Looking for Daniel Mason

Katelyn was shocked as was Jason and he commented, "Now hang on Grace, don't you think that might be taking things a little too much for granted."

Gracie face screwed up in concentration. "You might be right Jason, we'll can the bikinis, maybe mum would rather go skinny dipping instead!"

Astonishment was written all over Katelyn face what her daughter was implying. "Gracie Lynn, go wash your mouth out!" If it weren't for the inculpable pristine look on her face Katie would have slapped her. "Jason's right, this weekend isn't about seduction, but reconciliation so we can't make those assumptions. In addition, from the bloody great stuff ups from my past; I'm certainly not going to make any decision that affects our family without your father's input. This will be simply your father way of giving me what I asked for. A chance to explain and put my case forward, I'll wait for your father to decide on what we, as a family will be looking forward too."

Gracie suddenly realised how both her mother and Jason had perceived her suggestions. "I'm sorry mum; I didn't mean it in a mean underhanded way."

Jason chuckled. "I feel like I've just had a lesson into the female mind! This is a woman thing, right?"

Katelyn smiled at how Jason could turn a tense situation on its ear. "Yes Jason; it is a female thing! We women do use our feminine charms to befuddle the male were after. Men do it as well; instead, they use their size and strength to attract and charm their females. The difference here is why it is not acceptable in this case. Men can use their strength and size to either impress or intimidate, women can use their femininity to either tantalize or tease. Acceptability is all in the subtle reasons behind the action."

~...~

Dan sat out on his deck and went over again for the hundredth time why he thought it necessary to bring Katelyn up here. He needed answers as much as he knew that Katelyn needed to explain her actions. He got a pen and paper to write down the questions and answer as he saw them.

Q1 ... Do I still love Katelyn? A ... Yes

Q 2... Does she love me? A ... From the tape of the wedding then yes, I think so.

Q 3... Do I love my children? A ... Yes I do, without a doubt in the world.

Q 4... Do my children love me? A ... Again there is no doubt about it . Q 5... Does Katelyn understand what she done and is she sorry for doing it? A ... I believe she does and is.

Q 6... Is Edward Carlyle a threat to my family? A ...?

Q 7... Will Katelyn do this again? A ...?

Q 8... Will Katelyn tell me the full story? A ...?

Q 9... Do I trust my wife? A ...?

Q 10... Do I want to live the rest of my life without my family? A ...?

Dan looked at the list and reasoned. "Ten questions and only five answers, until Katelyn gives me plausible answers to the other five questions I can't make a decision either way."

Katie sat rigidly in her car seat, her hands clasped together in her lap, staring at the cottage through the windscreen. "We're here mum!" Jason finally announced, wondering if Katelyn was going to make a move. Katie hadn't spoken much over the four odd hours it took to get to the cabin.

"Are you coming in?" Her voice trembled, and so shallow that Jason had to strain to hear her.

Jason took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know you're nervous, but let me tell you this. If you have any chance of making things right, you have to be truthfully until it hurt. No lies, no deception, and definitely no sugar coating what you did! If you do that and if my assessment of your husband is right, then I think you have a better than average chance of being able to put this behind you and move on."

Katelyn smiled weakly at the young man sitting beside her. "Gracie is proud of you Jason, and so am I! I think she made a wonderful choice for a husband. Thank you for your advice and I'll be sure to take it." Katelyn opened her door and got out, getting her suitcase from the back seat she stood back and watched as Jason back around and drove off.

Dan watched through the front window as Jason's car disappeared down the drive. He waited to see what Katelyn was going to do and when she just stood looking straight ahead, he went to the front door and opened it. "You going to stand there all day making like a garden gnome, or are you going to come in?"

Katie stiffened at Dan's words and looked around unsure of what to do, feeling like Little Orphan Annie with her suitcase in hand. When she turned back, she noticed that Dan had come down the three steps from the cottage; she took a deep breath and came up to him.

Dan saw the apprehension in her face and decided to put her at ease. Leaning down he pointed to his cheek, "You owe me a one!"

