Calum and I finish our coffees and pay the barista. Of course he won’t let me pay for a thing, he never has and never will. We walk out to his car and he drives me back to the apartment.
“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to run and get Jo,” I say to him. He nods and turns up the radio a bit. I close the door of his car and shuffle around the snowbanks and up the stairs. I am just reaching for the door handle when it swings open. Joannah is standing there with a big smile.
“So this Calum fellow, is he a romantic interest?” I scoff at her ridiculous question. I shake my head and she shrugs her shoulders. We hurry out the doorway and back down the stairs.
Calum is in the front seat of the car singing some song. You can almost hear what he’s singing even from forty feet away. He looks up as we are coming towards the car and I see his eyes grow larger. He is staring at Jo. He will waste no time on questions of who’s daughter this is.
I open the passenger door and hop in. He raises and eyebrow at me. I nod slightly at him and he sucks in a breath.
“YOU MEAN SHE’S MICH- wait does she know? Can I say it?” I can see Jo roll her eyes in the review mirror and she laughs.
“Yes she knows.”
“SHE IS MICHAEL’S DAUGHTER AND YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF TELLING HIM OR ME OR ANY OF THE BOYS AND YOU KEPT THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL OUT OF ALL OF OUR LIVES! I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FUN UNCLE AND TEACH HER HOW TO RIDE A BIKE AND SEE HER FIRST STEPS AND WOW WE MISSED EVERYTHING” Jo continues to laugh at Calum’s frustration. Calum glares at me and points to the backseat. “You are sitting in the back. She will be sitting with me,” He points to Joannah and we both laugh. I hop out of the passenger seat and Jo climbs over to the front.
“Hi Calum,” her voice is timid and she is looking down. He instantly turns his head to me and pretends to cry.
“Her voice is even pretty. Call me Uncle Cal please. Oh I would love that. You’re the most beautiful thing in the world. Michael is going to love you,” Jo sucks in a harsh breath and stares at me.
“That’s the thing Cal, Jo and I aren’t sure we want Michael to know.”
“What? Why? You cannot keep this from him!”
“Mom, Jo and I? I want him to know. YOU are the one that’s afraid.”
If this is how things are going dinner is going to be interesting. The rest of the drive is very silent. Jo and Calum are having a hushed conversation and I keep to myself in the back. After about seven minutes Cal pulls into a large parking lot. The three of us hop out of the car and walk in.
“Table for three?” The hostess has a chirpy voice and smiles a little to largely at us. I try not to pay attention to her as Calum nods. She leads us around the restaurant and to a back booth. Calum and Joannah slide into one side and I scoot into the other. The woman fills up our water glasses and lets us know our waiter will be along shortly.
“So Kitty, I think I’m going to take little Joannah on a little trip. You’re welcome to come along if you’d like,” Calum raises an eyebrow at me.
“What are you talking about? Where would we be going?”
“The guys and I have a gig in New York in a few days and Jo wants to see us play,”'
“No.”
Joannah’s eyes went wide and Calum gave me a puzzled look.
“No absolutely not. What would we say to Michael? The other boys?” As soon as the words left my mouth Jo stormed from the table. Calum reached out for her but she was already rushing off.
“No? What are we going to tell the others? How about that she is his DAUGHTER. How about telling the truth and stopping the madness of you running from everything Kitty. Think about how she feels. You have kept her from her father her entire life and now she has the chance to have him in her life not just her father but basically three uncles as well and you want to keep her from that. You’ve always been cautious but this is over the line. THE GIRL NEEDS HIM SHE NEEDS US KARA.”
