Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“That isn’t what I was doing.”
“It is. You may not realize it, but every time you use your mom to get your way, that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
His eyes flash with annoyance and his brows draw together. “You never let me go out with my friends.”
“Bud, you know that’s not true.” His eyes lower again at my words. “You’re getting older, Steven. If you want me to give you more freedom, you have to earn it.
“I can do that,” he replies, kicking the rocks at his feet.
Giving his neck one last squeeze, I lean in and touch my forehead to the top of his hair. “I know you can,” I agree, then let him go and move away, not wanting to make too big of a deal out of our talk. “Come on in and help Aubrey with dinner.”
“Sure.” He nods then stops when Tina’s pickup turns on the block and pulls into the driveway.
“Head on in, bud.”
“But…” He looks between his mom’s truck and me, his eyes flashing with conflict.
“Head on in,” I repeat more firmly. This time, he listens and heads up the front steps. I wait until he’s inside to move toward her.
Her eyes narrow on me and she rolls down her window, not getting out of the truck, which pisses me off. I should be a pro at dealing with her, having years of putting up with her bullshit under my belt, but it’s a fine line I walk every time we speak to each other.
“I would have liked to talk to my son,” she greets, glaring at me as I get close to her door.
“You can call him, or I’ll tell him to come out when I go in.”
“Such an asshole,” she hisses, shaking her head.
“Is this why you came by?” I raise a brow, crossing my arms over my chest, wanting her to get the fuck on with it. The sooner she’s done, the sooner I can go in, have dinner with the kids, kick up my feet, and have a beer before I have to go to bed and get up early.
“No, I wanted to apologize,” she snaps, and I roll my eyes skyward for a moment.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you coming here tossing out attitude was a form of apology.”
“I shouldn’t have even come.”
“Probably not,” I agree, and she throws her hands in the air, letting out a loud huff.
“What do you want me to do, Zach? I can’t handle seeing you with her.”
“Who I spend time with is none of your business, Tina. I didn’t invite you to come into town and track us down.”
“You’re the father of my kids.”
“And?”
“And?” Her eyes widen. “You were in love with her! You were in love with her throughout our whole marriage.”
“You knew how I felt about her when you took my cock, Tina. I never hid that shit from you.”
“I hate you,” she hisses, and I shake my head, leaning in.
“When I was with you, I was with you. I didn’t step out on you, didn’t stray, didn’t do shit but provide for you and our kids and try to make you happy. You never wanted to be happy. Didn’t even try to let shit go and make it work between us. You can sit here all day on your high horse and make it seem like I was the bad guy, but deep down, you know it wasn’t me who made shit sour between us.”
“Whatever.” She looks away, knowing I’m right, but too fucking stubborn to admit it.
“You fucked up today. You hurt two people who never did shit to you. You spewed venom about a situation you know jack shit about, and did that shit in front of not only strangers, but our kids, and a little boy who had no clue about Samuel. That is not okay with me.”
“I see how it is,” she says, and her face contorts.
“I’m glad you do,” I mutter, taking a step back. “From now on, we don’t speak unless it has something to do with Steven or Aubrey, and next time you come at me like you did today, you won’t walk away easily.”
“Are you threatening me?” she asks in disbelief, her lips parted and her eyes widening.
“Nope, just telling you how it’ll go down. You’re the mother of my kids, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have you arrested for putting your hands on me.”
She stares blankly at the house, and says to herself, “Just when I think I couldn’t hate you any more than I already do, you prove me wrong.”
“Do you want me to send Steven out, or do you want to call him?” I ask, done with talking to her. Done with her completely.
“I’ll call him,” she hisses, then rolls up her window. She quickly puts her truck in reverse and speeds out of the driveway and down the street. Once she’s gone, I head inside the house and move toward the kitchen, where I hear Aubrey and Steven arguing.