Chapter 27

Skye

“And what else did the cow do?” I ask Trinity as we talk about her day when I collect her from school.

She giggles. “He went, moo, moo.” She waves the picture around that she drew in class. It has a flying cow, along with stick figures of me, Gabe, Daisy and Geraldine, who’s also flying with what looks to be like a suitcase alongside her.

“There’s also a chicken!” She points at the swirly ball with two red stick legs. “And she goes cluck, cluck, cluck.”

This kid is so fun to be around. I swear I’d babysit her for free just to get to listen to her funny stories.

“I love all the colors you used. Does Daisy have a pink bow on?”

That part was definitely drawn by a teacher, as it’s too precise.

“Yes! Miss Saunders, she helped because I told her Daisy was a girl.”

“That’s right. Maybe we can get Daisy’s food ready when we get home, and her puppy milk.”

“Yes! And we can bake a cake for Gwewaldine.” It’s so cute how she says her name.

“I think that sounds like an awesome idea.”

“Me too.”

My phone rings and I hit the Bluetooth speaker. It’s Gabe.

“Hey,” he says. “Have you got Trin?” He sounds panicked.

“Yes, she’s right here with me and Daisy.”

“Hi Daddy! Moo, moo, that’s the cow I dwew for you in art and cwaft.”

“That’s great honey. Skye, can you pull over and take me off speaker, please?”

Panic races through me now, too. I do as he says, pulling into a parking space along the main street.

“Is everything okay?”

“The school just called. They said some woman was hanging around the gate, talking to Trin specifically.”

“Oh, she never said anything.”

“Can you ask her what happened? They weren’t really sure. The woman took off before the teacher could find out who it was. I’m heading home soon.”

“Of course. I’ll call you when we get back.”

“Okay, thank you.”

We hang up, and I turn to Trinity. She’s stroking Daisy’s head as I give her a soft smile.

“Daddy just told me a woman came to the gate at school, honey. Can you tell me who she was?”

Trinity shakes her head. “Nope. But she didn’t know the password. Do you know the password, Skye?”

My heart feels a little relief that she remembered that. “Yes, sweetie, I do. It’s cupcake. And when she didn’t know the password, what did you do?”

She thinks for a second. “I ran back to the teacher and told her.”

“Very good girl. Because we know that nobody is allowed to talk to you or collect you except for me, Daddy, Geraldine, and who else?”

She claps her hands. “Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Georgia!”

“Anyone else?”

“Uncle Book, and Uncle Gray-Gray and Uncle Bow-Bow.”

“Good girl, and anyone else is a stranger, and we mustn’t talk to strangers. What you did was a very big girl thing. You always go get the teacher.” Adrenaline runs through my veins. I mean, who would be hanging around the gate trying to talk to her?

“Can you remember what she looked like?”

“Yep! She had bouncy curls like yours, but hers was yellow.”

“Oh, she had blonde hair? Like Aunt Celeste?”

“Yep! Can we go now? I’m hungry.”

I nod, reaching down to my purse in the console and I pull out the snacks. “Here you go, honey. Just choose one, as we don’t want to spoil dinner.”

The whole way home, I’m nervous about this stranger. And while it may be nothing, it still feels weird. It’s not like you can be too careful these days.

Trinity hums and sings and eats her popcorn snack while I drive the rest of the way back to Gabe’s.

I no sooner get in, letting Daisy out into the yard, when Gabe’s calling me again.

Trinity tugs on my shirt. “Can I color on the iPad?” she whines. As I need to distract her, I set it up.

“For fifteen minutes, then we’re going to make Geraldine’s cake,” I tell her. Then to Gabe I say, “Hey.”

I leave her at the table where I can see her and go outside to fetch Daisy who’s wrestling with a pot plant.

“Did she say anything? The school is totally useless — they’re going to go back on the security footage.” He’s agitated and I get why.

“She didn’t have the password,” I tell him, knowing he’ll be proud. “So she ran to get the teacher.”

