Текст книги "Out Of The Blue"

Автор книги: Carina Adams

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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Chapter Twenty-Four

~ Mike ~

Janet was a talker. I smiled into my coffee. I swear she hadn’t stopped talking since she’d gotten to L.A. the day before.

I didn’t know where she got it from, considering her mom did most of her communicating nonverbally—a gesture, a roll of her eyes, or just a nasty expression that let me know what she was saying without words. Julie had always been more than comfortable sitting in silence, never talking to fill the void. Half the time, I was sure she did it just to get to me.

I’d been by myself, with coms turned off, for half of my missions. One would assume that once I came home, I would find silence comforting, or that I would at least be used to it. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hated the quiet. There was nothing soothing in silence, or being alone with my screwed up thoughts.

I didn’t have to worry about that with this little girl around, though. One minute we talked about her friends at school, the next about her love of unicorns, and then the conversation had switched to how high she could go on the swing by herself. The topics changed faster than the women who warmed Billy’s bed, but I fucking loved it.

I would sit there all day and do nothing but listen to her talk if I could. I’d missed this. Four years of these chats, four years of stories, four years of not knowing who she was. I wished I could take every minute back and do them over. I would make that dipshit Dr. Douche regret the day he decided to stick his dick into my wife. He could have Julie if he wanted her, but I wouldn’t let him have my daughter.

Watching her tip her head back and giggle as she rambled with Molly about girl stuff over breakfast had made my heart ache. I didn’t want to think about why, and I certainly didn’t want to admit it to myself. Neither one of those women were mine to love. Protect, shelter, care for? Absolutely. But love was not an option.

When Jake sat down at their table, his plate piled high with pancakes, fruit, and breakfast meats, my girls stopped chatting and, as if it was planned, both reached for his food. Molly snatched a strawberry, winking at my son as she plopped it into her mouth, and Nettie grabbed a piece of bacon. A normal kid his age would complain, or whine a little, but not my boy. He just shrugged and asked them if they wanted more.

In that moment, nothing had ever been more obvious. That was my family. The three people that meant more to me than anything else in the world. Denying it, ignoring it, or just plain avoiding it wouldn’t make the feelings go away. I loved them. All three of them.

Molly chose that moment to look up and catch my eye. Her face fell instantly. “What’s wrong?” she mouthed, standing and walking across the room toward me.

I shook my head, offering her a smile. “Nothing.”

Something over my shoulder caught her eye, and for a brief second, she seemed irritated. As soon as it appeared, the look was gone and she plastered her fake smile on. “Good morning, Julie!” she called as she turned toward the coffee pot to get a refill, seconds before my ex-wife claimed the spot next to me.

Julie had never been a morning person, and she grunted a response. After a few sips of her coffee and a few bites of her Greek yogurt and granola combo, she seemed to wake up a bit. “Thank you for inviting them,” she said, pointing toward the kids. They had been joined by Noah and were laughing at something he said.

“Thank you for letting us invite them.”

Janet hadn’t wanted to let go of me the night before, but the kids were exhausted from their day of traveling, so Molly suggested they join the band for an early breakfast at the venue before she and the guys had a full day of rehearsals, sound checks, and interviews.

“Us.” She smirked. “You and Molly are an ‘us’ now?” Her voice was full of disbelief.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Bullshit. Everything you do with my kids is my business.”

“My relationship with Molly has nothing to do with the kids.”

“Yes it does,” she snapped back. “Jake is on cloud nine because he’s hanging out with the next Playboy Playmate.”

I opened my mouth to object but Julie chuckled, holding up her finger.

“Sorry—what do they call the women who pose in Penthouse? Other than whore, I mean?” The witch only smiled when I narrowed my eyes. “And Janet is enamored because she’s spending time with a woman she sees on the cover of magazines. Those kids don’t know any better, all they see are the stars in their eyes because Molly’s famous.” She held up her fingers and put quotes around famous. “What’s gonna happen when you tire of this one? When you think she’s a stage-five clinger and don’t want her around anymore? It’s not going to be you that gets hurt, it’s gonna be them.” She pointed at the kids who were still giggling with Noah.

“Nobody is getting hurt,” I growled, annoyed that I had to keep clarifying that to people. Jesus! How much of an asshole did all of these people think I was?

