Текст книги "Elusive Love"

Автор книги: K. A. Robinson

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

I shook my head to clear it as the man released the woman, and they started walking toward me. I was about to reach for the handle on my car door when the man stopped dead. His eyes were on me, a look of horror on his face. It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.

Joey was the man. The baby in that woman’s arms was Amelia.

My keys fell from my hands as Joey and I stared at each other. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

“Joey, what’s wrong?” the woman asked.

I peeled my eyes away from Joey and focused on her. She was a stranger to me—a pretty stranger but a stranger all the same. Her hair was a dark chestnut color. She was tiny, slim in all the places I wished I were, all the places Joey had wished I were. Her features were delicate—a tiny nose, pouty small lips.

“Caley,” Joey called my name as he started walking toward me.

I took a step back as he approached.

It seemed like eternity before I finally found my voice. “You bastard!” It seemed I had found my voice and then some. My words had been loud. I’d shouted them without even meaning to.

“Caley, let me explain. Please.” He reached the front of my car but stopped. Clearly, he’d realized that coming any closer would be bad for his health.

“I have all but begged you to sign those divorce papers. I agreed to give you time to think it over because I knew you didn’t want a divorce. I tried to reason with you over and over, explaining how neither of us was happy and that we’d be better off apart. You completely ignored me.”

“Caley…” He trailed off.

“You don’t want a divorce, but here you are, kissing another woman in broad daylight. A woman who is holding my child!” I shouted.

“Let me explain,” he begged.

The woman had walked over to us. She stood only a few feet behind Joey with Amelia still in her arms. Her gaze darted back and forth between Joey and me, a distraught look on her face.

“There’s nothing to explain!” I shouted as I marched toward him, past him, and to the woman. “Give me my daughter.”

“Joey, what do I do?” the woman asked as she tried to back away.

“Give me my daughter, you bitch!” I shrieked before I lunged at her.

She let out a squeal as I grabbed Amelia and pulled her to my chest. I turned and tried to get back to my car.

But Joey stopped me. “I’m not going to just let you walk away from me! If you do, you’ll never listen to reason later.”

“I don’t want to hear it, Joey. I’m finished with you.” I glared. “I want a goddamn divorce, and if you refuse to willingly give it to me, I will take everything from you, including Amelia. I’m sure there’s no judge alive who wouldn’t award me full custody after learning that you’ve been screwing around behind my back for God knows how long.” I knew I was being a hypocrite, but I was too angry in that moment to care. “All those days and weekends you had to work late or were out of town? They were probably just lies to cover up what you were really doing.”

When Joey hadn’t denied it, I fought the urge to scream. I forced it away because I had to. Amelia was in my arms, looking up at me as if she knew something was terribly wrong.

“Caley?” a voice called from behind Joey.

I looked around him to see Ethan walking toward us, a concerned look on his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Who the hell are you?” Joey asked as he turned to face him.

For weeks, my greatest fear had been Joey and Ethan coming face-to-face with each other. Now that they were, all I felt was relief. If Joey refused to let me leave, Ethan would help me.

“My name is Ethan. I’m a friend of hers,” Ethan said, his tone cold.

I’d never heard him sound like that before.

Joey looked back at me. “A friend, huh? I don’t remember her mentioning you before. Clearly, you’re not that important to her, so why don’t you stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and move along?”

Ethan glanced at me before returning his attention to Joey. “You might not know me, but I certainly know you. I think maybe it’s best that you move along before something regrettable goes down here.”

Joey laughed. “Something regrettable? Really?”

“Joey, shut up,” I snapped. “I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not. I won’t let you go anywhere until we talk—alone.”

“Let her go,” Ethan said.

Joey took a step closer to Ethan, his body tight with tension, his hands balled into fists at his sides. If it had been me he was walking toward, I would have turned and ran. I could read his body language, and I knew he was looking for a fight.

“You’re just asking to have your ass kicked, aren’t you?” Joey asked. He moved so that he was standing directly in front of Ethan. “I suggest you leave before something regrettable happens to you.”

Things seemed to speed up after that. Ethan drew back and punched Joey square in the face. The next thing I knew, they were both on the ground, kicking and punching each other like they wanted the other one dead.

I could hear someone screaming, and it took me a moment to realize it was the woman Joey had been kissing—no, it wasn’t just her. I was screaming, too. Ethan’s name escaped my lips over and over again, but I didn’t dare move closer to them with Amelia in my arms.

