Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

Aelin fidgeted with her shirt as Ryan walked up the path with Amaya. She moved back from the window framing the door so she wouldn't look like she'd been watching for them. She was hoping to go for an Oh, you're here already? look instead of I changed my shirt and pulled my hair up five minutes ago .

She'd been thinking about the Dusty Rose nonstop. What exactly had she said to him outside of the washroom? The whole interaction was fuzzy, but he'd smiled at her. She'd told him about seeing him over video chat, and the moment she'd remembered that tidbit, she'd wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Hopefully he'd been too far gone to remember?

It was stupid how nervous he made her, especially since there was no way she was going to do anything about it. He was married. Full stop. But she couldn't kick the compulsion to want to impress him anyway.

Ryan knocked, and she waited a few seconds before swinging the door wide. He wore joggers and a T-shirt, and his hair was deliciously mussed.

Aelin smiled stiffly. "Hey."

Ryan fidgeted with his keys. "Hey."

Amaya ducked under her arm, dropped her bag and pillow, and called for Bailey. When Ryan didn't move to come in, Aelin stepped out onto the porch.

Ryan took a step back. "Thanks for doing this. I wasn't going to ask, but something came up at work."

"Oh? Not good?"

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, and the flush on his skin made her hands start to sweat. "Not great, no."

"Sorry to hear that." Aelin crossed her arms in front of her. He wasn't meeting her eyes. He normally looked at her, didn't he? What had she said at the bar?

He exhaled, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Amaya will be safe here, right?"

Aelin frowned. What kind of question was that? "My top priority is always safety."

Ryan glanced up at her tone. "I didn't mean it like that."

"How did you mean it, then?" Their first encounter on the porch came swinging back into focus. Was she not allowed to ever be human? She got drunk at the bar, and now he was judging her parenting? "If this is about the other night?—"

"It's about your ex." He looked up, finally meeting her gaze. "I didn't think to ask about it, but then I was driving her over here and . . . I got nervous."

Aelin's hands started to tingle. "Right. Yeah. That makes sense."

"Does he come over here?"

"No. Hell, no." She stepped forward to the railing and leaned against the porch rail. "He only came the other day because his sister told him I was locked out."

Ryan nodded. "He has a key to the house."

"Mmhmm. The house is technically in his name, but our contract states he's not allowed to come here without asking me first. The other day was an anomaly. He took advantage of it."

Ryan exhaled, turning and dropping his hands onto the rail. "What's to stop him from taking advantage again?"

Aelin's thoughts splintered just like they did every night when she was crawling into bed. What if Clark had a bad night? What if he got a crazy idea in his head and drove over in the middle of the night? He'd never been violent, but he'd come close. Two weeks before he moved out, he'd cussed her out and turned so red in the face, she shook for an hour after he left.

But he hadn't broken the terms of their agreement, and there was only one reason why. "I don't think he will. His strategy is to make my home life look unstable so he can upend the custody arrangement. He only had every other weekend through the school year, but now it's summer, and next year will be Bailey's last year at this school." She blew out a breath and turned toward him. "I don't think he'll do anything that could look terrible for him in court."

Ryan clicked his tongue. "At least he has one priority straight."

She scoffed. "Not even close. He doesn't give a shit about custody. He only wants me to lose." Aelin thought back to Clark sitting across the table from her at the last mediation.

"Wouldn't it be best for us to share the same home? It would give her more stability." Clark was fighting for her to move out every other week, and live . . . where? With what money?

Aelin rubbed her arms, the cool night air making her shiver. "He's a narcissist. It's not about Bailey. It's never been about Bailey. It's about him looking good and me looking bad. He wants control. But at least for now, that's working in my favour."

She'd been doing nothing but gathering evidence about Clark's lack of involvement in their daughter's life and his manipulative and abusive behaviour. She had records showing when and where he'd cheated, and she was working on getting his tax records.

Ryan nodded, his expression unreadable. "Right. Well, I hope it all works out."

"Thanks." She forced a smile. "I'm sorry my personal situation isn't ideal."

Ryan huffed a laugh. "Whose is? "

Something flickered behind his eyes, and Aelin had so many questions she wanted to ask him. Besides hearing his wife was in the hospital, she knew nothing about his life. Just as she was mustering the courage to open the topic, Ryan gave a polite smile and stepped back.

"Thanks again. I'll get here around five thirty tomorrow. She should have everything she needs." He paused at the steps.

"Right. Sounds good. We're going to a park tomorrow."

Ryan nodded once, then turned and walked to his car.

_____

The girls stayed up too late that night watching a movie and painting their nails, and Aelin didn't regret the mess for a second. She'd always felt a bit guilty for not giving Bailey a sibling, especially since her own siblings were her best friends. She'd always held out hope that Clark would change. That it was just a stage. He'd been so sorry. Now she was beyond grateful she hadn't gotten pregnant when they briefly tried five years ago.

Monday morning, they grabbed muffins at a café in the Beltline and went to a brand-new playground with a splash pad. Since it was only the end of June, it wasn't hot enough to get soaking wet, but the girls loved the misters and tempting fate by daring each other to stand over the intermittent fountains.