“Yeah, cause you have such a great track record.”

“Back off, Jules. Just leave it alone.”

Julie looked at me, eyes growing wide in surprise. “You really like her.”

“I said leave it,” I snapped. Unable to control my frustration toward her any longer, I scanned the room, trying to find anything to take me away from this unpleasant conversation before it turned ugly.

“Holy shit.” She laughed humorlessly. “Is Lia finally ‘taken’ enough for you to get over your pipe dream? Have to move on to the next available thing?”

Fucking Christ! This woman… Taking a deep breath, my eyes settled on Molly, and I could feel myself relaxing. “Did you fly all this way to fight with me, Jules? ‘Cause we could have done that shit over the phone.”

She reached out, her hand settling on my forearm, and I had to fight the overwhelming urge to pull away. Her hands were not welcome on my body, and she had no reason to fucking touch me. But I didn’t want to cause a scene. Instead, I glared down at her.

Oblivious as always, she didn’t take the hint. Instead, she stepped closer. “No, I don’t want to argue with you—I spend enough time arguing with Lewis. I wanted you to get to spend some time with the kids, both of them. They needed it, and I think you did, too. Plus, I wanted to talk to you about the kids.”

I softened a little. “Thank you for that. I missed them.” More than I realized. “What do you want to talk about?”

Her eyes moved around the room. “Not here. Do you think some point this weekend you can make some time, just the two of us? I’m sure Nate and Lia wouldn’t mind hanging out with the kids for a little while…”

“Molly could stay with them, I’m sure.”

Julie didn’t hide the disgusted expression on her face fast enough. “They haven’t seen their Uncle Nate much lately—I’m sure they’d love to visit with him.”

Before I could argue, Sam walked into the room, glancing around until his eyes settled on me. Holding up an arm, he tapped on his wrist, letting me know it was time to go. I nodded, holding up a finger. “Thank you for bringing the kids this morning. Sam or one of the guys will take you back to the hotel. You’re coming to the show tonight, right?”

I didn’t wait for her to answer before I was striding toward the kids. “Hey guys.” I plopped in the empty chair across from them. “Molly and I have to go to work, but I’ll see you later.”

Janet nodded, aiming her contagious smile at me, but Jake twisted his lips into a frown. “What are you wearing?”

Noah started laughing, and pushed himself away from the table, mumbling an excuse about getting more food.

I glanced down, not sure why my plain black tee shirt or jeans would cause such a reaction. When I looked back up, his eyes were narrowed.

“Your hat, Dad. Why do you have a Yankees hat?” His voice was almost a whisper, as if just saying the words were painful for him.

I couldn’t stop the laugh that erupted at his reaction, which only made him glare more. Clearing my throat, I tried to compose myself. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back, watching me the way an angry father would, and I lost it all over again.

Molly’s hand slid over my shoulders as she slid into the chair next to me. “I’m sorry, Jake,” she soothed, “I know you’re a Sox fan, but I bought it for him while we were in New York. I wanted him to fit in, and now I love it on him. Forgive me?”

Instantly, Jake’s face transformed from irritated to understanding, and he uncrossed his arms. “That makes sense.” He nodded. “Are you a Yankees fan, Mol?” Mol? When had my kid given my girl a nickname?

“I’m from New York, I kinda have to be.” The woman next to me turned into a native New Yorker, complete with the Brooklyn accent, and then laughed. I watched as my son hung on her every word. “To be honest, I really don’t understand baseball.”

His eyebrows shot up, not understanding how anyone could say such a thing about his beloved sport.

“But your dad tells me you’re quite the star. Do you think you could teach me everything I need to know sometime?”

And just like that, the woman had my son eating out of her hand. He beamed. “Absolutely!”

Sam walked up to the table, offering my kids a small smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt, guys, but I’ve gotta steal your dad for a minute.” Turning to me, he tipped his head. “Security briefing in five minutes.”

I nodded, standing. “Sorry, guys, work beckons. I’ll see you later, okay?” I dropped a quick kiss on both their foreheads before either could object. Bracing my hands on the table in front of Molly, I smiled at her. “I’ll be back for you in a few. Stay put, okay?”

She smirked, nodding. “Yes, sir!”