Neither of them would give up. I kept waiting for them to pull apart, but they never did—not willingly at least. Instead, two uniformed officers appeared from nowhere and pulled them away from each other. I watched what was happening in front of me in complete disbelief. The officers forced them onto their stomachs on the ground. Before I could blink, Ethan and Joey had handcuffs on their wrists.

Joey continued to struggle on the ground, clearing not ready to give up the fight. That had always been his problem. He never knew when to stop. Even with a police officer’s knee in his back, Joey wouldn’t back down. Add in his fiery temper that took almost nothing to evoke, and he was someone you didn’t want to mess with.

He had hidden his temper from me until after we had gotten married. It was probably because he knew it would have scared me away. He was right. If I had seen him act the way he was now before we were married, I would have run. I might have been clingy and desperate for love, but even I wasn’t so desperate that I would have taken a raging bull as my husband.

Ethan, on the other hand, lay perfectly still on the ground. The cop holding him down stood and helped his partner get control of Joey.

“Settle down now!” the cop on top of Joey said, using a tone that said he was about two seconds away from showing a temper of his own.

It took a few more minutes of struggling before Joey finally realized he wasn’t going anywhere. He stopped fighting and lay face down on the ground, panting hard from struggling so much.

I stood only a few feet away from both men and the officers, unable to believe what was happening. The red and blue lights of the police cruiser flashed behind me, reflecting off the windshields of the cars around us. I had no idea how I hadn’t noticed them pulling in. Obviously, I had been too focused on Ethan and Joey beating the hell out of each other.

Once the officers were sure Joey wouldn’t start struggling again, they patted him and Ethan down before rolling them onto their backs. Horror filled me when I got a look at Ethan’s and Joey’s faces. There was blood everywhere, enough that it had run down their faces and now soaked the front of their shirts. I couldn’t tell who looked worse. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

Both men were helped up and taken to separate sides of the parking lot. I stood, transfixed, in the lot, unsure of where to go or what to do.

“This is insane!” a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see the woman Joey had been with.

She was standing only a few feet away, shaking like a leaf. “I didn’t sign up for this. I’m leaving.”

“I don’t think you can leave,” I pointed out. “The police saw both of us here. I’m sure they want to talk to us.”

She shook her head. “Who are you?”

I bristled at her question. All we need is for another fight to break out, I thought sarcastically. I managed to keep my voice calm as I said, “I’m Joey’s wife—well, soon-to-be ex-wife.”

The look of mortification and guilt on her face told me what I’d needed to know. She’d known he was married. He hadn’t lied his way into her pants. No, she was as guilty as he was.

“Are you Ms. Sanders?” a male voice asked from behind me.

I turned away from the woman to see one of the officers standing in front of me.

Talk about perfect timing.

He’d just saved that woman from my wrath. She was nothing more than a dirty homewrecker.

“I am.” I nodded.

He looked over at the woman. “And you’re Ms. Jefferies?”

“Yes,” the woman said from behind me.

Jefferies. Well, at least I knew part of her name now.

“Ms. Sanders, can you come over here with me, please?” the officer asked. “Ms. Jefferies, please stick around. I’ll need to speak with you.”

With Amelia still in my arms, I followed the officer over to his patrol car. I couldn’t believe that she hadn’t made a fuss yet. Maybe she realized that something bad was happening. Whatever the reason, I was grateful. I couldn’t see myself struggling with a baby in my arms while trying to talk to the police.

“Ms. Sanders, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Caley, please. I hate being called Mrs. or Ms. anything,” I said.

He smiled at me. “Fair enough, Caley. My name is Officer Bradshaw. My partner over there with your husband is Officer Daniels. I’ve talked with both Joey and Ethan, but I’d like to hear from you what exactly happened here today.”

I swallowed roughly. “Okay.”

He smiled encouragingly. “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”

“I was unlocking my car when I saw Joey. Uh, he’s my husband,” I said, stumbling over my words. I’d never talked to a cop before, and I would be lying if I said they didn’t make me a little bit nervous. “Anyway, I saw Joey and that woman kissing. I’ve never seen the woman before in my life. She was holding my daughter, Amelia, and I got upset. I went over and grabbed Amelia away from her. I tried to leave, but Joey stopped me. He wanted to explain, not that there’s any way to explain what he was doing, but I told him to leave me alone. He kept blocking me, and that’s when my friend Ethan showed up. He must have seen me and then realized something was wrong. When he tried to help me, Joey went after him. He hit Ethan, and it just took off from there.”