Katie smiled. "I owe you way more than a kiss." She answered as she went to kiss him on the cheek. Dan waited for the last second and turned his head, allowing their lips to meet. Katie froze; it was only a peck on the lips, but it felt wonderful. She saw the smile on Dan's face and it gave her hope. "That wasn't fair, that was my ploy!"

Dan turned on his heels without taking her suitcase from her or any more physical contact. "Only because I'm usually the one in the dog house, and if we do come to some agreement here, then I expect that I'll never be there again. You may not have ever been there before, but my god woman, you certainly know how to make your one and only a doozy!"

Katie thought to herself, "If only you knew just how right your statement was!" To Daniel she quipped. "I can't believe I fell for that one." Katelyn had used that very same subterfuge when she had got to the point of forgiving Daniel for some perceived wrong after he had apologized for his mistake, and it did give her expectation that the next couple of days would be productive.

"The cottage looks wonderful, just like we dreamed of all those years ago." A single tear fell from the corner of her eye at the loss of those years.

Daniel noticed as he held the door and waved her in. "This was my fifteenth wedding anniversary gift to you, but I got a little side tracked back then for some reason, and never got around to showing you."

"I'm truly sorry Daniel! I know I keep saying that but it is true none the less!"

Daniel shrugged. "Apology accepted. For now, you can put your suitcase in the spare room, but don't unpack it until we've had our talk. I have lunch all prepared out on the back deck and we can discuss our problems after we've eaten, if that's ok with you?"

As she walked in through the door she expounded, "Anything you want Daniel is what I want and is fine with me!"

Dan eyed her with sad face. "This isn't you Katie! You don't normally cave in to others without some comment." Katie started to tear up again. "I want a woman in my life Katie, not some snivelling yes puppet, can you understand that?

Katelyn wiped her face with the back of her hand and nodded. "I can Daniel, but you have to understand that I'm not the woman I was five years ago. The confidence I had in myself has taken a real beating and I feel like I'm walking on eggshells here, so please forgive me if I seem to be lacking in confrontational arrogance."

Daniel burst out laughing. "Ohhh Katie my love; no one could ever accuse you of ever being arrogant, confrontational maybe, but certainly not arrogant!" Katelyn brighten on hearing those words and Dan noticed this as well. "Yes I said I love you, I have always loved you with all my heart; it's why this has been so traumatic for me."

Dan took Kat's forgotten suitcase from her hand and dropped it just inside the guest's bedroom, then ushered her out onto the deck. "Ohhh god this is magnificent Daniel!" Katie looked around, taking in the sights before seating herself at the outdoor setting. Lunch was a quiet affair with neither saying much apart from the occasional compliment on the food and observation of the surroundings.

Dan was setting Katie's coffee down in front of her when she opened up. "I don't know what to say, or even how to start. I don't think that I was this nervous on our first night together!"

Dan smiled knowingly. "If it's any consolation to you then I admit to being apprehensive as well, we have a lot riding on what is said today. If it makes you feel better, I'll still take you to dinner tomorrow night, I've got standing reservations and it would be rude of me to cancel at short notice!"

Katie shot a look at her husband and the grin on his face was reassuring, even if what he had said was annoying. "Gee thanks; for a minute I thought I'd be going to the gallows without my last meal."

Daniel chuckled and Katie caught the infection, then he quipped. "You don't seem to have too much hope that we'll be able work this out?"

Katie sighed audibly. "I have hope by the ton, what I don't have is any expectations. I know just how hurt you are by my..." Katie stopped and remembered Jason's words. "...by my infidelity! Jason and I had a very long talk about it, and he made me see exactly how it looked from your point of view. When I realised exactly what I had done and how it looked, I didn't even want to be around me!"

Daniel sat and listened without interrupting, it was the least he could do, but he did hold up his hand at one point. "Can I help you out here?" Pulling the piece of paper out of his top pocket, he handed it to Katie. "This is some of the things I feel and some of the concerns I have, maybe it will give you an idea of what needs to be talked about from my point of view."

Katie read the paper, nodding then, stopping to wipe a tear from her eye every now and then. "What can I say, question one I thank you for; I prayed that I hadn't lost your love.

"Question two is an emphatic yes, and no matter what happens this weekend, I will always love you."

"Question three and four, I have no doubt about; I have always known just how much you and our children love each other."

