She raised her brow and crossed her arms.
A sly smirk tugged at his mouth. “Okay, they’ll freak a little. But not that much.”
“I still don’t know why I have to be here,” Kate said.
“Moral support.” He picked up the phone and dialed. “I’ve had to deal with them by myself for five years. It’s time you started pulling your weight again.”
He swiveled away and began speaking into the phone.
Kate glanced at Ryan, who was leaning against the doorjamb. She wanted to be outside with Simone and the kids, not shut up in here with Ryan and Mitch. “Is he always this pushy?”
“Pretty much,” Ryan said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Did I used to like it?”
One side of his lips quirked up in a winsome smile. The first inkling of smile she’d seen on his face. “Not a bit. You pushed right back. Just like you did with me in the kitchen.”
She turned away from the way Ryan held her gaze, looked back to Mitch and tried to tamp down the thrill Ryan’s words sent through her body. Mitch was doing his best to explain the situation to his mother. A frown tugged at Kate’s mouth. “It doesn’t sound like it’s going well.”
“Mom,” Mitch said into the receiver, “I’m putting you on speaker.”
Kate’s eyes grew wide, and she nudged him with her knee and shook her head, but it didn’t stop him.
“Okay, Mom,” Mitch said, “we’re all here.”
The line was quiet. Then Kathy Mathews’s voice chirped through. “Is Ryan there?”
“I’m here, Kathy,” Ryan said, stepping into the room.
“Ryan, is he telling the truth, or is this one of his jokes? Because if he’s kidding on this one, he’s definitely out of the will. You got that, Mitch?”
Ryan glanced at Kate. “No, Kathy. He’s not kidding. She’s real.”
There was silence again. “Is…is she there?”
Kate glared at Mitch. Oh, he was in so much trouble for this. “I’m here, too. He’s not lying.”
The line seemed to go dead. Then they heard sobbing. Followed by Roger’s voice. Mitch picked up the handset, turned off the speakerphone, and patted Kate’s knee. He went through the story with his father a second time.
When Mitch hung up, he let out a deep breath. “They’re coming down tomorrow. I managed to convince them to give you a day instead of jumping on the first plane out of Sea-Tac.”
“Fabulous,” Kate muttered. “That was really sweet of you, by the way, throwing me under the bus like that. Remind me to return the favor.”
“You’ll feel better once you have some food. You always were a grump when your blood sugars dropped.” He pushed out of his chair and headed toward the kitchen.
Kate knew Ryan was still behind her. How, she wasn’t sure. She just sensed him. “How do you think they’re going to react to all of this when they get here?”
“They’ll be fine,” Ryan said. “They’re good people. I’d be sure Reed’s with you tomorrow when you see them, though. That’ll give you a buffer.”
“Good idea.” She looked his way. “Will you be there?”
“I think I’ll sit this one out. Mitch will be with you.”
She nodded. But why did that bother her?
“I guess this is the last big shocker for awhile,” she said quietly.
Ryan looked down at his feet. “Yeah, I guess so. I told my parents this morning. They’re coming down later in the week, but you don’t have to worry. They’ll want to see you, but they’re mostly coming down to see me and Julia, and to meet Reed.”
“Okay.” The whole conversation was just awkward. Meeting her parents, meeting her in-laws, it was bizarre. “Just let me know when they get here. I’ll bring Reed over.” She tried to read his thoughts. Couldn’t. Doubted she ever would. “Did they not like me?”
“What?”
“Your parents, did they not like me? It doesn’t sound like they’re overjoyed at the thought of seeing me again. Not like Mitch’s parents.” She frowned. “My parents.” It was still a hard idea to get used to. She actually had parents.
“Yeah, they liked you.” His voice turned soft, the tenderness in it tugging on her. “They loved you.” He shook his head. “They know this is awkward for me, for us. They don’t want to make you any more uncomfortable than you already are.”
No matter what anyone did or didn’t do, it was still uncomfortable. She didn’t know what to say in response. She desperately wanted to do something to make this better, though.
“Come on,” he said, breaking the silence before she could. “Let’s go get some food and see what the kids are doing.”
Thankful for the distraction, she followed him out into the kitchen, vaguely aware he was trying to keep the sarcasm and anger out of his voice. Since their moment in the kitchen, he’d been trying a lot harder to treat her with some sense of compassion, or at least with a little less hostility.
When they walked into the room, Mitch and Simone were working in the kitchen together, getting hamburger fixings ready to go, while Julia and Shannon set out chips and condiments. The girls had already struck up a fierce friendship. Reed just ran around getting in the way, like he was a regular fixture in the group. They looked normal. Like two families hanging out for a backyard barbecue.
It was only when you looked closer you saw it was just one giant mess.
The flickering lights of the TV in the corner of the room caught Kate’s attention. No one seemed to be noticing it, so she moved to turn it off, but her hand paused on the power button when the reporter mention Ryan’s name. Then her face flashed on the screen. And she sucked in a gasp.
Ryan stepped up next to her. The reporter was standing outside Ryan’s downtown office building.
“Channel Two News has recently learned that pharmaceutical giant Ryan Harrison, whose wife died aboard U.S. Airlines flight 1466 which crashed shortly after takeoff from San Francisco five years ago, received shocking news earlier this week. His wife may still be alive.
“Sources confirm this woman, Kate Alexander, agreed to undergo DNA testing to verify suspicions she is Harrison’s estranged wife. A source close to Ms. Alexander also confirms she suffers from a rare form of amnesia, which has blocked out virtually all of her long-term memory, making this discovery even more amazing.
“Harrison, shown here in video from the Governor’s Ball last winter, and his lawyers are not commenting at this time, but sources do tell us it is highly likely Ms. Alexander is in fact Anne Harrison. Ryan Harrison, CEO of AmCorp Pharmaceuticals, has very rarely spoken publicly about his deceased wife. His company has been involved in several questionable take-over mergers lately…”
“Fucking press.” Ryan flipped off the TV and headed for Mitch’s office.
Kate sank down onto the couch and covered her face. With trembling fingers she tried to rub away the headache already pounding away at her brain. As if things weren’t bad enough, now the story was all over the news.
Simone ushered the kids outside and sat next to her. Mitch followed Ryan into the office.
“Talk to me, Counselor,” Kate said.
“Well, I want to hear what Ryan’s PR people have to say, but I’m thinking you’re both going to have to make a public statement. It’s the only way we’re going to get the press off your backs. Odds are good they’re at your house right now, and at Ryan’s. I think you lucked out today by being here. As of yet, they haven’t found you, but they will.”
“Fabulous.”
She pushed off the couch and walked into Mitch’s office. Ryan was pacing with the phone pressed to his ear. Mitch stood in the corner of the room listening, his hands on his hips.
A chill spread over Kate. Ryan had definitely been frustrated and angry with her before, but this was different. His voice was icy, his face hard and rigid, and whomever he was talking to—and she assumed it was one of his lawyers—was taking the brunt of his fury.