I was lying, I knew I was, but I didn’t care. There was no way I would let Ethan take the fall for this. He was the one who had thrown the first punch, which put him at fault. I guessed it was safe to say where my loyalties were—with Ethan. I would throw Joey under the bus if that meant Ethan wouldn’t be in trouble.

“So, basically, Ethan tried to help you get away from your husband, and that’s what caused the fight.”

I nodded.

“Okay, good. I just want to make sure I understand. Did you fear for your life when your husband wouldn’t let you leave?”

I shook my head. “No, I was holding Amelia. He wouldn’t hurt her.”

“But he would hurt you?” the officer asked, his voice softening, as if he already knew the answer.

“My husband and I are getting a divorce,” I explained, hoping to change the subject. “I’ve tried to get him to agree to one, but he’s refused. I think that, after today, he should be more than willing. I mean, he’s clearly cheating on me.”

The officer scratched his head. “Your husband refuses to divorce you, but he’s cheating on you?”

“Life’s screwy, isn’t it?” I asked, my sarcasm clear. I regretted the words as soon as they’d come out of my mouth. I didn’t want the officer to think I was being smart with him.

I was relieved when he laughed.

“Yes, I suppose it is. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk with Ms. Jefferies. Stick around for me though, just in case I have any more questions.”

“I will,” I said.

He headed over to where the woman was standing. Amelia began to fuss in my arms, so I started bouncing her as I walked back and forth across the parking lot. She seemed determined to wiggle right out of my arms, but I tightly held her and begged her in shushed words to be good.

A few minutes later, I watched the officer I had spoken with walk over to Ethan, who was sitting on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, still cuffed. The officer crouched down in front of him. I edged closer to hear what was being said, but they were speaking too softly for me to hear.

I was relieved when Ethan stood, and the cop released the handcuffs from around his wrists. The officer frowned deeply as he said something else to Ethan. When Ethan nodded, the officer walked away. He headed over to where Joey was still cuffed, the other officer next to him. The officer spoke to Joey longer than he had with Ethan, but after a few tense minutes, Joey was released as well.

Joey stormed across the lot to his car. The woman followed quickly after him. He spared me a single glare before getting into his car. The woman barely had time to shut her door before he was pulling out of his spot. When he hit the main road, his tires spun, leaving marks on the blacktop. Needless to say, he was pissed.

I hurried over to where Ethan was standing. He stared down at his wrists, rubbing them.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Fine,” he muttered.

I knew he was lying. His face was a complete mess. His wrists weren’t bleeding, but they were red where the cuffs had rubbed against them.

“No, you’re not.” I repositioned Amelia on my hip. “You’re hurt.”

“You’re both free to go,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see one of the officers standing there, his gaze trained on me.

“If you have any more problems with Mr. Sanders, don’t hesitate to contact us. We let him go this time, but if he tries something else, he’ll have a county jail cell with his name on it. That goes for you, too, son. Stay out of trouble.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Ethan muttered.

“Thank you for everything,” I told the officer.

I decided then and there that cops weren’t so bad after all. They’d let Ethan and Joey go when they could have arrested them.

The officer nodded before turning and walking to his patrol car. His partner was already standing next to it, waiting for him to finish up with us. I watched them pull out of the lot before I turned back to Ethan.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. This wasn’t your fault,” Ethan said. “Joey is a dick. I knew something was wrong, so I intervened. You didn’t ask me to, so don’t try to put this on yourself. I knew what I was walking into before I even opened my mouth. I didn’t care.”

“Okay,” I said, not wanting to argue. “Come with me. We need to get you cleaned up.”

He shook his head. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

“I’m not letting you leave without me right now. I need you with me, so I can take care of you. At least let me do that much for you.”

He studied me for a moment. “Just follow me home then.”

“I can’t,” I explained. “I have Amelia now, and unless you have diapers and formula at your house, I have to go to my parents’.”

He groaned. “Then, come by after you’ve stopped there.”

I shook my head. “No. You’re staying with me. Come on. We’ll ride together.”

“Then, my car will be left here.”

“We can get it later,” I said stubbornly.

