Sean’s gift to her, and if it would put a smile on Sean’s face, she’d go to supper in a flour sack.
Sean remembered the crawling feeling he’d had in his stomach when he’d read Jennie’s letter about the baby and realized what Kate had had to go through after he’d abandoned her so cavalierly. He had a similar feeling now as he mounted the steps to the Flaherty mansion. Reaching the top, he leaned unsteadily for a moment on one of the cement lions that flanked the front door. He was trying to decide what story he could offer to excuse his absence on Kate’s very first night with his parents.
It was past midnight. If he was lucky, Kate would be asleep and he wouldn’t have to face her until morning. He wrapped his arms around the lion’s mane. Many of his mother’s elaborate embellishments to their house had seemed foolish to him as a lad, but he’d always loved these lions. Through the years they’d sat stoically guarding the threshold, unmoving,undaunted by summer heat or winter rains. Unlike all the other household adornments, which came and went at his mother’s whim or the latest fashion, there was a permanence to them that he found comforting.
“Shall I sleep out here with you, Leo?” he asked aloud, the words slightly slurred. He’d named the two mascots Leo and Lily years ago, before he’d been old enough to know that the only lions with manes were male.
Leo made no reply, but neither did he make any objection to having his head clutched by a shameless drunk, so all things considered he was probably a better companion at the moment than anyone on the inside of the house.
Sean rested his head on top of the lion’s. What a wretch he was. He should at least have been there to introduce his parents to Caroline. How could he expect them to accept this grandchild who had appeared in their world so abruptly if he wasn’t even around to champion her cause? He straightened up, still holding the statue for balance. “I’m a skunk, Leo,” he told the stone head. “Do you like skunks?”
Once again the lion kept his own counsel. Sean shrugged and turned toward the door. “I’m sorry, Kate,” he said, before opening it. “You’ve made yourself a poor bargain.”
The knock on the connecting door was hesitant, but loud enough to awaken Sean, even from his whiskeyfogged sleep. For a moment he couldn’t remember how he had arrived back in his own bed, but then theprevious evening came flooding back, right up to his doorstep discussion with Leo the lion.
“Just a minute,” he called. The words sent painful vibrations through his jaw and radiating up his temples. Lord, how much had he had to drink yesterday? Enough to have tumbled into bed fully dressed, boots and all. He dragged himself out of bed and crossed the room to open the door. Perhaps if Kate saw him in this state, she’d take pity on him, he thought ruefully.
But the expression on her face did not look sympathetic.
“What happened to you last night?” she asked. She was obviously angry, but there was still a margin of doubt in her voice, as if she would be willing to believe that his absence had had some kind of worthy explanation.
He would very much have liked to clear his head with a cup of coffee before he had this discussion, but she stood watching him, awaiting an answer. “I ran into some old friends,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “All evening?”
He turned around and went back to sit on the edge of the bed, hoping he wouldn’t be sick. “The time just got away from me, I guess.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “You didn’t remember that you were supposed to be here to introduce your daughter to your parents?”
He shook his head. The truth was, he’d remembered it every five minutes all night long, which was part of the reason one more drink kept sounding so attractive. “I’m sorry, Kate. Did you meet with them? Did they see Caroline?”
She was still standing in the doorway. Her voice shook as she
Sean remembered the crawling feeling he’d had in his stomach when he’d read Jennie’s letter about the baby and realized what Kate had had to go through after he’d abandoned her so cavalierly. He had a similar feeling now as he mounted the steps to the Flaherty mansion. Reaching the top, he leaned unsteadily for a moment on one of the cement lions that flanked the front door. He was trying to decide what story he could offer to excuse his absence on Kate’s very first night with his parents.
It was past midnight. If he was lucky, Kate would be asleep and he wouldn’t have to face her until morning. He wrapped his arms around the lion’s mane. Many of his mother’s elaborate embellishments to their house had seemed foolish to him as a lad, but he’d always loved these lions. Through the years they’d sat stoically guarding the threshold, unmoving,undaunted by summer heat or winter rains. Unlike all the other household adornments, which came and went at his mother’s whim or the latest fashion, there was a permanence to them that he found comforting.
“Shall I sleep out here with you, Leo?” he asked aloud, the words slightly slurred. He’d named the two mascots Leo and Lily years ago, before he’d been old enough to know that the only lions with manes were male.
Leo made no reply, but neither did he make any objection to having his head clutched by a shameless drunk, so all things considered he was probably a better companion at the moment than anyone on the inside of the house.
Sean rested his head on top of the lion’s. What a wretch he was. He should at least have been there to introduce his parents to Caroline. How could he expect them to accept this grandchild who had appeared in their world so abruptly if he wasn’t even around to champion her cause? He straightened up, still holding the statue for balance. “I’m a skunk, Leo,” he told the stone head. “Do you like skunks?”
Once again the lion kept his own counsel. Sean shrugged and turned toward the door. “I’m sorry, Kate,” he said, before opening it. “You’ve made yourself a poor bargain.”
The knock on the connecting door was hesitant, but loud enough to awaken Sean, even from his whiskeyfogged sleep. For a moment he couldn’t remember how he had arrived back in his own bed, but then theprevious evening came flooding back, right up to his doorstep discussion with Leo the lion.
“Just a minute,” he called. The words sent painful vibrations through his jaw and radiating up his temples. Lord, how much had he had to drink yesterday? Enough to have tumbled into bed fully dressed, boots and all. He dragged himself out of bed and crossed the room to open the door. Perhaps if Kate saw him in this state, she’d take pity on him, he thought ruefully.
But the expression on her face did not look sympathetic.
“What happened to you last night?” she asked. She was obviously angry, but there was still a margin of doubt in her voice, as if she would be willing to believe that his absence had had some kind of worthy explanation.
He would very much have liked to clear his head with a cup of coffee before he had this discussion, but she stood watching him, awaiting an answer. “I ran into some old friends,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “All evening?”
He turned around and went back to sit on the edge of the bed, hoping he wouldn’t be sick. “The time just got away from me, I guess.”
She looked at him in disbelief. “You didn’t remember that you were supposed to be here to introduce your daughter to your parents?”
He shook his head. The truth was, he’d remembered it every five minutes all night long, which was part of the reason one more drink kept sounding so attractive. “I’m sorry, Kate. Did you meet with them? Did they see Caroline?”
She was still standing in the doorway. Her voice shook as she
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