Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 438(@250wpm)___ 365(@300wpm)
“Dad’s been calling. I’m not answering. Darryn intervened, phoned him, and told him he needed to back off and give me time.”
Yes, Darryn was nearly perfect.
“Has he stopped calling?”
“Yeah,” she said.
She sounded sad.
She loved her father.
I just hated being able to fully feel that was difficult for her.
“Take your time to find the way you wish to share with him how that made you feel, then reach out when you’re ready,” I advised. “He’ll listen to you.”
“It sucked you guys got divorced, and why,” Allegra began. “But it was cool how neither of you ever badmouthed the other to us kids. So I honestly don’t get what his thing is with this. Why he suddenly changed.”
I did.
Paloma.
“Maybe, when you’re ready to talk to him again, ask him,” I suggested.
“Yeah,” she muttered.
“I’d like that Sunday lunch to be a monthly thing. Would you like that?” I asked.
Her voice perked up. “That’d be awesome. Maybe we could do a ’round the houses. Every month at a different person’s place.”
“An excellent idea, dearest.”
I turned the corner, and halfway down the block, saw Arnold standing outside my building in his sharp gray uniform, and I was glad of it. I’d overestimated how far I could walk in my Louboutin heels.
“My house next. I’ll talk to Darryn,” Allegra said.
“That would be lovely.”
“Speak soon. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, darling. Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
We hung up and I was about to drop my phone in my bag, smiling at Arnold, who had stepped toward the door in preparation for opening for me, when suddenly, I was slammed against the side of my building.
I opened my mouth to shout, but it died in my throat when I saw Chester “Chet” Lynch, Dru’s biological father, standing in front of me, shoving me against the stonework with a forearm against my chest.
“You think you can be her mom?” he snarled.
I stared in his enraged eyes.
Arnold’s whistle was going off frantically.
“He thought he could be her dad,” Lynch continued.
“Move away from me,” I demanded, shoving at his middle to push him off.
And Arnold was there, pulling violently at his shoulder. “Get away from her. Now!”
“You’re gonna learn, you fuckin’ bitch.”
His spittle landed on my face on the last word, and I feared he was loading his mouth to deliver more, but Arnold shoved him off and kept shoving him down the street.
Now Charlene was there, asking, “Mz. Ellington, are you okay?”
Lynch spat at Arnold’s feet, turned and jogged away.
“Mz. Ellington!” Charlene called urgently.
I looked to her. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m all right.”
“Do you want me to phone the police?” she asked.
On Drusilla’s biological father accosting and threatening me?
Not on my life.
Or…not until I talked with Jamie.
“No. I…not now. I think I just need to get upstairs,” I said.
Arnold returned. “She okay?”
“She wants to go upstairs,” Charlene told him.
“I’ll escort you Mz. Ellington,” he offered.
I nodded.
We all returned to the building with Arnold taking me all the way to my floor.
I knew Charlene shared because Alyona wasn’t at an opened door, she was standing in the vestibule.
I knew what I must look like when she rushed forward and took my arm. “Oh, my goodness.”
“You got her?” Arnold asked.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Get her to call the cops.”
At his words, Alyona’s face paled.
“Thank you, Arnold,” I said over my shoulder as Alyona led me inside.
“My job,” he replied.
“And you excel at it.”
He tipped his cap to me.
Alyona took me to the sofa in the living room and pushed me down.
“Charlene said you were attacked,” she accused, like I did it to myself.
I waved my hand in front of me. “It wasn’t an attack. More a confrontation that got a little physical.”
“Miss Nora!” she cried in distress. “We need to phone the police immediately.”
“It was Dru’s biological father, Alyona.”
Her eyes went huge.
“So first, I need to talk to Jamie,” I decreed. “He’ll be home in less than two hours. I can talk to him then.”
She looked dubious. “I think maybe you should call Mister Jamie now.”
“I think now I need to get my shoes off and my head together so I can help Jamie decide what to do about this.”
And whatever “this” was, was something we did not need when Jamie was trying to figure out what to do about the Roland/Paloma/AJ situation.
Fortunately, he had an ace investigator named Kateri True Arrow who had already uncovered Roland’s possible partners in the scheme to refinance the Oakley Texas ranch, and Jamie was hard at work scheduling meetings with them.
But we didn’t need another headache.
I was beginning to think I should call Chloe to ask after the company she hired that yacht from and whisk Jamie away myself.
Alyona shook her head like I was making a big mistake then she asked, “Do you want me to help with your shoes?”
“No. I can manage. I’m going to go change. Jamie and I are in for the night. I can get comfortable.”