need to meet someone, Mom.” Brady finished with a light squeeze on her shoulders and sat down. “Go out on a date.”
Teri’s hand tightened on the stem of the wine glass, an odd expression passing over her face before she hid it. “Dating is for Katrina, and someday for you. I’m happy with my life. A man would only add a pile of complications.”
Setting down her iced tea, Katrina reached over, taking her mother’s hand. “Not all men are like Dad. You deserve someone so much better than what he did to you.”
“He wasn’t always how he was at the end. Not once did I believe he didn’t love me or couldn’t be trusted.”
“Until the end.” Brady’s bitter laugh reflected how they all felt at how he’d abandoned them. “I swear. If I ever see him again…”
“You’ll walk the other way, son. I’m sure he views our leaving as a sign of betrayal.”
Brady choked out a humorless chuckle. “What he did was much more of a betrayal and we all know it. When he dies, I’m going to find his grave and spit on it.”
“Brady!”
Standing, he paced several feet away. “I mean it, Mom. He’s a cruel, selfish, piece of shit, and I hate him.” Storming through the living room, he headed outside.
“I’ll get him.”
“No, Kat. He needs to work this out on his own. Brady will walk it off and come home, the same as always.”
Katrina thought of the strange man who’d entered their house, wondering if he was still somewhere out there. “Do you know a Carol?”
Teri stared at her a moment before shaking her head. “Other than a client at the salon, no. Why?”
“Some guy was looking for a woman named Carol. No big deal, just wanted to ask.”
“When was this?”
“When I got home today. Like I said, it wasn’t a big deal.”
Teri rubbed her forehead, eyes widening. “A long time ago, one of your father’s friends had a girlfriend name Carol. Other than that, and the salon client, no one comes to mind.”
“I’m going to check on Brady. Give him someone he can vent to. Don’t worry about the dishes. We’ll do them when we get back.”
Grabbing a lightweight jacket, she headed outside, sure Brady had gone across the street to the park. Even though rundown with overflowing trash cans and dirty cement tables, it was his favorite place to work things out. Lately, he’d been doing a lot of working things out.
Maybe it was because he’d grown older, seeing more clearly what their father had done. Teri thought he missed having a strong male figure in his life. Whatever ate at him, it grew each year. By the time he turned eighteen, Brady would be consumed with rage for his father.
“Thought I’d find you here.” Katrina approached her brother, who sat on a swing, moving back and forth while staring at the ground. “I hope you don’t mind me joining you.”
“No,” he mumbled, not looking up at her.
Taking the swing next to him, she pumped slowly, needing to move.
“Do you want to talk about it? I’m a pretty good listener.”
Brady stayed silent so long she didn’t think he’d answer. “I hate that Mom has to work so hard. She never complains, but I know how much her body aches at the end of each day. Some days, I want to return home and beat the shit out of him, Kat. I want to hurt him as much as he hurt Mom.”
Stopping the swing, she knelt beside him, placing her hands on his knees. “Listen to me, Brady. Father deserves nothing from us. Hating him is a waste of time. It robs us of emotional energy better used elsewhere. Forgetting about him, burying his memory, and erasing him from our minds are better ways to deal with our feelings.”
“Is that what you and Mom have done?”
“That’s what we try to do. I suspect it’s easier for me than for Mom. She truly loved our father.”
Looking up, Brady appeared closer to a lost little boy than a brash fourteen-year-old. Katrina’s heart went out to him, but coddling her brother wasn’t the answer.
Brady stood, holding out a hand to help Katrina up. “I think she should marry someone else. Then she won’t think about him so much. We need to find someone for her, Kat.”
Draping on arm over his shoulders, she chuckled. “Who would you suggest?”
“There’s this rancher who buys from the farmer where I work. He’s about Dad’s age and really rich. He’s looking for someone to