I looked up, catching Grant’s eye as he walked down the driveway.
“Hey, wait up a minute!” he called, changing direction and moving toward me. He slid his hands into his pockets, narrowing his eyes at me with consideration. “You’re the guy she’s seeing, aren’t you?”
I lifted my chin. “I am.”
He nodded with understanding. “Well, I know when to admit defeat,” he remarked, laughing lightly and shaking his head. I snorted, opening my door.
“Smart of you.”
“Does Russell know?”
I scowled. “What’s it to you?”
“I’m just saying,” Grant said sincerely, lifting his hands in surrender. “Russell is protective of his daughters. If he thinks you’re jerking her around, it’ll end your career.”
“Is that a threat?” I gritted my teeth, my fingers curling into a fist.
“Consider it advice from a friend,” Grant said earnestly. “Relax. Your secret is safe with me, but sooner or later he’ll figure it out on his own. Have a nice weekend!” He said, backing away a few steps before he turned and continued to his own vehicle.
Gwen
I peered out my old bedroom window, watching Alaric’s truck pull away from the curb and disappear down my parents’ street.
“There you are.” Mom’s voice caught me by surprise, and I jolted, turning around as she walked fully into my bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. She smiled hopefully at me and patted the space beside her. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Why?” I asked, suspicious, but sitting beside her anyway. My mother wrapped her arm around my shoulders and hugged me.
“I just miss my daughters, that’s all. Can’t I miss you? You were under my feet for over nineteen years. It’s still a little weird without you two here, and you never tell me anything. I have no clue what’s going on in your life anymore. Remember the days when you used to tell me things?”
She was fishing, and the knowing look in her eyes gave her away.
“Who told you?” I sighed, leaning away and side-eyeing her.
“Aha!” she clapped her hands together gleefully. “Nobody told me anything, I just sensed it. Does your father know?”
“Nope, and I’m not planning on telling him just yet,” I replied, biting my bottom lip. “We’re still figuring things out.”
Mom was quiet for a moment, reflective. “It’s a little different dating a man with a child, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I exhaled. “We’re just taking things slowly right now. He has to tell his ex and Sawyer first.”
“That makes sense.”
“Do you think Dad will be mad?”
“No,” Mom shook her head, smiling lovingly at me. “He just wants to see you happy.”
“I’m kind of worried he’ll fire Alaric,” I laughed nervously, tugging at the hem of my dress.
“I don’t think that will happen. He talks all the time about what a wonderful worker he is,” Mom replied.
“I hope your right. But either way…could you keep it from Dad until I’m ready to tell him?”
“Of course,” Mom said, squeezing my shoulder.
19
Olive Branch
Alaric
“Mommy! Guess what? I saw the fireworks on Canada’s birthday! And we had cake!” Sawyer exclaimed, her words escaping in a rush the moment Cheryl opened her front door to us.
“Oh that sounds so exciting,” Cheryl replied, smiling.
“And Daddy’s friend jumped with me in the castle too! She looks like the lady on Daddy’s leg.” Sawyer added, unintentionally causing her mother to glower at me.
“Is that so?” she replied stiffly, somehow keeping her smile in place.
I crouched, and Sawyer turned to me expectantly—unaware of the storm she’d unintentionally caused. If she caught on, she’d feel terrible—and I didn’t want her to feel bad. She’d done nothing wrong.
“I’ll see you in a couple weeks, munchkin,” I said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Placing her small hands on either side of my face, she gave me a big kiss back. “Be a good girl.”
“I will! I’m always good. Bye, Daddy!” she said, twirling and bouncing past Cheryl into the house.
“Can we talk for a moment?” I asked, straightening to my full height.
Cheryl closed the front door and turned stiffly, her eyes piercing. “What, Alaric? I’m not in the mood to have it out with you right now.”
“I don’t want to fight. I want to talk.”
“So talk.”