“I mean it, Mols. The venue isn’t secured yet and I don’t want you leaving until I get back.” Without thinking, I pressed my lips to her forehead and then stepped back. “Be good,” I called over my shoulder.

“Be nice!” she called back. I chuckled as I pushed out into the hall. She knew me too well.

Peterson, one of Sam’s team members, stood guard outside the door. An ex-marine who was large and intimidating enough to scare most people away at first glance, Peterson was new to the team and usually got the shit jobs. At least until he could prove himself.

I paused, crossing my arms and meeting his gaze. “Molly doesn’t leave until I come back, and no one you don’t know goes in. We clear?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

I narrowed my eyes, debating whether or not I trusted him. Something felt off.

“Carson,” Sam yelled from the other end of the hall. “Get your ass down here. Or I’m doing the plan without your input, and I won’t listen to you bitch about it later.”

A smile tugged at my lips. Sam also knew me way too well. “I’m coming.” One last look at Peterson, and I pointed toward the door. “I’ll be right back. Take care of her.”

He looked at me like I had lost my mind. “There’s a room full of musicians in there. You’re gonna be gone for fifteen minutes, guy. They’ll all be fine.”

I nodded. There may have been a roomful, but only one that I worried about. I had a nagging feeling that something bad was about to happen. The guys could take care of themselves. But Mols? Well, yeah, she could take care of herself, too. She had me now, though, and she didn’t have to take care of herself ever again.

Chapter Twenty-Five

~ Molly~

Mike had been out of the room for all of five seconds when Julie pounced.

I watched her stalking across the room, as if she was a lioness on the great African plains. A look of pure determination—as if she’d just seen her prey and was going to catch it at any cost—etched into her features as she headed straight for me. Julie, in her designer clothes, perfect haircut, and resting bitch face may have been enough to intimidate most women, but I wasn’t most women.

If Jules was the lion in this scenario, I was the tiger. She was about to learn that she wasn’t the biggest, baddest thing there was. If it was a battle she wanted, I’d eat her alive.

I smiled at her as she sat in the seat Mike had just vacated. “Jake is going to teach me all about baseball.”

She ignored me. “Hey, guys,” she told her children, “why don’t you go talk to Uncle Nate for a few minutes? I need to chat with Molly, okay?”

Jake eyed us both suspiciously, as if he knew whatever was coming wasn’t pleasant. Then he nodded and slid out of his chair. Janet followed him, stopping to hug me quickly before they walked across the room toward Lia and Nate. I swallowed, dreading whatever she had to talk to me about. When they were far enough away so they couldn’t hear us, Julie dropped the fake ass smile she’d had glued to her lips.

“Listen, I don’t know what Mike’s told you, but I’m getting a divorce.”

What in the hell was I supposed to say to that? I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

She waved her hand as if it was no big deal. “Everything happens the way it should. Mike and I got married young. We gave it a shot and blew it. We obviously needed a few years apart to experience other people and things so that we could appreciate what we have when we get back together. Now is our chance to do it right.”

I tried not to laugh. I really did. But the look on her face and the fact that she obviously believed what she was saying was hilarious. And very sad. The poor woman was delusional. That thought made the laughter die on my lips. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

She raised a single, perfectly shaped eyebrow, no amusement showing on her face. Oh, good Lord, she did. She thought that she’d carelessly destroy the man Mike had been and then just waltz back into the picture when her husband traded her in for a younger, prettier model? Hell, no.

“You and Mike are never getting back together, Julie.” I wasn’t cruel, and my tone was soft. I wasn’t on the attack, just stating fact.

She didn’t see it that way, though. Pushing her shoulders back and straightening up, her head moved sideways on her neck, reminding me of a snake getting ready to strike. “Aww, you think you have a future with him? How cute is that?” Her lips curled back, displaying her perfectly white teeth, and I was half surprised she didn’t have fangs. “Oh, sweetie, you’re just one in a line of many. A stop on his way back to me.”

I pursed my lips, watching her. Anyone else may have seen a beautiful woman who was sure of herself, someone you didn’t want to compete against because women like Julie always got what they wanted. I saw a broken woman whose life was falling apart and she was clinging to the only life raft she thought she had left—Mike.

I felt bad for her. Not because she was delusional, which she clearly was, but because she didn’t need to be rescued like a damsel in distress. She needed to pull on her big girl boots and play the hand life had dealt her. She needed to save herself, if only to prove to her daughter that Janet could do anything when she grew up.