“You’re being a little melodramatic over this, Caley,” he grumbled. “Look, I’ll come with you to your parents’ house, but I’m driving my own car. Fair enough?”

I frowned. “I suppose. But if you try to go home, I will come after you.”

He grinned, but it quickly disappeared when it caused his busted lip to split open further. “Fuck, that hurts.”

“It looks like it does. Now, come on.”

I walked across the lot to my car. My keys were still lying on the ground where I’d first dropped them when I saw Joey. I scooped them up before opening the back door and buckling Amelia into her car seat. I closed her door and glanced over to make sure Ethan wasn’t trying to escape.

He was climbing into his own car, clearly not trying to speed away from me like I’d feared. I sighed in relief before glancing around the lot one final time. I noticed several people watching us. They’d apparently witnessed the less than spectacular show Ethan and Joey had put on. I looked away from them and climbed into my car.

I slowly drove home, my hands shaking on the steering wheel. There were so many things I didn’t understand about Joey, but his display this afternoon had taken the cake. I couldn’t grasp why he had refused to get a divorce if he was cheating on me. It was clear that he was as unhappy as I was, even more so now.

Why would he want us both to suffer? It made no sense.

I asked myself that question over and over again as I drove to my parents’ house, but I still had no answer when I pulled into the parking spot in front of their house. I looked in my rearview mirror to see Ethan parking behind me.

Deciding to worry about Joey later, I shut my car off and stepped out. After freeing Amelia from her seat, I walked up the steps of my parents’ porch with Ethan following behind me.

For once, I wasn’t worried about my mother. She would be sure to have something to say about Ethan’s appearance, but as far as I was concerned, she could kiss my ass. I was tired of fearing her wrath every damn time I stepped into the house.

As soon as I walked inside, I motioned for Ethan to follow me. We walked straight into the living room. My mom was sitting on the couch and my dad was sitting in his chair, watching television together.

“Where have you been?” my mother demanded as soon as she saw me.

Her eyes moved to Ethan as he appeared, and her mouth popped open in shock.

“Ethan?” my dad asked in disbelief.

“Uh, hi,” he said awkwardly.

I almost laughed. He could take on Joey with no problem, but one look from my father had him shifting uneasily. He was clearly uncomfortable.

“Who the hell is this? And what happened to him?” my mother asked.

“This is Ethan. He’s a friend, and we work together,” I told her. “I need you to watch Amelia for a few minutes while I clean him up.”

“What happened?” she demanded. “No offense to you, Ethan, but I don’t know you. You walk into my house, looking like you got into some kind of fight or accident, and I’m supposed to just let that go?”

“He did get into a fight,” I snapped. “He was defending me against my husband. It seems Joey—you know, that man you worship and have been trying to convince me to stay with—has been cheating on me all along. When I caught him, Ethan had to step in because Joey wouldn’t let me leave. I guess he’s not as good of a man as you thought he was, now is he?”

“I…I…” my mother stuttered, too shocked to form a coherent sentence.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go clean Ethan up.” I kissed Amelia on the forehead before placing her on the floor next to her toys. “Come on, Ethan.”

He followed me back out into the entryway and then down the hall to where the bathroom was.

When we walked in, I pointed to the tub. “Sit down there. And take your shirt off, so I can check you over.”

He mock-saluted me before peeling his shirt off and sitting down. I opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out cotton balls and peroxide. I set them on the counter before grabbing a washcloth and a hand towel out from underneath the sink. I ran the washcloth under warm water and wrung it out.

I turned back to Ethan and inspected him. His neck had a few spots with cuts and dried blood, probably from rolling around on the pavement. His chest had red spots on it but no blood. His face had the worst of it. There was a large cut on his forehead. The blood had run down into his eye and dried into a sticky mess. His lip was busted in the center, and it was still bleeding a little bit. His nose was busted as well. I could already see a bruise forming. His left eye was starting to bruise, too.

“You’re a mess,” I said as I knelt in front of him.

“But a sexy mess, right? I’ve always heard girls like the bad boy. I think a public fight ending in police custody puts me into the bad-boy category now.”

I laughed despite myself. “I’d much rather have you the way you always were. If you start acting like a delinquent, I might have to run away, screaming.”

