“Mom, that man is Kayla’s father. He wanted to meet her grandparents. To get to know you guys and reassure you that Kayla is happy, healthy, and in good hands. We thought—”
“David!” Patricia shouted in a nearly panicked tone. She gripped the edge of the computer desk as though she needed physical support. “David, I need you.”
Hannah’s dad appeared on the screen. “What’s wrong, honey?” He looked older than his fifty-four years with thinning gray hair, dark smudges under his eye, and clothes hanging off his slim frame. Obviously, the stress of the past year had taken its toll on the man.
Losing a daughter and living with an unwell wife would drag any man down.
“Hi, Dad,” Hannah said with a small wave.
He pressed his lips together as he peered into the screen. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“I wanted you guys to get a chance to see Kayla. She’s crawling all over now.” Hannah’s false cheer and overly bright smile broke JP’s heart.
Kayla must have picked up on the tension in her aunt as well. She fussed and reached for him. Poor Hannah turned a distressed look his way. “It’s okay, babe,” he whispered. “She’s fine. I’ll take her.”
The second he scooped his daughter onto his lap, Patricia called out, “No!” She pressed a hand to her mouth and stared at him with horrified eyes. “Put her down. Please don’t hurt her!”
“Mom!” Hannah said with a gasp.
What the hell? He’d known the woman didn’t like him and thought him unfit to raise Kayla, but actively freaking out when he picked up his daughter was taking it a bit far. He put a hand on Hannah’s leg. The woman practically vibrated with suppressed frustration.
Once they finished this nightmare of a call, he had a few ideas on how to help chill her out.
“Mrs. Briggs, don’t worry,” he said in as benign a tone as he could muster despite wanting to reach into the screen and throttle the woman. “I’ve got her. I promise she’s safe with me.” Hopefully, appealing to reason and staying the calm, competent father he pretended to be would work in his favor.
“I will not be speaking to you!” she snapped. Instead of stepping in, her husband only stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders with a defeated frown. Was the man so beaten down by his own life he’d lost all fight?
“Mom, stop!”
“Hannah Briggs, how dare you. You led me here under false pretenses. I thought I was going to see my granddaughter, not be ambushed by some hoodlum.”
With an exasperated huff, Hannah gestured to Kayla. “You are, Mom! She’s right here. You’re choosing to focus on everything but her.”
“No! You did this.” Patricia shook her head. If her frown got any deeper, her lips were going to hang below her chin. “You are hurting me every second you spend with them. I gave you a fantastic childhood, and this is how you repay me? With disloyalty? Do you know what happens to kids who go through the foster care system?”
Fuck this.
“Okay, let’s take a step back,” he interrupted.
He’d had enough of this bullshit. They could say what they wanted about him, he didn’t give a shit, but Hannah’s eyes had filled with tears, and he wouldn’t stand by and watch her parents tear her down. Not when she worked so hard and gave up so much to keep them happy.
Not while she was his woman.
CHAPTER THIRTY
HANNAH’S FACE BURNED with the fire of humiliation. Tears stung the back of her eyes and had her blinking up at the ceiling in a flimsy attempt to keep them at bay. She’d never be able to look JP in the eye after this disastrous video call. What had happened in the weeks since she’d been away? Her mother appeared to have lost her grip on reality and spiraled down so fast it made Hannah’s head spin. And her dad looked like a shell of the man he once was, trampled by life and months of managing his wife’s failing mental health.
“Do not tell me how to handle my daughter,” her mom barked at JP. “You’ve been a father for ten minutes. You know nothing about raising children.”
“That’s true, ma’am. But I’m learning every day, and I’m trying my damn hardest.” He looked to her with admiration shining from his eyes which only made her want to cry more. “Hannah has been a godsend. I have a tremendous support system in my siblings, too. Together we’re providing Kayla a wonderful life full of love.”
The man deserved an award for the calm and respectful response. Beneath his well-chosen words, his muscles vibrated with tension only she noticed. Including her as part of the crew raising, Hannah had a rush of warm fuzzy feelings flooding her veins despite the tension of the call.
“Your family?” Her mother snorted. “You mean that sleazy actress?”