by Sienna Skye
“It’s my pleasure, Madison.”
“May I have the rest of the tour?”
I laughed. “It isn’t much of a tour, but sure.”
When we got back to the living room, I saw her glance at the appetizers I had set up in there.
“Wait? Is that from when we went to the winery?”
“Most of it, yeah. Thought it seemed like a good time to try it all.” I shrugged.
She wandered into the kitchen on her own.
“This smells delicious! You cooked this?”
“I can cook, you know. I do know my way around a kitchen.”
“I see that,” she said. I couldn’t help but eat up the fact that she sounded impressed.
She looked around and the dining area caught her attention. Specifically, the flowers. She went to take a closer look at them.
“These are gorgeous. The colors remind me of a sunset.”
“I’m glad you like them. I hoped you would. Let me pour you a glass of wine and we can go sit in the living room for a little bit.”
“Do you want help cooking?”
“No, I’ve got it under control. I want to spoil you tonight.”
“You already have.”
She spoke in an awed whisper and the tone of her voice did something to me.
I poured us each a glass of wine and then led her to the living room. We sat on the couch and talked. We told each other stories about when we were growing up. First love stories. First heartbreak stories. First time we had sex stories.
She followed me into the kitchen when I went to finish putting dinner together. She offered to help, but I told her to relax and enjoy her wine.
During dinner I told her about places I went to when I was in the Marines. We both talked about places we traveled to, places we’d like to see again, and places we had never been to, but really wanted to visit.
After dinner, I suggested that we have dessert in the living room. We cuddled on the couch while we ate our strawberries and drank more wine.
The energy between us started to intensify. I took each of our wine glasses and put them on the coffee table. I sat behind her and started to massage her shoulders. She mindlessly stroked my leg while I was working on her upper back. As she relaxed into me, I placed kisses at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. At the spot I knew made her weak in the knees. She tilted her head to give me more access and I heard a soft moan leave her lips.
I leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“How about we go to my room? Would you like that?”
“I’d love that.”
I placed a soft kiss just below her ear.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
I stood up and offered her my hand. She took it and started to follow me out of the room.
That’s when I heard the alert from her phone. I continued to head toward my room but felt her tug back on my arm. I stopped in my tracks and turned back to look at her. Regret was written all over her face.
“That’s Ralph’s text tone. I set it so I would know to answer in case something was wrong with the kids.”
I was pretty sure this was another one of his games, but on the off chance it wasn’t—
“You should check and make sure the kids are okay.”
She grabbed her phone from the coffee table. I studied her face as she read the message. She continued to stare at the phone long after I could tell she was done reading what he said. She was working up the courage to tell me she was leaving. I waited another thirty seconds.
“Is everything all right with Ryan and Alexis?”
Her eyes met mine and if I had any doubt she was planning on leaving, it was definitely gone.
“No. I mean yes. The kids are fine.”
“What’s wrong then?”
“He’s at my house. Outside. Waiting for me.”
“Waiting for you?” I tried to keep my voice even.
She let out a sigh in exasperation. “Yes, he brought them back early again. I’m going to have to leave.”
“But the kids are fine. There is no emergency, correct?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. But, he’s dropping them off early.”
“Not if you don’t go he won’t.”
“Jace. I need to get them.”
“Madison, are you telling me that if you don’t go home, he will leave them there all alone?”
“No. No, I don’t think he would do that.”
“Then don’t go.”
“I have to go.”
“No, Madison. You don’t.” I could see the anger starting to bubble up in her, but I tried to make her see reason. “Let me ask you a question. What if you were away on a weekend trip with Sarah? Or what if you had a nursing conference to attend? What would he do then?”
“I guess he would just keep them.”
“Exactly my point. You are letting yourself feel some kind of guilt because you are on a date with me. You are allowed to have your own life, Madison.”
“I have kids. They are my responsibility.”
Her voice was starting to get louder, but I refused to go down without a fight.
“Yes, they are. But they are also his responsibility. And from what I can see, he is not doing a very good job handling his end.”
“This is not about him. This is about me being a mother to Ryan and Alexis.”
“Wrong, Madison. This is about his control over you. This is about him doing everything in his power to make it difficult for you to enjoy your life. There is only one person that can stop that behavior. You.”
“Are you telling me I want this?”
“No, that is not what I am saying. Not at all. He is doing this because you are letting him get away with it. He plays his game and you react by giving him what he wants.”
“I’m doing what I can to keep my kids from getting caught in the middle. I’m sorry, Jace. I have to go home to my kids.”
It wasn’t like I didn’t already know this was what was going to happen, but I did have a small shred of hope she would be able to see what I was saying. I looked up at the ceiling and calmed myself before I said anything more.
She was already heading to the bedroom to grab her bag. She came back, dug in her purse for her keys, and then took a breath.