I gently wiped the blood away, starting with his forehead and working my way down. He held perfectly still, not even wincing once, even though I knew it must hurt. Once his face was cleaned off, I grabbed a cotton ball and soaked it in peroxide. I tended to his cuts, wincing, when I made his lip start to bleed more.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I really am sorry.” I tossed the cotton ball in the garbage and grabbed another. “What did the officer say to you? I can’t believe that he just let you guys go.”

“They basically warned me that if I got into any more trouble, my happy ass would be spending a night or two in a jail cell. I think the fact that I didn’t act like a dick probably helped. They made sure we were both calm and that we had no intentions of going after each other again. They thought I was there by chance, so I doubt if they think Joey and I will run into each other again. Truthfully, I just think they wanted to avoid all the paperwork.”

“Well, I’m glad they let you go. If you had ended up in jail, I don’t know what I would have done,” I said as I finished cleaning his cuts. “I can’t believe you fought Joey for me.”

“The asshole had it coming. Truth be told, I’ve wanted to beat the shit out of him since you first started telling me how he treated you. It was only a matter of time before I got my chance.”

“I know. I just hoped that you two would never meet, especially like that.”

“So, what happens now?” Ethan asked.

“With Joey?”

He nodded.

“I’m going to give him time to cool down—a day or two tops. I’m done waiting around. Then, he’s going to meet me in a public place, and we’re going to get this shit taken care of. I’m tired of this game he’s playing. He gave me all the power today, and he knows it. If he doesn’t agree to the divorce, I’ll file on my own and hope I can find a cheap attorney, but I don’t think it will come to that. He knows that I’m the one in control of the situation, and if he wants to see Amelia, then he’ll work with me on this.”

Ethan shook his head. “I don’t understand this at all. Why would he fight you on the divorce when he was cheating on you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he’ll have some kind of excuse. It doesn’t matter though. This just solidifies my decision in my mind.” I paused. “It’s weird. I’ve spent so much of my adult life with him. You’d think I would be upset that he was disloyal, but I’m not. I couldn’t care less. The only thing I was upset over was the fact that he let that woman around my child. And today, when the cops asked me what had happened, my only concern was making sure you avoided trouble. I didn’t care at all what happened to him.”

Ethan grinned. “Gee, I guess you really do care about me.”

“Shut up, or I’ll make you bleed some more,” I threatened.

A knock sounded on the door a moment before it swung open.

My father stood in the doorway, looking half-pissed and half-uncertain. “Caley, Joey’s here,” he said.

I looked at him in utter disbelief. “I’m sorry. What?”

He glanced over at Ethan before looking at me again. “Joey is here. He’s adamant that he talks to you, but if you want me to, I’ll send him away.”

“He’s got some serious balls,” Ethan muttered.

I had to agree.

“No, I’ll talk to him. We might as well get this over with now,” I said as I stood. “Ethan, why don’t you hang around in here for a little bit? I don’t think seeing you will help Joey’s temperament any.”

“Hell no,” Ethan said as he stood. “I’m coming with you.”

I sighed but didn’t argue. There was no point. By the determined look on Ethan’s face, I knew he would follow me, no matter what I said.

My father led us back down the hallway and into the living room. Amelia was still on the floor, playing, with my mother next to her. Joey was sitting on the edge of my father’s chair, looking more uncomfortable than I’d ever seen him. The look of death my mother directed Joey’s way made me smile. It was nice to see someone else get that look once in a while.

The moment Joey saw me, he stood. His eyes flashed back to where Ethan stood behind me, and a look of rage crossed his face.

“What is he doing here?” Joey demanded.

“Not that it’s any concern of yours, but I’m cleaning up the mess you made.”

I looked Joey over. His face had been cleaned up as well. Maybe his new girlfriend had taken care of him. It gave me a smidge of satisfaction to see that he looked worse than Ethan.

“We need to talk,” Joey said, tearing his eyes away from Ethan to look at me.

“No shit,” I said, keeping my tone cold.

“Can we talk in private?” he asked.

My father took a step closer to me. “After what happened today, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“No, it’s fine,” I said. “We can go out onto the porch.” I didn’t want Joey to think I was afraid of him. I refused to give him an ounce of power over me.

“Caley—” Ethan started.

But I held up my hand. “I’ll be fine. If I need something, I’ll yell.”

No one seemed happy about letting me walk away with Joey, but they didn’t stop us either. We walked out onto the porch together. I sat down on the porch swing while Joey leaned up against the banister. Neither of us spoke. Joey seemed to be trying to avoid looking at me altogether.