For a moment, Aelin let herself forget about the mediation, forget about Clark, and just enjoy a few hours together. She timed them on the monkey bars, walked down to the pond to admire the gaggle of baby ducklings, and pushed the girls on the swings.

Not one moment passed without her remembering that she was so damn lucky to be doing this. To not be working a night shift so she could bring energy to her time with Bailey. It was a gift.

They made sandwiches at home for lunch, and the girls spent hours making a stop-motion animation movie with Bailey's dolls. Aelin cleaned the basement and prepped vegetables in the fridge for the week. It was so close to the perfect day it physically ached.

By the time Ryan showed up at five thirty to pick up Amaya, Aelin's heart felt like it was going to burst at the seams.

Ryan gave her a look as she opened the door, her face splitting into a smile.

"Can I just say thank you?" she gushed. Ryan blinked, and she knew she was probably coming off like a crazy person, which was the last thing she wanted, considering she was in charge of his only child, but she couldn't help herself. "Today was incredible. My dream, really, and you made that possible, and I'm just so grateful—" Holy hell, she was crying. Was she crying? Aelin sniffed and clenched her jaw, trying to will the tears back into her ducts.

"Today was good?" Ryan looked alarmed.

"So good," Aelin squeaked.

Amaya ran down the stairs behind her. "Dad!"

Aelin moved to the side so Amaya could get through the door. Amaya threw her arms around her dad's waist, and he grunted.

"Hey, baby," he murmured, cupping a hand around her head and hugging her close.

There it was again. The softening of his face. The sadness in his eyes dissolving into warmth, like he'd just dropped onto the couch after a long day of work. She was his safe place. Something inside of Aelin twinged.

"Do you have your things?" he asked.

Amaya pulled back. "Just a second." She ran back inside the house .

Aelin felt like she'd just stumbled into a chapel in street clothes. She sniffed. "Good day at work?"

"Decent."

With every one-word answer, the screw labelled "Dusty Rose" twisted tighter. "Ryan, did I?—?"

Amaya burst back out onto the porch with her overnight bag and pillow.

Ryan's eyes flicked from Amaya to Aelin. "Thank you again."

She nodded, placing her hands on her hips, still propping the screen door open with her shoulder. "No problem."

"See you tomorrow!" Amaya called, and the two of them walked to the car.

The next two days were much the same. Ryan barely said two words to her when he dropped Amaya off in the morning, and Aelin's worry about the weekend took a U-turn as she drove the girls to the pool. They were grown-ass adults, and he couldn't even have a conversation with her about what she'd done to make him so uncomfortable?

The only thing she could think of was that she'd alluded to being attracted to him. That wasn't a secret nearly deep and dark enough to elicit the silent treatment, especially not for someone like Ryan. He had to have women noticing him constantly, with or without his wedding ring.

Aelin hadn't flirted with him. She'd spent the whole night with Megan and her friends. She'd danced with other people, she'd barely seen Ryan besides saying hi at the beginning of the night and then talking to him that one time.

His behaviour was juvenile.

Aelin imagined all the ways she could tell him so as they went down the water slides and played keep away in the pool. Eventually, the anger burned down to a low simmer, replaced only with the anxiety of her double date that night with Megan, her husband Tag, and their friend Colin.

They were meeting at a restaurant twelve minutes from her house, and Amy, their fourteen-year-old neighbour, was going to hang out and play games with Bailey until she got home. Two hours. That's all she was committing to, though Amy had given her permission to stay out longer and pay her more money.

The girls showered when they got home from the pool, then settled down to keep working on their movie. Aelin put the towels and swimsuits in the wash, then retreated to her room to start getting ready. She took her shower, curled her hair, and put on light makeup, then tried on three different outfits, finally deciding on a black tank top, wide-leg khakis, and hoop earrings. Simple. Comfortable. It was the best she could do at the moment.

She changed her bed sheets and switched the laundry, then paid a few bills and called to reschedule Bailey's well-child visit since she'd booked it six months prior and it now landed on the week they were going to be at Flathead with her family. At four o'clock, she made the girls spaghetti and meatballs. She sat with them and listened to them relay the most hilarious thing that happened while they were filming a scene involving a cardboard piece of pizza and a Barbie toilet.

At five thirty, the dishes were done, the floor was swept, and there was a stack of board games at the kitchen table for Amy and Bailey to play together. Aelin stood at the kitchen island, tapping her nails on the granite. She should've saved a chore or two. Amy was getting there in ten minutes, and all she had to do was wait for Ryan to get there.

She picked up her phone and started scrolling. During the middle of a stand-up comedy clip, a text from Megan came through.

Leaving now! Colin's meeting us there

She tapped out a quick response.

Just waiting on the babysitter. See you soon

It was nearly five forty, and Ryan wasn't there yet. Aelin walked to the front door and peered out the windows. Nothing. He'd never been late before, but this was the first week. It wasn't like she had a long history to draw from.

Inconsiderate. The coals that had been smouldering all day flared to life with new fuel. Was this how the whole summer was going to be? No communication, even when it was something she needed to know for her job?

Amy walked up the sidewalk, and Aelin opened the front door. She was about to open the screen when another text message popped up on her phone.

Ryan:

Emergency. I'm going to be late