“I know what Mike and I are, Julie. We’re friends. Neither one of us has expectations, there are no long-term plans. Doesn’t change the facts. Mike will never be yours again.”

“You’ve known him what—a year? Maybe two? You only know the sides of him he lets the world see, Molly.” She spat my name at me like it was a dirty word. “I’ve known him his entire life. I knew him before the Navy fucked him up. He’ll come back to me. He always does.”

I snorted at her absurd argument. Yeah, they’d grown up together, and they’d been married. So how was it that he was still a stranger to her? “Maybe before you decided to fuck around, but not now.”

Unfiltered fury washed over her face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I shrugged. “You’re right. It’s none of my business, and I only know one side—Mike’s. But I do know that you took something important away from him, Julie. And for that, he’s never going to forgive you. If he can’t forgive you, he’ll never love you.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously, and then she gave me a smug look. “He doesn’t have to forgive me. He doesn’t have to love me. Hell, he doesn’t even have to like me. I’m the mother of his children. At the end of the day, he will always choose his children first.”

She was right. We both knew it. What kind of woman would use her children as pawns to get a man? The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. “Child,” I snapped back without meaning to. “He will always put his child first. That’s because his son means everything to him.” When her mouth dropped slightly in surprise, I knew I’d gone too far. I felt like I’d just betrayed Mike’s trust, like I’d given away a secret that I’d sworn to keep.

“What?” She hissed at me as if she was honestly surprised I knew.

I stood, completely done with her and this pointless conversation. She disgusted me.

As I moved to step by her chair, she stood, blocking my way. “Janet is a Carson. That’s fact.” She took a step closer, making me take a step back—not out of fear, but because her children were in the room and I didn’t want to cause a scene or scare them. All things their mother apparently didn’t care about as she leaned her head in toward mine. “Don’t mess with my family, Molly. You’re not a mom so you have no idea how far I’ll go to protect my children. I’ll do what’s best for them, even if it’s not something I want to do. Might as well get it through the ditzy little head of yours that their father”—she spit the words—“will do the same.”

With that, she spun on her heel and stomped across the room. I took a deep breath, my eyes moving over my friends, thankful all of them seemed engrossed in their own conversations. Out of everything that Julie had just said, my mind was caught on one thing.

Janet is a Carson. That’s a fact. 

Janet was a Carson. Maybe not by blood, but by name. Mike and Julie had been married when she’d been born. Why had I not thought of that before? That meant that Janet was legally Mike’s daughter. Didn’t that mean he had a legal right to her? I needed to call my sister.

I pulled my phone out of the back pocket of my jeans and started to dial her number. Feeling like there were eyes on me, I glanced up to find Julie glaring at me from across the room. I couldn’t talk to Anneslee with her watching me—not about this.

I paused, thinking about the places I could go. The bathroom was too risky, because hagface could walk in and hear me. The hall wasn’t an option because Mike could overhear the conversation, and I didn’t want him to know until I had definite proof. I could head to my dressing room—Lia had given us the venue tour earlier so I knew where it was. Mike would be pissed that I’d left without security. But if I rushed down there, made the call, and then hurried back before his meeting was over, he’d never know.

Peterson, the mammoth of a man that Sammy had brought on for this tour, stopped me as soon as I opened the door. “I need you to go back inside, Ms. Ray.”

I put my hands on my hips and gave him my best diva look. “I’m going to my dressing room.”

He held out a hand. “No, you’re staying here until Carson gets back.”

“He’s meeting me there.” I held up my phone. “I just got the text.” Ugh. I hated to lie. If this hadn’t been so damn important, I would have just gone back inside and waited.

Peterson looked at my phone then back at me. “I didn’t get anything.”

“Does he know your number?” I asked, digging myself a deeper hole. “He said the meeting was running late and that I needed to get to makeup, so he’d meet me there.”

Peterson didn’t look convinced.

“He’s gonna be pissed at me if I’m late. Then he’s gonna be pissed at you for making me late.”

I saw the change instantly and knew I’d won. I hated knowing that my white lies could get this man in trouble, and hoped that no one would know. But the longer he kept me here, the more chance I had of getting caught. I gave him puppy dog eyes.