“We’re alone, so talk,” I finally said when the silence became too much.

“Yeah, I guess we are.” Joey sighed. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How about her name? That’s a good place to start,” I said.

“Amanda,” he replied, sounding embarrassed. “Her name is Amanda.”

“How long have you two been together?”

He shrugged.

“Come on, Joey. All of this shit is out in the open now. You might as well tell me the whole truth. You gain nothing by hiding things.”

“Six months, or close to it,” he finally said after a moment.

“Was there anyone before her?” I asked.

He ran his hands through his hair. “About a year ago. It was the same deal as Amanda. I met her through work. The other one only lasted a week or two.”

I nodded. “Okay, this is good. We need to be honest with each other.”

“What about you and that guy in there? Ethan? Anything going on?”

Now, it was my turn to squirm. “He’s been there for me for the last few months. He’s a good friend.” I paused. “But I think he could be more once you and I are free to move forward. I care about him.”

He frowned. “Wow, we’re a stand-up couple, aren’t we? Both of us have been fucking around on the other.”

I didn’t deny his words, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the truth outright. Instead, I turned the conversation back to him. “We’re both miserable. That much is obvious,” I said, “My question is, do you love her? Or at least care about her?”

“I do,” he said.

“Then, why did you fight me so much about the divorce?” I asked, exasperated by the whole situation.

“Honestly? Because I thought we could still work shit out. We have a life together, and we have Amelia. Walking away with no fight at all felt like I was throwing that away.”

“Joey, you’ve treated me like shit for years now. You’ve been an awful husband. You drove me so far down into a depression that I was sure I’d never be able to claw my way out. To be blunt, you ruined just about every good part of my life. If it wasn’t for Amelia…” I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence. I’d never really dealt with the depth of my depression over the last few years, and I certainly wasn’t going to talk about it with Joey.

“I’m sorry,” he said simply.

“Sorry isn’t good enough. I think we both know that,” I said.

“I know.” He sighed. “So, what happens now?”

“Now, we move on from each other. We file for divorce—together. Amelia needs both of us in her life, and things will be so much simpler if we work together to make that happen.”

“You’re really not going to try to take her from me?” he asked skeptically. “Especially after today?”

I shook my head. “She’s your child, too, Joey. I wouldn’t do that unless you started treating her the way you treated me. The way I see it, you’re gone all week. I can have her then, and you can have her every weekend.”

He nodded. “I think that’s our best option. What happens if I find work locally and can spend more time with her?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I told him.

“This is really it, isn’t it?” he asked. There was no anger in his voice, only defeat.

“Yeah, it really is,” I said.

For a moment, I felt a pang of sympathy for not just him, but for myself as well. We’d spent years together, growing from teenagers into adults. We’d transitioned into this world of adulthood together.

“We had some good times, Joey, but the bad outweighed the good. Now, we can both move forward and find happiness.”

“I want us to be friends. Is that even possible?”

I hesitated before answering, “Yes, I think it’s possible, but it will take time. I’ve spent so long hating you that it’s all I know. For now, I think we should just aim for being cordial with each other, especially where Amelia is concerned.”

“It’s a start,” he said.

“It is,” I said. “Why don’t I come over to the apartment tomorrow, and we’ll fill out the paperwork together? We can file next week.”

“All right,” he said as he pushed away from the banister. “I guess that’s my cue to make myself scarce, isn’t it?”

I grinned. “Yes, I believe it is.”

He stood there awkwardly for a moment before nodding and turning away. I watched him walk down the porch steps and across the lawn to where his car was parked.

As he started the car and pulled away, I felt a tiny bit of loss. Deep, deep, deep down, Joey was a good man. Unfortunately, he’d lost that part of himself somewhere along the way. I hoped that he could find it one day and be the kind of man I’d always hoped he could be.

I sat out on the porch swing long after his car had disappeared from view, my mind too full to think of anything else but the way my life had changed so dramatically in such a short amount of time.

It was dark when the front door swung open. Ethan stepped out and walked over to the porch swing. He was silent as he sat down next to me. I noticed that he’d found a new clean shirt, free of blood. From the size of it, it looked like my father had loaned it to him. That made me smile. If my dad approved of Ethan, I knew I’d have no problem with my mother.