“I’m sorry I’m not able to stay, Jace. I know you put so much thought into tonight.”
“Goodnight, Madison. Drive safely.”
She looked like she wanted to say something else as she opened the front door. But, instead she walked out, closing the door behind her.
I put the food away and then walked from room to room extinguishing all the candles. I considered going to work out. Burn off some of the frustration I was feeling. What I really wanted to do was talk to someone.
Before I had time to think about my decision, I was in my car and heading to Morgan’s house. But, when I got there, I second guessed myself. It wasn’t exactly early. The kids were probably in bed. Shit, he was probably making love to his wife. And here I was standing on his front porch and ready to dump my shit all over him.
I was about to turn around and leave, when the door opened. Morgan stood there, hair messy, wearing nothing but his pajama pants.
“Fuck. Don’t tell me I interrupted you pleasuring your wife.”
He gave me that classic Morgan smirk.
“I saw you on the security camera. Trust me, when I am having sex with Julia, my attention is entirely on her. She’s out with Callie and Sarah tonight. Come on in.”
“Are the kids asleep?”
“For the time being. You never know with Wyatt lately. You want a drink?”
“Water, thanks.”
“You got it. I kind of thought you’d be looking for something harder with the conversation we are about to have.”
“How do you know what conversation we are about to have?”
“Well, Julia told me she stopped over to help you set things up for a date with Madison.”
“Did she tell you about my
textiles?” I asked with a smirk.
I had to laugh at the confused expression on his face. “Dude, do I even want to know?”
“Not important.”
“Since you are here with me instead of at your place with Madison, I’m assuming things didn’t go as planned.” He handed me a bottle of water and gestured for me to sit.
“Anything I say here tonight stays between us, right?” I plopped down in a chair and tipped my head against its back.
“You don’t even need to ask that. Nothing you say will leave this room.”
“Madison’s ex-husband has a long history of fucking with her head.”
“That sounds like it’s not just history.” He settled back on the couch and put his legs up on the coffee table.
“Yeah. He likes to use the kids to manipulate her.”
“How so?”
Morgan was a great dad. He would move heaven and earth to do right by his kids. I knew he had no respect for anyone who used their kids for their own gain. His father had done that with him and Hunter.
“He will cancel plans with the kids. Switch days without notice. Bring them back early. I’m pretty sure sometimes it’s just so he can run and do what he wants. But, he does it so Madison can’t make her own plans. Live her own life.”
“Specifically, her life with you.”
“Yeah. The guy is a total asshole. He needs to bring her down so that he can feel good about himself. Powerful.”
“So, he’s weak and making her feel like shit makes him feel like a big man.” Morgan took a drink of his water before putting it down on the table.
“Exactly. He showed up late to pick up the kids on a night we were going out on a date. He got there just before I did.”
“Oh, he must have ramped that shit up once he realized Madison was involved with you.”
“He doesn’t have the balls to say anything to me. I know he says things to make her doubt her physical attractiveness. I can see when that confidence leaves her and its always after some kind of run-in with him. He’s told her outright that he thinks I am using her just to fuck her.”
“This guy is a fucking piece of work. I’m guessing he pulled some crap with the kids tonight and that’s why you are here with me instead of with Madison.”
“He texted her and told her he was outside her house to drop the kids off.”
“What the fuck was his plan if he didn’t reach her?” Morgan asked incredulously.
“That’s the thing. He knew he would.”
“And she hightailed it out of your place to get back to the kids.”
“Yeah. I tried to explain it to her. I asked her what he would do if she was away for the weekend. She had already established the kids were okay so there was no emergency.”
“And what was her response to that?”
“She kept telling me her kids are her responsibility. I told her that this had nothing to do with the kids and everything to do with him exerting control over her.”
“She got angry?” Morgan ran a hand through his already messy hair and scratched his head.
“Yep. I think she didn’t think I was taking her kids seriously enough.”
“No, that’s not it. Deep down she knew there was truth to what you were saying. Whether or not she was ready to acknowledge that is another story.”
“You know she’s friends with Sarah. Hunter told me she’s come a long way since she first thought about leaving him.”
“You want me to give it to you straight, right?” He took his legs down from the table and leaned forward with his arms resting on his legs.
“Always.”
“You’re in love with her. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t. But, what you need to decide is if you are willing to fight to make this work. Because that is what you are going to have to do. Either you are going to need to fight against her insecurities and against her allowing him to manipulate her. Or you are going to have to have to fight against your own protective instincts. I already know you won’t be able to do that.”
“She’s worth it, Morgan.”
“There’s your answer, then.”
“I need to find a way for her to believe she is worth it. That what we could have together is worth it.”
“You are a smart man, Jace. You’ll figure it out. Look, my wife is the advice columnist, but I would like to offer some of my own up to you.”
“Go for it.”