“Fine. Go. Tell Carson that next time he wants to change the plan, he needs to let me know. I can’t do my damn job if they leave me out of the loop.” He grumbled, shooing me away with his hand.

I nodded and turned, trying not to hurry away. Once I rounded the corner, though, I broke into a sprint, thankful I was still wearing jeans and sneakers. I headed straight to the room that had been assigned to me for the next two nights. As soon as the door closed behind me, I pressed Anneslee’s contact button and held the phone to my ear.

“She lives!” my sister announced in greeting. “I thought we’d be playing the epic game of phone tag a little longer.”

I smiled, happy to hear her voice. After I’d had Bryant, I’d been lost and didn’t know where to go. Anneslee took me in with open arms, and we’d been extremely close ever since. She was old enough to be my mom, and I’m sure she thought of me more like the daughter she’d never had than her little sister. “You’re it.” I heard people talking in the background and knew instantly she wasn’t alone. “You got a minute?”

“For you? I’ve got two. How in the hell are you?”

“I promise I’ll call and catch up soon. But I’ve only got a few minutes. Are you still dating the lawyer?”

She laughed. “Fucking. I was fucking the lawyer. I’m dating the investment banker—the lawyer’s best friend,” she clarified. “But yes, I’m still fucking the lawyer.”

I shook my head. Leave it to my big sister—she got more play than women half her age. And they say men only want young beauty queens. Please. My sister could put any gold-digger to shame. I wanted to hear more about this sordid little love triangle, but I was on a time crunch. “He’s in family law, right? Or was that someone else?” I honestly couldn’t remember, there were just so many in the revolving door of men that my sister dated.

“Yes, he practices family law.”

“Can you ask him a question for me? Or is that overstepping?”

She cackled. “Please. Honey, I’ll ask him whatever you need me to. Hell, I’ll have him call you if you want me to. The things I do to that man guarantee me free legal advice whenever I need it.” I hoped she was joking. “Why, what’s up?”

“I need to find out what rights a legal father has. If he has any rights to the child at all.”

“Hold on.” Her tone had changed, no longer playful. “Okay, people, meeting’s over. I need the room.” I heard her slap her hands, as if to hurry them out. Only high-level executives would stop a work meeting to have a personal conversation, and then end the meeting early to finish said conversation in private.

A few seconds later the background noise was gone and she came back on the phone. “What does he want now?”

I shook my head, not knowing what she was talking about. “Huh? Who?”

She didn’t listen. “I told him when he was here that he could shit in his hat. The adoption had been finalized and there hadn’t been a paternity test, so he didn’t have a leg to stand on. He wasn’t getting anything, not money and definitely not information on Bryant. Not from me, and certainly not from you. I told him if he came within five feet of you again that I’d slap him with a restraining order so fast his head would spin. Stalking itself may not be illegal, but harassment is. Those letters he sent were enough proof—and we had no doubt they were from him—any judge would grant an order of protective. I thought the ass would slink back into his hole. Apparently, I overestimated his intelligence.”

My heart sunk, my stomach filling with dread as I listened to her talk. I didn’t know what she was talking about, but it wasn’t good. “Anneslee,” I croaked, my lips and throat dry, “what are you talking about?”

She was quiet for a second. “What are you talking about?” she whispered, as if afraid of my answer.

“I was calling for a friend. He has a daughter…”

Her sharp intake of breath made me close my eyes.

“What is going on, Annie?”

“Sunny,” she started, “I think you need to talk to Eli.”

“Eli?” I wracked my brain, trying to remember the last time I’d had more than a five minute conversation with my sister and couldn’t. “Eli doesn’t work for me anymore. He hasn’t for months.” When she didn’t immediately respond, I demanded, “Start at the beginning.”

“I don’t know when it started, honestly I don’t. All I know is that last May, a man started stopping by here, demanding to see me. My secretary told him over and over that if he wanted to see me, he needed to make an appointment. He wouldn’t leave more than his first name, Jim, and instead came the next week. He was relentless, coming back over and over.

“Finally, I got tired of him showing up and spending all afternoon in my waiting room, so I agreed to see him.” She swallowed loud enough for me to hear. “He knew who you were—knew that Georgeanne Davis was now Molly Ray. He had a large file with him. Hundreds of pictures of you, kid. Magazine articles, too. It was creepy. He was creepy!