I drew in a breath, preparing myself, and scratched at the back of my neck. “You said you wanted me to let you know when I started seeing someone, so. This is me letting you know—I’ve started seeing someone.”
Cheryl’s jaw ticked, and she nodded, her arms folding slowly across her chest. “And has this person been around Sawyer?” I hesitated, and Cheryl’s shrewd eyes picked up on it. “Seriously Alaric, the one thing I asked you to do was tell me before making introductions!”
“It’s not like that,” I responded, my brow furrowing. “She hasn’t met Sawyer as my girlfriend. We work together, so—“
“She was at the work thing you took Sawyer to this weekend,” Cheryl interrupted, finishing my sentence with a cruel edge to her words. She shook her head with disdain. “Convenient of you to wait until after to tell me.”
I clamped my mouth shut, opting for silence instead of the retort that sat on the tip of my tongue. “I don’t know why you’re so angry about this. You had to know that, one day, I’d meet someone else.”
Cheryl gaped at me, floundering for something to say. “That’s not the point; I wanted to be informed before you made any introductions.”
“I haven’t made introductions—at least not that one,” I replied stonily, crossing my own arms. “I planned on telling Sawyer during our next weekend.”
“You can’t!”
I arched a brow, challenging her. “And why not?”
“It’s a bad time,” Cheryl said, scowling at me. “Sawyer already has enough changes happening. She doesn’t need this one. Besides, who knows how long this one will keep your interest?” she added spitefully.
I clenched my jaw with aggravation. “You might be right about the changes, Cheryl, which is why I wanted to talk to you about this…but you’re wrong about my interest in her.”
Cheryl gaped at me, her eyes widening and permeating with hurt like it pained her to hear me say that. She schooled her features quickly, masking the blow with a bitter smile. “We’ll see.”
Turning on my heel, I spoke without looking back. “See you in eleven days.”
Cheryl’s door slammed shut before I made it off the porch. I pushed air through my nostrils in aggravation, rolling my neck.
Sliding into the cab of my truck, I closed the door and glanced at the cup holder, picking up the cat I’d sculpted last night.
After carrying Sawyer up to bed, I’d been too restless to sleep. I kept thinking about how natural it had been to see Gwen and my daughter together, about how I’d wanted the whole thing. Her, Sawyer, Tig—even her demonic cat.
So I plugged the old baby monitor in, taking the receiver out with me to my shop. I needed to tinker on something, to keep my hands busy.
The result was pretty cool—a nuts and bolt cat that I hoped she would like. Setting it back down in the cup holder, I headed back to town. Parking against the curb, I jumped out and strolled into the pizza shop.
The cashier was the same woman who’d served me last time. I approached the counter and smiled. “Can you look up past customer orders on the computer?”
She peered at me with confusion. “Yes…”
“I wanted to surprise a friend with pizza, could you pull up her last order?”
“I suppose I could…I’d need the phone number.” I gave it, and the cashier typed it into the computer. “A large Tempest pizza and garlic bread.”
“I’ll have that,” I smiled, reaching for my
wallet. “To go, please.”
Gwen
Sitting cross-legged on my couch, I shifted my shoulders, working out the kinks. My fingers returned to and hovered over my laptop keys, and I let out an aggravated huff. The words were just…stuck.
My stomach rumbled, alerting me to the fact that it had been seven hours since I last ate something.
Setting my laptop on the coffee table, I stood up and stretched. Dahmer let out a noise halfway between a purr and a meow, his head flying up at the disturbance, his claws digging into the material. He’d been asleep on the cushion beside me for the last forty-five minutes, and his pissy eyes followed me when I started walking to the kitchen.
I paused, hearing heavy footfall on the stairs. A few moments later, knuckles rapped against the door.
Heart pattering in my chest, I forced myself to saunter to the door. Opening it, I was greeted to the delicious sight of Alaric, holding two boxes from my favourite pizzeria balanced in one hand, while his other rested against the doorway, flashing a smile that melted my racing heart.
