phone pressed to his ear. This was a call he wanted to take.

“Abby, we need to talk.”

Amanda checked the clock on the wall of the campaign office for the dozenth time. Her mom and dad were currently sitting in a restaurant with her grandparents and her brand new never before seen aunt. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that her mother had a sister. She was well aware that her mom was having a tough time as well.

I wish I could be there with them right now.

She’d offered to go with her parents but her mother had smiled and given her a hug, telling her thank you but it would be fine. Amanda would get a chance to meet her aunt on another occasion. It was already going to be tense and besides, Amanda had work today.

“I’m going to go for coffee,” she announced, standing and grabbing her purse. “Do you want anything?”

She and Josh were stuffing envelopes again. It was a different flyer this time but there were just as many of them. Her father had argued with his campaign manager Brian that the envelopes were just going to end up in the trash, but Brian argued that it was all about brand awareness.

So far there hadn’t been any awkwardness after the other day. It hadn’t happened again so at this point she was sure she’d only imagined it. Josh was just…Josh. Not anyone special. At least not to her.

“Vanilla chai latte and some lemon cake,” Josh replied. “Let me get you some money.”

“I’ve got this one. I think it’s my turn. You get the next time.”

“I feel sort of guilty that you’re always making the coffee runs.”

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