Page 47 of Breathe

“They need their father.”

“They’ll have him. But on your terms. You can make sure he pays child support this way, and really spends time with them when he sees them. You’ll see; it’ll work out.”

Thea blew her nose. “Jake’s so angry.”

“Yeah, well. He’ll get over it. And he knows he’s got Antonio if he ever needs anything. And Kane, I guess.” This made Thea laugh; a small laugh, but it was there.

Ellen realized she was eavesdropping and turned guiltily away. Megan, who’d gone a few steps farther before noticing that Ellen wasn’t with her, grinned the Fielding grin. “Sorry,” Ellen said, coming down the hallway. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Don’t worry. I’m the youngest. If I didn’t eavesdrop around here now and then, I’d never find out a thing.”

Downstairs, the boys were done; Kane had forced Jake out of his headphones, and they’d all gone outside to play touch football with Antonio. They needed a sixth player. Megan was happy to leave the malevolent atmosphere around her eldest sister.

Ellen watched them for a few minutes. Kane had found a new burst of energy; he teased the boys, kept Jake near him, gave him noogies if he looked too morose, and shouted insults to Antonio and Megan as if he were perfectly healthy. The boys loved him. They had no problem tackling him even though Antonio kept yelling, “Touch, boys, touch is what we are playing!” Kane would just wrestle them to the ground, with his own running commentary.

Ellen was fascinated to see this side of him. She supposed if she’d met him when he wasn’t in the middle of the worst threat to his company in a decade, he might have shown her a more playful side before.

In the end her heart was so full, she had to go back inside. Cat was cutting the potatoes the boys had peeled. “Can I do that?” she asked tentatively.

“If you want to.” Cat put the knife down, Ellen was rather relieved to see. “Do you want an apron?” Cat said stiffly, her gaze passing over Ellen’s thick sweater as if it were made of kitten fur.

“No, I’m fine.” She asked how big Cat wanted them, then kept her head down while she chopped, but she was aware of every move the older woman made. Cat had gone back to the stove to stir something, but now she was just standing there with her back to Ellen. The fan over the stove was running, and Jake’s music was still blaring out of his headphones, which were next to Ellen on the counter, along with his iPod. Despite this, the silence in the room was torture. Ellen remembered how Cat had been with Thea and tried not to get too defensive.

“So,” Cat finally said, turning around, “what’s Kane helping you sell?”