"Question five is a yes, I am more sorry than you can ever imagine."

"Question six, There is only one reason I can imagine that I would ever want to see that man again, and that would be on an operating table as the surgeons removed whatever organs we needed to keep our children alive!"

"Question seven is a definite no, I would die before I ever disrespected you again, and I will fight to the death to uphold your honour."

"Question eight is a yes. As Jason said, 'No lies, no deception, and definitely no sugar coating what I did!' Any question you want to ask, no matter how hurtful or ugly, I will endeavour to answer truthfully to the best of my knowledge."

Katelyn stopped there in thought. "As for the last two questions...I can't answer them, they are for you to work out. I know what I want as I am sure you do, but I have no right to ask it of you, I'm sorry but those two will be your burden to work out."

Dan sat in silence all the while as Katelyn went through the list. The look on her face said a lot, but the most it said was that she wasn't holding anything back. In all, she had answered all his questions, and truthfully, at that, the only thing left were the details, like thoughts and reasons behind her actions.

The afternoon was waning and the sun had lost all its bite when Dan asked. "Would you like to go for swim before dinner; I'm making Tai stir-fry!"

Katie chortled and Dan cocked his head, "What's so funning?"

"Ohhh nothing, I was just thinking of what Gracie wanted me to buy in case I had a chance to go for a dip. She was thinking of some very revealing bikini's."

Dan nodded and then realised what Katie was eluding too. "Ohhh I see, and?"

"I'll show you what I did eventually buy if you like?"

Katie went into the house and got change while Dan got into his trunks, stepping out of his room, Dan almost ran head long into Katie. She was wearing a one-piece Pandora Miracle suit in black, and far as Dan was concerned Katie looked gorgeous in it, the back plunged down almost to her buttocks, while the side dipped around to reveal just how narrow her waist was.

For a woman in her early forties she looked ten years younger, and he commented. "I don't know what Gracie had in mind but this suit looks terrific on you Katie."

Katie did a pirouette to give Dan a better look. "Do you think so? Not too revealing or frumpy?"

Dan took in the vision of beauty before him. He was right when he remembered what he said to Gracie on the morning of her wedding. "You look truly exquisite my dear, I can see where Grace gets her good looks from."

Katie beaming smiles made Dan happy, their conversation that afternoon had put him a little on edge and this was refreshing to be able to unwind. The afternoon was taken up with swimming and sunbaking on the jetty, with Dan taking a little time out to do a spot of fishing.

After dinner while they sat and sipped their wine Dan again asked, "When did you know that Gracie wasn't..." Katie chopped in fast; she was waiting for this very question.

She held her hand up. "When I first suspected that you weren't her sperm donor?"

He nodded grimly; Dan's face showed his unease and it hurt Katie. "I suspected something was wrong when Gracie was about three and a half, but I refused to let myself believe it. I even went to the family clinic to see if Gracie's birth had affected my ability to fall pregnant again in some way. All the test came back positive; there was no reason the doctors could see that would stop me from having another child. Right up until I bumped into Edward about eighteen months later, I still believed that you and I would someday conceive again. That chance meeting was what made me realise that he had to be responsible for my first pregnancy."

Daniel sat again saying nothing, letting Katelyn get this horrible weight off her chest, but commented at last. "And that was when you made your decision?"

Katie shook her head. "No, it was another week or so before I came to that conclusion. I debated for days on what to do. I now know I should have come to you for guidance. That was the proper thing to do." Katie's breath caught in her throat. "I just couldn't bring myself to tell of my suspicions; I knew you would be crushed. Moreover, it infuriated me to think an arsehole like Eddie could father children and a man of your nature was denied the privilege of having children."

Dan could plainly see the pain in Katie's eyes as she spoke. She wiped a tear from her face and looked him straight in the eye. "There was no conscious decision to cheat on you Daniel! I don't know if you understand a woman's sexual needs and wants; hell I don't understand them myself most of the time."

"There're probably only a couple of days in the month that a woman really craves sex, and it's no more than a biological need to procreate unlike men, who want it all the time. So it wasn't actually a decision but more a lack of thought at the wrong time that allowed me to use him, I just let my body do the thinking for me!"