He stepped toward me, his free hand moving to my hip as he leaned down to kiss me softly.
“He comes bearing gifts.” I laughed against his lips.
“A few,” he admitted, chuckling ruefully as I closed the door. He set the pizzeria boxes down on the table, keeping his eyes on me as I moved toward him. “I told Cheryl.”
His tone gave nothing away. I sucked my bottom lip in, releasing it with a pop. “How’d that go?”
“It went,” he said, offering me a small smile.
“I hate that I’m causing issues for you with her,” I frowned, worrying my lip.
“Hey, it’s not your fault.” He shook his head, stepping toward me. “I’d have issues with Cheryl either way. Trust me.” His hands went to my hips, encompassing me.
“Comforting,” I arched a brow, tilting my head and biting back a smile as I looped my arms around his neck. I pressed my body against him, grinning coyly. “Is that something in your pocket, or are you just super happy to see me?”
“Well, I was going to wait until later, but I should have known you’d try and get into my pants the moment I showed up,” Alaric teased, smiling as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He held his hand between us and opened his fingers, revealing in his palm a miniature cat made of nuts and bolts welded together.
“Oh my God! It’s adorable!” I laughed, taking it from him and inspecting it. “I love it!” I threw my arms around him again, standing on my tippy toes to reach his lips. I kissed him, my mouth moving against his slowly, reveling in the taste of him.
“I’m glad.” He grinned against my lips, his arms encompassing me. I nipped at his lip, urging him on, guided by an aching pulse in my centre.
Alaric’s fingers went to the waistband of my shorts, and I snapped back to my sad reality. “You might want to avoid doing that this week.”
“Gotcha.” He winked, moving his hand to cup my face. He continued kissing me for a moment longer, his tongue moving ardently against mine before he pulled away. My eyes dropped down to his jeans, noticing how turned on he was. I licked my lips, about to drop to my knees on the floor in front of him. “You don’t need to do that, Gwen.”
“I want to,” I assured him, tugging his zipper down.
He laughed, gently lifting my hand away from its quest. He held it, rubbing his thumb over my palm in slow, tiny circles. “But I brought you pizza…”
“Damn it, you did,” I sighed, ravenous for it.
“You can finally put on that Game of Thrones show,” he added, picking up the pizza and garlic bread with his free hand and in two steps, he’d cleared the short distance to the couch.
“All right, you’ve talked me into it,” I laughed, shaking my head while he set the pizza down on the coffee table. I went to my bookshelf, arranging the little nuts and bolts cat down on one of the square shelves before I went into the kitchen.
I grabbed us something to drink and some plates. Walking back into the living room, I stilled when I saw him lounging in the corner of the sectional. He patted the space beside him, flashing me a light-hearted smile.
Continuing, I dropped down beside him, my bare thigh rubbing against his denim-clad one. He smiled at me, his eyes bright. “You gonna put it on?”
“Right, yes.” I leaned forward, grabbing the remotes. I worked on setting up the show, while Alaric loaded up our plates with pizza and garlic bread. “Okay but, for the sake of my sister’s upcoming wedding—you cannot be bringing pizza over regularly.”
He laughed, his eyes roving me suggestively. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“You haven’t seen the bridesmaid dresses yet.” I deadpanned, taking a bite of pizza anyway. It was my cheat week, the only bonus to this dark and grisly time. Cheese and chocolate healed all PMS woes.
“That’s true.” He laughed lightly. We fell quiet for a moment. It wasn’t an unpleasant quiet, but a contented one. “When’s the wedding?”
“June,” I replied, stealing a glance at him. He nodded, taking a bite of his slice. I stifled the urge to ask him if he’d come. June was a little under a year away—a lot could happen in a year. He could lose interest, move on. He could decide all the trouble my being in his life caused with his ex and Sawyer wasn’t worth it.