“You’re a good guy, Jace. You’re respectful of people’s feelings. Especially women. Maybe you need to start thinking about this more tactically. Formulate a plan of action. From what you are saying, he doubts her strength. But, are you doing the same? Go with your instincts, not against them. I would bet my life on your instincts.”
He was right. To a certain extent I was tiptoeing around Madison. Treating her differently, more carefully, than I would anyone else because I could sense her insecurities from the start. I didn’t want to lose her, but there was no way things could continue to go on like they had been. She needed to come to that conclusion herself.
“You know, you might want to convince Julia to do a his and hers column. She’s rubbed off on you.”
“No thank you. I think I will leave that all to her.”
I watched as his eyes squinted like he was trying to listen for something. It must have been some innate parental instinct because a second later, I could hear one of the twins.
Morgan bolted out of the chair. “Shit, that’s Wyatt. He’s going to wake up Sawyer.”
He returned about ten minutes later.
“We don’t want to pick him up every time he does this. It would be giving him what he wants. But, we have to nip it in the bud or Sawyer will hear him and then all hell breaks loose. It’s all about compromise and limits.”
He was right about that.
Chapter Ten
Madison
I drove faster than I should have. It had nothing to do with being worried about the kids. I was angry. Angry at Ralph and how the night turned out. Part of me was angry at Jace. It felt like there was somebody else trying to tell me what to do. His words, though, kept playing over again in my mind. By the time I made it to my house, I had sufficiently worked myself up.
Ralph’s car was parked on the street. Just seeing it fueled my anger. I threw my car in park, grabbed my purse and overnight bag, and jumped out. I slammed the door behind me. Usually, I did a much better job of hiding my emotions. Keeping my anger and frustration hidden from the kids. But, I was too far gone for that. What I could do was make sure they didn’t witness what was about to happen.
He got out of his car and watched as I stormed over. I saw him look at my overnight bag. That just made me angrier. The kids were climbing out of the car. They were in their pajamas and looked tired. Why wouldn’t they? It was way past their bedtime. Their father decided to drag them out into the night.
Alexis looked like she was practically asleep on her feet. Ryan looked at me quizzically. He could tell I was angry. Ralph opened his mouth to speak.
“No. Just no. You stay right here. I am bringing them inside, then I will be right back.”
I brought the kids to the house, let them in, and turned on the lights.
“Ryan, walk Alexis to her room and then you go to bed. I’m going outside to talk to your father.”
“I bet you’re going to yell at him. You look like you want to yell at someone.”
“Take you and your sister to bed. I’ll be back to tuck you in in few minutes.”
Ryan grabbed Alexis by the hand and started to lead her down to her room. I tossed my purse and bag on the couch, grabbed my phone and went outside. I wasn’t entirely certain he wouldn’t leave before I got out there, so I moved quickly.
He was still there, leaning against his car with his arms crossed. I never broke eye contact with him as I approached.
“You look like a bull seeing red, Madison.”
“Shut up.”
He chuckled, amused by my ang
er. It only fueled my fire.
“A little frustrated, are you?”
There was no mistaking his emphasis on the word “frustrated”.
“This ends now, Ralph.”
He was still leaning back casually on his car. The fact that he didn’t seem at all affected my anger enraged me more. Jace was right about that much. This had gone on for too long. I let it go on for far too long.
“What are you talking about, Madison?”
Even the sound of my name on his lips was grating.
“Cut the bullshit. There was no reason for you to bring the kids back tonight.”
“I had a reason.”
“Your reasons don’t count. There was nothing wrong with the kids. Either you had plans, in which case you should have been a big boy and sucked it up and made plans for another time. Or, you wanted to keep me from my plans. Next time, I’m not coming back.”
“So, are you saying that you’re not going to put the kids first?”
And that was it. I snapped.
“You need to ask yourself that fucking question! You are the one with the long history of dumping the kids to suit your plans. Now, you are using them to try to get to me. What kind of father does that?”
I was very much aware that it was far too late at night for me to be outside yelling as loud as I was, but it didn’t stop me. I hoped the kids were asleep and couldn’t hear any of it. I would have to do damage control if they did.
“You’re unravelling, Madison.”
Okay, he was right. I was. But still. “Screw you, Ralph.”
“No thank you. Been there. Done that. It was never that great.”
Was he really stooping to such a ridiculously childish level? I knew I was better than that, but I was already on a roll and couldn’t seem to stop myself.
“That last sentence might be the only truthful sentence you have ever uttered.”
He looked surprised at my comment. I was done anyway. I would fire my parting shot as I walked back to the house. There was a good chance the neighbors had already gotten an earful, so I lowered my voice just enough so I wouldn’t be the talk of the block, but loud enough for him to hear and me to get my point across.
“You’re right,” I said as I walked backward toward the house. “It was never great. Glad about that, though. Makes me appreciate it even more being with a man who makes it fucking phenomenal.”