Katie's facial expression hardened. "Before you go getting worried that he was better in bed, you can forget it. You on your off days have been mind blowingly superior to anything Eddie could ever hope to give any woman. That first time before I met you, he lasted all of about three minutes and then told me, as he was dressing mind you, about his trip, and this would be our last date. I thought he loved me and it crushed me to think he'd just used me like a cheap whore to get his rocks off. Hell, his dick isn't even as big as yours, and he certainly didn't know how to use what he did have!"

He was supposed to have come to my twenty first-birthday party as my partner, I was hoping we could announce an engagement, but he laughed at me when I told him that. I saw you at the party and yes, I was on the rebound, I overheard some of the other girls talking about how good and considerate you were as lover and decided to show Eddie that I could do better than him and I came after you with a vengeance." Katie's face slowly turned with a cheeky smile. You really didn't have a chance, you know!"

Dan chuckled while thinking back to their first night. "I have to admit that you were tiger that night, I've never had such a good night with any of my previous girlfriends."

Katie put her hand on Daniel's and stated. "All the rumours were true Daniel, you were and are the most considerate and loving partner any woman could hope for, and when you asked me out for another date I almost killed myself trying to decide what to wear, and how I was going to convince you to continue our relationship. I think that was when I knew that I had fallen in love with you, and the love has just gotten stronger with all our years together."

Dan frowned. "If you had, had sex with Ed only a couple of days before you and I did, then didn't it occur to you that he could be the father?"

Katie jumped up in angry frustration. "Damn you Daniel, he's not our children's father, he just the donor."

Dan held up his hands in defence. "Ok, bad choice of words. But surly you should have considered that he could be responsible?"

Katie stopped her pacing and her face softened from the glare she was throwing at Dan. "That's why I'm so angry with this whole business! He bloody well used a condom and you didn't. How's that for justice? That damn snake in the grass cheapskate must have bought cheap inferior rubbers."

Dan started to smile and then burst out laughing. "I don't know about you sweetheart, but I'm actually glad he's a side winding rattle snake! Otherwise we wouldn't have Gracie or the twins!" Katie just shrugged and sat back down, she looked more tired now than anything.

Dan looked at the clock, it was getting late and he felt drawn out and tired as well from all the emotions the day had brought. "I think it's time we got some sleep." He saw the look on Katie's face and felt sad. "I think we have covered some good ground, but let's not rush things, ok?"

Dan was up and making breakfast when Katie came out. "Morning Daniel, that smells lovely! Something else occurred to me last night. You've learnt to cook since you have been on your own!"

Dan laughed. "What do they say about necessity being the mother of invention?"

The rest of the day went as smooth as their breakfast had and both Katie and Dan spent it bushwalking and chatting on different topics, every now and then coming back to the main reason for the weekend.

Dan looked at his watch. "I think we should be getting back now, if we want to make our dinner reservation!"

Katie hooked her arm in Dan's and quipped. "Plomb sur mon amour, je suis à toi de faire ce que vous s'il vous plait!"

Dan shivered. "God, I both love it and hate it when you speak French! I love to the sound of the words, and hate to fact that I have no idea what you just said."

Katie chortled. "Then let's go, and if tonight turns out to be half as good as the last couple of days, then I'll tell you after dinner when we get back home."

Dinner was a romantic affair that Gracie thought it might have been and Katelyn looked stunning in her evening gown. Putting aside all thoughts of reconciliation, they enjoyed each other's company until Katie saw that Dan had gone quiet over dessert. "What's the matter, something wrong with the ice cream?"

Dan shook his head and wondered how he was going to say what was on his mind, and Katelyn suddenly felt less like finishing hers. "There still something that bothers you, isn't there? Something I haven't explained or covered something I haven't apologised for maybe?"

Dan looked into Kat's nervous eyes and felt like a heel. "I'm happy with everything you have told me...well not happy as such, but I am satisfied with your motives. No, what I now have to do is apologise to you."

Katelyn's nervousness turned to concern and she reached out to hold Daniel's hand across the table. "I told you, you have nothing to apologise for sweetheart, you did nothing wrong, it was all my doing!"