“Then he had photos of you that I hadn’t seen. Actual snapshots. Some of you pregnant, some of you after you’d had the baby. He claimed he was Kevin’s brother and that he wanted to know where his niece or nephew was. He said that if I didn’t tell him, he was going to go to the tabloids and sell his story. He said you couldn’t keep his family from him.”

Kevin’s brother Jim? I wracked my brain, trying to remember the time of my life I’d spent years trying to forget. We never spent any time at Kevin’s house, simply because his dad was such a jerk. But, there’d been the times I’d gone to church with Roxy just so I could see my boyfriend…then it hit me. Kevin had had a little brother, Jamie.

Jamie was four or five years younger than us, someone not even on our radar because he’d still been a kid while we were dating. And we’d been so wrapped up in each other, we didn’t pay much attention to anything but each other. Jamie had been just a slip of a kid, not someone who would leave an impression. I’d never given him a second thought.

Guilt over Kevin and Bryant hit, just like it did every time I thought about them. This time, though, it was enough to make me feel like the room was closing in on me. I felt like I was going to throw up.

“I remember him, just barely,” I whispered, even though I hated admitting that. “But if he wanted information, why not go through Kevin? It’s been eleven years since I let home. Almost eleven since Bryant was born. Not once has Kevin contacted me. Not once has he told me he knew what I did. Or asked if he could see him.”

“Georgeanne.” The way she said my name sucked the air from my lungs. It was the way you spoke to a child when you had something really horrible to tell them. It said, “I love you, everything is going to be okay, but your heart is going to break before it gets better.” I didn’t want to hear what she was going to say. I needed to hang up the phone, but I couldn’t.

“I can’t.”

“Honey, I need you to listen to me, okay? Stay with me and pay attention.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me, because I couldn’t begin to form words.

“I know this is hard. This is not a conversation we should have over the phone.”

This was a conversation we should never have to have. I knew immediately, even without her saying it. My heart broke. For the boy I once loved with all my heart. For my son, who would never meet the man that helped create him. And for me, because I would never get to say goodbye or tell him I was sorry for keeping him in the dark.

“When?” I asked, realizing too late that tears were streaming down my cheeks.

“Georgea—”

“When, Anneslee? When did he die?”

She sighed. “I’m not sure.”

“How long have you known?”

“I didn’t know until his brother told me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I wasn’t angry with her, none of this was her fault. I only wanted the facts.

“Eli. You were having a hard time, the tabloids were eating you alive. He was worried about how you’d handle it. And when the letters started coming, we got even more worried.”

That was the second time she’d said something about letters. “What letters? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Eli…” She paused, as if she didn’t know what to say.

“Never told me anything about any of this,” I finished for her. “Please?” It was a plea from a desperate person who didn’t want to be in the dark anymore.

“They were cryptic bible verses. Completely random and left open to interpretation. However, when they were combined with Jim’s visits and his threats, I was worried about you. I called Eli and we agreed to keep as much of it from you as we could, so you could focus on your life and the music.”

Eli had known about those pathetic letters for months and hadn’t felt the need to mention them to me. Instead, I’d had to find out when I opened one myself. Not that I took them seriously, but still. Mike had worried about them, and had thought they were some kind of veiled threat.

Something Anneslee had said popped into my mind. “Threats? What threats?”

“I don’t want you to worry, because Eli said he’d handled it and there was nothing to worry about.”

“Well, Eli isn’t handling anything anymore. Please, just tell me what you know.”

She inhaled slowly. “You have nothing to worry about, honey. I swear to you. You’re safe and nothing will happen. It was Jim, sweetie. He said that he was going to make you suffer the way his brother had. That he’d show you what it felt like to wonder where your child was.”

My legs refused to hold my weight as my body started to shake uncontrollably. I fell to the floor in a heap, closing my eyes to force the nausea away. I could hear my sister calling to me, but she was so far away I didn’t answer. None of this was real, it couldn’t be. I’d just wanted to find out about Mike’s parental rights, and instead, I found out so much more.

This was not how this day was supposed to go. Hell, this wasn’t how my life was supposed to go. I demanded a do-over. I put my head on my knees and cried until I had nothing left. Then I curled up in myself and fell asleep.