But the way he looked at me made those insecure, negative-Nancy thoughts fly straight out of my head.
“You could always start joining Tig and me for weekend hikes,” he said, sending me a smile that made me really resent Aunt Flo.
Alaric
I lifted the bookshelf and set it down on the ground, inspecting it. Much like the coffee table and the two end tables I’d made before it, it had the same black metal and wood look to it.
It just needed to be stained, then I could bring it in and set it along the wall in the living room.
Tires crunched over gravel and Tig started barking. “Quiet,” I instructed, and Tig fell silent, resting his head on his paws with a heavy sigh, like he felt unappreciated.
I made my way to the door, watching as a black minivan pulled up beside my truck. Cheryl stepped out, her eyes red like she’d been crying.
My defenses fell, concern replacing the usual aggravation I felt when I had to deal with my ex.
“Cheryl? What’s wrong?” I moved toward her, concerned. She subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach, her lip trembling as she stared at me.
“I can’t sleep.”
I cocked my head, my feet halting. “I’m sorry?” I questioned.
She wiped at her cheeks, looking away before her eyes darted back to me. “I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I think about what you said…and I’m not trying to push you out, I swear.”
“Sure feels like it,” I retorted.
She bit her lip, releasing it to speak again, her voice trembling. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I guess I…I wanted to punish you.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“At first, when you told me you were moving, I thought you were coming after me.” She admitted, shaking her head.
“You cheated, Cheryl. I didn’t.”
“Yeah, but I never really had you, did I?” she asked, smiling sorrowfully. I said nothing—she already knew the answer to that. She nodded, lowering her gaze before drawing it back up to my eyes.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I told her, meaning it. She nodded again, dragging her eyes back up to me. The broken look in her eyes made my heart ache. I got the sense that there was more coming, so I kept my mouth shut.
“I didn’t want to include you because you never loved me the way I needed you to, and having you show up was—is—just painful. I know it shouldn’t be. Mason looks at me the way you never did, and I love him, but it still stings. So, I’m sorry for punishing you.”
“It doesn’t just punish me, it punishes Sawyer, too. She should get us both, Cheryl, regardless of how we feel ab
out each other.”
“I know that,” she said, sorrow in place of her usual spite. Maybe she finally saw reason. Hope bloomed, and I wondered if we’d finally be able to move past the bullshit. “Mason tells me I'm irrational when it comes to you. He thinks I need to let you in more.”
“What do you think?”
She nodded, her eyes welling over with tears. “I think he’s right,” she managed. She heaved a breath, wiping at her cheek before she continued. “I’m sorry I freaked out when I heard you were seeing someone. I just didn’t like the idea of being replaced.”
“Feels shitty, doesn’t it?” More tears slipped down her cheeks, and I sighed. “You won’t be replaced, Cheryl. I won’t do that to Sawyer.”
“But I did that to her and to you. I made it hard for you to be there. I was just…I was so angry, Alaric. You let me walk away without even fighting for me. You fought for Sawyer, but not me. I guess I just wanted you to feel a little bit of the anger and hurt I felt.”
Hearing it from the source didn’t make it hurt any less. I inclined my head, absorbing her words. “Mission accomplished.”
She shook her head, more tears spilling over. It was crazy that I felt any amount of sympathy at all for her, after everything she’d put me through over the last six years.
She dried her eyes on her sleeve and drew a breath. “When I have the baby, Sawyer can stay with you. If you’re still up for it.”
“What about Mason’s mom?”
“She can still help us out, but…Sawyer should be with you if she can’t be with me.”
I smiled, nodding. “Okay.”
Gravel crunched beneath tires and headlights flooded the garage. We both watched as a red Mazda pulled up, parking behind my truck. Gwen killed the ignition, and the lights went out.
She stepped out of her car, her smile fading a little when she noticed Cheryl standing in front of me. Her eyes shot back to me, wide with unease, her grip tightening on the door like she wanted to bolt.
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