“Oh, thank God.”

“She told me she had golden hair like Celeste, but bouncy curls like mine. Sound like anyone you know?” I pull the plastic pot out of Daisy’s mouth and throw her toy, so she’ll chase that instead.

He goes quiet. “You’re shitting me?”

“No. Who is it, Gabe?”

“Fucking piece of shit,” he mutters. “It has to be her. But why would she be coming to Trin’s school?”

This can’t be good. “Who?”

“Tiffany. The woman who gave birth to my daughter. Not that I’d call her a mother. Why the fuck she’s here, I don’t know.” His tone is angry, and I can hardly blame him.

“Well, we don’t know anything yet. Maybe check the security footage and we’ll go from there. Find out what she wants.”

“If she thinks she can waltz back into town and take my kid from me…” He trails off.

“I’m sure she’s not doing that, but we’ll get to the bottom of it.” I glance through the window and see Trinity chatting away to herself as she colors. She’s such a sweet little thing. “She’s home safe and we’re all okay, so don’t be rushing home like a madman.”

“I’m leaving now. I’m going to stop off at school to check the security footage.”

“Okay. Well, drive safe. We’ll be here.”

“I’ll pick up some dinner.”

“If it’s okay, we’re going to make Geraldine a cake.”

“You don’t have to ask me if it’s okay to cook.”

I smile. “Alright. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t overstaying my welcome.”

He sounds equally frustrated as he is annoyed. “You’re not doing that. I want to see you, if you’d like to have dinner with us.”

I smile. “Thanks, Gabe, that would be nice.”

“I’ll be home in an hour.”

We hang up and Daisy follows me into the house as I get the cake baking things ready on the counter. I hope for Gabe’s sake that it isn’t his ex back to haunt him. It gives me an uneasy feeling in my gut as I think about how that exchange would go.

What if she’s back? What if she wants custody? I mean, I don’t know if she’s paid any kind of child support, but from what I’ve heard from everyone all over town, she abandoned them. So I doubt she can just come back and have some claim over their daughter. Then again, I don’t know how these things work.

It might be a question for Hartley.

By the time Gabe gets home, it’s almost dark. His tie is loose with his suit jacket thrown over his arm, his hair is ruffled; he looks about as unkempt as I’ve ever seen him.

Trinity greets him the usual way; wrapping her arms around his legs. He lifts her into his arms and gives her a hug, then kisses her face and head until she’s giggling and telling him to put her down. He looks over at me and gives me a chin lift.

Something’s definitely off.

Daisy jumps up at his shins, and he leans down to pat her head.

“How was your day?” I ask, before he can give me the Spanish Inquisition all over again.

Trinity runs off to get her picture, which she laid out on the dining table.

“About as good as it can get when you find out your ex-wife has been hanging around your child’s school.”

My eyes go wide as I lower my voice. “So, it was her?”

He loosens his shirt. “Yes,” he hisses. “I’ve tried calling her, but she’s not picking up.”

“Why would she come here after all this time?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. But I can only think of one reason. I already called Hartley.” He runs a hand through his hair, but before he can say anything else, Trinity comes running back with her picture.

“Daddy, Daddy look!” She waves it at him. “I dwew a moo moo.”

He takes it off her and crouches down, looking at the picture — and her — like she’s the most precious thing in the world. It’s adorable. There is nothing this man won’t do for this kid, that much I know.

“I can see Daisy too, and is that Geraldine with a suitcase?”

She nods with vigor. “And you, Daddy. And Skye. This one’s a chicken.”

“Oh, honey, that’s so pretty.” I can hear the strain in his voice. “I’m going to take it to work and hang it in front of my desk so I can look at it all day long.” He cups her little face as she beams up at him. “I need you to go wash up for dinner, okay?”

“Okay!” She zooms off with Daisy hot on her heels and I take the takeout bags from him as he picks them up off the floor.

“Jesus, this is a mess.”

