“She didn’t scream or bitch like I thought she would.” Dad only acknowledged me with a lift of his chin. There was an odd, faraway expression on his face as though whatever Simone had told him either severely pissed him off or made him incredibly sad. Maybe it was a little of both. “How much did Cass pay her?”
“Nothing,” Dad said and when he did, that sad melancholy left his features, transformed by the twitch working along his cheek as though his anger hummed beneath his skin. “That mother fucker just put the idea in her head. Tracked her down, made it seem like your mom and I were heading toward a divorce.” Kona glanced at me, teeth pressed together in a grind. “That asshole told her it would be a prime time for her to get some cash out of me since I’d be eager to keep anything that threatened my bank account from Keira. He actually convinced Simone that I cared more about my money than my family.” His focus back on the road, Dad squeezed the wheel, moving his large hands as though he needed something to hold onto. “She should have known better than that, but, hell, I guess I know now why she was desperate. She’s got a kid that’ll need support if she doesn’t get better.”
“A kid she tried to say was yours.” Dad nodded, moving one hand from the wheel to rub at the bridge of his nose. “Koa, me, even Mack, there’s no denying us.” Dad jerked his head to the right, glaring at me as though he thought I was saying he might actually try it. His reaction was swift and so abrupt that I laughed, watching his features relax immediately. “I’m saying, not that you’d want to deny it, but a blind fool could see we belong to you. It’s the blood, Makua kane. Your genes are strong.” A quick flush warmed my face when my father smiled at me. He liked it when I called him Makua kane.
“That kid…” I started, trying to distract myself from my father’s broad smile, how he seemed unable to keep if off his mouth. “It was obvious at the arcade. That boy was different from us. Nowhere similar to looking like he belonged to you.” The kid had been shy, so quiet around me and hadn’t looked Dad in the eyes once, though Kona had tried repeatedly to engage him. But…Anthony…that was his name, had eagerly shied away, leaving the conversation to his mother. I’d gotten the feeling that he knew damn well who his father was. “He’s tall, and lanky, sure, but he has no bulk.”
“Got most of that from Simone. She has legs that go on forever.” Dad fought a slow-moving smirk that told me he was remembering something I didn’t really want to know about. “But you’re right. He’s not mine. I don’t need a test to tell me that. Besides, Simone admitted the truth inside ten minutes of our coffee.”
We took the exit toward Mandeville and I noticed Dad’s body had gone stiff, as though he wasn’t sure if he could contain his excitement the closer we drove through town. “You alright?” Dad nodded, fists tight again on the wheel. He’d been so slick, so charming with Simone, like he was on his game and wanted the world to know it. Watching him throw a smile her way, nothing more than a simple flirt to relax her, how he looked right into her eyes, hung onto every sound that left her mouth, had me guessing this was his point. To relax her. Schmooze her, warm her up to get to the bottom of this bullshit drama. But even when he had and the truth came to him, Kona hadn’t dropped the charm. In fact, he’d seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say after a while. Never once did he lose his confidence or his swagger.
Now though, he fidgeted and moved in his seat like he had to have a piss and wasn’t sure if he’d make it home in time. Dad’s tie hung around the mirror, but otherwise he still looked decent, impressive even. Mom was likely to be as flustered by his presence as Simone had been, but from how Dad carried on, I got that he wasn’t thinking about that.
“Listen, Dad, just be chill. Don’t storm in there expecting her to drop whatever she’s doing to hear you out. I mean she…
“Ransom, I know how to talk to my wife, especially when she’s pissed at me.” That was bullshit. This past week was proof enough of that, hell the past few months were. If he’d talked to his wife to begin with, this would have all gone a different way, a fact he seemed to realize when I moved my eyebrows up, staring at him like he was a dumbass. Finally, Dad sighed, letting one short laugh leave his mouth. “Well. Under normal circumstances, when I’m not being an asshole, I know how to talk to her.”
Dad slowed the car, taking the curves with cautious movements that had me guessing his excitement was waning and the doubt creeping in, now that we were getting closer to home. At least, that’s what I assumed until we came to a stop at the red light at Greenleaves and 190.
“What you told me,” he said, leaning against the door as the traffic moved in front of us. “About Aly and what I said to her the night of your mom’s birthday party…”
“Dad, you couldn’t have known.”
“Maybe not…” Kona dipped his head, expression guarded but I could see that whatever he thought gutted him and it looked as though he couldn’t decide what to say or how to tell me what he thought.