“I know that it’s not great, but we need to find out what the heck she’s doing here, what she wants. Maybe she was just curious, after all this time?”

He glances up at me. “You know by now what this woman did to us.”

I nod. “Yes, and it’s horrendous.” I cup his face as he tries to hold it together.

“What if she’s back to try to take her from me?”

“She can’t do that,” I whisper.

He has tears in his eyes as he imagines such a travesty. “How do we know? She could just swoop in and try to take her away. She’s the mother. We all know that only ten percent of men ever get custody in most cases.”

“She abandoned you,” I say. It’s blunt, but he has to hear it. “Has she ever paid child support?” He shakes his head. “So, she would have no legal grounds to take her anywhere. And we don’t even know that’s what she wants yet.”

“I called Hartley. She’s going to call me tomorrow. She was still in a meeting, but said not to worry. If Tiffany did come back, it would be unlikely she’d be given anything but visitation.”

I squeeze his arm. “I’m so sorry. I know this can’t be easy for you.”

He stares at me. “She broke me and took my heart, stomped on it, and left. Leaving our baby, too. She was only two months old. I did everything I could. I wanted her to have counseling. Whatever it took,” he says. “I can’t say I know shit about post-natal, or even if that’s what she had or even why she no longer wanted to be married or be a mother. Just that she ‘wasn’t feeling it’ and couldn’t do it. Can you believe this shit?”

I smile sympathetically as I let him rant. He needs to get it out.

“She never contacted me once — only for the divorce — I gave her time, years, to have ample opportunity to be in her life, even visitation. She didn’t have to do anything but be there. But — of course — she was too shallow and selfish to give two shits about either of us. She wanted to further her career. And you know what gets me the most? The fact she chose to leave Trinity. I can understand if she fell out of love with me; since I’m such a shit husband, but to leave a two-month-old? She was so tiny. I held her in these hands.” He waves them at me as I bite my lip to save from crying. My poor, broken man. My heart aches for him.

“I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but you were clearly better off. She chose her path, and she has to live with it. I’m sure that she has regrets. How could you not? But it doesn’t mean she’s back, okay? Talk to Hartley. We’ll get a plan in place.”

He stares down at me. “I like it when you say we.”

“I didn’t mean it like that… or to impose…”

He pulls me to him, his mouth crashing to mine. He lifts me and before I know it, I’m being pinned to the pantry door and his erection digs into my stomach.

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back.

This beautiful, passionate man.

“I want you so bad,” he says.

“Gabe, Trinity is about to come back…”

He kisses me again, hard. Leaving no doubt about what his intentions are.

“You’re so soft and beautiful,” he mutters. “So precious. You’re too good for me. I don’t deserve this, or you.”

I stare down at him in shock. I cup his face. My heart hammers in my chest as I hear and see the pain. I want to make it better, but I don’t know how. “That’s where you’re wrong. You do deserve it. And no matter what happens, I’m going to be here. Even as a friend.”

“Skye, I don’t want you as a friend,” he grunts against my lips. “I never have. I want you…I want so much more… Fuck… I’m doing this all wrong…”

We hear Trinity long before we see her and I slide down the pantry door as I land on my feet and he steps away, adjusting his dick through his pants as I move to the cupboard to grab the plates.

“Dinner time!” she sings. “Daddy, can Daisy have her dinner too?”

“We already fed her,” I tell Gabe quietly.

He pulls his loose tie completely off and lays it over the back of the dining chair with his jacket. “She can have some milk before bed, but she ate earlier, honey.”

“Oh!” she giggles. “I forgot.”

He strokes her on the head as I pull out the Chinese containers onto the counter.

I’ve never seen Gabe so broken. So downtrodden. So scared.

I vow right then and there that no matter what, I will be here for him. For Trinity, too.

It doesn’t matter about anything right now. We just have to get through tonight.

It’ll all be okay.

And if it’s not, then we will find a way to make it better somehow tomorrow.